Big Crowd for the 2018 Club Championship

Playing great players is fun - win or lose. You have a story either way.

We had twelve players this Monday Night. Only ten entered the tournament, and two stayed and played some casual chess.
Of course all the chess at the Club is casual really. It's a laid back and a very friendly atmosphere at all times here.

We have two players that will play their 1st round of the Club Championship this week (a normal casual night and not a tournament night), so there is still time to get in this FREE tournament. We will be taking registrations for this tournament until 7pm this coming Monday! Stop by to sign up and play in the tournament or just to play some casual chess!

Here is a game that was featured in the Michigan Chess magazine in December of 1996. I will let the best writer in Michigan chess magazine history - David Moody - tell the story of this game:

With the rating difference of over 700 rating points, you would not expect much of a game in round 1. But there were some moments of interest:

Cadillac Open, 1996, Round 1
Opening: Grunfeld Defence, D93
White: Mike Nikitin (1528)
Black: Erik Ronneberg (2252)

1. d4           Nf6
2. c4           g6
3. Nc3        Bg7
4. Nf3        O-O
5. Bf4        d5
6. e3           c5
7. Nb5        Na6
This forces the Black knight to a bad square, but this move is not in the spirit of the position and releases a lot of the pressure on Black's somewhat rickety center. And of course there is the chess axiom of never moving the same piece twice in the opening - or as my chess coach once said in broken English, "Never move a chess piece twice until you have moved it once."

 8. a3               Bg4
9. Be2              dxc4
10. Bxc4          cxd4
11. Nbxd4       Nd5
Now Black has pressure on the long diagonal, not to mention the threatened advance of the e-pawn.

12. Bg3            e5
13. Qb3?          Nc5
[Igor3000 says that 13. Bxa6 was a much better move. White is now down -1.5).

14. Qa2           exd4
15. Bxd5          Nd3+
16. Kf1?            Rc8
Black is threatening 17. ...Nc1 and driving off the White queen away from supporting the bishop. (-2.5)

17. Bxb7??          Nc1?
18. Bxc8??          ........
The move of 18. Qd5 was better for White, but he is still in trouble at (-4). He apparently hopes to trap the knight with 18. ...Nxa2 19. Bxg4, but Black finds something much better, (-8) which is why White's last move was such a clank.

18. ........              Qxc8!
19. Qd5               Qa6+
What do you know? It is our old friend - the smothered mate! White resigned here but let's show the ending anyway.

20. Kg1                Ne2+
21. Kf1                Nxg3+
22. Kg1                Qf1+
23. Rxf1               Ne2++

The Swiss System - used for almost all American tournaments has several functions, besides the obvious one of accommodating large fields of players and still rendering winners in a small number of rounds.
But we chess players and writers notice what the Swiss System always accomplishes without even trying. Here are three:
1. The Swiss System will always pair two people with perfect legible writing together and they will deliver a perfect score sheet of a boring game.
2. The Swiss System will always pair two people with terrible illegible writing together every round and those games will be the best of the tournament.
3, The Swiss System will automatically pair people from the same club, city, school and state, while never  allowing pairings of people who will never have a change to ever play each other again.

Club Championship 2018 Starts Monday - and Boris Kostic

Chess tournaments are fun!

Our club championship tournament starts this Monday - and it is free!
We will offer some chess medals to our young players who play in every round of the tournament.

The tournament will play one round per week, and will go 3 to 5 rounds, depending on the number of entries. The time limit will be a generous 1 hour per player, with a 5 second delay - if the clock you use has one. 
Our tournament will be played every other week, so no need to make a commitment for that many weeks in a row.
Also, our Tournament Director Ken, allows players to skip a week and play on off weeks if the actual night of your game is not open for you.

So there is no reason not to try your hand at "real" tournament chess in an ultra friendly atmosphere.
See you at the club a 6pm for registration and we will try to get the tournament started around 6:45 or so.

While many tournament players do become famous, at least in chess circles, many excellent players end up toiling away in anonymity. Probably the best player you never heard of is Boris Kostic (1887 - 1963). We will let GM Andy Soltis tell the story.

Boris Kostic was one of the top ten players in the world in his day and was the first chess world globe trotter. He introduced chess all over the world with his simultaneous exhibitions. He visited every continent on the planet.

In New York, during World War I, people who knew nothing about chess were amazed by his 20 board match that he played - blindfolded! And he did not lose a game!

He took a tour of the United States. playing an incredible 3281 games! He also won the US Open in 1918.

His career reads like a Hollywood script. He taught chess in a military school in Buenos Aires, gave chess lessons to opera star Enrico Caruso and was held in a German  concentration camp because he refused to play in the Nazi Chess Championship.

 Kostic played in over 2000 tournament games and yet few of his games are stored in databases.

You won't find a record of his victory over US Champion Jackson Showalter with a 7-2-5 record, or his victory over another US Champion Frank Marshall 7-1-2.

His best tournament was when he undefeated but finished 2nd to Jose Capablanca in the New York Championship in 1918.

Kostic are the 5th rated player in the world in 1921 - ahead of immortals Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe and Aron Nimzowitsch.

He enjoyed a long career. So why is he forgotten today? The answer is that it takes more than that to achieve lasting chess fame. He didn't win any famous tournaments. He didn't win any 'brilliancy' prizes for his wins. He didn't even lose a 'famous' game.

And even some obscure players are remembered for an opening variation named after them, but alas there is no "Kostic Variation". And there is no good Kostic game collection books either.

He had to settle for the annual Kostic Memorial Chess Tournament held annually in his hometown of Vrsac, Serbia.

Chess owes him so much more.

Kids Night 040918 Was a Great Night of Chess!

The ladies can play some great chess also.

The Kid’s Night this April of 2018 was a big success! We had 13 players!

We also welcome five new players to NPP! So a big welcome to

Kyle and Matt L,  along with

Matt, Nick and Ken S.

Many of our ‘kids’ are planning to show up most Monday nights and not just the 2^nd Monday of the month – Kid’s Night. So there is no reason not to show up any Monday night – and no matter what your age might be.

On any Monday, casual games and lessons are always available. But as an added bonus – starting on Monday April 23, we will start our LCC Club Championship!

This is a free tournament! This will allow players of all strengths to practice their tournament skills. The time limit will be 1 hour per player - with a 5 second delay – if you use a clock with a delay. Otherwise it will be 1 hour per player.

This gives players new to tournament style play plenty of time to think and even practice writing down the moves of their game.

Recording all your games is a great way to get better. You can then show your game to a better player who can probably give you insights to better moves you missed – regardless of whether or not you won that game. But doing that certainly helps you improve!

To register for this tournament simply let us know at the club this coming week, send an email to the club email – show up at 6pm the night of the tournament and register prior to the 6:30 pm start.

Now here is a game played by a member of the club on line on Chess .com. If you do not have an account there, get one.

The game opening is called the French Defense. It has stood the test of time and is a reasonable answer to White playing e4. However, Black must understand his positional weaknesses and counter attack White’s strong center soon, lest he become buried under the weight of his own army. Notes by the computer Igor3000

1.      e4                          e6

2.      d4                          d5

3.      e5                          c5

White takes center control with what is called the Advance Variation of the French Defense.

4.      Nf3                        Nc6

5.      c3                          Qb6

6.      Bd3                       Bd7

7.      Bc2                        cxd4

8.      cxd4                      Be7

9.      Nc3                       Qc7?

Black is not being aggressive enough. Igor suggests 9. ….h5.

10.  O-O                       f6

11.  Re1                        a6?

While White slowly build his position by protecting his King and placing his rook in the center, Black wastes time by not starting to break down White’s center with 11. ….fxe5, 12 Nxe5, Nf6. Instead White takes an almost 2 pawn positional edge (+1.9).

12.  a3                          Rc8

13.  Nxd5!                    exd5

A beautiful and forceful move by White. 13. …exd5, 14. E6 and a passed pawn. Other moves by Black wins White material.

14.  e6                          Bxe6

15.  Rxe6                      Nd8?

Black needed the ugly 15. ….Kf7. White is (+3).

16.  Re2                        g6

17.  Bd3                       Qd7

18.  Bd2?!                    Kf7?

White had a shorter path to victory with 18. Qd3. Black needed 18. ….Kf8 instead. (+4)

White to make move #19

   19.  Re5!!                     Kg7

The perfect shot. White has so many ways to win now.

   20.  Rxd5                     Bd6

   21.  Bb4                       Nf7

   22.  Ne5!                      fxe5

   23.  dxe5                      Qc6?

There is nothing much anyway.

   24.  exd6                      Nf6

   25.  Bc3                        Nh6??

   26.  Qd4                       Rhf8

   27.  d7                          Nf5

   28.  Rxf5                      gxf5

   29.  dxc8 (Q)+             Qxc8

   30.  Re1                        Kg6

   31.  Re6                        Qd8

   32.  Qxd8                     Rxd8

   33.  Rxd8                     Kg5

   34.  g3                          Resigns

Kid's Night Next Monday - 040918 - Fabiano Caruana to Play for the World Title!

Meet the next American to challenge for the World Title - Fabiano Caruana

We look forward to a big crowd at the next Kid's Night this Monday.

The Club is open to all every Monday night, but on the 2nd Monday of the month - its all about the kids!

Bring the young chess players - of any strength, including beginners - and they will find another young player to play against.

Or they can get lessons from any of the club regulars, especially our own "Coach Terry".

See you this coming Monday, starting at 6pm to 8pm.

Now for the story of our country's own World Championship challenger, Fabiano Caruana!

From The Guardian:

American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana will challenge for Magnus Carlsen’s world chess championship in London this fall after winning the candidates tournament in Tuesday’s final round of competition in Berlin.

No player born in the United States has won or even competed for a world championship since Bobby Fischer in 1972.

The Miami-born, Brooklyn-raised Caruana draped himself in an American flag amid applause from the gallery at the Kühlhaus after winning as black over Russia’s Alexander Grischuk to complete the 14-game double round-robin with nine points, one better than Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Russia’s Sergey Karjakin, who finished on eight apiece. Ding Laren, China’s first ever candidate, was the lone competitor to finish the fortnight undefeated with one win and 13 draws, good for fourth overall with 7.5 points.

“I am absolutely thrilled,” Caruana, the world No3, said afterward. “Coming into today, I wasn’t sure what would happen and things couldn’t have gone better. A few days ago, I thought the tournament was already out of my hands, but somehow things just came together perfectly at the end. I really couldn’t be happier.”

Caruana, 25, led the eight-man field from start to finish, weathering a shaky two-game period over the last week and holding off a dogged fightback by the resilient Karjakin, whose dramatic win over the American in 48 moves on Saturday briefly thrust him atop the leaderboard beside the leader with two rounds to play.

But Caruana, benefiting from an extra rest day, bounced back on Monday to defeat pre-tournament favorite Levon Aronian of Armenia, while Karjakin was held to a draw by Wesley So of the United States.

That set the stage for Tuesday’s final round in which four competitors entered with a mathematical shot at the title. But after Karjakin drew with Ding, Caruana outlasted Grischuk over 69 moves and more than six hours to book his place across the board from Carlsen, who will be making his third defense of the world championship in the best-of-12-games match from 9-28 November in London at a venue to be determined.

“It’s still so far away, but I’ll prepare very seriously for it,” said Caruana, who earned the winner’s share of €95,000 ($117,827) with Tuesday’s candidates win. “I’ll come well-prepared. It will be a tough fight, but right now I’m not even thinking about it.”

Caruana, who is a dual US-Italian citizen but spent his childhood in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, competed internationally for Italy from 2005 until 2015, when he changed federations to compete as an American. He represented the United States on the first board at the most recent Chess Olympiad in 2016, leading his nation to their 1^st gold medal at the tournament since 1976.

The lone other American to compete for a version of the world title since Fischer’s 1975 abdication was Russian-born grandmaster Gata Kamsky, who played under the US flag when he lost a 20-game match to Russian star Anatoly Karpov in 1996, when the championship was fractured between rival governing bodies and Garry Kasparov was generally recognized as the world’s strongest player.

Co-Champions for the 2018 LCCC Fischer Random 960 Tournament

Everyone has equal standing with the Royal Game of chess.

We had eleven players tonight for the conclusion of our 2018 Fischer Random 960 Tournament.

But first we welcome a new member to the Club - and hopefully a Kid's Night regular - Jack M.
Welcome to LCCC Jack.

The co-champions of the 960 tournament are:
Vince Valente
Ken Tack

Congratulations guys!

If you have never played 960 chess, you should try it some time. You start the game with the pieces randomly placed on the back rank - not in the standard chess placement. This throws a player's opening "book" knowledge out the window!

Below is Vince's victory game that clinched his tie for 1st place. As you will see, with the standard opening moves out the window, chess becomes more of a puzzle than ever!

We have two of the best players at the club going at it here, and there were a dozen lead changes during the game! Our chess super Grandmaster computer Igor3200 shows us things most humans would never see. All regular notes are his. Chess computers talk to humans now, you know?

Anything your humble scribe adds will be in [brackets].

This is an exciting one and the type you see at our club all the time. Even when we play regular chess!

Set up the back row White pieces from left to right:
RKBBNQNR
then mirror the Black pieces on the other side. Crazy looking eh? But it's FUN!

White: Vince V
Black: Don M

1.  d4               d5
2. Bf4              b6
3. e4                Ngf6
4. h3                Nd6?
The simple 4. ...dxe4 is best. White leads in position by almost 2 full pawns (+1.8).
[Black was not afraid of 5. e5, but most players would be.]

5. Be2?            .........
White forfeits all advantage and is now a pawn down in position. (-1) Better was 5. e5  g5 6. Bxg5  Nfe4 7. exd5  Nxg5 8. dxc7+  Bxc7.
[Both players feeling the pressure of playing for 1st place in a tournament. Even a fun tournament at the club. You want a free thrill ride? Play tournament chess!]

5. ........            e6??
White is back in front (+1.5). 5. ......dxe4  6. f3

6. Ngf3??         .........
Another switch in fortunes! (-1)
[Anyone see the reason here that 6. e5 was not played here? If there is danger, neither me or Igor see it.]

7. Ba6              Bxa6
8. Qxa6            f6??
This give White unnecessary counter-play (+1.2). 8. ....Nxe4 was the move.

9. Nd3??         .........
White slows down his strong king side attack and a way to maintain the advantage, 9. exd5  e5 10. dxe5  Nc5. Now the game is EVEN.

9. .........          Nc4??
Black lets the air out of his own sails. (+1.6) 9. ....dxe4 10. Nb4  c5 11. Nc6+  Kc7 12. Nxa7  e5 13. Nxe5  fxe5 14. dxe5  Nc8.

10. O-O          g5
11. Bh2          Be7??
More ground lost. (+3) 11. ....h5 was best.

12. b3?!          ........
Nope. 12. exd5  exd5 13. Qb5  Qd8 14. Qxd5  Na5 makes things easier on White. (+2.5)

12. ......           Na5
13. c4??          ..........
This ruins a strong position (-1) Still 14. exd5  exd5 15. Qb5

13. .......         Bd6??
Another flip flop and back to a losing position. (+2.8) 13. ...dxe4 14. Rae1  exd3

14. c5??        ..........
Missed a chance to keep or gain a greater advantage with 14. e5  fxe5  15. c5 (+.6)

14. ........        Bxh2
15. Kxh2?     .........

Now White is now losing slightly. (-.6)  15. Nxh2  Qc8  16. Qxc8+  Kxc8 17. exd5 keeps the slight lead.

[15. Nxh2 is a computer move. We humans rarely like to retreat infantry. But now getting dizzy with all the lead changes .....and there is more track left on this roller coaster.]

15. ........        Qc8
16. Qb5?       .........
This weakens White's position further. (-1.5) 16. Qxc8  Kxc8 17. exd5  exd5  18. Rfe1 was better.

16. ........        c6
17. Qb4         Qc7+ ??
Black lets the small lead slip away. (+.8) 17. ......dxe4  18. Nxg5  fxg5  19. cxb6  axb6 was the play.
[The gaining tempo check by Black would look like a reasonable move to most humans.]

18. Kg1 ?
Better was 18. e5 so now Black regains the small advantage (-1) after 18. ...dxe4 19. cxb6  axb6 20. Nxg5  fxg5. But instead;

18. .......         b5??
Black ruins his position (+3).

19. a4?          a6?
Time pressure creeping in. First White missed 19. exd5 (+2) and Black missed 19. ...dxe4 20. axb5  Nb7 Now (+3.2)

20. axb5       axb5
21. Ra2?      ..........
Ruining a winning position. 21. exd5 exd5 22. Ra3 and White can relax. Instead (+.4).

21. ........      Nb7??
The game flips for the final time with this last mis-step. Needed was 21. .....dxe4 22. Rfa1  exd3  23. Rxa5  Kb7 and it's close to even. Instead, (+3.4).

22. Rxa8+     Kxa8
23. Ra1+       Kb8
24. Qa3         Kc8?
No good but nothing is at this point. (+4.6) 24. ...Qa5 was better.

25. Qa8+      Qb8
26. Nb4        Qxa8
27. Rxa8+    Nb8
28 Na6         Black resigns

Congratulations Vince on your 1st place finish! Same to you Ken.

Casual Night of Chess 031918

A bit of a slow night with only six players.  Maybe the nice Kid's Night the week before tired out some players.

Anyway, we need to finish the 3rd round of our 960 Tournament next week. So all players with a game to play need to attend or forfiet.

Also we will have our annual Club Officers meeting at the Club starting at 6pm. We will be done by 6:30 so we can get to the important stuff - CHESS!

In the meantime, here are two puzzles for your enjoyment.
The first one is not easy.
The second one is even harder!
Answers will be provided in the Comment section if requested.
Enjoy!

White to move and win

White to move and win!

Kid's Night 031218 - A Success!

A game of chess at your favorite pub is always a good time.

Fourteen players were on hand for this week's Kid's night - including newcomers - Jack, Moe, Kathee and Doug. Welcome to LCCC!

Our Fischer Random 960 tournament - Round 3 will continue next week (we hope). Two games yet to be played in Round 3:

Board 1: Vince V vs Don M
Board 2: Jake P vs Ken T

We look forward to those big games! Be at the club to watch first hand or play the other members hanging around waiting for Round 4.

Here is the end of an entertaining game played by a club member against Niko from Russia - on line. The loser shall go nameless due to the un-grandmaster like moves played. Even the initials (MN) of the loser will not be disclosed.
Nope, sorry, begging won't help. Journalist never reveals any information about their sources.

Position after Black's 17th move.

18. b4?          ........
The first outright blunder of the game. White had maintained his positional advantage based on having the first move - up until this point. But now Black has the equivalent of a one pawn lead positionally (-1).
White would have served himself well to take the time to move his King out of the X-ray pin of Black's rook on g8 with 18. Kh1 and equality.

18. ......          cxb4
19. cxb4        Bxb4
20. Rec1        Kb7
21. Rab1        Bd6
Black misses the better 21. Bxd2, 22. Qxd4, Nf5. But time pressure has both players missing the best moves here.

22. Nb3           Ka8
23. Nc5           bxc5
24. dxc5          Be7
25. c6              Qe8??
This move spoils Black's game and a sure draw or possible win due to time pressure and a slightly better position. Now White cleans up quickly (+4).

26. Rb7           Bd6??
Black obviously shaken, does not find the only hope in 26. .....Rb8.

27. Rxa7         Kb8
And 27. .......Kxa7 will not save Black either - mate in twelve.

28. Qb2+         Black resigns

Oh well. Set them up again!