More On The Albany - Schenectady Match

Today another game from the recent Albany - Schenectady match. John Barnes and I have met several times over the years. We have drawn quite frequently, but seldom have these draws been a quiet halving of the point in a peaceful fashion. This game is another example of both of us trying to win, and then one of us - me - scrambling for a way to draw.

Barnes, John, Schenectady - Little, Bill, Albany [B07]

Albany - Schenectady Match at the Schenectady Chess Club , 08.19.2010

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 0–0 6.Bh6 a6!?

Second best. This is a position not quite in the mainstream of the Pirc but there are chances to transpose into something fitting better with well known theory. Better for Black is 6..., c5; then 7 Bxg7 Kxg7 8 dxc5 dxc5 9 0-0-0, and the likely elimination of the Queens and a pair of Rooks on the d-file with a quick draw is in the offing.

To even up an imbalance of the sides I, along with Mike Mockler and Alan Le Cours, was playing for Albany. It seemed to me honor demanded an effort be made to win the game and not just to make a pro forma draw, and so the choice of 6..., a6.

7.0–0–0 b5

Possible is 7..., Bxh6 8 Qxh6 Ng4; as played later. This may be a better way to carry out my idea because White is less developed than is the case in the game.

8.Bd3 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Ng4 10.Qd2,..

If 10 Qh4 e5; and Black has a good game.

10..., e5!?

The too routine 10..., b4?!; getting on with the standard sort of attack when opposite side castling takes place was too dangerous because the White attack; h2-h4, h4-h5 and Qd2-h6 is very potent and very fast. The text is quite risky as well. The best bet is 10..., Nbd7; getting another piece into the mix.

11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.h4,..

John goes directly into attack mode. White might be better served by the retreat 12 Be2, preserving the light squared Bishop to later strengthen the assault, or immediately 10 f4

12..., h5?!

Choosing to try to make a barrier, but such a scheme has the associated problems of creating targets and weakening squares around the Black King. Better is 12..., Nxd3+; eliminating a potential attacker.

13.Be2 Be6?

If my 12th move was doubtful, this just bad. I have set up targets on the e-file White may use to gain time by advancing the f-pawn. Giving up tempos when your King’s field is shaky leads to lost games. All that is keeping Black in the game is some tactical tricks near the White King. Better for Black is 13..., Nbc6.

14.Qh6!?,..

White was concerned about 14..., Nc4; and so hurries his Queen to the square where she can annoy my King. Better 14 f4 Nc4 15 Bxc4 Bxc4 16 e5, collecting a pawn thanks to his superiority on the d-file.

14..., Nbd7 15.Nh3 Qf6 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Qg7 18.Qxg7+ Kxg7

Black has been lucky. In the last short sequence White traded a pair of minor pieces and the Queens. This reduction of material improved the safety of my King. The game is about level.

19.Ng5 Nc5 20.f4 Ned7 21.f5 Rae8

Mr. Barnes continues to make attacking moves after the moment for attack has passed. Black now has some small advantage according to Deep Rybka. White had useful developing moves such as putting the Rh1 on the e-file.

22.Bf3 Re5

Rybka sees 22..., gxf5; as best. That move gives up the h-pawn then Black has to block the advance of the White h-pawn with his King. The whole line is complicated. The electronic beast tells me Black is slightly ahead through some very sharp Knight maneuvers. After the briefest of glances at taking on f5 I dismissed that option, not the best choice but a quite human kind of decision - resolving tension rather than courting ambiguity. I have written before in these posts about how too often club level players will accept an inferior position to eliminate tension in a position. This happens to me more than once in this game.

23.fxg6 f6 24.Nh3 Kxg6 25.Nf4+ Kh6 26.Rhe1 Rfe8 27.Kd2 Nb6

This is not a bad move at all, but 27..., Ne4+; is a worthy alternative. Then 28 Bxe4 Rxe4 29 Rxe4 Rxe4 30 Ne6 Rxh4 31 Nxc7 Rg4; favors Black slightly. White can vary in this line with 31 Rf1 instead of 31 Nxc7, then 31..., Kb6 32 Nxc7 Nb6 33 Kc1 Rh2 and the battle still rages in a dynamically balanced position. My faith in my position was fading. The longer I studied the situation the less appealing it appeared. That is the genesis of my misguided choices coming up.

28.b3 Ne4+ 29.Bxe4 Rxe4 30.Rxe4 Rxe4 31.g3 Re5 32.Kc3 a5 33.Rd3 f5 34.a3 c6?

A bad mistake in a very tense position. Another case of an unmillingness to face tension. Black had to try 34..., Re1; then 35 Kd2 Re7 36 Rc3 a4 37 Kc1 Na8 (A move I did not consider) 38 bxa4 bxa4 39 Kd2 Nb6. It is not easy for White to increase the pressure. The well placed Black Rook and Knight balance space advantage White owns. There is a lot of fight left. White had used a great deal of his clock time to reach this point. By playing 34..., Re1; I could have tested John to a greater degree, and he might have found it difficult to work through the complications in his remaining time. When making the text move I had decided my game was in serious trouble and my only road to salvation lay in sacrificing material - pawns - to get free play for my pieces. The hope was to weaken as many of the White pawns as possible, then try to pick them off before one ran to Queen.

35.dxc6 Rc5+ 36.Kd2 Rxc6 37.Rd4 a4 38.Nd5 axb3 39.cxb3 Nc8 40.Nb4 Rb6 41.Ke3 Kg6 42.Kf4 Ne7 43.Nd5 Nxd5+ 44.Rxd5 Ra6

I have gotten what I was looking for. Unfortunately, it is not really enough to have any hope for a draw, except Barnes is running short of time.

45.Rxf5 Rxa3 46.Rxb5 Ra1 47.Rd5?!,..

Slightly better is 47 Rg5+ forcing Black to move his King to h6, then 48 b4 leaves White firmly in control. Nonetheless, White has a winning advantage.

47..., Rf1+ 48.Ke3?!..,

White would have kept all of his advantage with 48 Ke4. John was down to three minutes on the clock now, and I have some hopes; His King and a couple of pawns are lined up along the third rank where my Rook may be able to inflict some damage.

48..., Rb1 49.Rxd6+ Kf5 50.Rd5+?

Abandoning the b-pawn lets the win slip from his grasp. As long as the b-pawn remains on the board, Black is lost. When it disappears the draw is possible. Winning is 50 Rd3, then 50..., Ke5 51 Rc3, and 50..., Kg5 51 Kd4, both win easily for White.

Kg4 51.Rg5+?..,

Now the only try is 51 Rd4+ Kxg3 52 b4 is won because the Black King is cut off while the White King is entirely free to advance to support the b-pawn. If Black varies with 51..., Kf5 both 52 Rb4, and 52 b4, win.

51..., Kh3 52.Rxh5,..

The only try is 52 Rb5, then 52..., Kxg3 53 Rb4 Rf1; and if the White King goes to the 4th rank, the Black rook checks and trades on b4 and the pawn race is a draw. Should White try the other route, his King marching to a3, the Black Rook goes to h2 after checking the White King until he finds sanctuary on a3, then captures the h-pawn and the pawn race is again drawn.

52..., Rxb3+

I captured the b-pawn and offered the draw. Mr. Barnes accepted because the obvious line: 53.Kd2 Kxg3 54.Rh8 Kg4 55.h5 Kg5 56.h6 Rh3 57.Rd8 Rxh6 is clear and he almost no time on his clock.

A game with the flaws common to our “game in xx minutes” time control. The Sudden Death time control brings predictability to scheduling, but makes managing the clock more important than ever. John Barnes paid the half-point penalty this time.

The extra time I accumulated on the clock should have been used somewhere around moves 22 to 27 to better understand the position. Had I done so the game would have more worthwhile content from technical viewpoint. As it happened, we got an exciting fight with errors by both parties.

More on the match soon.

Games From the Match

This is the first of several posts about the recently completed contest between Albany and Schenectady.

An interesting game important to the final drawn result of the match was the contest between Richard Chu and Jon Lack. Per the usual scenario where a player faces an opponent a class or two lower in the ratings, the higher rated Lack grabbed and extra pawn early on and in the process wrecked Chu’s pawn formation. Chu then called on his alternative persona; Richard the Giant Killer, and fought back stubbornly for forty moves to salvage a draw.

Chu, Richard - Lack, Jonathan [D02]

Albany - Schenectady Match

SCC, August 19, 2010

1.Nf3 e6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.d4 c5 5.0–0 Nc6 6.c3 Bd6

There are a fair number of games in this opening in the databases by top level players. Deep Rybka sees this position as equal, and the databases report White winning 75, losing 41 with 46 drawn. All this indicates it is a reasonable approach for Black to take in this slightly off-beat position.

7.Bg5 h6 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bf4 0–0 10.Nbd2?,..

A move that is just too routine and has potentially serious positional consequences. It closes off the retreat of the Bf4 presenting Black with opportunities to damage the White pawn formation. White could have considered 10 b4, or even 10 a4!?, intending to grab space on the Q-side while leaving open the possibility of dropping the Bf4 back to d2 or even c1.

10..., Nh5?1

Better is 10..., g5; with complex play. White would then have to be ready to play sharply with 11 Be5.

11.Be3?,..

Which evidently he is not ready to do so. After 11 Be5 Nxe5 12 Nxe5, White may have been concerned that he conceded the Bishop pair. In general it is not a good thing to give your opponent the two Bishops. In this case there are several factors telling us doing so is not bad but in fact a good idea; the Nh5 is loose and is a target, the Bc8 will require a minimum of two moves to find an active post, preparing to push in the center with .., f2-f6; to support .., e6-e5; leaves the Nh5 without an escape route which will lead to a further loosening of the pawns around the Black King at the least, or loss of the Knight in worst case. If the center-push sequence is not possible, the development of the Black pieces will be slow. The Russian School taught to the chess players at large the cardinal rule; every position must be evaluated with concrete analysis because moves played “on general principles” are often incorrect. This moment in the game demonstrates the rule.

11..., Bxe3 12.fxe3 Qb6 13.Nd4 Qxb2

Black has a full pawn in the bag, but more importantly, the doubled e-pawns and the isolated c-pawn are very weak. White has to find a way the get his pieces active or the game will be short.

14.Nxc6?..,

This is not best move here. Better 14 Qc1, then 14..., Qxc1 15 Rfxc1 Nf6 16 c4 eliminates the weak c-pawn.

14..., bxc6 15.c4 Qa3?

Jon let down his guard here. The attack along the third rank is better executed with the move 15..., Qc3; then 16 e4 Rb8!, preparing to let the center dissolve and the weak pawns eliminate themselves to get the Black Rook to b2. There then is opportunity for the Bc8 to come into the game effectively on a6, or if White decides not to win the pawn on d5, on e6 supporting the d-pawn. An important concept in chess is the conversion of one kind of advantage to another kind; in this case, a superior pawn formation to more active piece placement.

16.Qb3 Qxb3?

Better 16.., Qa5 17 Qb2 Ba6, and Black retains a solid edge.

17.axb3 f5!?

Jonathan must have decided his advantage depends on controlling the center with this light squared pawn fence. More logical is 17.., Nf6 and 18.., Re8; preparing an eventual .., e6-e5.

18.Ra5..,

Black helpfully made his a-pawn available as a target earlier, and White reasonably turns his attention to the weak pawn.

18..., Nf6 19.cxd5?..,

Richard helps his opponent here. Better choices are 19 Rc1, 19 Ra1 and 19 Nf3. The last option offers a pawn (e3), maybe temporarily, to generate counter-play. Play in the pawn offer goes; 19 Nf3 Ng4 20 Rc1 Nxe3 21 Ne5 Bb7 22 cxd5 cxd5 23 Rc7, leading to equality. There are alternatives in this line for Black, for example; 22..., exd5; is met by 23 Nxc6 Nxg2 24 Ne7+ Kf7 25 Rc7, and the either the Bb7 or the Ng2 is lost. After the piece is recovered, the extra pawn Black holds is more than balanced by the aggressive posting of all the White pieces.

19..., cxd5 20.b4 Bb7 21.Nb3 Ne4

Through many ups and downs Black has had the advantage to a greater or lesser degree from move 11. At first look I thought 21..., Ng4; hitting e3 is a better move. Playing out the alternative lines with the computer indicates there are chances for both sides no matter which Knight move is chosen. So, the game just may be dynamically balanced now even though the White pawns still look sickly.

22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Nd4 Bd5?

A better try is 23.., Kf7; but White has worked his way out of serious trouble.

24.Rfa1?..,

A tactical error. With 24 Nxf5!, White gets to equality after 24.., Rxf5 25 Rxf5 exf5 26 Rxd5, although after 26..., Rf8; White will have to exercise some care to obtain the half-point.

24..., Rf7 25.b5 Rb7 26.Rc1,..

Rather than reliving pressure on a7, White should continue to improve the position of his pieces with 26 Kf2, and then follow up with 27 b6, eliminating the a-pawn and trading off one pair of Rooks.

26..., g6 27.Rd1

White appears to be swimming just a bit. That is a bad thing against someone as strong as Lack. Again 27 Kf2, getting the King off the back rant to avoid annoying checks while inching him closer to the e-pawns is better.

27...Re8 28.Rda1 Ree7

The upshot of the last sequence is Black no longer has to worry about the b-pawn going to the sixth eliminating the outside pawns and a Rook pair.

29.Nc6 Bxc6 30.bxc6 Rbc7

Perhaps it would be better to play 30..., Rb6; heading for a somewhat different, but still very technical Rook and pawns ending.

31.Ra6 Kf7 32.Rd1 Kf6?

Black has not recognized the advance of his central pawn mass must be carefully prepared. In similar fashion White has not realized his King would be better off on f2. Good for Black here is 32..., Re8; denying access for the White Rook to the eighth rank. A doubling of the White Rooks on the a-file is no real threat because Black’s next move is 33..., Kf6; and the c-pawn falls if White captures on the seventh.

33.h3?..,

Much better 33 Rd8. The White Rook running backwards and forwards along the eighth rank would be great distraction for Black. The text move made more sense on move 26 than it does here.

33..., e5?

Mr. Lack’s tactical intuition or sense of danger was not the best in this game. This is a miss similar to that on move 23. Here a forcing move for White is 34 Rd7!, then is 34..., Rexd7 35 cxd7+ and two Black pawns will fall on the K-side. White will then have his own defended passed pawn meaning both sides must be very accurate if they want to avoid losing.

34.Kf1? 34 Re6 35.Rd7 Rexc6 36.Rxc6+ Rxc6 37.Rxa7 Kg5 38.Ra5 Re6

Chances were missed by both sides, but White has made some substantial progress; the distant passers are no more, a pair of Rooks traded and the White King is not too badly placed for defense whilst the Black Rook is occupied guarding his trailing e-pawn and the White Rook has greater freedom of action. Rybka likes Black better (-+ 0.78). That numerical evaluation might be summed up in words as; possibly won for a GM/IM, but most likely drawn for club level players.

39.Rd5 h5 40.h4+ Kg4 41.Kg2 g5 42.hxg5 Kxg5 43.Rd8 Rg6 44.Kh3 f4

Black runs out of patience. He also may have been getting low on time. If he wanted bother White for a bit he could try 44..., Rg7; but in the end the game is drawn.

45.exf4+ exf4 46.Rd5+ Kf6 47.gxf4 Rg4 48.e3 Rg1 49.Rxh5 Rh1+ 50.Kg4 ½–½

An important result for the Schenectady side. On paper Schenectady expected to drop the full point, Richard did well to divide it.

The BIG Match!

The big Albany - Schenectady match took place last night. Turnout was not quite as large as hoped for, twenty players from Schenectady but only twelve from Albany. Still, having thirty-two chess players show up for a match in the heart of the vacation season is remarkable. This is particularly true because the idea of reviving the Albany - Schenectady match only came up around the end of June and was not solidified until the middle of July. That was short notice, too short perhaps.

The disparity in turnout led to juggling of line ups with some of us holding memberships in both clubs changing sides to level up the teams. There was a bit of banter regards “turncoats” and such, but it did lead to a close contest. The match was a draw that only became clear when Philip Sells defeated Dean Howard on board two at the end of the evening.

Press coverage, one of the purposes of reviving the match was publicity, has to be called very good to excellent. Through the efforts of Bill Townsend, the Schenectady Gazette sent a photographer and there is a page one story in the Local Section in this morning’s paper. Also, a reporter was present from the Enterprise, a local weekly newspaper. She took some pictures and spoke with some of the players. I was busy preparing for my game with John Barnes of the Schenectady team, and unfortunately, did not have time to find out much about when we might expect to see something in the Enterprise. In the matter of publicity it can be said the match was a success.

On the matter of results: My game, playing for Albany(!), kept me from nailing down the details of the lineups and individual results beyond a few games close around me. Barnes and I drew in 50+ moves in a Pirc Defense. After getting a big advantage in the middle game with a large expenditure of clock time, John let me escape to a draw in a Rook and pawn ending. He didn’t have enough time to see all my tricks. Sometimes it is better to lucky than good, and I was dead lucky in this game. I have the score from the Howard - Sells game and will publish it soon. Richard Chu gave me a copy of his game score with Jonathan Lack, a draw in 50 moves. Lack played for Albany. This was quite an upset. Lack is about 1900 and Richard nearly 250 rating points below him. Overall, The Schenectady team did well on the top boards; Deepak Aaron defeated Gordon Magat (Albany) and as mentioned above, Sells won from Howard (Albany). The Albany team did better further down. Bill Townsend said he collected copies of most of the game scores and offered to send them to me once he has them entered in his database, at least those that are readable. I am looking forward to Bill’s future column in the Gazette with all the details of who played for which team and results.

The future and the past: Townsend had at the site a folder with yellowing clippings from long ago about Albany - Schenectady chess matches from the 1920s onwards. Mentioned in this morning’s Gazette article is that these matches have gone on for about 100 years. Although there has been a break of 14 years between the last match and this one, the press coverage we had this year suggests it is time to consider making this event an annual thing. To avoid the problem of turnout, September is likely a better time for the match than August. Maybe it can be scheduled between the NYS Championship on Labor Day weekend and the beginning of the various club championship tourneys around the beginning of October? That is the time when chess players' minds turn to the game so it makes sense to play it then. If press coverage is good, the big match is not a bad recruiting tool for the clubs.

A personal note; in Townsend folder of newspaper clippings I found one from sometime in the 1930s, a photo of the players in that year’s Albany - Schenectady match. In photograph were Earle Hummel and Ray Miles. Sadly both have passed on. I remember them as frequent opponents from my youth. In the 1970s Earle, a talented musician and teacher had a stroke and could no longer attend the club. We played at his home a few times. Not being able to get around physically did not dim his appetite for a good fight on the chessboard. Ray played on into his 90s attending club meetings and playing well even in speed chess games until the end of his life. Both men illustrate how chess can be a life long avocation and bring joy at all ages. The clippings and other material in the Schenectady Chess Club archives Bill Townsend is ably safeguarding are beginning to show signs of their age. Maybe it is time the club acts to preserve these documents. I plan to raise the matter at this year’s organizational meeting on September 30, 2010 at the Niskayuna Community Center (Basement), 2628 Aqueduct Road, Schenectady.

Don’t forget, Blitz Chess at Proctor’s, Schenectady, August 23 - always a fun time. It starts at 11:00 am if I remember correctly.

Next post will have games from the big match! Back to actual chess.

Just a Bit More History

The last twenty years of my working life were spent traveling, much of it internationally. Working that way required close attention to communications; prompt replies to messages were a high priority, regular almost compulsive checking of emails and ‘phone messages became a habit I and my colleagues all shared. When retirement crept up on me, partial in ’02 and complete ’05, the first real life style change I experienced was the realization that checking my emails and messages hourly was not necessary. In the years since the absence of compulsive communicating and not having to schlep through airports have been the two real blessings of retirement.

Unfortunately, we humans often over-use our blessings. In my case not having to check emails hourly went from ten or twelve times daily to twice per day to once per day and to now if I get to my inbox once a week it is a lot. That bad habit leads to embarrassment sometimes. A case in point; my last blog about Dean Howard’s interesting game with Mr. Menendez from the 1973 Chess League season.

Dean had sent me a very nice email about the subject that sets out details my faulty memory had incorrect or had missed entirely. Here is the text of Dean’s note:

“Hi, Bill

Thanks for all of your posts about the local activity, and now the historical notes.

I remember the 1973 season of the Eastern Mohawk Valley Chess League. [You can add "as I recall" to the end of every sentence in this story.] This was the height of the "Fischer boom", and teams had 8 boards, which added to the excitement.

I played for the Schenectady Chess Club. There were teams from the NY State Labor and Education departments, Albany YMCA or JCC (maybe both), and possibly 1 or 2 others, but our main competition was the team from RPI.

Interest in the RPI match grew as it became apparent that it would decide the league championship. We had drawn one match, and won all of the others.

Both teams brought their top players. There was even a rumor that our lineup would be enhanced by John Dragonetti. He directed most of the local events then, and hadn't played any rated games for some time. I was rated around 1600 at the time, and typically played on one of the middle boards, but for this match I was board 6 or lower.

It was a close match. After 3 hours most games were finished or not in doubt. My game with Joe Schimminger was unclear until he dropped a pawn on the last move of the time control, and Schenectady went on to win 4.5 to 3.5.

Schenectady won the league championship, but we got a scare in our last match against the Labor Department. I don't remember the score, but I know there were anxious moments while the games were in progress. I lost to someone named Menendez.”

While I remembered the chess league being called the Hudson Valley League, I think after some reflection, Dean is correct, there was a period of time when Eastern Mohawk Valley was the name used. My thanks to Dean for the additional information, and my apologies for not checking my messages.

Don’t forget, tomorrow is the Albany - Schenectady match. With some luck there will be plenty of games from it to keep this blog going until the State Championship and our new season begins.

A Little More Local History

Some of my recent blogs have been about local chess in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They inspired Dean Howard, a long time Expert and sometime National Master to look at his personnel archives. Last night at the Albany Area Chess Club meeting Dean offered the following game to me for the blog. Dean won the coveted National Master title at the Berkley Chess Club in 1991.

The forerunner of our current Capital District Chess League was the Hudson Valley League. It slipped my mind that the State Labor Department team was one of the perennial participants in the old HVCL. The Labor Department team was captained by the late Emil Skraly, a very active organizer of chess events in those long ago days.

Today’s game is from a HVCL match between the State Labor Dept team and the Schenectady team. Although Dean lost this game, I can see why he likes it. The game has several interesting aspects, not the least of which is the originality of the opening play.

In the 1973 season Schenectady and RPI were in a nip and tuck battle for first. RPI had a couple of strong players for their top boards; Dan Van Riper and Sam Greenlaw, both at or near master strength, and both would later obtain the master title. Played in July, the Schenectady team was suffering from too many folks on vacation for this match. Dean recalled that John Dragonetti, our non-playing team captain, was considering taking a board just to make up a side. Every match and game point was crucial that season. If memory serves, Schenectady beat out RPI narrowly, but truly I have to defer to Bill Townsend, the keeper of the Schenectady Club archives for verification on that. Checking my own records tells me I did not play in any HVCL matches that year. I had been assigned to supervise an evening shift at the Price Chopper warehouse that year. The assignment kept me out of the club championship 1973-74 and the following year also.

Dean’s score sheet did not have Mr. Menendez’ first name. Our collective memories were unable to recall it either.

Menendez,(n) - Howard,Dean ]

Hudson Valley League match at the Schenectady Chess Club, 07.05.1973

State Labor Department versus Schenectady

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.e4 Nc6 4.Nf3,..

The way in which the players are placing their pieces is not quite what the “book” recommends, but even Deep Rybka can not identify real problems yet with the dispositions.

4..., f5 5.g3!?,..

An unusual idea. Normal, I guess, is 5 d3. White has a creative streak in his chess and is willing to take risks to make the game unique. In just four moves White has, with help from Black, made a rare position, one that occurred only three times in the three million games in my databases. None of the examples involved players with even the FM title, so no wisdom about the way that the game develops can be gleaned from past practice.

When White plays as he has, c4, e4 and delayed Nf3, Black most often puts his Bf8 outside the pawn chain with an early .., Bc5. Dean is treating the position as a kind of Old Indian plotting a sudden rush on the K-side and in the interest of advancing his f-pawn sooner rather than later keeps the f8-Bishop inside the pawn chain

5...,Nf6!?

Probably better is 5..., fxe4; leaving Black at least equal and maybe with chances to build a slight edge. The text leads to equality.

6.Bg2?,..

White continues to play what I call “hard chess”, but this move is not good. Better is 6 d3, or even 6 Bd3!? “Hard chess” is played by calculating to find difficult, unusual positions where both sides can go wrong, heading for them in the belief you will see your way through, and being prepared to endure prolonged tension at the board. The game is made interesting because Black has the same attitude.

6..., fxe4 7.Ng5 Bg4 8.Qa4 Qd7?!

For a couple of moves Black had a marked edge. This move lets much of that slip away. Better 8..., Nd7; uncovering a threat on the Ng5 not leaving White time for 9.Bxe4 setting up his own threats on c6.

9.0–0 Be7

Both sides have not really buckled down to serious calculation. They are willing to defer that until all their forces are deployed. Black could have played 9..., Nd4; and after the Queen exchange on d7 his pieces come naturally into play with .., Be7; .., Raf8/g8; and the possible advance of the g&h-pawns. Those moves along with the well placed Nd4 allows Black to claim some advantage. For White’s part, after 9..., Nd4 10 Qxd7, Kxd7 11 Ngxe4, Nxe4 12 Bxe4, c6 13 f3, e6 14 d3 Be7 15 f4, there are chances for counter-play. After the text the game seems to be headed towards a period of equality where White has to deal with the initiative being in Black’s hands because his rather badly coordinated piece placement, but careful play seems to let him come through without fatal compromise.

10.Ncxe4?!

The natural 10 Ngxe4 is better.

10.., 0–0?

Black could have established a secure advantage for the endgame with 10.., Nxe4; then 11 Nxe4 Be2 12 Re1 Nd4 13 Qxd7+ Kxd7; and Black is not quite winning but has much the better position.

11.d3!?..,

Menendez in 1973 and Deep Rybka in 2010 both hit on the same idea; offering up the d-pawn for active piece play. I must confess this is an idea that would have not occurred to me in this position.

11..., Be2 12.Bh3?!..,

Both players have been inaccurate, but they must be admired for striving for original solutions to the problems on the board. They are not afraid to face risk and tension. Rybka suggests 12 Re1, then 12..., Bxd3 13 Re3 Bxe4 14 Nxe4 Nxe4 15 Bxe4 evaluating the game as about equal. Apparently Rybka sees the Bishop pair offsetting the pawn surrendered. After 15 Bxe4 Black has some dangerous possibilities beginning with 15..., Bg5 with the idea including his Queen going to h3 and the sacrifice of a Rook on f2.

11..., Qe8!

Black plays accurately and obtains a clear advantage.

13.Re1 Bxd3 14.Nxf6+ Rxf6 15.Qb3 Bf5 16.Bxf5 Rxf5 17.c5+ Kh8 18.Ne6 Qc8 19.Re4 Rf6?!

The precarious position of the White Knight on e6 combined with extra pawn Black has in hand gives Black a winning edge. Trying to cash in these advantages immediately leads to trouble. The central principle of good technique, DO NOT HURRY, suggests 19..., h6; is the correct way forward. If then 20 Be3 Rf6 will collect further material soon enough. The text lets White shed the Knight usefully opening up lines bearing on the Black King.

20.Nxg7?!..,

This move should not work out as well as it does. Looking at the situation in the quiet of my study with unlimited time it becomes apparent that White has no choice except where the Knight will be lost, there is not safe way out for the bold “horse”.

20..., Kxg7 21.Bg5 Rf7 22.Bxe7 Rxe7 23.Qf3 Nd4??

This very logical move is utterly wrong tactically. The game was played with the time control 50 moves in two hours and 25 moves per hour after the first 50 moves, the standard time control in those days. I do not think time trouble can be the explanation for the error. Either Black missed the strength of the coming Re4-g4+, or he calculated giving up his Queen for the Rook was safe because the White attacking force is reduced. Correct is 23..., Rf7!, driving off the White Queen and making a safe passage through f8 for his King.

24.Rg4+ Qxg4 25.Qxg4+ Kh8 26.cxd6 cxd6 27.Rc1!..,

This is the move Dean may have undervalued. It gets the neglect Ra1 into the game and forces the trade of a pair of Rooks. The Queen begins to assert herself when Black does not have two Rooks to oppose her entry into his position.

27..., Rg8 28.Rc8 Reg7 29.Rxg8+ Rxg8 30.Qd7 Rg7 31.Qxd6,..

White has gotten an extra pawn and his Queen is poised to pick off another at a7. While a Rook and minor piece are equal to a Queen in theory, in practice the Queen’s great mobility permits double and triple attacks over the entire board that are difficult to defend successfully. The rest of the game demonstrates this nicely.

31..., h5?

More stubborn is 31..., Nc6. The game move just makes the win of a pawn too easy.

32.Qh6+ Kg8

If 32..., Rh7 33 Qf8 is mate.

33.Qxh5 Rc7

The pawn at e5 is indirectly defended because of the fork at f3 and Black uses this to try for piece activity. Moving his King to g2 would renew the threat to the pawn on e5 and is probably best for White. He fumbles around with Queen moves for the next sequence searching for a winning plan. The Queen’s strength is such that this floundering does not harm the advantage White has.

34.Qg6+ Kh8 35.Qe8+ Kh7 36.Qh5+ Kg8 37.Qg6+ Kh8 38.Kg2 Nc6

So much for piece activity. White now plays to drive away support for the e-pawn. He could begin an advance of the passed g&h-pawns with 39 h4 as an alternative.

39.a3 a5 40.Qf6+ Kg8 41.b4 axb4 42.axb4 Rf7

Not 42..., Nxb4 43 Qd8+ wins the Rook.

43.Qg6+ Kf8 44.b5 Nd4 45.Qd6+ Re7 46.Qf6+ Ke8 47.b6 and Black resigned.

I think he saw 47..., Kd7 48 h4 Re6 49 Qf7+ Kc6 50 Qc7+ Kb5 51 Qxb7 Rxb7 52 Qd5+ drops the last Black pawn and that the advance of the three connected White passers was unstoppable.

Although Dean lost this game, his growing mastery of the game can be perceived. He fended off an opponent bent on making the game hard and obtained a deserved winning advantage. A momentary lapse allowed White to turn the tables.

This is the week for the BIG Albany - Schenectady match, Thursday at 7:00 pm in the Schenectady Club Rooms. Schenectady has near twenty players lined up for the event. I am not so certain of the numbers on the Albany side. Come one, come all. This is a chance to see many of the top local players in action.

More News, no games

More news: Our local scholastic star, Deepak Aaron finished in third place in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. This event took place in Irvine, California August 7, through August 8. First place was taken by California’s Master Steven Zierk with a score of 5 ½ - ½ . In second place was Expert Alex Gou of Washington scoring 5 - 1. A draw in round two and a loss in round three against Experts prevented Deepak from facing the top two finishers. However, by winning his last three rounds Deepak was able to obtain a 4 ½ - 1 ½ score and a tie for third & fourth place with Expert Kevin Mo of Pennsylvania. They were ahead of nine (!) Masters and Experts tied at 4 - 2.

At the same time as the Denker event was taking place the US Open was going on in the same city, and I assume in the same venue. With the energy of youth, Deepak also played in the US Open. The Open was won by GM Alexander Ramirez, 8 -1 ahead of Grandmasters V. Akopian, A. Shabalov, Interantional Master J. Sadorra and another youthful rising star FM D.Naroditsky at 7 ½ - 1 ½. Deepak finished in 49th place with a very respectable 6 - 3.

According to the numbers, Deepak performed just about as expected with virtually no change in his post-tournament rating. With the steadfast support of his family, Deepak has been traveling to many Open tournaments the last several years playing the best opposition he could find. It has been a pleasure to watch his progress. We have not seen a local player do so well since Mike Valvo in the 1950s. Congratulations Deepak!

Just Some Chess News

No games today, but news instead.

Once more Bill Townsend, our Schenectady Gazette chess columnist, has assembled his list of local chess players. Twice each year Bill publishes in his column the names and ratings of the top fifty local players. He generously provided me with a copy of the latest list.

At the top USCF Life Master Matt Katrein (2243) returns to the top spot after GM Ronen Har-Zvi left the area to coach chess in Texas. A question only Townsend can answer; how many times has Matt been number 1 on the list? My guess is more than twenty.

Deepak Aaron (2216) the current NYS High School Champion is second. Deepak is now in California participating in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions.

Troy’s Steve Taylor (2122) holds down third place. He dropped by the Schenectady Club last night and we played a few games of speed chess. I was beaten like a drum, again. Taylor may be approaching middle age, but he hasn’t lost a step on the chessboard, at least not so I noticed.

Rounding out the top four is Jonathan Feinberg (2075). Jon returned to active play a couple of years ago joining the Har-Zvi Saturday group. Now that is no more, we hope Mr. Feinberg continues to participate. He plays a classy style of chess and is a challenge to the top players on the list.

Other noteworthy places were: Patrick Chi 7th (2022) and Philip Sells, 8th (2015). With three of four regular members of the Schenectady A team in the top ten (Aaron, Chi and Sells) it is easy to understand how Schenectady A won the Capital District League this year.

This “humble correspondent” managed to stay in the top twenty-five at a 1906 (22) rating.

Other news: Preparations for the giant Albany - Schenectady chess match continue. Bill Townsend told me Thursday evening he has commitments from thirteen or fourteen players so far. With the Aarons, father and son, in California, Bill did not have conformation of their participation. Dad Ashok Aaron (2068) is number five on Bill’s list and may be prevailed upon to play for Schenectady.

The big match is planned for Thursday August 19th . The starting time is 7:00 pm in the Schenectady club room at the Niskayuna Community Center, 2682 Aqueduct Road, Niskayuna, NY. The goal is to have twenty players for each side.

Wednesday evening at the Albany Area Club, some bad news for the Albany side was made known. Jon Leisner and Peter Henner, two of the stalwarts of the top Albany CDCL team are not going to be able to play in the big match. Offsetting these absences, Tim Wright, club president and leader of the Albany effort, was able to recruit Gordon Magat (2006), number 11, for the Albany team. If Tim can get Matt Katrein and John Morse (2028) number 6 out for this event, Albany will be very tough at the top of the order.

Townsend is checking with his editor at the Gazette to find out if we may get some coverage of the match, with pictures perhaps. He has found in the archives of the Schenectady Club a copy of a news story of this match being played in 1934. That year the match was really big - it was played on 34 (!) boards. Maybe the notion of an activity that has a history might help move the editor to cover our match. We can only hope.

More later.

Odds and Ends and History

I’ve been neglectful of this blog for the passed couple of weeks. There has not been much formal activity in the area. Although it should be said turnouts at the Schenectady and Albany Area clubs has been good with both having seven to twelve players turning up on club nights. There are several new faces in these groups, a good sign for chess in the Capital District

Arrangements have been proceeding for the “big” match between Albany and Schenectady clubs. The date is confirmed for August 19th at the Schenectady Club in the Niskayuna Community Center basement. Anticipating a number of younger players, the start time is set for 7:00 pm.

One of my early heroes was Abe Yanofsky, the Canadian GM. He grew up in Winnipeg during WWII. After winning the Canadian Championship in 1945, the youthful Yanofsky, traveled to Europe to play in a number of events including Hastings and the Staunton Memorial Tourney of 1946. In the last event he scored a remarkable win from the soon to be World Champion M.M. Botvinnik

Yanofsky published a slim book of his best games from the 1946-48 European trip and some of his early games. It was one of the first chess books I bought, about 1955 I think. Yanofsky used the French, and his book certainly influenced me to play the French for many years.

Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham - Botvinnik, Mikhail [C99]

Staunton Memorial, Groningen, 1946

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nb4 15.Bb1 a5 16.Nf1 Bd7 17.Bd2 Rfc8 18.Bxb4..,!?

Know theory of the time up to this move. The move was a cutting edge try at the time.

Accepted play was (1)18 Qe2, since 18..., Nc2; is met by 19 Rc1, or (2) 18 Ne3. After the text Black has a slight advantage and shortly it materializes as an extra pawn. For this concession White obtains a complex game with significant counter-play available.

18..., axb4 19.Bd3 Bd8 20.Qd2 Qa5 21.Ne3 b3 22.a3 Qa4 23.Nd1 b4 24.Ne3 bxa3 25.Rxa3 Nxe4 26.Qd1 Qb4 27.Rxb3 Qa4 28.Bc2 Nc5 29.Rc3 29 Qb4 30.Qb1!?,..

White could have tried 30 Nc4, planning to make serious threats on the Black King with the sacrifice of the Bishop on h7. It seems the game would then be dynamically balanced. Botvinnik’s reputation, so great at the time, probably caused the young Daniel to chose another path.

30..., g6 31.Rc4 Qb7 32.b4 Na6 33.Rxc8 Rxc8 34.Bd3 Nxb4 35.Re2 Ba5 36.Rb2 Rb8 37.Nd2 Qa7

Through the difficult middle game Yanofsky has fought back well by striving for maximum activity. The game is tending towards equality now.

38.Ndc4 Qc5?

Botvinnik errs here according to Rybka. It was better to play 38..., Kg7. White now gets to create real pressure on the Black position that translates into a win of the Exchange.

39.Nxa5 Qxa5 40.Nc2 Nxd3 41.Rxb8+ Kg7 42.Ne3 Qd2

Botvinnik is making good use of the placement of his pieces to threaten sacrificial destruction for the White King’s castled position; the Bd7 points at h3 and the Q+N eye the dark squares f2, f4, g3 and h2.

43.Qf1 Nc5

Better maybe 43..., Nf4; according to the computer, but as the lines play out White keeps a significant edge.

44.Qd1 Qc3 45.Rb6 Ba4?

This is a real slip. Better 45..., Ne4. The game move allows White to make the most of his material advantage by threatening the Black King.

46.Qf3 Qe1+ 47.Kh2 f5 48.Rxd6 f4

Different but not really better is 48.., Be8; the 49 Qg3 f4 49 Nf5+ winning.

49.Nf5+ Kf7

If 49..gxf5 50.Qh5 Qxf2 51.Qg5+ Kf8 52.Qf6+ Kg8 53.Rd8+ wins

50.Qg4 Ne4 51.Qh4 gxf5 52.Qxh7+ Ke8 53.Qg8+ 1–0

Yanofsky finished in 14th place with a score of 8.5/10.5 in the twenty player event. At the top were Botvinnik, Euwe and Smyslov who would all play for the World title two years later.

Behind him were the well known names; Ossip Bernstein, Guimard, Vidmar, Herman Steiner, O’Kelly de Galway and Chrsitoffel

Forty years later Abe Yanofsky was still able to give a good account of himself at the 1986 Canadian Zonal Tournament finishing tied with Baraga for 3d and 4th behind Igor Ivanov and Kevin Spraggett.

This is his best win from the Zonal:

Hawkes, Rob (2315) - Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham (2390) B57

Canada Zoanl Tournament, Canada, 1986

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.0–0 a6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Qh5 Bd7 12.Kh1 Ne5 13.Be2 0–0–0 14.f4 Ng6 15.a4 Rdg8 16.a5 Qc7 17.g3 Rg7 18.Rad1 Kb8 19.Rd4 Rc8 20.Rc4 Qd8 21.Rxc8+ Qxc8 22.Bf3 Qh8 23.Rd1 Rg8 24.Qh3 Rd8 25.Qg2 Rc8 26.Qe2 Rc7 27.Qe3 Qc8 28.Rd2 Qf8 29.Nd4 Qh6 30.Rd3 Qf8 31.h4 Qe8 32.Nde2 Bf8 33.Qb6 Ne7 34.Qd4 Nc6 35.Qxf6 Nxa5 36.Qh8 h6 37.f5 Nc4 38.f6 Ne5!?

Not quite as good as 38..., Nxb2; which is close to winning.

39.Re3 Rc8 40.Bh5 Qd8 41.g4 Qb6 42.Nd1 Qa5 43.Rc3 Bc6 44.Kh2 Qa1 45.Ne3 Qe1 46.Ng3 Qf2+

Also powerful is 46..., d5.

47.Kh3 Nf3 48.Ng2 Ng1+ 49.Kh2 d5 50.g5 Bb4

Less risky is 50..., hxg4.

51.Qxh6 Bxc3 52.bxc3 dxe4 53.g6 Nf3+ 54.Kh3 fxg6 55.Bxf3 Qxf3?

Ending matters quickly with 55..., exf3; is better. It is possible that having passed his 60th birthday, Yanofsky was tired at this point. White is still lost but there is a glimmer of hope in his advanced passed pawns and active Queen.

56.Qg5 e5 57.Qxe5+ Ka8 58.Qd6 Bb5 59.Kh2 Qxc3 60.Nxe4 Qxc2 61.f7 Bf1 62.Nd2 Qf5 63.Nxf1 Qxf7?

The strain of a long game is showing. Possible is 63..., Qxf1 64 Qe7 Qf3 65 Kg1 Ka7 66 Ne1 Qf5 67 Ng2 a5 68 Qe8 Qc5+ 69 Ne3 Qf8 and Black is getting his forces coordinated to fight the f-pawn successfully. True enough there are many, many moves to be played, but Black should win. Perhaps worried fatigue would blur his calculation, Yanofsky here opted to keep a smaller but secure advantage. Grandmasters are not afraid to make those choices.

64.Ng3 Ka7 65.Nf4 Rc2+ 66.Kh3 Rc6 67.Qd4+ b6 68.Nge2 Qe7 69.Kg3 Rc5 70.Kg4 g5 71.hxg5 Qxg5+ 72.Kf3 Qe7 73.Nc3 Qe5 74.Qxe5 Rxe5 75.Nd3 Re8

Now it is clear. The White King is cut off from the Black passed pawns. To get the King over to the Q-side will require some Knight moves allowing the pawns to advance farther and the Rook has the c-file for the next cut-off line.

76.Ne4 b5 77.Ke3 Kb6 78.Kd4 a5 79.Nf6 Rc8 80.Nd5+ Ka7 81.Nc5 Rh8?

Another slip. Either 81..., Rc6; or 81.., a4; are better. The text gives White a chance.

82.Ne6?

Better is 82 Nb3.

82..., Rh6 83.Nec7 b4 84.Kc5 Kb7 85.Nb5 Rc6+ 86.Kd4 Rc1

The White King is now separated from the critical zone and the Knights will not be able to cope with the pawns if Black does not fall into some kind of fork trap.

87.Ne7 Kb6 88.Nd6 Rd1+

Taking the opportunity to force the White King further away.

89.Ke5 b3 90.Ne4 b2 91.Nc3 b1Q 92.Nxb1 Rxb1 93.Kd4 Rf1

Faster is 93..., a4.

94.Nd5+ Kc6 95.Nc3 Rh1 96.Kc4 Rh4+ 97.Kb3 Rb4+ 98.Ka3 Kc5 99.Na4+ Kc4 100.Nb2+ Kc3 101.Na4+ Kc4 102.Nb2+ Kb5 103.Nd1 Rc4 104.Kb3 a4+ 105.Ka3 Rc1 0–1

The final ten moves were not a crisp as a fan would like, but an educational game in any event.

Daniel Abraham Yanofsky died in 2001. Below is a summary of his career from Wikipedia:

In 1946, at age 21, Yanofsky entered the first top-class post-war tournament, at Groningen, and defeated Soviet champion and tournament winner Mikhail Botvinnik, winning the brilliancy prize. During the next two years, he played several more European events, where his best result was second place behind Miguel Najdorf at Barcelona 1946. Yanofsky represented Canada at the Interzonals held in Saltsjobaden 1948 and Stockholm 1962. He won the British Championship in 1953. At Dallas 1957, Yanofsky achieved his first grandmaster norm with wins over Samuel Reshevsky, Friðrik Ólafsson and Larry Evans. His performance at the Tel Aviv Olympiad in 1964 earned him his second grandmaster norm, and the title, thereby becoming the first grandmaster raised in the British Commonwealth