The
prizewinners given last week were all for sections played in the afternoons at
the Paignton Congress. To maximize the use of the splendid facilities at Oldway
Mansion, there have always been tournaments in the mornings, though these have
never been as popular as the afternoon events. However, several adjustments were
made to the prize fund this year, and this boosted the entry for the 5 Round
Morning section to over 40.
1st
Bobby Fisher (E. Grinstead) 4½/5 pts. 2nd= Ben Giles (New Zealand);
Peter Halmkin (Teignmouth); A. Hibbitt (Bristol); P. Holt (Kinson). Grading
prizes: U-140 Dave Rogers (Exmouth). U-120 P. Foster (Gillingham). Ladies'
Prize: Gillian Moore (Southampton).
Morning
American: 1st P. McIntosh (N. Oxford) 6/7 pts. 2nd N.
Dennis (Maidenhead); 3rd Bill Ingham (Teignmouth).
Here
is another game from the Premier section.
White:
K. Arkell. Black: R. James. Queen's Pawn Game [D03]
1.d4
d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bg5 Ne4 4.Bf4 c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bf5 7.e3 Nxc5 8.Nd4 Bd7 9.Be2
f6 10.Bg3 e5 11.N4b3 Be6 12.0–0 Be7 13.f4 0–0 14.fxe5 fxe5 15.Rxf8+ Bxf8
16.Bg4 Qd7 17.Bxe6+ Qxe6 18.Qe2 Rd8 19.Rf1 Nxb3 20.Nxb3 a6 21.e4 d4 22.Nc1 Be7
23.a3 Na5 24.Nd3 Nc4 25.Rf2 Bd6 26.a4 Ne3 27.b3 Rc8 28.c4 Black had little time
on his clock left to weigh up the risks of giving up his knight for three pawns,
but went ahead anyway. 28...dxc3 29.Qxe3 c2 30.Rf1 Qxb3 31.Qd2 Qxa4 32.Nxe5
White can now exploit his extra piece. 32...Bxe5 33.Bxe5 Qxe4? Tempting at first
sight, but losing. Much better was 33...Qc6 34.Qf2 Qc5 35.Bd4 Qf8.
holding things together. 34.Qd7 Hitting the rook and threatening mate at the
same time. Black has only a token twitch of life left. 34...Qe3+ 35.Kh1 Qf2
36.Qxg7 mate.
In
June 2003, readers were invited to set off on the problem-solving trail that
would lead to the British and eventually the World Championship. Several readers
started on the path and three got as far as the British Championship where they
performed with credit. Only recently has that cycle completed its full course
when the 28th World Championship finished in Greece last weekend. And it proved
a triumph for the British GM John Nunn who became the new World Chess Solving
Champion. The British team of Nunn, David Friedgood and Jonathan Mestel also won
the silver medal in the team event.
This
week's two-mover, composed by Alain White in 1901, was part of Round 1 in
Greece. Speed is always a major factor in these situations; so how quickly can
you solve this?
Last
week's problem by János Buglos was solved by 1. Nc6!
18th September 2004
The
54th Paignton Congress finished last weekend with no great surprises
at the top end of the prizelist. The only Grandmaster present, Keith Arkell, won
1st prize without any undue alarms. He won his first five games
outright, allowing him the luxury of finishing with two safe draws. The full
list of prizewinners is as follows:-
Premier
Section: 1st Keith Arkell (Bury) 6/7 pts. 2nd Steve Berry
(Wimbledon) 5½; 3rd= Colin Crouch (Harrow) & Alan Spice
(Cardiff). Grading Prizes: Under-2157 Ian Heppell (Wimbledon). Under-2082 Tim
Spanton (Sussex).
Seniors
Prize: John Wheeler (Cosham).
Steve
Berry has first refusal on the Qualifying Place for the 2005 British
Championship on the Isle of Man. If he declines, John Wheeler is next in line.
Challengers
Section: 1st= Ed Hurwitz (Rose Forgrove); Ian Jamieson (Seaton);
Peter Jaszkiwskyj (E. Ham); Martin Page (Insurance) all on 5½/7 pts. Grading
Prize U-150: Geoffrey Stokes (Solihull) & Brendon O'Gorman (DHSS). U-135:
Steve Dean (Sidmouth); R. Dean (Pudsey) & J. Gorton (London). Ladies Prize:
Cornelia Klein (Germany).
Minor
Section: I. Blencoe (Gloucester) 6/7. 2nd T. Greenaway (Reading); 3rd=
Norman Tidy (St. Marychurch), Glenn Mason (Shaldon), B. Tonks (Neath), Colin
Gardiner (Falmouth). Grading Prizes: U-110 P. Cheshire (Sheffield) & J.
Farrell (Metropolitan).
U-90
R. Monk (Derby).
The
draw for Round 4 brought together the only two players on maximum score.
Plymouth-born John Wheeler had
hopes of appearing in the prize list at the end of the tournament, and here he
had the advantage of the White pieces. However,
Arkell demonstrated his class.
White:
John Wheeler. Black: Keith Arkell.
Queen's
Indian Defence [E12]
1.d4
Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Bb7 6.e3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.0–0
White castles first and Black opts to attack immediately. 9...h6 10.Bh4 g5
11.Bg3 Ne4 12.Nd2 Wheeler was feeling comfortable at this point, being familiar
with the opening set-up, but Black now, without a second thought, struck out
with f5, pressing on with his plan of attacking the castled king, scorning any
possible danger from the checks on the white-squared diagonals. 12...f5 13.f3
Nxg3 14.hxg3 Qe7 15.e4 f4 16.e5 dxe5 17.Bg6+ Kf8 18.Qe2 fxg3 19.dxe5 Qc5+ 20.Kh1
Qxe5 21.Be4 Qf4 22. Resigns in view of the deadly attack on the h-file. 0–1
Last
week's original problem by Janos Buglos was solved by 1. Nh5! And White has five
mates, depending on Black's attempted defence. This week we have another of his
compositions, first published in 1943. White to play and mate in two.
11th September 2004
The
54th Paignton Congress, which enjoyed a near record entry of almost
200, finished yesterday afternoon and results will be reported in full next
week.
Today
my theme is connections between Budapest and Devon, however tenuous.
János
Löwenthal was born there in 1810 and played in the very first international
congress, organised by Staunton in 1851, when he was one of the ten best players
in the world. In 1865 he met a teenager called Cecil De Vere to whom he gave the
odds of pawn and move, the normal way of equalizing chances at that time. De
Vere was a very promising junior but failed to fulfil his early promise and died
a pauper in Torquay at the age of 29.
White:
C. De Vere. Black: J. J. Löwenthal.
Remove
Black`s f7 pawn.
1.e4
d6 2.d4 Nc6 3.d5 Ne5 4.f4 Nf7
5.Nc3 e6? 6.Bc4? e5 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Be3 Bd7 9.Qe2 a6 10.a3
Be7 11.0–0–0 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Nh5 14.fxe5 dxe5 15.Rhg1 g5
16.f4! Nxf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.e5
Bc5 19.Qh5 Bxg1 20.Rxg1 Qe7 21.d6 Qf8 22.Nd5 0–0–0 23.Ne7+ Kb8 24.dxc7+ Kxc7
25.Qxf7 Qxf7 26.Bxf7 Rhf8 27.Nd5+ Rxd5 28.Bxd5 Rf5 29.Be4
Rxe5 30.Bxh7 Kd6 31.Kd2 Ke6 32.Re1 and Black resigned.
When
Löwenthal died in 1876, money from his estate paid for a trophy which is
competed for to this day in the Inter-County competition.
Last
week's position by Mrs. W. J. Baird was solved by 1. b5. If 1…Kxc5 then 2.
Be7mate. If 1…Bxc5 then 2. Pxe5 mate. If 1… Bd7 then Be7 mate, and any other
move is met by Rc6 mate.
When
I saw the problemist David Shire at this year's Easter Congress at Exmouth and
asked him whether he had any original problems for publication in the WMN, he
did suggest that he would ask, on my behalf, an Hungarian colleague with whom he
was in contact. This was the 81 year old János Buglos, a noted composer whose
work has appeared in publications around the world. At the time, it sounded a
remote possibility, but recently he has indeed been in touch and sent us this
week's hitherto unpublished position.
János
Buglos was born in 1923 in Budapest, and his first problem was published in
1939. Although a full-blooded Hungarian, he spent a number of years in Devon
when he was seconded to work at the Fisons trial station at North Tawton,
between 1957 and 1965, extending his skills as a professional plant breeder, and
he recalls his time here with great fondness.
He
specialises in 2-movers and this is a good example. White to play and mate in
two. Next week I will give one of his previously published problems.
4th September 2004
Recently
I was able to visit the Colindale Newspaper Library in north London and took the
opportunity to look up the early chess columns from the Western Morning News.
These started in 1891, written by Carslake Winter-Wood, and were originally
anonymous, being headed "Specially contributed", though later he
adopted the nome de plume "Queen's Knight". I just had time to inspect
those from late 1892. One from 8th December, for example, took up
about 2 column inches, but in such microscopic print that it took 3 large pages
of handwriting to copy it out.
As
one might expect, part of it was a simple list of results from the recently
formed Plymouth Club championship, but it had much to say about chess in other
areas. For example, the writer mentions a problem tournament organised by the
Hackney Mercury, something from the Bristol Mercury on Blackburne, he has an
opinion on the British Chess Magazine and has praise for the recent edition of
the Sussex Chess Journal.
The
effect of this and other chess columns that sprung up in other newspapers at
about this time is not to be underestimated. One can see a definite
cross-fertilisation of ideas and information, breaking down the relative
isolation of players in rural counties like Devon and Cornwall. It is no
accident that the Devon and Cornish Chess Associations were formed within a
decade. Even at the time, the founding fathers of the Devon County Chess
Association expressed their appreciation of the role chess columns had played in
the organisation of the game at the county level.
The
Devon & Exeter Gazette started a column in October 1898 under the nome de
plume "King's Rook", who may have been Charles James Lambert, an
Exeter lawyer. Lambert was an excellent player, winning two friendly games and a
draw from six games against Steinitz in 1872.
The
WMN column, though the first in the south west, did not run without a break; in
fact in 1906 it transferred for a time to the Illustrated Western Weekly News,
before returning later.
Carslake's
sister Edith, under her married name of Mrs. W. J. Baird, had an even greater
reputation at that time, as a problem composer, at which she was prolific and
innovative. One of her specialities was to create compositions in the shape of
some appropriate letter or initial.
This
is one she published in the WMN a hundred years ago, and you may just discern
the pieces forming the letter W. Same rules though - White to play and mate in
2.
In
last week's position Black won immediately by Bh6, winning the Queen.
28th August 2004
Here
is another of Andrew Greet's wins from his fine performance in the Smith &
Williamson British Championship at Scarborough.
White:
Eddie Dearing. Black: Andrew
Greet,
English
Opening [A30]
1.Nf3
Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0–0 Be7 7.Re1 Ne4 8.d4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 d6
10.d5 e5 11.e4 Nd7 12.Nd2 Bf6 13.a4 a5 14.Qb3 Ba6 15.Bh3 Rb8 16.Nf1 Qe7 17.Ra2
g6 18.f4 h5 19.Rf2 h4 20.Kg2 hxg3 21.Nxg3 Rxh3 A bold attempt to open up White's
King-side. 22.Kxh3
exf4 23.Bxf4 Be5 24.Qd1 Bxc4 25.Qd2 Bxf4 26.Rxf4 Ne5 Threatening a knight fork
on d3, so... 27.Rb1 Qd7+ 28.Kg2 Qxa4 29.Rf6 Kd7 30.Qf2 Kc7 31.Rxd6 White gets
into the sacrificial spirit. 31...Kxd6 32.Qf6+ Kd7 33.Qxe5 Re8 34.Qf6 White
seems to be so pre-occupied with attack that he overlooks his defensive needs.
34...Qc2+ 35.Kh3 Qxb1 Even though he's a rook up, Black still has to defend most
carefully. 36.Qc6+ Ke7 37.d6+ Kf8 38.d7 Be6+ 39.Kh4 g5+ 40.Kh5 If the King took
the proffered pawn. there was a forced mate. 40...Qd1+ 41.Kh6 Qxd7 42.Qxb6 f6
43.Nh5 Kf7 44. Resigns as mate cannot be avoided. 0–1
In
the same event, Jack Rudd of Bideford finished with a creditable 50% score. This
is his game from Round 6. The loser's fortunes suddenly turned thereafter, and
he went on to finish with 5 consecutive wins and a total of 7½ / 11 points,
equal with Greet.
White:
Jack Rudd. Black: Robert Gwaze.
Spanish
Opening Breyer Variation [C95]
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
Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.a4 Bg7 16.b4 Rb8
17.d5 Qe7 18.axb5 axb5 19.Ra7 Rec8 20.Bb3 h6 21.Be3 c6 22.dxc6 Bxc6 23.Qd2 Kh7
24.Rd1 Bf8 25.Qa2 Ra8 26.Bxf7 Rxa7 27.Bxa7 Nxe4 28.Bxg6+ Kxg6 29.Qg8+ Bg7
30.Qxc8 Nxc3 31.Qxc6 Nxd1 32.Qc2+ Kf7 33.Qxd1 Nf6 34.Bb8 Bf8 35.Nf5 Qd8 36.Bxd6
Ke6 37.Qb3+ Kxf5 38.Nh4+ Ke4 39.Bxf8 1–0
The
Paignton Congress starts next Saturday. Late entries should go to Linda
Crickmore on 01752-768206.
In
last week's position, White won quickly after 1. Qh6+ after which Black must
resign. If he takes the proffered Queen, the White pawn queens on h8 with mate,
and if it retreats to h8 White mates on f8.
This
week we have another position from last year's Paignton Congress, for the game
Cutmore - Hempson. Not wishing to get his black-square Bishop trapped, White
chose to play 1.h3, overlooking Black's even more potent threat. What was it?
21st August 2004
Before
the start of the Smith & Williamson British Championships that finished at
Scarborough last weekend, all the talk was of how the various grandmasters might
fare, and to be honest, I only mentioned Andrew Greet in passing
because he was one of the few local players involved. Who would have
thought that in the final round he would be playing on top board
with a chance of a share of the £10,000 first prize. He even had the
White pieces, but his opponent, the Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson, only needed a
half point to guarantee sole 1st prize for himself, so he was
unlikely to take any risks, and the game ended fairly quickly in a safe draw.
Never the less, Greet came 4th= and had a number of top names in his
wake. On the way, he secured an International Master norm, when he drew a short
game with Gawain Jones in Round 8.
Here
is his well-played game from Round 5.
White:
Andrew Greet (St. Austell). Black: A. J. Walton.
French
Defence [C00]
1.e4
e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Nc6 5.c3 a5 6.e5 Nd7 7.d4 f6 8.Bb5 Be7 9.exf6 Bxf6
10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 Re8 12.Nf1 Nf8 13.Bf4 Ng6 14.Bg3 Bd7 15.Ne3 Nce7 16.Bd3
White positions his pieces for a King-side attack, the usual way of making
progress against the French Defence. 16...b6 17.Ng4 c5 18.Qd2 Nf5 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6
20.Ne5 Bc8 21.Bb5 Re7 22.Bc6 Raa7 23.Ng4 Qf8 24.Ba4 Ba6 25.Bc2 Nxg3 26.hxg3 Qf7
27.Re3 Nf8 28.Rf3 Qe8 29.Qg5 Kh8 30.Ne5 h6 31.Rxf8+ Qxf8 32.Qg6 Qg8 33.Re1 Bb5
34.g4 Be8 35.g5 White can safely leave his Queen en prise, as the consequences
for Black of taking it are dire. (For example, 35...Bxg6 36.Nxg6+ Kh7 37.Nxe7+
Kh8 38.Nxg8 Kxg8 and Black is a piece down.) So 35...Rec7 36.Qd3 g6 37.gxh6 Rh7
38.Ng4 c4 39.Qe3 Rhf7 40.Qe5+ Kh7 41.Qxe6 1–0
A
decade or more ago, Ken Bloodworth was describing Greet as the next Michael
Adams, although this was when Greet was still in short trousers and before
anyone fully appreciated just how far Adams would go. Never the less, this
performance has gone some way towards justifying Ken's faith in him.
In
last week's position, White won quickly after 1. Bb5+ c6 2. Re7 mate.
The
Paignton Congress will be with us again shortly, but meanwhile here's a position
from one of last year's top games. It is near the end of the game Lane -
Radanovic. The Black King is trying to hold his defences together while
preparing his own attack. How does White cleverly scupper his plans?
14th August 2004
Alan
Brusey of the Teignmouth Club recently came second in the Civil Service
Championship. This was the fourteenth year the event has been held and Alan has
reached the final thirteen
times, but this was his best result to date. He had won the South West
Regional Final, held at Exeter earlier this year, when Jeff Nicholas was
runner-up. Alan is a tax inspector and also entered the Inland Revenue
Championship, held at Nottingham University in April. This involved teams of
three players, and the South West team came sixth out of the ten teams
competing.
Any
eligible player from any branch of the Civil Service that would like to be
involved next year should contact Alan on 01626-208570.
Here
is one of his games from the Inland Revenue event.
White:
A. W. Brusey. Black: J. Cooper.
C3
Sicilian [B22]
Civil
Service Championship
1.e4
c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 e6 6.Nc3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Qc7 8.Bd2 d6 9.f4 Nc6
10.Nf3 Bd7 11.Bd3 d5 12.Qc2 h6 13.0–0 Be7 White is now nicely developed while
Black has yet to castle - a good time to launch an attack. 14.f5 exf5 15.Bxf5
0–0 16.Rae1 Bxf5 17.Qxf5 Qc8 Black senses the attacking potential of White's
position and seeks to draw the sting by exchanging material. 18.Qf4 Qe6 19.Qg3
Na5 20.Nh4 Bxh4 21.Qxh4 Nc4 22.Bc1 Rac8 23.Rf3 Rc6 24.Ref1 Qg6 25.Rg3 Qh7 A poor
square for the Queen, and allows... 26.Qe7 Rb6 27.Qd7 Qe4 28.Rgf3 f5 29.Rf4 Qd3
30.Qxd5+ Kh7 31.R4f3 Qe2 32.a4 Rb1 33.e6 Nb6 34.Qc5 Re8?? 35.Qxf5+ Kg8 36.Qxb1
Resigns. 1–0
A
final reminder about the 54th Paignton Congress that starts at Oldway
Mansion on Saturday 4th September. Late entries should go to Linda
Crickmore on 01752-768206.
Last
week's finely-poised endgame study by Reti was solved thus:- The White King must
try to enter the same block of squares as the Black Pawn. To effect this, he can
reach e5 in three moves, but by then, of course,
the Black Pawn will have run on to h2 and still be out of range. Yet he
is then within one square of protecting his own pawn, and the Black King must
move to b6 to delay White Queening. This gives White the vital extra move he
needs - Kd6, when both pawns will Queen, and the game is drawn.
This
week we have a position from actual play - the ending of a game at the Paris
1860 tournament at which our own Cecil De Vere came 5th. France's top player at
the time, De Riviere, (White) finished off Journoux in two moves. How did he do
it?
7th August 2004
The
British Championships, currently being held in Scarborough, are approaching the
half-way point, with a number of westcountry players involved in the various
sections tailored for all strengths and abilities.
At
one stage it was rumoured that world championship finalist Michael Adams would
be taking part this year, but at the time of going to press his name had not
entered the lists. Nor were there any from the chess-mad Indian sub-continent,
as there have increasingly been in recent years. This had reached a point where
several top British players had said they thought it was one reason why many of
England's best players did not usually enter. To answer this, the organizers
reduced the qualifying area from the whole Commonwealth to British Isles only.
To answer another criticism that the prize money was derisory, in 1998 sponsors
Smith & Williamson came up with a generous prize fund, which included £10,000
for the winner.
However,
neither of these moves appear to have lured any more home grandmasters than
before. Excluding possible late entries, there was no sign of former champions
Adams, Short, Hodgson, Gallagher, or the in-form Luke McShane. The top seed is
Mark Hebden closely followed by the Scots, Rowson and Motwani.
Andrew
Greet (St. Austell), Jack Rudd (Barnstaple) and Jim Sherwin (Keynsham) provide
the local interest in the championship, while Arthur Pinkerton (Brixham) and
Roger Waters (Taunton) are competing in the British Seniors event. The former
Major Open section, is now called the FIDE World Major and limited to players
under 2349, so there won't be any Russian GMs lurking there in future, for which
Brian Gosling (Exmouth) will be grateful. Laurens Stegink of Teignmouth is
playing in the British Under-10 Championship.
There's
still time to enter the 54th Paignton Congress that starts on
Saturday 4th September, but only just. Late entries should go to
Linda Crickmore on 01752-768206.
The
chess diagrams for the last two weeks got inadvertently reversed. Last week
showed the position that will haunt Michael Adams for some time to come; find a
winning move to become world champion. The week before was a 3-move problem by
C. S. Kipping the key move for which was 1. Ng8
This
week we have a tantalising endgame study composed by Richard Reti. Black seems
to be all ready to win, with his King covering the White pawn while his own is
ready to romp home. And yet White can draw with best play. Can you work out how?
31st July 2004
The
Plymouth Club recently organised a special match to commemorate Ken Bloodworth's
90th birthday, between teams from Plymouth and Devon "Elders". Honours
were shared as they drew 6 - 6.
Devon
always faced a difficult task in taking on Essex in the recent National U-175
Final, the more so since the Essex 1st team had not qualified for the
Open; if they had, it might have stretched their playing resources somewhat. As
it was, Devon were outgraded by several points on all but two of the sixteen
boards. This would not necessarily have had any particular relevance in any one
game, but the overall difference of 74 grading points between the teams was
always likely to be a factor in the final result.
Nevertheless,
after the first eight games had finished, Devon actually led 5 - 3, following
bright wins from Adam Woodruff (Exmouth), Arthur Pinkerton (Brixham) and Sam
Wingrove (Isca Juniors), and safe draws from Dave Regis (Exeter), Bill Ingham (Teignmouth),
Paul Brooks (S. Hams), and a dodgy one by Brian Gosling (Exmouth).
However,
that was about as good as it got, for there followed six consecutive losses,
which gave Essex the 9 points to guarantee victory. The last two games to
finish, Brusey & Pope, were drawn, even though Devon had winning chances
late on in both.
This
was Pinkerton's win on board 10.
White:
A. Pinkerton. (153). Black: A. Hung, (159)
[A46]
1.d4
Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0–0 g6 6.c4 c5 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxg2 9.Kxg2
Qc7 10.b3 a6 11.e4 Nc6 12.Be3 Bg7 13.f3 0–0 14.Rc1 Rac8 15.Qd2 Rfd8 16.Nd5 An
interesting idea. 16...Qb7 (After 16...exd5 17.cxd5 and the Knight is regained)
17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Ne2 Rf8 19.Rfd1 Rc7 20.Nc3 Qc8 21.Bxb6 Rb7 22.Bc5 Rd8 23.Bd6
Bg7 24.Na4 Re8 25.c5 Qd8 26.Nb6 h5 27.Nc4 Ra7 28.Bf4 e5 29.Be3 Re6 30.Nd6 h4
31.b4 Nd4 32.f4 Nc6 33.a4 exf4 34.gxf4 Bf8 35.e5 g5 36.f5 Rxe5 37.Bxg5 Qa8
38.Kg1 h3 39.Bf6 Nd4 40.Qg5+ Kh7 41.Rxd4 Bh6 42.Rh4 Black resigns as the White
Queen simultaneously threatens mate on h6 and prevents it on g2.
1–0
This
year is the 40th anniversary of the death of the great English
problemist C. S. Kipping. He dealt almost exclusively in 3-movers, so we depart
from our usual pattern this week and give one of his complex positions where
White must mate in 3 moves against any Black defence. It was originally
published in this paper in March 1930, and also appeared last week, so you have
had extra time to work it out.
24th July 2004
It
may have all happened three weeks ago, but chess lovers throughout the country
are still in shock at the way Michael Adams lost out in the final of the FIDE
world championship in Tripoli. Watching those last games unfold live on the
internet opened up afresh the slowly-healing scars inflicted by the England -
Portugal football match. Stomach-churning doesn't even begin to describe it.
The
initial match consisted of six straight games, and Adams drew White in the
first. With hindsight, it may have been a misjudgement to use game 1 as a
settler, agreeing a short draw in 18 moves, for Adams then had great difficulty
with all three of his games with the Black pieces, and he fell behind after
losing Game 2. He was then playing catch-up throughout.
Nevertheless,
he started the 6th game level at 2½ each, but with Black, and again
he found himself on the back foot. He hung on grimly until
Rustam Kasimdzhanov himself made an error and went chasing shadows. His
Queen and Bishop became separated and in this week's position, Adams momentarily
saw a chance of a draw which would level things at 3-all and take them to the
Rapidplay tie-break games. He grabbed the chance immediately and thankfully,
playing Bxf2+ and the Black Queen can then check all night if necessary. But -
and it's the biggest but in the history of British chess - he had a winning move
at hand. From the comfort of your armchair it's not difficult to see that
42…Qe4 continues to protect e6 and after the Black King slides away from the
check on h7, the White King is at the mercy of both pieces. Here is the full
game.
White:
R. Kasimdzhanov. (2652). Black: M. Adams. (2731)
Ruy
Lopez [C91]
1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.d4 d6 9.c3
Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.h3 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Bh5 15.g4 Bg6 16.Nc3
Rc8 17.Rc1 Nc6 18.Be3 Nb4 19.Bb1 d5 20.e5 Ne4 21.Ne2 Nc5 22.Bxc5 Rxc5 23.Rxc5
Bxc5 24.Nf4 Qb6 25.Rf1 Be4 26.a3 Nc6 27.Nxd5 Bxd5 28.Qxd5 Nd4 29.Kg2 Nxf3
30.Qxf3 g6 31.b4 Bd4 32.Qe4 Bb2 33.Rd1 Rd8 34.Rxd8+ Qxd8 35.Ba2 Qe7 36.e6 fxe6
37.Qa8+ Kf7 38.Qxa6 Qd7 39.g5 Ke7 40.Qa8 Bd4 41.Qg8 Qc6+ 42.Kg3
42...Bxf2+?
and a draw was agreed. Now work out what follows if 42…Qe4 had been played.
The
nightmare continued in the tie-break, as Adams lost his White game after being
materially ahead, and his chances had gone. Full credit to both players for
reaching the final, but for Michael it was a case of So near and yet so far.
Last
week's key move was 1.Ng8
17th July 2004
The
Devon U-175 team lost 10 - 6 to Essex in the recent National Finals. This was
not quite as convincing as it sounds, as Devon were leading 5 - 3 after the
first 8 games had finished. There will be more details next week.
My
predecessor as chess columnist of this paper, Ken Bloodworth, celebrated his 90th
birthday this week, and to commemorate this considerable milestone, the Plymouth
club have organised a special match at the China Fleet Club this afternoon.
Ken
wrote his weekly column for 37 years, but his contribution to chess has been far
wider than that, and too multifarious to list in the confines of this column.
Suffice it to say that
when, in 1984, the British Chess Federation inaugurated their President's
Award for services to chess, Ken won the award in only its 3rd year.
Nor
has his ability at the board deteriorated as one might reasonably expect, as
this game from 5 years ago demonstrates.
White:
P. Ribbands (Cambs). Black: K. J. Bloodworth [A10]
National
U–150 Semi Final.
1.c4
g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.e4 Na6 7.Nge2 e5 8.0–0 0–0 9.h3 Rb8
10.Be3 c5 11.Qd2 Nb4 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Nd5 Nbxd5 14.cxd5 Bd7 15.Rab1 a5 16.Kh2 b6
17.f4 h6 18.fxe5 hxg5 19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Rf2 Be5 21.Rbf1 Kg7 22.Ng1 Bd4 23.Re2 g4!
24.Ree1 Rh8 25.Ne2 Be5 26.d4 cxd4 27.Nxd4 Rh5 28.Nc6 Bxc6 29.dxc6 Qh8 30.Qf2 f6
31.c7 Rc8 32.Rc1 At this point Black opted to press ahead, sensing a winning
attack, but at the vital point, missed the winning move. 32...Rxh3+ 33.Bxh3
Qxh3+ 34.Kg1 Rh8? 35.Qg2 Bd4+ 36.Rf2 Qh6 37.Rcc2 Bc5 38.a3 Qe3 39.Kf1 Qb3
40.Rfd2 Rc8. The first time control was reached and Black's attack had run its
course for the time being, leaving him materially down. 41.Rc3 Qe6 42.Qh1 Rh8
43.Rh2 Rxh2 44.Qxh2 Qxe4?! 45.Qc2 Qh1+ 46.Ke2 Qg2+ 47.Kd3 Qd5+ 48.Ke2 Qg2+ Black
had a series of annoying checks and offered a draw. 49.Kd1 Qh1+ 50.Kd2 Qc6!
51.Kc1 a4 52.Qxa4 Qxc7 53.Qxg4 Qe7 54.Kc2 f5 55.Qf3 Qe4+ 56.Kc1 Qe1+ 57.Kc2 Qe4+
White made the mistake of exchanging queens, which gave Black 2 central united
passed pawns, more than enough compensation for the exchange. 58.Qxe4 fxe4 59.b4
Bf2 60.Rc6 d5 61.a4 Kh6 62.a5 bxa5 63.bxa5 d4 64.a6 d3+ 65.Kd1 Kg5 66.Re6 e3
67.Re5+ Kg4 68.Re6 Kxg3 69.Rxg6+ Kf3 70.Rf6+ Kg2 71.Rf7 Kf1 72.Rxf2+ Kxf2 73.a7
e2+ 74.Kc1 e1Q+ 75..Kb2 Qa5 White resigned and Devon went through to that year's
Final.
In
this week's position, Black (Jeremy Menadue of Truro) in spite of having two
Queens and a mate on the move, resigned after White's next move. What move?
10th July 2004
At
the time of going to press, Cornwall's Michael Adams was making steady progress
in the current knockout cycle of the World Championship being held in Tripoli,
and had cruised through to the Semi-Final, without any undue alarms. Following
the withdrawal of some of the top players, Adams is
No. 2 seed for this event and will probably never have a better chance of
winning a world title.
This
is his game from round 3.
White:
M. Adams. Black: H. Hamdouchi.
Sicilian
Defence [B51]
1.e4
c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0–0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.h3 a6 7.Bf1 g5 A Sicilian player
usually attacks on the Queen's side - the text is great gamble. 8.d4 g4 9.d5
gxf3 10.dxc6 Bxc6 11.Qxf3 e6 12.Nc3 Be7 13.Bf4 Rg8 14.Rad1 Rg6 15.a3 Qc7 16.b4
cxb4 17.axb4 b5 18.g3 0–0–0 19.Ra1 Qb7 20.Bg2 Rd7 21.Red1 Qb6 22.Be3 Qb7
23.Bd4 Bd8 24.Ra3 Ne8 25.Rda1 White shapes to attack on the Queenside, but his
superior mobility enables him to strike on the other wing. 25...Nc7 26.Qh5 Rg5
27.Qxh7 f5 28.Qh8 fxe4 29.h4 Rf5 30.Bh3 Rff7 31.Ne2 e3 32.Bxe3 e5 Black may have
been trying to tempt White into a quick exchange to get rid of the white-square
Bishop, but Adams finds a better move.
33.Bg5 Resigns. 1–0
Entries
for the 54th Paignton Congress in September have already reached 65
and rising quickly, with Grandmaster Keith Arkell and Tyson Mordue among the
titled players contesting
the top spot. Regular competitors should note that this year the event starts on
Saturday 4th September and runs through to the following Friday.
Entry forms are now freely available from the usual outlets; in case of
difficulty prospective entrants may contact the Entry Secretary, Linda Crickmore
on 01752-768206.
In
last week's position, Simon Bartlett played 1.Rxf7+ Rxf7 and the Queen falls to
the knight fork 2.Ne6+. If 1…Kg8 then 2.Rxf8+ Qxf8 3.Nxd5.
This
week's position is the starter problem for the next cycle of the British Solving
Championship. It is White to play and force checkmate in two moves against any
Black defence. Work out the first move, (the key move) and send it, together
with the entry fee of £3 to:- Paul Valois, 14, Newton Park Drive, Leeds, LS7
4HH. (Cheques must be payable to British Chess Problem Society). Only postal
entries, postmarked no later than 31st July, will be accepted. Also,
don't forget to mention this paper on your entry. In August, all entrants will
receive the correct solution and a set of 8 more difficult and varied problems
which constitute the Postal Round, plus a recent copy of their magazine, The
Problemist..
3rd. July 2004
Torquay
Boys' Grammar School is celebrating its centenary this year and chess is playing
its part. Yesterday evening there was a special match between a team of 16
players drawn from the school's pupils and staff and a side drawn from Devon's
"elder statesmen", all of whom have been involved in chess
organization for many years. Later today, its star chess pupil, David Hodge,
will be returning to play all the school's present chessplayers at the same time
in a simultaneous display.
The
school's eminence in junior chess over the past two decades has been largely due
to the enthusiasm of one of its staff, modern languages teacher Trefor Thynne,
who has organized school teams in various local leagues and national school
tournaments. When it was led by David Hodge, the school team reached the finals
of the National Schools Championship in successive years.
When
he himself was a pupil at Teignmouth Grammar School, Trefor qualified for the
1967 British Championship at Oxford, a common enough feat for a budding 16 year
old these days, but at that time was almost unheard of. In the first round he
was drawn against one of the legendary names of British chess, three times
champion, Harry Golombek.
White:
H. Golombek. Black: T. F. Thynne.
Queen's
Gambit: Semi-Slav Defence. [D46]
1.d4
d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.0–0 0–0 8.Qc2 Qe7 9.a3
Bxc3? World Champion Max Euwe recommended 9…Ba5 and a retreat if necessary to
c7. 10.Qxc3 Re8 11.Ne5 dxc4 12.Qxc4 Nd5 13.Bd2 Nf8 14.Rac1 f6 15.Nf3 Bd7 16.e4
Nb6 17.Qc2 Red8 18.a4 Be8 19.h3 Nc8 20.Qb3 Kh8 21.Bb4 Qf7 The Black Queen is now
"overloaded", trying to defend both f8 and b7. Golombek exploits this
weakness. 22.Bxf8 Qxf8 23.Qxb7 Ne7 24.Qb4 Rab8 25.Qc5 Rxb2 26.Qxa7 Ng6 27.Qc5
Qxc5 28.Rxc5 Nf4 29.Bc4 Ne2+ 30.Bxe2 Rxe2 31.e5 Rb8 32.a5 Rbb2 33.a6 Kg8 Black's
dilemma now is that playing Ra2 to prevent a White rook getting behind the pawn,
hands White the b-file and the risk of allowing a rook getting to b8. 34.Ra1 Ra2
35.Ra5 Resigns as the a-pawn cannot be stopped - but what a memory for any
schoolboy.
In
last week's position, 1.g4 wins the knight on f5 which is the only thing
preventing mate on h7. This week we have a game from last year's Paignton
Congress. White is North Cornwall's Simon Bartlett playing Andrew Footner of
Dorchester. Bartlett is about to launch a winning combination. Can you see it?