Bog Addiction

Polly and DG did it, so I figured I'd give it a shot...

52%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Find Sonography schools near you

I think my score is bumped up because I READ a lot of blogs... And because I technically have two blogs. I'm trying to get ChessUSA transitioned into a community type blog format and will eventually let it go to others to control.

By the way, if you blog about chess in the USA and want to contribute to ChessUSA, shoot me an email!

Chess: TakChess' Book Club

(Hat tip to DG at Boylston Chess Club Weblog)

TakChess is trying a novel approach to studying Vokovic's classic The Art of Attack in Chess.

"I recently read SamuraiPawn's blog and about his fascination with the Art of Attack in Chess by Vladmir Vukovic . He convinced me to spend some time on it. I am have sampled it various times during the past year but have not read it with any consistency. I now intend to read it straight through, take notes on this blog and slowly study the games. I invite anyone who wants to join me to follow along and add any notes you care to in the Comment Section. (feel free to do this even if it is weeks, months or years after this initial blog was posted)"

I'll be following along with my copy, an ancient edition with Descriptive notation from Pergamon. TakChess is using a newer edition from Everyman that, "translated the games to Algebraic Notation, added more diagrams, checked the analysis, added footnotes and polished the language." TakChess' copy has a publication date of 1998, mine is a reprint from 1988. My even older edition from, as I recall, sometime in the 70's fell apart long ago and has been lost.

December Chess Carnival (Edition IV) at ChessUSA

The December Chess Blog Carnival and Reaction to the Carnival are online at ChessUSA.

Chess: Breaking 2000, Another London System Win

I've broken the "2000 barrier" at ICC correspondence. WooHoo!

Earlier, I stated that I had tried the London System and had found it wanting for correspondence chess. Despite that, it seems that I am getting the better position in some games using the London. In others the opponent is simply misplaying the position. Regardless of the success I've had with the London, I still think I will not use it in correspondence from here out. It seems to me that I have had to grind out each game in this system and it hasn't been fun. Enjoyment is in itself perhaps the best factor in choosing an opening system.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.05"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "sdo1"]
[Black "az2112"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1956"]
[BlackElo "1592"]
[Opening "Queen's pawn game: London System"]
[NIC "QP.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 Qe7 9. Ne5 Nd7 10. f4 f6 11. Nxd7 Bxd7 12. O-O Rac8 13. Qe2

This is another good London System setup. Black, when playing against the London, must always be on guard for tactics against his King side pawns, particularly the h7 pawn. Here, the protective g6 Knight is gone and the light Bishop has sighted in on h7. The Queen has free access to the light King side squares and can easily join an attack on h7 if Black ignores the weakness. Otherwise, Black has a good position and can defend, as long as he defends accurately. Black is well on his way to equalization and has possibilities of an attack after his King is secured. Some would say that Black even stands a bit better in this position. Black's pawns have more flexibility, his pieces are more central, and he has the promise of a center break at his time of choosing. Unfortunately, for Black, he chooses to try the break too soon.

13. ...e5? 14. fxe5 fxe5 15. Qh5

This is the result of the early ...e5. The Queen invades and there is no good way to prevent the Bishop's attack resulting in either a won pawn with a fractured King side, or a Bishop sac for a complete removal of the two protective King pawns.

15. ...g6 16. Bxg6 hxg6

Other tries were ...Bb8 and ...Qg7.

17. Qxg6+ Kh8 18. Qh6+ Kg8 19. Bh4 Qe6

This was simply a flier for Black. He will certainly lose material anyway, this desperado was worth trying.

20. Bf6 Kf7? 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Qg6#

20...Kf7 leads directly to mate.

The lesson in this game is glaring, Black must always guard against an attack on his h7 when White exchanges off the g6 Knight in the London. Against this system, it is probably best not to post the Queen Knight aggressively to c6, but instead to d7 where it supports the defense of the King side and a c5 push. The London player, much like the Colle player, is looking to attack the g and h pawns in front of the King. The light Bishop, while having as his first duty the support of the e4 push, is optimally poised to take advantage of the absence of a g6 Knight, and with the Queen makes a happy battery to hammer at h7.

Chess: December Chess Carnival - Send Entries Now!

My name is Steve Owens and my blog is at sdo1.blogspot.com. Jack and I also blog at chessusa.blogspot.com where I have volunteered to host December's Chess Carnival. I would be honored if the chess blogosphere would accept this invitation to submit blog articles for inclusion in this version of the Chess Carnival.

Please follow this link to submit an item from your blog http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_2250.html or send me an email at p944dc@gmail.com with the following information:

Permalink URL
Title
Article Blog
Blog URL
Blog Name

Submitter name
Submitter e-mail
Category
Remarks

As an example I have cut and pasted Mark Week's submission below (Thanks Mark)

Permalink URL ¤
http://chessforallages.blogspot.com/2007/10/mongols-russia-and-strobeck.html
Title ¤ Mongols, Russia, and Strobeck

Blog URL ¤ http://chessforallages.blogspot.com/
Name ¤ Chess for All Ages
Additional information
Submitter name ¤ Mark Weeks
Submitter e-mail ¤ carnival@mark-weeks.com
Category ¤ Chess Events
Remarks ¤ Hi Jack - Please feel free to contact me if you ever
become desperate for a carnival host. - Mark

Chess: My Events Update

My last events update was in September...

Starting with ICC. Both of the events I am in there are drawing to a close.

In 2007Seven.02 I have four wins (as White against John3v16 and AntonioMendonca and as Black against jonesey and OnGoldenPawn) with no draws or losses. Two games are yet to be decided. As Black against Stahlberg I am a Bishop to the better and have a King side attack brewing in the middle game of a Caro-Kann: Panov-Botvinnik attack. As White versus az2112 I played the London and we are just entering the middle game. Again, I have a strong King side attack brewing and am a pawn to the better. I came into the event as the highest rated player but I have had to fight for each point.

In 2007Quad.08 I have two wins, two draws, and no losses (yet). I have finished my games with The7thGuest and Molton having won once and drawn once with each. Both games versus my last opponent (Boromir) are ongoing. As White, I played a suspect line in the London System but I think I have equalized out of a bad spot. I grabbed a pawn in the opening and have been paying for it... Grabbing pawns in correspondence chess when there are other things to be done is a no-no! In my game with Black we have entered the middle game of a Reti/KID and I think I have at least equalized and may have a small plus.

az2112 and Boromir have both over stepped the time limits and have been warned by the TD. Hopefully we can get those games going in good fashion again.

I would post cross tables but it seems they have not been updated since the events began. With my latest result (the win over Molton), I have achieved my highest ICC Correspondence rating so far (1999).



Woah... Maybe I should play 3's and 9's on the lottery. I have a 1999 rating as of 19 November with 33 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws for a total of 39 games. Cue the spooky music!

---

Over at ICCF I have finished all my games in WS/O/109. Several of the leaders have yet to finish games. Right now I am in Third, but I anticipate no better than a Fourth place finish. As I wrote in September, for my first ICCF event I think I had satisfactory results. My loss to Pötz hampered my goal to finish near the top.

WS/O/109						TD Millstone, Michael
Rated						1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Score	SB	R	Place
1	AUT	10588		Pötz, Florian	1800P		½	1	.	1	1	1	4.5	9.5	1	1
2	CZE	130711		Kýhos, Alois	1701	½		½	.	1	1	1D	4	7.75	1	2
3	USA	514360		Owens, Steve	1800P	0	½		½	1	1	1D	4	7	0	3
4	POL	421419		Deren, Marcin	2019F	.	.	½		½	1	1D	3	4.25	2	4
5	USA	514348		Thomas, Gerald K	1800P	0	0	0	½		1	1	2.5	2.5	0	5
6	GER	85582		Kaspschak, Mrs. Karola	1800P	0	0	0	0	0		1D	1	0	0	6
7	ITA	241236		Barzaghi, Andy	1800P	0	0D	0D	0D	0	0D		0	0	0	7

X^D = result by default
X^F = FIDE Elo
X^P = provisional
Sorted by place. Click to sort by start list order.


In event WS/O/120 I am in clear second with one game to go. The three of us at top each have only to finish our games with Sanchez Carmona. Of course, I don't know how the other games are going, but in my game with Sanchez Carmona I am the Exchange up as Black in a Caro-Kann: Gurgenidze System. We are entering the end game (R,B,B vs. R,R,B and four pawns each) and I just need to put this puppy away. I could finish anywhere from first to third. I think second is most likely. I had too many draws in this event. Jan Gantar has four wins already to my three.

WS/O/120						TD Marconi, Ralph P.
Rated						1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Score	SB	R	Place
1	SLO	480238		Gantar, Jan	1800P		½	1	.	1	1	1	4.5	7.5	1	1
2	USA	514360		Owens, Steve	1800P	½		½	.	1	1	1	4	6	1	2
3	AUS	30119		Ramsden, Jim E.	1852	0	½		.	1	1	1	3.5	4	1	3
4	ESP	160980		Sánchez Carmona, Gerardo	1800P	.	.	.		1	1	1	3	2	3	4
5	USA	514396		Lynn, Bret	1800P	0	0	0	0		.	1	1	0	1	5
6	TUR	490209		Ciklabakkal, Metin	1800P	0	0	0	0	.		1	1	0	1	5
7	NOR	360548		Stenseth, Bjørn Gunnar	1800P	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	7

X^P = provisional
Sorted by place. Click to sort by start list order.


In my latest ICCF event, WS/O/138, again I have too many draws to be a favorite, but I'll finish near the top. I missed my chance to stand out from the pack with Black against Dumitrescu in a Spanish Berlin game. I had a clear advantage but missed the win in the end game with two passed pawns. Pareschi and Sarak are still playing thier game and so have a chance to pass Dumitrescu and me in the standings. I'll at least finish second or third assuming I can take care of my last game with Van hentenryck.

WS/O/138						TD Millstone, Michael
Rated						1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Score	SB	R	Place
1	ROM	440627		Dumitrescu, Florian	1800P		½	½	½	.	1	1	3.5	5.75	1	1
2	USA	514360		Owens, Steve	1800P	½		½	½	.	1	1	3.5	5.75	1	1
3	ITA	241242		Pareschi, Remo	1800P	½	½		.	.	1	1	3	4.5	2	3
4	GER	84051		Sarak, Michael	1800P	½	½	.		.	1	1	3	4.5	2	3
5	BEL	40214		Van hentenryck, Alain	1689	.	.	.	.		.	1	1	0	5	5
6	USA	511398		Peterson, Miss Janet	1676	0	0	0	0	.		1	1	0	1	6
7	SUI	100390		Galanti, Sergio	1628	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	7

X^P = provisional
Sorted by place. Click to sort by start list order.

---

I am in the midst of my second USCF Walter E. Muir event (USCF/WS/07WM41). Back in August I finished first in USCF/WS/07WM27. This one is going to be much, much tougher. I have wins in both games against Bill Evans again. No knock on Bill, sometimes another person just seems to have your number. My opening repertoire seems to be set up perfectly for his. The other players in this event all have multiple first place Muir finishes.

As an example of how tough this event is, here are the tournaments won by participants in the last several months:

OCTOBER WINNERS
Walter Muir Webserver
William Evans 07W28 5-1
William Evans 06W22 3 ½-2 ½
Thomas Haggard 06W22 3 ½-2 ½
William Evans 07W08 5-1
Joe Hoffmann 07W25 6-0

SEPTEMBER TOURNAMENT WINNERS
John Collins
Thomas Haggard 05C39 4-2

Walter Muir
Joe Hoffmann 07W16 4 ½-1 ½
William Evans 07W01 6-0
William Evans 07W21 6-0

Yikes!

Also of note: friend of the blog Anthony Ragan has a Muir win, too!

SEPTEMBER TOURNAMENT
WINNERS
Walter Muir
Anthony Ragan 07W16 4 ½-1 ½

In my games with Bill Evans, as Black we played a Semi-Slav: Meran. In the early middle game I was able to disturb his King side pawns with an exchange of his f3 Knight for my light Bishop. The open g file left by the recapture of the light Bishop was immediately exploitable by my Queen and King side Rook. In the other game Evans responded to 1.d4 with a Dutch Defense. I used a Catalan/Reti style setup with which I was familiar, and advanced my Queen side pawns aggressively. At about move 16 Bill dropped the f pawn in an exchange of Knights. A few moves later I was able to win the Exchange and then invade the seventh and eighth ranks with my rooks.

The other games are ongoing.

Against Thomas Haggard, in my game with Black Tom opened with what he called the "Haggard Gambit" in the Caro Kann Exchange. I'm not sure he has received compensation, but play continues... In my game as White, we are in a Bogo-Indian and things are very much in flux. Both games are in the opening stages.

Against Joe Hoffman, as Black I have the Bishop pair in the late middle game of a Caro Kann Exchange game. What is it with all these Exchange and Panov games? Has everyone abandoned the Advance against the CK? In our game that I have White, we are in the late middle game stages of another Bogo-Indian. It has been very tight but I am a pawn up. As compensation Black has a protected passed central pawn while my passed pawn is outside and isolated.

USCF/WS/07WM41						TD Dunne, Alex
Unrated						1	1	2	2	3	3	4	4	Score	SB	R	Place
1	USA	514322		Hoffmann, Joe				.	.	1	1	.	.	2	2	4	1
2	USA	514360		Owens, Steve		.	.			1	1	.	.	2	2	4	1
3	USA	514306		Evans, William	1620	0	0	0	0			1	.	1	0	1	3
4	USA	514316		Haggard, Thomas		.	.	.	.	.	0			0	0	5	4

Sorted by place. Click to sort by start list order.


My USCF rating is up to 1621 as of yesterday. If my current games are any indication I may be leveling off at between 1600 and 1700 for USCF Correspondence.

Chess: Another London Win, a Caro Kann Draw

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Quad.08.02"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.18"]
[White "sdo1"]
[Black "The7thGuest"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1971"]
[BlackElo "2035"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "King's Indian: London system"]
[ECO "A48"]
[NIC "QP.03"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Nc3



This is a thematic and positional mistake. White should play the Knight to d2 instead of c3 if developing before moving the c pawn in any case, and especially in the London where c3 is a support for d4 and the Knight at d2 helps support the thematic e4 push coming later.

5. ...d6 6. h3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 c5 8. O-O a6 9. a4 b6



I was not happy with my position. The fifth move still irked me. In OTB play that would probably have been enough to lose the game for me, and as improving real time play is a reason I play correspondence, perhaps I can translate the experience into a beneficial mindset OTB. The position, while not what I wanted, is still a good one and 9. a4 took steam out of any expansion Black had wanted Queen side.

10. d5 h6 11. e4 g5 12. Bh2 g4 13. hxg4 Nxg4 14. Bg3 Nde5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. Re1



Black lashed out with his King side pawns and his Knights, but I think he only damaged his position. The dark Bishop is still a nuisance to him, his Knight's post is temporary, and his King has a lot of open attacking ground to the front. My goal from here was to exchange off his King side pieces while getting my pieces to the King side. If he didn't exchange off his Knight for the light Bishop, I had several candidate plans with the f and e pawns and the e file to get my pieces into the action. One enticing target is the isolated h pawn.

16. ...Bd7 17. Qh5 Bg4 18. Qh2 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Ra7 20. Re3 Kh7 21. Bf4 Rh8 22. Rg3 Bd7 23. Re1 b5



I thought 23...b5 was a mistake. I was expecting something to get the Queen involved in the center or King side defense. Perhaps Qf8, e5, or f6 were better defensive tries.


24. Qh5 Qf8 25. e5 dxe5 26. Bxe5 Rg8 27. Ne4



Now my pieces are all on the King side and in great attacking position. Black doesn't have time to do anything on the Queen side with his pawns and Rook and still defend the King.

27. ...Bxe5 28. Qxe5 Rxg3 29. Nxg3 Bc8



After the exchanges and the retreat of the Bishop, White's pieces are still in attacking position, the Black King is still exposed to those pieces, the Black Queen is the only Black piece directly defending the King but is very over worked. The ISO doubled d pawns can't be exploited and the d5 pawn will soon advance into the Black position. The Black Queen side is ready to give up material.

The White Queen rules all, attacking in every direction and in command of the board.

30. axb5 axb5 31. Rc1 Bd7 32. Rxc5 f6 33. Qe3 Ra2 34. Rc7 {Black resigns} 1-0



33...Qf7 or Qe8 probably gave the most resistance. Ra2 loses material very quickly. After 34...Qd8 35. d6 the e pawn will fall and Black will be compelled to lose more material.

In the other game of our match (2007Quad.08.01) I relied on my trusted Caro Kann against the higher rated player. The Caro Kann player must not fear the exchange of his light Bishop, and in fact he must be able to embrace it in several lines of the Classical variation. The tempi invested by White in the exchange should allow Black more than enough compensation.

In this game the CK lives up to its dull reputation as both players could find no chinks in the opposition's defense.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Quad.08.01"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.18"]
[Round "-"]
[White "The7thGuest"]
[Black "sdo1"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2055"]
[BlackElo "1969"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann: classical variation"]
[ECO "B18"]
[NIC "CK.10"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Nh4 e6 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. c3 Nbd7 10. Bd3 Bd6 11. Qf3 e5 12. Be3 exd4 13. Bxd4 Qe7+ 14. Qe2 Be5 15. Bxe5 Nxe5 16. O-O-O O-O-O 17. Bc2 Qc7 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. h3 Re8 20. Rd1 Ned7 21. Qd2 Nb6 22. Kb1 Kb8 23. Qg5 a6 24. Bb3 Nbd5 25. Qh4 Qe5 26. Qc4 Qc7 {Draw (Black Offered)} 1/2-1/2