BCCF E-MAIL BULLETIN #64

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Stephen Wright

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KING OF VANCOUVER by Eduardo Azmitia

Gavin Steininger defeated Andrey Kostin in the third game of the match, and as a result he also wins convincingly the match (2.5 - 0.5); there is no need for a fourth game. Steininger used the same opening and line that he employed the last time that he had the Black pieces, and once again he had no problems in obtaining a very favourable position relatively quickly. Here is the game:

Kostin,A - Steininger,G [A67] King of Vancouver Vancouver (3), 02.2005

[Stephen Wright]

1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+ The so-called "flick-knife" attack: stemming originally from Taimanov, it became the weapon of choice against the Benoni after Kasparov popularized the use of 9.a4! in the early 1980s, and has remained so to this day. It is so feared that many Black players will only enter the Benoni after White has already committed himself to an early Nf3; of the world's elite only Veselin Topalov seems willing to face this variation as Black on a consistent basis. 8...Nfd7 9.a4 0–0 [9...Na6 10.Nf3 Nb4 11.0–0 a6 12.Bxd7+ Bxd7 13.f5 0–0 14.Bg5 f6 15.Bf4 gxf5 16.Bxd6 Bxa4 17.Rxa4 Qxd6 18.Nh4 fxe4 19.Nf5 Qd7 20.Nxe4 Kh8 21.Nxc5 1–0 Kasparov,G-Nunn,J/Luzern 1982 was one early advertisement for the variation.] 10.Nf3 [10.Nge2?! was seen in the first game of the Kostin-Steininger match, and continued 10...Na6 11.0–0 Nb4 12.Be3 a6 13.Bxd7 Bxd7 14.e5 Bf5 15.Ng3 Bd3 16.Nge4 Bxf1 17.Kxf1 b6 18.Nxd6 f6 19.Nc4 fxe5 20.d6 exf4 21.Bf2 Rb8 22.a5 f3 23.axb6 fxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Rxf2+ 25.Kxf2 Qh4+ 0–1] 10...Na6 11.0–0 Nb4 12.Re1! a6 13.Bf1 Re8 14.Nd2? All theory upto this point, but here White goes astray. The maneuvre Nf3-d2-c4 is common in a number of Benoni variations, but does not fit in well in the current position, where the loss of control over d4 is a more improtant factor. Recommended is [14.h3 Rb8 (14...Qc7 15.Be3 Nf6 16.Bf2 Nh5 17.e5!+= NCO) 15.Be3 b6 16.Qd2 Bb7 17.Bf2 Qe7 18.Bc4 Qf8 19.Bg3 : "Black is restrained and it is difficult for him to organize realistic counterplay." - Lev Psakhis.] 14...Nf6? Better is an immediate 14...Bd4+, followed by Nf6. 15.h3 Black quickly got into trouble in the only other game I have found employing the Nc4 idea: 15.Nc4 Ng4 16.g3 Bd4+ 17.Ne3 f5 18.h3 Nf6 19.Bg2 fxe4 20.Kh2 Nd3 21.Re2 h5 22.Nxe4 Nxc1 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.Qxc1 Bd7 25.Qd2 Rxe3 26.Rxe3 Bxe3 27.Qxe3 Qxb2 0–1 Monteleone,A-Quinto,G/Rome 1997 (37)] 15...Nh5 16.Nc4? Last chance for White to acknowledge his mistake and cede just the initiative with 16.Nf3. 16...Bd4+ 17.Be3 Bxe3+ 18.Rxe3 Nxf4 19.Qd2 f6?! Black should play an immediate 19...g5, leaving himself the option of employing the queen on the kingside. 20.Rf3 g5 21.Kh2?! In the next couple of moves White should consider sacrificing the exchange with Rxf4, when he has decent play against Black's weak pawns and can clamp down on the queenside with a5. 21...Rb8 22.Be2?! 22.Rxf4 or 22.a5. 22...b5 23.axb5 axb5 24.Na3?! Better is 24.Ne3. 24...Nbd3? Too fancy, 24...Nxe2 25.Qxe2 f5 keeps the advantage. 25.Naxb5? White does not make the most of his chances, 25.Bxd3 b4 26.Nc4 bxc3 27.bxc3. 25...Ne5 26.Rff1 Qe7 27.Ra7 Qf8 28.Rfa1? Rather optimistic with the kingside about to come under fire. 28...Qh6 29.Bf1? Perhaps in time trouble and with his position disintegrating White blunders, but Black is winning in the complications after 29.Nxd6 Bxh3 30.Nxe8 Bxg2+ 31.Kg1 Qh1+ 32.Kf2 Qh4+ 33.Kg1 Rxe8. 29...Nxh3! 30.Nxd6? 30.Be2 is necessary, if losing. 30...Nf2+ [30...Ng4+ is mate in three, but the text is also winning.] 31.Kg1 Neg4 0–1

Gavin say of himself:

Gavin Steininger obtained the title after defeating Andrei Kostin, the previous holder, in a recent match. Gavin can be described as an attacking player that tries to win with Black and draw with White. He enjoys playing old lines, usually from the fiftys and sixties that were proven bad or drawing by Petrosian. He is frequently heard saying "if Petrosian wants a draw he can come and claim it." His current rating is 1970 (2022 after the match with Andrey gets rated) , but he is slightly under-rated as he plays infrequently in CFC rated tournaments. He thinks his best rated game so far was the following:

Steininger,G - Kosinski,G [B07] Keres mem 28th Vancouver (7.17), 19.05.2003

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.f3 Nc6 6.Be3 0–0 7.Qd2 e5 8.Nge2 Nd7 9.h4 Nb6 10.Bb3 Na5 11.Bg5 Nxb3 12.axb3 f6 13.Be3 Bd7 14.g4 f5 15.gxf5 gxf5 16.Bg5 Qe8 17.0–0–0 f4 18.Rdg1 Kh8 19.h5 h6 20.Bh4 Rg8 21.Rg6 Qf7 22.Rhg1 a5 23.dxe5 dxe5 24.Nd5 Nxd5 25.Qxd5 Qxd5 26.Bf6 Qxe4 27.fxe4 Bf5 28.exf5 Bxf6 29.Rxh6# 1–0

He mostly plays Blitz (5 min. or less per game) where he routinely defeats players of master level. He started to play chess at a relatively late age, 18 years old, but he quickly improved under the tutelage of
Branimir Brebrich (better known to the chess world as Bronco) and Joe Ozsvald from the North Vancouver Chess Club. In addition to playing chess, Gavin is a distinguished student of Mathematics and Statistics at Simon Fraser University.

2005 B.C. INTERSCHOOL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP by Bruce Harper

On February 19, 2005, West Point Grey Academy hosted the finals of the Elementary School Team Championship and the Secondary School Team Championship. The events were held at the Senior School cafeteria, which accommodated the approximately 75 participants comfortably.

The event was organized by Bruce Harper and directed by Stephen Wright. Invaluable assistance was provided by Sukhbir Bolina (St. John s), Fiona MacFarlane (West Point Grey Academy), Angelina Hui, Elizabeth Towers, Tyler Johnson, Katherine Davies, and many of the parents and teachers associated with the participating teams. We also extend our thanks to host schools St. John s (Preliminaries) and West Point Grey Academy (finals).

The Elementary School Finals was a round robin among the six teams which qualified from the 38-team preliminaries held at St. John s three weeks earlier.

One of the qualifying teams was Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which was defending the title it had won for the past four years. However, Our Lady was unable to withstand the new powerhouse in B.C. scholastic chess – Queen Mary, which finished first with an astounding 18 points out of a possible 20. Equally impressive was the fact that, with a perfect 16 points going into the last round, Queen Mary not only could still have been caught by second place finisher St. George s A, but they almost were!

With 13.5 points after four rounds, St. George s A needed a big 3.5:.5 win over Queen Mary to take first place. No tie was possible, as a 3:1 win would still leave Queen Mary half a point ahead. About half an hour into the final round, this improbable scenario looked like a real possibility: on board 1 St. George s A had a slight edge, on board 2 St. George s was completely winning, on board 3 an interesting ending had developed, and on board 4 St. George s was a piece up.

But it was not to be. Board 1 St. George s extra pawn wasn t enough, on board 2 St. George s stalemated (!), on board 3 St. George s won, while on board 4 St. George s dropped a queen and lost. The great comeback turned into a 2:2 tie, and Queen Mary broke Our Lady s four-year streak.

The board prizes tell the story, being dominated by Queen Mary and St. George s A. With Queen Mary s Aviv and Arik Milner playing regularly in adult tournaments, St. George s and other schools will have their work cut out for them to prevent the establishment of another dynasty!

Board Prizes:

1 Aviv Milner (QMARY), Christopher Hui (STGEOA)

2 Arik Milner (QMARY), Angelo Graffos (OLPH)/Benjamin Huang (STGEOA)

3 Duncan Dauvergne (QMARY), Donovan Zhao (STGEOA)

4 Arthur Chang (QMARY), Ivan Cheung (STGEOB)

Elementary Final Standings

# Name Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total

1 Queen Mary W3 [4.0] W5 [4.0] W6 [4.0] W4 [4.0] D2 [2.0] 18

2 St. George's A W4 [4.0] W3 [2.5] W5 [4.0] W6 [3.0] D1 [2.0] 15.5

3 OLPH L1 [0.0] L2 [1.5] D4 [2.0] W5 [4.0] W6 [4.0] 11.5

4 St. George's B L2 [0.0] W6 [4.0] D3 [2.0] L1 [0.0] W5 [3.0] 9

5 St. John's W6 [3.0] L1 [0.0] L2 [0.0] L3 [0.0] L4 [1.0] 4

6 York House L5 [1.0] L4 [0.0] L1 [0.0] L2 [1.0] L3 [0.0] 2

Nine schools participated in the Secondary School Championship, five fewer than last year (for no apparent reason), but still more than two years ago.. The ultimate result was a three-way tie for first, with Winston Churchill A thereby continuing its three-year dynasty, in conjunction with Johnston Heights and Princess Margaret. After three rounds Churchill A was in trouble, but finished strongly with two 4:0 wins against St. John s B and Churchill B. Princess Margaret, which entered late, received a four-point bye in the first round, which occasioned some comment after it became a contender by tying one and winning two matches.

I suspect there is no way to avoid curious twists such as these (a team getting a four-point bye, then tying for first; two teams from the same school playing in the last round) without a larger number of entries. Of course it is better to have an even number of teams (and no byes), but there will always be a 50-50 chance of an odd number of entries. Should byes be only two points, rather than four? It doesn t seem right to punish a team by giving it only half the points it might have obtained had it played, especially since everyone is at the event to play. As for the last round pairing, with only nine teams, there weren t many pairing options in the fifth round, and there is no suggestion that the result of the Churchill A – Churchill B match was anything other than legitimate.

My conclusion is that the best approach is to run the tournament next year just as it was run this year, but to make every effort to get more secondary teams involved.

As one might expect, the board prizes for the Secondary event were distributed fairly evenly. On board one, Valentina Goutor (Johnston Heights) dominated with five wins, although Jason Lee (Seaquam) was also undefeated with three wins. The final scores were so close that Jason s absence for two rounds might have made the difference, but Johnston Heights could complain about their missing board 2 (Ivan Petrov), and other teams had similar hard luck stories about absent players.

Board Prizes:

1 Valentina Goutor (JOHNHI), Jason Lee (SEAQU)

2 Imran Khan (JOHNOL), Lo-Ching Chow (SEAQU)

3 Amman Khan (JOHNOL), Nick Ngo (PRINM)

4 Sunnie Yu (CHURCHA), Edmond Villeneuve (STJOHA)/Chandan Deol (PRINM)

Secondary Final Standings

# Name Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total

1 Churchill A W2 [2.5] W6 [3.0] L4 [0.0] W9 [4.0] W8 [4.0] 13.5

2 Johnston Heights L1 [1.5] W9 [4.0] W7 [3.5] L4 [1.5] W2 [3.0] 13.5

3 Princess Margaret B [4.0] D4 [2.0] W5 [2.5] W6 [4.0] L3 [1.0] 13.5

4 John Oliver W7 [3.0] D3 [2.0] W1 [4.0] W2 [2.5] L5 [1.5] 13

5 Seaquam W6 [2.5] W8 [3.5] L3 [1.5] D7 [2.0] W4 [2.5] 12

6 University Hill L5 [1.5] L1 [1.0] W8 [4.0] L3 [0.0] B [4.0] 10.5

7 St. John's A L4 [1.0] B [4.0] L2 [0.5] D5 [2.0] W9 [3.0] 10.5

8 Churchill B W9 [3.0] L5 [0.5] L6 [0.0] B [4.0] L1 [0.0] 7.5

9 St. John's B L8 [1.0] L2 [0.0] B [4.0] L1 [0.0] L7 [1.0] 6

Here are two games from the decisive Queen Mary - St. George's A match in the Elementary School event:

Milner,A - Hui,C [B22] Elementary School Final WPGA (5), 19.02.2005

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 e6 7.Be2 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 0–0 10.0–0 d6 11.Rd1 b6 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 Bb7 14.Bb5 Rc8 15.Qa3 dxe5 16.dxe5 Qc7 17.Qd6 h6 18.Qxc7 Rxc7 19.h3 Ne7 20.Ne1 Ng6 21.Nd3 Rd8 22.f4 Unfortunately the rest of the game is unavailable. Black is winning after both 22...Rc2 and 22...a6 23.Ba4 Rc4, mainly because White's advanced pawns are weak, not strong, and because White's a1–rook is out of play. When I next saw the game, Black was a pawn up in a knight and pawn ending, with all the pawns on the kingside. White calmly defended by exchanging enough pawns that no win was possible. ½–½

Dauvergne,D - Zhao,D [C45] Elementary School Final WPGA (5), 19.02.2005

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 dxc6?! I don't this this is a line known to opening theory. Black, in effect, is playing a Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez, but without the compensation of the two bishops for his wrecked pawn structure. With a winning king and pawn ending in his pocket, White now gets a definite advantage. 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Bd3 Be6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.0–0 h6 10.Be3 Black has recovered, developing his pieces rapidly. But now he starts to stray. 10...Ng4 11.Bd2 Ne5 12.Be2 Bf6 13.Rd1 Ke8 14.Bc3 Rd8 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.Nd2?! Now was the time to get the pawn majority moving with 16.f4! After exchaning bishops on f6, White could develop his knight to c3 and bring his rook to d1 with tempo.If Black exchanges more pieces, White's advantage increases because of his better pawn structure. If he doesn't, White's pieces occupy the better squares. 16...Ke7? 17.Nf3? The turning point. Now White gets a bad ending, which is even more painful because 17.f4! would have won a piece. 17...Nxf3+ 18.Bxf3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Rd8 20.a3 Rd2 21.Rc1 Kd6?! 21...Bc4! would have kept White's king from the centre. 22.Rd1?! 22.Ke1 gives better chances. 22...Rxd1+ 23.Bxd1 Kc5 An interesting choice. Black goes for the a3-pawn. The alternative was to play 23...Ke5 and then 24...f5. 24.Be2 Ba2 25.f4 Kb6 26.Kf2 Ka5 27.Bc4 An obvious blunder. The game is still interesting after 27.Ke2, as White can get counterplay by shutting Black's a2-bishop out of play with c4, then pushing his e-pawn. 27...Bxc4 28.e5 Ka4 29.Ke3 Kxa3 30.Kd4 Be6 31.h3 Kb2 32.g4 a5 33.f5 Bd7 34.e6 fxe6 35.fxe6 Bxe6 36.g5 Bxh3 37.gxh6 gxh6 38.Kc5 a4 39.c4 a3 40.c3 a2 41.Kb4 a1Q 42.Kc5 Qa7+ 43.Kb4 Qa3# 0–1

LOWER MAINLAND CHESS LEAGUE

Final results of the 2004-05 Lower Mainland Chess Club Team Championship are posted at:

http://www.chessmastery.com/teamresults.html

Congratulations to Vancouver for winning.

PS - Remember to press the F5 key or refresh your browser, so that you can view the latest changes.

VSGP WINTER OPEN by Ben Daswani

Twenty-one players attended the Winter Open, the second stage of the Vancouver Seasonal Grand Prix. Last tournament's top two finishers, Dragoljub Milicevic (2124) and Lucas Davies (2128) were by far the top two players, as all the other participants were rated below 2000.

The first two rounds were pretty standard, with not many upsets and the favourites remaining on top. Going into the penultimate round, there were four players with 2.0/2 (the aforementioned Milicevic and L. Davies, as well as Ben Daswani and Glen Lee) and two players with 1.5/2 (Noam Davies and James Chan). In round three, Milicevic defeated Lee, Chan defeated N. Davies and L. Davies and Daswani drew. This left Milicevic as the only player with a perfect score and L. Davies, Chan and Daswani all a half-point behind. In the final round, Milicevic and L. Davies drew and Daswani defeated Chan. This left Milicevic and Daswani tied for first with 3.5/4. L. Davies and Tiffany Tang, who won her final three games after losing her first, tied for third with 3.0/4. Tang was also the top U2000, while the top U1600 was newcomer Steve Kelso, who played very well and finished with 2.5/4.

All in all, the tournament went fairly smoothly, even though the tournament director's first attempt at Accelerated Pairings was executed fairly poorly. The 21 participants was a welcome improvement over the 16 last time, which I believe was due in part to the Winter Open's more central location.

Crosstable: http://chess.ca/xtable.asp?TNum=200502074

Milicevic,D - Davies,L [E65] VSGP Winter op Vancouver (4), 13.02.2005

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.c4 0–0 6.0–0 c5 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Be3 Be6 10.Bxc5 Qa5 11.Ba3 Bxc4 12.Nd4 Rfd8 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qc2 Nd5 15.Ne4 Bb5 16.Nc5 Rab8 17.Rfd1 Qc7 18.Na6 Bxa6 19.Rxd5 Rxd5 20.Bxd5 Rd8 21.Bf3 e6 22.Rc1 Bb5 23.Bb4 Rd4 24.Qc5 Qb6 25.a3 Qxc5 26.Bxc5 Rd2 27.b3 Bb2 28.Re1 a5 29.a4 Ba6 30.Be3 Rd6 31.Bc5 Rd2 32.Bb6 Bc3 33.Rc1 Bb4 34.Rxc6 Bxe2 35.Bxe2 Rxe2 36.Rc8+ Kg7 37.Ra8 Re1+ 38.Kg2 Rb1 39.Bxa5 Bxa5 40.Rxa5 Rxb3 41.Rb5 Ra3 42.Rb4 h5 43.h3 f5 ½–½

Daswani,B - Chan,J [A00] VSGP Winter op Vancouver (4), 13.02.2005

1.g3 d5 2.d3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.f4 e6 6.Nh3 Nbd7 7.Nf2 Bh5 8.h3 Bc5 9.0–0 Qc7 10.Qe1 0–0–0 11.e4 Bg6 12.a3 h6 13.b4 Bd4 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Qxe3 Qb6 16.Qe1 Bh7 17.b5 Nb8 18.Rb1 Qc7 19.Na4 b6 20.c4 c5 21.d4 Kd7 22.dxc5 bxc5 23.Nd3 dxe4 24.Ndxc5+ Ke7 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Bxe4 Qd6 27.Bxh7 Rxh7 28.Kh2 Qd4 29.Qb4+ Kf6 30.Rbd1 Qxd1 31.Rxd1 Rxd1 32.Qc3+ Ke7 33.Qc2 1–0

FERNDALE INTERNATIONAL CHESS JAM

The 8th annual international Chess Jam took place at Ferndale, WA, and attracted 90 players. The High School Division was won by Jason Lee with a perfect score, ahead of Lane van Weerdhuizen; Lo-Ching Chow tied for third. The Junior Division was won by two Washington juniors who are no strangers to these parts, Sterling Dietz and Thomas Witecki; David Choi also competed from B.C., and scored 4/7.

Full results may be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~kaech5/jam05.html

ANNOTATIONS

Thanks to Dan Scoones and Lucas Davies for submitting these games for your enjoyment:

Churchill,S (1620) - Woodward,G (1983) [B01] Dan MacAdam Memorial (3.7), 23.01.2005

[Dan Scoones]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.f3 Bf5 5.Bb5+ Nbd7 6.c4 This logical continuation is a stern test of the Portuguese Variation. 6...e6 7.dxe6 Bxe6 8.d5 Bf5 9.Nc3 If White is making this up, he's in good company -- this is how Judith Polgar plays it. 9...a6 10.Bxd7+ It is understandable that White wants to gain time for completing his development, but maintaining the pin by 10.Ba4 came into strong consideration here. 10...Nxd7 11.Nge2 Qh4+ 12.Ng3 0–0–0?! To keep the balance, Black had to try 12...Bd6, for example 13.0–0 Bxg3 14.hxg3 Qxc4 (14...Qxg3 15.Qe1+ Qxe1 16.Rxe1+ Kd8 17.b3 is slightly better for White) 15.Re1+ Kd8 and despite the loss of the castling privilege, Black is not doing too badly. 13.0–0 Bc5+ 14.Kh1 Bd6 15.f4 Bg4 Black just isn't getting time for the manoeuvre ...Nf6-g4. 16.Qc2 h6 This looks dubious, but the more natural 16...Rhe8 17.Nce4 Be7 18.Ng5! was not appealing either. 17.Nce4! Centralisation -- the best defence against a premature wing attack! 17...Nf6 18.Nxd6+! Correctly exchanging Black's most dangerous piece. 18...Rxd6 19.f5! Black's gambit has misfired and White now has a clear advantage. 19...g6? Black is trying to hack his way out of trouble, but there is a flaw, which young Sam has no trouble finding. 20.fxg6 fxg6 21.Bf4! Rdd8 22.Be5! "To win by pin is not a sin." 22...Rdf8 23.Qxg6! Rhg8 24.Bxf6! Black resigns, as he is losing a piece. A very impressive game by any standard, but especially so considering the rating gap. 1–0

Davies,L - Paleveda,N [B24] UBC Team event Vancouver (3), 16.01.2005

[Lucas Davies]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.d3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nd4 7.Qd2 Ne7 8.Nd1 d6 9.c3 Ndc6 10.Bh6 0–0 11.h4 f6 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.h5 g5 14.h6+ [14.Ne3 d5 15.exd5 exd5 16.d4 cxd4 17.cxd4 Nf5 18.Ne2 Nxe3 19.fxe3+=] 14...Kh8 15.f4 [15.Ne2 d5 16.exd5 exd5 17.d4 cxd4 18.Nxd4 Re8 19.Ne3 Nxd4 20.Qxd4 Nf5 21.Qxd5 Nxe3 22.fxe3 Rxe3+ 23.Kf2±] 15...Ng6 [15...gxf4 16.gxf4 d5 17.Ne2 Rg8 18.Rg1 d4 19.Nf2 Qf8 20.0–0–0 Qxh6 21.Bf3 Rxg1 22.Rxg1 e5 23.Rh1 Qg7 24.c4 Bd7 25.Rg1 Qf7 26.Rh1 unclear] 16.fxg5 fxg5 17.Ne3 [17.Nh3 Nge5 - this was why I didn't want to play Nh3/f3; Black simply moves his knight to e5 and I'm no longer threatening to take on g5. I thought that developing my other knight and castling first would be a better plan. 18.Ndf2 Rg8 19.0–0–0 b5= and I'm not totally sure what I do here. Black has a dangerous flank attack quickly coming at me, my knight's stuck on f2, g5 is adequately defended, and d4 just seems to weaken squares around my king.] 17...Bd7 18.0–0–0 Qe7?

[18...b5 19.d4 cxd4 20.cxd4+=] 19.Nh3?!+= [19.Nf3 Somehow I missed this simple combination, thinking that after I played d4 I'd have to take back with the pawn and my queenside would be weakened. 19...Nge5 20.Nxe5 Nxe5 21.d4 cxd4 22.Qxd4±] 19...Nce5? [19...Nge5 is the right knight to move. 20.Rdf1 b5 21.d4 cxd4 22.cxd4 Rxf1+ 23.Rxf1 Nf7 A) 24.Kb1 Nxh6 25.Qd1 Rg8 (25...Kg7 26.d5 Ne5 27.Qh5 Nef7 28.Nf2 with compensation) 26.Nf2 Rf8 27.Qd2 a5 28.Rh1 Kg7 29.d5 Ne5 30.Nd3 Nxd3 31.Qxd3 exd5 32.Nxd5 Qe5=+; B) 24.Ng4 24...e5 25.Nf6 Bxh3 26.Bxh3 Nxd4 27.Nd5 Qb7 28.Rf6 b4 29.Kb1 b3 30.a3+=] 20.Rdf1?= [20.d4!± still wins.] 20...Bb5 21.c4 Bc6 22.Nd1 [22.d4 cxd4 23.Qxd4 Rfc8 (23...b5 24.Rxf8+ Rxf8 25.Rd1 bxc4 26.Qxd6+=; 23...b6 24.Rxf8+ Rxf8 25.Rd1 Rd8=) 24.Kb1 b5 25.Rd1 Rd8 26.cxb5 Bxb5 27.Nf5 exf5 28.exf5 Nf8 29.Bxa8 Rxa8 30.Qxd6 Qxd6 31.Rxd6 Bd3+ 32.Ka1 Bxf5 33.Nxg5+=] 22...Rxf1 23.Rxf1 Rf8?!+= [23...b5 24.Nxg5 Nxd3+ (24...bxc4 25.dxc4 Nxc4 26.Nf7+ Kg8 27.Qg5 Qxg5+ 28.Nxg5+=) 25.Qxd3 Qxg5+ 26.Kb1 Rd8 27.cxb5 Ne5 28.Qe2 Bd7=] 24.Rxf8+ Nxf8 25.Ndf2 [25.Nxg5 Nxd3+ 26.Qxd3 Qxg5+ 27.Kc2 Qe5 This is the varation about which I was worried in the game, as it seems Black's queen simply dominates the position, my pawn on h6 is very weak, and my two pawns in the centre are on the same colour as my bishop. 28.Nf2 Nd7 29.Ng4 Qd4 30.Qxd4+ cxd4 31.b4 b5 32.cxb5 Bxb5 33.a3 e5 34.Bh3 Nb6 35.Nf6 Nc4 36.Kb3 Ne3 37.Kb2 (37.Bf5 Be2 38.Bxh7 d3 39.Kc3 Nc4–+) 37...Be2 38.Be6 Nf1 39.Ne8 d3 40.Nxd6 d2 41.Nf7+ Kg8 42.Ng5+ Kf8 43.Bb3 d1Q 44.Nxh7+ Ke7 45.Bxd1 Bxd1 46.Kc3 Be2 47.Ng5 Kf6 48.h7 Kg7 49.Nf7 Kxh7 50.Nxe5 Nxg3 51.Nc6=; 25.Qxg5 Nxd3+ 26.Kd2 Qxg5+ 27.Nxg5 Ne5 28.b3 Kg8 29.Bh3 Nf7 30.Nxe6 Bxe4 31.Nc3 Bc6 32.Nc7 a6 unclear.] 25...Nf7 26.Ng4 Ng6

27.Kc2?!= [27.d4 b6 28.Nhf2 cxd4 29.Qxd4+ e5 30.Qd2+=] 27...e5 28.Qf2 Bd7 29.Qf6+ Qxf6 30.Nxf6 Bxh3 31.Bxh3 Nxh6 32.Bc8 b6 33.Ne8 Nf7 34.Be6 Nd8 35.Bg4 Nf7 36.Be6 [36.Bh5 Kg8 37.Bxg6 hxg6 38.Nc7 Nd8 39.Nb5 Nc6 40.Nxd6=; 36.Kb3 Ne7 37.Bh5 (37.Ka4 Nc6 38.Kb5 Nb4=+) 37...Nd8 38.Nxd6 Kg7 39.Ka4 Nec6 40.Nf5+ Kf6 41.a3 Ne6 42.Kb5 Nb8=] 36...Nd8 37.Bg4 Nf7 38.Be6 Draw. ½–½

GAME OVER: KASPAROV & THE MACHINE

Odeon Films invites you and a guest to a special advance screening of Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine on Thursday, March 3 at 7pm, Cinemark Tinseltown theatre (88 West Pender Street). To request a pass, please send an e-mail to your editor (swright2@telus.net); quantities are limited, so I will provide passes to the first 15 e-mails I receive.

Game Over is a full-length documentary film covering Garry Kasparov's monumental match against one-and-a-half ton super-computer Deep Blue in 1997. For more information visit http://www.nfb.ca/gameover/ or http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1250. Game Over opens in select theatres this March!

1984 VANCOUVER FUTURITY

(from the original report by Henry Chiu in B.C. Chess Reports, January/February 1984)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4

1 Piasetski, Leon     * = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 11.0
2 Suttles, Duncan     = * 1 = = = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11.0
3 Tomkins, Ken        = 0 * = 1 1 = 1 = 1 = 1 = +   9.0
4 Zuk, Robert         0 = = * 1 = = 1 1 0 1 1 1 +   9.0
5 Brown, Paul         0 = 0 0 * = 1 1 1 1 = 1 = 1   8.0
6 Fullbrook, Nigel    0 = 0 = = * = 1 = 1 1 0 1 +   7.5
7 Johnson, Tyler      0 0 = = 0 = * 0 1 1 0 1 1 1   6.5
8 Cabanas, Francisco 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1 0 1 1 1 0   5.0
9 Lee, John           0 0 = 0 0 = 0 0 * 1 0 1 1 1   5.0
10 Szabo, Alexander    1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 * 1 = 0 0   4.5
11 Forbes, Gerry       0 0 = 0 = 0 1 0 1 0 * 0 1 +   5.0
12 Burke, Paul         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 = 1 * 1 +   4.5
13 Nelson, Robert      0 0 = 0 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 * +   3.0
14 Kruger, Benjamin R. 0 0 - - 0 - 0 1 0 1 - - - *   2.0

This FIDE-rated tournament was held at UBC from January 6-21, 1984. Five out of the 14 players already have FIDE ratings. A score of 6/13 was needed to acquire a FIDE rating from this tournament. Congratulations to Paul Brown (8-5), Nigel Fullbrook (6.5-6.5), and Tyler Johnson (6.5-6.5) for acquiring a rating. The tournament was closely- contested from the beginning to the end. IM Leon acquired the lead on GM Duncan Suttles after the sixth round. Unfortunately Piasetski gave up a draw in the last round to allow Suttles to catch up and share first place with 11-2. En route, Suttles gave up four draws to the 2nd-5th ranked players! Piasetski, on the other hand, dropped a game to Alex Szabo (1966)! Ken Tomkins of Seattle tied with FM Bob Zuk for third with 9-4. Zuk could have scored higher had he not been forced to take 4-hour bus rides to the tournament site everyday. Tomkins started off the tournament by scoring 2.5-0.5 against Zuk, Fullbrock, and Brown! However, he gave up too many draws to only tie for 3rd.

Alex Szabo achieved only 4.5 points in this tournament. However, two of these points were against 2300 players - Zuk and Piasetski. Tyler Johnson also played extremely well to gain 108 rating points. Incidentally, this was Suttles' second Canadian tournament since 1975. Another veteran was expert John Lee who played his second tournament since 1973! The lack of practice showed in both player's scores. Finally, many thanks to the FIDE-rated players without whom this tournament would be impossible. Special thanks to Duncan Suttles who did not request an appearance fee. If he did, the tournament would have acquired a deficit.

Fullbrook,N - Suttles,D [B00] Vancouver fut Vancouver (8), 14.01.1984

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.f4 h5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 c6 7.Be3 d5 8.Nd2 e6 9.0–0–0 h4 10.c4 Nf6 11.Bd3 Nbd7 12.Rhe1 Qa5 13.Kb1 Bb4 14.Re2 0–0–0 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.f5 dxe4 17.Nxe4 gxf5 18.Rc2+ Kb8 19.Bf4+ Ka8 20.Nxf6 Nxf6 21.Bc7 Qd5 22.Bxd8 Rxd8 23.Rc7 Ne4 24.Bc4 Qd6 25.Rxf7 Qc6 26.Bd3 Rxd4 27.Bxe4 Qxe4+ 28.Qxe4 Rxd1+ 29.Kc2 Rd2+ 30.Kb3 fxe4 31.Kxb4 a5+ 32.Kc3 Rxg2 33.Rf4 Rg3+ 34.Kc2 Rxh3 35.Rxe4 Ka7 36.Rxe6 Rg3 37.Rh6 Rg4 38.Kc3 b6 39.a3 Ka6 40.b3 a4 41.bxa4 Rxa4 42.Kb3 Ka5 43.Rh5+ b5 44.Rh8 Rg4 45.Ra8+ Kb6 46.Rb8+ Kc5 47.Rc8+ Kd6 48.Rb8 h3 49.Rh8 Rg3+ 50.Kb4 Ke5 51.Rh5+ Kf4 52.Rxb5 Rg5 53.Rb8 h2 54.Rh8 Kg3 55.Rxh2 Kxh2 56.a4 Kg3 57.a5 Kf4 58.a6 Rg1 59.Kc5 Ke5 60.a7 Ra1 61.Kb6 Kd6 62.Kb7 Rb1+ 63.Kc8 ½–½

Brown,P - Suttles,D [B06] Vancouver fut Vancouver (6), 12.01.1984

1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 a6 4.f4 b5 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Be3 Nd7 9.e5 Qc7 10.0–0 Nh6 11.Ng5 b4 12.Nb1 f6 13.exf6 exf6 14.Qe2 Be7 15.Ne6 Qc6 16.f5 Nf7 17.Ng7+ Kd8 18.Ne6+ Kc8 19.Nd2 Nd6 20.Bf4 Nxf5 21.Be4 Qb5 22.Bd3 Qc6 23.Be4 Qb5 24.Bd3 ½–½

Suttles,D - Zuk,R [A00] Vancouver fut Vancouver (7), 13.01.1984

1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.f4 g6 5.c3 Bg7 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.Nf3 0–0 8.0–0 a5 9.a4 Qb6+ 10.Kh1 Ng4 11.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 Ne3 13.Bxe3 Qxe3 14.e5 Nc5 15.Nd4 Ne6 16.Nb3 Nc5 17.Nd4 Ne6 18.Qd1 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Qxd4 20.cxd4 Rd8 21.Rd1 Bg4 22.Rd2 Rd7 23.Nc3 Rad8 24.d5 Be6 25.Rad1 Bg4 26.Rc1 Be6 27.Rcd1 Bg4 28.Re1 Be6 29.Red1 Bg4 ½–½

Fullbrook,N - Burke,P [B03] Vancouver fut Vancouver (4), 09.01.1984

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Bf5 7.Nc3 e6 8.Be3 Bb4 9.Nf3 c5 10.a3 Ba5 11.b4 cxb4 12.Nb5 Bc2 13.Nd6+ Qxd6 14.Qxc2 b3+ 15.Bd2 Qc6 16.Qxb3 Qe4+ 17.Kd1 Bxd2 18.Bd3 Qe3 19.Ra2 Nc6 20.Rxd2 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 Qxd4 22.Qb5+ Qd7 23.Be4 Qxb5 24.cxb5 Ke7 25.Bxb7 Rad8 26.Rxd8 Rxd8+ 27.Kc2 Nc4 28.a4 Nxe5 29.Kc3 Rd7 30.Ba8 Rc7+ 31.Kb4 Rc4+ 32.Ka5 Nd3 33.Rb1 Nc5 34.Rb4 Rxb4 35.Kxb4 Kd6 36.a5 Nd7 37.Be4 f5 38.b6 a6 39.Bd3 Nb8 40.h4 g6 41.Bc4 h6 42.Be2 e5 43.h5 g5 44.g4 f4 45.Bf3 Nc6+ 46.Ka4 Kc5 47.Be2 Nb8 48.Bf3 Kd4 49.Bb7 e4 50.Bxa6 Nxa6 51.Kb5 f3 52.Kxa6 f2 53.b7 f1Q+ 54.Ka7 Qb5 55.a6 Qc5+ 56.Kb8 Qb6 0–1

Burke,P - Piasetski,L [B21] Vancouver fut Vancouver (1), 06.01.1984

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 4.c4 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bxd3 Bg7 7.0–0 d6 8.h3 Bd7 9.Re1 Rb8 10.Nc3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Qa5 12.Rb1 a6 13.Be3 Qxc3 14.e5 dxe5 15.Rb3 Qa5 16.Bb6 Qa4 17.Qd2 Nf6 18.Nxe5 0–0 19.Nxd7 Nxd7 20.Bxg6 hxg6 21.Qxd7 Qxc4 22.Bc7 Rbc8 23.Rxb7 e5 24.Bd6 Rfd8 0–1

Suttles,D - Piasetski,L [A00] Vancouver fut Vancouver (5), 10.01.1984

1.g3 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Rb1 a5 6.f4 f5 7.Nf3 e5 8.d3 Nf6 9.0–0 0–0 10.a3 Kh8 11.b4 axb4 12.axb4 Ng4 13.b5 Ne7 14.Qb3 exf4 15.gxf4 c6 16.h3 Nf6 17.e4 fxe4 18.dxe4 d5 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.Rd1 Qa5 22.exd5 Bf5 23.Rb2 Rfc8 24.Nb5 Nfxd5 25.Ng5 h6 26.Nf7+ Kh7 27.Bxd5 Nxd5 28.Qxd5 Qa1 29.Qd2 Rxc1 30.Rxc1 Qxb2 31.Qxb2 Bxb2 32.Rc7 Bg7 33.Nfd6 Bxh3 34.Kh2 Bg4 35.Kg3 h5 36.Kh4 Rd8 37.Kg5 Rd7 38.f5 Bh6+ 39.Kf6 Bg7+ 40.Kg5 Bh6+ 41.Kf6 Bg7+ ½–½

Piasetski,L - Tomkins,K [B39] Vancouver fut Vancouver (13), 20.01.1984

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.e4 Bg7 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Qxg4 Bxd4 9.Bxd4 Nxd4 10.Qd1 e5 11.Qd2 d6 12.Ne2 Nxe2 13.Bxe2 Be6 14.0–0 Qe7 15.Rfd1 Rd8 16.Qb4 0–0 17.Rd2 Rd7 18.Rad1 Rfd8 19.a4 b6 20.g3 h5 21.a5 bxa5 22.Qxa5 h4 23.Qa3 hxg3 24.hxg3 Qg5 25.Qc3 Bg4 26.Bxg4 Qxg4 27.c5 dxc5 28.Rxd7 Rxd7 29.Rxd7 Qxd7 30.Qxc5 f6 31.b4 Qd1+ 32.Kg2 Qd3 33.Qc6 a6 34.Qe8+ Kg7 35.Qe7+ Kh6 36.Qxf6 Qxe4+ 37.Kh2 Qe2 38.Qf8+ Kh7 39.Qf7+ Kh6 ½–½

Piasetski,L - Fullbrook,N [A21] Vancouver fut Vancouver (11), 18.01.1984

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 Nc6 4.d5 Na5 5.e3 b6 6.Nf3 d6 7.c5 dxc5 8.Nxe5 Bg7 9.Nf3 f5 10.e4 fxe4 11.Qa4+ Bd7 12.Qxe4+ Qe7 13.Ng5 0–0–0 14.Ba6+ Nb7 15.0–0 Qxe4 16.Ncxe4 Nh6 17.Ne6 Bxe6 18.dxe6 Kb8 19.Bb5 Rd4 20.Re1 Nf5 21.Bd7 h6 22.a4 g5 23.Ra3 g4 24.h3 h5 25.Bg5 c4 26.Ng3 Nxg3 27.Rxg3 Nc5 28.Bc6 Rd6 29.e7 Rxc6 30.e8Q+ Rxe8 31.Rxe8+ Kb7 32.Re7 Bxb2 33.hxg4 Nxa4 34.gxh5 c3 35.h6 c2 36.h7 c1Q+ 37.Bxc1 Rxc1+ 38.Kh2 Rd1 39.Rg8 Rd2 40.f4 Nc5 41.h8Q Bxh8 42.Rxh8 a5 43.Rhh7 Na6 44.Kh3 a4 45.Re1 a3 46.g4 a2 47.g5 Nc5 48.Kg3 Nd3 49.Ra1 Re2 50.Kf3 Rb2 51.g6 Ne1+ 52.Ke4 Re2+ 53.Kf5 Nc2 54.g7 Ne3+ 55.Ke4 Nc2+ 56.Kf5 Ne3+ 57.Ke6 Nc2+ 58.Kf6 Nxa1 59.g8Q Nb3 60.Qd5+ Ka6 61.Qc4+ b5 62.Qc6+ Ka5 63.Qxc7+ Kb4 64.Qd6+ Kc3 65.Rh3+ Kb2 66.Qd3 a1Q 67.Qxe2+ Ka3+ 68.Qe5 Ka4 69.Rxb3 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

Feb 26-27 BCYCC, Vancouver

Mar 6 Victoria Regional Chess Challenge

Mar 12 Fraser Valley Regional Secondary Chess Challenge

Mar 13 Vancouver Regional Chess Challenge

Mar 24-27 National CYCC, Victoria

Apr 10 Provincial Chess Challenge, Vancouver

Vernon Winterfest

Dates: February 26, 27

Place: Best Western Vernon Lodge, 3914 32nd St., Vernon

Type: 5-round Swiss

Daffodil Open

Dates: April 23-24

Place: University of Victoria

Type: 5-round Swiss

Worker's Memorial Chess Tournament

Dates: April 23-24

Place: Village Square, 349 Tranquille Rd., Kamloops

Type: 6-round Swiss

Appleblossom Open

Dates: May 7, 8

Place: Best Western Vernon Lodge, 3914 32nd St., Vernon

Type: 5-round Swiss

Spring Open (Seasonal Grand Prix)

Dates: May 7, 8

Place: tba

Type: 4-round Swiss

Paul Keres Memorial

Dates: May 20-23

Place: Hungarian Cultural Centre, 728 Kingsway, Vancouver

Type 6- or 7-round Swiss

Island Open

Dates: June 11-12

Place: University of Victoria

Type: 5-round Swiss

Summer Open (Seasonal Grand Prix)

Dates: June 25, 26

Place: tba

Type: 4-round Swiss