Last week, the Knockouts remained one the three undefeated teams in the USCL, and this week they are ready to floor the other expansion team, the Queens Pioneers, in a grudge rematch of their first week tussle.
Here's a preview of what's coming up on the blog this week.
Real time blogging on Wednesday
This week, there will be real-time blogging of the New Jersey Knockouts' rematch against the Queens Pioneers. Board 1 will feature a rematch of Week 1's matchup, GM Joel Benjamin versus GM Alex Stripunsky, which Benjamin won in 48 moves.. This time, however, Stripunsky gets White.
IM Ippolito annotates his win from last week
IM Dean Ippolito will annotate his win last week against FM Teghsuren Enkhbat. Called a swindle by some, in reality, it was an astute and perceptive display of tactical skill by IM Ippolito from a worse position. Dean is the New Jersey State Chess Federation's Teacher of the Year, and his insight will be helpful for anyone seeking to improve their game.
Knockout Victor Shen is profiled
Finally, we will soon have another profile of one of the Knockouts, 14 year old national master Victor Shen. Victor gave a lively, humorous, and self-deprecating interview, which belies his tender age. It is something you won't want to miss!
All coming soon, on the New Jersey Knockouts blog, right here!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Real Time Blog (Week 3) - NJKOs vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
This is the real time blog for the New Jersey Knockouts in Week Three of the USCL. The match tonight is the Knockouts versus the Baltimore Fish... I mean Kingfishers.
11:25pm
And it is over. Another miracle drawn match from the Knockouts! 2.0 - 2.0!! Still undefeated!
11:17pm
Ok, I count one chicken. Dean won, and the score now is 1.5 - 1.5. Joel may as well play on and try to win, because he's a pawn up in a generally drawn endgame.
11:10pm
Dean just needs to wrap things up. But, in this league, anything is possible, so listen... ZERE VILL BE NO CHICKEN COUNTEENK!
11:05pm
Unreal!!! Dean has sacced his rook, and looks like he may win it by queening his pawn. He's smirking... :)
11:02pm
Down to two games. Joel is up a pawn in the endgame, but it is a very drawable endgame (a rook apiece, 2P vs 3P all connected on the kingside). USCL commissioner Greg Shahade says that Joel drew that same endgame (on the pawn down side) versus Kasparov in the past!
10:55pm
Boy it is tense in here. Dean Ippolito is glaring at the screen. Joel Benjamin looks calm, but he's likely in the zone. Don't know how much more I can get in here before the games end, but we'll see...
10:43pm
It comes down to two very similar looking R+N versus R+N endgames. Ipplolito had one of these last week. Can the Knockouts pull out two wins here and win the match? A win and a draw to tie the match? Anything less than that, and the Knockouts lose their first one of the year. Stay tuned.
10:34pm
Victor fell. After defending well and running his king from the kingside to the queenside, he finally succumbed to a tactical trick, and either had to give up his queen or be mated. It is not looking good for New Jersey now, as the Knockouts trail 0.5 - 1.5 to the Kingfishers.
10:29pm
Baltimore tried to hold on to the win, but Lunna pulled off the draw on Board 4. Therefore the match is tied at 0.5 - 0.5, after one complete game!
10:27pm
Victor is holding on. He has a nice little trap (... Qxc2, where Rxc2?? is mate after Rb1+) but that's a real long shot. But, remember last week! Victor has a habit (sample size of one) of making a long shot.
10:22pm
Shen is valiantly trying to defend, but is getting viciously attacked. He's in time trouble, less than 10 seconds left now.
10:20pm
Lunna played Kf7, protecting the queening square. It seemed like an obvious move, but Lunna took his time, checking all the variations.
10:19pm
On Board 4, Rouleau sacced his Bishop so he could queen his c-pawn with check. Lunna's thinking about this response.
10:15pm
Shen just got a bigger rock in his sneakers after 27. Bxg7, and he has less than a minute left.
10:11pm
Ippolito-Enkhbhat is still really a complex struggle. Enkhbat just injected his queen into Ippolito's second rank 22. ... Qd2 after a 12 minute think . Dean is concentrating hard at the physical board, not looking at the screen, head in hands, still. That black queen seems to me like it feels like a small rock in your sneakers after a nice day at the beach.
10:09pm
On board 4, looks like we are getting some queens back!
10:05pm
On Board 3, Victor has only 3 minutes left, but his 24. ... Qc5 has dropped his opponent into a long think. She still has 40+ minutes on his, though.
10:01pm
Some real long calculation required on Board 4. Can White sac his Bishop and take the pawn and still draw?
9:56pm
Here's the position on Board 1, the GM versus GM battle. White's (Blehm) connected pawns versus Black's (Benjamin) isolated pawns on the queenside, and White's doubled pawns on the kingside.
9:54pm
Victor is really low on time now, only 4+ minutes left.
9:52pm
A pair of rooks have come off in the Ippolito game, but other than that, the position look eerily similar to an hour ago.
9:49pm
Lunna has picked up the h-pawn. But at what cost? Looks like his a-pawn will fall.
9:39pm
Tense maneuvering in the Lunna-Rouleau game. Both kings are making feints and false starts, trying to decide how to penetrate into the opponents position. Lunna's bishop on a5 is making a nice dark-squared block, and coordinating well with his queenside pawns, which are on light squares. Rouleau's king can't just come waltzing into the a-file, because many of the squareson the b-file are covered.
9:31pm
Back to Board 1. GM Joel Benjamin's French Defense id facing a phalanx of pawns, with the tip on c5, and the flankers on b4 and d4. The commentary has virtually stopped on the game, even though there are exactly 100 people watching. Everyone is wondering how Joel will break out of the slightly cramped position that he has.
Here's a picture of GM Joel at the start of the match.
9:29pm
Victor is way down on the clock. He has 17 minutes left, to his opponent's 63 minutes.
9:20pm
I've ignored Victor Shen's game on board 3. Let's have a look... Hmm... Well, both have pretty bad light-squared bishops. Rohonyan has a nice knight planted right in the center of the board. It coulf be kicked out with ... f6, but the hole it leaves on g6 doesn't look too nice for Victor. If only Victor would move his bishops back to his first rank, then he would be setting up to practice a Fischer Random game. Rohonyan has just played f4, and here's the current position.
9:12pm
As I thought, it was a long planning session on Board 2, as Dean took about 20 minutes before he played 19. a4 ...
9:02pm
Todd Lunna (White) on Board 4 has ended up in a very interesting position. Material is equal is a same-colored-square Bishop ending. Todd has a doubled f-pawn, and his opponent connected pawns on the g and h files. Clearly Black has the better pawn structure, but is it enough to win?
8:57pm
I may have been right about the planning. Dean Ippolito is taking his time to play his move in what I thought to be the critical position. Here's the position with White to move...
8:49pm
Board 2 (NJ's Dean Ippolito is White) is complicated. I usually rely on some titled player's commentary to repeat here and make it look like I know what I'm talking about, but no titled player is really saying anything. So, I can sum up what I see. Material is equal. Ippolito has a pawn on e5, but it is doubled with its friend on e3. Minor pieces are equivalent (one dark-squared bishop and one knight apiece) and queens are still on the board. Rooks are fighting over the open c-file.
It is one of those positions that appears to require some definite long-term planning, and the player that can execute a decent plan while countering his opponent's plan will prevail. As far as I can see, there are no bang-bang tactics on the board. And, yes, I'm ready to take that back when they prove me wrong.
Here's IM Dean Ippolito at the start of the match.
8:46pm
Nope, Joel has retreated his bishop to g6, after 16 1/2 minutes of thought.
8:43pm
On board 1, Joel Benjamin has his chin resting on his right palm, and he's staring intently at the board. GM Blehm has thrust his c-pawn forward to c4, challenging Benjamin's isolated pawn on d5. I'm guessing that Joel is deciding whether to swap it off, which would leave Blehm with two central pawns, or not.
8:33pm
Boy, I must be missing something. On board 4, Rouleau castled right into an open file. Lunna slammed his rook down on g1. Well, ok, it wasn't slamming, but it was a loud mouse click.
8:20pm
Now, for a recap of board 4. Todd Lunna (picture below), one of the Knockout's alternates, has played an exchange Ruy Lopez against Baltimore's John Rouleau. The queens are off the board, and Lunna has been cursed with tripled isolated f-pawns. And, yes, I mean the f-file, not as an abbreviation for some word that begins with "f". Although, I don't know -- it might be the same to Todd.
8:11pm
Once again, I am fascinated by the different things players do when playing these games on ICC. Lunna (board 4) started by playing on his physical board next to him, but keeps going back to the screen. Shen (14yoNMVS, board 3) is watching the physical board. IM Ippolito (board 2) tends to look at the physical board, hunched over it actually, but is also prone to a lot of pacing during the games. Benjamine (board 1) is back at the screen.
All players do, however, seem to make their move on the physical board first, and then on the screen.
8:04pm
Speaking of Board 3, the Knockout's Shen (I was going to say again "14 year old national master Victor Shen", but it seems like a waste of typing and aggravating any carpal tunnel syndrome I might develop) has played the Sicilian against WGM Katerina Rohonyan. By my untrained eye, both have bad light-squared bishops, but Rohonyan's dark-squared bishop is taking aim for Shen's kingside castled position, with a nice hold on the center. WARNING: All analysis provided herein is for amusement and entertainment purposes only.
7:56pm
I took this picture as the games were starting. It is third board, 14 year old national master Victor Shen, awaiting his opponent's first move. If you're reading this for the first time, read about Victor's last second stalemate escape from last week's match under the headline "Knockouts are Undefeated".
7:53pm
On ICC, an amusing comment from someone named "kruupy", suggesting that on Board 2, Black has "checker syndrome". :-)
7:47pm
On board 2, IM Dean Ippolito started the game with his customary 1. d4, to which his opponent, FM Enkhbat, responded with a Slav Defense. Now, remember gentle readers, I am not anywhere near a master-level player, but to my eye, it seems odd that Black has put so many of his pawns on light squares, even though his bad bishop is outside of the chain. But, perhaps, someone else can explain it to me.
7:40pm
On board 1 with the black pieces, GM Joel has played the French. White has developed a few minor pieces, but Black's c-pawn has already crossed the Mason-Dixon line. Of course, Maryland was a boarder state, and had its share of people loyal to the Union as well as the Confederacy. But I digress. Actually, I'm digressing a lot. Maybe too much. Board 2 update in a few minutes.
7:38pm
Apparently Baltimore is having connection problems on boards 1 and 3. GM Benjamin and 14 year old master Victor Shen are taking it in stride. We'll get to the chess in a minute.
7:33pm
The match started a little late, and we've already had a couple of disconnections. But, all is well now. Here's a picture of fourth board Todd Lunna (with the hat) and second board IM Dean Ippolito getting ready for their match.
7:09pm
Everyone is here. We've all encountered bad traffic on the Garden State Parkway. But, we're all here now. The players are getting their game faces on. Grrrr.... Hook the FISH.
7:06pm
Here's a picture of GM Joel Benjamin indicating this real-time blog. Whoa. Very self-referential. Think Godel, Escher, Bach.
6:56pm
More at 6:56. I lied. GM Joel is here, and our arbiter is setting up the boards and the programs. I should be able to take multiple pictures tonight, so keep a lookout!
2:53pm
The playing room is being vacated by the students of Chapel Hill Academy. They probably have no idea of the carnage that will be on view tonight, when the Knockouts throw their hooks into the Fish.... I mean Kingfish... Kingfishers...
More at 7:15 pm when the match actually starts!
11:25pm
And it is over. Another miracle drawn match from the Knockouts! 2.0 - 2.0!! Still undefeated!
11:17pm
Ok, I count one chicken. Dean won, and the score now is 1.5 - 1.5. Joel may as well play on and try to win, because he's a pawn up in a generally drawn endgame.
11:10pm
Dean just needs to wrap things up. But, in this league, anything is possible, so listen... ZERE VILL BE NO CHICKEN COUNTEENK!
11:05pm
Unreal!!! Dean has sacced his rook, and looks like he may win it by queening his pawn. He's smirking... :)
11:02pm
Down to two games. Joel is up a pawn in the endgame, but it is a very drawable endgame (a rook apiece, 2P vs 3P all connected on the kingside). USCL commissioner Greg Shahade says that Joel drew that same endgame (on the pawn down side) versus Kasparov in the past!
10:55pm
Boy it is tense in here. Dean Ippolito is glaring at the screen. Joel Benjamin looks calm, but he's likely in the zone. Don't know how much more I can get in here before the games end, but we'll see...
10:43pm
It comes down to two very similar looking R+N versus R+N endgames. Ipplolito had one of these last week. Can the Knockouts pull out two wins here and win the match? A win and a draw to tie the match? Anything less than that, and the Knockouts lose their first one of the year. Stay tuned.
10:34pm
Victor fell. After defending well and running his king from the kingside to the queenside, he finally succumbed to a tactical trick, and either had to give up his queen or be mated. It is not looking good for New Jersey now, as the Knockouts trail 0.5 - 1.5 to the Kingfishers.
10:29pm
Baltimore tried to hold on to the win, but Lunna pulled off the draw on Board 4. Therefore the match is tied at 0.5 - 0.5, after one complete game!
10:27pm
Victor is holding on. He has a nice little trap (... Qxc2, where Rxc2?? is mate after Rb1+) but that's a real long shot. But, remember last week! Victor has a habit (sample size of one) of making a long shot.
10:22pm
Shen is valiantly trying to defend, but is getting viciously attacked. He's in time trouble, less than 10 seconds left now.
10:20pm
Lunna played Kf7, protecting the queening square. It seemed like an obvious move, but Lunna took his time, checking all the variations.
10:19pm
On Board 4, Rouleau sacced his Bishop so he could queen his c-pawn with check. Lunna's thinking about this response.
10:15pm
Shen just got a bigger rock in his sneakers after 27. Bxg7, and he has less than a minute left.
10:11pm
Ippolito-Enkhbhat is still really a complex struggle. Enkhbat just injected his queen into Ippolito's second rank 22. ... Qd2 after a 12 minute think . Dean is concentrating hard at the physical board, not looking at the screen, head in hands, still. That black queen seems to me like it feels like a small rock in your sneakers after a nice day at the beach.
10:09pm
On board 4, looks like we are getting some queens back!
10:05pm
On Board 3, Victor has only 3 minutes left, but his 24. ... Qc5 has dropped his opponent into a long think. She still has 40+ minutes on his, though.
10:01pm
Some real long calculation required on Board 4. Can White sac his Bishop and take the pawn and still draw?
9:56pm
Here's the position on Board 1, the GM versus GM battle. White's (Blehm) connected pawns versus Black's (Benjamin) isolated pawns on the queenside, and White's doubled pawns on the kingside.
9:54pm
Victor is really low on time now, only 4+ minutes left.
9:52pm
A pair of rooks have come off in the Ippolito game, but other than that, the position look eerily similar to an hour ago.
9:49pm
Lunna has picked up the h-pawn. But at what cost? Looks like his a-pawn will fall.
9:39pm
Tense maneuvering in the Lunna-Rouleau game. Both kings are making feints and false starts, trying to decide how to penetrate into the opponents position. Lunna's bishop on a5 is making a nice dark-squared block, and coordinating well with his queenside pawns, which are on light squares. Rouleau's king can't just come waltzing into the a-file, because many of the squareson the b-file are covered.
9:31pm
Back to Board 1. GM Joel Benjamin's French Defense id facing a phalanx of pawns, with the tip on c5, and the flankers on b4 and d4. The commentary has virtually stopped on the game, even though there are exactly 100 people watching. Everyone is wondering how Joel will break out of the slightly cramped position that he has.
Here's a picture of GM Joel at the start of the match.
9:29pm
Victor is way down on the clock. He has 17 minutes left, to his opponent's 63 minutes.
9:20pm
I've ignored Victor Shen's game on board 3. Let's have a look... Hmm... Well, both have pretty bad light-squared bishops. Rohonyan has a nice knight planted right in the center of the board. It coulf be kicked out with ... f6, but the hole it leaves on g6 doesn't look too nice for Victor. If only Victor would move his bishops back to his first rank, then he would be setting up to practice a Fischer Random game. Rohonyan has just played f4, and here's the current position.
9:12pm
As I thought, it was a long planning session on Board 2, as Dean took about 20 minutes before he played 19. a4 ...
9:02pm
Todd Lunna (White) on Board 4 has ended up in a very interesting position. Material is equal is a same-colored-square Bishop ending. Todd has a doubled f-pawn, and his opponent connected pawns on the g and h files. Clearly Black has the better pawn structure, but is it enough to win?
8:57pm
I may have been right about the planning. Dean Ippolito is taking his time to play his move in what I thought to be the critical position. Here's the position with White to move...
8:49pm
Board 2 (NJ's Dean Ippolito is White) is complicated. I usually rely on some titled player's commentary to repeat here and make it look like I know what I'm talking about, but no titled player is really saying anything. So, I can sum up what I see. Material is equal. Ippolito has a pawn on e5, but it is doubled with its friend on e3. Minor pieces are equivalent (one dark-squared bishop and one knight apiece) and queens are still on the board. Rooks are fighting over the open c-file.
It is one of those positions that appears to require some definite long-term planning, and the player that can execute a decent plan while countering his opponent's plan will prevail. As far as I can see, there are no bang-bang tactics on the board. And, yes, I'm ready to take that back when they prove me wrong.
Here's IM Dean Ippolito at the start of the match.
8:46pm
Nope, Joel has retreated his bishop to g6, after 16 1/2 minutes of thought.
8:43pm
On board 1, Joel Benjamin has his chin resting on his right palm, and he's staring intently at the board. GM Blehm has thrust his c-pawn forward to c4, challenging Benjamin's isolated pawn on d5. I'm guessing that Joel is deciding whether to swap it off, which would leave Blehm with two central pawns, or not.
8:33pm
Boy, I must be missing something. On board 4, Rouleau castled right into an open file. Lunna slammed his rook down on g1. Well, ok, it wasn't slamming, but it was a loud mouse click.
8:20pm
Now, for a recap of board 4. Todd Lunna (picture below), one of the Knockout's alternates, has played an exchange Ruy Lopez against Baltimore's John Rouleau. The queens are off the board, and Lunna has been cursed with tripled isolated f-pawns. And, yes, I mean the f-file, not as an abbreviation for some word that begins with "f". Although, I don't know -- it might be the same to Todd.
8:11pm
Once again, I am fascinated by the different things players do when playing these games on ICC. Lunna (board 4) started by playing on his physical board next to him, but keeps going back to the screen. Shen (14yoNMVS, board 3) is watching the physical board. IM Ippolito (board 2) tends to look at the physical board, hunched over it actually, but is also prone to a lot of pacing during the games. Benjamine (board 1) is back at the screen.
All players do, however, seem to make their move on the physical board first, and then on the screen.
8:04pm
Speaking of Board 3, the Knockout's Shen (I was going to say again "14 year old national master Victor Shen", but it seems like a waste of typing and aggravating any carpal tunnel syndrome I might develop) has played the Sicilian against WGM Katerina Rohonyan. By my untrained eye, both have bad light-squared bishops, but Rohonyan's dark-squared bishop is taking aim for Shen's kingside castled position, with a nice hold on the center. WARNING: All analysis provided herein is for amusement and entertainment purposes only.
7:56pm
I took this picture as the games were starting. It is third board, 14 year old national master Victor Shen, awaiting his opponent's first move. If you're reading this for the first time, read about Victor's last second stalemate escape from last week's match under the headline "Knockouts are Undefeated".
7:53pm
On ICC, an amusing comment from someone named "kruupy", suggesting that on Board 2, Black has "checker syndrome". :-)
7:47pm
On board 2, IM Dean Ippolito started the game with his customary 1. d4, to which his opponent, FM Enkhbat, responded with a Slav Defense. Now, remember gentle readers, I am not anywhere near a master-level player, but to my eye, it seems odd that Black has put so many of his pawns on light squares, even though his bad bishop is outside of the chain. But, perhaps, someone else can explain it to me.
7:40pm
On board 1 with the black pieces, GM Joel has played the French. White has developed a few minor pieces, but Black's c-pawn has already crossed the Mason-Dixon line. Of course, Maryland was a boarder state, and had its share of people loyal to the Union as well as the Confederacy. But I digress. Actually, I'm digressing a lot. Maybe too much. Board 2 update in a few minutes.
7:38pm
Apparently Baltimore is having connection problems on boards 1 and 3. GM Benjamin and 14 year old master Victor Shen are taking it in stride. We'll get to the chess in a minute.
7:33pm
The match started a little late, and we've already had a couple of disconnections. But, all is well now. Here's a picture of fourth board Todd Lunna (with the hat) and second board IM Dean Ippolito getting ready for their match.
7:09pm
Everyone is here. We've all encountered bad traffic on the Garden State Parkway. But, we're all here now. The players are getting their game faces on. Grrrr.... Hook the FISH.
7:06pm
Here's a picture of GM Joel Benjamin indicating this real-time blog. Whoa. Very self-referential. Think Godel, Escher, Bach.
6:56pm
More at 6:56. I lied. GM Joel is here, and our arbiter is setting up the boards and the programs. I should be able to take multiple pictures tonight, so keep a lookout!
2:53pm
The playing room is being vacated by the students of Chapel Hill Academy. They probably have no idea of the carnage that will be on view tonight, when the Knockouts throw their hooks into the Fish.... I mean Kingfish... Kingfishers...
More at 7:15 pm when the match actually starts!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Zlotnikov annotates last week's win versus Tennessee
IM Mikhail Zlotnikov generously agreed to annotate his win from last week versus FM Todd Andrews of the Tempo. I edited some of his comments, but the annotations are his. You can replay the game unannotated here.
Editor's note: Zlotnikov and Andrews played in the last round of the U-2400 section of the 2007 World Open. Zlotnikov won that game, and tied for first.
I played my last and critical game in the World Open's U2400 section and won a game against Andrews by playing 1. c4. So, in this game, I decided to use 1. Nf3, so I wouldn't be surprised by my opponent's possible preparation. Our game went a familiar route; my opponent likes to develop his bishops on b7 and b4 and Queen via e8 to h5 to attack my king.
1.Nf3 e6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.0-0 f5 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 Black would like to eliminate the Knight on c3, before starting an attack on the kingside, so it doesn't participate in struggle for the center.
7.Qc2 In order to take Knight with the Queen after exchange on c3.
7...0-0 8.d3 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 Qe8 10.b4 This attacks the center and queenside, which counterbalances Black on the kingside. It also allows me to develop my Bishop to b2 and threaten g7.
10...d6 11.c5! This forces Black's Knight to develop to a6 instead of d7 because of the threat of the pawn fork on c6.
11...Na6 12.cxd6 cxd6 13.Bb2 Rc8 14.Qd2 14. Qd4 looked promising, but I didn't want to allow ... Rc2.
14...e5 15.a3 Allows the Queen to be flexible.
15...Qh5 16.Rac1 Trying to exchange both Rooks and relieve pressure on my King, which also has the benefit of a favorable endgame.
16...Nc7 Black tries to avoid exchanging, and instead, moves his Knight to e6 to support his kingside attack.
17.b5!! The start of a good strategic plan, which includes several moves with Queen from d2-b4-h4. Black can't take the pawn, because of Qb4, followed by a4.
17...Ne6 18.Qb4 Rcd8 19.Qh4 Qe8 If instead, 19... Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Qxh4 21. gxh4, and White has a slightly better endgame.
20.a4 Protecting the b-pawn and leaving open the option to move Bishop to a3 to attack the pawn on d6.
20...h6 Black tries to attack the queen; White must find a way to attack the center or queenside. I decided to exchange my Bishop on g2 and get access with my Rook to square c6.
21.Nd2 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 f4 23.Rc6 Rd7 Preparing to move ... g5, and if I take the pawn on h6, Black will kidnap my Queen.
24.Qh3 Before I mount attack on the pawn on d6, I must first prepare the defense of my kingside.
24...g5 25.f3 h5 26.Nc4 g4 27.Qh4 Nd4 Black's attack has reached a dead end, so he tries to create some counterplay, but it's too late.
28.Rxd6 Attacking Black's Knight on f6.
28...gxf3+ 29.exf3 Rxd6 30.Nxd6 Qe6 Only move. The rest is easy.
31.Qg5+ Kh8 32.Bxd4 exd4 33.Nf5 Ne8 34.Qxh5+ Kg8 35.g4 Ng7 36.Qg5 Qf6 37.Qxf6 Rxf6 38.Nxg7 Kxg7 39.Re1 1-0
Editor's note: Zlotnikov and Andrews played in the last round of the U-2400 section of the 2007 World Open. Zlotnikov won that game, and tied for first.
I played my last and critical game in the World Open's U2400 section and won a game against Andrews by playing 1. c4. So, in this game, I decided to use 1. Nf3, so I wouldn't be surprised by my opponent's possible preparation. Our game went a familiar route; my opponent likes to develop his bishops on b7 and b4 and Queen via e8 to h5 to attack my king.
1.Nf3 e6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.0-0 f5 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 Black would like to eliminate the Knight on c3, before starting an attack on the kingside, so it doesn't participate in struggle for the center.
7.Qc2 In order to take Knight with the Queen after exchange on c3.
7...0-0 8.d3 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 Qe8 10.b4 This attacks the center and queenside, which counterbalances Black on the kingside. It also allows me to develop my Bishop to b2 and threaten g7.
10...d6 11.c5! This forces Black's Knight to develop to a6 instead of d7 because of the threat of the pawn fork on c6.
11...Na6 12.cxd6 cxd6 13.Bb2 Rc8 14.Qd2 14. Qd4 looked promising, but I didn't want to allow ... Rc2.
14...e5 15.a3 Allows the Queen to be flexible.
15...Qh5 16.Rac1 Trying to exchange both Rooks and relieve pressure on my King, which also has the benefit of a favorable endgame.
16...Nc7 Black tries to avoid exchanging, and instead, moves his Knight to e6 to support his kingside attack.
17.b5!! The start of a good strategic plan, which includes several moves with Queen from d2-b4-h4. Black can't take the pawn, because of Qb4, followed by a4. 17...Ne6 18.Qb4 Rcd8 19.Qh4 Qe8 If instead, 19... Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Qxh4 21. gxh4, and White has a slightly better endgame.
20.a4 Protecting the b-pawn and leaving open the option to move Bishop to a3 to attack the pawn on d6.
20...h6 Black tries to attack the queen; White must find a way to attack the center or queenside. I decided to exchange my Bishop on g2 and get access with my Rook to square c6.
21.Nd2 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 f4 23.Rc6 Rd7 Preparing to move ... g5, and if I take the pawn on h6, Black will kidnap my Queen.
24.Qh3 Before I mount attack on the pawn on d6, I must first prepare the defense of my kingside.
24...g5 25.f3 h5 26.Nc4 g4 27.Qh4 Nd4 Black's attack has reached a dead end, so he tries to create some counterplay, but it's too late.
28.Rxd6 Attacking Black's Knight on f6.
28...gxf3+ 29.exf3 Rxd6 30.Nxd6 Qe6 Only move. The rest is easy.
31.Qg5+ Kh8 32.Bxd4 exd4 33.Nf5 Ne8 34.Qxh5+ Kg8 35.g4 Ng7 36.Qg5 Qf6 37.Qxf6 Rxf6 38.Nxg7 Kxg7 39.Re1 1-0
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Knockouts are Undefeated!
In a roller-coaster of a match, the Knockouts remained undefeated in match play with a draw against the Tennessee Tempo. Their record stands now at 1-1, and the KOs are tied for 3rd-4th in the Eastern division of the USCL.
The match started off well for the good guys, with Evan Ju securing a draw by repetition as black, and IM Mikhail Zlotnikov slowly putting the squeeze on FM Todd Andrews of Tennessee, getting to the endgame a couple of pawns up and in a better position. Andrews resigned, and the KOs were leading 1.5 to 0.5.
In a conversation between myself and team captain GM Joel Benjamin, GM Benjamin commented that the other two games looked really good for the Knockouts. First board, IM Dean Ippolito was in a tense game as black with equal material. As the game progressed, Ippolito had slightly better pawn structure, although it was not clear whether it would be enough to win, but a draw would secure at least a drawn match. Then, a couple of slight inaccuracies, and Ippolito found his king webbed in on the queenside toward the center of the board -- his opponent's (IM Burnett) rook cut off his escape from behind, and his knight was threatening a mating net. Ippolito wriggled out of the mating net, but ended in a losing position, and eventually had to resign, as Burnett iced his win with a deadly knight fork.
In the other game, 14 year old master Victor Shen was in a double rook endgame with his opponent. But again, disaster struck. Shen made some errors, and ended up a pawn down with doubled a-pawns, while his expert opponent had two connected passed pawns (g and h files). After a trade of rooks, and all of Victor's pawns, it became R vs R+2P(g&h). Victor's opponent, Gerald Larson, was playing the endgame well, according to GM Benjamin. It looked bad for the KOs -- they were about to lose the match to last year's last place finishers in the Western division.
But then, I remembered last year's championship match... Another board 4 matchup between Herman of the New York Knights, and Shankland of the San Francisco Mechanics. Herman was unable to win the same endgame, Rook and g-pawn and h-pawn versus Rook. (You can read about that and replay that game here.) I wondered... would the same USCL magic strike again?
GM Benjamin was skeptical. (I believe he used a stronger word than skeptical, but I digress.)
Back to the KO-Tempo match. As I said, Larson of the Tempo, was playing the endgame well. But then, I noticed that if Larson tried pushing his pawn to h2 (protected by his rook also on the second rank) checking Victor's king, and Victor hid his king on h1, then the king would have no moves, and, you guessed it, stalemate possibilities. Victor would then just have to keep checking the king and White would be stalemated, once Black took the Rook.
GM Benjamin was very skeptical. (And, yes, he used a much stronger word this time.)
But, lo and behold, it happened. 77... h2+ 78. Kh1 Rf2 and Victor's rook threw itself on its serrated crenelations with 79. Rg3+!
The comments from the gallery were a mixture of shock, disbelief, dismay, joy, and exhilaration.
Larson played a few more moves, but it was over. A draw, and a 2-2 tie.
You can play over all the games as the USCL site here.
Next week, the Knockouts will take on the team with which they are tied in the division for 3rd-4th place, the Baltimore Kingfishers. 7:15pm Eastern time, Wednesday September 12th. Hopefully real-time blogging for that match. See you then!
The match started off well for the good guys, with Evan Ju securing a draw by repetition as black, and IM Mikhail Zlotnikov slowly putting the squeeze on FM Todd Andrews of Tennessee, getting to the endgame a couple of pawns up and in a better position. Andrews resigned, and the KOs were leading 1.5 to 0.5.
In a conversation between myself and team captain GM Joel Benjamin, GM Benjamin commented that the other two games looked really good for the Knockouts. First board, IM Dean Ippolito was in a tense game as black with equal material. As the game progressed, Ippolito had slightly better pawn structure, although it was not clear whether it would be enough to win, but a draw would secure at least a drawn match. Then, a couple of slight inaccuracies, and Ippolito found his king webbed in on the queenside toward the center of the board -- his opponent's (IM Burnett) rook cut off his escape from behind, and his knight was threatening a mating net. Ippolito wriggled out of the mating net, but ended in a losing position, and eventually had to resign, as Burnett iced his win with a deadly knight fork.
In the other game, 14 year old master Victor Shen was in a double rook endgame with his opponent. But again, disaster struck. Shen made some errors, and ended up a pawn down with doubled a-pawns, while his expert opponent had two connected passed pawns (g and h files). After a trade of rooks, and all of Victor's pawns, it became R vs R+2P(g&h). Victor's opponent, Gerald Larson, was playing the endgame well, according to GM Benjamin. It looked bad for the KOs -- they were about to lose the match to last year's last place finishers in the Western division.
But then, I remembered last year's championship match... Another board 4 matchup between Herman of the New York Knights, and Shankland of the San Francisco Mechanics. Herman was unable to win the same endgame, Rook and g-pawn and h-pawn versus Rook. (You can read about that and replay that game here.) I wondered... would the same USCL magic strike again?
GM Benjamin was skeptical. (I believe he used a stronger word than skeptical, but I digress.)
Back to the KO-Tempo match. As I said, Larson of the Tempo, was playing the endgame well. But then, I noticed that if Larson tried pushing his pawn to h2 (protected by his rook also on the second rank) checking Victor's king, and Victor hid his king on h1, then the king would have no moves, and, you guessed it, stalemate possibilities. Victor would then just have to keep checking the king and White would be stalemated, once Black took the Rook.
GM Benjamin was very skeptical. (And, yes, he used a much stronger word this time.)
But, lo and behold, it happened. 77... h2+ 78. Kh1 Rf2 and Victor's rook threw itself on its serrated crenelations with 79. Rg3+!The comments from the gallery were a mixture of shock, disbelief, dismay, joy, and exhilaration.
Larson played a few more moves, but it was over. A draw, and a 2-2 tie.
You can play over all the games as the USCL site here.
Next week, the Knockouts will take on the team with which they are tied in the division for 3rd-4th place, the Baltimore Kingfishers. 7:15pm Eastern time, Wednesday September 12th. Hopefully real-time blogging for that match. See you then!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Player Profile: IM Dean Ippolito
This week marks the New Jersey Knockouts debut of 29 year old International Master, Dean Ippolito. Ippolito currently lives in Whitehouse Station, but grew up in the northern New Jersey town of Boonton.
Dean learned how to play chess at the remarkably early age of two-and-a-half, from his father, Joe Ippolito, current president of the New Jersey State Chess Federation. Many of the lessons his dad gave him 26 years ago paid off handsomely this summer, as Dean had a great result at the New England Masters, where he scored 6.5/9 and tied for 2nd-3rd, and he's especially proud of his eighth round encounter with Shabalov, which you can read about here.
While he excels at the mental sport of chess, Dean also enjoys a variety of physical sports, including soccer, weight-lifting, running, basketball, and tennis. Sounds like something Ben Franklin would approve of (Dean is a big fan of Franklin's autobiography).
His favorite game he has played was against Morozevich in the 1997 NY Open. It features a Petroff Defense, with some really masterful defense and endgame play by Ippolito against the notorious attacker, who at the time was rated over 300 points above Dean. You can replay it here.
Dean is excited about the Greg Shahade bringing team chess to the public through the USCL, and he's appreciative of the league atmosphere that other professional sports have.
Dean's favorite film, The Rookie, is also sports related, but it has a greater message. In the film (which is based on a true story), an older (late 30s) baseball coach gets the opportunity to try out for a spot on a major-league baseball team. He makes the team, of course. Dean coaches chess players at his own school, but he's been finding more time to play chess himself. Let's hope that -- similar to The Rookie -- Dean soon achieves the GM title, as well as any other goals he has for himself. His recent results suggest that they are not far off.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Hess in the NY Daily News
Did linebacker and IM Robert Hess, of the New York Knights, take a few too many hits in practice prior to the attached picture being taken and this article being written about him? Look carefully in the picture of the chess board set up in front of him...Yup, you guessed it, the board is oriented with the wrong colored corner squares.
Maybe IM Hess can defend himself... was the board Photoshopped in the picture after the fact?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Week 1 Summary
The first week of the USCL has passed, and the standings in the Eastern Division are already surprising. The New York Knights, with their 3-1 loss to Baltimore, dwell in the cellar. Their manager, Irina Krush, lost a theoretically interesting endgame, which she was initially winning, and then some slight inaccuracies moved it to a loss. It would be really interesting and instructive to have someone figure out just where the tipping point was from win to draw to loss for Irina.
Unfortunately for the Knockouts, two other teams in the Eastern division won; Philadelphia and Boston eked out 2.5-1.5 victories. Each team has three draws and a win on one of the lower boards.
So, the Knockouts and the Pioneers, are tied for 4th-5th place in the Eastern division, ahead of the Knights. The NY Metro area, center of chess skill in the USA, would be out of the playoffs, if the season ended today. Yes, yes, I know it's early to talk about the playoffs.
Jennifer Shahade's recap of week one is here at Chess Life Online. There's not enough on the Knockouts, but maybe that's just my opinion.
So, if you do want more about the NJKOs, you can read Michael Goeller's annotations of the Knockouts' games at the Kenilworth chess club blog, which is here.
Next week -- I'll review the merchandise I purchased at the USCL online store.
Unfortunately for the Knockouts, two other teams in the Eastern division won; Philadelphia and Boston eked out 2.5-1.5 victories. Each team has three draws and a win on one of the lower boards.
So, the Knockouts and the Pioneers, are tied for 4th-5th place in the Eastern division, ahead of the Knights. The NY Metro area, center of chess skill in the USA, would be out of the playoffs, if the season ended today. Yes, yes, I know it's early to talk about the playoffs.
Jennifer Shahade's recap of week one is here at Chess Life Online. There's not enough on the Knockouts, but maybe that's just my opinion.
So, if you do want more about the NJKOs, you can read Michael Goeller's annotations of the Knockouts' games at the Kenilworth chess club blog, which is here.
Next week -- I'll review the merchandise I purchased at the USCL online store.
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