FC Chess Tournament 4

[anvi]

Instead of seating, I am posting the actual tournament standings as we go into the fifth round of the match.  Though first and sixth place have already been decided, it looks to me like four players are competing for 2nd and 3rd place in the tournament, so two of the final round games will be decisive.  Though these four players all have 2 points as of now, I've determined the standings based on FIDE's Sonneborn-Berger System (sum of the scores of opponents a player has defeated) + Number of Games Played with the Black Pieces..  I intend to use these two systems to settle any ties after this round is over as well, unless you want to hold playoff games to decide final placement instead, in which case, we will do that. 

Standings

                                  R1   R2    R3     R4     R5     Total
1. anvi                         1     1       1      1                 4
2. Oakvale                    1     0       0      1                 2
3. Senator Bore             0     1       1      0                 2
4. homelycooking          0     0       1      1                 2
5. Minion of Midas         1     1       0       0                 2
6. A Person                   0     0       0       0                 0

Here are the pairings for the final round.

homelycooking (W) vs. Minion of Midas (B)
Senator Bore (W) vs. Oakvale (B)
A Person (W) vs. anvi (B)

As in previous rounds, White players, please send challenges to the players of the Black pieces.  Set your games to the time control of 2 days per move.  Please post links to your games here once they've begun so others can follow them.

It's a crucial round in terms of standings, so take your time and play your best chess.  Good luck, gentlemen!

[bore]

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20736869

[minionofmidas]

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20736683&rnd=49691

[anvi]

Two d4 games!  Awesome! 

[bore]

Two d4 games!  Awesome! 

Great minds think alike

[anvi]

Two d4 games!  Awesome! 

Great minds think alike

Yes, indeed! 

[minionofmidas]

24.  e6+?

This doesn't work, objectively, as Black could simply take this pawn

In which case 25.Bd7+ wins the Black queen, no?

[anvi]

24.  e6+?

This doesn't work, objectively, as Black could simply take this pawn

In which case 25.Bd7+ wins the Black queen, no?

Do you mean e7 or c7?  if 24...Kxe6 25. Be7+ then just 25...Kxe7, losing the Bishop.  if 24...Kxe6 25. Bc7+, the White Bishop is pinned against his Queen by the Rook on c8, so if White takes the Black Queen on the next move, then Rxc6 and it's just a Queen trade, but White has lost his e-pawn.

[minionofmidas]

24.  e6+?

This doesn't work, objectively, as Black could simply take this pawn

In which case 25.Bd7+ wins the Black queen, no?

Do you mean e7 or c7?  if 24...Kxe6 25. Be7+ then just 25...Kxe7, losing the Bishop.  if 24...Kxe6 25. Bc7+, the White Bishop is pinned against his Queen by the Rook on c8, so if White takes the Black Queen on the next move, then Rxc6 and it's just a Queen trade, but White has lost his e-pawn.

The latter, but yeah. Silly me.

[anvi]

24.  e6+?

This doesn't work, objectively, as Black could simply take this pawn

In which case 25.Bd7+ wins the Black queen, no?

Do you mean e7 or c7?  if 24...Kxe6 25. Be7+ then just 25...Kxe7, losing the Bishop.  if 24...Kxe6 25. Bc7+, the White Bishop is pinned against his Queen by the Rook on c8, so if White takes the Black Queen on the next move, then Rxc6 and it's just a Queen trade, but White has lost his e-pawn.

The latter, but yeah. Silly me.

Nah, good question.  I've been playing my chess engine, HIARCS 14, lately, and when I set it to full strength, which is ELO rated above 3000, it thrashes me so mercilessly that I feel like I can't see anything.

[minionofmidas]

A good question to ask myself... as long as I also figure out the answer myself.

[anvi]

Just want to notify the other players that the game between Person and myself has not started because of a preset Gameknot rule about players not being allowed to send or accept challenges from someone who was rated a certain number of points above them.  There is a way to change this setting on the Gameknot site that would allow the game to take place, and since Person is the one who has to send the challenge to me, I've informed him how to do that.  When the game begins, I'll post the link.  But, in any event, result of the game between Person and me is mathematically irrelevant to how everyone else will finish as a result of their games.

[anvi]

The game between Person and myself has begun.

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20760667&rnd=6654

[Oakvale]

I'd just like to assure you all that this wasn't me -

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[anvi]

Wow.  Maybe that's why tournament chessplayers require arbiters. 

[anvi]

For those of you who want to learn how to improve your chess, I thought I would drop what I think were two very helpful techniques for me.  Of course, if you're just doing this for fun, don't worry about it and just have fun with the game.  But if you are finding that you would really like to make your game better, and you're willing to invest a very little money, a good amount of time and some patience in it, there are some techniques that I think are quite helpful.

It took me some years to uncover them, actually.  When I started playing, I did what most beginners do--namely, learn how the pieces move, learn some basic checkmating techniques and a few basic endgame techniques, and then just memorized some opening lines that looked appealing, hoping that would get me far enough.  I did improve by doing these things, largely by just playing in lots of tournaments and against my brother and in chess clubs and so forth, but it was quite a haphazard way to go about studying the game and only got me so far.  No matter how much I did all of this, I found that. when I got to the middlegame from an opening line, I really didn't know what to do when the memorized lines ended, how I should conduct the middlegame, and 2.) I couldn't calculate variations very deeply or clearly.

If you find yourself having these problems, here are two things that helped me immensely.  The first problem above can be solved by learning how to make the right plans on the board depending on the position.  For learning how to make plans, I am a big fan of a book by International Master Jeremy Silman called How to Reassess Your Chess.  Just get it and go through the whole thing two or three times, and by the time you do, you will have a much more disciplined and systematic way for how to think and make plans over the board.  Silman's book is partly a modern version of the old classic by Nimzovich called My System, but with much more than mere techniques, but a guide for how to think about positions.  I now think about chess games, and explain them on this forum, in very much the way that Silman demonstrates in this book and other related books he publishes.

The second problem, learning how to calculate better, can be done this way.  Look at some games from the history of chess and see what kind of style you want to emulate.  Do you want to be a dynamic, attacking player or a strategic, positional playe?  Which is best suited to your personality and your typical strengths and weaknesses when you play?  Once you've determined this, get one or two collections of games by a great chess player whose style you want to emulate.  If you want to be an attacking player, get a collection of games played by Alekhine, Tal, Fischer or Kasparov.  if you'd prefer to be a strategic, positional player, get a collection of the games of Capablanca, Karpov or our new 23 year-old world champion, Magnus Carlsen.  Make sure the collection is filled with good explanations and annotations of the games.  Also, get at least one of these collections from a relatively modern player--Kasparov if you're an attacker or Carlsen if you're a positional player.  Once you have your collection, get a thick notebook, play through about ten or eleven moves, and then, when it's the turn of the player you're studying, close the book and try to figure out what move you would make.  Write down your choice, and maybe even write down which moves you rejected and why, going at least three or four moves deep in analyzing your variations before you make your choice.  If you must start by moving the pieces on your chessboard as you do this, that's ok, but get in the habit of doing it without moving the pieces on the board very quickly.  When you are looking three or four moves ahead as you do this, try to play the opponent's best responses to your moves.  Never play chess assuming that your opponent will make a mistake or fall for some obvious trap--always try to find your opponent's best move, to which you must find your best response.  Then look at the book and see which move your hero played and at the annotations.  Then, play the opponent's response, close the book again, and guess you're model's next move, and just repeat the process till each game is over.  It will go slowly at first, and you will probably make lots of mistakes.  But if you just keep at it, say for a few months, you'll notice that your notes will become more detailed and complex, and over time will be carried out to greater depths, but also refined--filled, that is, with more plausible variations than the ones you found to start with--, and you will also find that you start to get more moves correct than incorrect.  This technique not only trains you, as above, to make plans for a game, but forces you to think ahead. 

That's my advice for how to make huge improvements in your chess.  But, whether you're doing it just for enjoyment or if you want to become a competitive player, in all cases, have fun!  Chess is a great, and highly intellectually challenging game, and both just playing and getting better at it is incredibly rewarding.

[anvi]

The final round game between Senator Bore and Oakvale has come to a close.  One of two quite dramatic final round games that will decide high placement in the tournament.  The game superbly illustrates the importance of central pawn breaks and the role these play in making one's pieces more active on the board.

Senator Bore (W) vs. Oakvale (B)
Colle System (sort of--by transposition)

1.   d4               Nf6
2.   e3               d5
3.   Be2

This opening usually sees White develop the King's Bishop to d3 immediately, which, in the standard Colle System, is designed to help White eventually push his pawn to e4, freeing his position by creating a good diagonal for his dark-squared Bishop, which right now is entombed.  Pawn advances in the center free one's pieces and give them increased activity, and this motif becomes a vital one in the present contest. 

3.                       Nc6
4.   Bb5

A second move by the Bishop in the first four, and it's neither forced nor does much to improve the White position.  Players should strive for efficient piece development instead of moving a piece more than once in the opening, as a general rule.  In fact, White's King's Bishop ends up on its optimal square in this opening formation, namely d3, after yet another move, when it could have landed there in just one to begin with, enabling White to use the same time to get his other forces into the game.

4.                        Bd7
5.   Nf3                a6
6.   Bd3               e6
7.   O-O               Bd6
8.   c3                 O-O
9.   b4?

There is no tangible purpose to this move, and I give it a "?" because it is strategically bad.  White should play 9. Nbd2, which is consistent with the formation and demands of the opening he has chosen, which is to free his position, as above, with the advance e4.

9.                           b5
10. a3?

Again, the move has no strategic aims or advantages to it, and continues to hand away precious time when White should be preparing and executing e4.  Instead, now, Black beats Bore to the punch in the center, and thereby achieves the aim of freeing his own position, and in particular his c8 Bishop.

10.                          e5
11. dxe5                  Nxe5
12. Nxe5                  Bxe5

Now the vulnerability of White's c-pawn, caused directly by his own 9th move, becomes evident.  The Queen's Bishop must be solicited to babysit this pawn now, and remains forever inactive, when, as we shall see, it could have been used as a valuable defensive resource as the game unfolds.

13.  Bb2                    Ng4

The purist in me is not convinced of the virtues of this maneuver objectively.  I think that 13...Re8 followed by ...Bg4 gives Black a better position, with pressure on the h5-d1 diagonal and on the e-file.  Of course, Oakvale is revved up for an attack, and attackers can't be boring positional purists like me.  In the words of a former World Champion, and one of the most brilliant attacking players in the history of chess, Mikhail Tal, "every attack I ever made was positionally suspect!"

14. h3                       Qh4
15. Qe2

Better again is 15. Nbd2, transferring the Knight over to the defense of his King.

15.                            Nh2
16. Rd1                     Rae8
17, Nd2                     Bxh3!?

A speculative sacrifice that tears the pawn shield away from White's King.  Will the attack break through?

18. gh                         Qxh3
19. f4??

The correct defense is 19 f3 instead.  Now the final vestige of White's kingside pawn cover is taken for free, in virtue of the pin on White's e-pawn performed by the Black Rook on e8.  White is now in desperate trouble.

19.                                Bxf4
20. Nf1                          f5?

A big misstep in the conduct of the attack.  The immediate 19...Rxe3 leaves White without any adequate defense.  Indeed, if only White had freed his dark-squared Bishop earlier in the game, it could be a valuable defensive resource in this position, instead of being locked completely out of play on the b2 square.

21. Nxh2?

This attempt to relieve the pressure through exchanges does not work, because there is still too much heavy artillery in the immediate area of the White King.  21. Qg2, with the aim of getting the Queens off the board, gives White much better chances to survive.

21.                                 Rxe3
22. Qf2                           Nxh2

Or 22...Bg3 23. Qg2 24. Bxh2+ Qxh2 25. Qg4+ Qg2 26. Re3, but the result is the same.  In the text variation, White walks right into the pin of his Queen against his King.  Black is now fully rewarded for getting his pieces fully activated as quickly as possible in the opening, while White suffers the full penalty for not doing precisely that.

23. Qxh2                          Qg4+
24. Qg2                            Rg3
25. Qxg3                          Qxg3+
26. Kf1                             Rf6
27. Ke2                            Qg2+
28. Ke1                             Re6+
29. Be2                             Qxe2#

0-1

An impressive game from Oakvale--his pawn break in the center on move 10 enabled him to launch an uncompromising attack.  But congratulations should should also go to Senator Bore, whose excellent results in the tournament show that he is steadily improving.

[homelycooking]

Lewis is the deserving winner of our game.

[anvi]

It is a pleasure to comment on this final round game between homelycooking and Midas, in which the latter, our friend who has departed the forum for the time being, demonstrates how much his game has solidified with playing practice over the past year.  Probably what is most illustrated by this game is the necessity to calculate all the possible combinations that can arise on the board after you've made your pieces active before you make your move. 

homelycooking (W) vs. Minion of Midas (B)
Queen's Gambit Declined; Albin Counter Gambit

1.   d4             d5
2.   c4             e5

A highly dynamic and tricky line that can produce fireworks quickly. Black sacrifices an otherwise most valuable central pawn in exchange for the rapid and effective development of his pieces, the latter of which is often difficult in Queen's Gambit lines.  With correct play, White can usually maintain an advantage in this opening fairly consistently, as Black gets solid development for the pawn, but nothing more, and White can build a fine position without difficulty.  But if White is not familiar with the line, Black can take advantage of some powerful tactical opportunities.  Lewis shows that, to win the final game with Black, he is willing to take some risks, and he follows through on this determination throughout the contest!

3.   dxe5             d4
4.   Nf3              Nc6
5.   g3               Bg4
6.   Bg2             Qd7
7.   Bg5

White has not achieved good results with this line.  The most popular continuation for White is 7. O-O, after which Black has the choice to play for opposite wing attacks with 7...O-O-O or more solidly with either 7...Rd8 or 7...Bh3.  If White can maintain both his fianchettoed Bishop on g2 and his advanced pawn on e5, these will give him a space advantage and comfortable play on both sides of the board for the long term while remaining the pawn ahead, whereas Black does not have such promising squares for his minor pieces.  The text move by homelycooking, 7. Bg5, does not really accomplish anything positionally, in fact rather helping Black to complete his development, which was the whole point behind the gambit in the first place.  But a peculiar sequence now happens in which White blunders away material.

7.                          h6
8.   h3?                Bxf3
9.   Bxf3               Nxe5?

9...hxg5 wins a piece for a pawn and White has no compensation whatsoever for the lost material.  Midas will still go up a pawn with the game continuation, but the position is still a little unclear.

10. Bf4                 Nxc4?

He can maintain a clear edge with 10...Nxf3 11. Nxf3 g5.

11. Qb3

11. Qc2 allows White to build up more pressure.

11.                       Nd6?

11...Na5 or 11...Nb6 are more solid, as White could now regain a material lead and win the initiative with 12. Bxd6 followed by 13. Bxb7.

12. O-O                Nf6
13. Nbd2               c6
14. Rac1               g5?

Black has managed to claw his way to relative equality in the position, and now he would do well to develop his dark-squared Bishop and castle, bringing his King to safety.  White is now able to activate his Bishops superbly.

15. Be5                  Be7
16. Bg4                  Qc7
17. Nf3                   h5
18. Bf5?

This is now a good position for White, but he had in his hand a very nice combination, featuring some very pretty tactics, that could have given him even better chances.  The critical line here is 18. Nxg5!  If Black plays 18...hxg4 then 19. Nxf6 Rf8 20. Nxd6+ Bxd6 21. Qe6+! Qe7 22. Qxd6 gxh3 23. Qxe7+ Kxe7 24. Bxd4 and White's mass of passed pawns give him outstanding long-term winning chances.  If after 18. Nxg5! instead we get the spectacular line 18...Nxg4 19. Bxh8 Bxg5 20. hxg4 Bxc1 21. Rxc1 hxg4 22. Bxd4, which is more playable for Black, but White has still ended up with the passed pawns.  These are not the easiest variations to work through, but highly active pieces like White's can often produce combinative lines that give the player who possesses them lots of opportunities, and it's good to check them.

18.                       Qb6
19. Bxd4?

This is a decisive blunder which Midas jumps on.  If White wants to liquidate out of the complications, obviously 19. Nxd4, protecting the f5-Bishop from counterattack, is correct.

19.                       Qxb3
20. Qxb3               Nxf5
21. Rfd1                Nxd4
22. Rxd4                g4
23. Ne5                 gxh3
24. Rcd1                Ng4
25. Nf3?

It's impossible to recommend good moves for White anymore, his game is lost.  But 25. Nxg4 Nxg4 26. Rxg4 will allow him to regain at least a pawn.  White fights on for a while, but the material he has lost just make it impossible for him to get back into the game.

25.                          Bc5
26. Re4+                 Kf8
27. e3                      Re8
28. Rf4                     Rh6   
29. Rd7                    Rf6
30. Rd3?

Again, 30. Rxf6 Nxf6 31. Rxb7 regains a pawn, in an albeit dreary situation.

30.                            Rxf4
31. gf                        Nxe3?!

A nifty way to liquidate.  Still, 31...Be7 followed by 32...Bh4 allows Black more pressure, as if he needs it.

32. fxd3                     Bxe3+
33. Kh1                      Bxf4
34. Rd1                      Re3
35. Rf1?

White signals that he is giving up.  35. Nd4 would at least allow him to protect the b-pawn.  But it's a distinction without a difference as far as the end result is concerned.  Black's passers will win he the endgame easily

35.                              Rxb3
36. White Resigns   

1-0

All credit to Lewis for staying active and jumping on the opportunity to win when it came his way.  A good tournament performance to boot.

With the results of the two games that have been completed in the last round, 2nd through 5th place in our tournament have been decided, and I will post these placements shortly.  The game between Person and myself is still in progress, but the result will have no further bearing on final placement. 

It was Lewis' idea for us to play a round-robin format tournament.  I think we all had fun doing it, and the games and tournament overall were greatly entertaining.  So, thanks for the idea, Lewis, and thanks to the rest of you for playing.

[anvi]

There were two tiebreak rules implemented to determine final placements, since two players ended up with 3 points and two other players with 2.  The first rule assigns a score to each player based on the final number of wins scored by the players they beat.  The second tiebreak rule was based on how many games were played with the Black pieces.  As it turned out, only the first tiebreak rule had to be used to determine the final standings.  Here they are.  As it turned out, Lewis' victory over homelycooking in the final round secured him a 3rd place finish.

Standings

                                  R1   R2    R3     R4     R5     TBScore     Total
1. anvi                         1     1       1      1       --        --              4
2. Oakvale                    1     0       0      1        1      5/3             3
3. Minion of Midas         0     1       1      0        1      4/2             3
4. homelycooking          0     0       1      1        0      3/2             2 
5. Senator Bore             1     1       0       0       0      2/3             2
6. A Person                   0     0       0       0       --       --              0

[anvi]

For those interested, this is a very nice interview with the new 23-year old world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, with especially interesting responses about the future of the game. The interview begins at about 8:50 and audience questions, particularly well-informed, at 12:50. He will not only be a great champion for a long time, but also a wonderful ambassador for chess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBnSU-LX1ss

[minionofmidas]

I feel like bragging right now:

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=21518754