2024 Quick Tournament Starts Next Monday - Writers Who Have Changed Chess History Part III - Dr. Emanuel Lasker

 

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

We will be having our free Quick Tournament starting next week. "Quick" means a 15-minute time limit per game and two rounds a night for probably 2 consecutive Monday nights. 

This should make for some exciting chess and a fun time. Be sure to be at the Club for this event probably starting around 6:30 pm.

Casual chess and early entry into the tournament is the plan for tonight.

Now, Writers Who Have Changed Chess History - Part III

Dr. Emanuel Lasker was perhaps the most remarkable man ever to achieve eminence in the chess world. 

That statement in itself tells you all you need to know as we go thru this list of chess writers that have changed history.

He was chess world champion for 27 years! The longest reign of any champion in chess history. From 1894 when he beat Steinitz, until 1921 when he lost to Capablanca.

And he maintained his chess skills for almost all of his life. 

In 1935, in the Moscow Championship, at the age of 67, he finished 3rd behind Botvinnik and Flohr by a half-point, finishing ahead of Capablanca by a half point!

Dr. Lasker was also a mathematician of caliber sufficient to earn praise from Albert Einstein - whoever he is.

Meanwhile, I am still working on my "gozintas". You know, like 3 gozinta 9, 3 times? I think

Dr. Lasker also was a first-class bridge, Go and dominos player and even invented a game called "Lasca", a variant of checkers.

The famous chess book he wrote was called "Common Sense in Chess" was a small work of only 141 pages, but it was published all over the world!

Lasker's 4 rules for development are:

> Do not move any pawns in the opening except the D and E pawns.

> Do not move any piece twice in the opening

> Bring knights out before bishops

> Do not pin your opponent's knights before your opponent castles

Dr. Lasker had a brother Frank who also was a chess player, but no where near Emanuel in strength, but very few were.

Edward Lasker, a grandmaster that came along later, claimed to be distantly related to Emanuel but that could not be substantiated beyond all doubt. Possible, but not proven historians say.

Emanuel and Edward did play against each other in a 1924 tournament in New York with Emanuel winning the tournament and beating his much less famous namesake 1-0-1 in their meetings in that tournament.

LCCC Crowns 2024 960 Champ - and Writers Who Have Changed Chess History – Part II

 Howard Staunton

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

Now the winner of the 2024 LCCC 960 Freestyle Tournament was Vince Valente – going 4 – 0! 

Congratulations Vince!  And thank you to all 16 players who participated.

Writers Who Have Changed Chess History – Part II

Howard Staunton

He achieved fame by winning a match against the French chess champion Pierre de Saint-Amant. He became notorious (I say nefarious) for avoiding a match with American Champion Paul Morphy. He designed a chess set style that is still very much in use today, as each piece except the pawn give a "hint" as to how they move. 

He brought the first international chess tournament to London, England. He edited the first British chess magazine. And Howard Staunton was all those things and the first and only English world champion.

 

Staunton was born in 1810. In a twist of fate, his death came in 1874 on June 22, the same date that Paul Morphy was born. 

 

He was a rare bird for great chess players as he was 19 years old when he learned to play. But by 1840 he established himself as England's best player. In 1843, he won that match against Saint-Amant by a resounding score of 11 wins, 6 loses and 4 draws. And three years after that, he defeated both Bernhard Horowitz and Daniel Harrwitz to be given the reckoned position of the world's best player.

 

But it was in 1847, when he wrote his first and greatest chess work, The Chess Player's Handbook. It was so successful for such a long time it was re-printed 21 times between 1847 and 1935! 

In 1849, he wrote The Chess Player's Companion, and also designed the chess set that is still very much in use today.

 

Staunton claimed to be so busy with his simultaneous exhibition schedule and his writing of a third book, that he said he had no time, and it made no financial sense to hold a match against Paul Morphy. And as Paul was crossing the Atlantic by ship to meet with Staunton, Staunton set sail for South America for a simultaneous exhibition and book selling tour. 

 

So Paul was left to play all of Staunton's vanquished foes. The feeling of every master chess player at that time is that Paul Morphy would have won the match against Staunton easily. There is a bit of a stain on Staunton's legacy for not playing the match, but you cannot discount his contributions to chess in any event.

In 1860, he published The Player's Handbook, which had improvements to openings, and at least paid homage to Morphy's greatness with published games and analysis. 

In Handbook, Staunton's treatment of endgames was more systematic than Philidor's treatment, but you could tell his heart was not in it. Staunton relished in opening theory. 

Book (Section) One; Beginners guide

Book Two does deep dives into the popular openings of those times; King's Knight Openings; Philidor Def, Petroff's Def, Guioco Piano, Evan's Gambit, and Ruy Lopez.

Book Three; King's Bishop Opening, 

Book Four; King's Gambit, 

Book Five; Queen's Gambit and 

Book Six; Endgames.

LCCC Not Meeting Memorial Day!

The Club is not meeting today! Holiday Weekend! See you next week!

Speaking of next week, here are the pairings for the last round of our 960 tournament (player with White listed first):

Board 1: Vince V - Ken T

Board 2: AJ E - Pete B

Board 3: Charlie S - Thomas V

Board 4: Mike N - Paul M

Board 5: Sam T - Todd H

Board 6: John O - Ken L

Board 7: Jim G - Andrew B

Board 8: Jon C - Desmond W

LCCC 2024 960 Tournament Rolls On - and Chess Writers That Have Changed Chess History - Part 1

 

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

Our Chess 960 tournament is in full swing with 13 participants right now. But it is never too late to join in. Here are the pairings - 1st player has White:

Charlie S - Pete B

Ken L - Ken T

Sam T - Vince V

Mike N - Tom V

Paul M - Jim G

Jon C - John O

Desmond W  - Bye

Now - Writers Who Have Changed Chess History

An autobiography. 

Just kidding.

Certain books stand out as great landmarks in the history of chess literature. There are not many. You can probably count them on both your hands, or maybe your hands and one foot.

In choosing the books for a list of the best, we could go all the way back to Alfonso the Wise, back in 1280 AD. Or we could stay fairly modern and choose the books of Damiano and Ruy Lopez in the 1560's. These books were popular in the writer's lifetimes but faded over time.

The first book that captured the public's interest and retained it for many years after the author's death was Analysis of Chess by Francois-Andre Danican Philidor in 1749. Editions of this book were still being published and read in the 1860's!

Philidor (yes, the same one the Phildor's Defence is named after) was born in 1726 and was already one of the strongest players in France at age 14. He was also a gifted musician and performed at the prestigious Chapel Royal in Versailles when he was a mere 11 years old. At that time he was equally celebrated as a musician and a chess player.

It is said by many chess book reviewers, that it is the quality of understanding that made this book so remarkable. In clear, simple language Philidor presented the reader with a complete picture of the game as it should be played by a master. 

Philidor had an intense preoccupation with pawns. He was fond of saying "Pawns are the soul of chess. They are the very life of the game. They can attack or defend." Hans Kmoch published a book called Pawn Power in Chess, which is an updated Philidor mantra.

But Analysis of Chess was more than a pawn essay or opening workbook. It was also the first scientific study of the endgame. The work Philidor did intrigues endgame experts to this day.

Charlie S. Wins 2024 Senior Title! - And Why Do We Play Chess?

 

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

LCCC News!

The Michigan Senior Open was held on the weekend of April 13^th and 14^th of 2024. The LCCC had three representatives in that Tournament.

Our own Charlie Shoulders won the Novice Section with a perfect 4 – 0 record! 

Congratulations to Charlie.

The LCCC seems to have a lock on that tournament division as our own Paul Mills and Jeff Solski won the same division last year. 

Next year, the Three-peat!

So Why Do We Play Chess?

In 1938, a Vienna professor of psychology finished research into 500 different games and pastimes. He wanted to discover which one was the best at taking away the stress of life.

He found it in chess!

What was the reason for this discovery? Chess is unquestionably considered to be a game requiring mental activity to a degree claimed by no other game.  Yet it is found to be the best game for recreation, for physical and mental workers alike.

Chess may very well be the finest creation of the human mind. It combines the exactness of mathematical science with the intuition of art in a perfection no other human activity has.

The love for chess by those who play it may be looked at for the following reasons:

-      We like to solve problems: The expectation of being able to show our capacity for fulfilling a certain task gives us great satisfaction.

-      We like to start something and finish it ourselves: Every chess game is like a piece of art. It is unique and will never be duplicated again.

-      We like the mental absorption: Every chess players knows the amount of concentration necessary for a game to be good. Playing chess gives no room for other thoughts and you can get lost into this new world of 64 squares and no other world exists for a while.

-      We love adventure; The thirst for adventure inherent in every human sole can be fully satisfied on the chessboard without any serious consequences.

Speed Champion Crowned for 2024 - Meet Lev Psakhis

 

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

Our annual Speed Chess Championship took place last Monday and was won by Pete Bruder undefeated at 3-0. 

Congratulations Pete! 

A three-way tie for 2nd with Vince V, Mike N and Tom V with 2. 

Our club next tournament action will be in May with the always interesting Freestyle 960 Tournament. You want to be here for that fun event!

In the meantime, casual chess reigns! Now meet Lev Psakhis.

Many of you who were not alive or paying attention to chess in the early 1980’s may not know who the Russian GM Lev Psakhis is. He is a rarity in the world of chess. He is comparable to the nineteenth-century comet like the American chess player Harry Nelson Pilsbury.

But what do comets do? They light up the world….. and then…… fade away.

Psakhis came out of nowhere, as a player with almost no international experience, to win the 1980 Soviet Chess Championship! He was just an International Master at the time! To prove it was not a fluke, he came back and won it the next year too. He stopped even the great Garry Kasparov during Garry’s surge to the top of world chess!

Psakhis beat Kasparov in round 2 and then the two battled for the next 15 rounds with them both tying for 1^st place with an incredible score of 12.5/17! The 3^rd place finishers all had just 10 points.

That is the equivalent to Watson and Nickalaus finishing 11 and 10 strokes ahead of the field in the 1977 British Open.

But as fate would have it, that was the pinnacle of his career, while for Kasparov it was his springboard. Psakhis seemed to hit a wall of air and fell out of the chess elite. No one has been able to come up with an understanding of this two-time Soviet Champion.

Born in 1958 and learning chess at the sort of late age of 9, his family moved to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. So, he was a late chess starter and did not live exactly in the center of Soviet chess. He had to basically study on his own. Does this sound Fischer like – only worse? Fischer at least was in New York City and their libraries and bookstores. And google ‘Siberia’ for those who are not familiar. It makes Alaska look like Nashville as far as weather and the number of people there.

Psakhis claimed not to be a prodigy. But in 1973 the great Salo Flohr came to Krasnoyarsk for a simultaneous exhibition. Flohr brought some Chess Informants with him. Psakhis amazed Flohr by looking at the diagrams in the book and knowing who the players were. He had memorized all the diagrams in all three books!

In spite of the lack of opponents and competition, when he did play in his Republic Championship (think State Championship) at the age of 19 and not yet being a master, he took 1^st place!

After winning this tournament he got to play in his first International Tournament in Poland. He started out terribly, with 1 point in 3 rounds, but after that he was unstoppable and came back to win that tournament!

Then he came back home and won the Challenger’s Section of the Soviet Championship, and you know what happened at that point.

Psakhis had risen to number 9 in the world in a very short time. But he seemed to hit a wall. In his own words, “I very gradually went from a very strong grandmaster, to a strong one, to a good one, then to an ordinary one. Then I turned my attention to working as a trainer.”

In interviews especially in the West later, he has been asked if being a Jew hurt his chess career with the Soviet authorities? Psakhis won’t go there.

Remember, Garry Kasparov changed his name from Weinstein to lessen the effect that he was half-Jewish. And Kasparov was a protégé of Heydar Aliev, a member of the Politburo of the Soviet Union. Many times, it came down to who you knew. And who liked you.

Psakhis for a reason no one can determine was disliked and possibly hated by Nikolai Krogius, the President of the Soviet Chess Federation. Psakhis said of Krogius, “Although he was friends with practically no one, but I was one of the few people he hated.”

Psakhis seems to be at peace with the way his life has worked out. He emigrated in 1990 to Israel and played several times on the Olympic Team.  He has written many chess books and trained some of the leading chess players. He is currently working with Parimarjan Negi, the world’s second youngest grandmaster (13).

Asked if he would change anything he did in his life, Psakhis said, “One can never change one’s life. As our friends the Indians say, ‘it is all karma.’ Even if I had played the Caro-Kann instead of the French, it would not have changed anything in my life. That is simply the way it went. And at this moment, this is where it has led to.”

2024 LCCC Speed Championship is This Monday! (No Foolin')

 

"I Feel the Need............For Speed!!"

The Livingston County Chess Club meets every Monday night between

4pm and 10pm

at the Buffalo Wild Wings in the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI. 

Stop in for some friendly chess, good food and 'refreshments'.

Everyone of all ages and playing strength are welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!

See you all on April 1st for the 2024 Speed Chess Club Championship!

Your scribe promises - this is NOT an April Fools joke!

The games are 5 minutes for each player with no added time at all!

It is free and will start around 6pm or 6:30 probably. It will depend on when our Tournament Director appears and how many players we have sign up.

It's a fun way to play chess! Every round you will play two games against the same opponent, switching colors. You need 2 wins or a win and draw to win the round. 

The usual number of rounds is 3 or 4, but with more entries it could be 5 rounds.

Hope to see a nice turnout! See you Monday Night!