Drawn to Repetitions

Viswanathan Anand earned a draw with the Black pieces in game 5 of the 2010 world championship match against challenger Veselin Topalov, moving the score to 3:2 and retaining the champion's one point lead. Topalov opened with 1.d4 and the game progressed into a Slav a la game 3, not deviating until the move 11... Nbd7. Once again both sides elected not to castle and prepared for the endgame. A draw was agreed through the arbiter after 44.Rc3 foretold another looming repetition of position. Get the complete game score at the official match site.

Online Tonight

Don't forget online chess with the Elizabethtown Chess Club on FICS tonight at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT. For help, see this post.

Puzzling Pastime

Think that you're good at chess puzzles? Try this one! Just download, unzip, and run.

(Please note that this is a first attempt at direct downloads from the club web page. Some issues are still being addressed. In the future we may be able to download PGN files in the same way. Clicking on the link will direct you to a page at Google where another click will allow you to download the file.)

White Piece Advantage

The champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov will get a rest today after matching wins with the white pieces. The contest will resume tomorrow at 8:00 am EDT. You can see video and download game scores at the official site. Live video of grandmaster analysis of the games in progress can be seen on Chess.com TV.

Above is the position after 23. Rf3 in the first game Anand vs. Topalov. Vishy played 23... Kf7, but 23... Bb7 looks more promising for Black.

Southern Class

Though no active club members were playing, you might recognize a name or two from the cross tables at the recently completed 9th Southern Class Championships in Nashville. Grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest of New York topped the charts with 4.5 out of 5, yielding only a draw to Tennessee's FIDE Master Peter Bereolos in the last round. In Class A, James Pollitt from Indiana matched that score. Kentucky player Taylor Micajah Bagley scored 3 points in the section. Ali Hamdan Alataiwi of Tennessee stunned Class B with a perfect score of 5! Michael Robertson, also of Tennessee, led Class C with 4.5. Chris Prosser, known as a scholastic coach and tournament director, was near home when he turned in a very respectable 3.0 and pushed his rating to 1524. Modesto Garcia and Scott McCormick also represented the host state by sharing scores of 4.5 to crown Class D. A provisionally rated Schuyler Matthew Read of Kentucky raided the Class E and under with a perfect score of 5.0! Ariel Torres and Ronit Vikram Patel also represented Kentucky with Class E scores of 2.5 and 1.0.

Constant Comment?

Tired of scrolling up and down our blog looking to see if anybody posted a new comment to your favorite posts? Well scroll no more! Blogger has brewed up a new feature that solves the problem. Look to the right underneath our Quick Calendar and you'll see a new box for Recent Comments. Here you'll find the latest added by members with a chance to click through to the whole post and comments.

Please note that this new feature is apparently in beta and still contains a few bugs. Spam comments which have already been deleted may appear in the list, but will yield an error if you try to click them. Also certain special characters such as quotation marks are not rendered correctly.

E-Town FICS

Organized live online chess got it's start for the club last night as four players made a go of it. Stephanie Clayton, Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, and Bob Lenning met on channel 150 at the Free Internet Chess Server to share a few games. Want to see what it's about? Join us next time for some online chess fun along with any cool beverage that you happen to have in your fridge.

Chess Erupts in Bulgaria

After a one day delay due to the volcanic ash over Europe, the world championship match between the current champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov is scheduled to start on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Check on live coverage and find game downloads at the official website.

Brian is Back!

Past club president and webmaster Brian Lucas was in the house last night with the promise that we'll be seeing him more in the future for a few quick games. Welcome back Brian! Also in attendance last night were Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, Andrew Lee, Bob Lenning, Ming Loi, Sal Mancuso, Rudy McKinney, Stan Mullins, Johnny Owens, Steve Parsons, Ernie Weaver, Jerry Weldin, and James Whiddon. Fourteen players was the best attendance the club has had since the December 15 meeting last year.

Gimme More Chess!

Can't get enough chess? Don't want to have to drive to get a game? We've got the solution ... Wednesday night chess online with the club!

Starting Wednesday night at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT, members of the club will gather online to test the idea of meeting weekly on the FICS site. If you don't yet have an account or client software, most of us use BabasChess. We'll organize by meeting on channel 150.

To get set up you'll want to type these commands in the console window:

+ channel 150
set chanoff 0
set echo 0

Then check out your channels tab and try channel 150. We'll use the chat feature in this channel to get organized, match up for games, and arrange to examine and observe games. Games will be played just as live games are played. Your play may be FICS rated if you want.

Want help getting set up? I'll have my netbook at the regular club meeting on Tuesday night to show how it's done; or this Wednesday night at 7pm I will be at Panera Bread with my netbook to help anybody that would like to play. I'll be playing live on FICS from Panera. Bring your laptop with you and I'll see that you get set up. Then you'll be all ready to play on your laptop from home next time. Don't have a laptop or aren't sure about playing online? Just come on down, have a coffee, and see what it's about. Not available to play on Wednesdays? Join in the discussion and help us select new or additional times.

Hope you'll like this new way to enjoy chess with the club. Don't forget our other club opportunities: regular club meetings on Tuesday nights, 2nd Tuesday of the month ratings tournaments, online chess on Chess.com, casual chess and coffee at Panera Bread on Saturday mornings, rated games on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month at El Tapatio, other scheduled tournaments, and now online play on FICS on Wednesday nights. Check out our calendar for the latest. And don't forget to take advantage of the club library too!

Newly Minted

Darren Radford reached 1834 to reclaim his status as A-player. Ernie Weaver (not pictured) held on to his newly earned spot on the A-player list with an 1801 rating.

Andrew Lee earned a 1424 rating to gain the title of C-player.

Egg Salad for 17 Please

TD Jerry Weldin, Sponsor Specialist Reyes, and winners Kerry Fatula, Sal Mancuso, Glen O'Banion, Steve Parsons, Randas Burns, Johnny Owens, Nathaniel Emdee, Katy Margaret Thomas, James Lawson, Darren Radford, Larry Davidson, Andrew Lee, and Stephanie Clayton.

It was a beautiful Saturday and a great day for chess as seventeen players gathered for the club's annual spring tournament, the 2010 Egg Salad Open. Thirteen players shared the honors. Steve Parsons, Randas Burns, Glen O'Banion, James Lawson, Darren Radford, and Johnny Owens split the 1st place, 2nd place, Class A, and Class B prizes as shared winners of the tournament with 3 points each. Kerry Fatula and Larry Davidson came up winners in Class C with 2 points. Andrew Lee and Katy Thomas were tops in Class D with 2 points. And Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, and Nathaniel Emdee divvied up Class E with 1 point each.

See more after the fold:

White to Move

Finlayson

1901

from The Great ABC of Tactics by Renko

See the solution after the fold:

White to Move

Hillarp Person - Grosse Frintrop

Recklinghausen 2001

from Gary Lane's Find the Winning Move

See the solution after the fold:

Baker's Dozen

Thirteen players were on hand for April's 2nd Tuesday Tourney. Ernie Weaver was at the top of the heap with 3 full points when all was said and done, earning himself an A-player rating of 1814 and moving him into 3rd position in the club championship standings. Andrew Lee scored 1.5 points plus took a full point bye for clear 2nd in the Open section on his way to an estimated gain of 58 rating points and a new spot at 5th in the standings. Joe Farrell and Jerry Weldin came into the clubhouse with a plus score of 2. Adding to his total from the El Tapatio contests, Jerry ended with a rating of 1691, more than 100 points over his rating after last months tourney! Steve Parsons finished at 1.5, but retains his first place position in the overall standings. Johnny Owens and Kerry Fatula each took a win, while James Whiddon and Rudy McKinney rounded out the field.

In the under-1400 section, it was returning member Ming Loi that blanked the field to score 3 points, raising his provisional rating an incredible 151 points! Dave Brock, Sal Mancuso, and Stephanie Clayton took 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5 points respectively.

Check out the tournament crosstables here or the championship standings here.

Chess, Chips & Salsa, Corona & Lime, Chile Colorado, Chess, Coffee, Chess, Rinse, Repeat

Four players faced off for an afternoon of chess today at the Nelson County Public Library in Bardstown. Stephanie Clayton, James Biggs, Andrew Preston, and Bob Lenning tried their best to wear out the pieces. Afterwards came a good meal (and a couple of beers for Bob) at the Rincon Mexican Restaurant just a block off the rotary. Thanks to Stephanie for organizing today's chess!

Casual chess and coffee will begin at 10am at Panera Bread tomorrow.

Authentic Certificate

Now there's no question about it! James Whiddon does indeed have an official Certificate of Authenticity. The pedigreed pieces are featured below. Look below the fold for more about tonight's meeting:

Bluegrass State Games - 2010

We will be hosting the Bluegrass State Games again this year!!

July 10, 2010

Time: 9AM-registration ; 1st Round @ 10AM

Place: Mill Creek Baptist Church - Family Life Center
1182 Jones St., Radcliff

For more info go to the official website or check the club calendar.

Boden's Mate

White to Play and Mate in 2.

From The Art of the Checkmate
by Renaud and Kahn.

See the solution after the fold:

White to Move

Cardoso - Torre
Manila 1973

from John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book


see the solution below the fold:

A Chess Computer With Connections

Have you ever drooled over the DGT electronic chessboard ads, only to discover that the price is a bit over you head? There may be an alternative offering some of the same benefits for a somewhat more palatable $300: the Novag Citrine. This is a wood electronic chess computer that also allows you to connect to your PC and transfer game scores recorded on the device or play aganst PC-based chess engines. This device has not been approved for tournament use for the recording of chess game scores by the USCF.

Look below the fold for a video review of the product:

No More Pen and Paper

Want to record your chess games electronically? Want to spend less than it costs to fly to the Caribbean? Your solution might be eNotate from the North American Chess Association. You can buy the software for $25, or the software with a PDA for $125. The software is approved by the USCF for use in rated tournaments. Read this blog post from a chess player who is using the $125 eNotate package now. Using eNotate with a Pocket PC lets you use Pocket Fritz from Chessbase when the eNotate software isn't running! If you buy the software only and then shop for your own Pocket PC you can buy a model with WIFI (not accessible when eNotate is running) and other extra features. You might try eBay to look for a deal.

Please note that I have not personally tested the products mentioned in this post. The information is based on manufacturer claims and offered here for the consideration of members of the Elizabethtown Chess Club. The only other devices known to be approved for tournament use by the USCF are the MonRoi used by several club players and DGT electronic chess boards.

Complete Game Score Owens vs Weldin

Sorry for the poor quality, I found that printing out the post gave a readable image.
Still working on my computer skills!

Smyslov Dead At 89

Vasily Smyslov passed away yesterday, March 27th, three days after his 89th birthday.

Smyslov was the 7th World Champion (1957-1958) and is sometimes overlooked as that was the period when Botvinnik vertually controlled world chess.

Smyslov played three matches with Botvinnik for the World Championship drawing the first, winning the second and losing the third. While this is impressive in it's self; in my opinion the greater accomplishment was that during these three matches Smyslov out scored Botvinnik 18 - 17 with 34 games drawn.

A Fighting Draw!!

Owens vs Weldin with Black to move.(El Tapatio 3, 3/26/10)
There followed:23.....Bxe4!, 24.Nxd4! Rxg2! 25.Nf3! Bxf3 26.Qxd3 Rxg3+ 27.Kh2 Rg2+
28. Kh1 Drawn

Chess Among the Daffodils

With sunny days leading to warm afternoons, the lure of nature and the great outdoors is just too much for many chess players. I'm a great nature lover myself and just can't resist the chance to see the fleeting wonder of wildflowers racing to beat the trees to the sunshine. But warm weather isn't incompatible with chess!

Read more after the fold:

White to Move

See the solution after the fold:

Tactics, Tactics, Tactics

OK. I know that you've heard it before: 'tactics, tactics, tactics'. But does it really work? The theory goes this way: most club level games end after one player gains a decisive material advantage. And you've heard the old saying that a chess game is won by the player who made the next to the last mistake. So it seems that it's a mistake that decides a chess game, not a clever tactic. But wait! The mistake that's usually made is walking into a simple tactical shot! And so the saying from Dan Heisman: "basic tactic skills should be used to prevent an opponent’s tactics, not to find winning tactics for oneself!”

So, where do you go to get your tactical skills up to date?

Find out below the fold:

Three Point Shots

Steve Parsons collected all 3 points to win the open section in last night's 2nd Tuesday Tournament and inched closer to Expert with a 1984 rating. He extended his total in the 2010 championship to 8 points. Ernie Weaver cleared 2 points in the tourney sharing the honors with Nick Folino and James Whiddon. Ernie made it 4.5 points in the championship for a clear 4th. Nick and James both earned their first 2 championship points. Joe Farrell and Johnny Owens both came in with even scores of 1.5. Joe's championship total improves to 6.0, maintaining 2nd position. Johnny's total rises to 5.0 claiming the 3rd position. Jerry Weldin earned a win while Kerry Fatula and Andrew Lee took 1 point byes giving Jerry and Andrew 3 points in the championship standings with Kerry claiming 2.5 points.

Bob Lenning scored 3 points in the under 1400 section to lead the group. Dave Brock held his own with 2 points while Stephanie Clayton bested Sal Mancuso to earn 1 point.

You can find the complete tournament crosstable here.

Stick a Fork in It

Our new logo features an interesting study problem which illustrates well the tactical theme of the knight fork. It is White to move. Can you solve it?

Find the solution with annotation after the fold.

Test Your Board Knowledge

"Learning the board" is the first step toward improvement recommended by many chess teachers. As luck would have it I have been "relearning" the board after over three decades of not playing "blindfold chess" on a regular basis. Tonight I stumbled onto a web site that makes it easy, and best of all it's free! Just go to Chess Eye; chose the online version and get ready to be tested.

New and Improved

Now our club website is even easier to use! Check out the ribbon menu above which will take you to the membership list, our new calendar, the library, chess puzzles to try, links to favorite sites, the 2010 club championship standings, and general club information. You can still use the links in the righthand column on the page to find our club, check upcoming events, see the info on our next big tourney, and check the latest chess news.

Movin' On Up

We've exchanged links with Chess Cafe! Look down the righthand side of our blog and you'll see a brand new banner link to ChessCafe.com. It's a shortcut to lots of great chess info along with our separate links to their newsfeed. It's also a great place to shop for a new chess set or the latest chess DVD. They've listed our club here (you'll find it listed under blogs). Thanks to Chess Cafe for kindly exchanging links with us.

The Place Was Jumpin'

The club was jumping with 11 players at the boards last night. Those attending were Dave Brock, Jerry Weldin, Johnny Owens, Steve Parsons, Sal Mancuso, Rudy McKinney, Bob Lenning, Andrew Lee, Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, and Ernie Weaver. Don't forget that next week is the 2nd Tuesday tournament for March. Let Johnny know in advance if you plan to play, or be there early to allow time to register.

With Mate in 2 You Get Egg Salad

It's official! The club's annual spring tournament will be held on April 17, 2010 in room 303 of the Occupational-Technical Building at Elizabethtown Community College. The Egg Salad Open will be a 4 round swiss system with G/45 time controls. Prizes b/20 1st $100, 2nd $50, Class A, B, C, D, E & below/unrated $40. Registration will be from 8:15-8:45am and round 1 will start at 9:00am. Entry fees will be $20 in advance or $25 on site. Send your entry to Johnny Owens, P.O. Box 226, Elizabethtown, KY 42702, or phone (270) 272-3061, or email to chessnut@insightbb.com.

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd, and Eleven is a Chess Fest

A new record for Saturday attendance at Panera was set yesterday when 11 players pushed the wood! The regulars were there including Nick, Bob L. Jerry, Andrew L., Andrew P., Stephanie, and Darren. James Whiddon came in the afternoon to get his hat back in the game. Brand new players included Michael and Beth Harper, and Maria Judy. Also sticking their head in to say hello was James Osborne. Now if the temperature would soar to 75 so we could play on the tables outdoors .....

Chess is a Blitz

Judit Polgar won game 4 with the white pieces against Gregory Kaidanov in the last round of their Sicilian theme match at Hilton Head. Find the game scores here. Now it's on to a blitz challenge to break the tied score.

Kaidanov Leads 2-1

Gregory Kaidanov won with White against Judit Polgar's Sicilian Najdorf to take the lead in their theme match 2 wins to 1. Download the latest game score here.

Kaidanov and Polgar Win with White

World 46th ranked Judit Polgar faces off against Kentucky's own grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov in Hilton Head, SC this week for a 4 round Sicilian theme match. After 2 rounds the score is even. Kaidanov explains his feelings during game 1. Judit's sister Susan Polgar annotates game 2. Get the official game scores as a PGN file at TWIC.

Who's Afraid of a Ground Hog Shadow?

Bob failed to report that Steff presented him with a unique "Chess Blanket" to ward off the next cold spell. So to answer the question of "Who's afraid of a ground hog shadow?" .... it isn't Bob!

Can I Have That in a 'To-Go' Cup?

Six players had three boards blazing at Panera Bread this morning. Jerry, Darren, Andrew P., Steph, Andrew L., and Bob L. were on hand. The coffee was good, the chess was great, and all had a good time.

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Chess

Steve Parsons and Joe Farrell took 2.5 points to split the win at the 2nd Tuesday Tournament for February (rescheduled from last week). The performance keeps Steve in the lead for the championship with 5.0 points in 2 tournies, and Joe Farrell is close behind with 4.5 points. Johnny Owens and Ernie Weaver each scored 1.5 points to bring their 2 month totals to 3.5 and 2.5 points respectively. A half point each for Jerry Weldin and Kerry Fatula keeps their hand in at 2.0 and 1.5 for the total. Andrew Lee pushed his provisional rating to 1335 with an impressive 2 wins against strong opponents, giving him his first championship qualifying points! Find the full crosstable here.

Don't miss next month's 2nd Tuesday Tournament on March 9th. Also, check out the new pages featured on the menu items at the top of the blog page where you'll soon find current championship standings posted.

Play Realtime Chess Online

Not into correspondence-style chess? Want to play live realtime chess online?

You may have checked out Chess.com and found it lacking in features for realtime chess. And you may have checked out the popular ICC that is so talked about only to find that you'd have to dip into your credit card again. (The ICC is highly recommended by some of our club members.) Try the free and full-featured alternative, the Free Internet Chess Server.

To use FICS you'll want to download free client software. Try Babas Chess for a free and full-featured interface. Then just register with FICS for free and start playing live realtime chess online.

Want to go beyond the standard chat feature and talk to your opponent as you play? Try the popular Skype application for free voice or video calling while you play online.

Upcoming Tournament on Chess.com

The 10th Chess.com tournament is coming soon! As usual, play will be in 200 point rating sections. Pairing is in groups of 6 yielding 10 simultaneous games, 5 as Black and 5 as White. One winner of each group will advance to the next round. The action will begin on March 1st, so sign up now!

New Feature

Check out our new Event Gadgets on the righthand side of the blog. The upcoming club events are featured with the ability to keep track of members planning to attend.

Alexandra Kosteniuk Adds Elizabethtown Chess Club To Her Links!

Alexandra Kosteniuk has made good on her promise and has added a link to our Blog on her Blog site. Now I can "toggle" between my two favorite sites!

It appears that tomorrow will be another "snow day", a great day for exploring the chess resourses available on line.

Snow!

ECTC is closed today due to the weather; consequently there will not be a meeting/tournament tonight.

I just got off the phone with Johnny Owens; we will hold the February Tournament next Tuesday the 16th of February...weather permitting!

I'll See Your King's Gambit and Raise You a Falkbeer Counter-Gambit

Bob L. recently scored the biggest upset so far in an unrated thematic King's Gambit tournament by besting Aleph (rated 2086 when the tourney began). Games start with the basic King's Gambit position, but the Black player then decides whether to accept or decline the gambit. The tournament is unrated in order to encourage players to sign up and try unfamiliar lines. See the game with Fritz analysis after the fold.

How To Improve At Chess?

Lately I have been asked by at least four different club members to help them improve their game. While this is very flattering; I feel that I am the last guy to ask considering that my rating goes up and down more often than the elevators in the Empire State Building.

Third Time's the Charm?

The Winchester Club has challenged us again to a 5 board match. Take this chance to support the club and sign up here to join the battle.

Even Carlsen Loses to Basic Tactics

Today's emphasis on tactical training might seem a drudgery to some. The thinking is that most games between club players are actually decided by simple tactics, not opening knowledge or endgame technique. And so the study and practice of tactics can often bring the greatest results in chess improvement no matter your strength or weakness in that part of the game. But still, some don't believe.

Check out this recent game from Corus 2010 pitting Magnus Carlsen against Vladimir Kramnik and you'll see that even at chess' highest levels, this rule can still hold true.

Carlsen, M 2810 - Kramnik, V 2788 0-1
E04 Corus A Wijk ann Zee NED (9) 26.01.2010

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Nc3 O-O 8. a3 Be7 9. Qa4 c6 10. Qxc4 b5 11. Qb3 Ba6 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Qc2 b4 15.Na4 Rc8 16. O-O c5 17. d5 exd5 18. Bh3 Bb5 19. axb4 axb4 20. Rfd1 d4 21. Bf5 Ne5 22. Bxh7+ Kg7 23. Nxe5 fxe5 24. Bf5 Rc6 25. Qe4 Rh8 26. Qxe5+ Bf6 27. Qe4 Re8 28. Qg4+ Kf8 29. Be4 c4 30. Bxc6 Bxc6 31. Qh5 Re5 32. Qh6+ Ke7 33. e4 d3 34. Qe3 Bxe4

Carlsen returned to the place where he first burst onto the international scene with his win in the C group of Corus in 2004, earning him his first grandmaster norm. This game was played in the 9th of 13 rounds. The two players reached this materially even position in the game featuring the Open Catalan system.

Carlsen has let his opening edge dissipate into a probably equal but certainly foreboding position, but all seems safe. Or is it? Fritz recommends 35.Qf4 with a dead even evaluation. But Carlsen falters and uncorks 35.Nb6 ??, perhaps believing that he can snatch the pawn on b4 and stop the passed pawn on the e-file. Can you see the simple tactic that refutes Carlsen's move?

Kramnik unmasks an attack to decoy the queen off the diagonal, remove the defender of the newly placed White knight, and force this finish to the game:

35... Bb7 36. Qf4 Qxb6 37. Qxc4 Re2 38. Rf1 0-1


Nevertheless, Carlsen held on to win the tournament. But what Dan Heisman wrote in his Best Novice Nook Ideas applies here as well as in your own games: "basic tactic skills should be used to prevent an opponent’s tactics, not to find winning tactics for oneself!"

Check out Kramnik's own analysis of the game at the official tournament site.

Belay The Ego Mates

Bobby Fischer has been quoted as his favorite part of chess was when he knew he had crushed his opponents ego. Everyone has one and most chess player's are "super sized" with a win at all cost mentality. Look around at the "players" you know; are there some who will never share the secrets of their "pet" openings while others are happy to share the new "novelty" they have discovered before they have a chance to spring it on you?

This morning at Panera Bread, Darren and I were discussing this phenomenon as we exchanged ideas on a recently published New In Chess SOS article. I have found that Darren has always been open and willing to share with anyone, although he did once tell me not to buy a book on the "Dunst Opening" (in a joking manner) when he revealed his then favorite opening. With 63 kicking me in the butt and 64 (my favorite number) waiting in ambush two short months away; I have long ago gave up on being secretive and hope I have been open and above board in answering any request for chess help or advice. Some probably wish I wasn't so vocal with some of my opinions; not all are popular these days.

Now let me try to get back to the point. I have a new favorite saying thanks to Darren. Mark Twain said, "It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." My old "pickin' & grinnin'" buddy Jack Wheately said, "You raise a hog on slop, slop's what he likes." Today Darren Radford said, (concerning sharing information with other players); "When the tide raises, all the ships ride higher." Gee I wish I'd said that!

I'll See Your Petroff and Raise You an Attack

Andrew L. faced another Petroff as White in the first round of the Kentucky Class Championships and again refused to allow drawing chances. When Black erred with 6...Ng4?? he went on the attack and never looked back. See the score and analysis by Fritz after the fold.

E-Town Wins Old-Town Match

Johnny Owens posted a second win against Twan709 to bring E-Town's victory over Republic of Newfoundland to a close with a score of 7 to 3. Johnny's two pawn advantage and pressing play forced his opponent's resignation. See the score with analysis after the fold.

Lee and Radford Storm Class Championships

Andrew Lee and Darren Radford stepped up to the action at the Kentucky Class Championships held on Saturday, January 16 in Louisville. Andrew scored 3 wins in 4 games and took 2nd place in the Class E and under section! The performance was good enough to earn him $65 to spend on chess books and to raise his provisional rating to 1188 with 4 more games before gaining a regular rating. Class D seems to be clearly in his sights. Darren scored an impressive win against 1917 rated Randas Burns and a draw against 1930 rated Robert Amback for a total of 1.5 points in 3 games in the A section before coming home with his shiny new rating points. He now stands just 8 points shy of an official A-player status. Congratulations to both players for their performance. For complete crosstables look here.

Sexigenarians Hold Chess Rally

With everyone else out of town visiting or playing in Louisville today; Andrew Preston and Jerry Weldin were the only ones left to hold down the fort at Panera Bread. As always a good time is inevitable when "Old Soldiers" get together.

Hopefully everyone has a happy and safe weekend; we'll see everyone Tuesday at ECTC.

Who Said That 13 Was Unlucky?

Thirteen players came in from the cold last night and fought hard for three rounds in our first Second Tuesday Tournament of 2010. There were 6 players in the under-1400 section, and Rudy chose to 'play up' making for 7 players in the Open. Rudy's bold move turned out to be golden after patiently waiting out a bye in the first round when he scored a win in the third round to raise his rating to 1405 and claim a stake in Class C. Steve Parsons controlled the section with 2.5 points, all of them counting in the new 2010 Club Championship. In the under-1400 section, Dave Brock scored a full 3 wins bringing his rating into Class D at 1234. See the complete crosstable here.

New "Patent Pending" Chess Ring Tone

While browsing thru the 2009/8 issue of NEW IN CHESS I came across a picture with the following caption: "The shortest game but one of the event. Alexander Delchev has played 1.d4, but before his opponent Stuart Conquest had time to reply, the Bulgarian's mobile phone rang, whereupon the game was declared lost for him."

My brain works "outside the cage" and this was no exception; in short order it conceived the following idea. Instead of using a pop song for a ring tone; simply record your own voice saying; "Considering the even position on the board and the onset of what may be the highly contagious N1H1 Virus, I hereby propose a draw." Pregnant wife in delivery or dying grandparent messages could also be used. This gives you time to mute your phone and avoid a forfeit! Of course you could just turn off your cell phone.

Later in the same issue there is a picture of Karpov conducting a simul while talking on his cell phone! Rude to say the least.

Oh, the "but one" game mentioned in the caption was a forfeit awarded because a Czech GM was a "few seconds" late and was not present when the arbiter started his clock.

And no, I don't think Darren placed any calls to Britain's opponents during the Novi Sad team competition.

6 at 10 and 5 for 960

Six club members showed up at 10am at Panera Bread this morning to push wood. Nick joined regulars Jerry, Stephanie, Andrew L., Darren, and Bob L. Three boards were blazing with quick action. Stephanie claimed to have gotten a win against Bob on the 1st board, but with only 2 eyewitnesses there's no real way to tell for sure. At the same time, a new tournament was set up on Chess.com for playing chess960. Five players signed up to fill the field and start the tournament, 4 of them members of our club. The fifth player is a joiner from London, possibly giving Darren a cultural edge in the tourney since he speaks the language.

Too Cold for Shuffleboard

It was too cold for the shuffleboard court, so 13 players huddled in the skittles room and threw pawns on the fire. With the holidays behind us, players were sharpening their skills for our first tournament of the year coming next Tuesday. There will be an open and an under-1400 section if there are enough players. Anyone rated under 1400 that would like to 'play up' must notify the tournament director before the start of the tournament. Games in the open section will count toward the 2010 club championship. USCF membership is required and all games are rated. Time controls will be G/30 with a 5 second delay. Three rounds of swiss action will begin at 7pm. Please register with Johnny in advance or be sure to arrive with enough time to register before 7pm.

The Panera Gambit

Bob L. had the white pieces and offered a Panera Gambit, but Steve cooly decided to decline and shifted to another chair where the sun didn't shine in his eyes. Three boards in all were blazing as Andrew P., Jerry, Steph, and Darren also pushed the wood. The coffee was good, the games were better, and great fun was had. Now everyone awaits our first regular club meeting of the new year on Tuesday at 7pm. Be sure to be there.

Play Chess and They Shall Come

It began as just an idea to get a game in over the holidays, and 2 days later there were 9 for coffee and chess at Panera Bread. Last night saw play from Ernie, Clany, Jerry, Rudy, Sal, James B., Stephanie, Bob L. and James' son Damien (who laid down a win to establish a spot in the club). Four boards were active all evening and plenty of games were played. They had to give us the evil eye around 9pm so they could lock the doors. Plan on playing again on this Saturday at Panera starting at 10am. Then we'll meet again as usual at 7pm on Tuesday, January 5 at the college.

Coal Dust

Six players broke out the pieces to get their day after Christmas "chess fix"; Darren, Bob L., Steff, Andrew P., James B., and Jerry all overcame their "chess withdrawal" symptoms as the fur and pieces flew.

Steff still had coal dust on her hands from emptying her stocking but was soon her "merry old self" after trading pieces with Andrew P.

But all joking aside; I just noticed I had to use last name initials to identify three of the six attendees! That means our club has really grown over the last year; one day I hope to have to add a last name initial after every bodies name!

If anyone wants to play chess tomorrow send out an e-mail or simply add a comment to this post and I'll get the word out. We won't be able to play at ECTC again until the 5th of January.

Mouse Pad

USCFSales has a neat mouse pad in stock for $3. It is not in the printed catalog, you'll have to go on line and search under analysis sets. The pad is a green and white chess board with 13/16th of an inch squares. Algebraic square designation is on all 4 sides and the included chess pieces w/1.5 inch king fit well on the pad.

Not something you would order by it's self (shipping would cost more than the pad), but a great add on to your next equipment order.

Recommended. Those who use a computer at work may find this a good way to advertise that you play chess; unless the boss perceives it as "goofing off on the job".

Merry Christmas and Let's Play Chess

It's Christmas Day and chess presents are sure to be found under many a Christmas tree! When the presents are opened, the meals are eaten, the kids are busy playing, and the TV slumps into Lawrence Welk holiday reruns .... chess is waiting! Go online now to Chess.com and catch up with your games, pick out a new tournament, check out the latest puzzle, or watch the Pogonina game. Then swing on over to Panera Bread on Saturday starting at 10am for coffee and chess. Meet there again on the day after New Years and plan on our first Tuesday meeting of the year on January 5th at 7pm at the college as usual. Have you started your list of chess New Years resolutions? Get going now and avoid the last minute rush. Challenge everyone with your list of chess promises by adding your comment to this post. (You can buy the album shown on the left here.)

2009 Club Championship Wrap-up

For those who would like to see how they stacked up against the rest of the Club; here is a breakdown followed by some miscellaneous statistics.

Place ----------------Won ----------Lost ------------Drew --------------Total

1. Parsons ...........21................... 0..................... 3........................ 22.5
2. Weaver ...........19.................... 3..................... 2....................... .20
3. Farrell .............17.................... 5..................... 2........................ 18
4. Owens............ 14.................... 5..................... 5........................ 16.5
5. Weldin............ 14.................... 7..................... 3........................ 15.5
6. Fatula..............14.................... 8..................... 2........................ 15
7. Radford........... 13.................. 10..................... 1........................ 13.5
8. Kilmer............... 8................... 15..................... 1.......................... 8.5
9. Phelps.............. 7................... 15..................... 2.......................... 8
10. Mc Kinney......... 7................... 16..................... 1.......................... 7.5
11. Mullins.............. 5................... 17..................... 2.......................... 6
12. Brock............... 4.................... 20.................... 0.......................... 4
13. Mancuso........... 1.................... 23.................... 0.......................... 1

Total Games Played = 156 Games Won = 144 (92.31%) Games Drawn = 12 (7.69%)

Holiday Chess

Due to the college being closed during the holidays, the Elizabethtown Chess Club will not meet on the regular Tuesday evenings on Dec. 22 or 29. However, the club does expect to continue meeting on Saturday mornings at Panera Bread during the holidays. Also, club operations on Chess.com will be in full swing. The club will meet again for a regular Tuedsday night on January 5th, 2010. My apologies for being late to post this information and to any club members who were inconvenienced by my oversight. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.

The Caro Can

Johnny Owens succeeded on the other end of the Caro-Kann in his second game against FM Joost Retera. The variation was once again the Panov-Botvinnik Attack and the middlegame began with a clash over an isolated queen pawn. But White seemed to fall steadily back after ridding himself of the weakness and eventually resigned to Black's pressure. Replay the game with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Santa Sighting at Skittles

Sure enough, Santa (or perhaps it was just one of his helpers) was spotted in line for coffee at Panera Bread this morning. There to witness the event was Andrew Preston, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, Darren Radford, Nick Folino, Jerry Weldin, Stephanie Clayton, and Bob Lenning. Though it isn't clear if all of the wishes for chess presents will be granted, at least we were able to take our requests to the highest authority. Everyone has agreed to meet next Saturday to compare how we each fared with the man in the red hat.

Coffee, Chess, Christmas Presents, Repeat

Looking for something to do on Saturday? Need a little joe to get ya goin'? Got a hankerin' to play chess? Want to zip onto the internet and compare Christmas chess wishlists with the club while you check your Chess.com games? You can do all that Saturday morning from 10 am at Panera Bread. Stop in for a coffee, set up the pieces, and sign on to the internet and shop away. If Santa plays chess, this is where you'll find him.

Pogonina Issues a Challenge

Want to play chess against WGM Natalia Pogonina? If you play chess with the Elizabethtown Chess Club on Chess.com you can! The young woodpusher has challenged all Chess.com players to a game of vote chess beginning on Wednesday, December 23 with a 1 move per day time control. We'll be playing with the Black pieces. Not a member yet but want to play? Sign up with us at Chess.com.

Let's Get Ready to Checkmate

Last night the club voted on and approved a plan for the 2010 club championship. On a proposal by Johnny, it was decided that points earned in the twelve 2nd Tuesday tournaments during the year will be totalled to decide a champion. The monthly swiss tournaments will still offer both open and under-1400 sections when turnout allows. Only points earned in the open section will count towards the championship total. Any under-1400 wishing to play up and thereby earn qualifying points must notify the TD before the start of that tournament.  In the case of a a tie, the cumulative method for tie-breaks will be applied.* There's no need to sign up separately to participate, just attend monthly tournaments and win. Of course, it is always appreciated if you advance register with Johnny for each monthly tournament to ease the task of preparing the pairings. The 2nd Tuesday of the Month Tournaments are open to all USCF members and offer 3 rounds beginning at 7:00pm at a time control of G/30 with a 5 second delay. The traditional $1 entry fee applies.

* Edited to include tie-break method. 1/19/2010

Big Prizes For Big Winners

Last night saw the end of the Club Championship Tournament and the awarding of the year's trophies. Jerry Weldin hosted the festivities. Steve Parsons claimed the top prize for his killer performance. Ernie Weaver claimed the second place trophy and Joe Farrell edged out his competition last night to get the 3rd place trophy. It was a long hard struggle to put together so many wins over a full year, and these winners as well as all the players deserve a big kudo. Also winning prizes were Sal Mancuso and Bob Kilmer for the biggest upsets of the year. And everyone who participated received an 'I Survived' medal for their efforts.

(A big thank you to Stephanie Clayton for these great photos. Also attending last night but not in the photos was Andrew Lee.)

Lee Gives Shereshevsky a New Home

Our newest member Andrew Lee has generously donated a copy of Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy to the club library. Be sure to thank him for pitching in the next time you see him.

Also, three boxes of Skittles were found while inspecting the library after the last club meeting. These have been confiscated by the librarian and will not be placed in general circulation.

E-Town E-Chess Wins Again!

This time it was the Ashburn, VA club that fell victim to our tough match play. Joe Phelps dove into a Closed Sicilian and shut out Smartgenes to close the match at 4-2 and raise his Chess.com rating to 2073. Check out the game score with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Endgame Express

Our own Andrew Lee turned in his second win in the 3rd round of the Lexington Chess Tournament last Saturday. Black tried the Petroff Defense, but Andrew refused to fall asleep. He crashed out of the gate with 7.Bg5! to announce his intention to fight. Tactics flew back and forth with a few inaccuracies, but when the endgame came calling, Andrew whistled for a ride and pushed his rook pawn all the way to a win. Look for the score and analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Grandmaster Kaidanov Explains the Pin

Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov explained the simple tactical motif of the pin to children at the Lexington Chess Tournament on December 12, 2009. The position used is from analysis of the game Prasad vs. Kaidanov played in Calcutta in 1988. Watch the video and replay the game with the grandmaster's analysis after the fold.

E-Town Pawn Pushers Storm Lexington

Imagine the thrill as all 3 of our Elizabethtown scholastic players stepped up to accept trophies at the Lexington Chess Tournament held on Saturday at the Lexington Convention Center. All three had taken one point before lunch and a lecture by local grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov. Kids strained forward to hear every word of wisdom from the great master and thrust their hands up for just one chance at the pride that comes from answering a question with the insight of a young Fischer. And I must admit my own pleasure at shaking his hand after he kindly posed for a photo. Then the chess action was furious again with our players taking another 6.5 points to earn their gold. Our Andrew Lee (center) collected a trophy for 4th overall K-12 for his performance of 2.5 out of 4. Luke Emberton (left) earned 1st under 900 K-5 with a stand-up 4 points out of 5 to get his prize trophy. And Jacob Emberton (right) went 3 out of 5 to win his trophy for 9th overall K-8. Both Embertons attend the Hardin County Kids Chess Club at the mall on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm hosted by their mom Denise. All in all a peformance which earned us a thank you from the organizers for coming all the way from Elizabethtown to play. And as you can see, it brought proud smiles from our players. Find complete tournament crosstables here.

"Thibodeaux, Fontainbleau, the place is buzzin'"

Steff's Veteran's Tournament paid extra dividends as Clany Soileau, Co-Winner of the "Under 1600 Section" drove from Springfield to join Steff, Darren, James, and Jerry for "C&C" (coffee and chess) at Panara Bread.

Clany fit into the group like he'd always been there, accepting us "warts and all"; and will be coming Tuesday Nites as soon as he is relieved of his baby sitting duties. Bob L would have loved Clany's chess set; it was perfect for the small Panera tables.

Over-the-board conversation was especially stimulating and covered topics such as: Tiger Woods, football, child rearing, the French language, monogamy, SSI, L4 L5 lumbar problems, Jerry's unappreciated "Don Rickles" humor, the Swiss Pairing System, and other topics best left unsaid.

Things broke up between 1230-1p.m. and as Steff headed for JC Penny, Clany to Barnes and Nobles, I drove to the Flea Market with topics like Booray (Bourre), Acadia Parish (Paroisse de l' Acadie), Ascension, St. Charles, Baton Rouge (Red Stick), Orleans, and Vernon Parish (my old stompin' grounds) running down the Highway 10 of my mind.

I PROBABLY COULDN'T EVEN WATCH SHAKIRA THAT LONG, BUT I'D LIKE TO TRY

The indispensable Chernev reports that ; "In the 11th game of their match for the World's Championship in 1927, Capablanca took two hours on one move , and Alekhine took an hour and three quarters for his reply!"

Today we would play three complete games in that amount of time! And have time left over to possibly get in a fourth.

TAKE TWO PAWNS AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

According to Chernev; the Greek physicians Galan and Hippocrates (the father of medicine) considered chess a potent antidote to diarrhoea (diarrhea) and erysipelas (an acute skin disease), and prescibed it with success.

A PROBLEM ANYONE CAN SOLVE

Slow brain day? No problem....White to move and mate in six.

Two Winners Cross the Finish Line

Turnout was strong for December's 2nd Tuesday ratings tournament. Among the 9 participants were Johnny Owens, Steve Parsons, Kerry Fatula, and Andrew Lee (playing up) in the over 1400 section, and James Biggs, Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, Rudy McKinney, and Bob Lenning in the under 1400 section. Steve Parsons took top honors in the upper section with a perfect score of 3.0, and Rudy McKinney topped the other players with a strong showing of 2.5 points. Catch the full tournament crosstable here.

Second Tuesday Tourney

Plan on it! It's the second Tuesday of December coming up and it's time for an E-town ratings swiss. Register in advance with Johnny Owens or be sure to show up early. Three rounds of G30 with a 5 second delay will begin at 7 o'clock. USCF membership is required. Entry fee is $1. Players will be paired in two sections if enough attend.

Saturday Morning at Panera

Darren Radford and Joe Farrell faced off at Panera Bread on Saturday for 2 club championship games, with Joe Farrell coming up with the 2 wins. Also playing skittles were Jerry Weldin, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, Andrew Preston, and Bob Lenning. Tanner, a dog with coat and hat, was benched and observed the games from outside the window, providing extra entertainment.

Der Linksspringer Turns to the Dark Side ......

Der Linksspringer (Darren Radford) turned to the dark side, but still played the knight on the c-file for his first move. It brought a draw, a half-point, and our team to a score of 6-3 against Republic of Newfoundland. On the other end of the draw was Dougrob. Replay the gamescore with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

ALPHABET SOUP

While looking through the books in the club library recently Andrew Lee and I ended up in a conversation about Eugene Znosko-Borovsky.Which led me to post this blog.

If you throw in Znosko-Borovsky's middle name, Alexandrovich, and take into account the different spellings found on line you must use all but 8 of the 26 letters in the alphabet. If Eugene played in our Club today I have no doubt that he would be labeled "ski" the very first night!

In his book "How To Play The Chess Openings", Znosko-Borovsky bemoans the fact that his fellow Chess Masters teased him relentlessly over the title of his previous book, "How Not To Play Chess".

I personally greatly enjoyed "How To Play The Chess Openings"; however, since it is not yet available in "algebraic" the "computer generation" and a few others in our Club will miss out on a great chess book. Znosko-Borovsky drew on his personal games against such greats as Capablanca and Aleckine to show the pawn structures resulting from different openings and the strengths or weaknesses of the various pawn formations that you could expect to encounter. IT'S TIME TO BECOME BI-LINGUAL!

So much for the history; now for the trivia: Irving Chernev reports in his classic book: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess, that in a tournament held in St. Petersburg in 1903, "no less than three Znosko-Borovskys won prizes."

Scholastics and Pink Floyd

Mark your calendars for December 12 when Lexington will be the venue for both scholastic and adult tournaments. The Lexington Chess Tournament will be held at the Lexington Convention Center and features a K-12 4 round G/60 section ready and waiting for our Andrew Lee. Rounds will be at 9:15, Noon, 2:30 and 4:30 with awards for the top 10 players. Read more about it here. As a warm-up,  the KSCC Scholastic Chess Tournament will be held at the U of L Shelby campus on December 5th. This will be 4 rounds at G/45 for K-12. Read about this tourney here.

On the same day (December 12) at the UK Student Center is the 26th Pink Floyd Open, a 4 round G/60 tournament. The rumor is that Pink Floyd will be playing on the tournament floor. Read about it here.

The Caro-Kan't

How can you score a win in a Caro-Kann Defense against a FIDE Master whose Chess.com nickname is CaroKann? Johnny Owens shows how in his game against FM Joost Retera in a thematic tournament featuring the Panov-Botvinnik Attack. This game seems to mark a good time to salute the players Horatio Caro, Marcus Kann, Vasiliy Panov, and Mikhail Botvinnik. See how it was done with analysis after the fold.

(Thanks to Jerry for the new post title.)

Joe Phelps Shaves Saint Nick

Our Joe Phelps snapped out 17 moves to take a point away from SaintNick and bring our score against Republic of Newfoundland to 5.5-2.5. Joe answered 1...c5 with a Closed Sicilian / Grand Prix Attack. The move 15...Re8?? put Black in a bind and Joe jumped on the opportunity. Replay the game with analysis after the fold.

December Starts Big

December started big for the Elizabethtown Chess Club with 14 members attending last night. Joe F. (W) and Johnny Owens (B) split a point and Ernie Weaver earned a point from Joe Phelps with the Black pieces in championship action. The skittles room saw lots of action with Jerry Weldin, Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, Dave Brock, Rudy McKinney, Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, and Bob Lenning. All 90+ items in our club library were also present. Mark your calendars now to remember that next week will be our Second Tuesday tournament. We'll be playing 3 rounds at a time control of G/30 with a 5 second delay. Be sure to pre-register with Johnny or arrive before the 7pm start time to register at the site. The entry fee is a nominal $1 to cover the cost of ratings.

Time to Manage Your Clock

Just as Jerry has written a great post on the first use of chess clocks, Chess Cafe has republished an archived article by Dan Heisman on time management. Read about mechanical clocks in the 1880's, 50 moves in 2 hours, adjournments and the advent of sudden death, and the insufficient losing chances rule. And read the 11 bullet points of Dan's recommended time strategies and methods.