Tractor Chess.
(And no, I don't really expect anyone to get the title reference without me explaining it. Probably not even then.)
Friday, July 29, 2016
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Plans for upcoming local tournaments
As Paul has pointed out on the Facebook page, one day
tournaments are being held in both Daytona and at UCF this weekend.
...
The UCF tourney is an Orlando Chess & Games affair – G29
/ d5, 5 rounds, quick rated only. This one will cost $45 at the door, but I’ve
heard a rumor that Alex Zelner will be bringing his books for sale to this one, if that's your bag.
(That’s a rumor, I haven’t confirmed it. You can contact Steve or Alex to find out for certain.)
http://www.orlandochess.com/ocg-events/
(You’ll need to scroll down to see event details.)
The Daytona tourney is also five rounds, but it’s a G45 / d5
and counts for both quick and regular ratings. It’s only $30, but it’s all the
way in Daytona. (From here in Pine Hills they aren’t too different in terms of
time driving time. I have no idea what it’s like for points west.)
I’m wondering if anyone has any plans on going to either of
these tournaments. I’m really hoping to play in one of them this weekend but
haven’t made my mind up as to which, since they’ve both got some pluses and
minuses. Knowing something about turnout might help.
…
Going forward, there’s a two day tournament in Ocala on
August 13-14, the 2016 Ocala Summer Classic. The entry fee onsite is only $65, and less if you register
beforehand. That one is a five round, G90 / d5, and I’m thinking that driving
up Saturday morning and taking a round 1 bye makes that a very reasonable
tournament. (There are several hotels nearby.) I’m also wondering who might be
interested in that one.
Additionally, the CFCC has a one day 4SS, G75 / d5
tournament on August 20 at UCF.
…
This gets us to the big ones. Over Labor Day weekend we have
the Florida State Championships over in Tampa. That’s six rounds over Saturday,
Sunday & Monday. I’m wondering who is interested. I’m thinking that I’ll
probably pass on that, as it looks to be out of my price range, but I am trying
to gauge interest.
And later that month we’ll have the Southern ClassChampionships here in Orlando at the Wyndham. I am hoping to play that one, as
not needing to rent a hotel room makes it much cheaper.
So, does anyone have any plans at this point, definite or
provisional?
Another ongoing discussion, this time concerning central pawn expansion in the QGD
Recently Paul Leggett and I have been discussing a plan created by Botvinnik in the QGD, in which as White he forgoes the minority attack of yore (even back then!) and instead plays for central expansion. The key line runs 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bg5 Be7 6 e3 0-0 7 Bd3 Nbd7 8 Qc2 Re8 and now 9 Nge2 with the plan of castling, tucking away the king, and then an eventual f2-f3 and e3-e4, gaining much space in the center and kingside. This plan was first seen, I believe, in Botvinnik-Keres, USSR Ch (Moscow) 1952. (The move order given above is a transposition.)
Prior to that, 9 Nge2 had occurred in this position nine times. According to Kasparov's MGP series, Botvinnik had the following to say after the additional two-ply of 9...Nf8 10 0-0:
Paul brought this up within the context of a recent game of his, which he posted on Facebook*. Later in the discussion, Paul made the following comment:
Alas, my abilities to visualize the action were sadly lacking. On vacation a few days ago I managed to finally get to the game, which goes as follows: 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 e3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Bf5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 (a key difference in pawn structures!) 6 Bc4 e6 7 Nge2 (our star move) Nd7 8 0-0 Qh4, and now Rubinstein committed a tactical oversight and played 9 e4, which simply lost a pawn.
But in the tournament book, Alekhine made the following comment about this position:
It's hard to believe that Botvinnik wasn't aware of both the game and Alekhine's commentary on the game, and perhaps it inspired him. Probably not in 1952, but rather in 1938, against another one of the giants of the game. For the famous Botvinnik-Capablanca game at the renowned AVRO tournament featured Botvinnik playing 9 Nge2 with an eventual 0-0, f2-f3 and e3-e4 against Black's pawns on the a-d files and an absent Black e-pawn.
I rather imagine, sans any evidence, that this was all a chain of inspiration over time, one thing leading naturally to another. It makes for a nice story, but I have no idea how much if any validity it merits. I do know that in his book One Hundred Selected Games Botvinnik mentions as early as Black's sixth move in the Capablanca game that White's basic plan is to play f2-f3 and e3-e4, breaking through in the center. He goes on to mention after 9 Nge2 that the game recalls Lilienthal-Ragozin, Moscow 1935, but with a couple of minor differences. Clearly Botvinnik had given this strategical idea some thought!
Those with better paper archives might find more on the genesis of the Nge2, 0-0, f2-f3, e3-e4 idea in these structures, and of Botvinnik's inspiration. (I only have three books by Botvinnik, the one mentioned which only covers games up until 1946, Championship Chess on the Absolute Soviet Championship of 1941, and a book that he sorta kinda maybe co-authored on the Grunfeld Defense in the 1970s, so I have nothing by him on his games against Keres or Larsen save what Kasparov quotes.) And those with better db skills may well turn up some stones plowing fields of data.
So for now, I leave it at that.
...
But I do have two additional comments of a tangential nature. First, the Rubinstein-Bogoljubov game, and Alekhine's notes to it, have more interesting features, which I hope to return to soon. Second, can you imagine one of the top players now writing a tournament book? Imagine Carlsen or Giri writing notes to the recent BilBao tournament, for example, which was also a six player double round robin. Come on, guys, it's only 30 games, and I'm sure your seconds will kick in a good deal of the work. Let's make tournament books great again!
* I hope that's the correct link. Facebook is a real pain in the posterior to deal with on such matters.
Prior to that, 9 Nge2 had occurred in this position nine times. According to Kasparov's MGP series, Botvinnik had the following to say after the additional two-ply of 9...Nf8 10 0-0:
This continuation was unusual for that time. After Ng1-f3 White normally used to castle on the kingside, whereas when he played Ng1-e2 he would castle queenside. But in the present game a 'hybrid' variation has been employed, with the aim of making it difficult for the opponent to choose a plan. After White's kindside castling it is harder for Black to obtain active play, in which Keres always felt confident. - M. Botvinnik(That idea of Nge2, castling queenside and then attacking the kingside with pawns still had some poison in it at the top levels into the early 1980s, by the by.)
Botvinnik-Keres, USSR Ch (Moscow) 1952
after 9 Nge2
Paul brought this up within the context of a recent game of his, which he posted on Facebook*. Later in the discussion, Paul made the following comment:
I am almost finished reading "Rubinstein Move by Move" by GM Zenon Franco (an excellent book), and what do I find towards the end of the book? Botvinnik-Keres 1952 and Kasparov-Andersson 1988, annotated in the context of Rubinstein's contribution to the QGD. These games will live forever.To which I replied that I had just noticed the game Rubinstein-Bogoljubov, London 1922, which seemed to be heading in the direction of the Botvinnik game above, but after playing Nge2, Rubinstein then played e3-e4 followed by f2-f4. It seemed that Rubinstein was going for a direct kingside attack. (I have no idea if this game is mentioned Franco's book. I'm sure Paul can give an answer to that one.)
Alas, my abilities to visualize the action were sadly lacking. On vacation a few days ago I managed to finally get to the game, which goes as follows: 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 e3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Bf5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 (a key difference in pawn structures!) 6 Bc4 e6 7 Nge2 (our star move) Nd7 8 0-0 Qh4, and now Rubinstein committed a tactical oversight and played 9 e4, which simply lost a pawn.
But in the tournament book, Alekhine made the following comment about this position:
Rubinstein-Bogoljubov, London 1922
after 8 ... Qh4
An inoffensive reply to which White should simply play 9 f3, and if 9...Bd6 10 g3 and Black is forced to withdraw his queen to e7, for if 10...Qh3 11 e4 Nxc3 12 bxc3 Bg6 13 e5 followed by 14 Nf4 and wins. - A. AlekhineClearly Alekhine was looking to central expansion here, and I imagine that he believed that was Rubinstein's original intent. But that knight on d5 induced a tactical error!
It's hard to believe that Botvinnik wasn't aware of both the game and Alekhine's commentary on the game, and perhaps it inspired him. Probably not in 1952, but rather in 1938, against another one of the giants of the game. For the famous Botvinnik-Capablanca game at the renowned AVRO tournament featured Botvinnik playing 9 Nge2 with an eventual 0-0, f2-f3 and e3-e4 against Black's pawns on the a-d files and an absent Black e-pawn.
I rather imagine, sans any evidence, that this was all a chain of inspiration over time, one thing leading naturally to another. It makes for a nice story, but I have no idea how much if any validity it merits. I do know that in his book One Hundred Selected Games Botvinnik mentions as early as Black's sixth move in the Capablanca game that White's basic plan is to play f2-f3 and e3-e4, breaking through in the center. He goes on to mention after 9 Nge2 that the game recalls Lilienthal-Ragozin, Moscow 1935, but with a couple of minor differences. Clearly Botvinnik had given this strategical idea some thought!
Those with better paper archives might find more on the genesis of the Nge2, 0-0, f2-f3, e3-e4 idea in these structures, and of Botvinnik's inspiration. (I only have three books by Botvinnik, the one mentioned which only covers games up until 1946, Championship Chess on the Absolute Soviet Championship of 1941, and a book that he sorta kinda maybe co-authored on the Grunfeld Defense in the 1970s, so I have nothing by him on his games against Keres or Larsen save what Kasparov quotes.) And those with better db skills may well turn up some stones plowing fields of data.
So for now, I leave it at that.
...
But I do have two additional comments of a tangential nature. First, the Rubinstein-Bogoljubov game, and Alekhine's notes to it, have more interesting features, which I hope to return to soon. Second, can you imagine one of the top players now writing a tournament book? Imagine Carlsen or Giri writing notes to the recent BilBao tournament, for example, which was also a six player double round robin. Come on, guys, it's only 30 games, and I'm sure your seconds will kick in a good deal of the work. Let's make tournament books great again!
* I hope that's the correct link. Facebook is a real pain in the posterior to deal with on such matters.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Done!
I played chess against people on all six inhabited continents this evening, plus games against people in Tuvalu & Indonesia. That beats my old personal best of five continents in one day back in the 1990s. (I think I was missing Australia that time.)
Yeah, it's a little thing, but it's a cool thing, too.
ADDED: So now for the butcher's bill. It took about four and a half hours, 31 lost Elo on Chess.com, and 31 games. (The dual 31s are mere coincidence.) My overall record was 16+ 12- 3=. Results that are complete enough below the fold. (Yes, this post is entirely for my own amusement, and so I can find the record some day in the future should I so desire.)
Yeah, it's a little thing, but it's a cool thing, too.
ADDED: So now for the butcher's bill. It took about four and a half hours, 31 lost Elo on Chess.com, and 31 games. (The dual 31s are mere coincidence.) My overall record was 16+ 12- 3=. Results that are complete enough below the fold. (Yes, this post is entirely for my own amusement, and so I can find the record some day in the future should I so desire.)
A thought about @NakaFacts
It occurred to me that @NakaFacts could well be Magnus Carlsen. I'm so amused by the idea that I'm simply going to believe that it's true. Hey, there's no evidence that it isn't!
(Of course, it's more likely that it's Anish Giri. But Magnus would be much more fun.)
(Of course, it's more likely that it's Anish Giri. But Magnus would be much more fun.)
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Birth of an Opening
It's not often one can see the birth of a completely new opening in chess. But Simon Williams, the Ginger GM hisownself, managed to invent a new one this week. The new opening gets birthed beginning around the 7:04 mark in the video.
I added a video to a @YouTube playlist https://t.co/3YMZlfoNp6 GM Speed Chess! #99 The 'Bongcloud Transvestite' variation.— Simon Williams (@ginger_gm) July 16, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Hikaru finally wins!
He finally beat Magnus! And with the black pieces! Quite a day.
Here is a link to Chess24's coverage, including video analysis.
And here is a link to Chess.com's coverage, along with some more analysis.
Jaideep Unudurti made the following excellent point on Twitter.
And don't forget that he had a monster score against Judit Polgar, though I believe she finally won a game shortly before he retired. Record Check: Nope, she beat him, but only in one rapid game! Really, Garry's record against Judit practically constituted a hate crime. So make that four top players he blanked in their primes at "Classical Chess".
And finally, a bit of fun from the spoof account NakaFacts: This tweet went out before today's round, but it's still funny.
ADDED: First, IM Daniel Rensch of Chess.com has a nice ten minute long analysis of the game. It's quite good, and I recommend it, as he gives you the ideas of the position in a clear manner.
Second, I can't resist adding one more tweet, this one from Follow Chess:
Here is a link to Chess24's coverage, including video analysis.
And here is a link to Chess.com's coverage, along with some more analysis.
Jaideep Unudurti made the following excellent point on Twitter.
I knew about Kasparov's record against Shirov & Adams, but somehow had missed that he had such a record against Gelfand, too.Naka's win over Carlsen can be seen in the context that Adams, Shirov and Gelfand never beat Kasparov in their entire careers #BilbaoChess— Jaideep Unudurti (@Unudurti) July 13, 2016
And don't forget that he had a monster score against Judit Polgar, though I believe she finally won a game shortly before he retired. Record Check: Nope, she beat him, but only in one rapid game! Really, Garry's record against Judit practically constituted a hate crime. So make that four top players he blanked in their primes at "Classical Chess".
And finally, a bit of fun from the spoof account NakaFacts: This tweet went out before today's round, but it's still funny.
.@MagnusCarlsen is playing @GMHikaru in the first round of @BilbaoChess! Here is a quick comparison. #BilbaoChess pic.twitter.com/YeAhNLzgiM— NakaFacts (@NakaFacts) July 13, 2016
ADDED: First, IM Daniel Rensch of Chess.com has a nice ten minute long analysis of the game. It's quite good, and I recommend it, as he gives you the ideas of the position in a clear manner.
Second, I can't resist adding one more tweet, this one from Follow Chess:
Bonus points if you recognize everyone.How the chess world probably reacted to Nakamura's "shocking" 1st win against Magnus Carlsen with Black #BilbaoChess pic.twitter.com/iILKwsVjxX— Follow Chess (@FollowChessApp) July 14, 2016
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Game of the Day: 2016 July 12 edition [UPDATED]
I give you Kramnik-Buhmann, from the third round of Dortmund. Just follow the link, you'll be glad you did, if your head doesn't hurt too much.
NOTE: The score for the last couple of moves is incorrect. Another DGT board issue.
UPDATE: Peter Doggers writes up some notes for the game in his report for Chess.com.
NOTE: The score for the last couple of moves is incorrect. Another DGT board issue.
UPDATE: Peter Doggers writes up some notes for the game in his report for Chess.com.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Tactics Time: Capablanca-Alekhine
Below is a position from the 29th game of the 1927 World Championship match between Capablanca and Alekhine. Capablanca had just played 21 Qb3!
Clearly, Alekhine would be happy to liquidate his b- & c-pawns for White's b- & d-pawns. However, he did not play 21...c5. Can you see why? (Answer in white-font below the fold.)
Capablanca-Alekhine
World Championship Match (29)
Clearly, Alekhine would be happy to liquidate his b- & c-pawns for White's b- & d-pawns. However, he did not play 21...c5. Can you see why? (Answer in white-font below the fold.)
Dumpster Diving: 2016 July 11
I had a fun game at 3' 2" on Chess.com this evening.After some ups and downs I got to the following endgame:
Here I think I'm very close to winning, though The Fish doesn't agree, thinking I merely have a slight plus. But my position is much easier to play. I'm going to get in h4, and after ...gxh4 (forced), Kxh4 my king will dance around looking to pick off some pawns.
THDurham-josephmelendez589
After 45 Kg4
Here I think I'm very close to winning, though The Fish doesn't agree, thinking I merely have a slight plus. But my position is much easier to play. I'm going to get in h4, and after ...gxh4 (forced), Kxh4 my king will dance around looking to pick off some pawns.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Sound advice from the immortals
I feel good about this, because it's similar to something I had noticed on my own. "[A]n opponent already wasting time is likely to keep doing so." - see note to White's eleventh move.Spassky takes Bronstein's cunning advice.— Jonathan Manley (@KingpinEd) July 10, 2016
Spassky's 100 Best Games (1972), pp.182-3. pic.twitter.com/NYcG6UD91p
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Ivanchuk does everything better
He even suffers at the board better than we do.
Ivanchuk expressing the stress of chess! 👏🏼😆 pic.twitter.com/s6ztYBcJZ9— Johan Salomon (@JohanSalomon) July 8, 2016
Justified!
Okay, you'll be wondering how I think this is appropriate to the club blog, but I have justifications and rationalizations, emanations and penumbras on my side! This happened in Russia, therefore it must be relevant to chess players!
This starts slow but finishes strong. Trust me, you'll want to see this through.
This starts slow but finishes strong. Trust me, you'll want to see this through.
Well that was unexpected. pic.twitter.com/1KT1QXa1KJ— Only In Russia (@CrazyinRussia) July 8, 2016
Friday, July 8, 2016
A peculiar result
Back in February, club stalwart Garry Day had an unusual result at the USATS: he played five games, at the end of which his rating was completely unchanged.
Over the last weekend, club semi-regular Theo Slade had an even more peculiar result: over eight games at the World Open, his rating was also unchanged. Perhaps this is more common because of the new rating formula they instituted a few years back?
Theo is having a busy summer, BTW. He played in the Summer Solstice Open and the Orlando Sunshine Open in back-to-back weekends at the start of June, and he's playing the World Open and the Philadelphia International Open back to back this week. If you've got the FollowChess app on your phone or tablet, you can follow his games live.
Over the last weekend, club semi-regular Theo Slade had an even more peculiar result: over eight games at the World Open, his rating was also unchanged. Perhaps this is more common because of the new rating formula they instituted a few years back?
Theo is having a busy summer, BTW. He played in the Summer Solstice Open and the Orlando Sunshine Open in back-to-back weekends at the start of June, and he's playing the World Open and the Philadelphia International Open back to back this week. If you've got the FollowChess app on your phone or tablet, you can follow his games live.
Move of the Day: 2016 July 8 edition
Courtesy of Mr. Staunton:
Unfortunately, Mr Troff's inventiveness does not seem to have helped him. Here's a link to the game at Chess24.com, which is still going as I type.
Update: After some fairly large swings, game drawn!
One of those extraordinary moves which one views with a shudder of horrified admiration. https://t.co/vRUri86CIv pic.twitter.com/ByXCn5M2i8— Howard Staunton (@HowardStaunton) July 8, 2016
Unfortunately, Mr Troff's inventiveness does not seem to have helped him. Here's a link to the game at Chess24.com, which is still going as I type.
Update: After some fairly large swings, game drawn!
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