TRANSPOSITIONS!

When a new player begins chess openings, I recommend that whatever opening is chosen is one that the player will use every time! I want the player to become accustomed to the positions this opening leads into. My reasoning is that chess is learned in one of two ways:

First, we learn the placement of the pieces at the start of the game, then we learn the moves. Teaching chess by moves is not difficult, and learning the moves themselves is not difficult. This is what I think of as a scientific method. It is the way games are recorded.

But some players are blessed with a special talent; the ability to unify sensations into meaningful composites. They see the patterns, not the moves. This is more difficult to teach, it depends on the artistic or imaginative power of the player. This is what I think of as the Artistic method.

I believe it is necessary to begin with the first method, because there is lots of incidental learning that initially takes place, and because it can be digested by anyone. Starting with the artistic method would quickly discourage someone without the imaginative ability.

But, for those few who may have the talent for treating the game as an art, I believe that, as soon as the basics of the game are learned, the player can address pattern recognition. Instead of memorizing the moves in the opening, the player simply has pictures in his/her mind of the positions created by the opening, and plays to and from these positions.

If we know what we want from the opening in terms of these pictures, we can see the current picture and know whether we are on course, or whether we must change course to reach another familiar picture. If the performer can “see” the positions in his/her mind, a library of still pictures is created.

Of course, if the player insists on experimenting with a number of openings, the task can be much more difficult, or impossible. I believe it is easier to start with a solid “trunk” and add “branches” later. That’s why I stress the One Opening idea.

I offer this so that the reader can better understand the importance of playing by position, not by move. Pattern recognition is the key. If we were learning pattern recognition, we should start with pawn structures and build from that point. Pawn patterns are easy to recognize and often control the course of the game. The pawn structure is a key element in planning.

Patterns exist in opening, middle game and endings. However patterns are best learned in the endgame. There are known results- win/loss/draw- with endgame patterns. Think of an end game pattern as a “technique”. When an author says: “The rest is a matter of technique.” He is saying that this is a well-known endgame pattern.

Studying endgames is done with patterns, and the student normally has to repeat the move sequence a number of times before the “pictures” of the pattern form. When I began learning chess, I began with endgames. I needed a partner in order to have some fun working the endgame from a given position until mate, over and over, until it was memorized. Today, we have the computer as an opponent! We can test our understanding of the endgame pattern against the computer, which never tires of repetition!

This leads us to transpositions. Let’s look at transposing an opening. When we
are working to become expert in one opening, we may be able to play that opening with White only 20% of the time! That means we may need five games to get one where we can use “our” opening. (With Black, it gets easier; but I think that a White opening should be the first a player learns.) Fortunately, on Chessmaniac we can challenge with either Black or White and practice our white opening in every game where the opponent does not take us astray.

Now, if I am an inexperienced player and have put some time and effort into learning an opening, I have probably subconsciously developed a pattern recognition of this opening, which becomes greater, deeper and clearer as I continue to play this one opening. When this occurs, my win/loss ratio should improve; after all, my opponent is playing MY opening.

Now, in our opening, many transpositional possibilities may be seen. This is a game currently in progress on Chessmaniac, #6349512:

White Black
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6. Black envisions a Berlin defense or a Two Knights, but there are many openings possible from these two opening moves.
3. d4 … White announces his preference: The Scotch Game.



3. … exd4.

This same position exists in the Scotch, in the Two Knights, in The Italian Game, in the Four Knights, and others.
4. Bc4 … This position exists in all the above openings, plus the Evans Gambit! (It is déjà vu all over again! – Yogi Berra)
4. … Nf6 Black prefers the Two Knights Defense and assays a transposition.



5. e5 d5 Still, this same position exists in all of the above openings, except that Black has ruled out the Evans Gambit.
6. Bb5 Ne4
7. Nxd4 Bc5 Now, this is also a position found in the Berlin Defense. So, we have a common position in the Scotch, the Two Knights, the Two Knights Defense, and The Berlin Defense.



8. Be3 Bd7 This position rules out all but the Scotch Game. White held to his opening of choice.

Voila! The Scotch Game! Here is the position that may have guided White:



White was expert in his opening, or Black could have taken the game into another opening.

Is it easier to memorize (mentally picture) the positions than to try to construct from the moves? Would you find it easier to memorize all of the first eight moves of all seven of these openings shown above, or would it be easier to remember not more than three significant positions? If you work from mental pictures of the position, you will see the possibilities from that position in the opening.

The endgame requires pattern recognition. If you aspire to Expert or Master status, it is essential to be able to recognize positions in the end game, even if you cannot do it well, yet, in the opening.

When you know your opening well, you can steer a transformation into a favorable position. Here is an opportunity seized in the early opening of game #6001387, on Gameknot:

White Black
1. e4 c4
2. d4 cxd4
3. c3 … The first three moves of the Morra Gambit.



3. … g6 The Morra declined. Black is transposing “out of the Morra” into a more familiar Sicilian, perhaps with the Dragon variation in mind.
4. cxd4 … Now, after … Bg7, White will have a familiar variation of the Alapin Sicilian.



Black has transformed into this Sicilian, although he may not have had the Alapin in mind.

In his book: *”The Chess Advantage in Black and White”, Larry Kaufman gives a sample of avoiding transpositions in the Semi-Slav defense. Here are some of his observations:
“The first decision for Black is whether to play … c6 or … e6 first.” “Playing … c6 first avoids the Catalan and the Marshall Gambit.” “Playing …e6 first avoids the Slav Exchange; as well as an early e3 without Nc3.”
Next, he shows how to avoid Black transpositions in the first four moves. Then, he shows the nine plausible move orders to reach the Semi-Slav. He explains that there are only four rules to follow to avoid the Queens Gambit Exchange version that favors White, to avoid allowing White to develop his bishop to g5 without paying a price, etc. By following his rules, you keep your opponent from transposing in this opening. You get to play your opening, not your opponents opening. I cannot show too much of the book without the permission of the author (Plagiarism). You’ll have to either get his book or look at my Black games where my opponent plays 1. e4, 1. c4, or 1. Nf3. You will find that some of my games are the Semi-Slav, where I instinctively follow Kaufman’s rules. Here is the starting position of the Semi-Slav:



A good exercise is to see if you can find the nine plausible ways of reaching this position. Here is the most direct route, where white has no preference beyond playing a queenside opening:

White Black
1. d4 d5
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 c6
4. Nf3 Nf6

Now, let’s look at the first five moves of a game where I played Black, and White evidently had a move order, not a position, in mind. I will transpose into the Semi-Slav:

White Black
1. c4 … White seems to be trying for an English, or a Reti, or a Catalan.
1. … e6 We’re headed in White’s direction. Or are we?
2. Nf3 Nf6 White can still get his English or Catalan, but now we see the possibility that Black is playing for a Queen’s Indian.



3. d4 … The Catalan still looks OK, but now there is a hint of a Queens’ Gambit.
3. … d5 We now have a Queens Gambit Declined, but it could be a Ragozin variation, a Tartakower system, a Semi-Tarrash, an Orthodox, or even a Semi-Slav.
4. Nc3 c6 We have definitely transposed to a Semi-Slav!

(We have reached the same position by a different move order. Our moves were in concert with White’s moves, keeping him from [perhaps] his specific desired opening.)



The next moves were:
5. e3 Nbd7. And, suddenly White is playing Blacks’ Game!

When your opponent opens d4, c4, or Nf3; and you want a Semi-Slav, this is the picture you should have on the first move. Notice that if I wanted a Queens Indian, I could have played for that on the third move, or for a number of different Queen’s Gambits on the following moves. As you play, you will see yourself taken into strange territory a number of times. When you analyze the game afterward, look at the key positions and put the pictures you want in your head. Just be careful not to put in the pictures into your head that you DON’T want to create on the board!

I believe that players that move too quickly cannot get the pictures into their heads unless it is done in post-game analysis. I always analyze every loss, to try to find where I can improve.

*(In his book, Kaufman does not speak of transpositions directly, the book is basically his personal repertoire. He simply avoids transpositions in order to play his preferred openings.)

Next, I will offer some of my thoughts on Continuous Improvement.

Transposingly, Al (alfredjwood)

OVERLOOKING TACTICAL POTENTIAL AND POSSIBILITIES IN CHESS

Teichmann said that the Game of Chess is 90% tactics. The middle game is rife with tactical opportunities which only one player sees! The middle game is where observation becomes most important, where the player sees the potentials and possibilities overlooked by his opponent. Tactical moves and combinations are even overlooked by strong players as well as average players. When more than one tactical move is made in the same series, it becomes a combination. We must see the tactic before we can see the combination.

In the following examples, we will benefit from setting the position on a board, and examining our ability to see the potential and derive the tactics.

Some combinations are simply the use of the same tactic more than once in the series. Here is an example of a simple combination played by a young man against one of the strongest chessplayers in the world!



White to move. Observe: The black queen and rook are on the same color. White cannot take advantage with a knight fork, however, because the forking square (c5) is protected with a pawn. If the Black King were on d7, the pawn would be pinned. The White Queen, however, can fork the Black King and rook from c4, and the king cannot save the rook by moving to d7, because the protecting pawn is pinned! So the combination is straight forward. However it requires the observation right now, not in the postgame analysis!! Black must see this on the previous move, he did not. And, Black was one of the strongest Grandmasters in the world! His youthful opponent, named Michael, does see it!! Here are the moves he made:

1. Qc4+ … This fork leaves black only one move to protect his rook. It results in a self-pin:
1. … Kd4 Now, the defending pawn cannot capture. This move which ‘saves’ the rook also loses the Queen!
2. Nc5+ Resigns. This second fork wins the queen. The knight cannot be captured because the pawn is pinned.

Three tactics in two moves: fork, pin, fork. You could see as much as Tal saw, if you looked at the board and not at the pieces. Tals’ opponent, Konstantin Klaman, a Grand Master, and one of the strongest players in the world, did not fully observe the position! Yet, you will observe it in any game you play; if you take your time and observe it now!! Don’t just look at it. Don’t just make the moves. Do not look for moves! Look for piece positioning. Look at the board, and the placement of the pieces thereon. Then, look for critical squares. You should see the square that beckons to the knight, you should see the square that beckons to the queen. When you see a good move, keep your hand off of the piece and find a better move! You should see the immediate Queen fork, which also pins the pawn!! You should see the problem you must solve, the neutralization of the pawn on d6! Note that no pin is possible on the pawn from a diagonal because all squares available and leading to it on diagonals are protected. Now, see that an attack on the rook may lure the king to the file, where the pawn will be pinned, and your opponent may not see the possibility. Note that pieces can only be forked by a knight when they are on squares of the same color. Also note that the defender may actually move his king into the pin! Let’s look at how you can help your opponent walk into a pin:

This is from the game #6145807 here on Chessmaniac. I played Black, my opponent is my friend Mark, playing as Boogiepants. Here is the position after 21 moves:



White to play.

Observe:
1.Black’s position relative to white:
Black has a backward pawn on the half-open c-file (c6), which is a prime target for White! Blacks’ rooks are both posted offensively on files that harbor white backward pawns. Blacks’ bishop is on a good diagonal and, supported by the Black Queen, key squares are in his line of fire: c1, d2, e3, f4! The a-file is open and portends a rook confrontation, but one of the Black rooks is temporarily blocked from that file by the backward pawn on c6. The h-file is also open, but only one of Black’s rooks can utilize it at the moment. Black is currently vulnerable to a back-rank threat.
2.White’s position relative to black:
Whites’ rooks are connected. But they are both defending backward pawns! His pawn weaknesses include: two backward pawns on half opened files, d3 and f3, an isolated pawn on b2, and doubled pawns on the g-file. His King and Queen are on the same line (Second rank!) His knight has limited mobility! His isolated pawn is protected only by his Queen! Whites’ Queen is vulnerable to overload, she is currently needed to protect the b and d pawns. His knight blocks the Black Queens’ attack on b2.

Reasoning (Open the door in the back of my head and walk inside for a moment – Al):
Knights are strong in defensive mode. Bishops and rooks are strong in offensive modes. The imbalance in the position is that Black has the Bishop vs. White’s Knight. The knight is the piece that can replace a white rook in defense of a backward or isolated pawn. If the pawns can be protected by Queen and Knight, the White rooks can double on an open file! Opening the pawn position is dangerous for White, but he can use an open file, if he can free up his rooks.

22. Nb1 b4! The knight is restrained, he has only one square available, and he will block his queen from the b-pawn at that one square! White probably envisions b3, Nd2, Nc4, which will improve the position of the knight. But the knight is subject to pin on d2, so it must make the maneuver before Black can adequately respond. However, the knight is now blocking the rook access to the a-file! Better for White may have been f4 now, attacking on the kingside, opening the board with a latent hope of getting king or queen off of the second rank, bringing the knight to the kingside, and playing to get Black on the defensive..
23. b3 Ra8 This seems to be loss of a tempo. White did not need to move the b2 pawn, it is as weak on b3 as it is on b2. The kingside attack was still available. White can try to exchange Queens, attempting to reposition the Black Queen to support the kingside attack.
24. Nd2 Ra2 The Knight is pinned. Moving the Knight results in disaster. Whites’ d-pawn loses one defender; the defending rook is blocked!
25. Rh1 Qc3 Attacking the pinned knight and holding a rook to the defense!
26. f4 … This is probably best. The game continues with White attempting to find play on the Kingside.

The position has changed dramatically! Black has a strong attack, and Whites’ pieces have limited scope and mobility. White’s pawn weaknesses are being exploited.


Sometimes both players see the tactic, but only one sees the combination!! This is from ERNST-LOOSE, Hamburg, 1946. Black to move:



Black to move.
Observe!: There is a potential fork, which Black sees as winning.
1. … Rxb2 Removing support of the white knight, to be followed by Bxc3, pinning the White Queen.
2. Qxb2 Bxc3+ Did you see this as the reason for Black playing Rxb2?
3. Bd2! … Interposing a counter-pin! Black missed this move, maybe White saw the position one move further!.
3. … Resigns.


A combination sometimes arises when an obstruction must be removed. Here is a case in point:



White to move.
Observe: White sees that if it were not for the blocking pawn on b7 he would mate with Ra8++. This results in a four-move, forcing combination, removing the pawn from b7 and mating without giving Black any discretionary moves:

1. Nc7+ Ka7 Forced.
2. Qxa6+ bxa6 Forced. The queen “sacrifice” removes the pawn from b7!
3. Nb5+ Ka8 Forced. This discovery returns to the starting position minus the blocking pawn!
4. Ra7++ Voila!

What can we, Chessmaniac players, not being Grandmasters, hope to see on the board?
Actually we can see as much as anyone, if we train ourselves to look at the board and not at the pieces. Here is an example from a game I played in 2006, as Black: The opening was a Queens Indian. This is the position after White has made his 26th move:



Black to move.
Observe: The White queen cannot easily get to the defense of the kingside. She can serve best by attacking from the queenside or exchanging for the opposing queen. If black needs more force in the attack, it can only come from the c file rook, which must enter by way of the 4th or 5th rank. The rook cannot leave the 8th rank, however, as long as the White queen is attacking the e1 rook. The queen will have to be deflected to keep her from the kingside and to allow the c rook to attack. The white queen is currently unprotected, if not for the white bishop on c3, Black could capture Nxf6 and the white bishop on e4 would be pinned. However, now the c3 bishop could capture Bxe5, attacking the queen and if Qxe5 the pin is gone and Bxf3 is possible. The rook cannot take c3 to eliminate that possibility until the diagonal is blocked.

The way is clear, first before moving the knight, which currently guards b5, we must block the queen’s attack on the rook. The attack will deflect her from the fourth rank. Then the knight can begin the attack:


26. … b5! The beginning of a long combination. First, the queen will move from the fourth rank. (First tactic, piece deflection.)

27. Qxa5 Nxf3 (Second tactic, Discovered attack.)

28. Bxf3 Qg5+ (Third tactic, Zwischenzug.)

29. Kh3 Bxc3 (Fourth tactic, Fork.) The reason for the zwischenzug now becomes apparent: b5 is defended!

30. Qb6 Rc4 If Qxb5 had been permitted, this move would not be possible.
White resigns.

This combination was made possible by one inaccuracy by White. The deflection, 26. b5 makes little sense unless the player sees the tactical potential.

Many tactical opportunities are lost because of lack of observation. To improve our own powers of observation, we begin by observing each new position on the board. Whenever a piece moves, we have a new position! Keep in mind that whenever we play, we and our opponent both miss possibilities due to a form of ‘blindness.”

Here is what Tony miles said of one of his games: “I thought I was playing the World Champion, not some 27-eyed monster who sees everything in all positions.” First, we must become a two-eyed monster, then we keep increasing our vision until Tony can say that about each of us!
Al
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Play Online Chess Now!

Queen Hunt

In my games on ChessManiac.com, I have been engaged in four Queen Hunts in just the past two months. I want to show how players give up their queens in hopes that this will be useful to ChessManiac.com players.

One of these games is the most interesting game that I have played in years. In this game BOTH of the players were on a queen hunt! My opponent was my Aussie friend, Gasparking. Here is the description of these simultaneous hunts:

Chessmaniac Game #6013336,
Gasparking vs. alfredjwood

White Black
1. d4 d5
2. c4 e6
3. a3 … Best here is probably 3. Nc3; White seems concerned with preventing Blacks occupation of b4. However, this ‘preventive’ move concedes Black a tempo.
3. … c6 The usual move is Nf6, but Black hesitated to make that move before White played Nf3. Two other moves, however, are both better: c5 or Nd7. (Given the position again, I would play Nd7. Al) As a result of the next few moves, an unusual pawn structure creates an unusual game.
4. c5 … Preparation for a queenside attack.
4. … e5 beginning an attack on the center.
5. e3 Be6 This is in contravention of Capablancas’ advice to capture with the Kings Pawn at every opportunity. (This is the first time I remember ignoring that advice. I was over-concerned with getting my Queens Knight into play without blocking in the Bishop. Al) These two (c6 and Be6) mispositions were instrumental in the pawn formation developed.
6. Nc3 Nd7 Still ignoring the pawn capture.
7. b4 … Preparing the queenside attack.
7. … g6 The Kings Knight needs e7, so the bishop will have to come out via the fianchetto.
8. Bd3 e4 Now, the pawns are locked!
9. Be2 …



Here is the point at which planning is essential. Looking at the board, the diagonal pawn lock is the dominant feature. White has control of the Queenside. His pieces will experience difficulty in getting to the Kingside. Black has control of the Kingside, his pieces will have difficulty in getting to the Queenside. In the absence of levers, only a sacrifice will open any of the central files. White must attack on the a- and b- files, creating a pass on the seventh and eighth ranks thru which he can flow to the Kingside. Black must attack on the f-, g- and h- files. Both sides must strike at the opponents pawn base (f2 and b7). Until some lines are opened, the bad White Bishop and the Rooks will be virtually unusable.

9. … Bg7
10. Bg4 … This move exchanges whites good bishop; it also provokes Black’s next move.
10. … Qg5
11. Bxe6 Qxg2
12. Bxd7 Kxd7
13. h3 Qxh1
14. Kf1 … The Black Queen has no escape square! Black has won the exchange and a pawn, but his queen is now consigned to inactivity. He must get some help to her. Both kings are out of position, White’s King should have been castled to the Queenside, and Black’s King should be in a protected position on the Kingside.

14. … Ne7
15. Qg4+ …



White has his queen in play, and the Black King is alone in the middle of the board. Whites problem is in getting help to his Queen. Meanwhile, the Black Queen is still in jail.

15. … Nf5 Although this move appears to be defensive; the Knight is on his way to rescue the maiden from the tower.
16. Qf4 … Visions of sugarplums dance in her head. White transitions to a queen sortie! He sees Qd6. However, the Black Queen cannot be interned indefinitely, White needs to get the Queens Knight into the attack on the Black Queen: Ne7-g6.
16. … h5 Now the hunt for the White Queen gets underway.
17. b5 … White begins the Queenside attack, belatedly. He may have too many goals now: nullifying the Black Queen, preserving his own Queen, and attacking on the other side of the board. The queenside attack and rescue of his own Queen may be seen as a single effort, but not enough time exists to also attack the enemy Queen because the free Knight is the only piece available for the job.

17. … Bh6
18. Qe5 … This is the only square available to the Queen! Both Queens are being hunted, but the pressure is lessening on the Black Queen.



18. … Rae8
19. Qf6 Rhf8 The door slams shut on the Queen.
20. Nxe5 … Banzai! The gallant knight rides to the rescue, but it simply delays the inevitable.
20. … cxd5
21. c6+ Kc7
22. Bd2 … Can White wriggle out?
22. … Re6 Another door slams shut!
23. b6+ axb6
24. Qxe6 Ng3+!
25. fxg3 fxe6+
26. Ke2 Qg2+ The former prisoner is now the attacker. White resigned.

Many Queen hunts begin early in the game, when the Queen comes down the board too early. I liken the Queen to an aircraft carrier. She is the most powerful weapon in the fleet. When the aircraft carrier goes into enemy waters, she always goes with escorts! Destroyer escorts engage enemy forces targeting the carrier. The queen, too, needs the protection of the minor pieces when she sallies forth. Here are the first moves of a recent game on ChessManiac.com, where the Queen comes out too soon, and escorts are left in port:

White Black
1. e4 e6
2. d4 Qh4 There are many good moves for Black, 2. … d5 is the most frequently played, but this Queen sortie is a major mistake. White begins the hunt, now, on only the third move of the game!
3. Nf3 Qxe4+



This is what Black wanted from the sortie; a pawn with check and with a possible attack on the rook. But White has a knight on the field, and now a bishop will come into play.
4. Be2 f6
5. Nc3 Qg4
6. 0-0 Bd6



At last, the Black escort appears; but it is already too late. White’s pieces control the field of play. The Black Queen moves that are used to capture a pawn and to evade capture result in a great advantage in development for White, because of tempo gain.
7. Ng5 Qh4
8. g3 Qh6 The lady is running out of space.
9. Bh5 g6



The Queen is lost.

10. Nxe6 dxe6
11. Bxh6
White loses two minor pieces in the skirmish, but ends up with the Queen and a winning position.



Sometimes the Queen hunt begins deep in the middle game; and sometimes saving the queen requires giving up material, space and time! Here is an excerpt from another recent ChessManiac.com game, this is the position after move 26:



White Black
27. Rh4 … White attacks. But d6 needs more protection, or the queen needs some escape.
27. … Bd3
28. Bc2 Rfd8 Blacks rooks support an attack on the queen by supporting c6, c7 and d6
29. Bxd3 Nxd3
White can temporarily save the queen by giving up a rook and allowing a strong attack by white by playing 29. … Rxd3, but he goes down swinging:
30. Rg3? Rc1+



The Queen is lost.

Today’s moral is: Treat your Queen with loving care, or she will elope with your rival! And be alert for a trapping opportunity if Her Majesty is separated from her escort; The Queen hunt forces the opponent to focus on saving the Queen, and you can exact tribute, in the form of development, tempo and sometimes material, for any attempted rescue. Al

The Ideal Square In Chess

In his book; Guide to Good Chess: First Steps to Fine Points (Purdy Series), J.S. Purdy offers four points for placing a piece on it’s “ideal square” in the opening:

1.The piece can go there in one move. Quick development is important. The first object of development is to clear your back line in as few moves as possible so you can get your rooks active. “The absurdity of these huge pieces locked away in corners never seems to strike the average player.”

2.The piece will be effectively posted there. “Effectively” initially means the piece will be bearing on the center, directly or indirectly.

3.The piece will not suffer from exposure. The most common exposure is moving your queen out too early. Generally move the queen only one square, to free the rooks. Generally, move the rooks to open files, or files likely to be opened, but keep them on the back rank in the opening.

4.The piece will not unduly obstruct any of its own forces. The most common example of this is playing d3 (…d6) before developing the f bishop and to avoid playing e3 (…e6) before developing the c bishop. It is usually wise to reserve c3 and f3 for the knights.

Purdy says that #3 is the most important. Exposed pieces on the chessboard allow the other side to attack those pieces while developing his own. Moves are used up protecting and retreating the exposed piece.

Here is an example of the third point in relation to the queen:

White Black
1. e4 e5
2. Qh5 … This is in violation of point 3. It is played by beginners, who envision a fast attack. They envision 2.g6 and the fork Qxe5+, winning a rook; and so they begin this attack on f7.
3. … Nc3 This is the antidote. Black secures e5.



4. Bc4 … Persisting in the attack on f7.
4. … g6 Now this move is effective, the Queen cannot take e5.



5. Qf3 … Still persisting on an “attack” on f7, White occupies f3 with his queen, denying the square to his knight!. He is now violating point four.
5. … Nf6 Blocking the Queen, developing a piece, preparing for castling, attacking e4 and supporting d5.



In five moves, Black has taken over. He has the initiative and a better position on the chessboard.

In this position, White cannot develop the Kings Knight to it’s best square (f3) without using an extra tempo. His center is under attack. Black is developing in accordance with points 1 and 2. Here we see White occupying the wrong square with his queen. Meanwhile, Black is occupying the ideal squares with his pieces.

Players encounter difficulties when they play randomly in the opening. The chess opening determines the later game, you don’t want to go into the middle or end game in poor positions. The problem is compounded when inexperienced players ‘try’ new chess openings.
They begin building a bad habit of never playing an opening often enough to fully understand it. Ideally, a player should play only one opening for a consecutive hundred games or so. In that time that player will learn many things, including:
1.What middle game and end games does this opening lead to? Are they satisfactory for me?
2.What is the defense played most often against this opening. Is this satisfactory, or should I avoid it?
3.What ‘chess traps’ exist in this chess opening? Are they favorable to me?
4.How difficult is it to learn all of the lines I may play against using this chess opening?
5.Can this chess opening be easily thwarted? If it is thwarted can I, or need I transform?

When playing the chosen opening with the White pieces, It will take many chess games in order to grasp the flow of the game. First, a player should not try an opening with the thought of ‘winning’ with it! Remember, you are learning and you will make errors. The number of errors you make is unimportant. What is important is MAKING EACH ERROR ONLY ONCE! Learn from your mistakes. In time, you will be familiar with every error that could be made, and you will no longer make them. You will be on your way to becoming expert in that opening. To find your glaring errors, simply analyze each game you lose. To find smaller errors, get someone to analyze the game for you!

I suggest picking only one chess opening to play with White. Observe the chessboard closely on every move of that opening, the chess opening is like a puppy; it will do strange things from time to time – but you must accept ownership of it.

The problem will be handling all of the most probable defenses. As you play your opening, you will encounter and learn them all. FIND THE ONE THAT GIVES YOU THE MOST TROUBLE AND STUDY IT! Make this opening the first opening you play with Black, and play it with black at every opportunity. You may see ways of improving your game with White when you play against it, and you will have a synergistic situation.

As an example, if you chose 1. e4 because you enjoy tactical play, (and there are fewer difficult lines than with d4/Nc3/c4;) you will need to know how to play against a number of different responses. At first, you need only look at two major responses (which you may find in 80% of your games! They are e5 and c5. There are many good chess openings you can play after 1. e4 e5, so you should pick an objective: Perhaps the Ruy Lopez (Spanish Game), or the Giuoco Piano, or a gambit.

However, after 1. e4 c5 you will face the Sicilian Defense. You must have a plan for that contingency. I chose the Morra Gambit because it avoided all of the deep analysis of other lines, and it gave me the open, tactical game I enjoyed.

The defense that gave me the most difficulty when I began was the Berlin Defense. I made the Berlin my Black defense against e4. (If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em). As I played it my White game improved, as I played the Ruy against the Berlin, my black game improved. The Berlin can transform into the Two Knights in some cases. Since the Two Knights is a very effective defense against the Giuoco, I took this as my second defense against e4.

This is the way a successful repertoire is built, not by trying out the latest fads, but by persisting in improving your existing opening. You can be a jack of all and master of none, or you can be an expert at the few you will need. I always recommend that a player firm his white opening before looking at any black opening. Here on Chessmaniac, you can look for regular games where you only play white. Later, when your white opening is such that you can keep the most favorable lines for more than five moves, you can just play Black for a while with your chosen Black opening. In all, your starting repertoire should consist of one white opening and two black openings, one against e4 and one against d4/c4/Nf3.

My repertoire began with only three openings, one playing white and two playing black. I recommend the method.

Persistence is the great conqueror. At first, you learn the opening for five to eight moves in all major variations, then you begin to learn deeper. I can go ten to fifteen moves with familiarity in my openings. A Master may go twenty or more moves with familiarity of all variations and deviations to that point. I cannot do it with EVERY opening! Only with MY openings. Don’t play a different chess opening just because Anand wins with it. You are NOT Anand! He doesn’t win because he has a superior opening. He wins because he is Anand.

Case in point: Bogolyubov famously said: “I win with White because I am White. I win with Black because I am Bogolyubov!”

Your confidence will increase as you win with YOUR opening. Do not be discouraged by your early losses when trying your opening. Losses are normal with unfamiliar material. Your winning percentage will increase as the depth of knowledge of your opening increases. There is a natural tendency to abandon an opening because of poor results; the poor results are not because of the opening, they are because of habits that you have that you must overcome. Do you think that great bowlers kept changing lanes in order to score better? Do you think that they kept changing balls? Or, do you think they threw their share of gutter balls at first, and gradually picked up some spares and strikes as they built their habits. It is practice that builds skill. You can master nothing without practice. Babe Ruth struck out more than 3000 times, but he never stopped swinging.

In general, I have learned these things about openings:

1.It is best to get a pawn into the center in order to begin control of the center and to open lines by providing one of the bishops and the queen good lines on which to come into play.

2.A second pawn will need to be moved somewhere in the opening, in order to get the second bishop into play, but it can usually wait until the knights are developed. Avoid too many pawn moves; pawn move effect future positions.

3.The knights usually belong on f3/f6 and c3/c6. If you develop the protecting knight, or attacking knight when a pawn is in the center, you may save tempo. Keep the knights off the edge of the board; “a knight on the rim is dim.”

4.The first three pieces developed are normally the knights and the king’s bishop.

5.Remember that once a pawn is moved, it cannot go back. The pawns are initially needed for protection of the planned kings position, for preparing to control the center, and for clearing lines for the line-going pieces (particularly the rooks.) Also consider their positioning for an endgame. It’s easy for a pawn to be moved to a bad square, one that hurts your position.

6.In the opening, rooks remain on the rear rank. It is important to connect them by getting the other pieces out of their way. The rooks will go to an open file, so be patient until you know which files are likely to open; you want to avoid moving a rook twice to get it on the right file.

7.In general, the queen should only be developed to the second rank in the opening. Taking her downfield too soon can result in losses of tempo and sometimes material. e2 and c2 are the squares that are normally friendly to the queen and give her some range.

8.When you select an opening, note which pieces are important to the position that will be reached, and what the pawn structure should look like.

9.Every tactical opportunity should be considered in light of the value of the pieces in that opening. As you gain experience in an opening you will see the traps and the combinations that come from the positioning of pieces and pawns.

10.The greatest value in knowing the opening better than the opponent is that your opponent may trade a valuable piece that he will need later for attack or defense. You will not make that mistake. He may place a pawn in a position that hinders his later play. You will not make that mistake, either.

11.I think of the beginning of the middle game as the real opening. I see the opening as an opportunity to position pawns and pieces for a strong tactical middle game. When you know your opening really well, you can visualize the position that will transit to the middle game.

12.You may still be in your opening when your opponent gets into his middle game. You are out of the opening when a deviation from your known lines occurs. At first, this can happen on the second , third, or fourth move! As you learn the opening through the eighth move in all variations, your opponent may run out of opening on the fourth move and must now begin a middle game. Obviously, it is better to know what is happening than to it is to wonder what is happening. REMEMBER: When you do not know the next move in an opening, you are then in the middle game!

13.When you know your opening, you will expect certain moves by your opponent. When the opponent deviates from your expectation, you must pause and see if it is a solid line or if he has made an error. Even a slight mispositioning can create later difficulties. A deviation from expectation is an alarm! Take time considering your response. Most deviations in the opening result in inaccurate positioning.

14.Keep in mind that there are three elements in the opening, as in the body of the game: Material Force, Time (tempo), and Space. Do not give up any part of these three without good compensation.

Here is an illustrative example of a middle game position reached from a given opening. Examine the Force, the Time, and the Space of the two sides. These were gained or relinquished in the opening. This is a Morphy variation of the Ruy Lopez. Here is the position after White’s sixteenth move:



Do you think that both players are happy with their positions?
Do you feel that White is comfortable and may have foreseen this position?
Do you feel that Black is comfortable and may have foreseen this middlegame position?
Material is almost even, White has an extra pawn.
White has more space. His pawns do not block his bishop and there are holes in blacks pawn structure that will allow white’s bishop great mobility.
The Black bishop is restricted by the White pawns and the black piece placement.
There is only one open file, and Black has a rook at the base. Whites rooks can more easily bring their combined force onto a single file.

Here is the rest of the game, if you have an interest. The middle game is very short. So is the endgame.:

16. … Nd7 Heading to e5?
17. Bg5 … Attacking the Black rook on d8, who is a virtual prisoner of his own pieces, he has less space than any of his pawns. His value would be negligible, if the file were not so important.
17 … Nf6 Back to his previous square, entering a self-pin in order to block the bishops’ diagonal.
18. c4 h6
19. Bd2 Nd7 The knight movement has created tempo for White, who already has the initiative, the space and the force advantages.
20. Bc3 Ne5 At last, the knight reaches his desired square.
21. Red1 Nxd3 Certainly Black needs to reduce the power directed at his position. Ideally, the knight would rather be traded for White’s bishop; but the bishop is too mobile to be caught by the knight.
22. Rxd3 g6
23. Rad1 … White wants to control the square d5, with a subsequent breakthrough.
23 … Kc7 Holding d6
24. c5 Black resigns.

Here we could see the good bishop vs. the bad bishop, the pawn structure resulting from this opening, black’s lack of space, and his gifts of tempo.

Invest now in your game. Choose a single white opening and play it every time! Analyze each of your losses to see where you can improve the next time you face that position. Once you know your white opening for five or more moves in every major variation, you can start on your two black defenses. You can keep your repertoire short while improving your game dramatically.

Choose your openings carefully, you want an opening you can continue to play with for a long time. Good Chessing! Al

Play chess for free!

Playing the board, not the piece. An example of playing the lines and squares.

In my first games on Chessmaniac I played against some fine new players. Here is a player whose elo was listed as 13xx, but he played at a much higher level!

The Game is a Morra Gambit, accepted. When I first played chess I preferred open games, so I played 1. e4. I was usually met with e5. In time, as my level grew and my opponents became stronger, I began to increasingly meet 1. e4 with c5, the Sicilian. Soon, the Sicilian was being played against me in more than 50% of my games. The problem I faced was in trying to learn all of the lines and variations. The Sicilian has more lines and variations than any other chess opening I know! I felt it would take me years to learn to play against it effectively. I eventually learned that this is typical, and it caused me to develop a particular repertoire in order to continue my growth as a player.

In developing that repertoire, I needed a weapon against the Sicilian, something to take Black out of his favorite variations and into a line with which he may not be at home. I found the Morra. (It was originally called the Morphy Gambit!) I liked it because it gave me a lasting initiative, it took my opponent out of his pet line, it was a violently attacking offense, and it was not known well by most players. I call the Morra the “Anti-Sicilian”, and play it routinely against the Sicilian, as you can see from my games. It normally generates a fine queenside attack, with open lines.

Playing white in the Morra, it is essential to focus on certain lines and squares. I will help focus on them during this discussion of the game.

Now, to the game, keep your eye on the board, not on the pieces. Note that the emphasis is not on moves, it is on maintaining an initiative and improving the board in favor of White:

White Black
alfredjwood deep56

1. e4 c5 The Sicilian! A fine defense!
2. d4 … The Morra Gambit.
2. … cxd4 The Morra Gambit Accepted.
3. c3 dxc3
4. Nxc3 … Let’s take our first look at the situation: White has a knight developed, and open lines for his two bishops and queen. Black has a pawn.



4. … e6 The two major continuations for black are e6 or d6, e6 is played most often.
5. Nf3 Nc6 Normal.
6. Bc4 …

Let’s look at this, a typical position:



White has developed both knights and a bishop, his remaining bishop and his queen can develop in one move each. He holds d5! d5 is one of the critical squares in this opening. Black’s d-pawn is backward, allowing d5 as an outpost or pivot point for white. Black has developed one knight.

6. … a6 This is a necessary move, but it is premature. Black is behind in development and should attend to his development first. In the Morra the key squares are usually on the queenside: d5, b5, and e5. Other squares which become important with normal development are b6 and c7. White will be playing to control the key squares. This move, a6, disputes the key square b5, but it may be premature.
7. Qe2 … The queen must come to e2 or c2 in order to vacate d1 for the occupation of the kings rook after castling. White’s two rooks will play to control the open c and d files. In similar positions, Qe2 is correct unless there is good reason for Qc2.
7. … d6 This is a typical position in this opening. Black is playing the opening well.
8. 0-0 … The first step in bringing the rook to the important e-file, where it will pin the black e-pawn against the black queen.
8. … Be7 A developing move, but perhaps Nf6 is stronger, disputing d5 and attacking e4.
9. Rd1 … The rook seizes the d-file, pinning the black d-pawn against his queen.



9. … b5 This is the first inaccuracy by black. Still, it is often played by strong players. White now has a target on the key square b5.
10. Bb3 Qc7 This is a good square for the black queen. The pin on the d-file is relieved and the queen is developed.
11. Bf4 … This develops the bishop, and pins the black d-pawn against the queen on the b8-h2 diagonal!



11. … Bb7 Black brings the queens bishop into play, striking at d5 should the c6 knight move. In the game Whitby vs. Basman in 1962 (Whitby was the Under-18 British champion), Black played Ne5 and subsequently lost the game. The square d5 must be contested because of its importance.
12. Rac1 … This is a typical position of the white pieces in this opening. Let’s look at it:



Whites pieces are all active. The rooks hold the c and d files, bishop, knight, rook and pawn hold d5, bishop and knight dispute e5. Queen and knight dispute b5. All critical squares are covered by white. Black’s position looks solid, but appearances are deceiving.

12. … e5 A typical move. Black must try to gain some center. Unfortunately, it results in a backward pawn on d6, and removes a defender from e5!
13. Nd5 … With this move, white occupies the outpost d5. This occupation restricts blacks options, and the knight strikes at important squares in the black position. Except as a defender of the castled position, a knight is normally offensively weaker than a bishop when it is on the first three ranks, but a knight becomes stronger than a bishop when it reaches the fifth rank! An outpost for the knight on the fifth or sixth ranks is highly desirable.
13. … Qd8 The queen returns to the home square. White has gained tempo from this double Queen move.
14. Be3 … Joining the knight on the strike on b6.
14. … Rc8 Disputing the c-file.
15. a4 … Beginning an attack on b5. Remember, this is a critical square in this opening.

15. … Nf6 The knight comes into play, disputing d5 and attacking e4.
16. axb5 … Beginning the attack on the queenside with the assault on the key square.
16. … Na5
17. bxa6 … Continuing the assault.
17. … Nxb3
18. Qb5+ … The beginning of the end. White controls the critical lines and squares. Let’s look at the position:



18. … Qd7
19. axb7 Nxc1
20. Nxf6 Bxf6
21. bxc8(Q)+

An example of the need to see the board, not the piece: to play the board, not the piece.
My compliments and appreciation to Deep56 for an interesting and enjoyable game!
Al
Play Free Online Chess

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INITIATIVE IN CHESS

In chess, there are two basic principles that must be respected:
1.Without blunders, only the attacker can win the game. A game is always won by an attack. As long as your opponent is attacking you are occupied by parrying that attack.
2.Only the player with the initiative can successfully attack! The player that does not have the initiative can often bring forth a sortie, but in order to gin up a successful attack the player must have the initiative.

Couple this thinking with the fact that white has an initiative by virtue of the first move. Thus, white is favored to win. He will win if he can hold the initiative. He can lose if he loses the initiative. In many games the initiative changes hands, sometimes it changes often: perhaps because it is not respected; or because both players value it and fight for it.

Statistically, White wins 54% of games decided, Black wins 46% of those games. It seems clear that White has an 8% advantage due to the first move! This is the initiative with which White begins the game. There are two ways that White can lose the initiative:
First, he can voluntarily trade a unit of time (tempo) for a unit of power (pawn or piece). We see this in gambits, and sometimes in sacrifices.
Second, he can make unnecessary moves that allow Black to gain tempo. We usually see this when white makes unnecessary “preventive” moves, the most common being a3 or h3 denying b4 or g4 to Blacks’ pieces, when it is not clear that black wants to place his pieces on those squares. In other words, making moves that require no specific response by Black.

This works both ways, Black can also give up valuable tempo with unnecessary “preventive” moves. If, however, the move is made at the right time, no tempo is lost. That is; if Black waits for White to pin his Knight on f6 with the bishop, and then plays h6, that pawn move now requires a responding move by White, and no tempo is lost. The most common “good” preventive move I see is a6 by Black in the Morra gambit. In this case, denying White the b5 square is prudent and often essential. Still, if it is premature, White can collect a penalty.

With these thoughts, I believe that any plan in the play of the game must include either maintaining an initiative, or seizing the initiative.

The initiative is a result of tempo. If we can gain tempo in a game we can seize or buttress an initiative. Although our opponent can voluntarily yield the initiative, he will do so less frequently as his playing strength increases. However, it is common to trade one element for another: a player can trade any of the following three elements, which are at play in a game of chess:
a)Force/power. Force can often be directly related to power. We can discuss the concept of force and power in a later piece, but the player with the greater force has an advantage. Power is the material advantage; Force is the kinetic application of power.
b)Space. The player that controls the most space has a distinct advantage. Space depends on holding lines and squares. We can look into this concept in a subsequent piece.
c)The principle of Time: This is the key to improving most games. Time is conserved by moving pieces to their best square on the initial move of the piece, or as early as possible in the game, and then making moves which carry a threat causing our opponent to defend. Remember, only the attacker can win, if we play with threat, our opponent is occupied with meeting that threat and cannot easily gain the initiative.

We refer to a unit of time as a tempo. We can lose tempo if we move the same piece twice in the opening. Or by making an unnecessary move. We can gain tempo by achieving two or more objectives on the same move.

A solid initial plan in any game is to own the initiative, forcing the opponent to respond to threats and allowing the optimum positioning of our force. With White we want to hold the initiative, and to prevent our opponent from seizing the initiative. With Black we want to wrest the initiative from White. Although this concept itself is simple, in play it can be quite difficult. If we play a gambit, and our opponent accepts that gambit, he will use a move to capture that could have been used to improve his position. That gives us tempo. He has traded a unit of power for a unit of time. He will have an extra pawn or piece, but he will have given us time by the capture.

If our opponent uses two moves to get a piece to the best square, he has donated a tempo to us. When playing black, it makes sense to play openings that give the opponent a strong opportunity to yield a tempo.

My own games are more often won by Time than by material! I am often behind in material when I mate or my opponent resigns. Think of it this way: A street lamp can use 200 watts to light a circle on the ground directly below that is usually less than eight meters in diameter. An automobile headlamp uses about 40 watts to light the roadway 50 meters ahead. The difference is focus, creation of a beam aimed on an objective. In chess, Force is focused. (Power is static, Force is kinetic).
It takes time (tempo) to bring power into an attack and become translated, through focus, into Force. Concentrated Force wins!

Although the opportunity to gain tempo exists throughout the game, the easiest way to see it is by looking at openings. Let’s first look at a few gambits played by white. Here are three common gambits:
The oldest is probably the Kings Gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. f4 exf4. Here we have the kings gambit accepted. Black has lost one tempo. White has a center pawn, black has none. White has given up a pawn (Power) for the opportunity to make an extra move (Tempo).
Then, look at the Danish gambit: 1. e4 e5, 2. d4 exd4, 3. c3 dxc3, etc. White has again yielded material in order to gain tempo (and, in both cases, Space as well).
In some cases, the tempo is gained by black. In the Semi-Slav, the white bishop often moves twice in the opening in order to reach a good square: 1. d4 d5, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 c6, 4. e3 Nd2, 5. Nf3 Nf6, 6. Bd3 dxc4! Now, after 7. Bxc4 b5!



White must retreat the bishop to d3, giving black a tempo, having moved the bishop three times. Add to this the easy development of Black’s queen bishop on the queenside, nullifying the block on e6, and Black has taken away the initiative with which White began the game. Black may gain a successful queenside attack without exceptional moves. Still, Black has kingside opportunities as well and a solid defensive position until the attack can be generated.

The Two Knights defense is an attack in disguise. Black often comes out of the opening with an initiative. In a similar sense; the Berlin defense appears passive/defensive, but is like a coiled spring. The Berlin pawn structure hampers White, and Black has the bishop pair with which to utilize the initiative, once gained. When I was young I liked the Sicilian Dragon for the ‘coiled spring’ effect against an impatient opponent. The French can work the same way, but requires the patience of a Saint or a Steinitz!

As an example of seizing the initiative with Black, I offer the following game. This game was played in 2007. I played Black. I have not asked the other player to reveal his identity.

White alfredjwood
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Nf6


The Two Knights defense is a favorite of mine because I believe that it gives Black an early opportunity to seize the initiative. This is a decisive point for White. He can play to gain a pawn by 4. Ng5, or he can play to hold the initiative with 4. e4. Both moves are good. If he goes for the pawn (Ng5), however, he can yield the initiative!

4. Ng5 d5
5. exd5 Na5
6. Bb5+ c6 (Bd7 is also good)
7. dxc6 bxc6
8. Qf3 Rb8 The pawn can be protected by Qc7 or Bd7, or a counter-attack can be made by h6. I believe the White knight will return to f3 without disrupting the kingside pawns and the initiative is more likely to come to Black by getting the rook onto an open file.


9. Bxc6+ Nxc6
10. Qxc6+ Nd7
11. d3 Be7.


The initiative has passed to Black, at a cost of two pawns. I continue with the game to show use of the initiative. In many of my games it takes 15 moves or more before the initiative is seized.

12. Nf3 0-0
The moves by the white knight and the quest for a pawn have resulted in a position where white has succeeded in gaining two pawns, but at a terrible price: All of Black’s pieces are mobilized, White has four pieces still requiring development, and has the White Queen afield.

23. Nc3 …
Not a good move. It develops the knight to it’s natural square but allows it to be pinned, and neglects the queen which can come under attack by four (!) Black pieces. Withdrawing the queen may have been more prudent.

13. … Rb4
This allows Bb7 without blocking the rook. At this post, the rook takes away three escape squares from the White Queen, and holds the b-file. The Queen hunt is on!

14. Nd5 Bb7
15. Nxe7+ Qxe7
16. Qc3 …
The Queen retreats to the only available square.


16. … Rc8
17. Qd2 …
There is no choice. The c1 bishop is blocked, locking in the a1 rook. Black is gaining space from his initiative.

17. … e4
Black plays to open the board for the attack.

18. Qe2 Rxc2
19. Qe3 …
Obviously, White cannot take the invading rook, but the e5 pawn remains pinned.


19. … Nf6
Black protects the pawn a fourth time, and positions the knight to attack the White Queen.


20. Nd2 Nd5
21. Qxe4
Strange as it seems, the Queen must give herself up. There is no better move. With five marauding pieces, a protected king, and the attacking e-pawn, Black has a won game.

The remainder of the game is simple mechanics, and of little interest.

If you are just beginning to play chess, I urge you to use the opening to get each piece to its’ ideal square in one move. Your opponent, if he is a beginner, will squander a move or two early in the game. A player at 1500 elo will give up the equivalent of a pawn in the first fifteen moves. Early attempts at mate work with beginners, but as your skill grows you will find that you are playing opponents who know how to turn your early attempts into tempo for themselves. The Fool’s Mate, the Shepherd’s Mate, the Fegatello attack, even the Fried Liver, are all easily rebuffed by an experienced player and result in his acquisition of tempo, and consequently, the initiative.

When you don’t know the ideal square, move the pieces where best placement is known. The placement of Knights are generally known first, then one or both of the bishops. By this time perhaps the placement of a rook or the queen may be known. Let your opponent move his pieces while you calmly configure the board.

Still, you must respect each move. Think of the move not as putting a piece, think instead of improving the board in your favor. Do not surrender the initiative, and play to seize the initiative if you do not hold it.

Al
Play Free Online Chess

CHESS TALENTS

There are three major skills in chess. If we possess one of the three we can play chess. If we possess two of the three we can play chess well. If we possess all three, to a high degree, we will become expert at the game. These, like all other skills, are honed with practice or ‘calisthenics’. Let’s look at each of the three, briefly.

First is memory. Playing mental games often hones memory, but few of us will use more than a tenth of this ability in our lifetime. In chess, the openings require memory. What is important is not memorizing the moves, but in memorizing the position arrived at by the moves. Let’s look at an example: A few months ago one of my students wrote and told me that he wanted to play the Semi-slave with Black; but his opponents were taking him out of the opening. He pointed to a game where the moves were: 1. d4 d5, 2. Nf3. He was looking for the move 2. c4, to which he would have responded 2. … e6. Because he was looking at the moves and not at the positions, he could be shunted aside by an unexpected move.

I wrote back, explaining that the ‘starting’ position of the Semi-slav could be arrived at by NINE DIFFERENT PATHS! In other words, if he had looked forward to the position, and not looked at the moves, he could have arrived at the desired position without distraction. Try it yourself. Here are the moves that lead to the desired position:
1.d4 d5, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nc3 c6, 4Nf3 Nf6.
There are eight other move orders that will reach this position. Can you find them? The key move is the timing of White’s Nf3. On that move, black must play Nf6. The sequence can be picked up after Nf6.
Here is that position:

Set up the desired position, then when you see an opponent move “out of order”, you can visualize the desired position rather than memorizing a series of moves.p

The only way to excel at end-games is to memorize the position. The same endgame can occur from a multitude of openings! Memorizing moves is almost useless. Even in the simplest endings, errors are made because one of the players does not recognize the position. Here is the most basic example:


With white to move, he must simply keep the opposition with 1. Kc3. Then, if 1. … kb4, 2. Kb3, kc4, Ka4. The position desired is:


If we simply can picture the end in our memory, the moves are simple. Here are the rules of the moves: a) The white king must control the square directly in front of the pawn, so that the black king cannot control it. b) The first move of the pawn can be to the third rank or the fourth rank, depending on favorable opposition. Just play it through a few times, and you will see the pattern and know the winning and losing positions when they appear on the board. Black can prevent the pawn from queening if he attains vertical opposition at the instant that white’s king is on the square in front of the pawn. The black king then may simply stay in front of either the king or the pawn and the pawn cannot queen.

Use your memory to memorize the board, not the moves. Your game can improve dramatically. Let’s look at a variation of the Noah’s Ark in the Spanish Game:

White has just captured the pawn: Nxd4. It is Black’s move.
The winning move is simply 1. … Nxd4, 2. Qxd4, 2. Pc5, followed by Pc4 winning the bishop. If White had simply committed the Noah’s Ark to his memory, he would have played differently. It is not the moves, it is the position that must be known.

Next is Reason and Logic: This is the ability to solve puzzles, to calculate a series of moves, to determine what the opponent has in mind. It is a vital part of the game. A world champion once said that the opening required reason and logic, but the middle game required observation. Picture a game in which you have a rook and your opponent has two knights and a bishop. Reasoning will tell you that you have a draw if you simply exchange the rook for the bishop. Two knights cannot mate and the game is a draw. Now you must see the way to make the exchange. If your opponent interposes the bishop to block check, you have your draw. If your opponent allows a skewer, where the bishop is behind the king on the same rank or file on which you can check, the king must move, and you exchange for the bishop or simply take the bishop. You can decide whether you want an open game or a closed game by your choice of opening, the choice depends on your reasoning. You can decide whether to accept or decline a gambit; that’s logic and reasoning. Here is a little example of logic to gain a win:

Use logic and your power of reasoning: White to move. Which is the better move for white, 1. Rg6, or 1. Ng6?

The third ability is perception through observation. I believe that improving observation is the quickest way to improve the player’s game. Opponents often tell me: “I missed your move.” When a blunder occurs, is it because of some reason other than failure to see it? Do you see you’re your own blunders before you make them? I watch players depend on mistakes by their opponents, at the same time that the opponent is depending on a mistake by his opponent! That may work up until elo 1700, but after that the game of He Who Depends On Blunders is compromised. With good perception, you can see the potentials and possibilities being missed by your opponent! You can see what is normally overlooked! You can relate the normally unrelated.

The difficulty is that the eyes of the beginning player are not tuned to the board, they are tuned to the piece. He moves pieces; he should be using the move to improve the board in his favor. To do that he needs to see the board, not the piece. Unfortunately, when we study chess we do so from game scores rather than from pictures of the board. Thus, Be4 draws our eyes to the bishop. Our eyes should be drawn to e4! When a young player’s hand hovers over a piece, I know he has not yet seen the board. Many years ago I removed blunders from my game by following four simple steps: After my opponent moves, I ask myself:
1.What lines on the board just opened as a result of that move? How does this affect the position?.
2.What lines on the board have closed as a result of that move?. How does this affect the position?
3.What squares is that piece now aimed at that were not aimed at by the piece prior to the move? How does this affect the position?
4.What squares have been released by that move? How does that affect the position.
Students resist this discipline. They believe that they already see everything. They also believe that it takes too much time during the game. I usually try to teach it during analysis.

The fact is that it only takes time when you first start doing it. Any new behavior takes time. As a player does this, the time required speeds up! I have no difficulty performing this on every move and still make time controls. At first, I needed more time. I believe that blitz chess requires good memory, sound reasoning, and thorough observation. I cannot do it in blitz chess, so I do not play blitz. I do not want to build a habit that will hurt my normal games.

How often does a player go wrong intuitively? Things are not always what they seem. Here is a sample of observation by a great master. The game is Taimanov-Kusminich, 1950.

White to move. If you are distracted by the pieces, you can miss the squares, files, and diagonals! Watch as open lines magically appear!
Here is the game from this point:
1. N-g6 N-h7, 2. Rxe6 Pxe6, 3. Qxd8+ QxQ, 4. Bxe6++
Did you visualize this mating position? At each move, did you see the changes to the board?

Train yourself to become an observer, not just a spectator. It is worth the effort if you intend to increase your elo. It is the thing that can break a plateau, a ceiling, that a chessplayer has reached.

Alfred J. Wood

Play Free Online Chess at ChessManiac.com

In Online Chess You Must Plan Your Play And Play your Plan Part 2

I discussed many ideas in the previous article; if any of those ideas don’t seem clear, take your time, work through them. There is no reason to rush through this course. If I talk about a position, set it up on your chess board; Look at it on the screen. Take your time and make sure you understand the idea of my plan. Remember, in general, when you are studying chess, if your brain hurts, if you are pushing yourself, you’re stretching your mind, then you are learning. If you are just playing through variations, if you don’t strain to try to understand subtleties of the position, then you are not going to be learning. Basically, you are going to get out of chess as much as you put into it.

One of my teammates has asked me some questions related to my first piece. Here is his message:

I am curious to find out how you determine a plan. I know that the opening is the main factor in determining a plan, but after each side has done their best possible moves how do you determine a plan after you’ve developed your opening?
It seems that it is hard to make a plan that remains consistent throughout the game, which brings me to the basic question, what types of attacks are there and how can you recognize an attack like queenside attack based on early to mid game positions? I ask these questions in a game where there are no immediate advantages or obvious gains. An example opening that I have difficulty with is the four knights game which is exactly even. I am able to recognize attacks based on weak positions but I find it hard to maintain that plan when the best move is employed by my opponent. What type of plan would you go with on this type of opening? I sometimes find myself just trading off pieces with no endgame objective and a mess of pawns to clean up. How can I overcome these problems? Thanks.

I found that the answers could be of much help to other players on chessmaniac.com, so please read it patiently. If you have any comments, feel free to share with me…


It will be easier if you think of a plan as a wish, something that you want to happen. As an example, in the Morra Gambit (1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3), white's initial plan is to quickly develop all of the pieces. Then Black's d-pawn should be backward. It is on d6 and cannot be defended with another pawn because the c-pawn has been exchanged and the e-pawn will be on e5.
This is the resulting position in the main line of the Morra Gambit; it appears after (4…Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Qe2 Nf6 9.Rd1 e5 10.Be3 0-0 11.Rac1).



Note that black cannot force an exchange of the knight vs. bishop by playing 11…Na5 because of 12.Nxe5! Black cannot capture the knight by the d-pawn because it is pinned to his queen.

Therefore, white's logical plan is: Hold d5 square so black's weak pawn cannot advance, keep pressure on the d-file with the h-rook on d1. Use the d5 square as an outpost. When the attack comes, use it to transfer forces to the side of the board where they will be needed. Force black to defend this weak d-pawn, tying up his forces; not capturing the pawn until it is tactically favorable to do so. The normal attack from this position is Queenside, using b5 as well as d5 for positioning of the minor pieces.


The decision to attack kingside or queenside is made by either pawn position, piece position or both. In an unbalanced pawn front, as occurs in many opening where one side (we will say White) has three pawns on each side of the board and the other side (we will say Black) has two pawns on one side and four on the other, it will be natural for either players to attack on the side with the pawn majority. This is always an attempt to force a passed pawn, although it sometimes leads to a mating attack when it occurs on the kingside.

Although, the minority attack is often used, this is to restrain the majority and make it more difficult to establish a passed pawn. The overall plan in this case deals with gaining or preventing a passed pawn.

Most of the gambits are played with the plan of developing quickly and attacking the kingside. The f-pawn is a usual target. Look at a typical King's Gambit and White's plan is very clear: Attack f7 before Black can get the king to safety. It depends on development and tempo.

Some themes for plans are:
a. Opening the board or closing the board. This depends on several factors:
First, which side do open lines favor? Second, which side does time favor? Third, is the player Steinitzian or Morphian? Which does the player prefer, a tactical game or a positional game?
b. The passed pawn. Gaining a passed pawn is a huge step toward winning.
c. The two bishops. The two bishops on an open board are much more powerful than any other minor piece combination.
d. Attack on the king; Bringing about a position that enables a successful attack on the King's position.
e. Weakening the pawn structure; Creating doubled or isolated pawns, opening lines to the opposing king.

I base my plan primarily on pawn structure, when faced with an equal adversary. When faced with a weaker adversary I base the plan on rapid development, and continuous attack.

Here is what I look for in pawn structure:
1. Opening lines. I want open files for my rooks. The opening determines which pawns will exchange and therefore the square on which I should place a rook.
It's easy in gambits: Kings Gambit, the f-file will open, so my h-rook goes quickly to f1. In the Morra gambit, the c-file and the d-file will open, so my rooks jump to d1 and c1 quickly.
In closed games, I pick the file I want to open, this becomes my PLAN.
Once the file is open, I want to do two things: first, get both rooks on a file or adjacent open files. Second, transfer the rooks to the seventh or eighth files. That becomes my plan.
I want open diagonals for my bishop(s). If I have one bishop and my opponent has a bishop of the opposite color, I want to use my pawns to trap it or to block it. I prefer blocking an opposing bishop with his own pawns, where possible. Where I have the bishop pair and my opponent does not, I want to trade off the entire center pawns to open up the board for the bishops. This becomes my plan.

2. If there is a weakness in the opponent's position, wear it down. An example is the backward pawn.

Here is a less obvious example from the Rossolimo variation of the Sicilian defense: (I played this game few years ago in a local rapid tournament, I was white) 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d3 Bg7



The Black bishop enjoys a fine diagonal and it is the only piece Black has developed. The plan now is to restrict this bishop:
6.f4! White must now strengthen his center, leaving his knight on g2. This interferes with early castling.
6...e6? (a strategic suicide! d6 is better because it somehow prevents e5 by white).
7.e5 Our plan has succeeded, the bishop is restrained. Now we can consolidate the position and attack on the queenside! The Black kingside knight and bishop are out of the action and the Black king remains in the center. Black's center pawns block his pieces.
7...d5 8.Nf3 a5?! (a dubious move; black is ignoring his development by trying to get space on the queenside. Much better was 8...Ne7 preparing short castle.)
9. Na4! (This is the most direct way to punish black for his immature play. Nimzowitch says: "First restrain, then blockade, finally destroy." Black has totally lost the strategic battle, so it is time to bust him up. )
9... Qe7 10.c4 Ba6 11.b3 h6



It is very interesting that only after making 11 moves, black is now in huge trouble! White to move, can you find the best move here?

Note that black's c5 pawn is very weak. It is defended only by his queen and cannot be defended once again right away. It is also attacked by my knight on a4; so if I can add another attacker to it, I will win it. You found the right move?
Yes, 12.Ba3 with a winning position. My opponent resigned after a few moves.

3. A strong pawn center can provide a winning plan.
Here is such a plan developed on move #16:



(This is from Sakaev vs. Belov, Krasnoyarsk 2003.)

16.f5!! Brilliant; White gives the knight in order to consolidate his center pawns!
16...exd4, 17.cxd4 Now, the center is imposing!
17. ... Rfe8, 18. f6 Bf8, Qc1!



Now, white plans: Bh6, Bxf8, Qh6, Qg7#.


4. Restricting an opponent is a good plan. Here is a position seen in a match of Carlsen vs. Malakhov, 2005:



Here it is Black to move. The position appears peaceful, but black must achieve the c6-c5 advance in order to prevent a bind on the queenside.

10...Nbd7, This appears to be a reasonable move, but the c-pawn requires Black's attention. Even a sacrifice by c5 immediately is only a temporary sacrifice and frees up Blacks' position.
11.e4 Nb6 12.Bf4 Be6 13.Qc2 Bc4 14.Rfd1 Rc8 15.Rac1 Bxe2 16.Qxe2



White's options include:
1. Pressure along the c-file, attack the backward c-pawn with doubled rooks and
Ne5, Exploit the hole on c5 by putting a knight on it. Notice that we cannot do both of the latter two. We must choose.
2. Pawn advance in the center: e4-e5 would drive the knight from f6, strengthening a white king-side attack, clear the way for Ne4 and Nc5 to exploit c5, lessen the scope of the bishop on g7.
3. Direct attack on the kingside: advance h4-h5 to open the h file and undermine g6, challenge the defensive bishop with Bh6, maneuver the queen to h4 and play Ng5.

Carlsen decides that the way to set Black most problems is with e4-e5, Ne4 and Nc5; seizing c5 and a kingside attack.

16...Qd7, 17.h3 Qb7, 18. Bg5 Rfe8, 19. e5! Nfd5, 20 Ne4 Nd7, 21. Qd2! Qb8, 22. Bh6 Bh8, 23. h4!



Very mature play by the young grandmaster, and the plan is well on the way to fruition.

5. Exploiting a positional weakness: This is the highest level of planning, what to do when the position offers you no obvious path forward; such as attacking the king, turning a pawn majority into a passed pawn, or picking up a weak pawn. Exploiting intangible positional weaknesses is an indicator of a strong player. In master play, you rarely see obvious blunders; instead, the one who better exploit tiny little weaknesses in opponent's position will prevail.

Here we will look at exploiting a hole; this is a match of Cheparinov vs. Ivanchuk 2005:
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 (The Benko Gambit; interesting but risky opening) 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 (Declining the gambit is a sound strategy against black's opening preparation!) d6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.a4 a5 8.e4 g6 9.Nf3 Bg7 10.Be2 0-0 11.0-0 Qxb6



White sees a weak square on b5. His plan is, therefore, to place a knight there and support it. This will deprive Black of counterplay against b2 and also keep him from attacking the center with e7-e6. This will secure my queenside and keep my space advantage in the center, so I can start a kingside attack based on f2-f4 without being disturbed.

Let's see how it works out:
12.Nd2! Ba6 13.Nb5 Rfb8 14.Qc2 Qd8 15.Nc4! Nb6 16.Nca3! (All aiming for b5-square) Ne8 17.Rb1 Nc7 18.b3 Bxb5 19.Nxb5



White is not winning yet, but his strategy is dominating.
You can find these games that I reference here on chessbase.

Finally I would like to give you some clues on how to plan the game in “The four knights game”.

Start with reaching the following position: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Bd6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 c5 10.Nd5 g5 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6 12.Bg3



Black to play: you can select your plan from each one of these three options. It depends on how you would like to continue your game.

Plan A: Take advantage of the Bishop Pair.

I think the most significant strategic element in this position is possession of the Bishop pair against Bishop & Knight. To get the most from this advantage I must try to open up the game and free my Bishop on d6 which is currently trapped by Pawns. I would also like to get rid of my doubled Pawns on the c-file.
I therefore decide to play 12...Be6 with the intention of continuing ...Rad8 preparing the advance ...c4.
The idea is to give the position a more dynamic character (opening of the d-file and the a3-f8 diagonal) so as to take full advantage of the Bishop pair. If, to thwart this plan, White decides to play c4, this would seriously weaken his d-Pawn and give me an excellent objective.

Plan B: Attack on the Kingside.

In contrast to Plan A, I think I have to keep the center closed as this element allows me to organize an attack on the Kingside using the Pawns of my castled position which are in any case well on the way up the board.
However, White’s King is solidly protected and there are no breakthrough points. So I decide to play ...Bg4 with the intention of profiting from the pin on the Knight on f3 so as to organize the opening of the f-file, e.g. by ...Qg7 and ...f5.
To prevent this plan, White will probably answer with 13.h3 on which I intend to continue 13...Be6 having achieved the goal of weakening my opponent’s King’s position to create a breakthrough point (h3). My idea then is to prepare the thrust ...g4 by ...Kh7 and ...Rg8.

Plan C: Trap the Bishop on g3.

The unhappy position of the Bishop on g3, which is stymied by my Pawns, suggests that I can engineer a simplification favorable to me. As in Plan B, I play 12...Bg4 but after the likely ...13.h3 I intend to continue 13...Bxf3 and if White retakes with the Queen I will also exchange Queens. In the ending arising out of this simplification, the Bishop on g3 will be completely immobile because on h4 I can maintain the Pawn vice by ...f6. Thus for the rest of the game I would virtually have an extra piece. To free his Bishop, White would have to give up a Pawn and waste precious time.

So, in conclusion:
I choose my openings partly because of the type of endgames they produce. Sicilian setups, for instance, are typical for attacking players because they offer chances at directly attacking the opponent's King.
But usually something alters my original plans. Then I often picture myself a realistic setup of where I want to be in 15 or 20 moves. I look at what I need to do to get there and start executing the “plan.” My choice is often based on weaknesses in the opponent's position. Is his Kingside a fortress? Then I focus for example on queening a Pawn, if not, the other way around.
If I don’t see a clear path, I focus on where my own strengths lie in the position and then try to reinforce that strength. I do (try) keep it simple and realistic... where things become too complicated I try to simplify.
Another important issue is checking statistics on an opening and/or position. The perfect website to do this is http://www.chesslive.de/
You can enter the position and see for yourself what kind of results it produced.

Alfred J. Wood and Alex Dion
Play free online chess at ChessManiac.com

In Online Chess You Must Plan Your Play And Play your Plan!

The primary factor that holds players below 2000 elo is, in my opinion, planning. I know that this will be disputed by many players, but it is my firm opinion.

Players do not plan to fail, they simply fail to plan.

Let’s start with how a player approaches planning. When he first learns chess he plans at that level. As he progresses he plans at increasingly higher levels. Finally, he is drained of ideas. Here is how it may go:

1. I plan to attack and checkmate quickly.
2. I plan to develop, to get my pieces into play quickly.
3. I plan to occupy/control the center.
4. I plan to play my favorite opening for the first few moves, and then take advantage of whatever appears.
5. I plan to get to an endgame where I have more material.

These are all important and often effective plans, but they are temporary in nature, they soon dissipate as the game moves ahead. Sometimes we have a bad plan, mere wishful thinking:
"I plan to watch my moves and wait for my opponent to make a mistake." - Your opponent may have the same plan!
"I plan to get ahead and trade down.” You may not get ahead.

As we face stronger opponents, we can end up in a middle game wondering what to do next. One of the most important reasons for limiting a repertoire is to know the opening well enough so that the actions in the middle game become obvious. Players that depend on data bases and opening books, (and we all should use these tools without dependence), run out of steam when the line runs out in the book!
I hit this group of players between 1600-1900 elo. We would enter the middle game on even footing, and then they simply did not know what to do.
They did not blunder, they wandered. They had no goal. They sought tactical opportunities that did not appear. At first, I watched their games collapse in amazement. How could they play so well for fifteen moves and then collapse? They were following Anand, he changed trains at the last location. They zigged when he zagged. They were not thinking like Anand, they were imitating him until he left the scene.

If you are an expert at your opening, this does not happen to you. You always know what to do next. You may not get the opportunity to do it, but you know what it is you must do.

You must have a plan at all times. You can seldom plan everything for the entire game, so your opening, which is a plan, takes you to some point. At that point you are in the middle game, whether you like it or not. If your opponent is still in the opening, he still has his plan. You must have yours.

Your plan should evolve from the position on the board. There are three elements which must be considered: Power, Time, and Space.

Power:
1. Is the material even? Do I have a material advantage? The player with a material advantage can plan to trade off and enter the endgame with that advantage.
2. Is the material unbalanced? Knight vs. Bishop, Rook vs. two minor pieces, Queen versus two rooks or rook and minor piece. If an imbalance exists, how can I limit the force of his piece(s) and maximize the force of my piece(s)? Perhaps the most important piece imbalance on the board is Knight vs. Bishop.
3. Is my pawn structure more powerful, or is his? Can a pawn be Queened? Can I strengthen my structure? Can I weaken his structure? Can I take advantage of holes and outposts? Can I keep one of his pawns backward? Is there an isolated pawn? A passed pawn? Doubled pawns?

Time:
1. Who has the initiative? If I have it, how can I maintain it (or lose) it? If he has it, how can I seize it? The initiative is temporary; use it while you have it.
2. Who is better developed? (Simply looking at the back rank often answers this question.) If I have a lead in development, how can I capitalize? A lead in development is temporary, and unless acted on early this advantage disappears.

Space:
1. Who controls the most space? What is the force of each piece and the potential force of each piece in this position? Are my knights and bishops properly placed, are any of his misplaced? Are my rooks on the right files? Are his? (The placement of the rooks is most often determined by the opening, but there is always an obvious placement). Do I have a good bishop? Does he? Do I have a bad bishop? Does he?
2. Are there open lines, or lines to be opened? Most important are files, since files are opened when only one pawn is misplaced; but ranks and diagonals can be closed by other pawns. In other words, files are the key lines requiring planning.
3. Are there pivot points, outposts, ‘homes’ available or that can be made available to either side?


If these things are simply observed, a plan emerges. Look at these features when your opening is done. The longer your opening lasts, the simpler the board becomes and the features easier to observe and to apply.

Take pencil and paper and write down your observations in these areas the next time you run into the middle game. Look at all of your current games and write your observations in each of these areas. Train yourself to see these three things in these eight aspects.

Your observations will determine the plan. You may plan to improve your pawn structure, to prepare a passed pawn, to connect pawns, to disconnect opposing pawns, to clear lines, to close lines, to trade down, etc. Your plan will emerge from your observations.

Take these components, and simply look for a way (plan) to put these things to work, simultaneously or sequentially. Along the way, the position will change. Consider each change as your plan evolves.

CAVEAT: When developing a plan, never think of moves! Think of the position! See the board! If you think of a move, you have already abandoned thinking of a plan. Observe. Do not calculate! There are two common flaws in planning. The first flaw is performing critical analysis before gathering full information. The second is in performing creative analysis too early. The first step is always to see things as they truly are, in all aspects, taking nothing for granted.


When a position appears I can always tell the weak players: They begin looking for the next move!! You cannot possibly know the best next move unless you know the position thoroughly. See the Board, not the pieces! This is not a time for calculation, reasoning, or logic. It is a time of research, observation. Become Sherlock Holmes! See things your opponent does not see; or seeing, does not consider.

The moves will only come when you have your plan. Your plan determines the moves and the move order. Each move is nothing more nor less than a positional change. You simply want to change the position to your advantage.

Along the way, you need to discard certain practices. When you calculate moves, you may not play as if the opposing player will always play the best moves. You may play wishful chess rather than winning chess. True, at a low level your opponent will not play the best moves; but you should plan on moving to a higher level quickly and you should always play as if your opponent will play the best move. Play according to the position, as if you were playing against yourself, at every level; and soon you will be playing as if you were playing against an expert, or a Master.

You must look at your opponent’s position and determine what his plan may be. If you know his plan, you know how much time you have to execute yours! Your plan may have many components, but you can probably only achieve a few. Go after those that are perishable, the opportunities that will not last. Consider your opponents likely play to deprive you of these opportunities. The chess game has two sides, see both.

If you want to be a Player and you want to be as good as you can be, if you want to reach your true potential, it will take CHANGE. Change in the way you see things. Change is always the most difficult activity. You must re-train yourself to see differently.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten – Coonradt

Remember: There is no ‘universal plan’ that can be applied to all positions. Each position demands its own plan.

There are some openings that are played to gain an initial spatial advantage. The Morra Gambit is one of these openings. But there are many closed games played that often entail a long struggle for space. Among these is the French Defense. This is from a game where GM Bareev, playing Black, plays his favorite French Defense.

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Nc3 dxe4
4. Nxe4 Nd7
5. Nf3 Ngf6
6. Bd3



(the following note is by Niel McDonald):
"Imagine if the two players now ignore what their opponent is doing, and satisfy themselves with the quiet development of their pieces on their own half of the board.
"If white is left in peace he can build up his game with moves like 0-0, Bf4, c2-c4, Qd2, Rad1, Rfe1. His pieces would have effortlessly found squares of maximum efficiency. They would be ready to take part in any maneuver that White chose in the middlegame.
Meanwhile, Black could also develop with Be7, 0-0, b6, and Bb7; but his pieces would have less activity -indeed, what does he do with his rooks?"

In other words, at this point, Black should see that White will have a great spatial advantage after 'routine' development. White already has a spatial advantage in that his d4 pawn is further up the board than Blacks e6 pawn. White can bring his rook to d1 where it is both mobile and exerting force, while Black's rook on e8 would be shut in behind his own pawn.

Thus, Black sees that simply continuing his development will lead to a strong spatial disadvantage. (An advantage in space means more potential scope for the pieces).

Seeing this, Black doesn't want White to achieve a strategic advantage, and so he plays:

6...c5!

White cannot continue his buildup behind and around the d4 pawn, because the pawn will now disappear, pieces will be exchanged, and Black's congestion will be lessened.

We can now follow the game understanding Black's Plan: Break up the center, exchange pieces, gain more space!

7. 0-0 Nxe4
8. Bxe4 Nf6
9. Bg5 cxd4
10. Nxd4



This, then, is what we expect should happen from this plan in this position:

The Black bishop will go to e7, White may play his bishop to f3, then Black will castle 0-0, and will have completed kingside development. The board will be open and Black's plan has gained space. Black may not win, but his opportunity is greater now than when his space was becoming severely limited.

The problem with following an opening without knowing the plan, as we do by following a data base, is that when we are left (in this case on Move 10), we simply look for a 'good' move; instead of asking: "Why did he do that, what was his plan?".

If we know the plan, the play is easier and more accurate in every case.
When we develop the plan, we know it!! Our opponent may not figure it out! In this case, Bareev's plan was simple; it begins with need for space and entails the means to acquire that space: breakup the center and exchange pieces. Nothing complex or complicated. A plan is simply thinking ahead.


Here is a position I reached in one of my games on ChessManiac.com. My opponent was a very strong chess player, a master candidate.

I was playing with white pieces. The game started in the Sicilian defense and after “1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. Bd3 b5 8. O-O Bb7 9. f4 Nbd7 10. a4 b4 11. Na2 Nc5” we reached this position:



White to move. The position looks quite complicated. Take your time in observing everything on the board; you may see many possibilities, but how could you produce an aggregate plan for the rest of the game?

The first step is to observe the position: We are still in the opening. Black may know several more book moves in this variation. White is almost fully developed, black has delayed his development; and white currently has the initiative. Black’s b4 pawn is en prise. e4-pawn is attacked 3 times and defended only once, pushing it forward will open a magnificent diagonal for the black b7 bishop. The c-file is half open. White has a queenside pawn majority. White’s d3 bishop is attacked, but it is unlikely to be immediately captured because the exchange would fortify the white center and block the line of the b2 bishop.

The second step is to find the opponent’s probable plan: At this moment, it appears that Black is focused on e4. However, we must believe that he is looking further ahead. He will probably attack on the kingside, expecting White to attack on the queenside with his pawn majority. He must develop his f8 bishop, and would like it to strike the white kingside. He may delay castling, in order to strike before white can strike. He will capture the e4 pawn with a knight and once the pawn falls will look to gain the two bishops by exchanging a knight for the bishop. Once mobilized, he will attack the kingside.

The third step is to make our plan: White must attack on the queenside, preferably before Black is totally mobilized. First, White has a current perishable tactical opportunity; black’s b4 pawn is temporarily vulnerable on this move and capturing it will get the knight off of the edge of the board and will also attack a6, holding the a8 rook from seizing the c-file. This will not cost a tempo and the initiative is retained, White will thus increase his queenside majority, and improve the position of the knight. The queenside majority will deter black from trading pieces because the pawn endgame will favor white. If white neutralizes the b7 bishop the most dangerous piece will be taken from Black’s attack. Our plan is: First capture Nxb4, gaining the pawn majority; attack on the queenside, as quickly as possible; and then, neutralize the b7 bishop, if necessary. As a contingency, the d4 knight can return to f3 to thwart the bishop by blocking.

Now we can enact our plan: (White move notes will be in brackets). Meanwhile, I know that if my opponent plays something I did not expect, I must pause and adjust the plan as necessary. As we look at the following moves, keep in mind that White will always play to attack on the queenside.

12. Nxb4 Nfxe4 (Increasing the white queenside majority). Black’s move is the obvious retort by Black, who holds his c-knight to exchange for the bishop, and clears the bishop path to the kingside, while taking back the pawn. Material is then still even.
13. Be2… (White wants to retain the bishop; if he allows the exchange he will have an isolated pawn. Perhaps, because it is forced, black will not see that this could be the beginning of a possible transfer to f3, to neutralize b2.)
13… g6. The bishop must be brought into play, and is more useful on g7 than on e7, so another tempo must be yielded by black. The bishop will strike through d4 to b7 and a8. Of course, this move weakens the dark squares on the black kingside, but the bishop is expected to cover these squares.
14. a5 (Restraining the a pawn.) 14…Bg7 The bishop comes to its prepared position, as anticipated. It is a powerful post. But, it costs two tempi.



15. c4 0-0 (It’s time to get the queenside rolling. This opens the diagonal for the queen to a4, this pawn move gives up b3 and d3, but the queen, bishop and knights hold these squares.) Black brings his king to the safety.
16. Nd3 (A multi-purpose move, what a tempo saver! The knight repositions: he attacks the black knight on c5, which is keeping the queen from a4. It frees b4 for the b-pawn and will protect the white pawn when it arrives there unless it is exchanged!)
16… Qe7 Black develops his queen and connects his rooks. Although this move develops the queen, he has not completed his development yet, and the rooks also cannot yet safely move. White maintains the initiative.
17. Rc1 Rfe8 (Black threatens e5. This tactical threat is all that black seems to have, but it activates the rook and gives white pause.) Black is threatening e5.
18. b4 The pawn avalanche begins.



The planned queenside attack continues. Where is the black knight to go? Moving the knight gives white another attacking tempo. If the knight exchanges for the white knight on d3, recapture by the white’s queen drives the second knight away to its only escape, blocking the fianchettoed bishop, or forcing him playing e5 and again the fianchettoed bishop is blocked.

Although black needed not have played these moves, White’s plan to attack on the queenside is very much likely to succeed. Although the plan will succeed, it does not mean that white will win. It simply means that every move by white supported his plan.

Alfred J. Wood
Player free online chess at ChessManiac.com

Media continues to discuss Bobby Fischer

Almost a month after the passing of Robert(Bobby) Fischer the main stream media continues to discuss this controversial figure. A recent article on the New York Times website has a great video of Fischer's appearance on the Tonight Show hosted by Dick Cavett in 1971. The article is appropriately titled "Was It Only a Game?" Dick Cavett discusses the Bobby he knew. A well written and wonderful article that everyone should read.

A Filipina woman who claims Bobby Fischer is the father of her child is demanding a share of his $1.8 million estate. Read more..

In 2005 when ChessManiac.com was a very young site I sent an email message to Bobby Fischer inviting him to play chess. Then I would check my logs to see if anyone from Iceland had visited the site. Sure enough there were a few visitors from Iceland shortly after I sent out the email. I feel honored that Bobby Fischer may have played or at least checked out the site at one point in time.

Here's to you, Bobby...

Dennis Steele

Bobby Fischer Dead at 64

Bobby Fischer, considered the greatest chess player in the world, dies at the age of 64. Fischer led a very inspiring life. He was the the only United States world champion. In 1972 he beat Boris Spassky to take the world title away from the Soviet Union. It was described as "The Match of the Century."

Bobby Fischer. This enigmatic genius elevated the game to hitherto unimaginable heights, reaching the front pages of the world's newspapers and more than doubling the number of registered players in the Western World. Fischer's popularization of the game he loved had a pronounced effect on chess literature. Since December 1970his successful journey on the road to the World Championship title, more chess magazines were born, more newspapers published chess columns, and many more chess books appeared on the market than ever before over the same time span. It surprises me that only a small handful of these books have been about Fischer.

We must thank Bobby Fischer for being Bobby Fischer. The beauty of his games, the clarity of his play, and the brilliance of his ideas have made him an artist of the same stature as Brahms, Rembrandt, and Shakespeare.

There can be no doubt that Bobby Fischer was the most superlative chess player that ever lived. His results up to the time that he defeated Spassky in Reykjavik indicate that his playing strength had already surpassed zeniths reached by Alekhine, Botvinnik, Capablanca and Lasker who had all occupied the World Champion's throne before him. Fischer was a more controversial figure than Alekhine or Staunton. He was more dedicated to the game than were Capablanca and Steinitz. He was the most prolifically biographed player in the history of chess.

From his results we can safely conclude that Robert James Fischer was the strongest chess player the world had ever known. From the diversity of openings that he played with a profound understanding, it is clear that in that area of the game his knowledge has never before been equaled. The precision with which he played the endgame is almost frightening. Even strong Grandmasters cannot treat a "book draw" too lightly. His impeccable and often original handling of all types of middle game positions leaves nothing lacking.

The chess world mourns Bobby Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008)


Read more about Fischer.

Chess Psychology

There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology. Alfred Binet and others showed that knowledge and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies at the core of expertise. Adriaan de Groot, in his doctoral thesis, showed that chess masters can rapidly perceive the key features of a position. According to de Groot, this perception, made possible by years of practice and study, is more important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot also showed that chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly. Memorization ability alone does not account for this skill, since masters and novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent recall (about half a dozen positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall.

More recent research has focused on the respective roles of knowledge and look-ahead search; brain imaging studies of chess masters and novices; blindfold chess; the role of personality and intelligence in chess skill, gender differences, and computational models of chess expertise. In addition, the role of practice and talent in the development of chess and other domains of expertise has led to a lot of research recently. Ericsson and colleagues have argued that deliberate practice is sufficient for reaching high levels of expertise, like master in chess. However, more recent research indicates that factors other than practice are important. For example, Gobet and colleagues have shown that stronger players start playing chess earlier, that they are more likely to be left-handed, and that they are more likely to be born in late winter and early spring.
source

Ron Paul Plays Chess With The Neocons

Ron Paul a political underdog has been gaining support across the country. Paul's political chess opening is compared to that of the "Giuoco Piano" which is Italian for "quiet game" or the Giuoco Pianissimo which is Italian for "quietest game"

Paul favors a slow strategical grass roots battle by gradually building up tactical opportunities which explodes later into the political middle game and finally winning the endgame.

Paul aims for a slow buildup deferring his major thrust until it can be prepared. By avoiding an immediate confrontation in the center Paul prevents the early release of tension with a solid consistent message of liberty and freedom. Entering a political positional maneuvering middle game which could propel him to the Republican nomination and finally President of the United States.

According to James Buchanan, "if this were a chess game, the Neoncons have just put our king in check."

The Neocons are against Ron Paul's foreign policy of non intervention. Neocons favor empire and nation building rather than freedom and acceptance.

"Neocons believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire. Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the US can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive military action." The Christan Science Monitor.

Beating the Neocons at their chess game will be a hard battle for the Ron Paul campaign. However, at this time his internet popularity is growing exponentially. He has raised almost 20 million dollars in the 4th quarter which gives him the needed funds to wage the battle to the endgame. He has received more donations from active duty military than any other candidate running including democrats. His meet ups across the country out number other candidates(see meet up maps). This is not just a campaign it is a movement that has traction. Ron Paul states that he is a champion of the constitution.

Online Chess News: Garry Kasparov Arrested

Garry Kasparov, the Russian chess champion turned opposition leader, was detained by police and charged with public order offenses after an anti-government rally in Moscow today, a week before parliamentary elections.

Kasparov and some of his supporters tried to march through central Moscow to hand in a petition at the central election commission following an hour-long demonstration by his loose opposition coalition, The Other Russia. A brawl ensued between demonstrators and police, and Kasparov and his bodyguards were bundled into a bus by OMON special police and driven a short distance. It's the second time he's been arrested this year.

Kasparov was then taken to Moscow's Meshchansky court and charged with two breaches of public order, Lyudmila Mamina, spokeswoman for The Other Russia, said in an e-mailed statement. He was ordered to be detained for five days, a later statement from Mamina said.

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Online Chess Opening Stonewall Attack

The Stonewall Attack is a chess opening; more specifically it is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game. It is characterized by White playing 1.d4, 2.e3, 3.f4 and 4.c3, usually playing 5.Bd3 as well, even though the moves are not always played in that order (see transposition). The Stonewall is a system White sets up, rather than a specific variation. If White puts up the Stonewall formation it is called a Stonewall regardless of how Black chooses to defend against it. When Black sets up a Stonewall formation, with pawns on c6, d5, e6 and f5, it is a variation of the Dutch Defense.

General remarks
As the name implies, the Stonewall setup is a solid formation which is hard to overrun by force. If Black fails to react energetically to the Stonewall setup, White may launch a lethal attack on the Black king, typically by bringing a rook to h3, advancing the g-pawn, and making a well timed bishop sacrifice at h7. Often this attack is so powerful that White does not need to develop the knight and bishop on b1 and c1. Traditionally, chess computers have been vulnerable to the Stonewall because the positions are usually without clear tactical lines. White simply prepares for an assault by bringing pieces to aggressive posts, without making immediate tactical threats. By the time the computer realizes that its king is under attack it is often too late.

The downsides to the Stonewall are the hole on e4, and the fact that the dark squared bishop on c1 is completely blocked by its own pawns. If Black defends correctly against White's attack, these strategic deficiencies can become quite serious. Because of this, the Stonewall Attack is almost never seen in master-level chess anymore, although it is seen occasionally among club players. However, Black playing the Stonewall Variation of the Dutch Defense is seen occasionally at master level.

Black has several ways to meet the Stonewall. One choice which must be made is whether to fianchetto one or both bishops. Another is how to play the pawns in the centre. Black often meets the Stonewall with a ...b6 and ...Ba6 aiming to trade off the dangerous White bishop on d3.

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Since the Stonewall system is used against a variety of Black defenses, the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings has trouble classifying it. Among the codes used are D00 (when Black has played ...d5), A45, and A03, the code for Bird's Opening.


Sample game
Final position, after 16. g6.
This sample game illustrates what can happen if Black defends poorly.

1. d4 d5 2. f4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. g4 Qc7 11. g5 Nd7 12. Bxh7+ Kxh7 13. Qh5+ Kg8 14. Rf3 f6 15. Rh3 fxe5 16. g6, 1-0

Ruy Lopez Chess Opening

The Ruy Lopez, called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game outside of English speaking countries, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bb5
The Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular openings. It has such a vast number of variations that in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings all codes from C60 to C99 are assigned to them.

History
The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. He made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del Ajedrez written in 1561. However, although it is named after him, this particular opening was known earlier; it is included in the Göttingen manuscript, which dates from around 1490. Popular use of the Ruy Lopez opening did not develop, however, until the mid-1800s when Carl Jaenisch, a Russian theoretician, "rediscovered" its potential. The opening is still in active use as the double king's pawn opening most commonly used in master play; it has been adopted by almost all players at some point in their careers and many play it from both the white and black sides.

Basics
At the most basic level, White's third move attacks the knight which defends the e5 pawn from the attack by the f3 knight. It should be noted that White's apparent threat to win Black's e-pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 is illusory — Black can respond with 5...Qd4, forking the knight and e4-pawn, or 5...Qg5, forking the knight and g2-pawn, both of which win back the material with a good position. 3.Bb5 is still a good move, however: it develops a piece, prepares castling, and sets up a potential pin against Black's king. However, since White's third move carries no immediate threat, Black can respond in a wide variety of ways.

Source

Portrait of a Genius As a Young Chess Master

As exasperating as he is talented and as determined as he is eccentric, Bobby Fischer promises to become the game's most respected and least understood champion.

RUSSIA'S traditional hold on World Championships in chess is about to be challenged by the United States in the person of an eighteen-year-old boy from Brooklyn named Bobby Fischer. Bobby has been United States Chess Champion for four years. He won the title at the age of fourteen, the youngest player ever to do so. He has since successfully defended his title three times and has won virtually every major chess title in the country.

In an international tournament at Bled, Yugoslavia, last summer, he astonished the chess world by defeating Russia's Mikhail Tal in his only game against this former World Champion. The present World Champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, did not participate in the tournament. Fischer is aching to play Botvinnik. "I know that I deserve to be World Champion and I know I can beat Botvinnik," he has said. "There's no one alive I can't beat."

Fischer may have his chance early in 1963 when the triennial chess World Championship will be played. He will first have to win two preliminary international tournaments, the Inter-Zonal and the Candidates, in 1962. Many of America's leading chess authorities agree with Lisa Lane, the twenty-four-year-old Women's Chess Champion of the United States. "I'm sure that Bobby can beat Botvinnik," she has said. "There's never before been a chess player with such a thorough knowledge of the intricacies of the game and such an absolutely indomitable will to win. I think Bobby is the greatest player that ever lived."

John W. Collins columnist for Chess Life and Chess Review and one of the country's most highly respected chess annotators, has written: "Bobby is the finest chess player this Country ever produced. His memory for the moves, his brilliance in dreaming up combinations, and his fierce determination to win are uncanny. Not only will I predict his triumph over Botvinnik but I'll go further and say that he'll probably be the greatest chess player that ever lived."

Frank Brady, business manager of the United States Chess Federation, the governing body of American chess, has said: "Russians have held chess World Championships in all but three of the past thirty-four years. Bobby is the man who will break that chain. Definitely. Maybe not in 1963, maybe not even in 1966, but eventually, for sure."

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Jose Raul Capablanca Online Chess Tribute

Referred to by many chess historians as the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of chess, Capablanca was a chess prodigy whose brilliance was noted at an early age. Richard Reti said about him 'Chess was his mother tongue'.

According to Capablanca, he learned the rules of the game at the age of four by watching his father play. He said he noticed his father make an illegal move with his knight, accused him of cheating, and then demonstrated what he had done.
Capablanca was taken to the Havana Chess Club when he was five, where the leading players found it impossible to beat the young boy when giving him the Chess handicap of a queen. In 1901, just turned 13, he defeated Cuban national champion Juan Corzo by the score of 4 wins, 3 losses, and 6 draws.

He later began a semester as an undergraduate student of chemical engineering at Columbia University in New York City, but did not complete it, and chess became his profession.

In 1909, at the age of 20, Capablanca won a match against US champion Frank Marshall by +8-1=14. This was a comparable margin to Marshall's World Championship loss (+8-0=7) to Emanuel Lasker in 1907. Marshall insisted that Capablanca be allowed to play in a tournament at Donostia|San Sebastian, Spain in 1911. It was one of the strongest tournaments of the time. All of the world's leading players except world champion Emanuel Lasker were in attendance. At the beginning of the tournament Ossip Bernstein and Aaron Nimzowitsch objected to Capablanca's presence because he had not won a major tournament. But after Capablanca won his first round game against Bernstein, capturing the tournament's brilliancy prize, Bernstein quickly acknowledged Capablanca's talent and said that he wouldn't be surprised if Capablanca won the tournament. Nimzowitsch took offense when Capablanca made a comment while watching one of his blitz games, and remarked that unproven players should hold their tongue in the presence of their betters. Capablanca quickly challenged Nimzowitsch to a series of fast games, which he won "with ridiculous ease." The assembled masters soon concluded that Capablanca had no equal at fast chess, a distinction which was to remain his until virtually the end of his life. Capablanca went on to win his tournament game with Nimzowitsch as well, using an opening setup much admired by Mikhail Botvinnik. By tournament's end, Capablanca had astounded the chess world by taking first place at San Sebastián, with a score of +6 -1 =7, ahead of Akiba Rubinstein, Carl Schlechter and Siegbert Tarrasch. The one game he lost was against Rubinstein, one of the most brilliant chess creations of the latter's career.

In 1911, Capablanca challenged Emanuel Lasker for the world championship. Lasker accepted his challenge but proposed seventeen conditions for the match. Capablanca disapproved of some of the conditions and the match did not take place.

In 1913, Capablanca played in his home town of Havana where he came in second to Frank Marshall. He lost one of their individual games after having a much better position. Reuben Fine claimed that Capablanca had the mayor clear all the spectators so they wouldn't see him resign, and this story has uncritically circulated in books and around the Internet. However, Winter's book below (pp. 47-48) documents that Fine's story has no basis whatever. Instead, there were 600 spectators present, who naturally favored their native hero, but sportingly gave Marshall "thunderous applause". Marshall's own notes corroborated this-when he heard the roar, he thought that the crowd was going to kill him, and he asked for security escort "and quickly rushed over to my hotel. Afterwards I was told they were cheering for me."

Then Capablanca scored +13 -0 =0 in a tournament in New York, although Oldrich Duras was the only International Grandmaster class opponent. This was World records in chess#Perfect tournament score|one of only a handful of perfect scores ever in high-level chess tournaments.

In September 1913, Capablanca secured a job in the Cuban Foreign Office. He appears not to have had any specific duties other than playing chess, but what he had he was reported to have carried out conscientiously. For many years, he was the most famous Cuban alive.

In October 1913 to March 1914 Capablanca traveled to Europe on his way to the Consulate at St Petersburg to play matches or exhibition games against their leading masters. In serious games, he scored 19 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss during that period. First, he defeated Jacques Mieses and Richard Teichmann in Berlin, next beat Aron Nimzowitsch in an elegant opposite-colored bishop endgame in Riga. Then in Sankt Petersburg, he played a six-game series, two games against Alexander Alekhine, Eugene Znosko-Borovsky and Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky, losing once to Znosko-Borovsky and winning the rest-his first encounters with Alekhine, who was outclassed;
Game 1
Game 2
In 1914, he beat Bernstein in Moscow in a game listed in many anthologies as a brilliancy for winning move ...Qb2!! and for the new strategy with hanging pawns. In Kiev, he won among others against Fedor Bogatyrchuk. Then in Vienna he defeated both Richard Reti and Savielly Tartakower 1.5-0.5 each. Capablanca also gave many simultaneous exhibitions noted for their speed and very high winning scores.

In short, Capablanca was unrivaled as a fast chess player, even by the very best players of his own time (and perhaps of later times as well). Alekhine described with awe the feat of Capablanca playing simultaneous fast games between rounds of a tournament, giving five minutes to each opponent but taking only one for himself, and winning.

At the great 1914 tournament in St. Petersburg, with most of the world's leading players (except those of the Austro-Hungarian empire), Capablanca met the great Emanuel Lasker across the chessboard for the first time in normal tournament play (Capablanca had won a knock-out lightning chess final game in 1906, leading to a famous joint endgame composition). Capablanca took the large lead of one and a half points in the preliminary rounds, and made Lasker fight hard to draw.
Game 1
Game 2
He again won the first brilliancy prize against Bernstein and had some highly regarded wins against David Janowsky[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1064762], Nimzowitsch and Alekhine.

However, Capablanca fell victim to a comeback by Lasker in the second stage of the tournament, including a famous victory by Lasker. Capablanca finished second to Emanuel Lasker with a score of 13 points to Lasker's 13.5, but far ahead of third-placed Alexander Alekhine. After this tournament, Tsar Nicholas II proclaimed the five prize-winners (Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch, Marshall) as "International Grandmaster".

In 1919, Capablanca overwhelmed the strong Serbs Borislav Kostic with five straight wins, whereupon Kostic resigned the match. Capablanca later wrote in 1927 that he had played the best chess of his life in this match.

In 1920, Lasker saw that Capablanca was becoming too strong, and resigned the title to him, saying, "You have earned the title not by the formality of a challenge, but by your brilliant mastery." Capablanca wanted to win it in a match, but Lasker insisted that he was now the challenger. They played a match in Havana in 1921, and Capablanca defeated Lasker +4 -0 =10. This feat of winning the world title without losing a game to the incumbent went unequalled for almost eight decades, until Vladimir Kramnik's win over Garry Kasparov +2 -0 =13 in 2000.

The new world champion, Capablanca dominated the field at London, 1922. There was an increasing number of strong chess players and it was felt that the world champion should not be able to evade challenges to his title, as had been done in the past. At this tournament, some of the leading players of the time, including Alexander Alekhine, Efim Bogoljubov, Geza Maroczy, Richard Reti, Akiba Rubinstein, Savielly Tartakower and Milan Vidmar, met to discuss rules for the conduct of future world championships. Amongst other things, one of the conditions proposed by Capablanca was that the challenger would have to raise at least ten thousand dollars for the prize money. That same year, he gave a simultaneous exhibition against 103 opponents, the largest in history up to that time, and scored 102 wins and 1 draw, losing none.

In the following years, Akiba Rubinstein and Aaron Nimzowitsch challenged Capablanca, but were unable to raise the stipulated funds. Alexander Alekhine's subsequent challenge, in 1927, was backed by a group of Argentinian businessmen and the president of Argentina who guaranteed the funds.

Capablanca was second behind Lasker at New York 1924, and again ahead of third-placed Alekhine. In this tournament, his loss to Reti was his first in eight years. He was third behind Efim Bogoljubov and Lasker at Moscow 1925.

As World Champion, Capablanca also underwent major changes in his personal life. In December 1921, he married Gloria Simoni Betancourt. They had a son, Jose Raul, in 1923 and a daughter, Gloria, in 1925, but the marriage ended in divorce.

Capablanca had overwhelming success in New York 1927, a quadruple-round robin with six of the world's top players. He was undefeated and 2.5 points ahead of the second-placed Alexander Alekhine. Capablanca also defeated Alekhine in their first game, won the first brilliancy prize against Rudolf Spielmann[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1007840] and won two games against Aron Nimzowitsch.
Game 1, Game 2.

This made him the prohibitive favorite for his match with Alexander Alekhine, who had never defeated him, later that year. However, the challenger had prepared well, and played with patience and solidity, and the marathon match proved to be Capablanca's undoing. Capablanca lost the first game in very lacklustre fashion, then took a narrow lead by winning games 3[http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012490] and 7 - attacking games more in the style of Alekhine - but then lost games 11 and 12. He tried to get Alekhine to annul the match when both players were locked in a series of draws. Alekhine refused, and eventually prevailed +6 -3 =25.

Alekhine refused to play a return match, even though doing so had been a pre-condition of the match. Despite the collapse of the financial markets in 1929, Alekhine continued to insist on the London conditions, with a $10,000 purse to be secured by the challenger. Capablanca found it difficult to satisfy this condition. Instead, Alekhine played two matches against Efim Bogoljubov, a fine player, but one who posed no great threat in a long match. (Capablanca had a 5-0 lifetime record against him). Throughout Alekhine's first tenure as champion (1927-1935), he refused to play in the same tournaments as Capablanca.

Years after he won the title, Alekhine was asked how he had beaten Capablanca. A man of no intellectual modesty, he nevertheless responded, "Even now I cannot explain that."

After Capablanca lost the title, he won a number of strong tournaments, hoping that his showing would force Alekhine to grant him a rematch, but it was not to be. In 1931 Capablanca defeated the fine Dutch player Max Euwe +2 -0 =8. Also in 1931, he took 1st in New York, with Isaac Kashdan coming in 2nd. Then he withdrew from serious chess, and played only less serious games at the Manhattan Chess Club and simultaneous displays. Reuben Fine recalls that in this period he (Fine) could fight on almost level terms with Alekhine at blitz chess, but that Capablanca beat him "mercilessly" the few times they played.

In 1934, Capablanca resumed serious play. He had begun dating Olga Chagodayev, whom he married in 1938, and she inspired him to play again. In 1935, Alekhine, plagued by problems with alcohol, lost his title to Euwe. Capablanca had renewed hopes of regaining his title, and he won Moscow 1936, ahead of Botvinnik and Lasker. Then he tied with Botvinnik in the super-tournament of Nottingham 1936, ahead of Euwe, Lasker, Alekhine, and the leading young players Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky (avenging a defeat here) and Salo Flohr.

This was Capablanca's first game with Alekhine since their great match, and the Cuban did not miss his chance to avenge that defeat. He had the worse position, but caught Alekhine in such a deep trap, allowing him to the exchange, that none of the other players could work out where Alekhine went wrong except Lasker, who immediately saw the mistake. Capablanca recounted this episode in ''Capablanca's Legacy: Capablanca's Last Chess Lectures'', pp. 111–112, expressing his admiration for Lasker's insight even in his sixties. But Capablanca didn't mention that his opponent was Alekhine. Their feud was still intense, so they were never seen seated together at the board for more than a few seconds. Each man made his move and then got up and walked around.

In 1937, Euwe, unlike Alekhine with respect to Capablanca, fulfilled his obligation to allow Alekhine a return match. Alekhine regained the title. Thereafter there was little hope for Capablanca to regain his title, and Alekhine played no more world championship matches until the time of his death in 1946. The absolute control of the title by the title-holder was a major impetus for FIDE to take control of it, and try to ensure that the best challenger has a shot at the title.

Capablanca won Paris 1938 with 8/10. But then his health took a turn for the worse. He suffered a small stroke during the AVRO tournament of 1938, and had the worst result of his career, 7th out of 8. But even at this stage of his career he was capable of producing strong results. In the 1939 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires, he made the best score on top board for Cuba, ahead of Alekhine and Paul Keres. More drama was missed because he refused to play Alekhine in Cuba's match with France.

On 7 March 1942, he was happily kibitzing a skittles game at the Manhattan Chess Club in New York when he collapsed from a stroke. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, New York|Mount Sinai hospital, where he died the next morning. Remarkably, the Cuban's great rival, German-born Emanuel Lasker, had died in that very hospital only a year earlier.

His bitter rival Alekhine wrote on Capablanca's death, "With his death, we have lost a very great chess genius whose like we shall never see again."

source

The Art of Attack on Chessmaniac #1

Trajan vs. Frodo

I'm back people. Did you miss me? I've been on hiatus for too long, but I'm back now, at least for the time being. Have you been spreading the word about the Trajan Variation of the Petroff? You better be. I want to start a (hopefully) monthly column on attacking and tactics using my own games from Chessmaniac. First up was a worthy opponent named "Frodo". Frodo didn't necessarily err in the opening with the Wilkes Barre Variation of the Two Knights Defense, but personally, I have little respect for it either way. The game quickly turned into a slugfest that would have proved that material advantage means nothing when you see mate. Unfortunately Frodo did not see that I had a few options, which quickly turned his "tactical advantage" into a liability, and eventually his downfall. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I enjoyed playing it.


1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Nf6
4. Ng5 Bc5


This starts the Wilkes Barre Variation. You can play it if you are feeling up for a fight, but I would avoid it, more for personal reasons than anything else.
5. Nxf7 Bxf2+
6. Kf1 Qe7
7. Nxh8 d5
8. exd5 Nd4
9. c3


MCO-14 recommends 9. d6 Qxd6 10. Nf7 Qc5 11. d3 e4 I however prefer the text as it opens up my back rank a bit, which I can utilize later, and allows for the trading of queens on my terms, if it comes to that. Not to mention it attacks the knight so it doesn't get a good outpost at d4.
9. ... Bg4
10. Qa4+ Bd7
Nd7 would be better here- 11. Kxf2 Qh4+ 12. g3 Qf6+ 13. Ke1 Qf3 14. Rf1 Qe4+ 15. Kf2 0-0-0 16. cxd4 Rf8+ V. Malada vs. N. Doric-Rijeka IM-2 2001 (White may be far ahead in material, but he’s got a horrible position. Black went on to win.)
11. d6
What was I saying about trading queens?
11. ... cxd6
12. Qb4 Ne4
13. Qxb7 Qf6

Black is hoping for the checkmate here (via Bg3+ Kg1 Qf2#), not realizing that I can easily sidestep his trap. 13. ... Bc6 14. Qxe7+ Kxe7 15. cxd4 Bxd4 16. d3 Nf2 17. Rg1 Ng4 18. Bg5+ Kd7 19. Rh1 Rxh8 would have been better for Frodo.
14. Qxa8+ Ke7
15. cxd4 Bxd4+
16. Ke2 Qf2+
17. Kd1
Time for me to hand back some material, but with both our positions the way they are and where the black queen will most likely end up, I don't mind in the slightest.
17. ... Qxg2
18. Kc2
Remember my 9th move?
18. ... Qxh1
Someone erect a tombstone-here lays the queen. It plays no active part in the rest of the game. It's one thing to grab material, but not if it costs you weaknesses in your position, or overall attack capability.
19. Nf7
Threatening mate (Qd8)
19. ... Bb6
20. Ng5!


When going over this game with ChessMaster in preparation for writing this article, ChessMaster recommends Nc3 here. Don't get me wrong, developing pieces is almost always a good idea, but here I disagree. I have a good attack, which you will see more evidence of, and that knight isn’t needed in it. If this is the case, development isn't always the best way to go.
20. ... Bf5
I think 20. ... Nf2 21. Qxh1 Nxh1 would have been better for black, however, with ideas of Nxh7 followed by developing my other pieces, the position and material advantage would be more than enough for me to sail into an easy win in the endgame. The text allows for a new, more potent attack. Either way, it's not looking good for black at this point.
21. Qb7+ Kf6
22. Nxh7+ Bxh7
23. Qf7+ Kg5
24. Qxg7+ Bg6
Kf4 would be a little better.
25. d4+
Not d3+ with a weak attack at the knight, which blocks the light squared bishop.
25. ... Nd2+
I’ve sat in the discovered check long enough, but my previous move allows me to bring more pressure to bear on black's pinned bishop. This move also hangs the knight. I wondered for a time about 25. ... Qxc1+ (which Chessmaster recommends). I don't like the text, but sacrificing the queen like that might be a bit much. Neither move helps black much at all.
26. Bd3
Not Kxd2, which doesn't bring the bishop to aim at its counterpart and allows Qxh2, which gives me unnecessary trouble.
26. ... e4
Again Chessmaster recommends Qxc1+ and says the text moves into a forced mate (I however didn't see mate for a few more turns), so in this case I suppose sacrificing the queen is the better move.
27. Bxd2+ Kf5
28. Qd7+
Here I start one of my favorite things to do-the king chase. I'll chase the king around in hopes of picking up material, forcing them into mate, or both. As you can see, it worked here.
28. ... Kf6
29. Qxd6+ Kg7
30. Qe5+ Kh7
31. Qe7+
Right here is where I found mate.
31. ... Kh8
32. Qf8+ Kh7
33. Qh6+


Facing 33. ... Kg8 34. Qxg6+ Kf8 35. Bb4+ Bc5 36. Bxc5#, black resigns.

Kramnik - Kasparov London (6th matchgame) 2000

Queen's Gambit Accepted

1. d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 e6 4 .e3 c5 5. Bxc4 a6 6. 0-0 Nf6 7. a4 Nc6 8. Qe2 cxd4 9. Rd1 Be7 10. exd4 0-0 11. Nc3



A very well known position arising from the Queen's Gambit Accepted. White's pieces are again on active "e" square, but black also has positional trumps. Earlier on white played a2-a4 to prevent Black expanding on the queenside with ... b7-b5. This has left black with an outpost on b4, which may be used by the Knight on c6.

11. ... Nd5

Black prevents Whites from playing an early d4-d5 by simply blocking the pawn. This is a theoretical position which has been assessed in various places as either equal or a slight advantage to Whites.
11.... Nb4 also preventing d4-d5 is Black's main alternative here.



12 Bb3


Whites has many other moves, including 12. Qe4 and 12. Bd3 Ncb4 13. Bb1 in the latter variation white's rook on a1 looks entombed, but white can often activate it with the imaginative Ra3.

12.... Re8 13. h4!?



Cutting edge stuff! As you may or may not know :-) h2-h4 is a common way for white to play in an attempt to soften up Black's kingside after ... g7-g6 but playing this early is a Kramnik inspired idea...

13. ... Ncb4


In his notes in Informator Kramnik gives the continuation 13. ... Bxh4 14. Nxh4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Qxh4 16. d5 Na5 17. Bc2, when has good compensation for the pawn.

14. h5

Kramnik continues the charge. The h pawn will be pushed to h6, thus inducing Black to make some sort of permanent weakness in his kingside. This plan is quite double edged, as the pawn itself on h6 can become a weakness, as well as a thorn in Black's side.
14. ... b6 Ne5

Amore recent example is 15.Bd2 Bb7 16.h6 g6
17.Ne4 a5 18.Bc4 f6 19.Rac1 Bc6 20.b3 Qd7 21.Re1 Kh8 22.Nh2 Na2 23.Rcd1 Nab4 24.Ng4 Bd8 25.Bxb4 axb4 26.Qf3 Qf7 27.Nd6 1-0 Stefansson - Izoria European Championship Ohrid 2001
15. .. Bb7 16. a5!



16. ... b5!?

A risky decision as now White has access to the c5 square as an outpost. 16. ... bxa5? 17. B14 Rf8 18. h6 g6 19. Nd7 Re8 20. Qe5 Nf6 21. Nc5 Bc6 22. Nxe6! Is gooid for white, but 16. ...Rc8!? May be Black’s best move.

17. h6 g6 18. Ne4 Nc7?

This unforced retreat is a definite mistake. The natural 18. ... Rc8 is stronger.

19. Nc5?!

19. Bd2 Bd5 ( 19. ... Qxd4 20. Ng5, gives White a powerful attack) 20. Bxd5 Ncxd5 21. Rac1 gives Whites a clear advantage according to Kramnik.

19. ...Nc5 Bd5 20.Ra3 Nc6 21.Bxd5

21. Nxc6!? Bxc6 22. Bc2 keeps an edge according to the Slovakian GM Lubomir Ftacnick.

21. .. Qxd5 22.Ncd7 Rad8!

Kasparov shows defensive ingenuity. 22. ... Qg4 wins the pinned Knight on d4, while 22. ... f6 23. Rad3! Fxe5 24. dxe5 Qc4( or 24. ... Qa2 25. Rc3) 25. Nb6 is very good for white.

23.Nxc6 Rxd7 24.Nxe7+ Rexe7 25.Rc3 f6 26.Be3 Kf7



Black have managed to simplify but White still has control of the c5 square and the c-file, while h6 could yet prove to be either a strength or a weakness.

27.Rdc1 Qb7 28.Rc5 Nd5 29.Qf3 Nb4 30.Qe2 Rc7!?

Perhaps the match situation of being a game down persuades Kasparov to play for a win. Objectively Black should repeat with 30. ... Nd5

31.Bf4 Rxc5 32.dxc5 e5 33.Qd2!

White's passed pawn on c5 gives him the better chances.

Nc6 34.Qd5+ Kf8 35.Be3 Qd7 36.Qf3 Kf7 37.Rd1 e4 38.Qe2 Qf5 39.Rd6 Re6 40.Rd7+ Re7 41.Rd6 Re6 42.Qd1 g5?

42. ... Rxd6 Qxd6 44. Qc7+ Ne7 45. Bd4 Qd5 is equal ( kramnik)

43.Qh5+ Ke7 44.Qd1 Kf7?

44. ... Ke8! 45. Rd7 Re7 46. Rxe7+ Nxe7 47. Qd6. Qd7

45.Rd7+

now kramnik hits upon the right idea

45. ... Kg6 46.Rg7+ Kxh6 47.Qd7 Re5 48.Qf7




Now Black is in virtual zugzwang

48. ... Rd5 49.Kh1 Nd8 50.Rxh7+ Qxh7 51.Qxd5 Kg6+ 52.Kg1 Qc7 53.Qg8+ Kf5 54.Qd5+ Kg6 55.Qxe4+ Kg7 56.Qa8?
in a hurry to win the a6 pawn, Kramnik creates a problem for himself. 56. Qd5! Nc6 57. Bd4 Kg6 58. Bc3 gives white a decisive advantage.

56. ... Qd7




57.Kh2

White still retains some winning chances after 57. f3

57. ... Qd3 58.g3
Or 58. Qxa6 Qh7+ 59. Kg3 Qh4+ 60 Kf3 f5 and suddenly Black has counter play against the White King

58. ... Nf7 59.Qb7 Kg6 60.Qxa6 Ne5 61.Qa8 Ng4+ 62.Kh3 Qf5!

Kasparov counter attack is assuming dangerous position, so much to that Kramnik now decides to bail out by giving perpetual check.

63.Qg8+ Kh6 64.Qh8+ Kg6 65.Qe8+ Kh6 66.Qh8+ 1/2

Analysis by GM Amir Bagheri

How to beat the Fritz chess program

1.e2-e4 c7-c5 2.f2-f4 winkensmile:In all fairness, CHESSBOT Fritz originally wanted to play 2. ...e6 here, but I wanted to explore the Queen Sac line here, known as The Grand Prix Attack, and Fritz forced the move 2. ...d5.

Fritz adds: [3.Bf1-b5+ Bc8-d7 4.Bb5xd7+ Qd8xd7 5.d2-d3 e7-e6 (5...Nb8-c6 6.e4xd5 Qd7xd5 7.Ng1-f3 e7-e6 8.Nb1-c3 Qd5-d7 9.0-0 Ng8-h6 10.Nf3-e5 Nc6xe5 11.f4xe5 Nh6-f5 12.Bc1-f4 Bf8-e7 13.Nc3-e4 0-0 14.Kg1-h1 Qd7-c6 15.Qd1-g4 c5-c4 16.Rf1-f3 c4xd3 17.c2xd3 Qc6-b5 18.Ra1-f1 Ra8-d8 19.Qg4-h3 Rd8-d4 20.Bf4-d2 Salaun,Y (2386)-Karr,J (2376)/France 2003/CBM 094/0-1 (33)) 6.Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 7.0-0 Ng8-e7 8.Nb1-a3 g7-g6 9.Bc1-e3 Bf8-g7 10.Be3xc5 Bg7xb2 11.Ra1-b1 Bb2-g7 12.Na3-b5 0-0 13.e4-e5 b7-b6 14.Bc5xe7 Nc6xe7 15.Qd1-e2 Ne7-c6 16.c2-c3 Rf8-c8 17.h2-h4 Bg7-f8 Larsen,B (2515)-Zhu Chen (2490)/Bad Homburg 1998/CBM 066/1-0 d7-d5 winkensmile:I had just battled CHESSBOT Fritz to a draw in a Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation, and during that opening, I was doing some research into the various lines of the Sicilian, in efforts to find a more interesting line to play against Fritz. Research of Opening Book, and databases are permitted in correspondence chess, and CHESSBOT Fritz was aware that I was researching the opening lines.

We were well into this variation, when I happened to look at the March 2007 issue of Chess Life, and noticed Dana Mackenzie's article where he defeated both Fritz 9 (3161) and Crafty 19.19 (3106), as well as a respectable human, IM David Puress (2461), with this Grand Prix Attack version of the Sicilian, in which he sac's the Queen on move 6!, and asked Fritz if he would be interested in looking into this gambit line with me after we finished this current game, and he graciously agreed. I have neither Fritz 9, nor Crafty 19.19; so I wondered how a grouchy old wood pusher like me, winkensmile (2163), might fare against a powerful silicone monster like CHESSBOT Fritz (2224+) with a gambit line that has me throwing away my Queen on move 6!?

I had first tried this line on the local club TD's laptop (the night before), which had Fritz 9 loaded on it, in a 40/90 tourney setting, but after I went in for the immediate gain of the exchange with 10. Nf7 and 11. Nxh8, I went on to lose; so I did a little more research, and thought I would try another game with a better understanding on how this opening works, with another Fritz engine, and with little more time and research behind me.
3.Ng1-f3 DayWalker:Here why not: 3.exd5 Qxd5 , 4.Nc3 winkensmile:3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 is a playable book line of the Grand Prix Attack, and creates a position similar to the Counter-Center, but Black gets a good game after 4. ...Qd8, 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Ne5 e6 7. Qf3 Be7 8. b3 Nfd7 9. Bb5 O-O, but I wanted to get Fritz into this other variation, and getting a bot out of book early is a good thing, especially where you have done some opening research! ;) d5xe4 4.Nf3-g5 Ng8-f6 5.Bf1-c4 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [5...e6 6.Nc3 a6 7.a4 Nc6 8.Ngxe4 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Be7 10.d3 0-0 11.0-0 b6 12.Bd2 Bb7 13.Qh5 Nd4 14.c3 g6 15.Qg4 h5 16.Qd1 b5 17.Ba2 Nf5 18.Qe2 Qd7 19.Re1 bxa4 20.Rea1 Hector,J (2420)-Yrjola,J (2415)/Gausdal 1987/CBM 004/1-0 Bc8-g4 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [6.Be2 Bxe2 7.Qxe2 Nc6 8.Nxe4 Nd4 9.Nxf6+ gxf6µ] 6.Qd1xg4 Nf6xg4 7.Bc4xf7+ Ke8-d7 8.Bf7-e6+ winkensmile:8. ...Ke8 forces a draw by repitition after 9. Bf7+. Kd7-c6 winkensmile:In Dana Mackenzie's encounter, Fritz 9 played the inferior 8. ...Kc7; Fritz adds: [8...Kc7 9.Bxg4 Qe8 10.Ne6+ Kb6 11.Na3µ] here, so CHESSBOT Fritz played the far stronger 8. ...Kc6; note that a human opponent (IM David Pruess, 2461, also played 8. ...Kc6, but went on to lose after 9. ...e6; also note that 9. ...e5? is encountered with 10. Nf7 Qh4+ 11. g3 Qxg4?? 12. Nxe5+! 9.Be6xg4 g7-g6 winkensmile:So, here, Fritz took the better alternative with 9. ...g6, opening diagonal lines to release his dark squared Bishop, and allowing White to play 10. Nf7+, forking Black’s Queen and Rook, winning at least the exchange for counter play, and this is where we went out of book, and I was on my own. I took several days to mull over the next move, almost to my 5 day time control, compiling several pages of hand written notes by a real board and pieces.
10.Ng5-e6 winkensmile:Perhaps a bot would have played 10. Nf7+, (which is a playable move, but NOT to win the exchange, but to redeploy it to another square, like e5 later on), but after some thought, I realized that a far stronger move would be 10. Ne6!, where White’s Knight gets a powerful outpost, kicks the Black Queen, blocks the d7 pawn, and controls all the central dark squares; no point in putting such a powerful piece out of play, in the corner on h8, (even if he does win the Rook, which is out of play anyhow), and this move also prevents Black from playing his Bishop to g7 any time soon, the Queen doesn't have too many good squares to seek refuge, (perhaps 10. ...Qd7 is best). 10. Nc3 is also playable, and shows up in a few databases. (*) as does 10. Nf7 (**), but again, only to redeploy it elsewhere, and to secure squares for a Bishop attack in the center.

This is where humans can sometimes outwit an engine, who may underestimate the effectiveness and scope of a minor piece attack and where I can develop with tempo.

As Dana Mackenzie mentioned in his March 2007 issue of Chess Life, "the engine's weakness is that they have no sense of fear", and are completely confident in their calculations and algorithms, oblivious to the looming attack of White's Knights and Bishops working in concert to overwhelm Black's Queen and storm the King. The threats may scroll off their horizon, (known as the "horizon effect"), which often occurs in the various subtle endgame techniques, where pawn formation and tempo are absolutely critical. A well seasoned human player may see these things intuitively, but many bots and engines go for the material advantage without regard to these subtleties.


* 1. e4 c5 2. f4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Bxf7+ Kd7 7. Qxg4+
Nxg4 8. Be6+ Kc6 9. Bxg4 g6 10. Nc3 Bg7 11. Nf7 Qd4 12. Nxh8 Bxh8 13. Be6
Na6 14. Bd5+ Kb6 15. Bxe4 Rd8 16. Ke2 Nb4 17. a3 Nxc2 18. Bxc2 Qxf4 19.
h3 Bd4 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. d3 Ka6 22. Rb1 b6 23. b4 cxb4 24. Rxb4 Kb7 25. a4
Qh5+ 26. g4 Qe5 27. Rb5 Qc7 28. Bb3 e6 29. Bg5 Rf8 30. Bxe6 Re8 31. Bd5+
Kb8 32. Kd1 a6 33. Rb4 Qe5 34. Bf7 Rc8 35. Rf1 Ka7 36. Bf4 Qh8 37. Bd5
Rf8 38. Ke2 Rd8 39. Bh6 Rxd5 40. Rf7+ Kb8 41. Rf8+ Qxf8 42. Bxf8 Kc7 43.
Bd6+ Kd7 44. Bf4 b5 45. Be3 Bxe3 46. Nf6+ Kc6 47. axb5+ Rxb5 48. Rxb5 Kxb5
49. Kxe3 h6 50. Ng8 a5 51. Kd2 Kc5 52. Nxh6 Kd4 53. Nf7 a4 54. h4 a3 55.
Kc2 a2 56. Kb2 Kxd3 57. h5 gxh5 58. gxh5 Ke4 59. h6 Kf5 60. h7 Kg6 61.
h8=Q Kxf7 62. Qh6 Ke7 63. Kxa2 Kd7 64. Kb3 Ke7 65. Kc4 Kf7 66. Kd5 Kg8
67. Ke5 Kf7 68. Qh7+ Ke8 69. Ke6 Kd8 70. Qd7+ 1-0

** 1. e4 c5 2. f4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Bxf7+ Kd7 7. Qxg4+
Nxg4 8. Be6+ Kc6 9. Bxg4 g6 10. Nf7 Qd4 11. Nc3 Rg8 12. Ne5+ Kb6 13. b3
Bg7 14. Nc4+ Ka6 15. a4 Nc6 16. Be2 b6 17. Nd6+ Ka5 18. Nb7+ Kb4 19. Na2+
1-0
Qd8-a5 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [10...Qd7 11.Na3 Bg7 12.c3µ] 11.b2-b4 winkensmile:After Black's 10. ...Qa5, I took another day or so to find a way to forge on with the attack and to develop my pieces with tempo, and so, in keeping with the theme with this thread, I threw another pawn at him with 11. b4!

The point being that it kicks the Queen again, and allows me to mobilize my dark square Bishop, and removes Black's pawn on c5 so that I can play a timely Nd4+, also, seeing that Black's King is exposed, and on the Q-side, it allows for a possible semi-open attack by my Rook on the b file later on. Hey, I already sac'd my Queen, what's another pawn for the sake of the attack!?
c5xb4 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [11...Qxb4!? is an interesting idea 12.Nd8+ Kb6³], but on 11. ...Qxb4, I might consider 12. Ba3 or 12. Nc3. 12.Bc1-b2 winkensmile:After 11. ...cxb, 12. Bb2, I have some serious threats levied against Black, (aside from the obvious BxR) including Nd4+, Be5, and possibly weaving a mate net here! Fritz sees the dangers and offers up his Rook again with 12. ...h5, (allowing 13. Bxh8 hxg4 14. Nxf8), but then I would have my active Bishop on h8 and my killer Knight on f8; seeing that both Black's Rooks are already out of play (and may as well be off the board), and Black's Bishop on f8 is also useless, I stayed true to the theme of the position and played 13. Bh3, keeping my minor piece attack alive.
h7-h5 13.Bg4-h3 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [Inferior is 13.Bxh8 hxg4 14.a3 Qh5] Rh8-g8 14.a2-a3 winkensmile:Fritz's 13. ...Rg8 took it out of being en-pries but also threatened to get his Bishop mobilized with Bg7; however, I struck another gambit shot with 14. a3!
winkensmile:In Fritz's post mortem analysis, he gives this move 14. ...e4-e3?, with an alternative: [¹14...Bh6!? 15.axb4 Qxb4+-] e4-e3 winkensmile:Up until now, Fritz had assessed my position in the negative numbers, down about a pawn or two, but here, suddenly, it assessed me at a few points ahead! After a few tweaks to Fritz’s engine here, Fritz found the amazing 14. ...e3!! which caught me by surprise! I had not even considered this move! I took another few days to mull this one over. I could not capture with 15. dxe3?? which would allow both 15. ...bxa3+, (winning my dark square Bishop), or even just 15. ...b3+ giving me a cramped position.
15.a3xb4 Qa5xb4 16.Bb2-c3 e3xd2+ winkensmile:I played 15. axb4, attacking Black's Queen, and Fritz, played, 15. ...Qxb4, not sure if Fritz had anything better; (and here, I also mulled over 16. Ba3, but I figured I'd better stay on this diagonal with Black's pawn threatening exd2+), and then, he still gets 16. ...exd2+!

Again, I still can't capture with 16. Bxd2, (16. Kxd2 leads to 16. ...Qd6+), which allows Black to seize the initiative with 16. ...Qb2, and when you have an attack going, initiative is everything! I considered 16. Kf2, but my inner senses told me to stay close to that d2 pawn, and so, I played 16. Kd1, possibly mobilizing my other Knight with an eventual Nxd2, also, this move allows me to play Re1 when it's ripe; Fritz told me in our PM that he didn't expect this move; this is the beauty of a human vs. bot game, in that we are often surprised at our opponent's responses.
17.Ke1-d1 Qb4-b6 18.Ne6-d4+ winkensmile:After 16. ...Qb6, I thought again for a day or two, trying to find the best way to continue the attack, and came up with 17. Nd4+, wondering where Black will place his King? This move also threatened 18. Be6, getting my Bishops into the center.

There aren’t too many good squares left for Black's King and Queen; 17. ...Kd5 allows 18. Be6, attacking the Rook on g8, and brings the light square Bishop into the fray, with mate nets beginning to form, while 17. ...Kd6 allows 18. Nxd2, which threatens 19. Nc4+ forking the King and Queen, and White's Knights and Bishops mount a fierce attack to overwhelm Black's King and Queen, and the scent of checkmate is already in the air.

Again, take a look at this position, notice how White's pieces are fully deployed, and ready to spring into attack, while Black's minor pieces are totally useless, still on the back rank, and may as well be off the board! Amazing when you consider that White is playing against a bot, (with a 3100+ rating), and without his Queen!
winkensmile:Also, in this position, 18. ...Kc5 is met with 19. Nxd2 e5 22. fxe5 and now, Black is running out of squares; moves like 22. ... Qd8, Bg7, and Nc6 don't prevent mate after 23. Ne4+ Kc6-c7 winkensmile:Still amusing to note that ALL of Black's minor pieces are all on the back rank, and out of play, while White's pieces are about to unleash some fury! 19.Bc3-a5 winkensmile:Black finally acquiesces to the loss of its Queen with 17. ...Kc7, (which allows 18. Ba5, skewering Black's lady), and with 18. ...Bg7 for some counter play. At this point, Fritz was tweaked again, disabled book, with at least 60 minutes of analysis, with Deep Position analysis set, and maxed out on hash tables; the engine was also set to full bore defensive mode, hoping to salvage a draw out of this.
Bf8-g7 20.Ba5xb6+ Kc7xb6 21.Ra1-a4 Bg7xd4 22.Ra4xd4 Nb8-c6 23.Rd4xd2 winkensmile:After the following series of exchanges and after the dust settled, White is a full piece up, regaining the Queen with interest.
e7-e5 24.Nb1-c3 winkensmile:24. Nc3 finally develops my last piece and defends the f pawn (24. ...exf4, 25. Nd5+ followed by 26. Nxf4).
Ra8-d8 25.Bh3-d7 Nc6-b8 winkensmile:My 25. Bd7 nullified Black's pin with his Rook on d8, and threatened Black's Knight, but Black's 25. ...Nb8 took me by surprise again!

I didn't even consider this move in my analysis (again)!

26.Nc3-d5+ Kb6-c5 27.Nd5-f6 Rg8-g7 28.Rd2-d5+ winkensmile:I took another day or so mull it over, and found a way to continue the theme of the game by developing with tempo, and played 26. Nd5+ with 27. Nf6 to follow, which allowed a strong outpost, (again), for my Knight, attacking Black's Rook, which, after 27. ...Rg7, allowed 28. Rd5+ and now my Rook is also in on the attack!
Kc5-b6 29.Bd7-e6 winkensmile:At this point, I figured that it would be good to trade off pieces, and free up my Bishop, so I played 29. Be6, and 30. Rd2, keeping my Rooks close to my pawns.

Black has some serious counter play with his connected Q-side pawns, and I need to find a way to deal with this. I have been in similar positions before against masters in OTB games, being a full piece down, and managed to trade off Rooks, and pawns, and then sac my remaining piece for the last remaining pawn and it is not possible to mate with just a Bishop and a Knight, (nor either one alone)!

Even though I have material and spatial advantage, the game is FAR from being over. Pawn structure is very important in these endgames, and I must not fail to keep that in mind. One misstep here with Fritz, and he gets at least a draw! I also need to be aware of the position of my King so that I can defend the advancing Q-side pawns.

I need to double up on Black's pawns and win another pawn or two if I can. It's going to be a real white-knuckle finish!
Kb6-c7 30.Rd5-d2 Nb8-c6 31.f4xe5 Nc6xe5 32.Rh1-e1 Ne5-c6 33.Nf6-d5+ Kc7-b8 34.Nd5-f4 Rd8-f8 35.g2-g3 Rf8-e8 36.Re1-e2 winkensmile:Finally, I have my Rooks connected! a7-a5 37.Be6-d5 Re8-c8 38.Re2-e6 Nc6-b4 winkensmile:I played 38. Re6 double attacking Black's pawn on g6, but Fritz continues to surprise me with 38. ...Nb4! (38. ...Ne7 39. Be4), which attacks my Bishop and puts pressure on my pawn on c2. I'm not too sure I have the luxury of time to capture on g5 here, as Black's real threats are on the Q-side.

There are several possibilities here, and I have to deal with Black's plan of pushing a5-a4 followed by b7-b5, followed by Rg7-Rc7, also, Black has Rc3, with either Rgc7, or Ra3, and so, I decided on the 39. c2-c4 push, which moves the passed c pawn, frees my Rook to move to the Q files, protects my Bishop, prevents b7-b5, also, neutralizes the threats of any capture on c2, and any penetration with Black’s Rook on the c file. If Black captures 38. ...Nxd5, 39. cxd5, puts the d pawn on the fast track with d5-d6-d7 supported by both Rooks, and with threats of a timely Nd5, to Nb7.

39.c2-c4 h5-h4 40.g3xh4 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [Less advisable is 40.Rxg6 Rxg6 41.Nxg6 hxg3 42.hxg3 Re8+-; 40.Nxg6?! hxg3 41.hxg3 Rc5+-] g6-g5 41.h4xg5 Rg7xg5 winkensmile:But Fritz again finds some clever ways of breaking through! After 39. ...h4, 40. gxh4, (doubling up my h pawn), then 40. ...g5, 41. hxg5, Rxg6! Fritz threatens to drop his Rook to g1+, and take control of my home rank, plus reduced my pawns to only two isolated loners.
42.Re6-e7 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [42...Rg1+ does not help much 43.Ke2 Rc7 44.Rxc7 Kxc7 45.Be4+-] Nb4-c6 43.Re7-h7 Rc8-c7 winkensmile:Fritz's 43. ...Rc7 baited me to play 44. Rxc7, (hoping for 44. ...Kxc7, with 45. Ne6+ winning a Rook); but Fritz has 44. ...Rg1+. I had a gut feeling that Fritz had cooked up something even better, and was expecting me (even baiting me) to play 44. Rxc7, so I played 44. Rh8+ instead; besides, my Rook on the h file has more play than his Rook on the c file; why trade a better piece for a weaker one?

44.Rh7-h8+ Kb8-a7 winkensmile:Here, 45. Ne6 (forking both Black's Rooks) doesn't work because 45. ... Rg1+ 46. Kc2 Rg7, which could cause me some problems. 45.Rd2-a2 Rc7-d7 46.Kd1-e2 Rg5-e5+ 47.Ke2-d2 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [47.Kf3 seems even better 47...Kb6+-] wow! I didn't look at this move! Maybe this illustrates the human weakness, as I was trying to stay close to the Q-side while I still could, to deal with those Q-side pawns.

Fritz also continues with: [47...Re4 is no salvation 48.Nd3 Rd4 49.Ra3+-] Re5-e7 winkensmile:Black finally connects his Rooks, but not for long. 48.Kd2-c3 Re7-e3+ 49.Kc3-b2 Ka7-b6 50.Rh8-h6 winkensmile:[50...Re5 doesn't change anything anymore as White has 51.Rf6+-] Kb6-c7 51.h2-h4 Rd7-d6 52.Rh6xd6 winkensmile:Time to trade off a pair of Rooks. Kc7xd6 53.h4-h5 winkensmile:Fritz adds: [53...Nb4 cannot change destiny: 54.Rxa5 Ke5 55.Ng2 (or 55. Ng6, or Ne3), Re2+ 56.Kb3 Nxd5 57.Rxd5+ (57.cxd5?! Rxg2 58.Ra2 Rg5±) 57...Kf6 58.Rd6+ Ke7 59.Rg6+-] Re3-e7 54.Kb2-c3 Re7-e3+ 55.Kc3-d2 Re3-e7 winkensmile:I want to get my King to d3, but Black's Knight threatens Nb4+, so I have to take it off. 56.Bd5xc6 winkensmile:After 55. Bxc3, Black faces the loss of another pawn, and only has a few useless checks which only helps me bring my King over to escort the h pawn along.
Kd6xc6 57.Ra2xa5 Re7-h7 winkensmile:Black is down another pawn, and my h pawn is gathering strength. My Rook and Knight will prevent Black's King from getting anywhere close to the K-side, and Black will have to eventually sac his Rook on the h pawn promotion, (or worse, get forced into trading off Rooks, where White gets to keep the Queen after promotion), and face the inevitable. 58.Kd2-e3 winkensmile:At this point, Fritz conceded, "there are no more good moves left, and it's time to hit the Resign Button." 1-0

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Many people do not understand just how much the game of chess can get into their soul. Chess is a game with a rich history that dates back thousands of years. Chess has the power to make people happy. Chess is much more than a game.

The drama of chess can be gripping as this short film will show you. While viewing this online chess video watch the faces of the players. If you are new to the game of chess this video will show you the drama and intensity the game can cause. Chess is not an easy game to play. It takes many years of hard work and dedication to really discover the hidden truths one can learn from playing chess.

Students can improve their reading and math scores as a direct result of playing and studying the game of chess. Chess has the ability to turn a troubled youth, who is lost, into a youth that becomes independent and learns that hard work does pay off. Hard work pays off not only in chess but in life as the game of chess teaches many life lessons.

Sit back and get ready to feel the drama and excitement chess can bring you.

At www.chessmaniac.com online chess is at its best. This video captures the feeling you will get from playing online chess on this site. Enjoy!
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1. Members can play unlimited online chess games.
2. Members can create their own online chess tournaments, online chess teams and online chess clubs.
3. Members can play online live chess or play online correspondence chess.
4. Members can annotate their own online chess games or have another player annotate them for them.
5. Members' chess games are stored for future reference.
6. Members can create their own chess buddies list.
7. Members can post their games to the forums for comment.
8. This site does not charge any fees to join. It is a completely free online chess site.


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Anand and the 16-year old Carlsen share first place in Mexico International chess tournament.

Bulgarian chess master Veselin Topalov defeated Russian Alexander Morozevich in the last round of Linares-Morelia chess tournament in Mexico.

Topalov won playing White and gained three points in the competition. The result placed him in the 7th position together with Hungarian Peter Leko.

Topalov ended games in a draw against Peter Svidler from Russia, India's Vishwanathan Anand, Armenia's Levon Aronian and Hungarian Peter Leko. He lost against Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk and Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.

India's Vishwanathan Anand was held by Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the sixth round.

Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen is in the sole lead with four points after the penultimate round of the tournament. Anand and Levon Aronian of Armenia remained on his heels with 3.5 points each.

Carlsen had a quick draw with Peter Leko of Hungary while Aronian drew with top seed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and the Russian duel between Alexander Morozevich and Peter Svidler had the same fate.

Anand's game was the longest of the day lasting 32 moves and Ivanchuk used too much time on his clock yet again.

Playing the white side of a Sicilian Najdorf*, Anand went for a relatively new idea in the opening but could not gain advantage as Ivanchuk came up with matching manoeuvres.

*The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense is one of the most complex and respected of all chess openings. It is one of Black's most popular responses to 1.e4. The opening is named after the Argentinian Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, who was born in Poland 1910.

It begins thus:


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6

Black's fifth move, ...a6, aims to deny White the b5 square for his knights and light-colored bishop while maintaining maximum flexibility against White's attack.

Black's plan is usually to start a minority pawn attack on the queenside and put pressure on White's e4 pawn. Often this can be done through playing ...b5, ...Bb7, and putting a knight on c5. White also has to look out for exchange sacrifices by Black on c3 where White usually has a knight posted guarding the important e4 pawn. This exchange sacrifice is a recurring theme in the Sicilian Defence.

The oldest, sharpest response by White is an immediate 6.Bg5, generally countered by 6...e6, followed by 7.f4, hoping to exploit the pin on the knight. The simplest response by Black is 7...Be7, leading to quick castling by both sides. However, Black's most popular choice at the master level is 7...Qb6!?, leading to the extremely complicated Poisoned Pawn Variation (8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 (or 9.Nb3) Qa3. Black is up a pawn but somewhat underdeveloped: however, his pieces can quickly become mobile and his position is not easy for White to break. Other well-known replies to 7.f4 include 7...Qc7, championed by Garry Kasparov and Boris Gelfand, 7...Nbd7, the risky 7...Nc6!?, and 7...b5, the ultra-sharp Polugaevsky Variation.


Because of the success of various players with these variations (notably Bobby Fischer and Kasparov), White often plays 6. Be2 and goes for a quieter, more positional game, whereupon Black has the option of transposing into a Scheveningen Variation by playing 6...e6 or opt to stay in the Najdorf by playing 6...e5. 6. Bc4 (the Sozin Variation), 6.g3, and 6. f4 are also respected responses to the Najdorf.

Since the early 1990s, the English Attack (6.Be3 followed by f2-f3, g2-g4, Qd2 and 0-0-0 in some order) has become extremely popular and has been intensively analysed, although 6...Ng4!? has cast somewhat a shadow on its use following Garry Kasparov's sucessful utilization of it.

Let's Try Some Solitaire Chess

All you need to play Solitaire Chess is a pocket chess set, or your regular chessboard and chess pieces. With the aid of the scoring table below, you can enjoy all the thrills of playing a chess game against an unseen opponent--and opponent who will make strong moves, for he is a master of the game of chess. However, you will also have an unseen partner-another chessmaster- who will correct your mistakes.

To play the game, cover the scoring table with a slip of paper at the line indicated. Make all opening moves on your chessboard up to and including the first Black move in the table. Study the position and write down your choice for White's next move. Then expose the next line in the table and see the move your partner actually made with
White. Score par if you picked this move; if not, score zero. Make the correct White move and Black's reply, and again select the next move. Continue in this manner, one line at a time, to the end of the game.

Now see how many points you can score. You may consider a total point score of 79-100 excellent, 66-78 superior, 51-65 good, and 32-50 fair, for the present chess game. This scale varies from game to game depending on the quality of the play. Naturally, a difficult game receives a more lenient rating than an easy one.

(You have White. Your consutation partner is former U.S. Champion Frank J. Marshall. Your opponent is French Chessmaster David Janowski. Game was played at Ostend, 1906.)

OPENING MOVES:
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 a6 4.Bxc4 Nf6
5.Nf3 e6 6.a4 ... Now continue with the moves below.
COVER MOVES IN TABLE BELOW. EXPOSE ONE LINE AT A TIME

Move #	White Played	Par Score	Move #	Black Played	Your Selection for White's Move	Your Score
			6...	b6
7.	Nc3		7...	Bb7
8.	O-O		8...	Nc6
9.	Qe2		9...	Nb4
10.	e4		10...	Be7
11.	Bg5		11...	h6
12.	Bf4		12...	O-O
13.	Rfd1		13...	Rc8
14.	Ne5		14...	Qe8
15.	Rd2		15...	c5
16.	dxc5		16....	Bxc5
17.	Rad1		17...	Qe7
18.	Bg3		18...	Rfd8
19.	Bh4		19...	Rxd2
20.	Rxd2		20...	g5
21.	Bg3		21...	Rd8
22.	Rxd8+		22...	Rxd8+
23.	h4		24...	Qd4
25.	Qh5		25...	Nxg5
26.	Bxe6		26...	Qd2
27.	Bxf7+		27...	Kf8
28.	Qxh6+		28.	Ke7
29.	Qg7		29...	Bxf2+
30.	Bxf2		30...	Nh3+
31 .	Kh2		31...	Qxf2
32.	Bd5		32...	Kd6
33.	Ne4+ 1-0

Chess In the News

A 16-year-old schoolboy has become the youngest chess grandmaster in the UK.
David Howell, from East Sussex, earned his place in the record books at an international chess competition in Sweden on Friday.

The title of grandmaster is one of the highest rankings in chess to be awarded by the world chess organisation.

David, who started playing chess at the age of five on a set bought from a jumble sale, said: "This is something I've aspired to all my life."

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Cash award for chess tourney

Competitors in the 2007 World Chess Championship qualifiers (zone 3.3) on the southern Phu Quoc Island have been given an added incentive to do well - US$10,000 in prize money.

The Viet Nam Chess Federation (VCF)'s general secretary, Dang Tat Thang, said Dragon Capital from England, the tournament's main sponsor, is providing the money. It will be the first time a chess tournament in Viet Nam has carried a cash prize.

The 2007 World Chess Championship qualifiers (zone 3.3) will see some 60 chess masters from 15 countries and territories compete for three spots in the World Chess Championship in Mexico this September.


Ice Chess match London-Moscow
This Thursday will see a special chess event on Trafalgar Square, London and Pushkin Square, Moscow. Two teams, headed by GMs Nigel Short and Anatoly Karpov, will play an Ice Chess match using a 64 square metre chess boards and pieces carved out of ice. Go watch - it is part of the Russian Winter Festival.

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Chess Discussed in the blog "The Zen of Investing"

'"Rabbit hole investing is much more than just buying assets when they are hated and selling them when mania surrounds them, as is the behavior people tend to associate with contrarian investors. In addition to implementing that aforementioned strategy when reality bears out a good risk-reward setup, I also seek out investment opportunities that no one is even considering, which wouldn't fit into the "contrarian box" at all. Rabbit hole investing has more similarities to playing chess than it does to contrarian investing. The only reason I use the word "contrarian" is because nobody would ever understand what I meant by rabbit hole investing. It is said that child chess prodigy Bobby Fischer would think at least seven steps ahead when playing a game of chess before committing to a move. To be really successful in investing, one must do the same.

"When I see mania driving an upward trend that is based upon deception and manipulation, thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather miss out on some gains than be exposed to the risk that will inevitably occur when people discover they've been deceived weeks or months later. I'd rather position my portfolio in assets that I know will profit phenomenally when reality bubbles to the surface seven steps later. Like a good chess player, a good investor positions his or her assets not for the immediate payoff but for the pay off down the road that is inevitable. It's worked for me in the past, it's worked for me now, and I'm confident it will work for me in the future."

It's rabbit hole investing, thinking like a chess player, call it what you may. It works and I'm sticking to it.'

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Brokerage firm supports T&TCF regional event - Investing money like playing chess

Investing money is somewhat like playing chess, says Ram Ramesh, Managing Director and CEO of CMMB Limited. The mild-mannered executive should know since he not only heads the largest brokerage house in the Caribbean but also dabbled in the royal game during his school days in India.
Ram Ramesh
"Our company is focused on enhancing wealth for investors and individuals through intelligent investing," he notes. "It is somewhat like playing chess which is a game of huge possibilities and numerous probabilities all of which must be constantly evaluated in making moves that will secure you the maximum advantage."

So it is no coincidence that CMMB has become involved in the development of chess in our country. The company, in fact, is an enthusiastic sponsor of the Caribbean Open Junior International Chess Championships which started yesterday at Bishop Anstey High School in Port-of-Spain. The tournament, a seven-round Swiss organised by the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Foundation, has attracted players, 20 years and under, from various countries of the region who are contesting in three age categories for more than $10,000 in cash prizes.

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Advanced Chess

Advanced Chess Organization(CCO)
Advanced Chess (sometimes called cyborg chess) is a relatively new form of chess, first introduced by grandmaster Garry Kasparov, with the objective of a human player and a computer chess program playing as a team against other such pairs. Many Advanced Chess proponents have stressed that Advanced Chess has merits in:

increasing the level of play to heights never before seen in chess;
producing blunder-free games with the qualities and the beauty of both perfect tactical play and highly meaningful strategic plans;
giving the viewing audience a remarkable insight into the thought processes of strong human chess players and strong chess computers, and the combination thereof.

History
The former world champion grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who retired from competitive chess in 2005 but is still considered by many the strongest chess player in the world, has a long history in playing "Man vs. Machine" events. Among the most important are his matches against IBM's research computer Deep Blue, which Kasparov defeated in February 1996, scoring 4-2 in a 6-game match, and lost to, 3.5-2.5, in a May 1997 rematch. The first game of the former match remained famous though, as it was the first game in the history of chess in which a world champion had been defeated by a computer. Though the Deep Blue computer is now defunct, IBM still maintains the website for it and the associated famous match at www.research.ibm.com/deepblue. After this spectacular match, and many other matches against computers, Garry Kasparov came to an idea to invent a new form of chess in which humans and computers co-operate, instead of contending with each other. Kasparov named this form of chess "Advanced Chess".

The first Advanced Chess event was held in June 1998 in Leon, Spain. It was played between Garry Kasparov, who was using Fritz 5, and Veselin Topalov, who was using ChessBase 7.0. The analytical engines used, such as Fritz, HIARCS and Junior, were integrated into these two programs, and could have been called at a click of the mouse. It was a 6-game match, and it was arranged in advance that the players would consult the built-in million games databases only for the 3rd and 4th game, and would only use analytical engines without consulting the databases for the remaining games. The time available to each player during the games was 60 minutes. The match ended in a 3-3 tie. After the match, Kasparov said:

"My prediction seems to be true that in Advanced Chess it's all over once someone gets a won position. This experiment was exciting and helped spectators understand what's going on. It was quite enjoyable and will take a very big and prestigious place in the history of chess."
Regular Advanced Chess events have been held since in Leon each year, with a little inconsistency after 2002. The Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is considered the world's best Advanced Chess player, winning the three consecutive Advanced Chess tournaments in Leon in 1999, 2000 and 2001, before losing the title to Vladimir Kramnik in 2002. After the loss to Kramnik, Anand said:

"I think in general people tend to overestimate the importance of the computer in the competitions. You can do a lot of things with the computer but you still have to play good chess. I more or less manage to do so except for this third game. In such a short match, against a very solid and hard to beat opponent, this turned out to be too much but I don’t really feel like that the computer alone can change the objective true to the position."

Advanced Chess strengths
It has been stressed that the strength of an Advanced Chess player does not come from any of the components of the human-computer team, but rather from the symbiosis of the two. This means that, even if a human chess player is stronger than the computer program he is using, he will be able to increase his playing strength even further with good Advanced Chess play, and vice versa: if a human player is weaker than the computer program he is using, he will still be able to play with a strength that is even greater than that of the computer. The strength of an Advanced Chess player lies in the combination of the computer's tactical accuracy and the human's creativity and sagacity, provided that both team components do possess these qualities.

The individual strengths of a computer chess program lie in:

being able to calculate at a fascinating speed - on an average PC of today, a chess program is able to calculate a few million positions per second, making it tactically superior to any human in complex tactical positions;
having access to a database of millions of tried and thoroughly tested opening moves and variations, with the ability to retrieve information from such a database very quickly, and to store such a database on hardware resources available to most modern PCs;
having built-in tablebases for endgames, allowing the program to play perfect chess in certain endgames.
The individual strengths of a human chess player lie in:

the intuitive ability to construct meaningful long-term strategic plans which even the fastest PCs cannot foresee;
being able to quickly discriminate meaningful moves from the meaningless, without wasting time on deeply calculating the combinations which can be deemed meaningless at first sight;
being able to critically judge and analyze a chess game, plan, opening or endgame.
In short, a computer program is tactically superior, whereas a human chess player is strategically superior, making the combination of the two a completely superior chess player. However it is entirely possible for the computer to become strategically superior, and recently Rybka has outperformed other chess engines by large margins because of its programmed chess knowledge.


How it is played
Both players sit in a typical chess-playing room, equipped with fast PCs of equal hardware strength. It is the duty of the tournament organizers to make sure that the players are familiar with the pertinent hardware and software. Unlike the traditional face-to-face chess, the players usually face their respective computers. Each player is typically allotted one hour of thinking time (as was the time control used in all Advanced Chess events in León), though the particular tournament regulations may vary regarding this matter.

During the match, the players will typically form strategic plans in their minds, then enter the candidate sequences of moves into the computer to analyze and make sure there are no blunders and other possible holes. The human player will compare the merits of each candidate sequence after having seen the computer's analysis, and may even introduce a new variation if time permits. The player will typically play out the move which he has established (with computer help) to be strongest. If there are two or more moves which the computer considers to be of equal strength (such situations are frequent), the human player will use his own strategic skills and experience and analytical judgment capabilities to decide which move to play. The human is in charge during the whole match, and is formally free to play any move he considers the best, at his own discretion. During the opening, the players may consult a large database of opening moves and variations, containing information about who played a particular variation, when it was played, and with what success, though a particular tournament's rules may prohibit using databases in such manner.

During the whole game, the players' computer monitors are projected onto large screens, making it possible for the viewing audience to watch how the strongest players decide about their moves and make their plans. Typically there will be a commentator in a separate room, equipped with the identical hardware as players, which he will use to help him provide a commentary to the audience - this way the audience is given the real insight into the thought processes of the strongest players.

Although Advanced Chess play is at the highest level when performed by the top grandmasters, it is not limited to them. Anyone can play Advanced Chess, sometimes with the same success as the strongest grandmasters. Occasionally, average players have been able to achieve a performance rating higher than the one of the computer programs they were using, and on rare occasions higher than the ratings of top grandmasters.


Advanced Chess teams?
It has been debated, due to the peculiarities of the human-computer team, whether the human should be considered the Advanced Chess player, or rather the team itself should be considered the Advanced Chess player. It is the prevailing view that, due to the fact that the human subordinates the computer in a meaningful intent to win a chess game, and that the human is the one who makes the final decision about the move to be played, the human should be considered the Advanced Chess player. Some have also argued that the term "computer-assisted player" should not be used for an Advanced Chess player, as the key element is cooperation, not assistance.

Cheating
Computer-assisted cheating in online chess games is a problem, and should not be confused with Advanced Chess play. CCO argues that playing Advanced Chess is not cheating, because it is done with the fully informed consent of one's opponent. Many factors indicate that a large number of players are secretly using their chess programs to aid their play against the chess servers' rules of play, and there is no perfect mechanism to prevent this and ensure fair play on the Internet. Some have suggested that, for these reasons, online rating systems should be abolished completely, or that computer assistance in human rated play should be allowed for all rated games. Many oppose these views, CCO among them, arguing that it would make the otherwise sharp line between computer cheating and Advanced Chess rather blurred, and that chess servers do possess fairly good mechanisms to ensure fair play. CCO also adds, that if a new separate category of chess - Advanced Chess - were introduced into rated Internet play, it would significantly reduce the number of cheating players, as they could then legitimately play Advanced Chess, without the need to secretly use their computer chess programs to their advantage.

Source Wikipedia

Top female chess players

Top 50 women

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2710 0 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2545 0 1987
3 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2534 0 1984
4 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2528 24 1963
5 Xu, Yuhua wg CHN 2517 0 1976
6 Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2504 11 1961
7 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2501 18 1976
8 Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2493 19 1985
9 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2489 28 1979
10 Hou, Yifan wf CHN 2481 19 1994
11 Socko, Monika m POL 2473 20 1978
12 Sebag, Marie m FRA 2471 15 1986
13 Galliamova, Alisa m RUS 2470 0 1972
14 Hoang Thanh Trang m HUN 2470 0 1980
15 Cmilyte, Viktorija m LTU 2469 9 1983
16 Dembo, Yelena m GRE 2468 18 1983
17 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2468 11 1982
18 Shen, Yang wg CHN 2468 10 1989
19 Zhao, Xue wg CHN 2467 15 1985
20 Qin, Kanying wg CHN 2465 0 1974
21 Lahno, Kateryna m UKR 2459 18 1989
22 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2458 19 1986
23 Zhukova, Natalia wg UKR 2456 0 1979
24 Muzychuk, Anna wg SLO 2452 20 1990
25 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2449 6 1985
26 Zatonskih, Anna wg USA 2449 26 1978
27 Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2448 46 1976
28 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan m GEO 2446 11 1968
29 Krush, Irina m USA 2443 6 1983
30 Ciuksyte, Dagne m LTU 2440 0 1977
31 Hunt, Harriet m ENG 2439 0 1978
32 Peng, Zhaoqin g NED 2437 9 1968
33 Korbut, Ekaterina wg RUS 2435 18 1985
34 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2434 10 1974
35 Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2432 11 1981
36 Dzagnidze, Nana m GEO 2432 15 1987
37 Ushenina, Anna wg UKR 2429 18 1985
38 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROM 2428 9 1978
39 Skripchenko, Almira m FRA 2427 21 1976
40 Danielian, Elina m ARM 2426 11 1978
41 Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman m IND 2424 43 1979
42 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2421 9 1985
43 Khurtsidze, Nino m GEO 2419 2 1975
44 Lujan, Carolina wg ARG 2419 41 1985
45 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2416 22 1984
46 Tairova, Elena wg RUS 2415 19 1991
47 Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2415 19 1969
48 Jackova, Jana m CZE 2414 4 1982
49 Ovod, Evgenija m RUS 2407 28 1982
50 Goletiani, Rusudan wg USA 2403 9 1980
51 Huang, Qian wm CHN 2403 10 1986
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Top 50 girls

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2545 32 1987
2 Hou, Yifan wf CHN 2488 41 1994
3 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2479 34 1986
4 Shen, Yang CHN 2459 37 1989
5 Muzychuk, Anna wg SLO 2456 32 1990
6 Lahno, Kateryna m UKR 2449 27 1989
7 Sebag, Marie m FRA 2448 24 1986
8 Dzagnidze, Nana m GEO 2437 21 1987
9 Tairova, Elena wg RUS 2397 30 1991
10 Mongontuul, Bathuyag wg MGL 2383 31 1987
11 Melia, Salome wg GEO 2381 11 1987
12 Huang, Qian wm CHN 2380 28 1986
13 Zawadzka, Jolanta wg POL 2378 26 1987
14 Tania, Sachdev wg IND 2371 9 1986
15 Ruan, Lufei CHN 2370 0 1987
16 Gunina, Valentina wf RUS 2368 20 1989
17 Harika, Dronavalli wg IND 2359 49 1991
18 Arutyunova, Diana wg UKR 2359 29 1988
19 Kadziolka, Beata wg POL 2359 0 1986
20 Hoang, Thi Bao Tram wg VIE 2345 20 1987
21 Vasilkova, Svetlana wm RUS 2345 18 1988

Cheating in chess. Where will it lead?

An Indian chess player has been banned for 10 years for cheating after he was caught using his mobile phone's wireless device to win games, chess officials said on Wednesday.

The player, Umakant Sharma, had logged rating points at a rapid pace in the last 18 months and also qualified for the national championship, arousing the suspicion of officials and bemusing rivals.

Mr. Sharma was finally caught at a recent tournament when officials discovered that he had stitched a Bluetooth device in a cloth cap which he always pulled over his ears.

Officials decided that it was a little odd that Sharma always wore a cloth cap when he played his games and decided to have a look at the item.

Sure enough inside the cap they found a Bluetooth headset which Sharma used to chat to his accomplices, who used a computer to relay moves to him.

He communicated to his accomplices outside the hall, who then used a computer to relay moves to him, Indian chess federation secretary D.V. Sundar said on Wednesday.

"We have banned him for 10 years," he told Reuters. "We wanted to send a clear message to such people."

Chess officials were also probing whether another player had similar advantages through such illegal means, he added.

There is a lot of money flowing around the international chess scene. Recently the Bulgarian team came back from an international match in Russia complaining that their rivals took a few too many bathroom breaks.

They discovered a computer connection in the bathroom but were prevented from making a complaint by the Russian players.

Shekhar Ganguly his fourth straight National chess crown in India

VALSAD: Contrasting deadlocks on the top five boards gave Surya Shekhar Ganguly his fourth straight National crown and brought in four new faces in the Indian team as the final day of the Atul National 'A' chess championship served another reminder of the changing order.

Runner-up Deepan Chakkravarthy was the only other Grandmaster in the six-member National squad after S. Arun Prasad, G. Rohit, Suvrajit Saha and G.N. Gopal made the grade. Interestingly, the average age of the team members is 21!

The magnitude of achievements of these players could be gauged from the fact that seasoned Grandmasters and former National champions Abhijit Kunte, Dibyendu Barua and Pravin Thipsay failed well short of expectations after running into much younger rivals on this day.

The 23-year-old Ganguly overcame the early aggression of fellow Grandmaster Neelotpal Das to come out undefeated in 27 moves. Neelotpal needed a win to join the Indian team, but Ganguly defended well. The result raised Ganguly's tally to 9.5 points and saw him retain the title he won at Visakhapatnam in April this year.

Confidence booster

"I needed this victory to boost my confidence ahead of some tough tournaments I plan to play," said the champion, an Assistant Manager with the Indian Oil in Kolkata.

"My work with Alexei Shirov has clearly helped and I wanted to show that I could win without ever being in serious threat in this tough competition," said Ganguly who received Rs. 67,000 and a trophy.

President Gerald Ford Who Declared National Chess Day in America Dies

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (July 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006) was the 38th (1974-1977) President of the United States. Ford also served as the 40th (1973-1974) Vice President. He was the first person appointed to the Vice-Presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and upon succession to the presidency became the first (and to date, only) president in U.S. history to fill that office without having been elected either President or Vice-President. He was also the longest-lived United States president ever, having surpassed Ronald Reagan's record on November 12, 2006.

October 9, 1976, President Gerald Ford, the nation's thirty-eighth president, declared National Chess Day.

Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He was originally named Leslie Lynch King, Jr., after his biological father. His parents divorced when he was less than a year old, and when his mother remarried, he was given the name of his step-father, Gerald Rudolff Ford. He later changed the spelling of the middle name. Ford obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, where he was a football star. He went on to obtain a law degree from Yale University before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. Returning from the war a confirmed "internationalist", Republican Ford defeated the incumbent in the party primary and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1948, representing the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. He was elected House Minority Leader in 1963 and served in the House until 1973. When Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford was appointed Vice President of the United States at the height of the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to Richard Nixon's resignation.

The Ford administration saw the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam, the execution of the Helsinki Accords, and the continuing specter of inflation and recession. Faced with an overwhelmingly Democratic majority in Congress, the administration was hampered in its ability to pass major legislation, and Ford's vetoes were frequently overridden. Ford was criticized by many for granting a pre-emptive pardon to Nixon, and was subsequently defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election.


Other Presidents who were involved with chess:

George Washington (1732-1799) may not have played chess, but there is the story of Washington crossing the Delaware to attack the British army. Earlier, a boy had given a spy report to the British commander that Washington was about to attack. The commander did not want to be interrupted while he played chess, so put the unread note in his pocket. The note was found in his pocket, unopened, when he died in battle.

John Adams (1735-1826) taught he son, John Quincy Adams, to play chess.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) played chess. It was one of his favorite games. He started playing in his 20s and owned several nice chess sets. Dr. William Small probably introduced chess to Jefferson around 1762. Dr. Small was a professor of mathematics at the College of William and Mary who taught Jefferson. He usually played chess in the evenings with his friends. The earliest dated reference from Jefferson came from his diary on August 18, 1769, when he wrote "gave James Ogilvie to buy me a set of chessmen 45/." Friends gave him chess sets or he gave them chess sets as presents. When he moved into Monticello, he was concerned about his ivory chess sets that had disappeared in the move. He collected chess books as well, and one of his favorites was Philidor's "Analysis of Chess." He also had chess books by Greco and Stamma. Jefferson's hobby was book collecting and he had over 6,000 books in his library. His books later became part of the Library of Congress when the original Library of Congress was burned by the British in 1814. In his later years, he played Benjamin Franklin, also a keen player. He would write letters about Franklin and how popular he was in France because he played chess with beautiful or powerful women. Jefferson would tell friends that he and Franklin were equal in chess playing strength. He also told friends that he played four hour games of chess against James Madison. In 1784, Jefferson moved to Paris. Before leaving, he sold some of his chess books to James Monroe. When Jefferson was in Paris he joined the Salon des echecs chess club for 96 francs in 1786. He did not renew his dues in 1787, saying he was too busy. Jefferson left Paris in 1789. Jefferson was elected President in 1801. His vice president was Aaron Burr, also an enthusiastic and strong chess player. They may have played chess together. Jefferson taught his grandchildren how to play chess at Monticello. Jefferson left two undated sheets of paper concerning chess. The sheets of paper were how to play an endgame with a Rook and Bishop against a Rook. The analysis came from Philidor's "Analysis of Chess" book. A letter of December 4, 1818 was his last writing on chess. It was about the recollection of Franklin and chess.

James Madison (1751-1836) was a chess player and played a few games against Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

James Monroe (1758-1831) was a chess player and purchesed chess books from Jefferson.

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) was a chess player who collected chess sets. One of his chess sets is displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. He once purchased an ivory chess set and billiard table for his home in the White House. His political enemies (Andrew Jackson's democratic supporters) accused him of using public funds (it was Adams own money) to buy and install gaming furniture and gambling devices in the White House. It was part of a theme (negative campaigning) that may have cost Adams the election in 1828.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) played chess. One of his chess sets is displayed in the Smithsonian. He did play an occasional game at the White House. One time he was playing chess with Judge Treat. Lincoln's son, Tad, was sent by his mother to say dinner was ready. When his father continued with his chess game, Tad went over to the game and kicked the chess board off the table or laps of the two players. The judge was speechless, but Lincoln said mildly, "Come, Tad," and they walked away together to have dinner. Lincoln bought a chess set for his son Tad, which is on display at the National Museum of American History.

Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893) was a strong chess player, taught by his mother.

James Garfield (1831-1881) was a strong chess player. A Philadelphia chess column described him as a first-rate chess player in 1880.

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was a chess player. In September, 1885, he visited the Eden Musee in New York while the chess automaton Ajeeb was being displayed. Cleveland's Vice-President, Thomas Hendricks, was with Cleveland at the time. Hendricks played Ajeeb and lost in a smothered mate.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th U.S. President, played chess during his hunting trips. He may have also played Ajeeb the automaton. In 1906 he invited the foreign masters that played in the Cambridge Springs chess tournament to the White House. He was rumored to have kept an astrological chart mounted on a chess board while in office.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930), 27th U.S. President, played chess as a child, according to the National Park Service visitor's guide for Taft's National Historic Site.
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th U.S. President played chess. One of his chess sets is in the Smithsonian.

Warren Harding (1865-1923), 29th U.S. President, played chess.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972), 33rd U.S. President, may not have played chess, but he mentioned chess in some of his speeches. In 1947 he said, "International relations have traditionally been compared to a chess game in which each nation tries to outwit and checkmate the other."

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), 34th U.S. President, may have played chess. He acknowledged he received a chess set from a political supporter.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th U.S. President, may have played chess. He received a very nice chess set as a birthday gift in 1962 from a very close friend. In a Cold War statement, referring to the USSR, he said, "We play poker, they play chess." His son, John F. Kennedy, Jr, did play chess.

Richard Nixon (1913-1994), 37th U.S. President, may have played chess. However, in a 1983 interview, he admitted he never understood chess. He named his dog checkers. His Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, played chess. Kissinger called Bobby Fischer to encourage Fischer to play Spassky in 1972. Nixon declined to invite Fischer to the White House after Fischer won the world chess championship in 1972.

Jimmy Carter (1924- ), 39th U.S. President, was a chess player. He wanted to become a chess expert after he left the White House. He bought numerous chess books and a computer chess program. He finally gave up on chess around 1997, saying: "I found that I don't have any particular talent for chess. I hate to admit it, but that's a fact." Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzeinski, was an avid chess player, who played Menachem Begin at Camp David.

Bill Clinton (1946- ), 42nd U.S. President, played chess while at Georgetown University. He played for the Georgetown University's chess team in 1968. He is a supporter of the Chess-in-the-Schools program and has met with Garry Kasparov. When Clinton contributed a President's Day recipe, his recipe was Lemon Chess Pie. His daughter, Chelsea, also plays chess and has played chess on the Internet.

Chess Mathematics and computers

Chess is interesting from the mathematical point of view; the number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 10⁴³ and 10⁵⁰, with a game-tree complexity of approximately 10¹²³. The game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by Claude Shannon as 10¹²⁰, a number known as the "Shannon number". Typically an average position has thirty to forty possible moves, but there may be as few as zero (in the case of checkmate or stalemate) or as many as 218.

The most important mathematical challenge of chess is the development of algorithms which can play chess. The idea of creating a chess playing machine dates to the eighteenth century; around 1769, the chess playing automaton called The Turk became famous before being exposed as a hoax. Serious trials based on automatons, such as El Ajedrecista, were too complex and limited to be useful.

Since the advent of the digital computer in the 1950s, chess enthusiasts and computer engineers have built, with increasing degrees of seriousness and success, chess-playing machines and computer programs. The groundbreaking paper on computer chess, "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess", was published in 1950 by Shannon. About the future possibilities of newly-born computers, Shannon wrote:

The chess machine is an ideal one to start with, since: (1) the problem is sharply defined both in allowed operations (the moves) and in the ultimate goal (checkmate); (2) it is neither so simple as to be trivial nor too difficult for satisfactory solution; (3) chess is generally considered to require "thinking" for skilful play; a solution of this problem will force us either to admit the possibility of a mechanized thinking or to further restrict our concept of "thinking"; (4) the discrete structure of chess fits well into the digital nature of
modern computers.Shannon, Claude E. XXII. Programming a Computer for Playing Chess. Philosophical Magazine, Ser.7, Vol. 41, No. 314 - March 1950. Available online at computerhistory.org (PDF).

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) held the first major chess tournament for computers, the North American Computer Chess Championship, in September 1970. Chess (Northwestern University)CHESS 3.0, a chess program from Northwestern University, won the championship. At first considered only a curiosity, the best chess enginechess playing programs, for example Rybka or Hydra (chess)Hydra, have become extremely strong. Nevertheless, from the point of view of artificial intelligence, chess-playing programs are relatively simple: they essentially explore huge numbers of potential future moves by both players and apply an evaluation function to the resulting positions.

Garry Kasparov, then ranked number one in the world, played a six-game match against International Business MachinesIBM's chess computer Deep Blue in February 1996. Deep Blue won the Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996, Game 1first game, but Kasparov convincingly won the match by winning three games and drawing two. The six-game rematch in May 1997 was won by the machine (informally dubbed "Deeper Blue"), which was subsequently retired by IBM.

With huge databases of past games and high analytical ability, computers also help players to learn chess and prepare for matches. Additionally, Internet sites such as Free Internet Chess Server and Kurnik allow people to find and play opponents all over the world. It is estimated that more than 285 million people play chess via the internet today. The presence of computers and modern communication tools have also raised concerns regarding cheating during games, most notably the "FIDE World Chess Championship 2006#Bathroom controversybathroom controversy" during the 2006 World Championship.
Source wikipedia

Ukraine's Ivanchuk Grabs the Cup at Mexican Chess Tournament

Ukranian Grand Master Vasily Ivanchuck regained the title of the international chess tournament Carlos Torre Repetto which was held in the Mexican city of Merida, in the state of Yucatan, from December 14 through the 22.

Ivanchuk, who ranks 6th on the FIDE's list with an ELO rating of 2741 points, had been the champion of the 2004 edition. This time, he won the title after defeating Cuba's Bruzon in rapid games 1.5 to 0.5, while the Cuban player had grabbed last year's cup.

Tthe match concluded with a couple of draws in the morning and afternoon rounds, so it was necessary to play the 15-minute games. The first also ended tied after 41 moves. But in the second the Ukrainian, who was playing with whites, was able to beat Bruzon in 36 moves.

Speaking with the press, the new champion said that he had done his best to win the competition, especially in the last match. He also said he hoped to have given satisfaction to the spectators at the Olimpo culture center, which was the venue of the event.

More info on Vassily Ivanchuk

Vassily Ivanchuk, also transliterated as Vasyl (born March 18, 1969), is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. Ivanchuk has an ELO rating of 2741 on the FIDE October 2006 ratings list, making him number six in the world and Ukraine's number one.

Ivanchuk was born in Berezhany, Ukraine, and reached chess world fame at the age of 21 when he won the Linares tournament in 1991. Fourteen players participated, eight of them rated top-ten of the world, including World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, while the rest were all among the world's top 50 players. It was a close call between Ivanchuk and Kasparov, but Ivanchuk won by half a point, and he also managed to defeat the world champion in their encounter in the following game (moves given in Algebraic chess notation):

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O cxd4 6.Qxd4 a6 7.Bxd7+ Bxd7 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.c4 e6 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.Kh1 h5 13.a4 h4 14.h3 Be7 15.b4 a5 16.b5 Qc7 17.Nd2 Qc5 18.Qd3 Rg8 19.Rae1 Qg5 20.Rg1 Qf4 21.Ref1 b6 22.Ne2 Qh6 23.c5 Rxc5 24.Nc4 Kf8 25.Nxb6 Be8 26.f4 f5 27.exf5 Rxf5 28.Rc1 Kg7 29.g4 Rc5 30.Rxc5 dxc5 31.Nc8 Bf8 32.Qd8 Qg6 33.f5 Qh6 34.g5 Qh5 35.Rg4 exf5 36.Nf4 Qh8 37.Qf6+ Kh7 38.Rxh4+ 1-0

It was believed that Ivanchuk would become World Champion, but this has still not happened, although he came close in 2002 when he reached the finals of the FIDE World Championship Knockout. Even though he has been consistently among the top 10 since 1990, ranked as high as number 2 on a few occasions, he has played poorly in matches which require a different approach than tournament play. Most chess fans blame this on his weak nerves and his tendency to blunder in critical positions.

"Big Chucky", as Ivanchuk is called, has been described by Viswanathan Anand as the most eccentric player in the chess world. Anand, tongue-in-cheek, gave his view on Ivanchuk like this:

He's someone who is very intelligent ... but you never know which mood he is going to be in. Some days he will treat you like his long-lost brother. The next day he ignores you completely.
The players have a word for him. They say he lives on 'Planet Ivanchuk'. (Laughs) ... I have seen him totally drunk and singing Ukrainian poetry and then the next day I have seen him give an impressive talk.
For a while he was trying to learn Turkish. Don't ask me why ... Everyday is a surprise with him.
When he plays, Ivanchuk rarely looks at the board. Instead he stares at the ceiling and at the walls with a blank stare. His playing style is unpredictable and highly original, making him a threat to any chess player, although sometimes also leads to quick losses.

Major tournament wins include Corus 1996, and Linares 1989, 1991 and 1995. Ivanchuk lost to Ruslan Ponomariov in the final match of the 2002 FIDE World Chess Championship. In 2004 he won the European Championship, in 2006 he came in second.

Source Wikipedia

Bulgaria's Topalov Faces Ban for Linking Kramnik to KGB

Bulgaria's chess king Vesselin Topalov may be disqualified by FIDE for three years for violating the Code of Ethics by linking Vladimir Kramnik to the KGB in an interview for Spanish newspaper ABC.

People from outside who were Russians and were far from the world of chess helped Kramnik, Topalov said in the interview. These were either amateurs or people from the secret services, he added.

They were the ones who placed the Internet cable in Kramnik's toilet, he said.

Topalov also said that he was afraid for his life while in Elista and that he would never go to Russia again.

Nobody from Kramnik's team was involved in that, that's why they deny the whole thing, he said.

Topalov suspected FIDE's president Kirsan Ilymzhinov was also involved in the plot because he was a businessman who was obeying orders because there had to be a Russian champion.

For these words of Topalov Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel lodged a claim with FIDE against the Bulgarian chess master. Hensel said he had always respected and liked Topalov and was disappointed by the Bulgarian's claims.

He also said that there was no possibility in Kramnik's toilet for a cable to be installed because security measures in Elista were very severe and all wireless devices were strictly forbidden.

The scandal could be put out because Henzel learned Thursday that the interview with Topalov was only published online and did not appear in the paper version of ABC. Besides there are rumours the article was not verified with Topalov before publication.

If this is true, it, of course, changes things but by all means experts should deal with it, Hensel said.

Hensel's claim for disqualifying Topalov are yet another attempt to wave off the invitation for rematch, the Bulgarian chess king's manager Silvio Danailov said Friday.

Let FIDE explain to the whole chess community why the photos proving there was an Internet cable in the Russian's toilet were not published, he said.

Danailov insists that the recordings of the restrooms of the two players that also document Kramnik's unusual toilet breaks are demanded by FIDE's Commission of Ethics.

Second Victory against Kramnik in the Last Match - Deep Fritz

In the sixth and final game of World Chess Challenge, chess computer Deep Fritz(Germany - white) held onto its lead against Vladimir Kramnik (Russia - black), and even notched up a second win against the World Champion. That means the world's leading chess computer is the ultimate winner of the Man vs. Machine duel. Four draws and two wins for Deep Fritz - that's the legacy of World Chess Challenge, which excited fans all over the world have been following closely since November 25.

After more than four-and-a-half hours and 47 moves, Vladimir Kramnik accepted the defeat against his opponent - an opponent whose computational abilities are almost unfathomable: Deep Fritz calculated eight to ten million positions a second during World Chess Challenge. The audience at the Federal Art Hall in Bonn responded to today's epic battle between human and artificial intelligence with applause. The World Chess Challenge Cup was then handed over to the Deep Fritz team in a presentation ceremony.

Deep Fritz opened with 1.e4, while Kramnik opted for the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. A risky move - but one that held out the promise of a win. The players then engaged in a sophisticated open middle game with opportunities for development on either side. A sudden attack by Deep Fritz gave the machine an advantage in material; Kramnik began playing with one pawn less in the 30th move. During the end game, Kramnik had no way to save himself from defeat.

View Games Here

Result:
Match 6, Dec. 05, 2006: Deep Fritz (Germany) - Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 1 - 0
Final score: Kramnik - Deep Fritz 2.0:4.0 points
Notation, 6th match; Deep Fritz - Kramnik:
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Bb3 Qc7 9. Re1 Nc6 10. Re3 O-O 11. Rg3 Kh8 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Qe2 a5 14. Bg5 Ba6 15. Qf3 Rab8 16. Re1 c5 17. Bf4 Qb7 18. Bc1 Ng8 19. Nb1 Bf6 20. c3 g6 21. Na3 Qc6 22. Rh3 Bg7 23. Qg3 a4 24. Bc2 Rb6 25. e5 dxe5 26. Rxe5 Nf6 (26... Bxe5 $2 27. Qxe5+ f6 28. Rxh7+ Kxh7 29. Qh5+ Kg7 30. Qxg6+ Kh8 31. Qh7#) 27. Qh4 Qb7 28. Re1 h5 29. Rf3 Nh7
30. Qxa4 Qc6 31. Qxc6 Rxc6 32. Ba4 Rb6 33. b3 Kg8 34. c4 Rd8 35. Nb5 Bb7 36. Rfe3 Bh6 37. Re5 Bxc1 38. Rxc1 Rc6 39. Nc3 Rc7 40. Bb5 Nf8 41. Na4 Rdc8 42. Rd1 Kg7 43. Rd6 f6 44. Re2 e5 45. Red2 g5 46. Nb6 Rb8 47. a4 1-0

Draw in the Fifth Match - Deep Fritz Still One Point Ahead

Prior to the final match in World Chess Challenge 2006, chess computer Deep Fritz (Germany) remains one point ahead of World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia). Today's fifth match in the sold-out Federal Art Hall in Bonn ended in a tie after three-and-a-half hours and 35 moves. That leaves Kramnik with one more chance to win a game and catch up with the world's leading chess computer - in the final match to be held this Tuesday at 3 p.m. Kramnik played white for the third time in today's match, opening again with 1.d4. Deep Fritz responded with the Nimzoindian Defense. The two opponents swept through the opening - Kramnik emerged with a slight advantage over the computer. The 31-year-old World Champion seized the initiative with a pair of bishops. After a piece exchange, Kramnik's two rooks and bishop faced off against Deep Fritz's two rooks and knight. Once again, the bishop was pitted against the knight. Confronted with a position of great tactical complexity, Kramnik had to consider his options carefully - especially when it came to the black knight in the center of the board. In the end, Deep Fritz ended the game with a draw through position repetition. The audience exploded with applause following the exciting match.

"This turned into an extremely complicated match with a very delicate tactical position - one that harbored huge risks for both sides. I think that both of the opponents played extremely well today," said Vladimir Kramnik in the
post-match press conference.

View Games Here

Result:
Match 5, Dec. 03, 2006: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) - Deep Fritz (Germany)
Score: Kramnik - Deep Fritz 2.0:3.0 points
Notation, 5th match; Kramnik - Deep Fritz:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb2 Nc6 9. Rc1 Re8 10. Bd3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. dxe5 Qxd1+ 13. Rxd1 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Be2 Bd7 16. c4 Re7 17. h4 Ne4 18. h5 Ba4 19. Rd3 b5 20. cxb5 Bxb5 21. Rd1 Bxe2 22. Kxe2 Rb8 23. Ba1 f5 24. Rd5 Rb3 25. Rxf5 Rxa3 26. Rb1 Re8 27. Rf4 Ra2+ 28. Ke1 h6 29. Rg4 g5 30. hxg6 Nxf2 31. Rh4 Rf8 32. Kf1 Nh3+ 33. Ke1 Nf2 34. Kf1 Nh3+ 35. Ke1 1/2-1/2

Kramnik and Deep Fritz battle to a draw in 4th game of the World Chess Challenge

Today's battle between World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and chess computer Deep Fritz (Germany) in the Federal Art Hall, with five and a half hours and 54 moves the longest match of World Chess Challenge 2006 so far, ended with a draw. After four matches out of six, Deep Fritz thus continues to lead Kramnik by one point.

For the first time in the World Chess Challenge 2006 a game was opened with 1.e4. With Fritz playing white, Kramnik opted for the Russian defense. Just as in the third match, Fritz quickly took the initiative and began to exert enormous pressure on Kramnik. The Russian world champion, though, drew on his considerable defensive skills once more and successfully countered Fritz's moves, denying the computer any real leverage. In the endgame Deep Fritz pitted two rooks and a bishop against Kramnik's pair of rooks and a knight. Following the exchange of both rooks, Fritz's strong bishop and active king put him in a slightly superior position in the bishop-knight endgame. Kramnik, however, answered with precise defensive moves that allowed him to defuse the advantage held by Deep Fritz and secure one half point in the end. "The endgame took all my attention and for a long time I wasn't sure whether it would come to a draw. It was really close," said Kramnik after the game.

Match five of World Chess Challenge 2006 begins Sunday, December 03, at 3 p.m.

Result:
Match 4, December 01, 2006: Deep Fritz (Germany) - Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 1/2 - 1/2
Score: Kramnik - Deep Fritz 1.5:2.5 points

View Games Here

Notation, 4th match:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. O-O Bd6 8.
Qh5 Qf6 9. Nc3 Qxd4 10. Nxd5 Bc6 11. Ne3 g6 12. Qh3 Ng5 13. Qg4 Qf4 14. Qxf4
Bxf4 15. Nc4 Ne6 16. Bxf4 Nxf4 17. Rfe1+ Kf8 18. Bf1 Bb5 19. a4 Ba6 20. b4 Bxc4
21. Bxc4 Rd8 22. Re4 Nh5 23. Rae1 Rd7 24. h3 Ng7 25. Re5 Nf5 26. Bb5 c6 27. Bd3
Nd6 28. g4 Kg7 29. f4 Rhd8 30. Kg2 Nc8 31. a5 Rd4 32. R5e4 Kf8 33. Kf3 h6 34.
Rxd4 Rxd4 35. Re4 Rd6 36. Ke3 g5 37. Rd4 Ke7 38. c4 Rxd4 39. Kxd4 gxf4 40. Ke4
Kf6 41. Kxf4 Ne7 42. Be4 b6 43. c5 bxc5 44. bxc5 Ng6+ 45. Ke3 Ne7 46. Kd4 Ke6
47. Bf3 f5 48. Bd1 Kf6 49. Bc2 fxg4 50. hxg4 Ke6 51. Bb1 Kf6 52. Be4 Ke6 53.
Bh1 Kf6 54. Bf3 Ke6 1/2-1/2

World Chess Challenge Update

Start of World Chess Challenge 2006: First Match between Kramnik and Fritz Ends in a Draw

At the start of World Chess Challenge 2006, World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and the world's leading chess computer program, Deep Fritz (Germany), ended the first game in a draw after 47 moves. Kramnik (white) kept the pressure on the computer with a Catalan opening, and dominated the entire match. The World
Champion was obviously well prepared: He needed only 15 minutes for the first 20 moves, while Deep Fritz took three times as long. The two adversaries battled down to the last pawn. In the end, the computer managed to gain the
crucial half point against the World Champion. "I'm happy with the draw. It was a good start for this competition. I put the computer under pressure, but Deep Fritz mounted a precise defense," said the World Champion after the
match.

The two opponents played before a full house at the hotly anticipated World Chess Challenge 2006 in the Federal Art Hall in Bonn. Dr. Werner Muller, Chairman of the Board of Management at RAG Aktiengesellschaft, the exclusive sponsor, and Peer Steinbruck, Federal Finance Minister and the patron of World Chess Challenge, made the opening move in the presence of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of the World Chess Federation FIDE.

Results and score:
Match 1, Nov. 25, 2006: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) - Deep Fritz (Germany)
Notation, 1st match:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qd3 c5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Nf3 O-O 10. O-O
Qe7 11. Nc3 b6 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nf6 14. Qh4 Bb7 15. Bg5 Rfd8 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Rfd1
Kf8 19. Ne1 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 f5 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Nd3 Bd4 23. Rc1 e5 24. Rc2 Rd5 25. Nb4 Rb5 26. Nxa6
Rxb2 27. Rxb2 Bxb2 28. Nb4 Kg7 29. Nd5 Bd4 30. a4 Bc5 31. h3 f6 32. f3 Kg6 33. e4 h5 34. g4 hxg4 35. hxg4
fxe4 36. fxe4 Kg5 37. Kf3 Kg6 38. Ke2 Kg5 39. Kd3 Bg1 40. Kc4 Bf2 41. Kb5 Kxg4 42. Nxf6+ Kf3 43. Kc6 Bh4
44. Nd7 Kxe4 45. Kxb6 Bf2+ 46. Kc6 Be1 47. Nxe5 1/2-1/2


In Game 2 Kramnik overlooks mate in one!

Having benefited from the glaring error of Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, world's leading chess computer, Deep Fritz checkmated the rival in the second game and took the lead.

The six games in the duel between Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz, the chess computer developed by Hamburg-based Chessbase, are held from November 25 to December 5, 2006. The venue is the National Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany. If Kramnik wins he will earn one million US dollars.

Kramnik played 3...b5 in the Queen's Gambit Accepted and equalized the chances with black by move 17, The key move of 18...c5 forced the white to fight for the comfortable position. Backed up by enormous calculating potential, Fritz created some tactical threats but Kramnik always kept things under control. The Russian could have made a draw several times, but he went on in hope of winning chances.

On move 33, Kramnik captured on c1, but that move contains a fatal error. Black's queenside pawns would still give him chances. Instead, Kramnik played the move 34...Qe3, having overlooked the mate in one to great pleasure of Fritz operators. It was one of the most unbelievable blunders ever seen at that level of chess and the first one in Kramnik's career.

Deep Fritz 10 - Kramnik,V (2750) [D10]
Man vs Machine Bonn, Germany (2), 27.11.2006
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 b5 4.a4 c6 5.Nc3 b4 6.Na2 Nf6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Bxc4 e6 9.Nf3 a5 10.Bg5 Qb6 11.Nc1 Ba6 12.Qe2 h6 13.Be3 Bxc4 14.Qxc4 Nd7 15.Nb3 Be7 16.Rc1 0-0 17.0-0 Rfc8 18.Qe2 c5 19.Nfd2 Qc6 20.Qh5 Qxa4 21.Nxc5 Nxc5 22.dxc5 Nxe3 23.fxe3 Bxc5 24.Qxf7+ Kh8 25.Qf3 Rf8 26.Qe4 Qd7 27.Nb3 Bb6 28.Rfd1 Qf7 29.Rf1 Qa7 30.Rxf8+ Rxf8 31.Nd4 a4 32.Nxe6 Bxe3+ 33.Kh1 Bxc1 34.Nxf8. Now 34...Kg8 35.Ng6 Bxb2 36.Qd5+ Kh7 37.Nf8+ Kh8 38.Ng6+ is the forced draw. But Kramnik played 34...Qe3?? The blunder of the century.

Game 3 is a Draw

World chess champion Vladimir Kramnik held computer program Deep Fritz to a draw Wednesday in the third game of the man vs. machine match.

Unlike the first two games, in which Kramnik outplayed the machine and obtained an advantage, the computer stood better for much of the time.

The computer now leads the six-game match 2-1 after Kramnik's colossal blunder in game two, in which he allowed a mate in one.

Kramnik, with the white pieces, again played the Catalan opening that he used in game one. In that game, he outplayed the computer and had a clear advantage. Former world champion Garry Kasparov claimed that Kramnik missed a win.

Kramnik varied from the first game on move seven. "Somewhere after move seven, something went wrong. I never had the advantage," he said afterward.

He added that he would have preferred the computer's position by move 14. Black had a mobile queenside pawn majority and Kramnik lagged slightly in development.

On move 21, the machine offered a pawn to maintain its initiative.

Fritz's advantage never got out of hand. "It was pretty drawish all the time but I had to defend carefully," Kramnik said, calling his position "unpleasant."

Kramnik quickly gave back his extra pawn and activated his pieces. The computer, meanwhile, converted its queenside majority into a passed a-pawn.

Kramnik then forced a draw by giving up his rook in exchange for Fritz's bishop and passed pawn. In the resulting endgame, Fritz had a rook and two pawns versus bishop and three pawns.

Despite Fritz's material advantage, this ending was easily drawn. The computer evaluated its position as being the equivalent of a pawn better.

"Obviously, that's too much in this particular position," said Fritz's operator Mathias Feist.

All Kramnik had to do was sit on the position and there was no way for Fritz to make any progress. Kramnik offered the draw and Feist accepted on the machine's behalf.

The game:

Kramnik-Deep Fritz

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qc2 c5 8. Nf3 b6 9. Ne5 Nd5 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 exd5 13. O-O Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qc8 15. Rd1 Qe6 16. Qd3 Be7 17. Qxd5 Rd8 18. Qb3 Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1 O-O 20. Qb3 c4

21. Qc3 f6 22. b3 Rc8 23. Bb2 b5 24. Qe3 fxe5 25. bxc4 Rxc4 26. Bxe5 h6 27. Rd1 Rc2 28. Qb3 Qxb3 29. axb3 Rxe2 30. Bd6 Bf6 31. Bc5 a5 32. Bd4 Be7 33. Bc3 a4 34. bxa4 bxa4 35. Rd7 Bf8 36. Rd8 Kf7 37. Ra8 a3 38. Rxf8+ Kxf8 39. Bb4+ Kf7 40. Bxa3 Ra2 41. Bc5 g6 42. h4 Kf6 43. Be3 h5 44. Kg2 draw

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Game four match is scheduled for Friday. Deep Fritz will have White.

Deep Fritz Puts Enormous Pressure on Kramnik

After four hours and 44 moves of play, today's third match in World Chess Challenge 2006 between World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and the world's leading chess computer program, Deep Fritz, (Germany) ended in a draw. For the first time in this competition, Deep Fritz (black) took the initiative and exerted enormous pressure on Kramnik. The Catalan opening put the computer in a superior position - Vladimir Kramnik had to mount a very precise defense in order to maintain his own position.

Deep Fritz was not interested in capturing material. Instead, it sacrificed a pawn in its 16th move in order to obtain a development advantage. However, the Russian World Champion successfully neutralized the machine's advantage. By making an exchange sacrifice in the 38th move, Kramnik managed to build an impenetrable King's fortress and finished the game with a draw.

Following his defeat in the second match, Kramnik took far more time to plan his initial moves than in the first two games. Kramnik needed 45 minutes for the first 15 moves, while Fritz only used 15 minutes. "After what happened in the second match, I had to be twice as focused for today's game. This match was psychologically difficult - I couldn't help thinking about my last encounter with Fritz. Deep Fritz had a very strong game today, but I defended myself carefully and ended the match with a draw," said Kramnik in the post-game press conference. Halfway through World Chess Challenge 2006, Deep Fritz leads Kramnik with 2:1.

Result: Match 3, Nov. 29, 2006: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) - Deep Fritz (Germany)
Score: Kramnik - Deep Fritz 1.0:2.0 points
Notation, 3rd match; Kramnik - Deep Fritz:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qc2 c5 8. Nf3 b6 9. Ne5 Nd5 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 exd5 13. O-O Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qc8 15. Rd1 Qe6 16. Qd3 Be7 17. Qxd5 Rd8 18. Qb3 Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1 O-O 20. Qb3 c4 21. Qc3 f6 22. b3 Rc8 23. Bb2 b5 24. Qe3 fxe5 25. bxc4 Rxc4 26. Bxe5 h6 27.Rd1 Rc2 28. Qb3 Qxb3 29. axb3 Rxe2 30. Bd6 Bf6 31. Bc5 a5 32. Bd4 Be7 33. Bc3 a4 34. bxa4 bxa4 35. Rd7 Bf8 36. Rd8 Kf7 37. Ra8 a3 38. Rxf8+ Kxf8 39. Bb4+ Kf7 40. Bxa3 Ra2 41. Bc5 g6 42. h4 Kf6 43. Be3 h5 44.Kg2 1/2-1/2
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Internet and live webcast: www.mensch-gegen-maschine.de

World Chess Challenge 2006

World Chess Challenge 2006 - The Duel: Man Vs. Machine
Vladimir Kramnik vs. Chess Computer Deep Fritz
From November 25 to December 5, 2006 at the Federal Art Hall in Bonn
One million US dollars for Kramnik if he defeats Deep Fritz
Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck is event patron Essen.
Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik vs. the world's leading chess computer, Deep Fritz: The much-anticipated WORLD CHESS CHALLENGE (WCC) 2006 will be held from November 25 to December 5, 2006 in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn. The exclusive sponsor of WCC 2006 is Essen-based energy and chemicals company RAG.

The kick-off press conference for WCC 2006 took place today in Essen. RAG Chairman of the Board of Management Dr. Werner Muller said, "We are delighted to make WCC 2006 possible. Chess fits in beautifully with our company. Chess calls for intelligent strategy, foresight and endurance. RAG is also pursuing a clear strategy that will allow our company to continue to grow and compete successfully in future. And foresight and endurance are essential for us to reach our goals, one move at a time. We can't wait to find out whether Kramnik's strategy will pay off and allow him to beat the world's leading chess computer. We'd like to wish him all the best."

The patron of WCC 2006 is Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, who noted, "I'm delighted that we managed to bring WCC 2006 to North Rhine-Westphalia and to Bonn. World Chess Challenge 2006, featuring Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz, is a one-of-a-kind, high-level duel that promises to be a real treat for chess aficionados like myself as well as all fans of cultivated high-performance sports. I know this will be an exciting tournament!"

There will be six games in the duel between Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and Deep Fritz (Germany), the chess computer developed by Hamburg-based Chessbase. If he is victorious, Kramnik will win one million US dollars. Otherwise, the World Champion will walk away with only half that amount.

Vladimir Kramnik said, "The machine is the clear favorite, but don't discount me just yet. I know some top players would be very nervous about playing the computer – they might even avoid this kind of match. That's understandable since a cut-and-dried defeat can affect your future game. Of course, this computing monster keeps getting better year by year, month by month, day by day: My opponentwill be incredibly strong. But I think I can still beat it. Whenever I can fight, I'm extremely motivated. After all, I might be the last human being to be able to defeat this machine. My team and I will be expending all our efforts to cut this so-called artificial intelligence down to size." WCC 2006 is being organized by Universal Event Promotion GmbH (UEP). "Along with millions of chess fans, I am delighted to be organizing this world-class event with RAG, our strong partner and exclusive sponsor, and Peer Steinbruck, our patron. The Federal Art Hall is a wonderful venue for this duel," stressed UEP Match Director Josef Resch. "In the year of computer science, the man vs. machine duel is more than just a scientific experiment; it is a cultural and sports highlight like no other."

So after years of technological change and progress, WCC 2006 will add a new chapter to the long history of chess duels between human and artificial intelligence. The two players - Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz - have already clashed once: Back in 2002 in Bahrain, World Champion Kramnik
finished the match against the machine with a 4:4 tie.


Schedule for WCC 2006 in Bonn:
Game 1: Sa, November 25 3 p.m.
Game 2: Mo, November 27 3 p.m.
Game 3: We, November 29 3 p.m.
Game 4: Fr, December 01 3 p.m.
Game 5: Su, December 03 3 p.m.
Game 6: Tu, December 05 3 p.m.

Chennai Online News Service - View News

Chennai Online News Service - View News: "Negi to play blindfold chess matches
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New Delhi, Nov 27: In a unique attempt early in his career, world's second youngest ever Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi will simultaneously play four blindfold chess matches here tomorrow.

This is a first instance in the country when a Grandmaster will be playing blindfold matches simultaneously against more than one opponent.

The 13-year-old Negi, with his eyes closed, will be pitted against city's four talents in the event to be held at the Russian Centre for Science Arts and Culture as a part of next month's Amity Grandmasters Challenge in which the Delhi prodigy will take on European Women's Champion Kateryna Lahno of Ukraine in matchplay tournament.

Negi will be told the moves his opponents make and he will reply to that by speaking aloud his own moves.

The event will be followed by another exhibition match where Negi will play against as many as 25 opponents simultaneously, albeit with his eyes open.

The blindfold chess has recently gained in popularity due to the annual Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess tournament with Indian ace Viswanathan Anand being the reigning singles champion for the last two years.

Negi said he was confident of a good show.

'It will indeed be harder than the normal"

Kramnik's Brilliant Game Ends with a Cruel Defeat

Thanks to an unbelievable error made by the World Champion in the 34th move, today's second match in World Chess Challenge 2006 came to an abrupt conclusion. Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) wasted a brilliant game and an extraordinary position by completely overlooking a one-move checkmate against chess computer Deep Fritz (Germany). Deep Fritz checkmated the World Champion by moving its queen to h7. After playing two of the six matches, the computer has taken the lead with 1.5 to 0.5 points.

Like Kramnik, Deep Fritz opened its first white game by playing d4. Once the Queen's Gambit had been accepted, the adversaries began a strategically complex game. The Russian World Champion controlled the strategic position beautifully, developing advantages through precise playing. He even avoided a repetition of position that would have resulted in a draw. Kramnik was not under time pressure - he still had 33 minutes on the time control clock for the last five moves. But then, something unbelievable happened on the stage at the Federal Art Hall: The World
Champion, normally such a confident and controlled player, made a disastrous mistake - allowing the computer to checkmate him and immediately end the game.

At the post-game press conference, both Kramnik and the international journalists were stunned by the conclusion. "I'm also shocked by what happened. I can't explain it. My position was excellent; I felt good, and wasn't even tired,"
said a visibly upset Kramnik.

World Chess Challenge will continue on Wednesday, November 29, 3 p.m. with the third match between Kramnik and Deep Fritz.
Result:
Match 2, Nov. 27, 2006: Deep Fritz (Germany) - Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 1 - 0
Score: Kramnik - Deep Fritz 0.5:1.5 points
Notation, 2nd match:
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. Nc3 b4 6. Na2 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bxc4 e6 9. Nf3 a5 10. Bg5 Qb6 11. Nc1
Ba6 12. Qe2 h6 13. Be3 Bxc4 14. Qxc4 Nd7 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Rc1 O-O 17. O-O Rfc8 18. Qe2 c5 19. Nfd2 Qc6
20. Qh5 Qxa4 21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. dxc5 Nxe3 23. fxe3 Bxc5 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qf3 Rf8 26. Qe4 Qd7 27. Nb3 Bb6
28. Rfd1 Qf7 29. Rf1 Qa7 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Nd4 a4 32. Nxe6 Bxe3+ 33. Kh1 Bxc1 34. Nxf8 Qe3 35. Qh7# 1-0

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Chess Etiquette Part 1

This is the first installment in a series on chess etiquette. This is of course an opinion piece and should not be taken as any concrete enforceable rule. This is just a way to help some of our players that may be new to the game and do not know how precisely they should conduct themselves in play.

First, chess is a noble game and it should be treated with respect at all times. This game, in its various forms, spans almost to the birth of written history. Whilst the days of romantic chess are long past, there are things we can do to help the spirit of the game survive. Living as we do in a technological age it is easy to forget that there is another person across the board even when we are playing online chess. We must, through our own actions, display good taste and fair sportsmanship. We must act civilized and proper even when it is not returned.

One of the most common questions that I see arise with online chess sites and over the board games is when it is proper to resign. First, let me state that you should never ask an opponent to resign. I myself sometimes have games between friends where I try and help them with their openings and tactics. I have told them when a game has reached the point that resigning is the only logical conclusion, but I myself will never message an opponent and tell them that they should resign. I have been tempted to do this many times, but it is not my place. An opponent has the right to play a game till the bitter end. They may just be learning and want to see how you end it. They may not be as familiar as you are with the game, and they might not see the checkmate coming, even when its forced, and as simple as two or three moves away. They may also be playing for a stalemate, and it is their right. It is your responsibility to make sure you win a won game, not theirs.

I have had opponents message me in a lost game and ask if they can play on, as they seek to learn. I have always been polite and have stated that I do not mind at all. Others may answer differently. If I find myself in a lost game with no hopes of winning I will resign. Chess is a good portion mental strategy. I find playing a lost game to be bad for my self esteem. But I resign when I believe the game is over and not because of the opponent. So if you believe the game is lost, resign and move on to the next one, but if you think you have a fighting chance, stay with it until all avenues have been exhausted!


Contributed by Nyxie

2006 Capablanca Chess Memorial Tournament November 19-30

Just came across this on Susan Polgars Chess Blog.
The 2006 Capablanca Memorial is taking place from November 19 to 30, 2006 at the hotel Habana Riviera.

The event is a 6 player double round robin with

Vassily Ivanchuk
Evgeny Bareev
Kamil Miton
Ruben Felgaer
Lenier Dominguez
Lazaro Bruzon

Here is the official website.

Who is your pick to win this very strong tournament?

New Ideas in the Petrov's Defense

*DISCLAIMER* This isn't exactly a new idea in this opening. To my knowledge Alfonso Romero (who i believe was a GM) was the first to explore this opening and write an article about it in a Spanish magazine in 1998, and a more in depth article in the New In Chess Yearbook #54 in 2000. (I had access to neither of these) I am merely expanding on what i could find of his original theory, using some top level games played since and ideas of my own.*

I already know what you are thinking, "but I don't want to play the Petrov's, its too
drawish." When you are white, and black starts out on that ever-familiar path, try moaning to him that you don't want to play this opening, see how far it gets you J. Or, you can learn some lines here that may very well keep you from drawing, and not having to worry about drawing in this opening again. We all know how the Petrov's starts out: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 and there are some alternatives here, but I'm not going to get into those, I'm here for another rather rare, little spoken of variation. Let's continue: 3. Nxe4 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe5. And here it is, the kicker black almost never thinks of: 5. Bd3, the Anti-Development Variation. Why can I hear scoffing already? You haven't seen the rest and already people are coping an attitude J. Yes, this opening does hinder development for a few moves, but in some lines blacks development can also be rather lacking. This opening doesn't enjoy the same popularity as other lines in the Petrov, but it has about the same winning percentage for white, when played correctly, as the more common lines. Why is this line so uncommon? For starters, it goes against ideas that we as experienced chess players have ingrained in our heads. We obnoxiously throw the light squared bishop out on a square that blocks both the d pawn and therefore its dark squared brother. Another may be because of its rather bad sounding name. So I am giving you a job my minions, I am going to change the name of this opening, and you are going to spread the word. It shall henceforth be called… the "Trajan Variation"!!! (What did you think I was going to call it? J). Will this variation really get a name change; I highly doubt it, BUT THAT WON'T STOP ME FROM TRYING!!! Now my minions, here is all the information you will need to know in order to go out in the world and spread the news. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe3 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3, and you get this position:


Black has three main alternatives to chose from: 5. … Nf6, d5, or Nc5. We shall go over each of these options separately.
5. ... Nf6: 6. h3 (A) Be7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. c3 Nc6 (B) 9. Bc2 Ne5 (C) 10. d4 Nxf3+ 11. Qxf3 c6 12. Bf4 Qb6 13. b3 d5 with equal chances

(A) 6. 0-0 Nc6 7. Re1+ Be7 8. c3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bb5 0-0 11. d4 is about equal
(B) Both 8. ... d5 9. Bc2 Re8 10. d4 Bd6 and 8. ... c5 9. Bc2 Nc6 10. d4 Be6 lead to equality.
(C) 9. ... d5 10. d4 Ne4 11. Re1 f5 12. Bf4 and white is well off

5. ... d5: this line is most often chosen by top players: 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. 0-0 And here we get two different paths:

1.7. ... Nd6 (A) 8. Qd1 Qd8 9. Nc3 c6 10. Re1+ Be7 11. Qe2 Bg4 (B) is about equal (Morozevich-Kramnik Wijk aan Zee 2000)
2.7. ... Nc5 8. Re1 Be6 9. Bb5+ c6 10. d4 cxd5 11. dxc5 Nc6 (C) 12. Be3 a6 13. a4 b4 14. c3 a5 and white is a bit ahead (Morozevich-Shirov, Sarajevo 2000)

(A) This novelty was first played by Kramnik in Linares in 1999 (see below)
(B) 11. ... Nd7 12. b4 Nf8 13. b5 Ne6 is better for white
(C) Not-11. ... Qxc5 12. Ng5 Qc4 13. Nxe6 Qxe2 14. Rxe2 fxe6 15. Rxe6+ Kf7 16. Re5 and black is in bad shape.

5. ... Nc5: 6. Be2 Be7 (A) 7. 0-0 0-0 8. d4 Ne4 9. c4 c6 10. Qc2 d5 11. Bd3 Be6 is unclear

(A) 6. ... d5 7. d4 Ne4 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. c4 c6 10. Nc3 0-0 11. Qb3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 h6 14. Re1 Nd7 15. Wc2 Nb6 16. Bd3 c5 was even in
Constantini-Raetsky, Biel 2001

"But o' wise one, this is still missing something". Yes my minions, it does need something. IT NEEDS STREET CRED!! Here it is my followers, three games, won by white, using the Trajan Variation.

Kateryna Lahno vs. Margiz Umudova Int. Youth Games U14 Girls-Moscow 2002

e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. h3 !? Be7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. c3 d5 9. Bc2 Bd6 10. d4 h6 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Re1 Nc6 13. Nf1 Ne4 14. c4 Bf8 15. a3 Bf5 16. cxd5 Qxd5 (Better is 16. ... Nb8 17. Bf4 Nd6 18. Rxe8 Qxe8 19. Bxf5 Nxf5 20. Qc2 Qd7 21. Ne3 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Qxd5 23. Bxc7) 17. Ne3 Qd7 18. Nxf5 Qxf5 19. Qd3 1-0.

Kateryna Lahno vs. Ekaterina Polovnikova-Atalik Fide Women's World Championship-Elista Russia 2004

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bc2 0-0 8. d4 b6 9. 0-0 Bb7 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nf1 Bf8

13. Be3 g6 14. Ng3 Bg7 15. h3 Nf8 16. Nh2 Qd7 17. Qd2 Ne4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Bh6 f5 20. Nxe4 fxe4 21. Ng4 Qf5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Qh6+ Kh8

24. Re3 d5 25. Rae1 Ne6 26. f3 exf3 27. Rxf3 Qg5 28. Rxe6 Qxh6 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Nxh6 Kg7 31. Ng4 Re1+ 32. Rf1 Re2 33. Rf2 1-0

"But Master, who would listen to us if you only give us examples of an inexperienced girl?" Well, let me tell you a little something about Kateryna Lahno. In 2002, at the age of 12 years 4 months and 2 days, she became the youngest WGM in chess history. She has had many impressive tournament results, and although it may be argued that she has hit somewhat of a slump, she will hopefully regain her form soon, and hopefully one day this Ukrainian star will achieve her goal of becoming a GM (2 norms down, 1 to go). You want more proof? Bigger names you say? Fine, as long as you are doing my bidding and spreading the word, I will indulge your needs.

Alexander Morozevich vs. Alexey Shirov 2001

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 d5 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. 0-0 Nd6 8. Qd1 g6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bf1 Bg7 11. d4 0-0 12. Bf4 Nc6 13. c3 Qd7

14. Nbd2 Rfe8 15. h3 f6 16. Qa4 Bf7 17. Rxe8+ Rxe8 18. b4 a6 19. Nb3 Ne4 20. Nc5 Qf5 21. Be3 Nd8 22. Qc2 Qc8 23. a4 Nd6 24. Bf4 Nc4

25. a5 Ne6 26. Bg3 Nxc5 27. bxc5 Bh6 28. Bd3 Re7 29. Nh2 Qe8 30. Ng4 Bg7 31. Bh4 Re1+ 32. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 33. Kh2 f5 34. Nf6+ Kh8 35. Bxc4 dxc4

36. c6 bxc6 37. Qb2 Bf8 38. Bg3 Bd6 39. Bxd6 cxd6 40. Qb8+ Kg7 41. Qxd6 Qxf2 42. Nd7 Kh6 43. Qg3 Qd2 44. h4 Be6 45. Nb8 Bc8 46. Nxc6 Bb7

47. Ne5 Bd5 48. Nd7 Be4 49. Nc5 Kg7 50. Ne6+ Kh6 51. Qg5+ Qxg5 52. hxg5+ Kh5 53. Kg3 h6 54. gxh6 Kxh6 55. Nc5 Kg5 56.Nxa6 f4+

57. Kf2 Kf6 58. Nc5 Bc6 59. a6 Ke7 60. Nb7 Bd5 61. Na5 Kd6 62. a7 Kc7 63. Nxc4 g5 64. Ne5 Kb6 65. c4 Bf7 1-0

YOU WANT MORE??!! All right, but you will be working overtime for me now. This next game, even though a draw, is still a good example of how to play the opening.

Peter Leko vs. Vladimir Kramnik Linares 1999 (This was also the first time this variation was seen in top level play.)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 d5 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. 0-0 Nd6 8. Re1 Qxe2 9. Rxe2 (9. Bxe2 favors black slightly) Be7 (9. … Kd8 10. Nc3 c6 11. b4 Bg4 is unclear.) 10. Nc3 Be6 11. Nd4 Kd7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Nb5 Nxb5 14. Bxb5+ c6 15. Bd3 Bf6 16. c3 c5 17. Bb5+ Nc6 18. d3 Rhe8 19. Bf4 a6 20. Bxc6 Kxc6 21. Rae1 Kd7 22. Be5 Rf8 23. f4 Rae8 24. g3 Bxe5 25. Rxe5 Rf5 26. c4 Rxe5 27. Rxe5 dxc4 28. Rxc5 1/2-1/2

Well, now what do you think? As you can see, with the "Trajan Variation" you can unbalance the game and try for the win instead of despairing because for your drawing potential. Give this opening a try; See how you do with it. Hopefully you will learn from it and enjoy the games you play. I really hope you learn from this article and enjoy both the Petrov's defense and the game of chess just a little more.