Pairings Out for Round 2 in the 2016 LCCC Club Championship

Gene M in Michigan Open tournament action.

We had a late entry, and that late entry - Gene M - won his game!

So now the field is set, since our Tournament Director has to miss this next week.

However, the pairings are made and they look like this:

Board 1: Gene M (W) - Paul M (B)

Board 2: Don J (W) - Vince V (B)

Board 3: Dave K (W) - Mike N (B)

Board 4: John R (W) - Riley B (B)

Postponed Game:  Ken T (W) - Luke S (B), as Ken has to miss next Monday due to business commitments.

There will still be club members in attendance looking for a game, or give a lesson, so stop on by. Or come in and watch the tournament action.

LCCC Club Championship Started (032116) - Still Time to Enter!

Boris Spassky (l) and Bobby Fischer ponder their next moves.

Our annual tournament started this Monday and we had nine register for the first night.

There is still time to enter next week. Just be at the club and we will pair you with others still wanting to get in this fun tournament.

We welcomed two new players to LCCC this night! Dave K and Riley B joined our tournament! Great to have you here guys.

This tournament will run every other Monday, with make up games and casual chess on the in between Monday.

So even if you cannot make it on 'game' night Monday, we are flexible enough to allow make ups on the other Monday - IF your opponent can do that for you. And they almost always will!

The whole idea is to play, have fun and learn!

Black to move after White's last move of........ Rec1?

Speaking of learning, while reviewing a game played on line, there was a nice tactic missed. Here is the position.

See if you can see Black's good move.

Now, it is not a slam dunk win tactic, but it gives Black an advantage with a lot of game left.

In fact, maybe Black saw it and decided against it.

Anyway, see if you can spot it.

Answer placed in comment section if requested.

Also, the Club Officer Annual Meeting is Thursday night at Teekos at 6pm. Stop on by if you would like to add your opinion to the discussions.

LCCC Club Championship starts Monday, March 21, 2016 – Free Tournament for Everyone!

LCCC players going over a tournament game for knowledge.

LCCC’s Club Championship starts Monday and it is free!

It will be a (5) five round tournament – running every other week! This way it is not an every week commitment.

This will be a really fun even with a chance for everyone to play in a ‘real’ tournament format, without the real tournament pressure atmosphere.

The great thing about a 'new' or 'beginner' player playing at LCCC, is that the more experienced players at LCCC will go over the game with you - to help you get better!

 

Be at the Hartland Senior Center at 6pm to 6:30pm to be sure to get a seat in this event. The round will start at 7pm.

Again, this event is open to all – so come on by and get into some chess fun!

Now here is a game with some lessons in it.

White to make move 11

11. c3?                  Nc2

For White, c4 was better. Since White can’t stop 11. Nc2 anyway, White should open up the c-file for the rook that will have to move to c1. (-1.7)

12. Rc1                  Nxe3

13. fxe3                Qe7

14. Kf2                  Ne4+?

Black should castle before starting any offensive plan. Black’s main advantage here was that he could castle safely. (-1)

15. Nxe4               dxe4

16. Ne5                 Qf6+?

For Black, Qh4 or O-O-O was safer and better (-.2). The game is now basically even, but White goes off the rails.

17. Kg1                 Qg5

18. Nxg6?             Hxg6

19. Kh1?               Qg3
 

Position after 19. ........Qg3

White makes two straight errors, and that is usually fatal. This was no exception. 

Opening a file near your king is usually not a good idea. 

Moving your king into a rook X-ray check is usually not a good idea either! (-6)

20.  Rf4                 Qxe3

21. Rg4?                Rxh3+!

22. gxh3               Qxh3+

White walks into a mating net…..and Black sees it.

23. Kg1                 Bh2+

24. Kf2                  e3+

25. Ke1                 Bg3+

26. Rxg3               Qxg3+

27. Kf1                  Qf2#

2015-2016 LCCC Chess League Crowns a Champion!

A lady grandmaster at work.

Well, it did not seem possible at the half way point of this season, but the Tigers put on a sprint to the finish and nosed out the 49'ers for the League Championship for 2015-2016.

As Yogi Berra so eloquently said, "It ain't over til it's over," and it wasn't until the last round. The position round! Nine players were on hand to play in the match or watch the action.

The Tigers defeated the 49'ers  2 - 1 to tie the 49'ers at the top of the league with 15 Team Points.

But the tie break is Match Points and the Tigers won that battle 17 - 16.

Congratulations to the winning team of :

Board 1 = Tim R
Board 2 = Nick D
Board 3 = Sam T

Nice job gentlemen.

I hope to get scorecards of the championship round for posting soon.

In other exciting news, our TD Ken T stated that the 2016 LCCC Club Championship will begin on Monday, March 21. Stay tuned for details on that.

Another announcement: the annual "State of the Club" meeting will be held (tentatively) on March 24, 2016 at 6pm at Teekos Coffee Shop. Tentatively because we have to make sure enough of the officers can be in attendance to make it an official meeting. Emails will be going to the officers soon, but any member of the club can attend the meeting.

Other things for Club Members to think about is 'nomination for officers' for 2016 - 2017. Nominations can be made from April 1 to April 15 by email or by declaration at any club meeting.

Nominations are closed on the April 15th and voting begins on April 18th thru April 29, 2016.
Voting can be done - again, by email or at a club meeting.

The new term for the elected officers are from May 1, 2016 to April 30 2017.

Position before Black's error of 8. ...... dxe5. Find White's best reply.

Ok, now for some chess from the Wyoming Open in 1997:

Black carelessly plays 8. ...... dxe5 instead of castling. He paid a price for that.

Find the correct move for White for Move 9.

Answer to appear in the comments upon request.

Have fun!

Week022916 - Some Games and Some Game Study

Sam and Jay - during an earlier league round.

Our Leap Year Day chess club meeting was a more like a baby step than a leap.

But that's ok. Sometimes life gets in the way of chess.

Seven players were present. Some played some games - while others reviewed some games.

Here is one of the reviewed games from our LCCC League files:

We join this game late in the action and time pressure from the running game clock is always a factor.

To set the stage, Sam - playing Black, needs to win to keep his team's hopes alive in the league standings.

It has been a nice - well played battle, but Black just lost the minor piece advantage he held. Still Sam presses forward with the small positional advantage he still owns (-.6).

Jay (W)  vs Sam (B) - Black to move.

Sam's opponent - Jay - needs to realize here that in spite of the material being "even" once the f4 pawn falls, that she still has positional problems:

1) Her pawns are not as advanced up the board as Sam's.
2) Her king side pawns are isolated and cannot protect one another.
3) Bishops are sometimes better than knights in open board endgames.

But what should Sam be worrying about?:

1) White's queen side pawns sit on white squares and are immune to Sam's dark-squared bishop.
2) White's knight can threaten Black's queen-side pawns, keeping the bishop or king busy in defense of the pawns.
3) White's king can 'centralize' on the board, keeping Black's king away from White's queen side pawns.

This game can be drawn but it will take precise play by Jay - with time running out on her clock.

36. .........                 Ke4?

Going for the kill, but too aggressive. Sam correctly sees that the queen side is where is win is and getting his king to those pawns is the way to do it. But Jay gets to move too and her extra pawns on the king side need to be addressed first or they may be too much for the bishop to handle. 36. Bc7 was best to make sure the f4 pawn is a goner to keep his positional lead.

Now the game is even with one of several moves - Nxg6, Ke2 and even h3, and Jay finds one of them.

37. Nxg6                  Kd3
38. Kg2?                 ..........

Wrong way! Passed pawns must be pushed! 38. f5 was correct. Give Black something to think about besides offense.White would now have the most advanced - and only passed pawn on the board. The game would have remained even. Even 38. Ke2 would help with defense of the queen side pawns later.

Now Black has a big endgame advantage (-3), as the White king is too far away from her queen side pawns.

38. .........                 Kc3
39. Ne5                   Kxb3
40. f5?                     Kxa4

White's move is too late now. The knight needs to harass the bishop and move with tempos to the queen side to try and stop the queen side pawns. (-5)

41. f3?                     Kb3

For White, there is not much left. But 41. f6, Bxf6  42. Nf7, Bd8 43. Kf3 at least gets the White king back in the game. Even 41. f4 would free the king from behind his wall and restrict the bishop on g5 and e5. Time pressure is clearly a factor here (-7), and Black goes on to win.