Sunday, February 9, 2020

COVENTRY CHESS CLUB - STATE OF THE CLUB REPORT

 
COVENTRY CHESS CLUB

STATE OF THE CLUB REPORT

BY ROB ROY


I am happy to report that our Coventry Chess Club is surviving.  I expect at least

18 players on FEB 22, for our 2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN.

We have conducted 46 tournaments since May 2016.  During 2016 our average

attendance was 9.35. 2017 was 10.0. 2018 was 11.8. 2019 was 11.9.

We have accumulated 163 players, 82 of which only played once and never came

back.  The odds of a new player coming back after his first visit is 50 percent.

I observed a similar phenomenon back in 1990, when I tied with NYC to win the

national membership drive.  Most of my enrolls did not renew after a year.

New players usually finish 0-3. They get a rude awakening that they are not as strong

as they thought, and that winning at chess will require work. More than likely

this new player was winning all of his games at home, at work etc...

I am proud to have at least 10 youth players who play with our adults.

I admire their persistence, and I can see their progress.

We will no longer conduct tournaments during the summer; May-August.

Our summertime tournaments always lost us a lot of money.

I am always out to attract new players to our program. On the average; each of

our events attracts about 4 new players.

We have a dozen regular players active in the past year.  They are dedicated to

improving their chess, and they compete often.  Based on their 2019 attendance

I can expect at least 8 of these players at each tournament.

I have been a volunteer and donor for this program for 4 years. Joe Bihlmeyer

has donated hundreds of dollars to our program. Others are; Derek Meredith,

Rick Bauer, Hayes Goodman, Lisa Smith, Art Nagel, Dan Zhou, Steven Stewart.

Some players show up early and help with setting up tables and chairs;

Dan Smith, Abe Mondal, Jordan Groff. More stayed late to help with tear down.

All of this helps to keep our entry fees affordable, thank you.

My duties include attracting new players, and retention of our regular players.

I need to encourage each of our members to attend more often. We need better

attendance otherwise we will need to find additional ways to pay our expenses.

Maybe an annual membership fee ? Will this ultimately help us or hurt us ?

Another option is to increase the entry fee to $40. I am hesitant to implement

either of these options, preferring better attendance to solve the problem.

So for now, I will have a table to sell chess equipment, donating $$ to the club.

I have 8 chess clocks that I bring with me, made available for loan to the players.

I also bring in chessmen and boards my players can help themselves to.

I love having conversations with my players, but most of the time my conversations

are limited to... "Where is the restroom ?". "What time is the next round ?"

"Can I have a cookie ?" "What is the WiFi password ?" "How do ratings work ?".

Read my short biography below, you might discover we have things in common.

 

In 1975 I became an organizer and newspaper columnist.

My first few clubs were in Waterbury and Wolcott Conn.

I was elected state chess assoc. president in 1985.

I was re-elected 9 more times.  I organized 10 annual

state championship tournaments.

My column ran weekly for 25 years, Waterbury Sunday Republican.

I organized and directed hundreds of USCF tournaments

in Southington, Danbury, Naugatuck, Middletown (Wesleyan),

West Haven, North Haven, Hartford, Norwich and New London.

Best tournament I organized was Bushnell $5,000 Cup, 1990.

I have always advocated playing chess. Since 1976 I have

tried my best to bring new players into the game.

My tournaments provide Connecticut players with the opportunity

to get acclimated to playing under tournament conditions.

Our prizes are guaranteed, regardless of attendance.

I always recommended to kids they play in adult tournaments.

To become stronger you must play stronger opponents.

 

I worked at The Travelers in Hartford then IBM in Southbury.

For 12 years I was full-time dealer at Mohegan Sun Casino.

I dealt BlackJack, Poker and Roulette.

Liz and I are cat-lovers, so far we have rescued 5 cats.

I also play backgammon. I am skillful at cooking.

I have severe diabetes and other medical conditions.

For the past 5 years I've been barely surviving on social

security retirement. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy all the

volunteer work I do for Chess in Connecticut.

Rob Roy

 

Connecticut Chess Magazine # 193

 

 

NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

2/2
The West Hartford Chess Camp & Tournament was attended by 25 players of different ages and playing ability. Joe Bihlmeyer and Suhas Kodali provided instruction in the morning. In the afternoon the Scholastic section was won by Sarvin Bhagarwar and the Adult/Over-1100 was won by Punyavrat Upadhyay. Crosstable.

2/2
A total of 86 scholastic players attended the 51st NECA in Stamford. Crosstable.

1/26
The Southern Leg of the NNGP and Greenwhich City Scholastic Championships attracted 130 players to Greenwich Academy this weekend. Nathaniel Moor continued his winning streak from the day before and won the High School section, qualifying to the Denker NNCT, Peter Wolfe won the Middle School section, qualifying to the Barber NNCT and Annie Ulmer won the Elementary School section, qualifying to the Rockefeller NNCT. Greenwhich City Grade Championship winners were: Landau Vincent Day - Kindergarten, James Lindstrom - 1st grade, Lucas Lazlo - 2nd grade, Jack Karanikolaidis - 3rd grade, Satya Daftuar - 4th grade, Oliver Servedio - 5th grade and Henry Graham - Middle School.
Report - Final Results - Rating report.

1/25
Nathaniel Moor has won the CCFC Club Championship with a score of 4-0; crosstable.

 

 

 

JORDAN GROFF WINS 2020 GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

 

List of Chess Coaches in Connecticut

 


Play More Chess Academy
1227 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
Email: info@PlayMoreChess.com | Phone: 203.680.0657

 

With 5-0 score Beatrice Low has won Connecticut State Girls' Championship for the fourth time in five years.

Shesh Budhabhatti (winner of 2018) and Haneesha Atkuri tied for second, Shesh clinching the qualification spot to the NNCT on tiebreakers.

Irving A. Robbins Middle School from Farmington won the team trophy. 

Final standings - Crosstable

 

 

LIST OF CHESS CLUBS IN CONNECTICUT

 

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser

 This king hunt from the Gibralter Masters was exciting.  Black sacrifices two pieces to get the opposing king to the middle of the board where it finally takes a wrong turn and allows a winning simplification.

 

 

 

 
GM Alan Pichot(2606)-GM David Navarra(2717)
2020 Gibralter Masters
1/29/20
1.e4 c5 
6.h3 e6 
9.h4 b5 
13.Rh3 b4
 

https://beta.chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/

 

Cut & Paste the code below, and LOAD into webpage above

 

[Event "2020 Gibralter Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.01.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Alan Pichot"]
[Black "GM David Navarra"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2606"]
 
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 Be7 8.g5 Nfd7
9.h4 b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Be3 Nc6 12.Qd2 Rc8 13.Rh3 b4 14.axb4 Nxb4 15.Nb1 $6 { -0.03/24 } ( 15.h5
{ +0.68/19 } 15...Ne5
{ 15... O-O 16. Na4 d5 17. c3 e5 18. cxb4 exd4 19. Qxd4 Re8 20. exd5 Bxg5
21. h6 Bxh6 22. Rxh6 gxh6 23. Nc3 Qf6 24. Qg4+ Kf8 25. Qxd7 Rxc3 26. bxc3
Qxc3+ 27. Ke2   =   Stockfish } 16.f4 Nc4 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.h6 g6 19.b3 Rc7
20.Na4 d5 21.c3 Nc6 22.Nxc6 Bxc6 23.Bb6 ) ( 15.f4 O-O 16.Bg2 Nc5 17.Kf1 d5
18.e5 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.c3 Nd3 21.Kg1 a5 22.h5 Bc5 23.Bf1 Qb6 24.h6 g6
25.Rh2 Ba6 26.Qg2 Bb7 { +0.09   Stockfish } ) 15...a5 16.c3 Nc6 17.Nb5 d5
18.exd5 exd5 19.Qxd5 O-O 20.Na7 $6 { -0.22/21 } ( 20.N1a3 { +0.19/22 }
20...Nc5 21.Rd1 Qe8 22.Nd6 Bxd6 23.Qxd6 Ne5 24.Bb5 Ne4
{ 24...Qe6 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Bc4 Nxc4 27. Nxc4 Nd3+ 28. Rxd3 Rxc4 29. h5
Ra4 30. h6 Bd5 31. hxg7  +1.27   Stockfish } 25.Bxe8 Nxd6 26.Bd7 Nxd7 27.Rxd6
Ne5 28.f4 Ng4 29.Bd4
{ 29. Rg3 Rce8 30. Nc4 Bc8 31. Kd2 f6 32. Rg2 Nxe3 33. Nxe3 fxg5 34. fxg5
Re6 35. Rd4   +1.23   Stockfish } 29...Rfe8+ 30.Kd2 Re4 31.Rd3 Rce8 32.Bc5
Nh2 33.Rd8 Nf3+ 34.Kc1 Re1+ 35.Kc2 ) 20...Nxa7 21.Qxb7 Bc5 $6 { +0.92/21 } ( 
21...Nc6 { 0.00/21 } 22.Nd2 Nde5 23.Bg2 Rb8
{ 23...Re8 24. Rd1 Nd3+ 25. Kf1 Nce5 26. Bd4 Bf8 27. Re3 Re7 28. Qb5  +0.92
  Stockfish } 24.Qa6 Qd7 25.f4
{ 25. b3 Rfd8 26. Qe2 Qf5 27. Rg3 Bd6 28. Be4 Qe6 29. f4 Ng6 30. Qg4 Nge7
31. Qxe6 fxe6 32. Rf3   +1.69  Stockfish } 25...Nd3+ 26.Kf1 Rfc8 27.Rf3 Ra8
28.Qb5 Rab8 29.Qa6 ) 22.Bxc5 $6 { 0.00/26 } ( 22.Nd2 { +0.92/21 } 22...Rc7
{ 22...Rb8 23. Qd5 Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Rxb2 25. Rd1 Qc7 26. Re7 Nb6 27. Qe4 Qxc3
28. Bd3 g6 29. Rxa7  +2.32   Stockfish } 23.Qd5 Nc8 24.Nc4
{ 24. Bf4 Re8+ 25. Ne4 Nd6 26. Bxd6 Nb6 27. Qf5 Qxd6 28. Re3 Qe5 29. Qxe5
Rxe5 30. Rxa5   +2.74   Stockfish } 24...Ne7 25.Qd3 Qc8 26.Rxa5 Rd8 27.Qc2
Bxe3 28.Nd6 Qb8 29.Rxe3 ) 22...Nxc5 23.Qxa7 Re8+ 24.Re3 Rxe3+ 25.fxe3 Qe8
26.Kf2 Ne4+ 27.Kf3 $6 { -0.37/23 } ( 27.Ke1 { 0.00/25 } 27...Nc5 28.Kf2 Ne4+
) 27...f5 28.gxf6 Qh5+ 29.Kxe4 Qg4+ 30.Ke5 $4 { -3.44/22 } ( 30.Kd3
{ -0.35/21 } 30...Rd8+ 31.Qd4 Qd1+ 32.Kc4 Rxd4+ 33.exd4 Qxf1+ 34.Kb3 Qd1+
{ 34...a4+ 35. Rxa4 Qxb1 36. fxg7 Kxg7 37. Rc4 Qe4 38. d5 Qxd5   -3.18  
Stockfish } 35.Ka2 a4 36.Na3 Qb3+ 37.Kb1 gxf6 38.Kc1
{ 37. Kb1 gxf6 38. Nc2 f5 39. Kc1 f4 40. Kd2 Qb7 41. Rg1+ Kf7 42. Rg5 
-5.47   Stockfish } 38...f5
{ 38... Qd5 39. Nc2 Qh1+ 40. Kd2 Qxh4 41. Rg1+ Kf7 42. Rg2 Qf4+ 43. Ne3 h5
44. Re2  -6.85   Stockfish } 39.Nb1 f4 40.Nd2 Qf7 41.Rxa4 f3 42.Ra1 Qf4
43.Kd1 h5 44.b4 ) 30...Re8+ 31.Qe7 gxf6+ 32.Kd6 Qd1+ 33.Ke6 Rxe7+ 34.Kxe7
Qxf1 35.b4 $6 { -5.13/24 } ( 35.Rxa5 { -3.25/23 } 35...Qxb1 36.b4 Kg7 37.Rd5
{ 37. h5 Qe4+ 38. Kd6 Qd3+ 39. Rd5 Qxc3 40. b5 Qxe3 41. Rc5 Qd3+ 42. Kc6
Kf7 43. b6 Ke7  _11.81   Stockfish } 37...Qe4+
{ 37... Qc2 38. Kd6 Qxc3 39. b5 Qxe3 40. Rc5 Qd3+ 41. Rd5 Qg3+ 42. Kc6 Qxh4
  -18.12   Stockfish } 38.Kd6 f5 39.b5 Kf6 40.b6 Qxe3 ) 35...axb4 36.cxb4 Qd3
$6 { -4.18/25 } ( 36...Qe1 { -5.13/24 } 37.Kd7 Qxb4 38.h5 Qb2
{ 38... Qb5+ 39. Kc8 Qb2 40. Ra5 Qxb1 41. Kc7 Qb4 42. Rd5 Kg7 43. Kc6 Qe4
44. Kc5 Qxe3+ 45. Kb4 Qe4+ 46. Kc5 Qf4 47. h6+ Kxh6   -63.14   Stockfish }
39.Ra8+ Kg7 40.Ra7 Qxb1 ) ( 36...Qc4 37.Kxf6 Qf7+ 38.Ke5 Qg7+ 39.Kf5 Qxa1
{ -59.70    Stockfish } ) 37.Ra8+ $2 { -7.02/23 } ( 37.Ra5 { -4.18/25 }
37...Qxe3+ 38.Kxf6 Qf4+ 39.Ke6 Qxb4 40.Rg5+ Kf8 41.Rd5 Qe4+
{ 41... Qxb1 42. Rg5 Qe4+ 43. Kf6 Qxh4  -147.92   Stockfish } 42.Re5 Qxb1
43.Rf5+ Ke8 44.Rf4 Qd3 45.Ke5 Ke7 46.Rd4 Qb5+ ) 37...Kg7 0-1
 
 
 
 
 

 

OPEN STUDY IN SILENCE AND STRATEGY BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS ATTENDANCE

2016: 13, 12, 8, 7, 8, 4, 8, 3, 12.

2017: 10, 10, 9, 8, 5, 6, 16, 18, 15 10, 8, 5.

2018:  8, 9, 11, 12, 7, 10, 11, 13, 8, 12, 13, 18.

2019: 12, 23, 12, 12, 10, 7, 11, 8. 9, 15, 14, 10.

2020: 12.


I am looking for help financing the "Coventry Chess USCF Tournaments" and the "Connecticut Chess Magazine".  So far my only revenue source has been from tournament entry fees. Our first tournament was May 2016, and we've held one per month ever since.

We've had only 10 that generated extra revenue over current expenses. We had 9 tournaments that broke-even, and 27 tournaments that lost money.  I am hundreds in the red.  I doubt I will ever see that money again.

We have 3 tournaments coming up: Feb 22, Mar 21, and Apr 18, after which our USCF program in Coventry will have been in operation for four complete years, with 49 tournaments completed. It takes a long time to build up a chess program.

I give acknowledgement to Joe Bihlmeyer, without whom our program would have failed back in 2018.  Joe is an asset to us in many ways. Everybody is friends with Joe. He is generous with giving chess advice to anyone.  Joe has also kept us alive financially, donating hundreds of dollars to us.

Connecticut Chess Magazine began March 2010, and so far has had 192,000 visitors.  I give acknowledgement to Alan Lasser, writing "Game of the Week" column for many years.   We are a bona-fide magazine because of his chess column, without it CCM would be merely announcements and reports.

I include the New Britain Chess Club, Conn State Chess Assoc., Play More Chess Academy in Hamden, and West Hartford Scholastics by Norman Burtness.  I also want to acknowledge all the new officers of the state chess association. IM Jan Van de Mortel is doing a great job as president.

Coach Dan Starbuck Pelletier is activating chess, especially in the Weston-Wilton area. Newcomer Suhas Kodali is backup TD and reporter at NBCC.  Bob Cyr, state chess historian, writes frequently.

 

 

 

 

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN SET AND CLOCK

 

Please bring your chess sets and clocks with you.

The TD is under no obligation to supply equipment.

Historically I have always brought extras that I

loan out, but this is getting harder for me to do.

Please bring your own score-book, pen and/or pencil.

I don't get payment from anybody to run this program.

We pay rent to Town & Rec for use of this building.

All our expenses get paid from our tournaments.

 

LOST EQUIPMENT

 

Players forget to take equipment with them when they leave.

None of the items have identifying markings on them.

Players should mark their equipment with their name and email.

I have several items past the 90 days I usually hold them for.

Email a description to ConnecticutChess@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

 

Alan Lasser (1963)-Shane Parr (1625)

 

GM Maxime Vachier-LaGrave (2780) - GM Ding Liren (2801)

 

GM Giri Anish (2747) - GM Bassem Amin (2610), GAME OF THE WEEK

 

ANNUAL WILD SNAIL ISSUE  BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

HAYES GOODMAN WINS 2019 HOLIDAY PARTY OPEN

 

NEW CHESS CLUB IN HAMDEN CONNECTICUT

 

GOING BACK IN TIME WITH BOB CYR

 

GAME OF THE WEEK BY ALAN LASSER

 

HOW TO SET YOUR DIGITAL CHESS CLOCK

 

HISTORY OF NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB BY BOB CYR

 

 

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR UPDATES

ConnecticutChess@Gmail.Com

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS CLUB

Top Frequent Players (after tnmt #46)

33 Joe Bihlmeyer

20 Rob Roy

18 Art Nagel

15 Derek Meredith

15 Mark Bourque

14 Hayes Goodman

13 Dan Smith

11 Larry Lafosse

10 Dan Zhou

10 Joshua Berkun

 

 

 

2020 MILL BROOK PARK OPEN  APR. 18

 

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News about Connecticut events in 2020 will be posted here as soon as the pieces start moving again. Last year's news can be found here: 2019.

There are several CSCA events coming up:

  1. CT K-12 State Championship will take place on March 7 at Manchester High School (more details will be announced soon).

For more registration and more information on these and other upcoming chess events in Connecticut please visit our calendar.

 

Thursday, February 6, 2020

NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

NEWS FROM CSCA WEBSITE

2/2
The West Hartford Chess Camp & Tournament was attended by 25 players of different ages and playing ability. Joe Bihlmeyer and Suhas Kodali provided instruction in the morning. In the afternoon the Scholastic section was won by Sarvin Bhagarwar and the Adult/Over-1100 was won by Punyavrat Upadhyay. Crosstable.

2/2
A total of 86 scholastic players attended the 51st NECA in Stamford. Crosstable.

1/26
The Southern Leg of the NNGP and Greenwhich City Scholastic Championships attracted 130 players to Greenwich Academy this weekend. Nathaniel Moor continued his winning streak from the day before and won the High School section, qualifying to the Denker NNCT, Peter Wolfe won the Middle School section, qualifying to the Barber NNCT and Annie Ulmer won the Elementary School section, qualifying to the Rockefeller NNCT. Greenwhich City Grade Championship winners were: Landau Vincent Day - Kindergarten, James Lindstrom - 1st grade, Lucas Lazlo - 2nd grade, Jack Karanikolaidis - 3rd grade, Satya Daftuar - 4th grade, Oliver Servedio - 5th grade and Henry Graham - Middle School.
Report - Final Results - Rating report.

1/25
Nathaniel Moor has won the CCFC Club Championship with a score of 4-0; crosstable.

 

 

 

JORDAN GROFF WINS 2020 GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

 

List of Chess Coaches in Connecticut

 


Play More Chess Academy
1227 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
Email: info@PlayMoreChess.com | Phone: 203.680.0657

 

With 5-0 score Beatrice Low has won Connecticut State Girls' Championship for the fourth time in five years.

Shesh Budhabhatti (winner of 2018) and Haneesha Atkuri tied for second, Shesh clinching the qualification spot to the NNCT on tiebreakers.

Irving A. Robbins Middle School from Farmington won the team trophy. 

Final standings - Crosstable

 

 

LIST OF CHESS CLUBS IN CONNECTICUT

 

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser

This must be the scariest way to upset a grandmaster. The young IM must watch helplessly as his opponent misses an almost-obvious rook-sac combination and then rally his defense against the GM’s series of seven checks.

IM Valentin Buckels(2459)-GM Vassily Ivanchuk(2698)
1/28/20   2020 Gibralter Masters
1.d4 Nf6
2.Bf4 d6
3.Nc3 c6
4.e4 Qa5
5.e5 dxe5
6.dxe5 Ne4
7.Ne2 g5
8.Bd2 Nxd2
9.Qxd2 Qxe5
10.O-O-O Nd7
11.g3 Bg7
12.Bh3 O-O
13.Rhe1?! -0.52/21
13.f4 -0.23/22 13...Qc5 14.Bxd7 Rd8 15.fxg5 Bxd7 16.Kb1 b5 17.Qf4 Qe5 17... Be6 18. Ne4 Bxa2+ 19. Kxa2 Qc4+ 20. Kb1 Qxe2 -1.81 Stockfish 18.Rd3
13...Nc5?! -0.07/23
13...Nb6 -0.52/21 14.Bxc8 Raxc8 15.f4 15. Qd4 Qa5 16. Qe4 e6 17. h4 Rcd8 18. a3 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Nd5 20. Nxd5 cxd5 -1.62 Stockfish 15...Qc5 15... Qa5 16. Qd3 e6 17. a3 h6 18. Nd4 g4 19. Nb3 Qh5 20. Qe2 Rfd8 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Rd1 Rd7 23. Rxd7 Nxd7 -1.70 Stockfish 16.Ne4 Qc4 17.N2c3 gxf4 18.gxf4 Kh8 19.Qd3 f5 20.Qxc4 Nxc4 21.Ng5
14.Bxc8 Raxc8
15.Nf4?! -0.43/26
15.f4 -0.10/22 15...Qc7 15...gxf4 16. Nxf4 Qf5 17. Rxe7 Bf6 18. Re2 b5 19. Rf2 b4 20. Nfd5 bxc3 21. Nxf6+ Qxf6 = Stockfish 16.fxg5 Rfd8 16...Rcd8 17. Qe3 Qe5 18. Nf4 Qxe3+ 19. Rxe3 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Rd8+ 21. Kc1 e6 22. Ne4 Bd4 23. Re2 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 Bb6 = Stockfish 17.Qf4 Ne6 18.Qxc7 Rxc7 19.Rxd8+ Nxd8 20.Rd1 Ne6 21.h4 Nf8 22.Ne4 Rd7 23.c3 Rd5 24.Rxd5 cxd5 25.Nc5 b6 26.Nd3 e6 27.Nd4
15…Qd6
16.Qe3 gxf4
17.gxf4 Qf6
18.Qxc5 Qxf4+
19.Kb1 e6
20.Re4 Qf3
21.Rg1 Kh8
22.Reg4 Rg8?! -0.31/24
22...b6 -0.58/21 23.Qe7 23. Qd6 Rfd8 24. Qe7 Be5 25. a4 Qf6 26. Qxa7 h6 27. Qa6 Qf3 28. Rh4 Kh7 29. Qc4 Rg8 30. Rf1 b5 31. Qe4+ Qxe4 32. Nxe4 bxa4 -0.79 Stockfish 23...Rfe8 23... Bf6 24. Qxa7 Be5 25. a3 Qxf2 26. Ne4 Qe3 27. Qe7 Qd4 28. c3 Qd8 29. Qxd8 Rcxd8 -1.25 Stockfish 24.Qg5 Bf6 25.Rf4 Bxg5 26.Rxf3 f6 27.Ne4 Rg8 28.c3 Rcf8 29.Nd6 c5 30.Rfg3 Rg6 31.Rh3
23.Qxa7 c5
24.R4g3 Qxf2
25.Qxb7 Rb8
26.Qe7?? #-20/20
26.Qa7 -0.45/21 26...Ra8 27.Qb7 Rgb8 28.Qf3 Qxf3 29.Rxf3 Ra6 29...f5 30. Nd1 Rd8 31. Ne3 Rd2 32. h3 Rd4 33. b3 Rb8 34. Rgf1 c4 35. Rf4 Rxf4 36. Rxf4 cxb3 37. cxb3 Bh6 -0.32 Stockfish 30.Rd1 f5 31.Rd7 Rab6 32.b3 c4
26...Rge8?? -0.38/23
26...Rxb2+ #-20/20 27.Kxb2 Rb8+ 28.Kc1 28.Ka3 Qc2 and mate is unavoidable. 28...Bh6+ 29.Qg5 Looking very bad are 29.Kd1 Qd2# and 29.Rg5 Qg1 30.Kd2 Bg5 29...Bxg5+ 30.Rxg5 Qe3+
27.Qh4 c4
28.Qh3 Rxb2+
29.Kxb2 Rb8+
30.Kc1 Qf4+
31.Kd1?? -3.29/24
31.Re3 0.00/24 31...Bxc3 32.Qg3 Be5 33.c3 Rb1+ 33...h5 34. a4 Kh7 35. Kd2 h4 36. Qxf4 Bxf4 37. Rf1 e5 38. Rxf4 exf4 39. Re4 Rb2+ 40. Ke1 Kg6 41. Rxf4 = Stockfish 34.Kxb1 Qf5+ 35.Kb2 Bxg3 36.Rexg3 h5 37.Rg8+ 37. Rg5 Qh3 38. R1g2 Kh7 39. Rg7+ Kh6 40. Rg8 Kh7 41. R2g7+ Kh6 42. Rg3 Qxh2+ 43. Ka3 Kh7 44. R3g7+ Kh6 = Stockfish 37...Kh7 38.R1g7+ Kh6 39.Rg2 Qb5+ 40.Kc2 Qf5+ 41.Kb2
31...Rd8+
32.Ke1 Qc1+?! -2.10/26
32...Bxc3+ -2.78/23 33.Rxc3 Qc1+ 34.Kf2 Rd2+ 35.Ke3 Rd1+ 36.Ke4 Rxg1 37.Rxc4 Re1+ 38.Kd3 Qa3+ 39.c3 Rd1+ 40.Ke2 Rd8 41.Qe3 Qxa2+ 42.Kf3 Qxh2 43.Rg4 f6 43... Rd2 44. Rd4 Qh1+ 45. Kf4 Qf1+ 46. Ke5 Re2 47. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 48. Kd6 Qf3 49. c4 Qc3 50. Rd1 Qxc4 -147.92 Stockfish 44.Rg2 Qh3+ 45.Kf2 Rd3 46.Qxh3 Rxh3
33.Kf2 Bd4+
34.Re3 Qd2+
35.Ne2 Rd5? -0.39/25
35...f5 -2.10/23 36.c3 36. Qf3 f4 37. Qxf4 Bxe3+ 38. Qxe3 Rf8+ 39. Qf3 Rxf3+ 40. Kxf3 Qxc2 41. Rc1 Qxa2 -5.46 Stockfish 36...f4 37.cxd4 fxe3+ 38.Qxe3 Rf8+ 39.Qf3 Rxf3+ 40.Kxf3 Qh6 40...Qd3+ 41. Kf2 Qh3 42. Ke1 Qxh2 43. Rg5 Qh1+ 44. Kf2 Qh4+ 45. Rg3 Qh2+ 46. Ke3 c3 47. Rf3 c2 -6.92 Stockfish 41.Rg3
36.Rg3 Re5?? +2.86/25
36...Rf5+ -0.32/24 37.Kg2 Bxe3 38.Rxe3 Qd5+ 39.Kg3 Rh5 40.Qf1 Qg5+ 41.Kf3 Qf5+ 42.Nf4 Rh4 42...Qxf4+ 43. Kxf4 Rf5+ 44. Ke4 Rxf1 45. Rf3 f5+ 46. Kf4 e5+ 47. Ke3 f4+ 48. Ke4 Re1+ 49. Kf5 Kg7 = Stockfish 43.Re4
37.Rf3? +0.90/25
37.Qh6 +2.86/25 37...Bxe3+ 38.Rxe3 Rf5+ 39.Kg3 Qd8 40.Kh3 40. Re4 Qg5+ 41. Qxg5 Rxg5+ 42. Kf3 Rc5 43. a4 Kg7 44. Ke3 e5 45. Rg4+ Kf6 46. Nc3 Rc8 47. Ne4+ Ke7 48. Rg5 Ke6 49. Rh5 Ra8 50. Rh6+ f6 51. Rxh7 +5.62 Stockfish 40...Qg5 41.Qf8+ Qg8 42.Qxg8+ Kxg8 43.a4 Rc5 44.Re4 Kg7 45.Kg2 Kg6 46.Kf3 Kg7 47.c3 h5 48.Ng3 Kg6 49.Nf1
37...c3? +3.32/26
37...Bxe3+ +0.90/25 38.Rxe3 Rf5+ 39.Rf3 Re5 40.Qf1 c3 41.a4 Kg8 42.a5 Qxc2 43.a6 Kf8 44.h3 f5 45.Rxc3 Rxe2+ 46.Qxe2 Qxc3 47.Qxe6 Qc5+ 48.Kf1 Qb5+ 49.Kg2 Qc5 50.h4 Qc2+
37...f6 38.c3 Bb6 39.a4 Bc5 40.a5 h5 41.a6 Kh7 42.Qg3 Bxe3+ 43.Rxe3 Rf5+ 44.Rf3 Re5 45.Rxf6 Rxe2+ 46.Kg1 Re1+ 47.Rf1 Rxf1+ 48.Kxf1 Qd1+ 49.Kg2 Qd5+ 50.Qf3 Qd2+ 51.Kh3 Qd3 52.Kg3 Qd6+ 53.Kf2 Qd2+ 54.Qe2 Qf4+ 55.Kg2 Qg5+ 56.Kh3 Qf5+ 57.Kh4 Qf4+ 58.Kxh5 Qh6+ 59.Kg4 Qg7+ After another 25 moves of checks, Black finally takes the pawn on c3 and Stockfish thinks White has a non-winnable advantage of 0.15.
38.Qh6 Bc5?? #5/62
38...Bxe3+ +3.33/26 39.Rxe3 Rf5+ 40.Kg3 Qd8 41.Kh3 Qg5 42.Qxg5 Rxg5 43.Rxc3 Ra5 44.a3 Kg7 45.Rg3+ Kf6 46.c4 Rc5 47.Rc3 e5 48.Kg3 Ke6 49.Nc1 f5 50.Nd3 Rc7 51.Kf2 h5 52.c5
39.Qf6+ 1-0

 

 

https://beta.chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/

 

Cut & Paste the code below, and LOAD into webpage above

 

 

 

[Event "2020 Gibralter Masters"]
[Site " a big hotel"]
[Date "2020.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "IM Valentin Buckels"]
[Black "GM Vassily Ivanchuk"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2459"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 Qa5 5.e5 dxe5 6.dxe5 Ne4 7.Ne2 g5 8.Bd2 Nxd2
9.Qxd2 Qxe5 10.O-O-O Nd7 11.g3 Bg7 12.Bh3 O-O 13.Rhe1 $6 { -0.52/21 } (
13.f4 { -0.23/22 } 13...Qc5 14.Bxd7 Rd8 15.fxg5 Bxd7 16.Kb1 b5 17.Qf4 Qe5
{ 17... Be6 18. Ne4 Bxa2+ 19. Kxa2 Qc4+ 20. Kb1 Qxe2 -1.81 Stockfish }
18.Rd3 ) 13...Nc5 $6 { -0.07/23 } ( 13...Nb6 { -0.52/21 } 14.Bxc8 Raxc8 15.f4
{ 15. Qd4 Qa5 16. Qe4 e6 17. h4 Rcd8 18. a3 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Nd5 20. Nxd5
cxd5 -1.62 Stockfish } 15...Qc5
{ 15... Qa5 16. Qd3 e6 17. a3 h6 18. Nd4 g4 19. Nb3 Qh5 20. Qe2 Rfd8 21.
Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Rd1 Rd7 23. Rxd7 Nxd7 -1.70 Stockfish } 16.Ne4 Qc4 17.N2c3
gxf4 18.gxf4 Kh8 19.Qd3 f5 20.Qxc4 Nxc4 21.Ng5 ) 14.Bxc8 Raxc8 15.Nf4 $6
{ -0.43/26 } ( 15.f4 { -0.10/22 } 15...Qc7
{ 15...gxf4 16. Nxf4 Qf5 17. Rxe7 Bf6 18. Re2 b5 19. Rf2 b4 20. Nfd5 bxc3
21. Nxf6+ Qxf6 = Stockfish } 16.fxg5 Rfd8
{ 16...Rcd8 17. Qe3 Qe5 18. Nf4 Qxe3+ 19. Rxe3 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Rd8+ 21. Kc1
e6 22. Ne4 Bd4 23. Re2 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 Bb6 = Stockfish } 17.Qf4 Ne6
18.Qxc7 Rxc7 19.Rxd8+ Nxd8 20.Rd1 Ne6 21.h4 Nf8 22.Ne4 Rd7 23.c3 Rd5 24.Rxd5
cxd5 25.Nc5 b6 26.Nd3 e6 27.Nd4 ) 15...Qd6 16.Qe3 gxf4 17.gxf4 Qf6 18.Qxc5
Qxf4+ 19.Kb1 e6 20.Re4 Qf3 21.Rg1 Kh8 22.Reg4 Rg8 $6 { -0.31/24 } ( 22...b6
{ -0.58/21 } 23.Qe7
{ 23. Qd6 Rfd8 24. Qe7 Be5 25. a4 Qf6 26. Qxa7 h6 27. Qa6 Qf3 28. Rh4 Kh7
29. Qc4 Rg8 30. Rf1 b5 31. Qe4+ Qxe4 32. Nxe4 bxa4 -0.79 Stockfish }
23...Rfe8
{ 23... Bf6 24. Qxa7 Be5 25. a3 Qxf2 26. Ne4 Qe3 27. Qe7 Qd4 28. c3 Qd8 29.
Qxd8 Rcxd8 -1.25 Stockfish } 24.Qg5 Bf6 25.Rf4 Bxg5 26.Rxf3 f6 27.Ne4 Rg8
28.c3 Rcf8 29.Nd6 c5 30.Rfg3 Rg6 31.Rh3 ) 23.Qxa7 c5 24.R4g3 Qxf2 25.Qxb7 Rb8
26.Qe7 $4 { #-20/20 } ( 26.Qa7 { -0.45/21 } 26...Ra8 27.Qb7 Rgb8 28.Qf3 Qxf3
29.Rxf3 Ra6
{ 29...f5 30. Nd1 Rd8 31. Ne3 Rd2 32. h3 Rd4 33. b3 Rb8 34. Rgf1 c4 35. Rf4
Rxf4 36. Rxf4 cxb3 37. cxb3 Bh6 -0.32 Stockfish } 30.Rd1 f5 31.Rd7 Rab6
32.b3 c4 ) 26...Rge8 $4 { -0.38/23 } ( 26...Rxb2+ { #-20/20 } 27.Kxb2 Rb8+
28.Kc1 { 28.Ka3 Qc2 and mate is unavoidable. } 28...Bh6+ 29.Qg5
{ Looking very bad are 29.Kd1 Qd2# and 29.Rg5 Qg1 30.Kd2 Bg5 } 29...Bxg5+
30.Rxg5 Qe3+ ) 27.Qh4 c4 28.Qh3 Rxb2+ 29.Kxb2 Rb8+ 30.Kc1 Qf4+ 31.Kd1 $4
{ -3.29/24 } ( 31.Re3 { 0.00/24 } 31...Bxc3 32.Qg3 Be5 33.c3 Rb1+
{ 33...h5 34. a4 Kh7 35. Kd2 h4 36. Qxf4 Bxf4 37. Rf1 e5 38. Rxf4 exf4 39.
Re4 Rb2+ 40. Ke1 Kg6 41. Rxf4 = Stockfish } 34.Kxb1 Qf5+ 35.Kb2 Bxg3
36.Rexg3 h5 37.Rg8+
{ 37. Rg5 Qh3 38. R1g2 Kh7 39. Rg7+ Kh6 40. Rg8 Kh7 41. R2g7+ Kh6 42. Rg3
Qxh2+ 43. Ka3 Kh7 44. R3g7+ Kh6 = Stockfish } 37...Kh7 38.R1g7+ Kh6
39.Rg2 Qb5+ 40.Kc2 Qf5+ 41.Kb2 ) 31...Rd8+ 32.Ke1 Qc1+ $6 { -2.10/26 } (
32...Bxc3+ { -2.78/23 } 33.Rxc3 Qc1+ 34.Kf2 Rd2+ 35.Ke3 Rd1+ 36.Ke4 Rxg1
37.Rxc4 Re1+ 38.Kd3 Qa3+ 39.c3 Rd1+ 40.Ke2 Rd8 41.Qe3 Qxa2+ 42.Kf3 Qxh2
43.Rg4 f6
{ 43... Rd2 44. Rd4 Qh1+ 45. Kf4 Qf1+ 46. Ke5 Re2 47. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 48. Kd6
Qf3 49. c4 Qc3 50. Rd1 Qxc4 -147.92 Stockfish } 44.Rg2 Qh3+ 45.Kf2 Rd3
46.Qxh3 Rxh3 ) 33.Kf2 Bd4+ 34.Re3 Qd2+ 35.Ne2 Rd5 $2 { -0.39/25 } ( 35...f5
{ -2.10/23 } 36.c3
{ 36. Qf3 f4 37. Qxf4 Bxe3+ 38. Qxe3 Rf8+ 39. Qf3 Rxf3+ 40. Kxf3 Qxc2 41.
Rc1 Qxa2 -5.46 Stockfish } 36...f4 37.cxd4 fxe3+ 38.Qxe3 Rf8+ 39.Qf3 Rxf3+
40.Kxf3 Qh6
{ 40...Qd3+ 41. Kf2 Qh3 42. Ke1 Qxh2 43. Rg5 Qh1+ 44. Kf2 Qh4+ 45. Rg3 Qh2+
46. Ke3 c3 47. Rf3 c2 -6.92 Stockfish } 41.Rg3 ) 36.Rg3 Re5 $4
{ +2.86/25 } ( 36...Rf5+ { -0.32/24 } 37.Kg2 Bxe3 38.Rxe3 Qd5+ 39.Kg3 Rh5
40.Qf1 Qg5+ 41.Kf3 Qf5+ 42.Nf4 Rh4
{ 42...Qxf4+ 43. Kxf4 Rf5+ 44. Ke4 Rxf1 45. Rf3 f5+ 46. Kf4 e5+ 47. Ke3 f4+
48. Ke4 Re1+ 49. Kf5 Kg7 = Stockfish } 43.Re4 ) 37.Rf3 $2 { +0.90/25 } (
37.Qh6 { +2.86/25 } 37...Bxe3+ 38.Rxe3 Rf5+ 39.Kg3 Qd8 40.Kh3
{ 40. Re4 Qg5+ 41. Qxg5 Rxg5+ 42. Kf3 Rc5 43. a4 Kg7 44. Ke3 e5 45. Rg4+
Kf6 46. Nc3 Rc8 47. Ne4+ Ke7 48. Rg5 Ke6 49. Rh5 Ra8 50. Rh6+ f6 51. Rxh7
+5.62 Stockfish } 40...Qg5 41.Qf8+ Qg8 42.Qxg8+ Kxg8 43.a4 Rc5 44.Re4 Kg7
45.Kg2 Kg6 46.Kf3 Kg7 47.c3 h5 48.Ng3 Kg6 49.Nf1 ) 37...c3 $2 { +3.32/26 } (
37...Bxe3+ { +0.90/25 } 38.Rxe3 Rf5+ 39.Rf3 Re5 40.Qf1 c3 41.a4 Kg8 42.a5
Qxc2 43.a6 Kf8 44.h3 f5 45.Rxc3 Rxe2+ 46.Qxe2 Qxc3 47.Qxe6 Qc5+ 48.Kf1 Qb5+
49.Kg2 Qc5 50.h4 Qc2+ ) ( 37...f6 38.c3 Bb6 39.a4 Bc5 40.a5 h5 41.a6 Kh7
42.Qg3 Bxe3+ 43.Rxe3 Rf5+ 44.Rf3 Re5 45.Rxf6 Rxe2+ 46.Kg1 Re1+ 47.Rf1 Rxf1+
48.Kxf1 Qd1+ 49.Kg2 Qd5+ 50.Qf3 Qd2+ 51.Kh3 Qd3 52.Kg3 Qd6+ 53.Kf2 Qd2+
54.Qe2 Qf4+ 55.Kg2 Qg5+ 56.Kh3 Qf5+ 57.Kh4 Qf4+ 58.Kxh5 Qh6+ 59.Kg4 Qg7+
{ After another 25 moves of checks, Black finally takes the pawn on c3 and
Stockfish thinks White has a non-winnable advantage of 0.15. } ) 38.Qh6 Bc5
$4 { #5/62 } ( 38...Bxe3+ { +3.33/26 } 39.Rxe3 Rf5+ 40.Kg3 Qd8 41.Kh3 Qg5
42.Qxg5 Rxg5 43.Rxc3 Ra5 44.a3 Kg7 45.Rg3+ Kf6 46.c4 Rc5 47.Rc3 e5 48.Kg3 Ke6
49.Nc1 f5 50.Nd3 Rc7 51.Kf2 h5 52.c5 ) 39.Qf6+ 1-0

 

Alan Lasser
blacklightmazes@icloud.com
website: blacklightmazes.com

 

Several readers wanted to know more about last week’s 6.a4 Najdorf variation so I looked up my games and wrote up my Stockfish notes.

 

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4

 

6…g6 7.Be3[a] Bg7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.f3 Re8 12.Nc6 Bc6 13.Rfd1 Rc8 14.a5 Nh5
15.Bd4 Bd4 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.Rd2 (+.29)
6…e5 7.Nf3[b] h6[c] 8.Bc4[d] Be6[e] 9.Nd2[f] Be7 10.b3 0-0 11.0-0 Bg4 12.Be2 Be6 13.Bb2 Nc6 14.Bd3 d5
15.ed Nd5 16.Nd5 Qd5 17.Nc4 (+.06)
6…e6 7.Be2[g] Nc6[h] 8.0-0 Bd7 9.Be3 Be7 10.f4 0-0 11.Bf3 e5 12.Nf5 Bf5 13.ef Rc8 14.fe de 15.Ne4 Qd1
16.Rad1 Nd4 17.Bd4 ed 18.Rf2 (+.17)
6…Nc6 7.Nc6[i] bc 8.a5 Bb7 9.Bd3 e6 10.0-0 Be7 11.Bf4 d5 12.Qe1 0-0 13.ed cd 14.Na4 Nd7 15.Qc3 Qc8
16.Be3 Bf6 17.Qc8 Rfc8 18.c3 (+.39)


[a]7.g3 Bg4 8.f3 Bd7 9.Be3 Bg7 10.Qd2 0-0 11.g4 Nc6 12.h4 h5 13.g5 Ne8 14.Nd5 Rb8 15.a5 Nc7 (+.33)
7.Bc4 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Qc7 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Be3 Bd7 12.Nb3 Rac8 13.a5 Ne5 14.Qd2 Rfe8 (+.19)
7.f4 Bg7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 Re8 11.h3 Qc7 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Nc6 Bc6 14.a5 e6 15.Bd4 Qe7
16.Rad1 Rac8 17.b3 Red8 18.b4 (=)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Re8 11.h3 Qc7 12.Qd3 Bd7 13.Nc6 Bc6 14.a5 e6 15.Bd4 Qe7
16.Rad1 Rac8 17.b3 (=)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.Bd3 Nd7 10.a5 Bg7 11.Qe2 Nc5 12.Be3 Nd3 13.Qd3 Rb8 14.Bd4 Bd4 15.Qd4 0-0
16.b3 c5 17.Qd3 (=)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.e5 Nd7 10.Be2 bg7 11.ed 0-0 12.0-0 Nf6 13.de Qe7 14.Bf3 Re8 15.h3 Bf5
16.Kh2 Qc7 17.Re1 Re1 18.Qe1 Bc2 19.a5 (-.26)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.e5 Nd7 10.ed ed 11.Qd4 Nf6 12.Bd3 Qe7 13.Qe3 Bg7 14.Qe7 Ke7 15.Bd2 Bf5
16.0-0-0 Bd3 17.cd Rhe8 18.Rhf1 (-.23)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.e5 Nd7 10.ed ed 11.Be3 Be7 12.Bd3 d5 13.0-0 Nc5 14.b4 Nd3 15.Qd3 0-0 16.b5(-.55)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.Be3 Rb8 10.Be2 Rb2 11.e5 Nd7 12.Ne4 Rb4 13.Ng5 h6 14.Qd2 c5 15.c3 Rb8
16.Nf3 Bg7 17.0-0 (-.69)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.Be3 Bg7 10.Be2 Rb8 11.Rb1 Rb4 12.Qd3 0-0 13.0-0 Bg4 14.e5 Bf5 15.Qa6 de
16.fe Nd5 17.Bc5 Nc3 18.bc Rb1 19.Rb1 Bc2 20.Rb7 (-.66)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.Be3 Bg7 10.a5 Rb8 11.Bc1 0-0 12.Be2 Re8 13.0-0- Qc7 14.Bf3 Nd7 15.Qd2 e6 (-.78)
7.f4 Nc6 8.Nc6 bc 9.Be3 Bg7 10.Qd2 Rb8 11.0-0-0 Ne4 (-6.73)
7.Be2 Bg7 8.Be3 0-0 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.0-0 Rb8 11.h3 d5 12.ed Nd5 13.Rfd1 Nc3 14.Qc3 Qd6 15.Qc4 (+.21)
7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.f3 Qc7 12.Nc6 Bc6 13.a5 e6 14.Bb6 Qe7 15.Bc4 Rac8
16.Bb3 Nd7 17.Bd4 (+.29)
7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Re8 10.Be3 Nc6 11.Kh1 Bd7 12.Nf3 Rc8 13.Nd2 d5 14.ed Nb4 15.Nc4 Bg4
16.Nb6 Nfd5 17.Ncd5 Nd5 18.Nc8 Ne3 19.Qd8 Rd8 20.Ne7 (+.10)
7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Nc6 10.Be3
10…Re8 11.Kh1 e5 12.Nc6 bc 13.fe Re5 14.Bd4 Re8 15.Qd2 c5 16.Be3 Rb8 17.Bg5 (+.19)
10…Bd7 11.Nb3 b5 12.ab ab 13.Qd3 Ra1 14.Ra1 b4 15.Nd5 e5 16.f5 Nd5 17.Qd5 gf 18.Qd6 (+.13)
10…Bd7 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.Rad1 Ng4 13.Bg4 Bg4 14.Nc6 Rc6 15.Rde1 Bc3 16.bc Bd7 17.f5 (=)
10…Qc7 11.Qd2 Bg4 12.Nc6 Qc6 13.Nd5 Nd5 14.ed Qd7 15.Bg4 Qg4 16.c4 e6 17.Bd4 Bd4
18.Qd4 ed 19.Qd5 (+.19)
10…Qc7 11.Bf2 BNa5 12.Bh4 Qb6 13.Bf2 Qc7 (=)
10…e6 11.Qd3 Nd4 12.Bd4 Bd7 13.Rad1 Bc6 14.Qe3 Qe7 15.a5 Rfd8 16.g4 e5 17.fe de (+.38)
10…e6 11.Qd2 Nd4 12.Bd4 e5 13.fe de 14.Be3 Qd2 15.Bd2 h6 16.Nd5 Ne4 17.Bb4 Rd8 (+.15)
10…e6 11.Nc6 bc 12.Qd2 a5 13.b3 d5 14.Rad1 Nd7 15.Kh1 Qc7 16.e5 Re8 17.Bf2 Rb8 18.Bg3 (=)
10…e6 11.Nc6 bc 12.a5 Rb8 13.Rb1 Rb4 14.Bf3 Qc7 15.Qd2 c5 16.Rfd1 Ne8 17.e5 de

18.Qd8 Qd8 19.Rd8 (+.05)
10…e6 11.Nc6 bc 12.a5 d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.Na4 f6 15.ef Qf6 16.c3 Qc7 17.b4 e5 18.Qd2 (+1.12)
7.b4 Bg7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.Be2 Qb6 10.b5 ab 11.ab Ra1 12.Ba1 e5 13.Nb3 Be6 14.0-0 Nbd7 15.Qd3 Rc8 (-.76)
[b]7.Nb3 Be7 8.Nd2 Nc6 9.Nc4 Ne4 10.Ne4 d5 11.Be3 de 12.Qd8 Nd8 13.Ne5 Be6 14.0-0-0 Rc8 (+.10)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Nc6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Bf6 Bf6 12.Nd5 Rc8 13.Bg4 Ne7 14.Nf6 gf 15.Be6 fe (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.Bf3 0-0 10.0-0 h6 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.Re1 Re8 13.a5 Qc7 14.h3 Rec8 15.Nd2 (+.19)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Bf6 Bf6 12.Nd5 Rc8 13.Bg4 Ne7 14.Nf6 gf 15.Be5 fe (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bf3 Nbd7 11.Re1 Re8 12.Be3 Qc7 13.h3 Rac8 14.a5 Nf8 15.Nd2 (+.04)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Bf3 Rc8 12.Be3 Nb6 13.Nd2 Nc4 14.Nc4 Rc4 15.a5 (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 h6 12.Be3 Nb6 13.a5 Nc4 14.Bc4 Bc4 15.Rfd1 (-.09)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 ef 11.Bf4 d5 12.ed Nd5 13.Nd5 Bd5 14.Bf3 Qb6 15.Kh1 Bf316.Qf3(=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 Nbd7
11.Kh1 ef 12.Bf4 Ne5 13.Qe1 Kh8 14.Nd4 Rc8 15.Ne6 fe 16.Qg3 Qb6 17.Rab1 Rce8 18.Qh3 (=)
11.f5 Bb3 12.cb Nc5 13.Bf3 Qb6 14.Be3 Qb3 15.Ra3 Qd1 16.Rd1 h6 17.h4 b5 18.ab ab 19.Bc5 (-.09)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nd5 Rc8 10.f3 Bd5 11.ed Na5 12.Qd2 Nb3 13.cb Be7 14.Be2 0-0 15.0-0 h6 (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.g3 Nbd7 10.a5 0-0 11.Bg2 h6 12.0-0 Qc7 13.Re1 Rfb8 14.Bc1 Rc8 15.h3 Bd8 (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Bf3 Qc7 12.Re1 Nb6 13.Nd2 Nc4 14.Nc4 Qc4 15.a5(+.13)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 d5 9.ed Nd5 10.Nd5 Qd5 11.Qd5 Bd5 12.0-0-0 Bb3 13.cb Nc6 14.Kb1 Bb4 15.g3 (+.71)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 d5 9.ed Nd5 10.Nd5 Bd5
11.Nc5 Bc5 12.Bc5 Nc6 13.Qd2 Be6 14.0-0-0 Qd2 15.Rd2 Rd8 16.Be2 Rd2 17.Kd2 f5 18.c4 (+.64)
11.c4 Bb4 12.Bd2 Bd2 13.Qd2 Bc6 14.Bd3 Nd7 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rfd1 a5 17.Bc2 b6 18.Qe3 (-.10)
11.c4 Bb4 12.Bd2 Bd2 13.Qd2 Be6 14.Qd8 Kd8 15.Nc5 Ke7 16.g3 Nc6 17.Bg2 Bc4 18.Rc1 Be6 (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.h3 Nc6 9.Be2 d5 10.ed Nd5 11.Nd5 Qd5 12.Qd5 Bd5 13.0-0 Nb4 14.Bd1 0-0-0 15.Be3 (-.33)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 Nc6 9.Be2 Bb3 10.cb Qb6 11.a5 Qc5 12.Nd5 Nd5 13.Qd5 Qd5 14.ed Nd4 15.Ra4 g6 (=)
7.Nb3 Be6 8.g3 Nc6 9.Bg2 Nb4 10.a5 Qd7 11.Bg5 Be7 12.0-0 Rc8 13.f4 ef 14.gf h6 15.Bh4 0-0 16.Kh1 (=)
7.Nb3 Nc6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bf6 Bf6 10.Nd2 Be6 11.Nc4 Nb4 12.a5 d5 13.ed Nd5 14.Nd5 Qd5
15.Qd5 Bd5 16.Nb6 Rb8 17.Nd5 Rd5 18.Bc4 (+.19)
[c]7…b6 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.Bc4 h6 10.Bh4 Be7 11.0-0 Qc7 12.Nd2 Bb7 13.Bf6 Nf6 14.Qe2 0-0 15.Rfd1 (+.77)
7…b6 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Bb3 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Bf6 Bf6 12.0-0 Nc6 13.Nd5 Rc8 14.Qe2 a5 15.c3 Kh8 (+.80)
7…b6 8.Bc4 Be7 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.0-0 h6 11.Be3 Bb7 12.Qd3 Qc8 13.Rfd1 Nc5 14.Bc5 Qc5 15.Qe2 (+.83)
7…b6 8.Bc4 Be7 9.Bg5 0-0 10.Bf6 Bf6 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Nd5 Be6 13.c3 Ne7 14.Ne3 Bc4 15.Nc4 Qc7 (+1.02)
7…b6 8.Bc4 Bb7 9.Ng5 d5 10.Nd5 Bd5 11.Bd5 Nd5 12.ed Nd7 13.0-0 Bc5 14.Re1 Qe7 15.Qd3 a5 (+2.04)
7…b6 8.Bc4 h6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Qe2 Be7 11.Rd1 Nbd7 12.Nh4 g6 13.g3 Nc5 14.f3 Qc7 15.b3 (+1.30)
7…Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bf6 Bf6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bc4 Rc8 12.Qd3 Nb6 13.Nf6 gf 14.Be6 fe
15.0-0 d5 (+.10)
7…Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bf6 Bf6 10.Nd5 0-0 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Qd3 Nb6 14.Nf6 Qf6
15.Be6 Qe6 16.Rfd1 Rc6 17.c3 (+.28)
7…Be7 8.Bg5 0-0 9.Bf6 Bf6 10.Bc4 Be6 11.Bb3 Nc6 12.Nd5 Rc8 13.0-0 Na5 14.Ba2 Nc4
15.b4 Bd5 16.Qd5 Nb6 17.Qb7 Na4 18.Qa6 (+.25)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 Be6 10.h3 Nb4 11.Ne2 Rc8 12.Ng3 d5 13.ed Qd5 14.Re1 Nd3 15.cd 0-0
16.Re5 Qd7 17.Ng5 (=)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Ng5 Bg4 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Nf3 Be6 13.Ng5 (=)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Bg5 Be6 11.Qe2 Ng4 12.Be7 Qe7 13.Nd2 Nf6 14.Nc4 Qc7
15.Ne3 Qb7 16.Bc4 Nc6 17.Bd5 Bd5 18.Ned5 Nd5 19.Nd5 (+.62)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Nc6 11.Bc4 Nb4 12.Qe2 Qc7 13.Bb3 Ng4 14.Bc1 Nf6
15.Rd1 Be6 16.Be3 Ng4 17.Bg5 Bb3 18.cb Bg5 19.Ng5 (+.54)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Kd2 Kh8 12.Re1 Nbd7 13.Qe2 Nc5 14.Bc5 bc 15.Bc4 (+.96)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.Nc4 Nbd7 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 Rac8 15.Ne3 Nc5
16.Re1 Bd8 17.Bf6 Bf6 18.Ncd5 (+1.05)
7…Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.f4 Nbd7 13.Qe2 (+.10) 13.f5 (-.24) AL-Parr 2017
7…Be7 8.Bc4 0-0 9.Bb3 h6 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Qe2 Na5 12.Ba2 Qc7 13.Re1 Nc6 14.Rd1 Nb4 15.Bb3 (+.05)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.Bg5 Bb3 12.cb Ng4 13.Be7 Qe7 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.b4 (+.15)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Bg4 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Be2 Nc5 11.Nh4 Be6 12.Nf5 Bf5 13.ef d5 14.b4 Nce4 15.Ne4 Ne4 (+.31)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Bg4 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Qc7 11.Ba2 Nbd7 12.a5 Rac8 13.h3 Be6 14.Nh4 Kh8 15.Be3 (+.34)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Ba2 Nc6 10.0-0 Nb4 11.Bb3 0-0 12.Bg5 Nd7 13.Be3 Rc8 14.Qd2 Nb6 15.Bb6 Qb6 (=)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Bb3 Nbd7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Bf6 Nf6 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Qd3 Nd7 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.Qd3 (=)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Bg5 0-0 12.Qd3 Qc7 13.Ne2 Rad8 14.Ng3 d5 15.Qe3 h6 (-.13)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qd3 h6 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Ne2 Rc8 14.Ng3 d5 15.Rad1 Nb4 (=)
7…Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 Nc6 12.Bg5 Rc8 13.Nd2 Nb4 14.Nf3 h6 15.Bf6 Bf6 (-.39)
7…Be7 8.h3 Nc6 9.Be2 Be6 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.0-0 Rc8 12.Bf6 Bf6 13.Nd5 Bd5 14.ed Ne7 15.c4 0-0 (=)
7…Be7 8.Be2 Be6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Ng5 Bd7 11.Nf3 (=)
7…Nbd7 8.Bc4 Be7 9.0-0 Nc5 10.Qe2 0-0 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Bg5 Ne6 13.Nd5 Bg4 14.h3 Bh5 15.Qe3 (+.78)
[d]8.Nd2 d5 9.ed Nd5 10.Nd5 Qd5 11.Nc4 Qd1 12.Kd1 Nc6 13.Be3 Bg4 14.Kc1 (+.17)
[e]8…Qc7 9.Bb3 Be7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Nh4 Nc6 12.Ng6 Re8 13.Ne7 Re7 14.Nd5 Nd5 15.Bd5 (+.19)
8…Qc7 9.Bb3 Be6 10.0-0 Be7 11.Nh4 Nc6 12.Be3 0-0 13.Nf5 Bf5 14.ef Nb4 15.a5 Qc6
16.f4 ef 17.Rf4 d5 (+.61)
8…Qc7 9.Bb3 Be6 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Nh4 (+.60) Balashov-Sunye 1982
[f]9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 Be7 11.Qd3 Nc6 12.Be3 Rc8 13.Ne2 0-0 14.Ng3 d5 15.Rad1 Nb4 16.Qb3 Nc2

17.Ne5 Ne3 18.fe Qe8 19.ed Nd5 20.Qb7 Ne3 21.Rf8 Bf8 22.Re1 (-.09)
9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 Be7 11.Nh4 0-0 12.Ng6 Rf7 13.Qd3 Nc6 14.Rd1 Qe8 15.Ne7 Re7 16.Be3 Rd717.Qe2(-.09)
9.Be6 fe 10.0-0 Be7 11.Nh4 0-0 12.Ng6 Rf7 13.Be3 Nc6 14.f4 Kh7 15.Ne7 Re7 16.a5 ef 17.Bf4 Ne5 (-.09)
9.Qe2 Qc7 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.Nd5 Bd5 12.ed Nb4 13.a5 Nbd5 14.0-0 Be7 15.Rd1 Nb4 16.Be3 Nc6 (+.12)
[g]7.g3 Nc6 8.Bg2 Qc7 9.0-0 Be7 10.f4 Nd4 11.Qd4 0-0 12.Qf2 Bd7 13.h3 Bc6 14.Be3 b5 15.e5 Nd5
16.ab ab 17.Nd5 Bd5 18.Bd5 ed 19.Ra8 Ra8 20.c3 (+.09)
7.Bd3 Be7 8.a5 Nc6 9.Nc6 bc 10.Bd2 d5 11.ed cd 12.Na4 Bb7 13.Nb6 Rb8 14.0-0 Bd6 15.c3 0-0 (+.22)
7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0
9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qe2 Ne5 11.h3 Nd3 12.cd e5 13.Nc2 d5 14.d4 ed 15.Bd4 de 16.Ne4 Ne417.Qe4(+.09)
9.Be3 e5 10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Nd5 Nd5 12.ed Nb4 13.Be2 Bf5 14.Ne1 a5 15.c3 Na6 16.Nc2 Bc2 (+.27)
9.a5 Bd7 10.Be3 Nc6 11.f4 Nb4 12.Qf3 e5 13.Nde2 Qc7 14.Bb6 Qc6 15.Ra4 Nd3 16.cd Bg4 (-.19)
9.f4 Nc6 10.Nc6 bc 11.a5 Qc7 12.Qf3 Rb8 13.b3 d5 14.Be3 c5 15.e5 Nd7 16.Na4 Bb7 17.Qf2 (=)
9.f4 Nbd7 10.g4 g6 11.g5 Ne8 12.h4 e5 13.Nde2 ef 14.Nf4 Ne5 15.Nfd5 Nc7 16.Nc7 Qc7 (+.30)
9.f4 Nbd7 10.Qe2 Nc5 11.Kh1 Bd7 12.Be3 Rc8 13.a5 Ne8 14.Rfd1 Qc7 15.h3 Nd3 16.cd h6 (+.25)
7.f4 Be7 8.g3 Nc6 9.Bg2 Qc7 10.0-0 Nd4 11.Qd4 0-0 12.Qd3 Rb8 13.Be3 b6 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.Rad1 Nd7 (=)
7.f4 d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Nce2 Nc6 10.g3 Bc5 11.Bg2 Ndb8 12.Be3 Nd4 13.Nd4 Qb6 14.Qd2 Nc6 15.c3 (+.43)
7.f4 d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Bd3 Bc5 10.Nb3 Nc6 11.Nc5 Nc5 12.0-0 0-0 13.Ne2 f6 14.ef Rf6 15.Be3 Nd3 (+.24)
7.f4 d5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.Nce2 Nc5 11.0-0 Be7 12.c3 Nd3 13.Qd3 0-0 14.Be3 Bd7 15.b4 Qc7 (+.38)
7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 e5 9.fe de 10.Nf5 Bf5 11.Qd8 Bd8 12.ef Ba5 13.0-0-0 Bc3 14.bc Nbd7 15.Be2 Rc8 (=)
7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.h3 Nd4 11.Bd4 e5 12.Be3 ef 13.Bf4 Qb6 14.Qd2 Nh5 15.Be3 Bh4 (=)
7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Be2 e5 10.Nb3 ef 11.Bf4 Nc6 12.0-0 Be6 13.Nd4 Ne5 14.Be3 Re8 15.Nf5 Bf5 (=)
7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Be2 Qc7 10.g4 d5 11.e5 Nfd7 12.g5 Nc6 13.0-0 Bc5 14.Qd2 b6 15.Nc6 Qc6 (+.09)
7.Be3 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Be2 Qc7 10.0-0 e5 11.Nb3 ef 12.Bf4 Nbd7 13.Nd4 Ne5 14.Qe1 Re8 15.Rd1 Bd7 (=)
7.Be3 Be7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 e5 10.Nb3 Be6 11.Bf3 Nbd7 12.Re1 Qc7 13.a5 h6 14.Qe2 Qc6 15.Qd3 (+.16)
7.Be3 Be7 8.Be2 Bd7 9.0-0 Nc6
10.Nb3 0-0 11.a5 Rc8 12.f4 e5 13.f5 Nb4 14.Bb6 Qe8 15.Qd2 Rc6 16.Rad1 Rb6 17.ab (+.21)
10.g4 h5 11.gh Nd4 12.Bd4 Qa5 13.f4 e5 14.Be3 ef 15.Bf4 Nh5 16.Bh5 Qh5 17.Nd5 (-.35)
10.g4 h5 11.g5 Ng4 12.Nc6 Ne3 13.Nd8 Nd1 14.Rad1 Bd8 15.Rd6 Bg5 16.Rfd1 0-0-0 17.b4 (-.50)
10.g4 0-0 11.g5 Ne8 12.h4 Nd4 13.Qd4 g6 14.Rad1 Ng7 15.Qd2 Rc8 16.Bd4 f5 17.gf Bf6
18.Bf6 Qf6 19.Qd6 Qh4 20.Qd7 (=)
10.g4 0-0 11.g5 Ne8 12.f4 e5 13.Nc6 Bc6 14.h4 ef 15.Rf4 Nc7 16.Nd5 Bd5 17.ed Bg5
18.hg Qg5 19.Kf2 Nd5 20.Qd4 Nf4 21.Qf4 Qf4 22.Bf4 (+.64)
10.g4 0-0 11.g5 Ne8 12.f4 e5 13.Nc6 bc 14.h4 ef 15.Rf4 Rb8 16.b3 Nc7 17.Qd2 (-.27)
[h]7…Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 e5 10.Nb3 Bd7 11.a5 Bc6 12.Qd3 Nbd7 13.f5 Qc7 14.Be3 Nc5 15.Nc5 dc
16.Bf3 Rfd8 17.Qe2 (+.02)
7…Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Nc6 10.Be3
10…Bd7 11.Bf3 Rc8 12.Nc6 Bc6 13.a5 Qc7 14.Qd2 Nd7 15.Rfd1 h6 16.g3 Nf6 17.Bd4 (+.13)
10…Nd4 11.Bd4 b6 12.Kh1 Bb7 13.Qd3 Nd7 14.f5 e5 15.Bf2 Qc7 16.Qf3 Nf6 17.Bd3 (+.56)
10…Nd4 11.Bd4 Bd7 12.e5 Ne8 13.Qd3 Bc6 14.Qe3 de 15.Bb6 Qc8 16.fe f5 17.ef Nf6 18.Rad1(+.75)
10…Nd4 11.Qd4 Qc7 12.a5 Bd7 13.e5 de 14.fe Ne8 15.Bd3 f5 16.Ne2 Rd8 17.Qc3 (+.42)
10…Nd4 11.Qd4 Bd7 12.e5 Ne8 13.Rad1 Rc8 14.Qb4 Bc6 15.Bb6 Qd7 16.Qd4 g6 17.Rfe1 (+.79)
7…Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Be3 Nc6 10.f4 Bd7 11.Bf3 Rc8 12.Nc6 Bc6 13.a5 Qc7 14.Qd2 h6 15.Rfd1 Nd7 (+.19)
7…Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Be3 e5 10.Nb3 Be6 11.Bf3 Nbd7 12.Re1 Rc8 13.a5 Rc4 14.Nd2 Rb4 15.b3 Qc7 (+.23)
7…Nbd7 8.f4 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Be3 Nc5 11.Bf3 Re8 12.a5 e5 13.Nf5 Bf5 14.ef Rc8 15.Kh1 h616.Qd2(+.75)
7…Bd7 8.a5 Be7 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 h6 11.Qd3 Nc6 12.Nc6 Bc6 13.Rfd1 Nd7 14.Bd4 Ne5 15.Qe3 (+.22)
7…h6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qd3 0-0 10.a5 Bd7 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Qg3 Kh8 13.Be3 Nc6 14.Nc6 Bc6 15.Bd4 Rg8(+.46)
7…b6 8.Bf3 Ra7 9.Be3 Rc7 10.a5 ba 11.Nb3 Nfd7 12.Na5 Be7 13.0-0 0-0 14.Be2 Nc6 15.Nb3 Nc5 (+.86)
[I]7.Be2 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Nc6 bc 10.Qd3 0-0 11.Qg3 Rb8 12.b3 a5 13.Bh6 Ne8 14.Bd2 Bh4 15.Qd3 e5 (+.26)
7.Be2 e5 8.Nc6 bc 9.Bg5 a5 10.Qd3 h6 11.Bd2 Qb6 12.0-0 Qd4 13.Rad1 Qd3 14.Bd3 Be7 15.h3 0-0 (+.08)
7.Be2 e5 8.Nc6 bc 9.f4 a5 10.0-0 Be7 11.Qe1 0-0 12.Kh1 Nd7 13.f5 Bb7 14.Bf3 Re8 15.Qg3 Kh8 16.b3 (=)
7.Be2 e5 8.Nc6 bc 9.f4 Qa5 10.0-0
10…Qc7 11.fe de 12.a5 Be7 13.Be3 Be6 14.Bb6 Qb7 15.Na4 0-0 16.Bd3 Rfc8 17.b3 (+.54)
10…Be7 11.Qe1 0-0b 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.fe Nd5 14.ed cd 15.Bf4 de 16.Be5 Bd6 17.Bd6 Qd6 (+.36)
10…Rb8 11.fe de 12.Kh1 Be7 13.Qe1 Be6 14.Bd2 Qc7 15.b3 Ra8 16.Qg3 0-0 17.Bh6 Ne8 (+.86)
10…Rb8 11.Kh1 Be7 12.fe Qe5 13.Bf4 Qc5 14.a5 0-0 15.h3 Re8 16.Qe1 h6 17.b3 Be6 18.Bd3 (+.66)
10…Rb8 11.Kh1 Be7 12.fe de 13.Qe1 Qc7 14.a5 0-0 15.b3 Kh8 16.Bg5 Bb7 17.Bc4 Ne8 (+.92)
10…Rb8 11.Kh1 Be7 12.fe de 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Be6 fe 15.Qe2 0-0 16.Rf3 Rb4 17.Bd2 Qd818.b3(+.37)
10…Rb8 11.Kh1 Be7 12.fe de 13.Bc4 0-0 14.Qe1 Rb7 (+.72) 14…Kh8(+.86) Fishbein-Browne 1994
7.Be2 g6 8.Nc6 bc 9.a5 Be6 10.Be3 Bg7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.Bb6 Qb7 14.f4 Nd7 15.Bd4 Bd4 (+.45)
7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bd5 Ne3 9.Ne3 e6 10.c3 Bd7 11.Be2 Be7 12.Qd2 0-0 13.Bg2 Bd7 14.0-0 Rfd8 15.Rfc1 Bf6(=)
7.Be3 g6 8.a5 Ng4 9.Nc6 Ne3 10.Nd8 Nd1 11.Kd1 Kd8 12.Na4 Rb8 13.Nb6 Bd7 14.Nd7 Kd7 15.c3e6(+.39)
7.Be3 g6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.Nc6 bc 10.e5 Nd5 11.Nd5 cd 12.Qd5 Be6 13.Qd2 Be5 14.c3 0-0 15.0-0 Qa5 (+.32)
7.Be3 g6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.Nc6 Bc6 12.f3 Qc7 13.a5 e6 14.Bb6 Qe7 15.Bc4 Nd7 (+.35)
7.Be3 g6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Nc6 Bc6 11.f3 0-0 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.a5 e6 14.Bb6 Qe7 15.Bc4 Rfc8 (+.30)

 

 
Alan Lasser
blacklightmazes@icloud.com
website: blacklightmazes.com

 

OPEN STUDY IN SILENCE AND STRATEGY BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS ATTENDANCE

2016: 13, 12, 8, 7, 8, 4, 8, 3, 12.

2017: 10, 10, 9, 8, 5, 6, 16, 18, 15 10, 8, 5.

2018:  8, 9, 11, 12, 7, 10, 11, 13, 8, 12, 13, 18.

2019: 12, 23, 12, 12, 10, 7, 11, 8. 9, 15, 14, 10.

2020: 12.


I am looking for help financing the "Coventry Chess USCF Tournaments" and the "Connecticut Chess Magazine".  So far my only revenue source has been from tournament entry fees. Our first tournament was May 2016, and we've held one per month ever since.

We've had only 10 that generated extra revenue over current expenses. We had 9 tournaments that broke-even, and 27 tournaments that lost money.  I am hundreds in the red.  I doubt I will ever see that money again.

We have 3 tournaments coming up: Feb 22, Mar 21, and Apr 18, after which our USCF program in Coventry will have been in operation for four complete years, with 49 tournaments completed. It takes a long time to build up a chess program.

I give acknowledgement to Joe Bihlmeyer, without whom our program would have failed back in 2018.  Joe is an asset to us in many ways. Everybody is friends with Joe. He is generous with giving chess advice to anyone.  Joe has also kept us alive financially, donating hundreds of dollars to us.

Connecticut Chess Magazine began March 2010, and so far has had 192,000 visitors.  I give acknowledgement to Alan Lasser, writing "Game of the Week" column for many years.   We are a bona-fide magazine because of his chess column, without it CCM would be merely announcements and reports.

I include the New Britain Chess Club, Conn State Chess Assoc., Play More Chess Academy in Hamden, and West Hartford Scholastics by Norman Burtness.  I also want to acknowledge all the new officers of the state chess association. IM Jan Van de Mortel is doing a great job as president.

Coach Dan Starbuck Pelletier is activating chess, especially in the Weston-Wilton area. Newcomer Suhas Kodali is backup TD and reporter at NBCC.  Bob Cyr, state chess historian, writes frequently.

 

 

2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN  FEB. 22

3SS, G/60 d5. Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St. (Rt 31), Coventry, CT 06238. EF: $35 Cash Only Onsite Only. $$GTD: $160-80. Reg.: 9:45 am - 10:10 am. Rds.: 10:30, 1:30, 3:45. One Section. Accel.Pairings. W. INFO: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com

 

 

Check our SNOW-CANCEL page

 

 

 

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN SET AND CLOCK

 

Please bring your chess sets and clocks with you.

The TD is under no obligation to supply equipment.

Historically I have always brought extras that I

loan out, but this is getting harder for me to do.

Please bring your own score-book, pen and/or pencil.

I don't get payment from anybody to run this program.

We pay rent to Town & Rec for use of this building.

All our expenses get paid from our tournaments.

 

LOST EQUIPMENT

 

Players forget to take equipment with them when they leave.

None of the items have identifying markings on them.

Players should mark their equipment with their name and email.

I have several items past the 90 days I usually hold them for.

Email a description to ConnecticutChess@gmail.com

 

 

 

Alan Lasser (1963)-Shane Parr (1625)

 

GM Maxime Vachier-LaGrave (2780) - GM Ding Liren (2801)

 

GM Giri Anish (2747) - GM Bassem Amin (2610), GAME OF THE WEEK

 

ANNUAL WILD SNAIL ISSUE  BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

HAYES GOODMAN WINS 2019 HOLIDAY PARTY OPEN

 

NEW CHESS CLUB IN HAMDEN CONNECTICUT

 

GOING BACK IN TIME WITH BOB CYR

 

GAME OF THE WEEK BY ALAN LASSER

 

HOW TO SET YOUR DIGITAL CHESS CLOCK

 

HISTORY OF NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB BY BOB CYR

 

2020 CONSTITUTION STATE OPEN  MAR. 21

3SS, G/60 d5. Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St. (Rt 31), Coventry, CT 06238. EF: $35 Cash Only Onsite Only. $$GTD: $160-80. Reg.: 9:45 am - 10:10 am. Rds.: 10:30, 1:30, 3:45. One Section. Accel.Pairings. W. INFO: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com

 

 

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR UPDATES

ConnecticutChess@Gmail.Com

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS CLUB

Top Frequent Players (after tnmt #46)

33 Joe Bihlmeyer

20 Rob Roy

18 Art Nagel

15 Derek Meredith

15 Mark Bourque

14 Hayes Goodman

13 Dan Smith

11 Larry Lafosse

10 Dan Zhou

10 Joshua Berkun

 

 

 

2020 MILL BROOK PARK OPEN  APR. 18

 

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News about Connecticut events in 2020 will be posted here as soon as the pieces start moving again. Last year's news can be found here: 2019.

There are several CSCA events coming up:

  1. 2020 CT Grade Championship will take place on Saturday February 8 at the Roosevelt School in Bridgeport.
  2. CSCA Regional Scholastic Chess Tournament in southern Connecticut on February 29 or March 1 (more details will be announced soon).
  3. CT K-12 State Championship will take place on March 7 at Manchester High School (more details will be announced soon).

For more registration and more information on these and other upcoming chess events in Connecticut please visit our calendar.

 

 

2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN  - FEB 22

 

Sunday, January 26, 2020

2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN FEB. 22

New Britain Chess Club

Norman Burtness, President 

newbritainchessclub@gmail.com

Armenian Church, 1910 Stanley St.

Tues. 6:30 pm

 

USATE TEAMS FORMING

USATE (US Amateur Team East) The largest team chess tournament in the world will be held in Parsippany, New Jersey from Feb 15-17.  Teams of 4 compete in the 6 round event. If you would like to be on a team, now is the time to form one. NBCC typically fields 2-3 teams.  Talk to Norman or Suhas if you would like to form a team.  

 

 

Saturday February 22, Rob Roy hosts 2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN

$160-1st, $80-2nd. Guaranteed.

3 Round Swiss, G/60;d5 Affects both quick and regular rating. Round Times: 10:30, 1:30, 3:45.  Entry Fees: $35 Cash Only On-site Only: 9:45 am - 10:10 am. No Advance Entry. One Section. Accelerated Pairings. Wheelchair Accessible. Site: Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St., Coventry, CT 06238 Across street from Bidwell Tavern is our stone building at rear of parking lot 

Double-Check our SNOW-CANCEL page

 

JORDAN GROFF WINS 2020 GREATER HARTFORD OPEN

 


Play More Chess Academy
1227 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
Email: info@PlayMoreChess.com | Phone: 203.680.0657

 

With 5-0 score Beatrice Low has won Connecticut State Girls' Championship for the fourth time in five years.

Shesh Budhabhatti (winner of 2018) and Haneesha Atkuri tied for second, Shesh clinching the qualification spot to the NNCT on tiebreakers.

Irving A. Robbins Middle School from Farmington won the team trophy. 

Final standings - Crosstable

 

 

LIST OF CHESS CLUBS IN CONNECTICUT

 

GAME OF THE WEEK   by Alan Lasser

It seems everyone has some off-beat line ready against the Sicilian players. If you fear your opponent has better book knowledge of the main lines, you can try 2.c3, the Smith-Morra, the currently popular 2.b3, the Closed Sicilian, or the Kopec System; all of which have a better reputation than the Wing Gambit(although, after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6, 3.b4 is a favorable transposition).

Another unusual approach is the 6.a4 played here. Everyone knows the basic Sicilian plan, play a6 and b5 and attack on the queenside; if Black is really lucky, White will castle in it. 6.a4 prevents that easy queenside advance, but it doesn’t affect the center so perhaps it is not a real attempt to press for an advantage; but if it wasn’t for moves like a4, rook lifts wouldn’t be possible.

Alan Lasser(1963)-Shane Parr(1625)
UMass Chess Club, 1/23/20
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 d6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 a6
6.a4 e5
7.Nf3 Stockfish agrees that the usual Nb3 is not the preference here. 7.Nb3 Be7 8. Nd2 Nc6 9. Nc4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 d5 11. Be3 dxe4 12. Qxd8+ Nxd8 13. Nxe5 Be6 14. O-O-O Rc8 15. Rd4 f5 +0.10
7...b6?!
7...Be7 +0.39/24 8.Bg5 Lasser-Parr 2017 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.f4 Nbd7 13.f5 Nc5 14.g4 d5 15.g5 Nfe4 16.Nce4 de 17.Bc4 Rad8 18.g6 hg 19.fg Bf6 20.Qh5 1-0 8...O-O 8...Be6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Nd7 11. Bc4 Rc8 12. Qd3 Nb6 13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. O-O d5 +0.10 Stockfish 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Bc4 Bg4 11.h3
7...h6 8.Bc4 8. Nd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Nc4 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 Nc6 13. Be3 Bg4+ 14. Kc1 +0.17 Stockfish 8...Qc7 9.Bb3 Be6 9... Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Nh4 Nc6 12. Ng6 Re8 13. Nxe7+ Rxe7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Bxd5 +0.19 Stockfish 10.O-O Nbd7 10...Be7 11. Nh4 Nc6 12. Be3 O-O 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. exf5 Nb4 15. a5 Qc6 16. f4 exf4 17. Rxf4 d5 +0.61 Stockfish 11.Nh4 Balashov-Sunye 1982 cited in MCO-15, Stockfish thinks it's +0.60
8.Bc4 h6
9.O-O Bb7
10.Qe2 Be7
11.Rd1 Nbd7
12.Nh4 Nc5?! +1.54/22
12...g6 +1.17/22 13.Nf3 13. g3 Nc5 14. f3 Qc7 15. b3 Ne6 16. Be3 Kf8 17. Qf2 Nc5 18. Ng2 +1.30 Stockfish 13...Qc7 14.Ne1 g5 15.f3 g4 16.Be3 gxf3 17.Nxf3 Nxe4 18.Nd5 Qd8 19.c3 Kf8 20.Kh1 b5 21.Ba2 Ndc5 22.Nxe5 dxe5
12...Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Qxe4 Bxh4 15.Rxd6 Ra7 16.Be3 Be7 17.Qf5 Rf8 18.Rd5 Qc8 19.Rad1 Qxc4 20.Rxd7 g6 21.Rxa7 gxf5 22.Ra8+ Bd8 23.Rdxd8+ Ke7 24.Rxf8 f4 25.Bxb6 Qb4 26.Rfe8+ Kf6 27.Bd8+ Kf5 28.h3 +7.50 Stockfish
13.Nf5 O-O? +3.29/22
13...Ncxe4 +1.50/20 14.Nxg7+ Kf8 15.Nxe4 15. Nf5 Qd7 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Nxe7 Qxe7 18. Bxa6 Qd7 19. Bb5 Bc6 20. Be3 Rg8 21. Bxh6+ Ke7 22. f3 +3.31 Stockfish 15...Bxe4 16.Nh5 Bc6 17.Nxf6 Bxf6 18.Bxa6 Qd7 19.Be3 e4
13...g6 14.Nxe7 Qxe7 15.f3 Kf8 16.Be3 Rc8 17.Ba2 Kg7 18.Qd2 Bc6 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Rxd6 Nb7 21.Rd2 +2.57 Stockfish
14.Nd5?! +2.16/22
14.Bxh6 +3.29/22 14...g6 15.Nxe7+ 15. Qe3 Ncxe4 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Bxf8 Rxf8 18. Qxb6 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Ne4 20. Bxa6 Ba8 21. a5 +5.77 Stockfish 15...Qxe7 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 17.Bd5 Bc8 18.Qe3 Qc7 19.Qh6 Ne6 20.Bxe6 Bxe6 21.Rd3 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Rf3
14…Nxd5
15.Bxd5 Re8? +4.36/24
15...Bxd5 +2.17/21 16.Rxd5 Ne6 17.Ra3 Bg5 18.Rxd6 Qf6 19.Bxg5 hxg5 20.Qh5 g4 21.Qxg4 21. h4 Rab8 22. Rb3 Rfe8 23. Qxg4 Qg6 24. Qd1 Qf6 25. Rdxb6 Rxb6 26. Rxb6 +6.11 Stockfish 21...Rad8 22.Rad3 Rxd6 23.Rxd6 Rd8 24.Rxb6 Qg5 25.h3
16.Bxh6? +2.46/22
16.Qg4 +4.36/24 16...Bg5 17.h4 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 g6 19.hxg5 h5 20.Nh6+ Kg7 21.Qh4 21. Qf3 Qe7 22. Rxd6 Qxd6 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Qxe8+ Rxe8 25. Nf7+ Kh7 26. Nxd6 +8.47 Stockfish 21...Qc7 22.Be3 Rf8 23.f4 Rab8 24.b3
16...g6 Up to this point we played without a clock, the rest of the game was at game/30.
17.Ra3 Bf8? +4.60/22
17...Bxd5 +2.54/19 18.Rxd5 Ne6 19.Rg3 Qc7 20.h4 20. Qg4 Rad8 21. Be3 Bf6 22. h4 Ng7 23. Bh6 Nxf5 24. exf5 Kh7 25. Bd2 Rg8 26. fxg6+ Rxg6 27. Qh5+ Kg8 28. Rxg6+ fxg6 29. Qxg6+ Qg7 30. Qf5 +6.03 Stockfish 20...Kh8 21.Qf3 Rac8 22.Ne3 Bxh4 23.Rh3 Bd8 24.Ng4 Kg8 25.Be3 Bg5 26.Nf6+
18.Rg3?! +3.05/23
18.Bxf8 +4.60/22 18...Kxf8 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.Bxb7 Nxb7 21.Rxd6 Nxd6 22.f3 Re6 23.Rc3 Ne8 24.Qc4 Kg7 25.Rd3 Ra7 26.c3 a5 27.Qc8 Rae7 28.b3 f5
18.Bxb7 Nxb7 19.Qg4 Be7 20.Rg3 Bf6 21.Qh5 Bg7 22.Qh3 Bf6 23.Bc1 Nc5 24.Qh6 Ne6 25.Rxg6+ fxg6 26.Qxg6+ Bg7 27.Nh6+ Kh8 28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Nxd8 Raxd8 +9.66 Stockfish
18…Bxd5
19.Rxd5 Bxh6? +5.98/24
19...Ne6 +2.57/22 20.Qh5 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Nxd6 Nf4 22. Qf3 Qf6 23. Nxe8 Rxe8 24. Rd2 Kg7 25. Qd1 Qc6 26. Re3 Qxa4 27. Rd7 +5.48 Stockfish 20...Ng7 21.Qh3 Qc8 22.Bxg7 Bxg7 23.Rc3 Qe6 24.Nxd6 Qxh3 25.Rxh3 Red8 26.Rc3 b5 27.a5 Bf8
20.Rxd6? +3.44/23
20.Nxh6+ +5.98/24 20...Kg7 During the game I thought Black would get away by 20...Kf8, not seeing long mating variations such as 21. Qf3 f6 22. Rxg6 Ne6 23. Rxd6 Nf4 24. Rdxf6+ Qxf6 25. Qa3+ Qd6 26.Qd6 Re7 27.Rg8# 21.Nf5+ Kf8 22.Rxd6 22. Nxd6 Ne6 23. Qf3 Nf4 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 25. Rxd8 Raxd8 26. Rg5 Kg7 27. Qg4 Rf8 28. Rxe5 +9.71 Stockfish 22...Nxe4 23.Rxd8 Rexd8 24.Ne3 Nxg3 25.hxg3 Ra7 26.Nc4 b5 27.Nxe5 Re7 28.f4 Kg7 29.Qe4 Rd6 30.axb5 axb5 31.Qb4 Rd1+ 32.Kf2 Re6 33.Nf3 Rd5 34.c3 f6 35.Nd4 Re4 36.b3 f5 37.Kf3 Kg8
20...Qc7? +13.96/25
20...Bg7 +3.44/23 21.Rxd8 Raxd8 22.Nxg7 Kxg7 23.f3 23. h4 Rd4 24. h5 Rxe4 25. Re3 Rxa4 26. hxg6 Rh8 27. f3 Kxg6 28. Rxe5 +6.63 Stockfish 23...Ra8 24.Qc4 Rad8 25.b3 Rd1+ 26.Kf2 Rc8
21.Nxh6+ Kf8
22.Rf6 1-0

 

 

 

https://beta.chesstempo.com/pgn-viewer/

 

Cut & Paste the code below, and LOAD into webpage above

 

 

 


[Event "skittles+game/30"]
[Site "UMass Chess Club"]
[Date "2020.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alan Lasser"]
[Black "Shane Parr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "1625"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "1963"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 e5 7.Nf3
{ Stockfish agrees that the usual Nb3 is not the preference here. 7.Nb3 Be7
8. Nd2 Nc6 9. Nc4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 d5 11. Be3 dxe4 12. Qxd8+ Nxd8 13. Nxe5 Be6
14. O-O-O Rc8 15. Rd4 f5 +0.10 } 7...b6 $6 ( 7...Be7 { +0.39/24 } 8.Bg5
{ Lasser-Parr 2017 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.f4 Nbd7
13.f5 Nc5 14.g4 d5 15.g5 Nfe4 16.Nce4 de 17.Bc4 Rad8 18.g6 hg 19.fg Bf6
20.Qh5 1-0 } 8...O-O
{ 8...Be6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Nd7 11. Bc4 Rc8 12. Qd3 Nb6 13. Nxf6+ gxf6
14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. O-O d5 +0.10 Stockfish } 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Bc4 Bg4 11.h3 ) (
7...h6 8.Bc4
{ 8. Nd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Nc4 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 Nc6 13. Be3
Bg4+ 14. Kc1 +0.17 Stockfish } 8...Qc7 9.Bb3 Be6
{ 9... Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Nh4 Nc6 12. Ng6 Re8 13. Nxe7+ Rxe7 14. Nd5 Nxd5
15. Bxd5 +0.19 Stockfish } 10.O-O Nbd7
{ 10...Be7 11. Nh4 Nc6 12. Be3 O-O 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. exf5 Nb4 15. a5 Qc6 16.
f4 exf4 17. Rxf4 d5 +0.61 Stockfish } 11.Nh4
{ Balashov-Sunye 1982 cited in MCO-15, Stockfish thinks it's +0.60 } ) 8.Bc4
h6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Qe2 Be7 11.Rd1 Nbd7 12.Nh4 Nc5 $6 { +1.54/22 } ( 12...g6
{ +1.17/22 } 13.Nf3
{ 13. g3 Nc5 14. f3 Qc7 15. b3 Ne6 16. Be3 Kf8 17. Qf2 Nc5 18. Ng2 +1.30
Stockfish } 13...Qc7 14.Ne1 g5 15.f3 g4 16.Be3 gxf3 17.Nxf3 Nxe4 18.Nd5 Qd8
19.c3 Kf8 20.Kh1 b5 21.Ba2 Ndc5 22.Nxe5 dxe5 ) ( 12...Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4
14.Qxe4 Bxh4 15.Rxd6 Ra7 16.Be3 Be7 17.Qf5 Rf8 18.Rd5 Qc8 19.Rad1 Qxc4
20.Rxd7 g6 21.Rxa7 gxf5 22.Ra8+ Bd8 23.Rdxd8+ Ke7 24.Rxf8 f4 25.Bxb6 Qb4
26.Rfe8+ Kf6 27.Bd8+ Kf5 28.h3 { +7.50 Stockfish } ) 13.Nf5 O-O $2
{ +3.29/22 } ( 13...Ncxe4 { +1.50/20 } 14.Nxg7+ Kf8 15.Nxe4
{ 15. Nf5 Qd7 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Nxe7 Qxe7 18. Bxa6 Qd7 19. Bb5 Bc6 20. Be3
Rg8 21. Bxh6+ Ke7 22. f3 +3.31 Stockfish } 15...Bxe4 16.Nh5 Bc6 17.Nxf6 Bxf6
18.Bxa6 Qd7 19.Be3 e4 ) ( 13...g6 14.Nxe7 Qxe7 15.f3 Kf8 16.Be3 Rc8 17.Ba2
Kg7 18.Qd2 Bc6 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Rxd6 Nb7 21.Rd2 { +2.57 Stockfish } ) 14.Nd5
$6 { +2.16/22 } ( 14.Bxh6 { +3.29/22 } 14...g6 15.Nxe7+
{ 15. Qe3 Ncxe4 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Bxf8 Rxf8 18. Qxb6 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Ne4 20.
Bxa6 Ba8 21. a5 +5.77 Stockfish } 15...Qxe7 16.Bxf8 Rxf8 17.Bd5 Bc8 18.Qe3
Qc7 19.Qh6 Ne6 20.Bxe6 Bxe6 21.Rd3 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Rf3 ) 14...Nxd5 15.Bxd5
Re8 $2 { +4.36/24 } ( 15...Bxd5 { +2.17/21 } 16.Rxd5 Ne6 17.Ra3 Bg5 18.Rxd6
Qf6 19.Bxg5 hxg5 20.Qh5 g4 21.Qxg4
{ 21. h4 Rab8 22. Rb3 Rfe8 23. Qxg4 Qg6 24. Qd1 Qf6 25. Rdxb6 Rxb6 26. Rxb6
+6.11 Stockfish } 21...Rad8 22.Rad3 Rxd6 23.Rxd6 Rd8 24.Rxb6 Qg5 25.h3 )
16.Bxh6 $2 { +2.46/22 } ( 16.Qg4 { +4.36/24 } 16...Bg5 17.h4 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 g6
19.hxg5 h5 20.Nh6+ Kg7 21.Qh4
{ 21. Qf3 Qe7 22. Rxd6 Qxd6 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Qxe8+ Rxe8 25. Nf7+ Kh7 26.
Nxd6 +8.47 Stockfish } 21...Qc7 22.Be3 Rf8 23.f4 Rab8 24.b3 ) 16...g6
{ Up to this point we played without a clock, the rest of the game was at
game/30. } 17.Ra3 Bf8 $2 { +4.60/22 } ( 17...Bxd5 { +2.54/19 } 18.Rxd5 Ne6
19.Rg3 Qc7 20.h4
{ 20. Qg4 Rad8 21. Be3 Bf6 22. h4 Ng7 23. Bh6 Nxf5 24. exf5 Kh7 25. Bd2 Rg8
26. fxg6+ Rxg6 27. Qh5+ Kg8 28. Rxg6+ fxg6 29. Qxg6+ Qg7 30. Qf5 +6.03
Stockfish } 20...Kh8 21.Qf3 Rac8 22.Ne3 Bxh4 23.Rh3 Bd8 24.Ng4 Kg8 25.Be3 Bg5
26.Nf6+ ) 18.Rg3 $6 { +3.05/23 } ( 18.Bxf8 { +4.60/22 } 18...Kxf8 19.Nxd6
Qxd6 20.Bxb7 Nxb7 21.Rxd6 Nxd6 22.f3 Re6 23.Rc3 Ne8 24.Qc4 Kg7 25.Rd3 Ra7
26.c3 a5 27.Qc8 Rae7 28.b3 f5 ) ( 18.Bxb7 Nxb7 19.Qg4 Be7 20.Rg3 Bf6 21.Qh5
Bg7 22.Qh3 Bf6 23.Bc1 Nc5 24.Qh6 Ne6 25.Rxg6+ fxg6 26.Qxg6+ Bg7 27.Nh6+ Kh8
28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Nxd8 Raxd8 { +9.66 Stockfish } ) 18...Bxd5 19.Rxd5 Bxh6 $2
{ +5.98/24 } ( 19...Ne6 { +2.57/22 } 20.Qh5
{ 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Nxd6 Nf4 22. Qf3 Qf6 23. Nxe8 Rxe8 24. Rd2 Kg7 25. Qd1
Qc6 26. Re3 Qxa4 27. Rd7 +5.48 Stockfish } 20...Ng7 21.Qh3 Qc8 22.Bxg7 Bxg7
23.Rc3 Qe6 24.Nxd6 Qxh3 25.Rxh3 Red8 26.Rc3 b5 27.a5 Bf8 ) 20.Rxd6 $2
{ +3.44/23 } ( 20.Nxh6+ { +5.98/24 } 20...Kg7
{ During the game I thought Black would get away by 20...Kf8, not seeing
long mating variations such as 21. Qf3 f6 22. Rxg6 Ne6 23. Rxd6 Nf4 24.
Rdxf6+ Qxf6 25. Qa3+ Qd6 26.Qd6 Re7 27.Rg8# } 21.Nf5+ Kf8 22.Rxd6
{ 22. Nxd6 Ne6 23. Qf3 Nf4 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 25. Rxd8 Raxd8 26. Rg5 Kg7 27. Qg4
Rf8 28. Rxe5 +9.71 Stockfish } 22...Nxe4 23.Rxd8 Rexd8 24.Ne3 Nxg3 25.hxg3
Ra7 26.Nc4 b5 27.Nxe5 Re7 28.f4 Kg7 29.Qe4 Rd6 30.axb5 axb5 31.Qb4 Rd1+
32.Kf2 Re6 33.Nf3 Rd5 34.c3 f6 35.Nd4 Re4 36.b3 f5 37.Kf3 Kg8 ) 20...Qc7 $2
{ +13.96/25 } ( 20...Bg7 { +3.44/23 } 21.Rxd8 Raxd8 22.Nxg7 Kxg7 23.f3
{ 23. h4 Rd4 24. h5 Rxe4 25. Re3 Rxa4 26. hxg6 Rh8 27. f3 Kxg6 28. Rxe5
+6.63 Stockfish } 23...Ra8 24.Qc4 Rad8 25.b3 Rd1+ 26.Kf2 Rc8 ) 21.Nxh6+ Kf8
22.Rf6 1-0

 

 
Alan Lasser
blacklightmazes@icloud.com
website: blacklightmazes.com

 

OPEN STUDY IN SILENCE AND STRATEGY BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

Connecticut State Chess Association

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS ATTENDANCE

2016: 13, 12, 8, 7, 8, 4, 8, 3, 12.

2017: 10, 10, 9, 8, 5, 6, 16, 18, 15 10, 8, 5.

2018:  8, 9, 11, 12, 7, 10, 11, 13, 8, 12, 13, 18.

2019: 12, 23, 12, 12, 10, 7, 11, 8. 9, 15, 14, 10.

2020: 12.


I am looking for help financing the "Coventry Chess USCF Tournaments" and the "Connecticut Chess Magazine".  So far my only revenue source has been from tournament entry fees. Our first tournament was May 2016, and we've held one per month ever since.

We've had only 10 that generated extra revenue over current expenses. We had 9 tournaments that broke-even, and 27 tournaments that lost money.  I am hundreds in the red.  I doubt I will ever see that money again.

We have 3 tournaments coming up: Feb 22, Mar 21, and Apr 18, after which our USCF program in Coventry will have been in operation for four complete years, with 49 tournaments completed. It takes a long time to build up a chess program.

I give acknowledgement to Joe Bihlmeyer, without whom our program would have failed back in 2018.  Joe is an asset to us in many ways. Everybody is friends with Joe. He is generous with giving chess advice to anyone.  Joe has also kept us alive financially, donating hundreds of dollars to us.

Connecticut Chess Magazine began March 2010, and so far has had 192,000 visitors.  I give acknowledgement to Alan Lasser, writing "Game of the Week" column for many years.   We are a bona-fide magazine because of his chess column, without it CCM would be merely announcements and reports.

I include the New Britain Chess Club, Conn State Chess Assoc., Play More Chess Academy in Hamden, and West Hartford Scholastics by Norman Burtness.  I also want to acknowledge all the new officers of the state chess association. IM Jan Van de Mortel is doing a great job as president.

Coach Dan Starbuck Pelletier is activating chess, especially in the Weston-Wilton area. Newcomer Suhas Kodali is backup TD and reporter at NBCC.  Bob Cyr, state chess historian, writes frequently.

 

 

2020 EASTERN CONNECTICUT OPEN  FEB. 22

3SS, G/60 d5. Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St. (Rt 31), Coventry, CT 06238. EF: $35 Cash Only Onsite Only. $$GTD: $160-80. Reg.: 9:45 am - 10:10 am. Rds.: 10:30, 1:30, 3:45. One Section. Accel.Pairings. W. INFO: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com

 

 

Check our SNOW-CANCEL page

 

 

 

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN SET AND CLOCK

 

Please bring your chess sets and clocks with you.

The TD is under no obligation to supply equipment.

Historically I have always brought extras that I

loan out, but this is getting harder for me to do.

Please bring your own score-book, pen and/or pencil.

I don't get payment from anybody to run this program.

We pay rent to Town & Rec for use of this building.

All our expenses get paid from our tournaments.

 

LOST EQUIPMENT

 

Players forget to take equipment with them when they leave.

None of the items have identifying markings on them.

Players should mark their equipment with their name and email.

I have several items past the 90 days I usually hold them for.

Email a description to ConnecticutChess@gmail.com

 

 

 

GM Maxime Vachier-LaGrave (2780) - GM Ding Liren (2801)

 

GM Giri Anish (2747) - GM Bassem Amin (2610), GAME OF THE WEEK

 

ANNUAL WILD SNAIL ISSUE  BY ALAN LASSER

 

 

HAYES GOODMAN WINS 2019 HOLIDAY PARTY OPEN

 

NEW CHESS CLUB IN HAMDEN CONNECTICUT

 

GOING BACK IN TIME WITH BOB CYR

 

GAME OF THE WEEK BY ALAN LASSER

 

HOW TO SET YOUR DIGITAL CHESS CLOCK

 

HISTORY OF NEW BRITAIN CHESS CLUB BY BOB CYR

 

2020 CONSTITUTION STATE OPEN  MAR. 21

3SS, G/60 d5. Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St. (Rt 31), Coventry, CT 06238. EF: $35 Cash Only Onsite Only. $$GTD: $160-80. Reg.: 9:45 am - 10:10 am. Rds.: 10:30, 1:30, 3:45. One Section. Accel.Pairings. W. INFO: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com

 

 

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR UPDATES

ConnecticutChess@Gmail.Com

 

 

COVENTRY CHESS CLUB

Top Frequent Players (after tnmt #46)

33 Joe Bihlmeyer

20 Rob Roy

18 Art Nagel

15 Derek Meredith

15 Mark Bourque

14 Hayes Goodman

13 Dan Smith

11 Larry Lafosse

10 Dan Zhou

10 Joshua Berkun

 

 

 

2020 MILL BROOK PARK OPEN  APR. 18

 

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News about Connecticut events in 2020 will be posted here as soon as the pieces start moving again. Last year's news can be found here: 2019.

There are several CSCA events coming up:

  1. 2020 CT Grade Championship will take place on Saturday February 8 at the Roosevelt School in Bridgeport.
  2. CSCA Regional Scholastic Chess Tournament in southern Connecticut on February 29 or March 1 (more details will be announced soon).
  3. CT K-12 State Championship will take place on March 7 at Manchester High School (more details will be announced soon).

For more registration and more information on these and other upcoming chess events in Connecticut please visit our calendar.