Club Championship 2020 Started - and Endgame Book Suggestions

The Club is open and the chess action if fantastic! Join us Monday for casual chess OR join our Club Championship tournament, in which Round 1 will continue. We have one player looking for an opponent.

This tournament runs every other week, so if you cannot make the first night of the round starting, you can make it up on the second week. It is a great way to practice real tournament conditions, without the pressure of a big formal tournament.

The tournament is free so come on in at 6pm and register for the 6:30 start of Round 1 B!

Now for a little example and some advice:

The chess endgame decides many chess games. Here is a case in point from our own Club Championship action last Monday;

Game EVEN. White to move.

The game at this point is dead even. Black has had the advantage but let it slip away. White has been on the defensive for quite a while and still may have that ‘I’m behind’ mentality. Igor3000, the microchip Grandmaster says the position is even. How the two players playing see it could be completely different. Both may think they are losing! Anyway, time pressure is now an issue for both players.

46. Qxc7??          …….

The losing move! There are several issues at play here. White had been down the exchange (a knight for a rook) for most of the game. He just swindled it back and was feeling relieved. With time pressure growing, White sees an opportunity to ‘liquidate’ and limit the power of Black further. The only problem is, the game is even simply because of White’s active queen. Trading off his best piece hands the advantage back to Black. White needed 46. Qe8+, Kh7  47. Rf2 and White holds the draw. Endgames are so delicate to handle.

46. ……..             Rxc7

47.  d5                  Kf6

48. Rd4                Rd7

49. Nd2?              Rdg7

50. Nxc4              Rxg2+

51. Kh1                Rg1+

52. Kh2                R1g4

53. d6                   Rh7++

Luckily there are many chess books written to help you with this part of the game.  These books come in three different varieties;

Theoretical encyclopedias, like Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual

 Manuals dealing with specific material, like Secrets of Pawn Endings by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht, and

Technique instead of theory books, like Endgame strategy by Mikhail Shereshevsky

Here are some other suggestions for Endgame books, not grouped in any order.

First Steps: Fundamental Endings by Cyrus Lakdawala

Mastering Complex Endgames by Adrian Mikhalchishin and Oleg Stetsko

How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Muller and Wolfgang Pajeken

Sharp Endgames by Eshen Lund

Chess Calculation Training- Volume 2: Endgames by Romain Edouard 

There are other books available also. I like the updated and corrected version of the old classic:

Basic Chess Endings by Rueben Fine

LCCC Open on MLK Day - Club Championship Starting!

We will be open for chess action on Monday January 20th. In addition to casual chess or chess lessons, we also have a fun event starting.

It is the 2020 LCCC Club Championship!
Entry Fee: FREE

Rounds; Three, four or five - depending on number of entries.
Rounds scheduled - one every TWO weeks! This allows for make-ups, so don't feel it ties you into showing up for up to 10 weeks in a row. You get 2 Mondays to get your round in.

Time Control: Game in 45 minutes/with 5 second delay. Or 50 minutes with no delay. That means each player get 45 minutes to play the game, so each game can last a little over an hour and a half.

Its a fun event and a great opportunity to play real tournament action without the pressure or expense. It is a great way to practice the game management skills needed to play tournament chess. Things like: chess clock management, writing down the moves of the game, the 'touch-move' rule and just general sportsmanship in a competitive - yet laid back - atmosphere.

See you Monday for the sign up and start of the tournament.

Puzzle #1

Puzzle #2 - Black to move

Here are some puzzles for you to enjoy and to answer. I will put the solutions in the comment section.

Puzzle #1 - White to move and win.

Puzzle #2 -  White has 1. Qb7 and if ….Qxb7 then 2. cxb and White's pawn queen's easily.

A queen is a very expensive defender. And in this position, the Black queen is not able to defend White's threat.

What if you change your thinking and use the queen for what she is really designed for; Attacking the enemy king!

LCCC Closed Until January 6th, 2020

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the chess players out there.

Our location is closed until the school sessions resume in January. Until then, here is an interesting game to look at:

White to make move 21

Black has just played 20. …..b6 when Bd6 was a better idea. Let us take stock of the situation:
The material is even and the remaining minor piece bishops are of the same color. Opposite color bishops make for a more draw-ish game as each side has the exact same power over half the squares on the board.
But in this situation, the side with more space and the more active pieces will have the advantage.
White has active rooks and a better placed Queen. Igor3000, my laptop Grandmaster agrees by giving White a full 1 pawn advantage here.
But how to convert that to a win?

21. Rd7        Qe8
22. Rcd1 ?!   …….
Igor was not a fan of this, sighting that 22. Qd5 not only guarded the rook at d7, but still attacked the rook at a8, and now attacks the bishop at e5 and X-rays the King on g8. White's advantage slips slightly to +.8.

22.  …..         h6
23. Qg4         Qe6
24. Qxe6       fxe6
25. Re7         Rfe8
26. Rdd7       Kf8?
Black needed to break up White's battery on the seventh rank with 26. ….Rxe7 27. Rxe7, Bf6 28. Rxe6, Rc8 and a draw was still possible. Instead White is now up 2 pawns!

27. Rf7+        Kg8
28. Rxa7        Rxa7
29. Rxa7        Rd8
30. g3             b5
31. Kg2          Kh7 ?!
Black needed to trade his less effective bishop for White's with 31. …..Bd4. White up +2.2

32. Ra6          Rd6??
Black lost his nerve, which is understandable when you consider how bad his situation was. White is +5.

33. Rxd6        Bxd6
34. a4             bax4
35. bxa4         Bc7
36. Bd2          Black resigns
Black knows he cannot simultaneous guard his isolated e-pawn and watch White's a-passed pawn.

Kids Night 120919 Was a Great Night of Chess!

Chess is always fun......but it makes winter evenings much better!

There was another good crowd at the chess club this Monday for Kid's Night.

But, so far this fall/winter - the crowds have always been good.

We had 17 players this night and we have been averaging 13 players! So if you are looking for some friendly games of chess …..or even a chess lesson, LCCC is the place to be.'

We have only one more week left in 2019 and that is next Monday night. We will re-open on January 6th. 

We will have another Kid's Night on Monday January 13th.

Then we will have the first round of the LCCC Club Championship on January 20. This tournament will run every other week - skipping any Kid's Night that might come up.

The number of rounds will be 3 to 5 rounds depending on the number of entries. Stay tuned for details as the date gets closer.

Now for a very good chess lesson by International Master,  Larry D. Evans;

The correct plan for Black in the following position is to attack White on the king-side as soon as possible.

Black to move!

Why you may ask? Black has several reasons to justify this course of action:

• > Black has a lead in development. But if not used quickly before White catches up - this advantage will evaporate away.
• > Black is two pawns down and a defensive strategy would be difficult to maintain on the queen-side with that big a dis-advantage.
• > Black's Queen is on the king-side and his bishop is already pointing that way. 
• > White's King is on the king-side
• > White's under-developed pieces are hibernating on the queen-side. So why would you try to attack there?

Does all this mean that Black's attack is a guaranteed success? Of course not!

Picture a battle between a sheet of newspaper laying flat on the ground versus the sun. The sun is infinitely more powerful but it's rays are spread too thin by the time they reach the earth to set the paper on fire. But, use a magnifying glass to FOCUS the sun's rays just to the paper and it burns almost instantly!

It's the same in chess. The first step in mounting a successful attack against a king is to select a target square - and FOCUS your forces there!

You usually pick one close to the enemy king that your forces can gang up on.

Looking at the position you can readily see that f1 and h1 are out, and h2 is defended twice. It is even worse for f2 as it is defended three times and not under even an X-ray attack by any Black pieces.

That logically leaves g2, who is under a one-to-one attack with a bonus X-ray attack from Black's bishop on b7 (so 1.5 to 1 advantage). No more call's - we have a winner! Anytime you have opposite bishop situations, obviously picking squares matching your bishop is a wise decision.
In addition, the other Black forces can easily join in the fun!

Observe:

1. .......            Rg4!

2. g3               Qc6

3. Kg2            Ne5

Black never takes his eyes off g2.

4. Qxe5           Qxf3+

5. Kh3             h5!

Threatening 6. …...Qg2 checkmate!

If 

6. Rg1             Rh4+

7. Kxh4           Qg4 checkmate.

Any other move is just as useless.

White resigns!

Chess Club Open This Monday - 111809

The weather did not cooperate with Kid's Night last week. But that is ok. It won't be Kid's Night, but it will still be a Chess Night - and all are invited to play!

So hopefully everyone will stop by this Monday night at 6pm. See you there.

Now for an interesting game I found. White makes one little mis-calcuation and his world crumbles. Ah, such is chess!

1. e4            e5
2. Nf3          d6
3. d4            f5
4. Bc4          exd4
5. Ng5          Nh6
6. O-O          Nc6
7. Nxh7?      ........
Not the best. 7. exf5, Qf6  8. Qh5+, g6  9. Re1+ is more in the spirit of the opening.

7. ……         Ng4
8. Nxf8         Kxf8
9. h3             Nge5
10. Bd5         fxe4
11. Bxe4       d5
12. Bg5         Qd6
13. Bd3         Bxh3
14. gxh3        Rxh3

Position after Black's 14th move. White to move.

It is at this point that White starts to drift. But moving the only pawn near his King to f4 is the play. It protects the bishop, gives space to his rook, give cover for the queen when she moves and takes control of a key square (e5). But de-nuding your King really looks right at first blush.

15. Kg2 ?!        …….
Now Black has 15. …...Nf3 and the King is in trouble!

15. …....            Ng4?!
16. Kxh3??       ……..
Again 16. f4 is needed. White is expecting 16. ……Nce5, 17. Be2, Qg6  18. Bxg4 with a BIG advantage for White (+6). But instead, he actually walked into a mate in 12. Now Black did not see this mate necessarily, but he doesn't have to. He only needs to see that he can now chase the king, and a mate will show up eventually.

16. ……          Qh2+
17. Kxg4         Ne5+
18. Kf5            Re8
19. Bd8           Qh6
20. Rg1           Rxd8
21. Rxg7         Rd6
Here White resigned in the face of :

22. Rg8+          Ke7
23. Rg7+          Qxg7
24. Kf4             Qh6+
25. Kg3            Qg5+
26. Kh2            Rh6+
27. Qh5            Rxh5  mate

Kids Night 11/11/2019 Cancelled Due to Snow!

LCCC closed tonight! See you next week!

Stay warm and safe at home and play chess tonight!
We are cancelling Kid's Night due to poor weather and poor driving conditions!
See you next week!

Mike Nikitin
President, LCCC

Kids Night This Monday! 110819

Paul Morphy - The pride and sorrow of chess masters.

We are having nice crowds at the chess club and we hope to see a return of our younger members for this month's addition of Kid's Night.
Games, lessons or even the ever present Ladder Tournament will be available for the young players. Also a free chess magazine to take home. So come on out to the Club this Monday Night.

Now for an international tournament postal game played in the early 1990's - Tener vs McLellan. Black demonstrates how the best way to answer an attack on the wing is to counter attack in the center!

1. d4          Nf6
2. c4          g6
3. Nc3       Bg7
4. e4          d6
5. f3           O-O
6. Be3        Nc6
7. Nge2      Rb8
8. a3           a6
9. b4           Bd7
10. Qd2      Re8
11. g4?!       .…...

Position after White played 11. g4?! White's King may have too much space!

All book until Black's last move. And White wants to use is board space advantage right away. But Black finds the correct response.

11. ……        b5
12. cxb5        axb5
13. Ng3 ?
White needed 13. Bg2 in order to keep his strong center, develop his last piece and be able to castle to either wing. Now Black pushes back in the center! (-.6) of an advantage for Black now.

13. …..          e5
14. Nxb5        exd4
15. Nxd4        Nxd4
16. Bxd4        Bxg4!
17. Be2 ?!       …….
Black regains the pawn with a slightly larger advantage as the bishop is immune. After 17. fxg4, Nxe4 18. Nxe4, Rxe4 and Black regains his piece with a big plus! The same move 17. Bg2 is still better for White here. Black is now up (-.8).

17. ……         Bh3
18. Kf2 ?      
White's major problem is that his King has no safe haven. Castling king side is now prohibited and castling queen side is castling into air. Staying in the center has a rook and queen X-raying him. Hard to see but 18. Rd1 was the best move. Now Black's advantage is up to (-1.7 pawns).

18. …..           h5
19. Bc4           h4
20. Nf5!?        gxf5
21. Rag1        Ng4+!
McLellan, playing Black, is a teacher of poetry, no accounting. By immediately returning the piece, the Black pieces are left in control of the board, and any hope of counter play by White is a pipe dream. Black is up (-2.1).

22. fxg4         fxg4
23. Bd5          Bxd4+
24. Qxd4        c5!
25. Qc3          Kh7
26. Ra1           …….
White tries hard to keep the Black rooks inactive but McLellan finds a way. 26. Ke2 was better here, as Black is now up (-3.3).

26. …..           Re5
27. Rhe1         Qf6+
28. Kg1           g3!
29. hxg3          Rg8
30. Rf1           Bxf1
31. Rxf1         Qh6
32. Rxf7+       Kh8
33. Rf3 ??       …….
The final blunder in a bad position. As ugly of a move as it is, 33. g4 was needed.

33. ……          hxg3
34. Qb2            g2
White Resigns