BCCF E-MAIL BULLETIN #40
BCCF E-MAIL BULLETIN #40
Issue 40 already - my, how time flies! Since the CFC has now shifted its
ratings update day to Wednesday, I will likely now send the Bulletin out on
Thursdays (I like to be able to provide a link to recently-rated events where
possible).
To subscribe, send me an e-mail (swright2@telus.net) or sign up via the BCCF
webpage (www.chess.bc.ca); if you no longer wish to receive this Bulletin, just
let me know.
Stephen Wright
[back issues of the Bulletin are available on the BCCF web site:
www.chess.bc.ca/newsletters.html]
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VANCOUVER FEBRUARY OPEN by Ben Daswani
Eighteen players showed up to the Vancouver February Open. The tournament
consisted of players of a variety of strengths, with the first and last seeds
being rated more than 2000 points apart! When it was all said and done, BC's
newest titled player, FM Fanhao Meng, scored a perfect 4/4 to win the event.
Tied for second were Michael Yip, Mehrdad Yousefzadeh, Ben Daswani, and Louie
Jiang with 3/4. The high number of underrated juniors (ten of the players were
under the age of eighteen) led to numerous upset possibilities. Most notable
were the performances of youngsters Louie Jiang and Richard Huang, both of whom
scored wins against players rated more than 300 points above them.
The final scores were:
4.0/4 - F. Meng.
3.0/4 - M. Yip, M. Yousefzadeh, B. Daswani, L. Jiang.
2.5/4 - J. Feng, R. Huang.
2.0/4 - S. Mandic, A. Kostin, E. Christensen, T. Tang, A. Jessa.
1.5/4 - C. Fekete, L. McCusky.
1.0/4 - B. Nosovic, A. Worden, M. Christensen.
0.0/4 - O. Jessa.
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2004 B.C. INTERSCHOOL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP by Bruce Harper
On February 28, 2004, St. George s Senior School hosted the finals of the
Elementary School Team Championship and the Secondary School Team Championship.
The setting was McLean Hall, an elegant setting for any event, but especially a
chess tournament. The event was organized by Bruce Harper and directed by
Stephen Wright. Invaluable assistance was provided by Katherine Davies,
Elizabeth Towers, Tyler Johnson and many of the parents and teachers associated
with the participating teams. We also extend our thanks to host schools West
Point Grey Academy (Preliminaries) and St. George s (finals).
The Elementary School Finals was a six-team round robin. Westcot, which
finished first in the 39-team preliminaries held at West Point Grey Academy a
month earlier, was unable to field a team and was replaced by Lord Roberts.
For the fourth year in a row (!), Our Lady of Perpetual Help won the Elementary
School Finals, with 15 points out of a possible 20 - only half a point ahead of
St. George s A. The crucial game of the event turned out to be the rematch
between Our Lady and St. George s top boards Bryan Young and Christopher Hui.
Playing black, Christopher obtained a winning position, but Bryan s tournament
experience served him well, as his opponent became nervous and blundered in the
rook and pawn ending when a clock was put on the game. Bryan thus avenged his
loss to Christopher in the preliminaries and, as it turned out, provided his
team with the winning margin.
Lord Roberts finished third with 10.5 - a commendable result for a team that
hadn t known it was playing until shortly before the event. Vancouver Christian
had 8, St. George s B 7.5 and St. John s 4.5.
The Elementary Finals board prizes were awarded as follows:
Board 1 - Bryan Young (OLPH), Christopher Hui (St George's A)
Board 2 - Benjamin Huang (St George's A), Forson Chan (St George's B)
Board 3 - Surbinder Bolina (St John's), Timothy Wai (OLPH)
Board 4 - Angelo Graffos (OLPH), Joshua Brookstone (St George's A)
Fourteen schools participated in the Secondary School Championship, double the
number that took place last year. Winston Churchill won for the third year in a
row, so we appear to have dynasties in both the Secondary and Elementary
divisions. Churchill, powered by top board Lawrence Bau, who finished with a
perfect score for the second year in a row, scored 17 points, followed by
Johnston Heights with 14.5. The key game was Lawrence Bau s win over Johnston
top board Valentina Goutor, who misplaced a better position against Lawrence and
succumbed to a vicious counterattack.
Burnaby South took third place with 11.5, followed by Seaquam A with 11.
The Secondary School board prizes were awarded as follows:
Board 1 - Lawrence Bau (Churchill A), Yamei Wang (Burnaby South)
Board 2 - Max Reznitsky (Burnaby Mountain), Ivan Petrov (Johnston Heights)
Board 3 - Andy Chen (University Hill), Kevin Au (Johnston Heights)
Board 4 - Max Tikhomolov (Churchill A), Joel Li (Churchill B)
The following game comes with a good story. Burnaby South's roster listed its
top board as "Amy Wang," which I misread as "Amy Wong." As it happened, Burnaby
South was paired against Seaquam A, which meant veteran Jason Lee was to play
the unknown Amy Wong, who was late in arriving. We were all surprised (and
Jason most of all) to discover that Amy Wong was really Yamei Wang, whom we all
know, love and fear to play!
To Jason's credit, he recovered from a bad opening, but ended up losing an
error-filled game. A time control of game/45 minutes is entertaining for the
spectators, but unsatisfying for the players. But what can you do?
Wang,Y - Lee,J [B22] Secondary Team ch Vancouver (1), 28.02.2004
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.dxc5 Qxc5 6.Na3 a6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.Be2 Nc6
9.Nc4 e5 10.Nf3 b5 11.Nb6 Rb8 12.Nxc8 Rxc8 13.a4 b4 14.Bxa6 Rd8 15.Qe2 bxc3
16.bxc3 Be7 17.0-0 0-0 18.Bb5 Na5 19.c4 Nb3 20.Rad1 Ne4 21.Qc2 Nec5
White must be better, with the bishop pair and an extra pawn. Black's
compensation is based on control of c5 and attacking chances associated with his
kingside pawn majority. The logical course for White is therefore to trade all
the rooks, although 22.Qf5 and 22.Rd5 are both strong as well.
22.Rfe1 Bd6 23.h3 f5 24.Rd5 [24.Bg5!] 24...e4 25.Bxc5?! Nxc5 26.Nd4 Nd3 27.Re2?
Nb4
The alternative is 27...Nf4.
28.Ne6 [28.Qb3] 28...Qe7 29.Nxd8? Nxc2 30.Nc6 Qc7??
As was quickly determined after the game, 30...Qf6! wins on the spot, because of
the mate on a1. Now White is back on track and wraps up the game nicely.
31.Rxc2 Rf6?! 32.Rcd2 Bf4? 33.Rd8+ Rf8 34.R8d7 Qb6 35.R2d5 Bc7 36.a5 Qb7 37.Re7
Rf7 38.Rd8+ Bxd8 39.Rxb7 Rxb7 40.Nxd8 Rb8 41.Nc6 1-0
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KELOWNA WINTERFEST 2004 by Grant Rice
This 5-round regular swiss tournament attracted 14 players from BC.
In first place was David Moore with 4.5, second was Gerry Neufahrt with 4 and
tied at third were Chai and Mike Kindret with 3 points. In the under 1700 prize
category was Alan Whitman and Connor Doyle tied at 3 points as well. We also
had an upset prize that went to Marshall Rasmussen for his draw with Wally
Steinke.
Thanks to Chess First Enterprises at www.northshorechess.com for sponsoring
prizes with Fritz 7 and WorldChessNetwork passes.
Submitted by: TD Grant Rice
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LITTLE MOUNTAIN VS. CROATIANS EXHIBITION MATCH
On February 8th an exhibition team match took place at the Croatian Community
Centre between members of the Croatian and Little Mountain Clubs. Organized by
Robert Topic and Eduardo Azmitia, the match was aimed at encouraging the
formation of a Croatian team to join next year's interclub league. Both sides
had difficulty in fielding full teams but eventually the match went ahead on six
boards; after a spirited contest the Little Mountain Team emerged victorious by
the score of 4.5-1.5. Many thanks to the Croatian Community Centre for
providing a playing site and to Robert Topic for the delicious cake! Niksic,J -
Wright,S [A89] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 d6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.b3 Ne4 9.Bb2
e5 10.d5 Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Ne7 12.e4 Qe8 13.c5 h6 14.Nd2 f4 15.Nc4 Qd8 16.f3 g5
17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Bb4 Rf6 19.Qc1 Bf8 20.a4 Ng6 21.Qa3 g4 22.Rac1 h5 23.a5 h4
24.Rc3 hxg3 25.fxg4 gxh2+ 26.Kh1 Bxg4 27.Bh3 Qd7 28.Kxh2 f3 29.Rfxf3 Nf4 30.Bxg4
Qxg4 31.Rg3 Rh6+ 32.Kg1 Ne2+ 33.Kg2 Nf4+ 34.Kg1 Ne2+ 35.Kg2 Nf4+ 36.Kf2 Rh2+
37.Kg1 Rg2+ 38.Kf1 Rxg3 0-1
Yip,M - Mandic,S [A97] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.c4 Be7 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Qe8 8.Re1 Nc6 9.e4
fxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Rxe4 Qh5 12.Bd2 e5 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nxe5 Qxd1+ 15.Rxd1 Nxe5
16.Rxe5 Bf6 17.Re2 Bg4 18.Bd5+ Kh8 19.f3 Bf5 20.Bc1 Rad8 21.g4 c6 22.g5 cxd5
23.cxd5 Bxg5 24.Bxg5 Rd7 25.Re3 h6 26.Bh4 Rc8 27.Rd2 Rc2 28.Ree2 Rxd2 29.Rxd2
Kg8 30.Kf2 Kf7 31.Ke3 g6 32.Kd4 h5 33.Bg5 Bb1 34.a3 Ba2 35.Ke5 Bb1 36.b3 Bf5
37.a4 Ke8 38.b4 Rc7 39.a5 Rc3 40.Kd6 Rb3 41.Re2+ Kf8 42.Kc7 Rxb4 43.Be7+ 1-0
Campos,E - Davies,N [A03] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.f4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Be2 Bf5 4.d3 e6 5.Nf3 c5 6.0-0 Nc6 7.c3 Qc7 8.d4 a6 9.h3 h5
10.a3 c4 11.Qe1 Be7 12.Nbd2 Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Bd2 0-0-0 15.Ng5 Bg6 16.Bf3 Bxg5
17.fxg5 e5 18.e4 dxe4 19.Bxe4 exd4 20.Bxg6 fxg6 21.Qe6+ Rd7 22.Bf4 Qb6 23.cxd4
Qxb2 24.Be5 Nxe5 25.dxe5 Qd4+ 26.Kh1 Qd5 27.Qxg6 Qxe5 28.Rac1 c3 29.Rf3 Rhd8
30.Rfxc3+ Kb8 31.Qxh5 Qe4 32.Qf3 Qxf3 33.gxf3 Rd1+ 34.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 35.Kg2 Rd5
36.h4 g6 37.Kg3 Rd1 38.Kg4 Rg1+ 39.Kf4 Rh1 40.Ke5 Rd1 41.Kf6 Rd6+ 42.Kg7 b5
43.Kh6 a5 44.h5 b4 45.axb4 axb4 46.Rb3 gxh5+ 47.Kxh5 Rb6 48.g6 Kc7 49.g7 Rb8
50.Kh6 Kd6 51.Kh7 Rb7 52.Kh8 Rb8+ 53.g8Q Rxg8+ 54.Kxg8 Ke5 55.Rxb4 Kf5 [Time]
½-½
Chan,J - Brebric,B [D73] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 5.g3 Bg7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 Re8 8.Ne5 dxc4
9.Nxc4 Nd5 10.e4 Nb6 11.Nxb6 Qxb6 12.d5 Rd8 13.Qe2 e5 14.Be3 Qa5 15.Rfd1 c5
16.Qb5 Qxb5 17.Nxb5 Na6 18.Rac1 b6 19.Bg5 f6 20.Be3 Bf8 21.f3 Bd7 22.Bf1 Bxb5
23.Bxb5 Nc7 24.Bc6 Rab8 25.f4 exf4 26.gxf4 Bh6 27.Kf2 Bg7 28.h4 Ne8 29.h5 Nd6
30.Kf3 Kf7 31.Bf2 Ke7 32.Rg1 g5 33.h6 Bh8 34.Bg3 Rf8 35.Rge1 Nf7 36.f5
½-½
Topic,R - Sladek,V [A45] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.h3 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Bd6 6.Ne5 0-0 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.g4 Be4 9.f3
Bg6 10.h4 h6 11.Bg3 Bh7 12.f4 Ne4 13.Bf2 Nxf2 14.Kxf2 Nf6 15.Nd2 Bxe5 16.dxe5
Ne4+ 17.Nxe4 Bxe4 18.Rh2 f6 19.exf6 Qxf6 20.Kg3 e5 21.Rf2 g5 22.hxg5 hxg5 23.f5
Kg7 24.Bd3 Rad8 25.Bxe4 dxe4 26.Qe2 Rh8 27.Rh2 Rxh2 28.Qxh2 Qb6 29.Qf2 Rh8
30.Rd1 Kf6 31.c4 Qc5 32.b3 Qf8 33.Qg2 Qh6 34.Kf2 Qh4+ 35.Ke2 Qh2 36.Rg1 a5 37.a3
b6 ½-½
Jung,W - Jessa,O [B72] Little Mtn vs Croatians, 08.02.2004
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.Be3 0-0 8.Qd2 Re8
9.0-0-0 Nc6 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Be6 12.h3 Qa5 13.a3 Rac8 14.f3 a6 15.g4 b5
16.Na2 Qxd2 17.Rxd2 Nd7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Nc3 Kf6 20.f4 Nc5 21.h4 Rh8 22.g5+ Kg7
23.h5 f6 24.Bf3 f5 25.Rdh2 fxe4 26.Nxe4 Nxe4 27.Bxe4 Rc4 28.Re2 Bf7 29.hxg6 hxg6
30.Rxh8 Kxh8 31.Bd3 Rxf4 32.Rxe7 Bd5 33.b3 Rf3 34.Rd7 Bxb3 35.Rxd6 Bf7 36.Bxg6
Bxg6 37.Rxg6 Rxa3 38.Rb6 Kg7 39.Kb2 Rg3 40.Rxa6 Rxg5 41.Kb3 Kf7 42.Kb4 Rg6
43.Rxg6 Kxg6 44.Kxb5 Kf6 45.c4 Ke6 46.Kc6 Ke7 47.c5 Kd8 48.Kb7 Kd7 49.c6+ Kd6
50.c7 Kd5 51.c8Q Ke5 52.Qc6 Kd4 53.Kb6 Ke5 54.Kc5 Kf4 55.Kd4 Kf5 56.Qf3+ Ke6
57.Qd5+ Kf6 58.Qe5+ Kg6 59.Ke4 Kf7 60.Kf5 Kg8 61.Kg6 Kf8 62.Kf6 Kg8 63.Qe7 1-0
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PAIRS 4000 ACTIVE/BLITZ TOURNAMENT
Are two heads better than one? Now s your chance to find out by joining fellow
chess enthusiasts on Saturday, March 20, 2004, for a challenging day of chess
entertainment.
Here s the way it works: grab a partner and play. But there are some rules:
1. The combined rating of each partnership may not exceed 4000. Two 2000
players could partner, a 2200 player could team up with anyone rated 1800 or
lower, and so on.
2. The amount of time each partnership receives in each event is related to its
combined rating. There are two events: a. Active: Teams receive between 15
minutes and half an hour. b. Blitz: Teams receive between two and a half minutes
and six minutes.
3. Prizes will be awarded for the top finishers in each event, as well as for
the top combined totals.
4. The active tournament will be a four-round Swiss.
5. The blitz tournament will be a six-round Swiss, with each round consisting of
a four-game match.
6. In each game, in both events, one player makes the first move for White, then
the players alternate, each making two moves in a row.
7. Partners may not talk about the game while playing. They may tell their
partner to move ("It s your move.") and tell them to move quickly ("Hurry up, we
have 20 seconds left!!"). Profanity and physical violence is not allowed except
under extreme circumstances.
Date: March 20, 2004 (Saturday)
Location: Vancouver Bridge Center, 2776 East Broadway (Broadway and Kaslo), Vancouver
Contact: Richard Reid, (604) 589-4214, rreid@smartt.com
NOTE: This is a fundraising event, open to all. The intent is to raise money to
help bring titled players to the 2005 Elod Macskasy Memorial tournament, and
thereby provide an opportunity for some of our local players to make IM and GM
norms.
Special bonus event: A Bug tournament will be held immediately upon completion
of the blitz tournament if enough players wish to play.
As of February 18, 2004, the following teams have confirmed their participation
in this event:
Jack Yoos and Tiffany Tang, Duncan Suttles and Laura Harper, Bruce Harper and
Lara Heppenstall, Noam Davies and Ben Daswani, Vas Sladek and Richard Beauchamp,
and Evgeni Goutor and Andrey Kostin.
Full details may be found at
http://www.chess.bc.ca/PairsTournament1.pdf or http://www.chessbc.com/events3.html
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TD'S CORNER
This column will examine the Laws of Chess, to remind and/or educate players and
tournament directors alike of some of their details. The full Laws of Chess can
be found in the CFC Handbook at www.chess.ca, and should be consulted for the
exact wording of each Article mentioned.
If anyone has a specific question they would like answered in this column, just
e-mail me (swright2@telus.net).
CLAIMING A DRAW 2: THE QUICKPLAY FINISH
This, the infamous Article 10.2, has had more written about it than probably all
the other Laws of Chess combined. Here it is:
"10.2 If the player, having the move, 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 agrees 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 or reject the
claim.
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 an arbiter,
if possible. The arbiter shall declare the final result after a flag has
fallen.
c) If the arbiter has rejected the claim, the opponent shall be awarded two
extra minutes thinking time.
d) The decision of the arbiter shall be final relating to 10.2 a, b, c."
Preliminaries: this article only applies in the sudden-death portion of a game,
when the claimant has a fixed amount of time (less than two minutes) in which to
complete the entire game. It does NOT apply if there is an increment of any
sort; it also does NOT apply to blitz games.
Interpretation: the reason this article is so controversial is because it is to
a certain degree subjective; the arbiter, with very little help from the Laws of
Chess, is left to decide if "the opponent is making no effort to win the game by
normal means, or that it is not possible to win by normal means." Furthermore,
a player now has no protection if the arbiter's decision is incorrect ("The
decision of the arbiter shall be final relating to 10.2 a, b, c.") What follows
is my own interpretation of Article 10.2 - be aware that other TDs might view
matters somewhat differently.
So, what does all this mean? Basically, it means that you may claim a draw if:
a) your opponent is simply shuffling pieces to and fro in an attempt to make you
lose on time ("making no effort to win the game by normal means"), or
b) you have reached a position that your opponent cannot "win by normal means,"
i.e., a position that is THEORETICALLY DRAWN (or close to it), or in which you
have a sizeable advantage. Even if the position is a theoretical draw, this
does not mean that a draw will automatically be granted - the defender must show
that he knows HOW to draw the position, either by telling the arbiter or
demonstrating it during play if the arbiter postpones his decision (moral: learn
your basic endings).
What Article 10.2 does NOT mean is that the arbiter will award you a draw if
your position is merely equal:
The position on the left is certainly equal but there is still plenty of play in the position; if either player claimed a draw under Article 10.2 on the basis that "it is not possible to win by normal means," the arbiter should reject the claim. In the position on the right White has all the winning chances, therefore if White claimed a draw under article 10.2, the arbiter should accept the claim and award a draw. In short, Article 10.2 should not be viewed as a safety net whenever a player gets short of time, it only applies in very specific situations. IT IS STILL THE PLAYERS RESPONSIBILITY TO USE THEIR TIME ALLOTMENT APPROPRIATELY, SO AS TO HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME LEFT IN WHICH TO COMPLETE THE GAME. FOR TDs Except in those cases when a claim can be immediately rejected or accepted, postponing the decision is usually the correct procedure: watch the game to determine if the opponent is trying to win by normal means, or if the claimant can demonstrate they know how to draw the position. Be mindful that some players will insist that their position is an "obvious theoretical draw," which might not be the case at all. The strength of the players will also be a factor in whether you accept the claim or have them play on (what is a trivial draw for a GM is unlikely to be for a 1400 player). Keep in mind that a claim under 10.2 is also considered a draw offer, so the first thing you should do is ask the opponent if they agree to the draw. Finally, keep Article 12.1 ["The players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute"] in mind: would awarding a draw or ruling a player lost on time in a given position bring the game of chess into disrepute? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIRTY YEARS AGO by Bruce Harper Thirty years ago the "Chess Hopes of Vancouver" tournament was won by 14-year old Glenn Morin, who was the youngest participant. Glenn lives in Victoria and has apparently prematurely retired from chess. But after a ten or twenty year break one can returned refreshed - I hope he does. [I believe Glenn represented Canada in the NATO championships a couple of years ago - ed.] But today's game does not feature one of Morin's games, as his difficult positional style (which I helped foster) is too hard to explain. Instead I give game played by Nigel Fullbrook, who proudly had the nickname "Mad Dog" for reasons which will be obvious. His unfortunately victim was Robert Chow, who played correctly and strongly, but on this occasion was bamboozled by Nigel's claim to the initiative. The present BC Champion, Jack Yoos, might be thought of as Nigel's spiritual successor, although Jack's sacrifices tend to be a bit more considered. Fullbrook,N - Chow,R [A00] Chess Hopes Vancouver (4), 1974 1.f3 I think Fullbrook played this move as a way of telling his opponent "I can play anything and still beat you!" 1...e6 2.f4 "Well, almost anything..." The game now becomes a Dutch Defence with colours reversed. 2...Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.b3 Bb7 5.Bb2 Be7 6.e3 d5 7.d3 c5 8.Nbd2 Nbd7?! 9.g3 b5 10.Bg2 0-0 11.0-0 Qb6 12.c4 a6 13.Qe2 Rfd8 Black's whole set up is solid, but a bit passive. Perhaps lulled by White's uncharacteristically positional play, Black removes a defender from the kingside. 14.e4 dxe4 15.dxe4 Nb8 Black plays in a leisurely fashion, but this is a leisurely position. 16.Ng5!? h6 17.e5!? Vintage Fullbrook. White plays as though he's winning, in the hope that either he is, or that Black will think so too. 17...Ne8 18.Nge4 Nc6 19.f5!? More aggression. 19...exf5 20.Rxf5 Bc8 This is fine, although 20...Nd4 gave Black the hope of a slight edge. But watch what happens now... 21.Rxf7?! There probably aren't enough punctuation marks to do this move justice.At the time I wrote "The sacrifice 21.Rxf7! is apparently sound, alhough at the time Fullbrook wasn't sure of this." In fact the sacrifice is unsound, but successful. 21...Kxf7 22.Nd6+ Nxd6 23.Bd5+ Kg6? After 23...Ke8, Black's king escapes to the queenside via d7 (24.e6 g6 leaves Black a rook and piece up). 24.exd6 Rxd6 25.Rf1 Kh7? Black had to give back the more material with 25...Rxd5, although then White is doing all right. 26.Qe4+ 1-0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WALTER DE HAVILLAND A minor B.C. chess figure this week who was much better known as the father of film stars Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine: de Havilland, Walter Augustus (August 31, 1872 - May 20, 1968) Born in Lewisham, Kent (England), into a distinguished family which traces its roots back to the time of the Norman conquest; the aircraft designer Sir Geoffrey de Havilland was a relative. Brought up on the Channel Island of Guernsey, de Havilland attended Harrow before reading theology at Cambridge University; he won his Blue as a participant in the annual Oxford-Cambridge rowing match. After graduation de Havilland moved to Japan; he learnt Japanese and Chinese and became an expert on oriental patent law, writing several books on the subject. De Havilland married Lilian Rusé in 1914 and the couple settled in Tokyo; they had two daughters, Olivia (b. July 1, 1916) and Joan (b. October 22, 1917). The marriage failed: Lilian discovered that her husband was having an affair with the household maid, Yoki. She and her two daughters left de Havilland for California in 1919, but the couple was not officially divorced until 1925; de Havilland subsequently married Yoki in 1927. Olivia and Joan did not even see their father again until 1933; at that point it was decided that Joan should finish her schooling in Japan, but she left in 1934 after her father behaved improperly towards her. The sisters remained estranged from their father from then on; after they became famous film stars de Havilland tried to contact them (seeking unneccessary support), but they always refused to see him. De Havilland and Yoki fled Japan just before World War 2 and went to the U.S.; since Yoki was Japanese she had to be interned during the war, but de Havilland arranged accommodations for them at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs. Following the end of the conflict the couple moved to Victoria, where Yoki died in 1958. In 1960 de Havilland married for the third time, to Rosemary (Mary) Beaton of Victoria; eight years later the couple was residing in North Vancouver when de Havilland passed away at the age of ninety-five. It is not know when de Havilland learned to play chess, but considering the limited number of opportunities to play in Japan, it seems likely that he was familiar with the game at least as early as his studies at Cambridge. Apart from learning oriental languages de Havilland also adopted some asian pastimes, including go: Joan Fontaine reported that when she was living with her father in Tokyo, he spent much of his time at his chess and go clubs. He was proficient enough to author The ABC of Go, published in 1910 (see http://pages.infinit.net/steven/abcofgo.htm, which also includes a biography of de Havilland along with a picture of him playing go). It is not known whether he learned Japanese chess or shogi, although he certainly knew some shogi players (see below). The first specific references to de Havilland and chess come from 1933. In January World Champion Alexander Alekhine visited Tokyo and gave a 14-board blindfold simultaneous at the Imperial Hotel, which was where de Havilland happened to be living. One of Alekhine's opponents was the shogi champion Yoshio Kimura; Alekhine thought highly enough of their game to later include it in one of his volumes of best games. However, this was not their only meeting; a few days before the simultaneous the same opponents played an offhand game, which Alekhine apparently won with ease (Kimura knew the moves of occidental chess, but had had hardly any practice). The umpire on this occasion was listed as being "assisted by Mr. de Havilland, the well-known British resident of Tokyo." [Japan Times & Mail, January 20, 1933, pp. 1-2] The newspaper noted there were two umpires for the simultaneous proper, "one a foreigner and one Japanese," but did not name them: perhaps the foreigner was de Havilland. There are two photographs of the event in the Japan Times of January 22, 1933; one of them shows the umpires(?) standing next to a seated Alekhine, but the microfilmed images are not clear enough to attempt positive identifications. After moving to Victoria chess seems to have become one of de Havilland's major pastimes, as go was during his years in Japan. He played on board 17 (out of 49) in the 1948 B.C. - Washington international team match, and was a participant in the 1950 B.C. Championship in Victoria, scoring a respectable 3/7 - this at the age of seventy-seven! During the 1950s he regularly took part in the Victoria and District Championship, generally finishing around the 50% mark, and in 1957 he sponsored a Swiss event at the Victoria chess club. Postcript: despite having to watch her father play go and chess, it is not known whether Joan Fontaine ever took an interest in either game. However, Olivia de Havilland was a chess player, although it seems highly unlikely she learnt the game from her father (she was largely estranged from him from the age of two onwards). A photograph in Edward Winter's Kings, Commoners and Knaves shows her contesting a game with Errol Flynn. There is also a memorable scene in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) in which Olivia (as Lady Penelope Gray) plays a game with Queen Elizabeth (Bette Davies); Penelope manages to capture the Queen's knight (symbolic of Essex/Errol Flynn), but this action is met by Elizabeth imperiously sweeping the pieces off the board. Alekhine,A - Kimura,Y [C73] blindfold simul Tokyo, 20.01.1933 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 d6 7.0-0 Be6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Qa4 Bd7 11.Rad1 0-0 12.e5 Ne8 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Rfe1 Qd8 16.Nd4 Qc7 17.Re7 Nf6 18.Nf5 Qd8 19.Rxd6 Re8 20.Ne4 Rxe7 21.Nxf6+ Kh8 22.Nxe7 Qxe7 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Nxe4 Be6 25.b3 g6 26.Nc5 Bf5 27.Rxc6 Re8 28.f3 Re2 29.Rxa6 Rxc2 30.Ne4 Be6 31.h4 Kg7 32.Kh2 Kh6 33.Kg3 Bd7 34.a4 f5 35.Ng5 Rc3 36.Ra7 Rd3 37.a5 Kh5 38.Nxh7 1-0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPCOMING EVENTS To save space, from now on I will only give basic information for events - date, place, and type. Full details for all the events listed here may be found on the BCCF site, www.chess.bc.ca. Junior Events Mar 6 South Fraser Valley Elementary Chess Challenge, Surrey Mar 7 Grand Prix #6, Vancouver Mar 7 Victoria Regional Chess Challenge Mar 27 South Fraser Valley Secondary Chess Challenge, Surrey Mar 28 Vancouver Regional Chess Challenge Mar 28 Victoria Regional CYCC For full details see www.chess.bc.ca or http://members.shaw.ca/victoriachess/ Individual Chess Matches Players interested in participating in rated individual chess matches with other players of comparable or dissimilar ratings can contact Luis E. Azmitia at azmitia@interchange.ubc.ca Please make sure to include in the e-mail: your name, your rating, type of game preferred (i.e. active), and the rating range of possible opponents. Note that the games will be held in the Vancouver area. Little Mountain's Regular Swiss - March Dates: March 8, 15, 22 and 29. Place: Little Mountain Neighbourhood House, 3981 Main St., Vancouver Type: 4-round Swiss Vancouver Saturday Night Chess (2) Dates: Saturdays March 13, 20, 27, April 3, and April 17 Place: Vancouver Bridge Centre, 2776 East Broadway (at Kaslo), Vancouver Type: 5-round Swiss UBC Tuesday Night Chess March/April 2004 Dates: March 16th, 23rd, 30th, April 6th, 13th Place: UBC Student Union Building, Room 211 Type: 5-round Swiss Kalamalka Spring Dates: March 27 & 28 Place: Holiday Inn Express, 4716 34th St., Vernon Type: 5-round Swiss Little Mountain's Regular Swiss - April Dates: April 5, 12, 19, and 26. Place: Little Mountain Neighbourhood House, 3981 Main St., Vancouver Type: 4-round Swiss B.C. Championship Dates: April 9-12 Place: Vancouver Bridge Centre Type: 8-player round robin Kamloops Grand Prix #3 Date: April 9,10, Eligibility: for < 2200 only Place: South Kamloops Secondary School Cafeteria, 821 Munro Street, Kamloops Type: 6-round Swiss What a wonderful world Date: April 24 Place: Fatima Church, Coquitlam (315 Walker st.) Type: Regular 4-round Swiss Apple Blossom Open Date: May 1 & 2 Place: Holiday Inn Express, 4716 34th St., Vernon Type: 5-round Swiss 29th Paul Keres Memorial Date: May 21-24 Place: Croatian Community Centre, Vancouver Type: 6 or 7-round Swiss http://www.keresmemorial.com/ Western Canadian Open Date: July 9-18 Place: Vancouver Airport Conference Resort Type: 10 round single-section Swiss Kamloops Grand Prix #4 Date: Sept. 18 Place: South Kamloops Secondary School Cafeteria, 821 Munro Street, Kamloops, B.C. Type: 4-round Swiss Kamloops Grand Prix #5 Date: Oct. 23 Place: South Kamloops Secondary School Cafeteria, 821 Munro Street, Kamloops, B.C. Type: 4-round Swiss Silver Star Challenge (Interior Qualifier) Date: Nov. 13 & 14 Place: Holiday Inn Express, 4716 34th St., Vernon Type: 5-round Swiss Kamloops Grand Prix #6 Date: Nov. 20 Place: South Kamloops Secondary School Cafeteria, 821 Munro Street, Kamloops, B.C. Type: 4-round Swiss
