White to move and Mate in two moves.
David Kenney dkenney@accesscable.net, Editor
Inside This Issue
Gibert Bernard Unamak'i Open $10
Joseph Shea Shearwater Summer Open $31
David Kenney Shearwater Fall Open $19
10.1. A 'quickplay finish' is the last phase of a game, when all the
remaining moves must be made in a limited time.
10.2. If the player has less than two minutes left on his clock, he
may claim a draw before his flag falls. He shall stop the clocks
and summon the arbiter.
(a) If the arbiter is satisfied the opponent is making no effort to
win the game by normal means, or that it is not possible to win
by normal means, then he shall declare the game drawn.
Otherwise he shall postpone his decision.
(b) If the arbiter postpones his decision, the opponent may be
awarded two extra minutes thinking time and the game shall
continue in the presence of the arbiter.
(c) Having postponed his decision, the arbiter may subsequently
declare the game drawn, even after a flag has fallen.
10.3. Illegal moves do not necessarily lose. After the action taken
under Article 7.4, for a first illegal move by a player the arbiter
shall give two minutes extra time to his opponent; for a second
illegal move by the same player the arbiter shall give another two
minutes extra time to his opponent; for a third illegal move by the
same player, the arbiter shall declare the game lost by the player
who played incorrectly.
10.4. If both flags have fallen and it is impossible to establish
which flag fell first the game is drawn.
This event is more than just a top-flight GM tournament. It is actually a large chess congress with over 1,500 players playing in the same hall as the GMs. Perhaps we should send an Atlantic contingent to next year's event!
* The World Blitz Cup took place at the Warsaw Polonia Chess Club on the 9th of January. Anand took first place, above Gelfand in second and Karpov in third place.
* The Linares 2000 super tournament will take place February 28th - March 10th with Kasparov, Anand, Shirov, Kramnik, Khalifman and Leko who will participate in this double round robin event
Name Rating Active 1. Teichmann, Erik 2336 0 2. Urquhart, Ed 2206 1768 3. Reddy, Tyler 2185 1669 4. Lomond, Gerald 2182 2057 5. Charlton, Glenn 2178 1935 6. Mayo, Alvah 2165 1652 7. Villeneuve, Robert 2127 1928 8. Mathers, James 2118 2021 9. Saunders, Stephen 2088 1708 10. Pentz, Brian 2066 1905 11. Kenney, David 1965 1679 12. LeBlanc, Gerard 1957 1811 13. Brennan, Jim 1947 1744 14. Kenney, Jason 1943 1461 15. Naugler, Rex 1926 1901 16. Burgess, Brian 1923 1772 17. Phillips, Fred 1916 1790 18. Cosman, Tom 1911 1786 19. Eldridge, Michael 1902 1843 20. Kustudic, Dusan 1874 1744 21. Bernard, Gilbert 1871 1375 22. Klapstein, John 1840 1503 23. Gibson, Jamie 1831 1620 24. Phillips, Gary 1828 1586 25. Poirier, David 1828 1368 26. Drummond, Carlos 1812 1468 27. Ko, Kyung-Ho 1807 1313 28. Uuetoa, Harold 1806 1633 29. Ede, Albert 1802 1549 30. Steele, Leighton 1802 1738 31. El-din, Alaa 1784 0 32. Armstrong, Brad 1774 1688 33. Googoo, Allan 1760 1742 34. Karis, Steve 1737 1626 35. Ng, Gary 1734 0 36. Morariu, Eduard 1733 0 37. Fraser, Alex 1730 1473 38. LeBlanc, Stephen 1730 0 39. Fleury, Bruce 1719 1368 40. Gilks, James 1718 1454 41. Cashin, Ken 1717 1473 42. Pettipas, Bill 1679 1491 43. Hynes, John A. 1667 1684 44. Young, Ross 1667 1423 45. Cooke, Ray 1666 1432 46. Gawetski, Yadviga 1664 1617 47. Nuschke, Michael 1646 0 48. Keddy, Garrett 1645 1199 49. Culver, Charles 1632 1614 50. Cordes, John 1620 1185
Name Rating Active 1. Reddy, Tyler 2185 1669 2. Kenney, Jason 1943 1461 3. Ng, Gary 1734 0 4. Gabriel, Jarrett 1479 1385 5. Brown, Chris 1231 0 6. Kenney, Bryan 1169 934 7. Livingston, Alex 1136 1060 8. Currell, Sean 1133 0 9. Kenney, Jonathan 1125 0 10. Lanoszka, Alex 1084 0Please note: The above Nova Scotia lists only include the names of current CFC members who have played at least one CFC rated game during the last two years.
1. Kasparov, Gary RUS 2851 2. Anand, Viswanathan IND 2769 3. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2758 4. Shirov, Alexei ESP 2751 5. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2748 6. Leko, Peter HUN 2725 7. Adams, Michael ENG 2715 8. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2709 9. Bareev, Evgeny RUS 2709 10. Topalov, Veselin BUL 2702 11. Karpov, Anatoly RUS 2696 12. Gurevich, Mikhail BEL 2694 13. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2692 14. Fedorov, Alexei BLR 2684 15. Short, Nigel ENG 2683 16. Dreev, Alexey RUS 2680 17. Georgiev, Kiril BUL 2677 18. Almasi, Zoltan HUN 2676 19. Azmaiparashvili,Zurab GEO 2675 20. Svidler, Peter RUS 2672Chess Problem #1
White to move and Mate in two moves.
Chess Problem #2
White to move and Mate in three moves.
As expected IM Tom O'Donnell won the Expert section with 4.5/5, surrendering a single draw to Ed Urquhart in the fourth round. In the fifth round he seemed to squander an overwhelming position against Steve Saunders in the middle-game but managed to win the ensuing rook and pawn endgame when Steve perhaps missed possible drawing chances.
The Open section was won by Eduard Morariu with 4.5. Alex Fraser and Albert Ede tied for second with 4.
Many thanks to David Kenney and Jim Brennan for their TD duties during the event and also to both guys for giving Tom O'Donnell a place to stay while here. I think he was quite pleased with the hospitality shown. Also, thanks for the thank-you's for my part in organizing this rather unique event in NS chess.
While in the Halifax area IM Tom O'Donnell also gave a simul at the Bluenose Chess Club on the Monday night following this tournament. I understand the IM eventually won all of his games. Glenn Charlton had a good game with Tom during the simul with some winning chances, but misplayed his attack.
The following annotated games and comments were graciously provided by IM Tom O'Donnell who has also posted these games on his new web site:
This web site provides a "bulletin board" type format for discussion of various chess related topics and issues. It also provides various chess books and equipment which can be purchased "on-line". Please check it out!
Game Annotations by IM Tom O'Donnell:
Here are my games from the Halifax Open with short notes. Enjoy, and feel free to use them in your provincial publication if you wish. All I ask is that you point out that this material can also be found on my website: http://www.chesstalk.com
Thanks to the players and organizers who made the tournament fun, and a special thanks to the clan Kenney, Kim Tufts and Jim Brennan for their hospitality.
Tom O'Donnell (2470) - David Kenney (2000)
1.e4 g6 From what I observed, the Modern systems seemed to be very popular in this event. 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 Nd7 5.Qd2 I occasionally use this system against the Modern. I like its simplicity - White trades off Black's B/g7, pushes his g- and h-pawns, and tries to mate Black, much like in the Sicilian Dragon. Because of the P/g6, White's pawn storm is generally faster, since the pawns "clash" earlier. Notice also that White does not developed his B/f1 for many moves. This saves two tempi: one by not moving the bishop, and another because after, for example, Bc4, Black will win a tempo in the pawn storm race with ...b5. 5...e5?! I don't like this way of breaking open the centre. Perhaps 5...c5, trying to transpose into a funny Sicilian Dragon is the better way to go. 6.Nf3 exd4 7.Nxd4 Ngf6 8.Bh6 0-0 9.Bxg7 Kxg7 10. 0-0-0 The play has transposed into Larsen's Variation of the Philidor, where Black has played the not very testing ...Nd7. For example, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3! (Kosten in Winning with the Philidor) 6...Nf6 7.Qd2 0-0 8.0-0-0, and now Black does not play 8...Nd7, but rather 8...Nc6 or 8...Re8, putting pressure on the White position. 10...Nc5 11.f3 Bd7? This is much too slow. Trading off an attacker with 11...Ne6 looks better to me. 12.g4 a6 13.h4 h5 14.g5 Ng8 15.f4 b5 Trying to stop the pawn avalanche with 15...f5 looks bad (after, for example, 16.exf5 Bxf5 17.Nxf5+ Rxf5 18.Bh3), but is probably better than the text. 16.Bg2 Only now did I develop my B/f1. Here, I am clearing the f1-square for a rook, as well as angling for e4-e5, tapping the R/a8. 16...Rb8 17.f5 Re8 18.f6+ Kh7 Of course Black is now dead. The N/g8 can't move, and the K/h7 is also stuck. Black should have sacked his N/g8 for two pawns with 18...Nxf6 19.gxf6+ Qxf6, but White still has the attack, and extra material as well. 19.Rde1 Ne6 20.Kb1 Nxd4 21.Qxd4 Be6 22.Nd5 c5 23.Qd1 Bxd5 24.Qxd5 Rf8 25.Rd1 As pointed out by David after the game, the plan of Bf3, Qd1 and Bxh5 is also possible. But it looked to me that I could totally snuff out any attack by Black with the riskless text move. The N/g8 isn't freeing itself any time soon. 25...c4 26.Qxd6 Qa5 27.Rd5 Qa4 28.Qa3! Trading Queens makes it easy. 28...Qxa3 29.bxa3 Rfc8 30.Rd7 Rf8 31.e5 b4 32.a4 Kh8 33.Bd5 Rbe8 34.Re1 c3 35.Bxf7 Rd8 36.Rxd8 Rxd8 37.e6 1-0. Alvah Mayo (2160) - Tom O'Donnell (2470) Halifax Remembrance - Rd 2 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bb5 Nd4 6.Bd3 e6? Already a lemon! I totally missed White's idea. 7.Nxd4 cxd4 8.Nb5 d6 9.c3 And only now did I start to think in earnest, and realize what a predicament I was in. If 9...dxc3 10.bxc3 (not 10.dxc3 a6 11.Nxd6+? Qxd6 12.Bb5+ Ke7) 10...a6 11.Qa4! and Black is strangely defenseless against 12.Ba3, picking up the d-pawn. 9...Ne7 10.Nxd4 0-0 11.Qe2? After the game, Alvah told me that he felt that after 11.Nf3 he would just be up a clear pawn, which was my feeling as well. For some reason, Fritz does not agree. It thinks Black has almost enough compensation after 11...f5 (the move I would have played). After the text, Black is definitely doing okay. 11...Bxd4 12.cxd4 Nc6 13.Qf2 Qb6 14.d5 With a draw offer. Alvah misanalysed the position at White's 17th, thinking that he could maintain his extra pawn. Since he can't, Black must be a little better, so declining was an easy decision. 14...exd5 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.exd5 Nb4 17.Bb1 Alvah had originally intended 17.Bc4 here, but 17...Nc2+ makes that impossible. 17...Re8+ 18.Kf2 Bf5! My best move of the weekend. Black takes a truly horrendous pawn structure, but one that works well with his pieces, and is difficult for White to attack. Now comes a long maneuvering phase where Black is simply trying to increase the scope of his pieces without allowing White's pieces (especially his B/c1) any play. 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.d4 In the post-mortem, Alvah suggested 20.a4, which does indeed look better than the text, though I think Black is still a little better. 20...Nc2 21.Rb1 Rxa2 Threatening 22...Na3. 22.Kg3 Nb4 Definitely better than 22...Nxd4, when White's B/c1 has hope of getting to a good diagonal. Now my plan was to figure out a way to improve my position, limit counterplay, and win the b-pawn. 23.Bd2 Nxd5 24.Rhe1 Rc8?! I also looked at 24...Re4 and 24...Re6, trying to fix my pawn structure, but it seemed to me that this would actually leave my pawns more exposed. Best may be 24...Kf8, which prevents White from infiltrating into the Black camp. But I had an idea... 25.Rbc1 Rxc1 26.Re8+ Kg7 27.Bxc1 I had seen up to here, and figured that it would be easier to win with the White bishop and rook separated. 27...Ra4 28.Rd8 Rc4 29.Bd2 b5 30.Ba5 Rc6 31.Bd2 b4 32.Kf3 32.b3!? is an attempt to prevent Black's rook from occupying the c2-square, but I don't think that it would have changed the final result. 32...b3 33.Ke2 Kf6 34.Kd3 Ke7 35.Rb8 b6 36.Rb7+ Ke6 37.h3 Rc2 38.Ra7 Rxb2 39.Ra3 h5 40.g3 b5 41.Ra1 Nb6 0-1. Tom O'Donnell (2470) - Glenn Charlton (2170) Halifax Remembrance - Rd 3 1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.Bh6 0-0 7.Bxg7 Kxg7 8.0-0-0 Now I followed pretty much the same plan as in my round one game vs. Kenney. Black's attack is a little faster in this variation, but I still prefer White. Modern players who face this line might try either delaying ...Bg7 or alternatively find some way to make ...0-0-0 work. 8...b5 9.f3 Bb7 10.g4 Nbd7 11.Nge2 11.Kb1 looked playable, though after 11...b4 12.Nce2 Nxe4 13.fxe4 Bxe4 14.Ng3 Bxh1 15.Nxh1, it is quite messy. The idea behind the text, rather than 11.h4, for example, is to play g4-g5, and on ...Nh5, then Ng3 opens the h-file. 11...c5 12.g5 Ng8 13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.h4 Rc8 15.h5? A very weak move. Simply 15.Kb1 leaves White with a large edge. White's attack is still going strong, and Black's attack is going nowhere. 15...b4 16.Qd4+ I originally considered lines with 16.hxg6, but then simply 16...fxg6 is fine for Black. 16...e5 17.Qxb4 Qxg5+ 18.Kb1 Rfd8 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Rg1 Qe3 I had considered up to here when playing 15.h5?, and for some reason felt White was much better. In truth, the position is simply unclear. 21.Bh3 Rb8 22.Ng3 Bxe4? Very tempting, but wrong. Now Black loses a piece, though he can get three pawns for it. Better was stepping out of the pin with 22...Kf8, as suggested by Glenn after the game. Now White is better again. 23.Qa5!? During the game I thought that this was best, but Fritz says 23.Qc4 d5 24.Ncxe4 (I missed that!) 24...Qxg1 25.Rxg1 dxc4 26.Nxc5 is better for White. 23...Qh6? Better was 23...Qxf3 24.Rdf1 Bxc2+ 25.Kxc2, and White's extra piece is worth more than the three pawns. Now Black is lost. 24.fxe4 Qxh3 25.Nf5+ Kf8 26.Nxd6 Ne6 27.Qxe5 Ne7 28.Rh1 1-0. Ed Urquhart (2200) - Tom O'Donnell (2470) 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d6 6.d3 e5 I usually play 6...e6 here, but Ed looked like the kind of guy who might try a kingside pawn storm. I was interested in making at least a draw, which would maintain my tournament lead. The success of Alex Lesiege playing this line was also an inducement to give it a try. 7.Nge2 Nge7 8.Be3 Nd4 9.Qd2 0-0 I spent a lot of time on 9...Bh3?! 10.Nxd4 (10.0-0, as pointed out by Ed after the game, is also fine for White) 10...Bxg2 11.Ne6 fxe6 12.Qxg2 and I have no idea who is better. 9...Bg4 was also possible. 10.0-0 Rb8 11.h3 b5 12.Nd1 Be6 13.c3 Nxe2+ 14.Qxe2 Qd7 15.Kh2 f5 16.fxe5 Bxe5 17.Bh6 Bg7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Ne3?! «-« Perhaps 19.Nf2, intending to recapture on e4 with the knight, is better. I think Black is a little better in the final position: 19...fxe4 20.fxe4, and White has a bad B/g2. But I had been lucky the previous day, and there was no need to press it today! Tom O'Donnell (2470) - Steve Saunders (2070) Halifax Remembrance - Rd 5 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 e6 6.cxd4 b6 7.Nc3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Bb7 10.Bd3 d6 11.0-0 Nd7 12.Bf4 Be7 13.Re1 dxe5? The natural 13...0-0 is perfectly good for Black. I was thinking of answering this with 14.Re3, and attacking on the kingside, but having played this position for both sides, I don't think that it is anything special for White. After the text, though, White gets a good position. 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Bb5+ Bc6?! 15...Kf8 yields only a slight advantage to White. 16.Bxe5 Bd6?! Better was 16...Qd7. 17.Bxc6+ A tempting alternative was 17.Qf3 Rc8 18.Bxc6+ Qxc6 19.d5 Qc7 20.Bxg7 (this move was suggested by Mayo and Urquhart) and White is better. But the text looked cleaner to me, and needing only a draw to clinch clear first, I figured that if I didn't see a forced win, I would simply steer for the pawn-up ending. 17...Qxc6 18.d5 Qc7 19.Bxd6 Qxd6 20.dxe6 Qxd1 21.Raxd1 fxe6 22.Rxe6+ Kf7 23.Rc6? I had seen that this position was possible as early as move 15, and had intended to play the text here, but I should have stopped and thought at this point and played the superior 23.Red6, which gives White a large advantage. I suspect that my next few moves were quite sloppy... 23...Rhd8 24.Rc7+ Kf6 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.g3 Rd1+ 27.Kg2 Rc1 28.a4 h5? Here Black appears to have excellent drawing chances with 28...a5! 29.Rc6+ (or 29.h4 Ra1 30.Rc4 Rb1, intending ...Rb3 and ...b5) 29...Kf7 30.Rxb6 Ra1! Keep in mind that any ending with rook and three pawns vs. rook and two pawns on the kingside is a draw. 29.Rxa7 Rxc3 30.Ra6 Ra3 Unfortunately for Black 30...Rc6 31.a5 is curtains. 31.Rxb6+ Kf7 32.Rb4 Kf6 33.Rf4+ Kg6 34.h4 Kh6 35.Kf1 Ra2 36.Ke1 g6 37.Kd1 g5 38.hxg5+ Also winning is 38.Rf6+ Kg7 39.hxg5 Rxa4 40.Rh6. Black is simply unable to cope with White's extra pawns. 38...Kxg5 39.Kc1 h4 40.Kb1 Re2 41.Rxh4 Rxf2 42.a5 Rf3 43.Ra4 Rxg3 44.a6 Rb3+ 45.Kc2 Rb8 46.a7 Ra8 47.Ra6 Kf5 48.Kd3 Ke5 49.Kc4 1-0.
Halifax Remembrance - Rd 1Glen Charlton (left) playing Ed Urquhart right) Here are some other games from the Remembrance Day Open: White: Ed Urquhart 2202 Black: Glenn Charlton 2166 1. e4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. f4 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 e6 7. O-O Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. Kh1 Rb8 10. Qe1 b5 11. g4 f5 12. h3 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Nd1 Qc7 15. Rf2 Bb7 16. Re2 e5 17. Qg3 fxe4 18. dxe4 d5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. fxe5 Rbe8 21. Nf2 Ne3 22. Bxe3 Bxe5 23. Bf4 Bxf4 24. Qb3+ Kh8 25. Qxb5 Bxg2+ 26. Kxg2 Rxe2 27. Qxe2 Be3 28. Rf1 Qc6+ 29. Kh2 Qc7+ 30. Kg2 Qc6+ 31. Kh2 Rc8 32. c3 Bf4+ 33. Kg1 dxc3 34. bxc3 Qxc3 35. Qd3 Qb2 36. Qe4 Rf8 37. Qe7 Kg8 38. Qe6+ Kg7 39. Qb3 Qd2 40. a4 Be3 41. Qb7+ Rf7 42. Qg2 Rxf2 43. Rxf2 Qe1+ 0-1. White: Glenn Charlton 2166 Black: Alvah Mayo 2157 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Bb5 a6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d3 Nf6 7. Nf3 e6 8. O-O Be7 9. e5 Nd7 10. exd6 Bxd6 11. Ne4 Be7 12. Be3 O-O 13. Ne5 Qb6 14. b4 Nxe5 15. fxe5 Qxb4 16. Rb1 Qa5 17. Qg4 Qc7 18. Nf6+ Kh8 19. Qh4 gxf6 20. exf6 Bd6 21. Rf3 e5 22. Rg3 Rg8 23. Rxg8+ Kxg8 24. Qg5+ Kf8 25. Qg7+ Ke8 26. Qg8+ Kd7 27. Qxf7+ Kd8 28. Qg8+ Kd7 29. f7 Bb7 30. Qg4+ Ke7 31. Qf5 « - «.. White: Jim Brennan 1962 Black: Brian Burgess 1952 1. e4 c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Qb3 Qxb3 7. axb3 Nc6 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Bxd4 Nh6 10. Bd3 Ng4 11. O-O Nxd4 12. cxd4 Be7 13. Rc1 Bc6 14. Nc3 O-O 15. h3 Nh6 16. Na4 a6 17. Nb6 Ra7 18. Bxa6 Bd8 19. Nc8 Ra8 20. Nd6 Rb8 21. Bd3 Be7 22. Nb5 Bxb5 23. Bxb5 Rfc8 24. Rxc8+ Rxc8 25. Ra7 Rc2 26. Rxb7 Bf8 27. Bd3 Rxb2 28. Rb8 g6 29. g4 Kg7 30. Ne1 Be7 31. Nc2 Rb1+ 32. Kg2 Rd1 33. Bf1 Rd2 34. Rc8 Bh4 35. b4 Bxf2 36. Kf3 Bxd4 37. Nxd4 Rxd4 38. b5 Rb4 39. Rc6 Ng8 40. b6 d4 41. Rd6 Ne7 42. Ba6 Nd5 43. b7 Nc7 44. Bc4 Rxb7 « - « White: Steve Saunders 2074 Black: Ed Urquhart 2202 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Rc1 cxd4 11. cxd4 Na5 12. Bd3 b6 13. h4 h5 14. Bb1 Ba6 15. d5 Rc8 16. Nd4 Qd6 17. Ne2 Rxc1 18. Bxc1 Qb4+ 19. Bd2 Qc4 20. Nf4 Qc7 21. Bd3 Bxd3 22. Nxd3 Qc4 23. Bxa5 Qxe4+ 24. Kf1 bxa5 25. Qb3 Rd8 26. Rh3 Qxd5 27. Qxd5 Rxd5 28. Ke2 Rd4 29. Ne1 Bf6 30. Ra3 Rxh4 31. Nf3 Rc4 32. Rxa5 Rc7 33. Ra6 Kg7 34. Kd3 Rb7 35. Ke3 Rd7 36. Ra5 e6 37. Ra6 g5 38. Ra4 Kg6 39. Nd2 Bd8 40. Nf3 f6 41. Ne1 Bb6+ 42. Ke2 Rc7 43. f3 Rc5 44. Kd3 f5 45. Ke2 Kf6 46. Kf1 e5 47. Ke2 g4 48. Kf1 Rc3 49. Ke2 Ke6 50. Kd2 Rc5 51. Nd3 Rd5 52. Ke2 gxf3+ 53. gxf3 Rd4 54. Ra3 Rc4 55. Ne1 h4 56. f4 Rxf4 57. Nf3 e4 58. Ng5+ Kf6 59. Nh3 Rg4 0-1 White: Brian Burgess 1952 Black: Jason Kenney 1953 (Annotated by Jason Kenney) 1. e4 c5 I feel this game is pretty indicative of the chess games I play. Both sides have the advantage at one point or the other, and neither side does what is probably best, as they seem to concentrate on something somewhat irrelevant. . Oh well... ;-) 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bc6 bc White takes right away, because otherwise Nd4 is possible with the d-pawn supported by the black bishop, although black wouldn't play that right away anyway, because an Re1, e5 by white would cause problems (black can't play Nf6 without dropping the d-pawn, etc.). So it's probably a bit better to wait, to see what black is going to do. Also, White may wish to retreat the B to f1 maybe, and then play g3, etc. 5. 0-0 Bg7 6. d3 e5 !? The moment of truth. White's setup is not very threatening to black, and although it contains more sting than it may look like, black is probably better off leaving the e pawn at home. With an open B file, and Bg7, white's b2 spot could be tender soon. Playing e5 blocks the center for a little while anyway, (the N v B isn't important here, because the N has no squares) in order to give him some time to start pushing his kingside pawns. 7. c4?! Nge7 I don't like c4. It must be better to play c3, and start chipping away, or playing against black's weak c6 and a7 pawns. Now white can't really play d4, and escape the bind. 8. Nc3 0-0 9. Ne2 d6 10. h3 h6 You only have to allow Ng5 once in order to learn why this move is necessary. I think there was a game from the Kenney vs. Kenney match that I should have won, but I got a little ahead of myself (and my position). 11. Nh2 f5 Allowing white to play f4, although I get there first, otherwise f5-f4 will cause big problems for him. 12. f4 ef!? Interesting, I gain space on the kingside, but my king gets a little airy. Black is playing dynamically, because he has weaknesses that eventually white will get around to attacking, so he must attack first. 13. Nf4 g5 14. Ne2 f4 The idea behind ef. Now black has the e5 square for a piece, and more space. He is probably a little bit better, but he has lots of weaknesses too, so it's pretty hard to tell. 15. Qc2 Be6 16. Bd2 Qd7 17. Bc3 Ng6? This is another critical point. Black chooses to improve the position of his pieces first, but playing Bh3 right away seems pretty dangerous for white. (eg. Bh3 gh Qh3, and black will get pawns at f4, g4 and h5 the next move, and should find a way to get a piece back, staying up a pawn, or at least keeping an outside passed pawn.) 18. Bg7 Kg7 19. Qc3+ Kh7 20. d4 cd Now white has defended h3, and black and white both have pawn weaknesses. The d6 vs. e4 weakness is a common theme in a lot of Sicilians, some things never change. 21. Nd4 Ne5 22. Ne6 Qe6 23. b3 Rfd8? Black isn't out of gas yet. White has a misplaced knight, and needs some time to co-ordinate. Therefore, every move black makes will count. Unfortunately, I choose the wrong plan, which gives white time to react. I should have piled everything on the kingside to play g4 right away, instead of defending my weak point. Rf7, Rg8, g4 was called for. 24. Rae1 Rd7 25. Nf3 Nf3? Again, bad. My knight is better, and taking it will give me control of the only open file, so white won't take it. 26. Qf3 Rad8 Much better is again, to start pushing the *kingside* pawns, not trying to find a way to make d5 work. 27. Rd1 Qe5 28. Re1 Rg7 Finally the right idea, but *way* too late The position is probably equal now. 29. Qg4 Rf8 30. Re2 Rf6 31. Red2 Kg6! Trying to play h5. This was the only way I could see to protect h5, and it's a pretty good move, but white finds a better one. 32. Qc8! Qe4 The trade of pawns is more or less forced here, c5 is bad because of Rd5, and I'll be the one getting mated. 33. Rd6 Rgf7 34. Qd8?! f3? Qd8 is a little slow, but black misses white's threat to exchange queens. 35. Rf6+ Rf6 36. Qd3 Qd3 37. Rd3 Re6 (=) Offering a draw, because white should probably win the endgame, I don't feel like defending for 20 moves (fg will lose a pawn to Rd7). In rook endgames, activity is important above material most of the time. Taking the e- file and threatening to go after his a-pawn is *much* more important than trying to find a way of saving a pawn. Basically, being passive is almost always fatal in rook endgames. 38. Kf2?! fg If he played gf, I think my line was Re1 + and then alternating between threats to his a, (b-pawn if he pushes the a-one) and h pawns to keep in from doing anything himself. c5 lets me move along the 6th rank to defend, and counter attack. 39. Kg2 c5 40. Rd5 Rc6 Ra6 Rc5 Ra2 isn't sufficient to draw. 41. Rd7 Ra6 42. a4 Rb6! Now however, after 43. Ra7 Rb3 White isn't going anywhere, because black will also pick up his c-pawn. 44. a5 Rc3 45. a6 Rc4 46. Ra8 Ra4 47. a7 Kg7 NOT Kf7?? Rh8 +- 48. Kf3 h5 49. Ke3 Ra3+ If anyone has winning chances here, it's black. 50. Kd2 g4?! h4 was suggested by IM Tom after the game, in order to give my rook the g4 square to try to win his h-pawn, but it's probably a draw anyway. Black can never lose this position, so he may as well try to win. 51. hg hg 52. Ke2 g3 1/2 - 1/2 After 53. Kf1 Ra2 54. Rc8 Ra7 55. Rc5 Ra3 56. Kg1 White's king is in front of the pawn, and it's not going anywhere.
The playing site at the DAL Student Union Building
Alvah Mayo's game with Tom O'Donnell
REMEMBRANCE DAY OPEN - MASTER & EXPERT SECTION # Name Old Perf New High Results Tot 1. O'Donnell,Tom (IM)2469 2438 2470 2500 W8 W4 W3 D2 W5 4.5 2. Urquhart,Ed 2202 2246 2206 2230 W9 L3 W5 D1 D4 3.0 3. Charlton,Glenn 2166 2229 2178 2212 W7 W2 L1 D4 D9 3.0 4. Mayo,Alvah 2157 2191 2165 2165 W10 L1 W6 D3 D2 3.0 5. Saunders,Stephen 2074 2156 2088 2109 W6 W8 L2 W7 L1 3.0 6. Uuetoa,Harold 1766 1945 1806 1806 L5 W10 L4 D8 D7 2.0 7. Kenney,Jason 1953 1904 1943 2086 L3 W9 D10 L5 D6 2.0 8. enney,David 1989 1865 1965 2024 L1 L5 W0 D6 D10 2.0 9. Brennan,Jim 1962 1868 1947 1962 L2 L7 D0 D10 D3 1.5 10. Burgess,Brian 1952 1805 1923 1952 L4 L6 D7 D9 D8 1.5 REMEMBRANCE DAY OPEN U2000 SECTION # Name Old Perf. New High Total 1. Morariu, Eduard 1644 1978 1733 19 W20 W4 W13 D5 W2 4.5 2. Fraser,Alex 1712 1776 1730 1730 W22 W19 W6 W10 L1 4.0 3. Ede,Albert 1795 1708 1802 1860 D11 D8 W14 W18 W9 4.0 4. Eldridge,Michael 1916 1834 1902 2051 W25 L1 W15 D8 W10 3.5 5. Klapstein,John 1864 1704 1840 1883 W24 L6 W23 D1 W17 3.5 6. Panjwani,Dilip 1384 1811 1504 1504 W12 W5 L2 L9 W23 3.0 7. El-din,Alaa 0 1783 1784 5 W15 W9 L10 D16 D8 3.0 8. Armstrong,Brad 1764 1766 1774 1900 D0 D3 W20 D4 D7 3.0 9. Phillips,Gary 1858 1666 1828 1898 W26 L7 W21 W6 L3 3.0 10. LeBlanc,C.Stephen 1733 1617 1730 1803 W14 W18 W7 L2 L4 3.0 11. Palak,Andrzej 1446 1578 1476 1495 D3 L12 W26 D15 W18 3.0 12. Fleury,Bruce 1757 1460 1719 1805 L6 W11 L18 W24 W13 3.0 13. Nuschke,Michael 0 1644 1646 4 W28 W16 L1 D0 L12 2.5 14. Spencer,David 1354 1629 1432 1432 L10 W28 L3 W21 D16 2.5 15. Shea,Joseph 1582 1557 1580 1623 L7 W0 L4 D11 W19 2.5 16. McKinnon,Paul 1620 1491 1584 13 W27 L13 D0 D7 D14 2.5 17. Boyle,Phil 1635 1442 1617 1641 L18 W24 W19 D0 L5 2.5 18. Barbour,Les 919 1593 1019 1019 W17 L10 W12 L3 L11 2.0 19. Joudrey,Gary 1423 1534 1481 10 W21 L2 L17 W25 L15 2.0 20. Crowley,Darren 1167 1461 1223 1223 L1 W25 L8 L23 W27 2.0 21. Nuschke,Alex 1583 1405 1526 15 L19 W22 L9 L14 W26 2.0 22. Maund,Chris 1350 1482 1378 1416 L2 L21 L25 W28 W24 2.0 23. MacLean,John 1463 1338 1446 1499 D0 D0 L5 W 20 L6 2.0 24. Gabriel,Jarrett 1505 1383 1479 1505 L5 L17 W28 L12 L22 1.0 25. Lindsay,Robin 1560 1279 1517 1560 L4 L20 W22 L19 L0 1.0 26. Toth,Steve 1439 1210 1411 1555 L9 D0 L11 D0 L21 1.0 27. Kenney,Bryan 1187 976 1169 1224 L16 L0 L0 L0 L20 0.0 28. Kimber,David 1507 1083 1449 1544 L13 L14 L24 L22 L0 0.0
As a result of this tournament, Jason Kenney has qualified to participate in the next Canadian Junior being held in Montreal during May 2000. In addition, both Jason and Alex Livingston have qualified to participate in the Atlantic Junior Chess Championship being held on the November 12-14 weekend. In the event that either Jason Kenney or Alez Livingston decline their invitation to participate in the Atlantic Junior then the available spot would be offered to Alex Lanoszka.
Name Old New R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Total
1. Jason Kenney 1985 1983 +2 +3 +6 -4 +5 4.0
2. Alex Livingston 1096 1168 -1 +0 +5 +7 +3 4.0
3. Alex Lanoszka UNR 1352 +4 -1 +7 +6 -2 3.0
4. Stefan Behume 1185 1230 -3 -5 +0 +1 +6 3.0
5. Sean Currell 1088 1118 =0 +4 -2 +0 -1 2.5
6. Jonathan Kenney 1126 1125 =0 +7 -1 -3 -4 1.5
7. Krista Kenney UNR 744 +0 -6 -3 -2 =0 1.5
I would like to congratulate Jason Riordon and the other prize winners for their success and for participating in this event. I would also like to thank both Sean Currell and Bryan Kenney who both agreed to participate at the last moment to replace two players who previously agreed to participate but did not show up. Thanks are also extended to all the other participants for coming out to this Regional tournament which may have been the last Atlantic Junior Championship to be held. The CFC has recently made a change to the qualification rules for the Canadian Junior, which now allows for each Province to send their Junior Champion to the national finals.
# Name Old Perf New Results Tot 1. Riordon, Jason 1746 1611 1751 D0 W6 W5 W3 W4 4.5 NB 2. Johnson, Kyle 1545 1476 1539 L4 W8 W9 W7 W3 4.0 NB 3. Barbour, Stephen 1223 1496 1295 W8 W4 W7 L1 L2 3.0 NFLD 4. Lui, Ming 1263 1446 1305 W2 L3 W6 W5 L1 3.0 NFLD 5. Panjwani, Raja 1132 1334 1167 W10 D7 L1 L4 W9 2.5 NFLD 6. Kenney, Bryan 1183 1245 1187 D0 L1 L4 W10 W0 2.5 NS 7. Deveau, Justin 1367 1237 1341 W9 D5 L3 L2 W8 2.5 NB 8. Currell, Sean 1118 1197 1133 L3 L2 W10 W9 L7 2.0 NS 9. Livingston, Alex 1168 1009 1136 L7 W10 L2 L8 L5 1.0 NS 10.Lanoszka, Alex 1352 750 1084 L5 L9 L8 L6 L0 0.0 NS
SHEARWATER FALL OPEN
First place went to Alvah Mayo with a score of 4.5/5. Tied for 2nd-4th spot with 3.5/5 were Glen Charlton, Steve Saunders and John Klapstein. The top under 1500 prize went to Jarrett Gabriel with 3/5. Congratulations Alvah for winning yet another local tournament!
The last round had a number of exciting games including the Mayo-Kenney(David) game. Alvah sacked a rook and a pawn for a knight to end up in a position where I was in a positional bind and could not find the correct defence. Glenn Charlton blundered a rook in his game against Steve Saunders but managed to fight back to get the draw.
# Name Old Perf New High Results Total 1. Mayo,Alvah 2130 2187 2157 2157 W14 W11 W3 D2 W5 4.5 2. Charlton,Glenn 2162 2108 2166 2212 D0 W13 W5 D1 D3 3.5 3. Saunders,Stephen 2070 2043 2074 2109 W10 W6 L1 W4 D2 3.5 4. Klapstein,John 1868 1800 1864 1883 W19 D8 W6 L3 W9 3.5 5. Kenney,David 2004 1857 1989 2024 W16 W7 L2 W17 L1 3.0 6. Fleury,Bruce 1756 1757 1757 1805 W18 L3 L4 W14 W10 3.0 7. Boyle,Phil 1617 1747 1635 1641 W15 L5 D0 W11 D0 3.0 8. Nuschke,Alex 1507 1651 1583 10 W12 D4 D11 L9 W13 3.0 9. Gabriel,Jarrett 1466 1638 1505 1505 L11 W15 W17 W8 L4 3.0 10. Lindsay,Robin 1500 1696 1525 1525 L3 W14 W16 D0 L6 2.5 11. McKinnon,Paul 1679 1569 1620 9 W9 L1 D8 L7 W15 2.5 12. Joudrey,Gary 0 1417 1423 5 L8 D18 L15 W19 W17 2.5 13. Toth,Steve 1429 1605 1439 1555 D0 L2 W18 D0 L8 2.0 14. Mercer,Jason 1478 1478 1469 1478 L1 L10 D0 L6 W19 1.5 15. Cooper,Jim 1127 1344 1218 10 L7 L9 W12 D0 L11 1.5 16. Lanoska,Mark 0 1476 1478 3 L5 W19 L10 L0 L0 1.0 17. MacLean,John 1499 1231 1463 1499 D0 D0 L9 L5 L12 1.0 18. Palak,Andrzej 1469 1269 1446 1495 L6 D12 L13 L0 L0 0.5 19. Nearing,Joe 1474 1172 1327 8 L4 L16 D0 L12 L14 0.5
# Name Old Perf New High Results Tot 1. Lindsay,Robin 1525 1583 1560 1560 W2 W2 W2 W2 W2 W2 6.0 2. Cooper,Jim 1218 1125 1183 16 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 0.0Korchnoi,V (2659) - Kasparov,G (2851) , Wijk aan Zee, January 15, 2000
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Bd2 Bg7 6 e4 Nb6 7 Be3 0-0 8 Be2 Nc6 9 Nf3 Bg4 10 d5 Bxf3 11 gxf3 Na5 12 Bd4 Qd6 13 Bxg7 Kxg7 14 f4 Qf6 15 Qd2 c6 16 dxc6 Rfd8 Korchnoi now went into a deep think and it's easy to see why. The obvious 17 Nd5 losses in style. 17 Qe3 (17 Nd5 Nxd5 A) 18 cxb7 18 ..Nxf4!! 19 bxa8Q Rxd2 20 Bg4 (20 Kxd2 Qxb2+ 21 Ke3 Qxe2+ 22 Kxf4 Qxf2+) 20 ..Ng2+ 21 Kxd2 Qxb2+ 22 Kd1 Qxa1+); B) 18 exd5 Nxc6 19 Rd1 Rd6 20 Qc3 Qxc3+ 21 bxc3 Na5 22 c4 Rc8 23 Rd4 e6 24 Kd2 exd5 25 cxd5 Nc6 B1) 26 Rd3 Nb4 27 Rd4 Rc2+ 28 Ke3 (28 Kd1 Rxa2) 28 ..Nxd5+; B2) 26 Rc1 Rcd8 27 Rd3 Nb4 28 Rb3 Nxd5; 17 ..Nac4 18 Qc5 Rac8 19 c7 (19 Bxc4 Rxc6 20 Qa5 (20 Qe5 Qxe5 21 fxe5 Nxc4) 20 ..Rxc4 21 f5 (21 Qe5 Qxe5 22 fxe5 Na4 23 Nxa4 Rxe4+ 24 Kf1 Rxa4) 21 ..Qg5) 19 ..Rd7 20 Bxc4 (20 Qg5 Qxg5 21 fxg5 Nxb2 22 Nb5 a6 23 Rb1 N2a4 24 Na3 Rdxc7) 20 ..Rcxc7 21 Qg5 Rxc4 22 Qxf6+ Kxf6 Perhaps this may be where Kasparov takes a wrong turning, allowing Korchnoi some chances. Strange as it may seem, the recapture with the pawn could prove to be more problematic for White. 22 ..exf6! 23 f3 (23 Rc1 is now met by23 ..Na4 ) 23 ..f5 and Korchnoi's position is starting to become untenable. 23 Rc1 Rcd4 24 b3 Rd3 25 Ke2 Rd2+ 26 Kf3 R7d3+ 27 Kg2 e6 (27 ..e5! 28 fxe5+ Kxe5 29 Rhe1 h5 30 h4) 28 Rhe1 Ke7 29 f5 Nd7 30 fxe6 fxe6 31 Kf1 Ne5 32 Re2 g5 33 Na4 Rd1+ 34 Re1 Rxe1+ 35 Kxe1 Rd7 36 Ke2 Nd3 37 Rc3 Nf4+ 38 Kf3 (38 Ke3 h5 39 Nb2) 38 ..Kf6 39 Nc5 Rc7 40 h4 e5 41 hxg5+ Kxg5 42 Rc4 b5 (42 ..h5! would probably have saved some time.) 43 Rc1 b4 44 Rc4 a5 45 Na4 Rf7 46 Ke3 Ng2+ The "Russian Torture". Whilst most would instinctively push the h- pawn, Russian's have a tendency to prolong your suffering by repeating a move. 47 Ke2 Nf4+ 48 Ke3 (48 Kf1? Rd7 49 Ke1 Kg4 50 Nc5 Rg7) 48 ..h5 49 Rc5 Ng2+ 50 Ke2 h4 51 Rxe5+ Kg4 52 Re8 (52 Rxa5 h3 53 f3+ Kh4 54 Kf2 (54 Ra8 Nf4+ 55 Kf2 Rg7 56 Rh8+ Nh5 is similar to how the game ends.) 54 ..Ne1) 52 ..Nf4+ 53 Ke3 h3 54 f3+ Kh4 0-1
After the 6th Round, Kasparov and Kramnik lead the tournament with 4.5 points followed by Anand and Leko with 4.
Directions: From Halifax take Highway 103 to Bridgewater. Take Exit 12, the first Bridgewater exit, turn left off the ram (North Street). Drive about 1 km. Turn left into The Wandlyn Inn (before the traffic light).
Whycocomagh is on the Trans Canada Highway about 1/2 hour past the Canso Causeway going along towards Baddeck, Cape Breton. There are two hotels in the area . . . The Fair Isle Motel (1-902-756-2291) and the Aberdeen Motel (1-902-756-2331), they offer reasonable rates and are only a couple of minutes away. Also, there are a couple of trailer parks for those who like to camp out. P.S. Please bring your sets & clocks / No Smoking / No Computers!!!
Answer to Chess Problems:
Problem #1 1.c4 (threat is 2. Rc1++) 1...Nd2 2. Nd1++ or 1..Nd4 2. Rxe1++.
Problem #2 1. Rh1 (threat is 2. Rxg1 and 3. Rd1++) gxh1=Q 2. Rxc5 Bxc5 3. Qxh1++ or 2...bxc5 3. Qb7++ or 2...Kxc5 3. Qb5++.
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