BCCF E-MAIL BULLETIN #41
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Stephen Wright
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PAIRS 4000 ACTIVE/BLITZ TOURNAMENT by Bruce Harper
Join Grandmasters Seirawan and Suttles, BC Champion Jack Yoos, BC Junior
Champion Fanhao Meng, BC Women's Champion Valentina Goutor (teamed with arch
rival Tyler Johnson, former Canadian Junior Champion and good player), BC chess
icon Nathan Divinsky, and a host of others in this Saturday's Pairs 4000
Macskasy Memorial fundraiser at the Vancouver Bridge Center, March 20, 2004.
Play starts at 10:00 am, sharp.
Don't have a partner? Contact Ben, at devil1331@hotmail.com, and he'll find you
someone! Don't be the odd one out! You're only a loser if you don't play!
Victoria master Glenn Morin (2276) and Lesley Cheng (1447) are the 16th team to
enter the event. Morin's 1970s match with (then) Seattle upstart Yasser
Seirawan was a classic moment in BC chess history, and if, by sheer chance,
Glenn and Lesley Cheng were to be paired against Yasser and sister Andrea Cheng
this Saturday, it would be a fitting chance for Glenn to even the score.
For his part Yasser would like to note his fine sportsmanship in this matter:
"Having retired in late 2003, I realize there are a lot of folks who would like
a second shot at my chin. A fund raiser felt like a fitting opportunity for BC
based players to get their opportunity. Furthermore, I'm playing for my chance
too. My tournament record against GM Duncan Suttles is a miserable one. I'm
hopeful that Andrea can help me with her unfettered play. Fans are encouraged
to come and support this fundraiser!" - Yasser Seirawan
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EDMONTON MARCH SECTIONAL
On the first weekend in March two B.C. players, Jack Yoos and Mike Stanford,
made the trek to Edmonton to play in FIDE-rated round robin events; here are the
results in their respective sections:
Section A:
Robert Sasata (2331) 4.5
FM Jack Yoos (2426) 4.0
Jeff Reeve (2392) 2.5
Rob Gardner (2260) 2.5
Greg Huber (2268) 1.5
Zhichao Li (2296) 0.0
Section B:
Dale Haessel (2226) 4.5
Kris Boehmer (2097) 4.0
Micah Hughey (2013) 2.5
Georgi Kostadinov (2214) 2.0
Mike Stanford (2209) 2.0
Sasa Grumic (2180) 0.0
Jack Yoos has kindly provided annotations to his games (some of the sections
were marred by withdrawals, hence there are only four games) - thanks again
Jack!
Yoos,J - Reeve,J [B60] Edmonton Sectional, 2004
[Yoos]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 This was a surprise. Recently
Jeff has mostly been playing either the Dragon or the Sveshnikov. I had focused
most of my prep on the Dragon as that is the most dangerous. Preparing for Jeff
is kind of tricky for me as the openings we like to play are rather similar.
6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Be2 Jeff remarked after the game that it seemed that 7.Qd2 has been
more popular lately. 7.Be2 is the recommendation of 'Beating the Sicilian 3' by
Nunn and Gallagher. The idea of 7.Be2 is that White wants to keep developing
without losing a tempo after 7.Qd2 Nxd4. As Jeff had discovered and prepared
for this game - the line given in BTS3 is flawed. [7.Bxf6?! gxf6 8.Qd2 Qb6
9.Nb3 f5 with counterplay; 7.Qd2 Rc8 8.0-0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Qa5 is the main line.]
7...Qa5 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.0-0 Nxd4 [9...Qg5 10.Nf5 Rg8 (10...Bxf5 11.f4 Qg6 12.Bh5)
11.Ng3; 9...Qe5 10.Nf3 Qc5 11.Nd5 Rc8 12.c3] 10.Qxd4 Rc8 Though I hadn't looked
at this line in a very long time, I could remember that this was a "book" line
up to this point. I also knew that the theme was Nd5 and c3. For me, concern
#1 was the c2 pawn. When I started looking at the sacrifice of c2 I became
skeptical. I decided that White needed more development before offering c2.
Concern #2 was Black playing f5 and opening lines for his bishops. Because of
these factors I ended up choosing a less common move... [10...Qc5 11.Qxc5 dxc5
12.Nb5 0-0-0 (12...Kd8 13.Rfd1 a6 14.Rd3) 13.Nxa7+ Kb8 14.Nb5 Bg7 15.Bd3! BTS3
(Anand)] 11.Rad1!? [11.Nd5?! This, the main variation, results in concern #1. A)
11...Rxc2 12.b4 Qa3 13.Bd1 Rc8 (13...Rxa2 14.Rxa2 Qxa2 15.Bh5) 14.Bb3 Bg7 Salov;
B) 11...Qc5 12.Qd2 (12.Qxc5 Rxc5 13.Bd3 Bg7 14.Rad1 e6 15.Ne3 Ke7 16.c3 b5 17.f4
Rb8 18.a3 a5 19.Nc2 Timman-Salov, Amsterdam 1991) 12...Qxc2 13.Qe3 Qc5
(13...Bh6! This is the big theoretical improvement which Jeff had ready for me.
14.Qxh6 Qxe2 15.Qg7 Rf8 16.Rac1 transposes to the game.) 14.Qf4 with the
initiative is the line given by BTS3.; 11.Kh1?! This results in concern #2.
11...Qc5 12.Qd2 (12.Qd3 Bg7 13.Rad1 f5 14.exf5 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Qxf5 16.Bf3 b6)
12...Bg7 13.Bd3 f5 with counterplay; 11.a4!? This is very interesting. I didn't
consider this option during the game. 11...Qc5 (11...Rg8 12.Bb5) 12.Qd2 Rg8
13.Bb5 unclear] 11...Qc5 12.Qd3 Bg7?! This walks into the plan I came up with
which I will mention later. [12...Rg8 13.Kh1 a6 14.f4 Rg6 15.Bf3
Kupreichik-Schoen, Berlin 1987; 12...f5 13.exf5 (13.Bf3 Bg7) 13...Qxf5
(13...Bxf5 14.Qf3 with the initiative) 14.Qe3 Qc5 (14...Qxc2 15.Rxd6 Qxb2
16.Rxd7 Kxd7 17.Rd1+ Ke8 18.Qd4+-) 15.Qg3 unclear] 13.Nd5 [13.Qg3! Rg8 14.Nd5!
Qxc2? 15.Nxe7+-] 13...Qxc2 14.Qg3 Qxe2 The main idea I came up with when I
played 11.Rad1 was to play for Nd5-Nxe7 if the queen left c5. When I originally
calculated it I missed the defensive idea of ...Qg4. Once I got closer to the
position and saw it, I talked myself out of it. I guess if I had seen it I
would have avoided it altogether by playing the 13.Qg3 move order. But still my
next move is a mistake. 15.Qxg7? [15.Nxe7 Qg4 16.Qxd6 Bf8 I guess I kind of
panicked and did not explore this deep enough. This is what scared me off, but
maybe it is not so bad: 17.Qxf6 Bg7 18.Qd6 Bf8 19.h3 (19.Qf6=) 19...Qe6
(19...Bxe7 20.Qd4+-) 20.Qxe6 Bxe6 21.Nxc8 Bxc8 22.Rd3 Be6 23.Rc1 unclear - but I
like White.] 15...Rf8 16.Rc1 Now, funnily enough we have transposed back into
the 11.Nd5 line and Jeff's preparation! 16...Rxc1! 17.Rxc1 Bc6! 18.Nc7+ Kd7
19.Qxf8 Qxe4-/+ This was all prepared by Jeff before the game. I guess I
totally walked into something. 20.Qg7 [20.Nd5 Qxd5 21.f3 After the game Jeff
said that in his preparation, he had considered this to be White's best defence
(or prehaps he said it was the annotated notes given in the Ubilava game).
Anyway, I had considered this during the game to try to free up my queen, but I
think that with the Black king on d7 defending his pawns and White's queen out
of play, Black's initiative is just too strong. 21...Qd2-+] 20...Kxc7 21.Kh1 Qg6
22.Qxg6 fxg6 23.f4 This is a double-edged offensively- minded approach. I
figured I needed open lines for my rook to be able to generate counterplay. The
downside is that it makes it harder to defend as with fewer pawns I will not be
able to cover as many entry squares. [23.Kg1 e5 24.h4 d5 25.Kf1 Kd6 26.Ke2 d4
27.g3 h5 28.b4 g5 29.Rc5 g4 30.Kd3 b6 31.Rc1 Kd5 32.Kd2 f5 33.Re1 Bb5 34.Rc1 Bc4
35.a3 b5 36.Ra1 a6 37.a4 bxa4 38.Rxa4 Ke4 39.Ra1 Kf3-+ Iruzubieta-Ubilava,
Elgoibar 1993 - Note that in this game the move order was actually 11.Nd5
(rather than 11.Rad1) and later 20.Qg8 was played rather than 20.Qg7.] 23...d5
24.Kg1 Kd6 25.Rc3 Bd7 26.Ra3 a6 27.Rb3 Bc6 28.Rh3 d4? This allows White to
blockade the passed pawns and for the White rook to become active. [28...h5
29.Rg3 Be8 30.Rb3 Bb5 A) 31.Rg3 d4 32.Kf2 (32.Rxg6? d3-+) 32...Be8 33.Rb3 Bc6
34.Rg3 Be4-/+; B) 31.a4 Bc6 32.Rg3 Be8 33.Rb3 Bxa4 34.Rxb7 is less clear, though
Black is obviously clearly better.] 29.Rxh7 d3 30.Kf2 Bxg2 31.Ke3 Be4 32.Rh8 Bf5
33.Rd8+ Kc6 34.h4 Kc5 35.Rb8 Kc6 36.Rd8 Kc5 37.Rb8 Kc6 ½-½
Yoos,J - Sasata,R [B45] Edmonton Sectional Vancouver, 2004
[Yoos]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 Rob had never played this
before. He usually plays either a Dragon or 1...e5. I should have smelled a
rat, but for some reason I just continued on oblivious. 6.Ndb5 Bb4 So it was
obvious that he had looked at my published annotated game against Van Riemsdijk,
from last year's Keres and prepared an improvement. I guess this is the
downside of annotating and publishing my games. No worries, this isn't going to
deter me in the future. [Thank goodness! - ed.] 7.Bf4 I guess I should have
chosen a different line. At the time I had the dumb optimism that I would
figure it out over the board. 7...Nxe4 8.Qf3 d5 9.Nc7+ Kf8 10.0-0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3
Qe7!? This is the improvement. I mentioned this move in the notes to my Van
Riemsdijk game, but I gave no analysis. I guess Rob had this very well prepared
beforehand. This is the second game in a row where I walked into some monster
prep. For some reason I was pretty gullible this tournament. [11...Rb8 12.Bc4N
Bd7 13.Bxd5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Yoos-van Riemsdijk, Keres 2003 (which I had annotated
previously)] 12.c4 [12.Kb2? Rb8-/+; 12.Qxe4? Qa3+ 13.Kb1 dxe4 14.Bd6+ Qxd6
15.Rxd6 Rb8 16.Be2 Ke7 17.Rhd1 Rd8-/+] 12...e5 13.Nxd5 Bg4! All prepared.
14.Qb3? [14.Nxe7! During the game I missed the point that the knight on f2 has
trouble getting back into the game. 14...Bxf3 15.gxf3 Nxf2 (15...Kxe7 16.fxe4
exf4 17.Bh3 Rad8 18.Rd5 f6 19.Rhd1 Ne5 20.c5 with compensation) 16.Nxc6 exf4
17.Rd7 Nxh1 18.Rxb7 g6 19.c5 Kg7 20.Bc4 Nf2 21.Nxa7 unclear] 14...Qd6 15.f3
exf4? This gives me an opportunity which I did not take. [15...Nf2 results in
the game position.] 16.fxg4? [16.Nb6 I have to admit that I missed this
opportunity altogether. Looking at this game later I am surprised how genuinely
bad we played. 16...Qf6 17.Nxa8 Qa1+ 18.Qb1 Qxb1+ 19.Kxb1 Nc3+ 20.Kc1 Nxd1
21.Kxd1 Ke7 22.Nc7 Be6 and white is still alive.] 16...Nf2 17.Bd3 Nxh1 18.Rxh1-+
Very disheartening! I am not often lost out of the opening in two Whites in a
row. My opening preparation for this tournament was a disaster. 18...Re8 19.h4
My plan was to simultaneously restrict the king and rook from developing while
trying to build up an attack. The way I played it turned out to be too slow.
19...Nd4?! I don't think it was a very good idea to give up the b-pawn.
[19...b6] 20.Qxb7 Nc6 [20...Qa3+ Black has to be careful not to forget he is
playing without his rook on h8. 21.Kd1 Qxa2 22.Qb4+ Kg8 23.Ne7+ Kf8 24.Ng6+ Kg8
25.Qf8+] 21.Qb2?! This wastes time. As shown in the previous note, I should not
have been so worried about ...Qa3 [21.Rf1 Rb8 22.Qa6] 21...f6 22.Rf1 Ne5
[22...Rb8] 23.Nxf4?! [23.g5 This looks like a strong method of attack.]
23...Nxg4 24.Qc3 Qc5 25.Nd5 Kf7 26.h5 Rd8 27.Rf5 [27.Qb3] 27...Rhe8 28.h6 Nxh6
29.Rxf6+ Kg8 30.Rxh6 This turned into a time scramble and as I was losing
anyway, I decided to keep as many imbalances in the position as possible to give
him more rope. [30.Rf1 Rxd5; 30.Rf3 Rxd5 31.cxd5 Qxc3 32.Bxh7+ Kxh7 33.Rxc3]
30...Qg1+ 31.Kb2 Rb8+ Being low on time, Rob missed several ways to finish me
off. [31...gxh6 32.Nf6+ Kf7 33.Nxe8 Rb8+ 34.Ka3 Qc5+ 35.Ka4 Qc6+ 36.Ka5 Rb5+-+]
32.Ka3 Qc1+ 33.Ka4 Qxh6 34.c5 Qc6+ 35.Ka3 Kh8 [35...Rbc8] 36.Nb4 Qxg2 37.Na6
Rbc8 38.Qd4 I am poking around to try to get in an attack on the h7 square.
38...Qd2 39.Nb4 a5 40.Nd5 Qc1+ 41.Ka4 Qb1 42.a3 Qh1 43.Bf5 Rcd8 44.c4 Qf3 45.Bc2
Qe2 46.Bf5 Qe5?! Even though I am still probably losing after this, it is a
concession. My king is more vulnerable than his and this takes the heat off.
[46...Rf8] 47.Qxe5 Rxe5 48.Bh3 g5 [48...Re4 49.Nb6 Re3 50.Bg2 (50.Bd7 Re5 51.c6
Rc5) 50...Rdd3 51.c6 Rxa3+ 52.Kb5 Rab3+ 53.Kc5 Re7] 49.c6 h5?? This seems to be
the final mistake that throws away the win. [49...Re4 50.c7 (50.Bf1 Rxd5; 50.Kb5
g4 51.c7 Rc8 52.Bf1 Re1 53.Bg2 Re2 54.Bh1 Rh2 55.Be4 g3 56.Kc6 Rh4) 50...Rxc4+
51.Kb5 Rxc7] 50.c7 Rf8 51.c8Q Rxc8 52.Bxc8 g4 53.Kxa5± Rg5 54.Kb6 g3 Maybe I
have some winning chances here, but at this point I was lacking confidence and
was happy to escape with a draw. ½-½
Gardner,R - Yoos,J [B60] Edmonton Sectional, 2004
[Yoos]
1.e4 Rob played 1.f4 against me last time. 1...c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 I can't say I anticipated this opening either. 6...Qb6 Worried
that I was going to walk into some preparation again I decided to play something
I had never played before. Normally I play 6...e6 7.Qd2 a6 and then various
different lines after 8.0-0-0. Though I did try the similar line - 6...a6 7.Qd2
Qb6 once against Mike Stanford last summer. 7.Nb3 e6 8.Be3 Transposing straight
into a Scheveningen. This option becomes more viable since ...Qb6 was played so
early. 8...Qc7 9.Be2 Opting for a Classical Scheveningen seen in so many
Kasparov games. 9...a6 10.a4 Na5!? As I don't play Scheveningen as much as other
Sicilians, I wanted to avoid theory and so I tried to break off into uncharted
territory. I thought I might be able to take advantage of White's king still
being in the centre to develop my play on the queenside more quickly than usual.
11.Nxa5 Qxa5 12.0-0 Bd7 13.Qd2 Rc8 [13...Bc6 is reasonable also.] 14.f4 Rxc3?!
This even looked unsound to me when I played it, but I was wanting to play
agressively after drawing my first two games. I also must confess that I was
drawn to this for the boast that this was my third exchange sacrifice in one
day! [14...Bc6] 15.Bf3! [15.Qxc3 Qxc3 16.bxc3 Nxe4 17.Bf3 Bc6 with compensation]
15...d5 16.Bd4?! [16.Qxc3 Qxc3 17.bxc3 dxe4 18.Be2 Bd6 with compensation;
16.exd5 Bb4 17.bxc3 (17.dxe6 Rxe3 18.exd7+ Kd8) 17...Bxc3 18.Qd3 Bxa1 19.dxe6
Bxe6 20.Rxa1 0-0 (20...Nd5 21.f5) 21.Bxb7 and Black does not have enough
compensation. 21...Rd8 22.Qe2 (22.Qa3 Rb8 23.Bf3 Rc8 is still better for White.)
22...Qc3 (22...Ng4 23.Qe1 Qh5 24.h3 Nxe3 25.Qxe3) 23.Qe1 Qxc2 24.Bxa6 I saw this
far during the game and figured I would have enough play to survive if he found
it this far. I guess this whole thing was a bit of a bluff.] 16...dxe4 17.Be2
Rc5 18.b4 Rxc2? Way too risky. Black is too far behind in development to get
away with this. [18...Qc7 19.bxc5 Bxc5 with compensation.] 19.Qxc2 Qxb4?! This
is also way too risky. The explanation for my choice was that I saw the
position in the note - 19...Bb4 after 23.Bf3 and thought I was going to get
slowly tortured. [19...Bxb4 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qxe4 Bc6 22.Qd3 0-0 23.Bf3 Rd8
24.Qb3 Bxf3 25.Qxf3 Bc5+ 26.Kh1 b6 unclear] 20.Rfd1 Nd5?! Probably not the right
choice. [20...Bd6 I rejected this during the game, but it may be playable.
21.Rab1 Qxa4 22.Qxa4 Bxa4 23.Bxf6 (23.Rdc1 Bc6 24.Bxa6 Bxf4 25.Rf1 e5) 23...Bxd1
24.Rxd1 Bc5+ 25.Bd4 Bxd4+ 26.Rxd4 f5 27.Rd6÷] 21.Qxe4? Rob found the right theme
(Qe5!), but not the right move order. [21.g3?! Bd6; 21.Rab1! Qxa4 22.Qxe4 Nc3
23.Qe5 Nxe2+ 24.Qxe2 Qc6 25.Rbc1±] 21...Nc3 22.Qe5 Nxe2+ 23.Qxe2 Qa5 I had to
worry about b7 and f5. [23...Bxa4!? 24.Rd2 Bc6] 24.Qe3 Qf5 25.Be5 [25.Bb6 f6
26.Qd4 Bc6] 25...Bc6 I had to watch out for Rxd7! 26.Qa7 f6 27.Qb8+? This
actually loses. The queen needs to stick around to be able to defend g2.
[27.Bd6 Qc2 28.Qf2 Qxf2+ 29.Kxf2 Bxd6 30.Rxd6 Ke7 unclear] 27...Kf7 28.Qc7+ Kg6
I guess I didn't appreciate how utterly vulnerable g2 was. [28...Kg8! 29.Bd4 Qc2
30.Bf2 Qe4-+] 29.Bd4 Bc5 [29...e5 30.fxe5 Qc2 31.Bf2 Qe4-+; 29...Qc2 30.f5+
Qxf5-/+] 30.Rac1 [30.Rd2 Bxd4+ 31.Rxd4 e5-/+; 30.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 31.Kh1 Bxg2+-+]
30...Qe4 [30...Qg4!-+ 31.f5+ Kh5 32.Qg3 Bxd4+ 33.Kh1 Qxg3 34.hxg3 e5] 31.f5+ Kh6
32.Qg3 Bxd4+ 33.Kh1 exf5 [33...e5! 34.Qh3+ Kg5 35.Qg3+ Qg4 36.Rd3 h5-+] 34.Rc4
Rd8 35.Qh3+ Kg6 36.Qg3+ Kf7 37.Qc7+ Rd7 38.Qxd7+ Bxd7 39.Rcxd4 Bxa4! 40.Rxe4
fxe4 41.Rc1 Bc6-+ 42.Kg1 f5 After the experience of my game against Reeve, I was
keen to get my passed pawns moving right away. 43.g3 g5 44.Rc5 Kf6 45.Kf2 f4
46.gxf4 gxf4 47.Rh5 e3+ 48.Ke2 Be4 49.Rc5 Ke6 My plan here was simple - get the
king to d4. 50.Rc8 Keeping the rook on the fifth kept up a bit more resistance.
50...Ke5 51.Rd8 a5 I am now just throwing out distractions for the rook so I can
achieve my goal of Kd4. 52.h4 b5 53.h5 b4 54.h6 b3 55.Rb8 Kd4 0-1
Huber,G - Yoos,J [A41] Edmonton Sectional, 2004
[Yoos]
Unfortunately the tournament was already over before this game started. Zhichao
Li had committed an absolute no-no by dropping out of a RR tournament with two
rounds to go. Apparently, Zhichao, who is from China, has not been playing in
Canadian tournaments very long and did not realize that this was taboo.
(Apparently he said that in China this was quite common!) To make things worse,
his two remaining games were against the tournament leaders - rd 4 Black against
me and rd 5 White against Sasata. Because of this Sasata clinched first with a
win by forfeit in the last round. Though this by no means undermines Rob's
achievement: Rob played an excellent tournament, which was most impressive
considering that he has been inactive for the last five years. I congratulate
Rob on a fantastic result. 1.d4 Again a surprise. Greg most often plays 1.e4.
I had expected a g3 Sicilian of some sort. 1...g6 Bruce Harper's influence! I
was wanting to try this opening at some point and as Sasata had already secured
clear first I decided I could afford to experiment. 2.c4 d6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nd7 A
specialty of GM Azmajparashvili. [4...Nc6 I have seen this more wild choice in
Duncan Suttles' games.] 5.Nf3 e5 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.0-0 0-0 8.e3 A not so common
choice. [8.e4 is the main line.] 8...exd4 9.exd4 [9.Nxd4 Nb6 10.b3 c5 11.Nde2 d5
12.Ba3 (12.cxd5 Nexd5 13.Bb2 Bg4 14.Qc1 Nb4 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.h3 Bf5 17.e4 Be6 18.a3
Rfc8 19.Nb5 Bxb3 20.Bxg7 Bxd1=+ Komlenovich-Azmajparashvili, San Sebastian 1991)
12...dxc4 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.Bxc5 Nc6 15.Rac1 Nd7 16.Bd4 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 cxb3 18.axb3=
Basin-Azmajparashvili, Minsk 1985] 9...Nb6 10.b3 c5 11.Bb2 Nc6 I think that
Black is pretty comfortable now. 12.d5 Ne5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Qd2 Bf5!? This is a
double edged choice and possibly bad. [14...f5=] 15.h3 h5 16.f4 Bd4+ 17.Kh2 Nd7
[17...Qf6!?] 18.Be4! Attempting to disrupt my blockade. 18...Qf6!? [18...Bxe4
19.Nxe4 Nf6 20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.Bxd4 Qxd4 22.Qxd4 cxd4 23.Rad1 Rae8 24.Rxd4 Re2+
25.Kg1 Rxa2 26.Re1+=] 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.Nd1? [20.Rae1+=] 20...Rfe8! [With
counterplay] 21.Rf2 [21.Bxd4 cxd4 (21...Qxd4 22.Qxd4 cxd4 23.Nf2 Re2 24.Kg2 Rae8
with compensation) 22.Nf2 Re3 23.Rad1 Rae8 24.Qxd4 Qxd4 25.Rxd4 Re2 with
compensation.] 21...Re7 22.Rg2 [22.Bxd4 cxd4 23.Nb2 Rae8 (23...Nc5 24.Rg2 Rae8)
] 22...Bxb2 [22...Rae8!? 23.Bxd4 cxd4 unclear] 23.Nxb2 Rae8=+ 24.Rf1 Qh8?!
[24...Re4?! 25.Qa5; 24...b6 We were both getting a little bit low on time here.
Not wanting to fall behind on the clock I played a quick move. Right after I
played it I realized that my queenside pawns were vulnerable. In hindsight, my
move makes no sense as I would prefer to play Nf6 with my queen in front
anyway.] 25.Qd3?! [25.Qa5!] 25...Re4 26.Nd1 Qd4 27.Qf3 [27.Qc2] 27...Nf6-/+
28.Rff2? A bit of sloppiness due to the time situation. [28.Rc2; 28.Nb2]
28...Re1? Missing a free queen! [28...Re3!-+] 29.Rd2 Qa1 30.Rd3 [30.Rg1 Ng4+
(30...Qc1 31.Rdg2) 31.hxg4 hxg4 32.Qc3 (32.Qf2 Qh8+ 33.Kg2 Qh3#) 32...R8e2+
33.Rg2 Rxg2+ 34.Kxg2 Rxd1 35.Qxa1 Rxa1-/+] 30...Ng4+! A pleasurable finish.
31.hxg4 hxg4 0-1
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VANCOUVER JUNIOR GRAND PRIX #6
The sixth Vancouver junior Grand Prix event was held at the Vancouver Bridge
Centre on March 7th. For the second GP event in row Valentina Goutor prevented
Fanhao Meng from achieving his usual perfect score, this time actually taking
the full point from him to tie for first with Lucas Davies at 3/3. The U1800
and U1500 prizes went to a trio of Americans, Sterling Dietz, Lane van
Weerdhuizen, and Thomas Witecki, who all scored 2 points.
In the 12-player U1500 section Vlad Gaciu swept the competition to take first.
Stefan Trandafir, Thomas Chow, and Max Tikhomolov tied for second with 2.5/4,
while Brianna Reid and Alexandra Botez were the U1200 winners. Kyle King came
first in the Booster section with a perfect score, Omar Jessa was second and
Sasan Fouladirad third (after a playoff). The overall participation was 43.
Here are the current Grand Prix standings:
Open
Fanhao Meng 13.5
Lucas Davies 13
Noam Davies 12
Valentina Goutor 11
Ben Daswani 10.5
Ivan Petrov 10
Lane van Weerdhuizen 8
Alexander Reid 7.5
Andrey Kostin 7.5
U1500
Stefan Trandafir 12.875
Vlad Gaciu 11.125
Brad Wong 10.875
Richard Huang 7
Brianna Reid 5.25
Lesley Cheng 5
Kevin Au 5
The Grand Prix is based on a player's six best results out of the eight events,
so with six events played some of the leaders will be trying to improve on the
own previous best scores, while those who have played fewer than six events will
have greater possibilities of adding to their total; it should be an exciting
finish!
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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).
AGREEING TO A DRAW (Article 9.1)
If you wish to offer a draw, do so when it is YOUR turn to move (a draw offer at
other times is still valid but will likely disturb your opponent). Make your
move, offer the draw, press the clock, then let your opponent think about it.
DO NOT offer several draws in a row - this is annoying for your opponent. The
normal convention is if you offer a draw and your opponent rejects it, wait
until your opponent offers you a draw back before you make another offer.
Any draw offer must be non-conditional and cannot be subsequently withdrawn - it
"remains valid until the opponent accepts it, rejects it orally, rejects it by
touching a piece with the intention of moving or capturing it, or the game is
concluded in some other way."
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THIRTY YEARS AGO by Bruce Harper
Having discussed the Future Hopes tournament held 30 years ago in Vancouver, I
feel obliged to present a game from the winner, Glenn Morin (despite my earlier
comment that his difficult positional style was too hard to explain).
Fortunately his decisive game against Brian McLaren in the second to last round
was anything but positional, and is easy to explain.
Morin,G - McLaren,B [A04] Chess Hopes Vancouver (6), 05.02.1974
1.Nf3 f5 2.e4!?
An interesting gambit, which I assume we prepared before the game. 2.e4 is not
the sort of move you just think up on the spot!
2...fxe4 3.Ng5 Nf6 4.d3 e6
This seems passive.
5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2
I'm not sure if this was meant to induce 6...exd3 7.Bxd3, or whether White
planned on recapturing on d3 with his queen.
6...b6 7.dxe4
Now White has his pawn back, although he doesn't have any advantage.
7...Bb7 8.0-0 Bc5 9.Bf4 0-0 10.Bg3
At the time I really liked the Bf4-g3 maneuver ("very strong"), which I think
reveals more about my over-protection, pre-emptive defensive bias (which I
imparted to Glenn quite successfully) than about the merits of the bishop
maneuver itself. But f2 could become sensitive, and by transferring his bishop
to g3, White takes care of that potential problem.
10...Ne7 11.Bd3 Ng6?
Just a mistake. This was Black's last chance to drive away White's g5-knight.
12.e5! Ne8 13.Nxh7! Nh4 14.Nxf8 Kxf8 15.Qh5 Nxg2 16.Ne4
Winning, but 16.Be4 was even better.
16...d5 17.Ng5 Qd7 18.Kxg2
It's pretty funny what Fritzy can dig up. Here 18.Bf5! wins on the spot
(18...gxf5 19.e6, and Black's queen is stuck).
18...d4+ 19.Kg1 a5 20.Bh4 Nf6 21.exf6 gxf6 22.Nh7+ Ke7 23.Bxf6+ Kd6 24.Qe5+ Kc6 25.a4 Rg8+ 26.Ng5 1-0
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1924 VANCOUVER - WINNIPEG TELEGRAPH MATCH
"The sending and receiving of 800 messages over the wire in the telegraphic
match between Vancouver and Winnipeg last Saturday [December 13] was an
outstanding feature of the occasion and bears witness to the fine service given
by Mr. George A. McLachlan, who presided at the key.
Stress of weather on the prairies added to the difficulties to be contended
with, but science refused to be thwarted by either the handicap of distance or
the vagaries of nature and the messages went through at the rate of two to the
minute.
The score was six to one in favour of Vancouver. Out of the ten games, Ewing,
Stevenson, Calhoun, Duval and Millar scored victories; Yates and Jenkins drew;
and the Haines, Butler and Stark games were left for adjudication.
Nothing can alter the fact that the local team has scored a remarkably decisive
victory over their Winnipeg opponents. This result is all the more gratifying
when the fact is taken into consideration that Winnipeg has for over twenty
years had a strong reputation as a chess centre.
Vancouver is a newcomer in the wider field and has asserted its right to a place
in the sun in no uncertain fashion. To have won the Gonnason cup (the
provincial club championship) and to defeat Winnipeg within a fortnight puts
Vancouver on the map in the arena of Canadian chess.
A further analysis of the individual games gives rise to the following comments,
in all cases the player first named having the white and the move.
1) Spencer (Winnipeg) vs. Ewing (Vancouver) - Centre counter opening. The rival
champions maintained equality of position up to the middle of the game when
Spencer made a tactical error at move 15. Ewing seized the opportunity and won
in masterly fashion.
2) Yates (Vancouver) vs. Howard (Winnipeg) - Caro Kann defence. An even game up
to the close of time when Yates was in a slightly superior position. A draw was
agreed to.
3) Burrell (Winnipeg) vs. Haines (Vancouver) - Ruy Lopez opening. Burrell had
the better of the game throughout, and was in a decidedly superior position at
the adjournment. Winnipeg claims a win. Left to adjudication. [The game was
subsequently awarded to Winnipeg.]
4) Duval (Vancouver) vs. Quirk (Winnipeg) - Bird's opening. At move ten Quirk
gave up a bishop in the hope of getting home with a strong attack, but Duval
forced exchanges and won out by superior strategy.
5) Gregory (Winnipeg) vs. Butler (Vancouver) - Giuoco Piano. An even match,
strongly played on both sides. At the close, however, Butler had a decided
advantage. The game is left to adjudication; but superior strength plus
superior position should give Butler the verdict. He had gained two pawns and
should win another. [Adjudicated a draw.]
6) Stark (Vancouver) vs. Chiswell (Winnipeg) - Queen's gambit declined. A
closely-fought battle of forty-four moves' duration, when Stark would appear to
have the edge on his opponent, although it would seem difficult to demonstrate a
win. Referred for adjudication. [Adjudicated a draw.]
7) Rheubottom (Winnipeg) vs. Jenkins (Vancouver) - Max Lange. This was a game
with ups and downs to it. At move 9 Jenkins lost a piece. He won it back by
steady effort at move 35. The game lasted 50 moves and ended in a draw, Jenkins
overlooking an easy chance of winning at move 48.
8) Millar (Vancouver) vs. Christjansson (Winnipeg) - Zukertort's opening. The
best game of the lot and a masterly win for Millar. With fine chess talent he
obtained the upper hand and forced his opponent to admit defeat.
9) Thorlakson (Winnipeg) vs. Stevenson (Winnipeg) - Centre counter opening. The
Winnipeg man went down to defeat in 26 moves under a powerful attack, Stevenson
showing superior play throughout. This was the first win scored for Vancouver
and went far towards inspiring confidence in the local camp.
10) Calhoun (Vancouver) vs. Best (Winnipeg) - Ponziani. Calhoun, who won his
game in the Gonnason Cup match at Victoria two weeks before, repeated the
performance and overwhelmed his opponent by superior play. This was the only
game of the match that ended in an actual mate." [Vancouver Province, Saturday,
December 20, 1924]
"Vancouver won an interesting telegraph chess match, which was played on
Saturday afternoon between teams representing Winnipeg and Vancouver.
The Winnipeg team was chosen from players from the various clubs in the Winnipeg
and District Chess League, W.C.C. supplying four players; C.N.R. C.C., two;
Y.M.C.A., two, and Icelandic C.C., two. The telegraph apparatus was installed
in the club-room of the W.C.C., Fashion Craft Block. The Vancouver players were
located at the Vancouver Hotel. This was the first telegraph match that has
been played in this city for many years, the last match of the kind being played
about 15 years ago between Winnipeg and Montreal. There were 10 boards aside,
the Winnipeg team being made up as follows: R.J. Spencer, G.W. Howard, H.H.
Burrell, Winnipeg C.C.; W.S. Quirk and H. Gregory, C.N.R. C.C.; P. Chiswell and
A. Rheubottom, Y.M.C.A. C.C.; E. Christjansson and C. Thorlakson, Icelandic
C.C., and E. Best, Winnipeg C.C.
Play commenced at 6 o'clock, Winnipeg time, Winnipeg winning the toss of the
coin, and took the move at the odd number boards. Play at the outset was a
trifle slow, but the game shortly speeded up. An adjournment took place at 7.30
p.m. for supper, after which play resumed until midnight.
During the evening Vancouver registered their first win on board 10, Best having
put up a game defence against a Ponziani opening, of which he appeared not to be
familiar. The next win came on board 9, followed soon after by the resignation
of Spencer, board 1. Rheubottom, board 7, should have won his game, but
apparently was menaced by too-eager spectators, but finally obtained a draw.
Howard, board 2, defended with a Caro Kann and the game being even at midnight,
a draw was agreed upon. Boards 3, 5 and 6 will be adjudicated by Mr. Morrison,
Canadian Champion, Toronto." [Winnipeg Evening Tribune, Monday, December 15,
1924]
"The final score of the chess match between Vancouver and Winnipeg was:
Vancouver, 7½ points, Winnipeg, 2½ points. At the close of play on Dec. 13
seven out of the ten games played had been definitely finished with five clear
wins for Vancouver and two drawn games. Three games were left for adjudication.
Since then an agreement has been reached and the final result is as above.
Vancouver triumphed in decisive fashion.
The Winnipeg secretary, in writing, says: "We offer no excuses. We were
properly beaten and met our Waterloo. In the meantime we have gained, I trust,
some valuable information regarding the chessmanship of the Vancouver Club and
found out what a lot of good fellows they are."
It is but right also to mention that the Winnipeg team consisted of four from
the Winnipeg Chess Club and two each from the C.N.R., Iceland and Y.M.C.A. chess
clubs. The Vancouver team was made up of seven members of the Vancouver Chess
Club and three from the North Vancouver Chess Club.
It is quite likely that a further contest may take place in the near future."
[Vancouver Province, Saturday, January 3, 1925]
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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 27 South Fraser Valley Secondary Chess Challenge, Surrey
Mar 28 Vancouver Regional Chess Challenge
Mar 28 Victoria Regional CYCC
Apr 10 Provincial Chess Challenge, Vancouver
Apr 18 Vancouver Grand Prix #7
May 1-2 Provincial CYCC, Vancouver
May 8 Body and Brain Open, Surrey
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
Daffodil Open
Date: April 24-25
Place: University of Victoria, Human & Social Development Bldg., Room A-260
Type: Swiss 5 Rounds
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/
Vancouver Saturday Night Chess (3)
Dates: Saturdays June 5, 12, 19, 26 and July 3.
Place: Vancouver Bridge Centre, 2776 East Broadway (at Kaslo), Vancouver
Type: 5-round Swiss
Western Canadian Open
Date: July 9-18
Place: Vancouver Airport Conference Resort
Type: 10 round single-section Swiss
Vancouver Saturday Night Chess (4)
Dates: Saturdays July 24, 31, and August 7, 14, 21
Place: Vancouver Bridge Centre, 2776 East Broadway (at Kaslo), Vancouver
Type: 5-round 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
