Each year the NSWJCL organises professional chess coaching for promising juniors especially juniors who are not already engaged in individual coaching. This year we had 21 juniors participating in the ATS. And we were fortunate to have GM Ian Rogers, GM Zhao ZongYuan, IM George Xie, IM Vladimir Feldman and IM Irina Berezina as coaches. There were 7 sessions altogether and something new this year was the appearance of a more structured chess programme devised by GM Rogers with topics such as, "“I don't know what to do!” - Planning in chess" and ""I know I should have something good here" — solving problems at the board". The last session (Sunday 25th October 2009) was a GM clock-simultaneous reminiscent of the ex-soviet training camps for juniors held at the Palace of Pioneers. Read any biographies of ex-soviet chess players from the 1950s or 1960s and you will read of such clock-simuls. These occasions provided opportunities for the juniors to defeat a GM or an IM for the first time.
However, as GM Rogers remarked, those soviet GMs faced only 7-9 juniors while he played 17 juniors. The score? +14 =2 -1! GM Rogers praised the play of the only winner, Kevin Tan, especially his execution of the KID game plan. GM Rogers generously provided a prize and presented it to Kevin for his sterling effort. It was a Chessbase DVD of GM Alexei Shirov's Best Games in the Sicilian. Jack Ruan and Andrew Pan were the other two juniors who drew their games. However, GM Rogers thought his best game was against Chen PengYu. (Note: according to Fritz 11, another way to win was with 22 Nxf6+ where White gets B's Queen - see annotations below.)
I present the Kevin's and PengYu's games in replayable viewer (annoFritz11) and I also give the score for Jack's and Andrew's games (highlight the game score, copy and paste into any chess game viewer to play through the game).
[Date "2009.10.25"]
[White "Rogers, Ian"]
[Black "Ruan, Jack"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11"]
[PlyCount "78"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. d5 Qb6 5. Qc1
f5 6. g3 Bg7 7. c3 O-O ({Fritz 11:} 7... d6 8. Nd2 Nd7 9. Bg2 Bh6 10. Qc2 Nf6
11. Nh3 Rg8 12. O-O Bd7 13. Nc4 Qa6 14. Qd3 O-O-O 15. a4) 8. Bg2 d6 9. Nd2 Qc7 ({Fritz 11:} 9... Nd7 10. Qc2 Ne5 11. Ngf3 Qa6 12. Nh4 e6 13. Ndf3 Ng4 14. O-O Bd7 15. h3 Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. Bf3 f4) 10. a4 Nd7 11. Nh3 Nf6 12. Nf4 b6 13. O-O a6 14. Qc2 ({Fritz 11:} 14. Nc4 Bd7 15. a5 bxa5 16. Nxa5 Bh6 17. e3 Kg7 18. Qc2 Rg8 19. Rfe1 c4 20. Bf3 Rae8 21. Qd2 Bxf4 22. exf4 Qc5) 14... Bd7 15. e4 Qc8 ({Fritz 11:} 15... Bh6 16. exf5 Kh8 17. Nc4 Bxf4 18. gxf4 Rg8 19. Ne3 Qb7 20. Rfd1 b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. Qe2 Kg7 23. Qf3 Kh8 24. Kh1 b4) 16. Rae1 ({Fritz 11:} 16. Nc4 Rb8 17. e5 dxe5 18. Nxe5 Ng4 19. Nc6 Bxc6 20. dxc6 Ne5 21. Rfd1 Nxc6 22. Bxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxf5 Rfe8 24. Nd5 e6 25. Nf6+ Bxf6 26. Qxf6 Qe4) 16... b5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Bh3 ({Fritz 11:} 18. e5 dxe5 19. Rxe5 Qd8 20. Re2 Bc8 21. d6 Ra7 22. dxe7 Rxe7 23. Nb3 Qc7 24. Rxe7 Qxe7 25. Bc6 Bh6 26. Rd1 Bxf4 27. gxf4 Nh5 28. Qd2) 18... fxe4 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 20. Nxe4 Nxe4
21. Rxe4 Ra4 22. Rfe1 Qf5 23. Qe2 Rxe4 24. Qxe4 Qxe4 25. Rxe4 Be5 26. Nh5 f5 27. Re1 ({Fritz 11:} 27. Re3 Kf7 28. Rf3 Kg6 29. Nf4+ Bxf4 30. Rxf4 Ra8 31. g4 fxg4 32. Rxg4+ Kf6 33. Re4 Ra2 34. Re2 h6 35. Kg2 b4 36. cxb4 cxb4 37. Re6+ Kf5 38. b3 Rb2 39. Rxh6 Rxb3) 27... Kf7 28. Ra1 ({Fritz 11:} 28. Ra1 Rb8 29. Nf4 Bxf4 30. gxf4 Rg8+ 31. Kf1 Rg4 32. Ra5 b4 33. cxb4 cxb4 34. Ra7 Rxf4 35. Rb7 Rh4 36. Rb6 Kf6 37. Rb7 h6 38. Ke2 Rxh2 39. Rxb4 Rg2) 1/2-1/2
[Event "NSWJCL ATS GM Clock-Simul"]
[Date "2009.10.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rogers, Ian"]
[Black "Pan, Andrew"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B40"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11"]
[PlyCount "136"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. O-O Be7 ({Fritz 11:} 6... Bd6 7. Re1+ Nge7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. d4 Qa5 10. Bb2 Be6 11. a3 Qb6 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. g3 a6 14. Bd3 d4 15. Ne4) 7. Re1 Nf6 8. Qe2 Bg4 9. Bb2 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Qd6 ({Fritz 11:} 10... Kf8 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Be5 h5 13. Nc3 Rh6 14. Kh1 Qd7 15. Rg1 Qf5 16. Rae1 Re8 17. Qd3 Qxd3) 11. Be5 Qe6 ({Fritz 11:} 11... Qd7 12. Nc3 O-O 13. f4 a6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Kg2 Rfe8 16. h3 g6 17. Na4 Qe6 18. Nc3 Qf5) 12. Bxf6 ({Fritz 11:} 12. Nc3 a6 13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14. Rad1 O-O 15. Bc7 Rfc8 16. Bg3 Qxe2 17. Rxe2 Ra7 18. Rde1 Re8 19. Bh4 Rb7 20. Re5 c4 21. Bxf6) 12... Qxf6 13. Nc3 Rd8 14. Qe5 Rd7 ({Fritz 11:} 14... Kf8 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Kh1 Rg8 18. Rg1 Rxg1+ 19. Rxg1 Re8 20. Nd1 f5 21. Kg2 Bf6 22. Ne3 f4 23. Ng4 Bd4) 15. Qxf6 ({Fritz 11:} 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Qb8+ Rd8 17. Qxa7 Kf8 18. f4 Bd6 19. Ne2 Qg6+ 20. Ng3 Qxc2 21. Qb6 Rc8 22. Qb7 Rd8 23. Qxc6 Bxf4 24. Rac1) 15... gxf6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Re2 Kd8 ({Fritz 11:} 17... Rg8+ 18. Kh1 Kd8 19. Rg1 Rxg1+ 20. Kxg1 Bd6 21. Kg2 Rb7 22. Re3 f5 23. Na4 Re7 24. Kf1 Re6 25. Rc3 Rh6 26. Nxc5 Rxh2 27. Nb7+) 18. Rae1 Rg8+ 19. Kh1 Rg6 ({Fritz 11:} 19... Bd6 20. Nd1 Rg5 21. Re8+ Kc7 22. Ne3 Rd8 23. Ng4 Rxe8 24. Rxe8 f5 25. Nh6 Rh5 26. Nxf7 Rxh2+ 27. Kg1 Bf4 28. Ne5 Kb6 29. Nd3 Bd6) 20. Nd1 Rg5 21. Ne3 Rh5 22. f4 f5 ({Fritz 11:} 22... Bd6 23. Ng2 Re7 24. Rxe7 Bxe7 25. Re3 c4 26. Rg3 Bb4 27. c3 Bd6 28. Rg7 Ke7 29. Kg1 Kf8 30. Rg3 Ke7 31. Rg7) 23. Ng2 a6 24. d3 a5 25. a4 Rb7 26. Re5 d4 27. Kg1 Rd7 28. R5e2 Rb7 29. Re5 Rd7 30. R1e2 Rb7 31. Ne1 Bd6 32. Re8+ Kc7 33. Ng2 Rh6 34. Ra8 Kb6 35. Ree8 Rg6 36. Kf1 Rh6 37. h4 Rg6 38. Red8 Be7 39. Rdb8 Rxb8 40. Rxb8+ Ka7 41. Re8 Re6 42. h5 Kb7 ({Fritz 11:} 42... Kb6 43. Rb8+ Kc7 44. Ra8 Kb6 45. Rb8+) 43. Ne1 ({Fritz 11:} 43. Rg8 h6 44. Rg7 Rf6 45. Nh4 Bf8 46. Rh7 Bd6 47. Ng6 Ka6 48. Ne5 Re6 49. Rxf7 Bxe5 50. fxe5 Rxe5 51. Rf6 Kb7 52. Rxh6 f4 53. Rh8 Re7 54. h6) 43... Bd6 44. Rxe6 fxe6 45. Ng2 Kc7 46. Ke2 Kd7 47. Kf3 Ke7 48. Kg3 Kf7 49. Nh4 Kg7 50. Nf3 Kf6 51. Nd2 Bc7 52. Nc4 Kg7 53. Ne5 Bxe5 54. fxe5 Kf7 55. Kf4 h6 56. Kf3 Ke7 57. Ke2 Kd7 58. Kd2 Kc7 59. Kc1 Kb6 60. Kb2 Ka6 61. Ka2 Kb6 62. Ka3 Ka6 63. Ka2 Kb6 64. Kb2 Ka6 65. c3 Kb6 66. Kc2 Ka6 67. Kb1 Kb6 68. Kb2 Ka6 1/2-1/2
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
2009 World Junior ...... Rd 6 update
Round 6 has been completed and Emma is the best performer with 3.5/6 and rating performance of 2198. Sarah Anton is on 1.5/6 whilst Sherab Guo-Yuthok managed to break the drought in Rd 5 with a win and a draw in Rd 6 and is now also on 1.5/6.
A number of GMs in the Open Division are performing well below their rating. In Rd 6 the two top seeds, GMs Maxime VACHIER-LAGRAVE and Sergei ZHIGALKO took a quick 13 moves draw. (??!!) Both share the lead with 5/6 with 7 others on 4.5/6 and 13 on 4/6.
In the Girls, top seed WGM Mary Ann Gomes continues to suffer a loss of form with her 3rd loss (Rat perf of 2021). Second seed Zhang XiaoWen lost a crucial game to 6th seed, Padmini Rout, who now leads the Girls with 5/6. There 5 others on 4.5/6 and 8 on 4/6.
Here are the games up to Rd 3 (where + or = scores only):
A number of GMs in the Open Division are performing well below their rating. In Rd 6 the two top seeds, GMs Maxime VACHIER-LAGRAVE and Sergei ZHIGALKO took a quick 13 moves draw. (??!!) Both share the lead with 5/6 with 7 others on 4.5/6 and 13 on 4/6.
In the Girls, top seed WGM Mary Ann Gomes continues to suffer a loss of form with her 3rd loss (Rat perf of 2021). Second seed Zhang XiaoWen lost a crucial game to 6th seed, Padmini Rout, who now leads the Girls with 5/6. There 5 others on 4.5/6 and 8 on 4/6.
Here are the games up to Rd 3 (where + or = scores only):
Saturday, October 24, 2009
2009 World Juniors
As mentioned in the previous post, siblings Sherab Guo-Yuthok and Emma Guo, and Sarah Anton are playing in the World Juniors. The official website crashed due to over-demand (what were they expecting in this day and age where everyone follow games on the Internet!). But it seems they have managed to resume services (by changing to new ISP with bigger capacity?) and the official website is here.
You can follow the results here for the Girls (Emma here and Sarah here) and here for the Open (Sherab here).
With Rd 3 completed, Emma has the best result thus far (50% with 1.5/3) while Sarah is on 0.5/3 and Sherab has yet to score any points or half points.
Sarah is posting short comments on ChessChat here under the handle "queenant89".
BTW, our "old" friends, GM Dariusz Swiercz (Poland) (2.5/3), GM David Howell (England) (2.5/3), and GM-elect Ray Robson (USA) (2.5/3) are also competing in the Open. Top game in Rd 4 has to be current "hot" GM Ray Robson vs GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (top seed but currently on 2.5/3 after dropping a half-point against IM Baskaran Adhiban (India) in Rd 2 where he enjoyed a 328 ratings advantage ). In Rd 3, Ray drew against Dariusz.
No games are available (that I know of).
GM Wesley So (Philippines) (2.5/3) is the surprise absentee when there wer earlier reports saying he was competing.
You can follow the results here for the Girls (Emma here and Sarah here) and here for the Open (Sherab here).
With Rd 3 completed, Emma has the best result thus far (50% with 1.5/3) while Sarah is on 0.5/3 and Sherab has yet to score any points or half points.
Sarah is posting short comments on ChessChat here under the handle "queenant89".
BTW, our "old" friends, GM Dariusz Swiercz (Poland) (2.5/3), GM David Howell (England) (2.5/3), and GM-elect Ray Robson (USA) (2.5/3) are also competing in the Open. Top game in Rd 4 has to be current "hot" GM Ray Robson vs GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (top seed but currently on 2.5/3 after dropping a half-point against IM Baskaran Adhiban (India) in Rd 2 where he enjoyed a 328 ratings advantage ). In Rd 3, Ray drew against Dariusz.
No games are available (that I know of).
GM Wesley So (Philippines) (2.5/3) is the surprise absentee when there wer earlier reports saying he was competing.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ray Robson, USA's youngest GM (?!) advise ...... (and Aussies in World Juniors)
I have posted about Ray Robson previously (do a search on the blog using the search widget) and how he narrowly missed out on GM norms. Well, he has done it finally at the ripe old age of 14 years, 11 months and 16 days (Fabiano Caruana did it at 14 years, 11 months and 20 days but Fabiano now plays for Italy). You can read about his achievements here. After achieving his final norm in Uruguay, Ray is now in Argentina competing in the World Juniors (seeded 15th).* He gave an interview to USCF Chess Life Online a day before the start of the World Juniors (starting today!). The interview in full is here but I excerpt the following advice from the world's second youngest** GM which may be relevant for Australian juniors:
* Australians, and ACT siblings, Sherab Guo-Yuthok and Emma Guo, and Victorian junior, Sarah Anton, are competing in the World Juniors, Sherab in the World Juniors (seeded 77th) while Emma and Sarah are competing in the World Junior Girls (seeded 45th and 48th respectively). Go Aussies!!! Check out this website for news on World Juniors.
** For a while Ray was the youngest GM (Wesley So for a time last year was the youngest GM) but then there was a story in Chessdom that a Peruvian junior, Jorge Cori had become the youngest Grand Master in the world at 14 years and 2 months. Jorge achieved the final GM norm at the International Marcel Duchamp Championship in Argentina where he is also currently based. Jorge is also participating in the World Juniors (seeded 34th).
CLO:What advice do you have for young players coming up in chess?
RR: I would advise young players to play up a rating category or two. When I was young, I always played up to get the strongest competition, and this is good especially if your rating hasn't caught up to you yet. I would also advise them to study every day (meaning serious study, not just playing blitz games:)), as it is impossible to improve at some level without working on chess.
CLO: Are there any books, websites or software that has been particularly key to your success and that you recommend to up and coming players?
RR: I don't think there was any one book that particularly helped me; however, I would recommend any of Dvoretsky's books. When I was younger, I used to use Chessmaster 9000. This was helpful because it could analyze positions and also had lectures about chess. Nowadays I use Chessbase for searching games and Rybka for analyzing positions.
* Australians, and ACT siblings, Sherab Guo-Yuthok and Emma Guo, and Victorian junior, Sarah Anton, are competing in the World Juniors, Sherab in the World Juniors (seeded 77th) while Emma and Sarah are competing in the World Junior Girls (seeded 45th and 48th respectively). Go Aussies!!! Check out this website for news on World Juniors.
** For a while Ray was the youngest GM (Wesley So for a time last year was the youngest GM) but then there was a story in Chessdom that a Peruvian junior, Jorge Cori had become the youngest Grand Master in the world at 14 years and 2 months. Jorge achieved the final GM norm at the International Marcel Duchamp Championship in Argentina where he is also currently based. Jorge is also participating in the World Juniors (seeded 34th).
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Magnus Carlsen on Norwegian TV ......
Both Chessdom and Chessbase have run a story about Magnus Carlsen being interviewed on Norwegian TV in a programme called "Golden Goal". It is in Norwegian but if you click on the little button on the bottom right, you can switch on the closed captions and follow the interview in English.
In the past, there has been suggestions made by certain people that Magnus may be autistic and has certain difficulties socially appearing in public. Well, this interview certain puts paid to those undeserved wild speculations. Perhaps, appearing and speaking in his own native language means Magnus appears more "natural"?
There is also an ongoing debate over at the ClosetGM about the current reality-TV show, The Beauty and the Geek. An ACT chessplayer is participating as a "geek". Well, those who has watched the show can compare Jeremy Reading's performance with Magnus' here.
The unanswered question: would we see the day that an Australian chessplayer is interviewed on Rove Live (or something similar on national TV)on their chess performances and achievements?
In any event enjoy the video:
In the past, there has been suggestions made by certain people that Magnus may be autistic and has certain difficulties socially appearing in public. Well, this interview certain puts paid to those undeserved wild speculations. Perhaps, appearing and speaking in his own native language means Magnus appears more "natural"?
There is also an ongoing debate over at the ClosetGM about the current reality-TV show, The Beauty and the Geek. An ACT chessplayer is participating as a "geek". Well, those who has watched the show can compare Jeremy Reading's performance with Magnus' here.
The unanswered question: would we see the day that an Australian chessplayer is interviewed on Rove Live (or something similar on national TV)on their chess performances and achievements?
In any event enjoy the video:
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Title norms opportunity for juniors ......
I have just been reading TWIC and came across the on-going announcements about the London Chess Classic 2009. The event has been announced for some time but the organisers keep improving it with more and more additional supplementary events. This is what the PR blurb says:
In addition, new to me on reading today, was this: "I am delighted to announce that there will be no entry fees to any Classic tournament for children under the age of 16."
Check out the website.
There you go. Any junior wishing to have a chance of playing in a FIDE rated Open with title norms opportunities should serious consider a December holiday in London. Perhaps those participating in the World Youth in Turkey in November should consider extending their stay and swing across to London. For further details write to IM Malcolm Pein or Mark Crowther c/o Contact the London Chess Centre:
E-Mail info@chess.co.uk
Tel: +44 020-73882404 Fax:+44 020-73882407.
The London Chess Classic is the strongest all play all tournament to be held in Britain for 25 years with four of the world's finest players and England's leading quartet of Grandmasters. Heading the field is the fourteenth world champion Vladimir Kramnik and 18 year old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen already hailed as a future champion by Garry Kasparov who has recently agreed to train the chess genius.
A week long chess festival including a FIDE Rated Open with a guaranteed £8000 prize fund will run alongside the London Chess Classic 2009 which takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre from December 8-15 2009. The tournament has been scheduled to allow players to watch the opening moves of the Classic before their games in the Open begin. A minimum of six Grandmasters will be invited to the Open Classic and title norm opportunities will be available.
There will also be a weekend tournament, a one day Rapidplay and every evening, Blitz in the foyer. Anyone entering the Open, Rapidplay or Weekend Classic will receive free entry to the auditorium to watch the main event and they will also be able to access the Grandmaster Commentary Room. In addition the games will be relayed on screens throughout the Olympia Conference Centre.
In addition, new to me on reading today, was this: "I am delighted to announce that there will be no entry fees to any Classic tournament for children under the age of 16."
Check out the website.
There you go. Any junior wishing to have a chance of playing in a FIDE rated Open with title norms opportunities should serious consider a December holiday in London. Perhaps those participating in the World Youth in Turkey in November should consider extending their stay and swing across to London. For further details write to IM Malcolm Pein or Mark Crowther c/o Contact the London Chess Centre:
E-Mail info@chess.co.uk
Tel: +44 020-73882404 Fax:+44 020-73882407.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
2009 ACT Junior Chess Champion is .......
As reported by Shaun Press (here), the 2009 ACT Junior Chess Champion is Allen Setiabudi. Allen has also scored remarkable double of being the 2008 ACT Champion (tied first). Allen defeated Alana Chibnall in playoff. A third player, Justin Chow also managed to achieve the same score (7.5/9) but due to the rules only the first two players are involved in a playoff. I also note that both Allen and Alana were undefeated while Justin lost to Alana and drew with Allen. Congrats to Allen.
Full results are here.
The U12 championship was reported earlier here. The 2009 ACT U12 Champion, Zhnag YiJun, scored 6/9 and came joint 5th-10th. Interestingly, it seems a promising ACT junior, Ethan Derwent, did not play.
Full results are here.
The U12 championship was reported earlier here. The 2009 ACT U12 Champion, Zhnag YiJun, scored 6/9 and came joint 5th-10th. Interestingly, it seems a promising ACT junior, Ethan Derwent, did not play.
More to come ......
Still to come......
I have to do some catch-up blooging on tournaments already completed where Australian juniors did rather well inclduing the Blayney Open, the Surfers Paradise Open and the Ryde-eastwood Open.
Also, my report on junior chess experience in Sweden and some photos ......
I have to do some catch-up blooging on tournaments already completed where Australian juniors did rather well inclduing the Blayney Open, the Surfers Paradise Open and the Ryde-eastwood Open.
Also, my report on junior chess experience in Sweden and some photos ......
Australian Young Masters et al
In a post some time back (here), I speculated that it would great if someone would resurrect the Australian Young Masters tournament and my wish came true. FM Vladimir Smirnov and IA Charles Zworestine have managed to organise a 2009 series which is currently happening in a church hall in Rockdale in the southwest of Sydney.
The competitors are:
Young Masters
Setiabudi, Allen (ACT)
Guo, Emma (ACT)
Nakauchi, Gene (QLD)
Brown, Andrew (ACT)
Smirnov, Anton (NSW)
Stahnke, Alexander (QLD)
Liu, Yi (QLD)
Mandla, Blair (NSW)
Wang, Oscar (NSW)
Chen, Peng Yu (NSW)
Junior Masters
Cameron, Alistair (SA)
Yu, Sally (VIC)
Tan, Kevin (NSW)
Xu, Jerry (NSW)
Deen-Cowell, Nicholas (NSW)
Yang, Peter (NSW)
Girls Masters
Eustace, Sophie (SA)
Chibnall, Alana (ACT)
Qiao, Shan-Shan (NSW)
Simmonds, Leteisha (QLD)
Setiabudi, Megan (ACT)
Mason, Joanne (ACT)
Time control for all three tournaments are 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds increment from move 1.
Results that I know of thus far (from chesschat) (since I haven't been able to get out there due to work):
Young Masters
Round 1 results
Blair Mandla vs Anton Smirnov 1-0
Emma Guo vs Oscar Wang 1/2-1/2
Round 2 results
Andrew Brown vs Blair Mandla 1-0
Junior Masters
Round 1 results
Sally Yu vs Jerry Xu 1-0
Kevin Tan vs Peter Yang 1-0
Deen-Cowell, Nicholas vs Cameron, Alistair Postponed
Round 2 results
Peter Yang vs Jerry Xu 1/2- 1/2
Cameron Allistair vs Sally Yu 1-0
Check chesschat for more to date results. To compare with 2006 series, see here.
For those up and coming juniors, consider planning to play in the AYM or AJM or AGM in 2010. Plan early and generate the interest early so that a better series can be planned. If enough interest is generated, perhaps enough funding can be found to organise another series in 2010. Contact FM Smirnov and/or IA Zworestine.
The competitors are:
Young Masters
Setiabudi, Allen (ACT)
Guo, Emma (ACT)
Nakauchi, Gene (QLD)
Brown, Andrew (ACT)
Smirnov, Anton (NSW)
Stahnke, Alexander (QLD)
Liu, Yi (QLD)
Mandla, Blair (NSW)
Wang, Oscar (NSW)
Chen, Peng Yu (NSW)
Junior Masters
Cameron, Alistair (SA)
Yu, Sally (VIC)
Tan, Kevin (NSW)
Xu, Jerry (NSW)
Deen-Cowell, Nicholas (NSW)
Yang, Peter (NSW)
Girls Masters
Eustace, Sophie (SA)
Chibnall, Alana (ACT)
Qiao, Shan-Shan (NSW)
Simmonds, Leteisha (QLD)
Setiabudi, Megan (ACT)
Mason, Joanne (ACT)
Time control for all three tournaments are 90 minutes, plus 30 seconds increment from move 1.
Results that I know of thus far (from chesschat) (since I haven't been able to get out there due to work):
Young Masters
Round 1 results
Blair Mandla vs Anton Smirnov 1-0
Emma Guo vs Oscar Wang 1/2-1/2
Round 2 results
Andrew Brown vs Blair Mandla 1-0
Junior Masters
Round 1 results
Sally Yu vs Jerry Xu 1-0
Kevin Tan vs Peter Yang 1-0
Deen-Cowell, Nicholas vs Cameron, Alistair Postponed
Round 2 results
Peter Yang vs Jerry Xu 1/2- 1/2
Cameron Allistair vs Sally Yu 1-0
Check chesschat for more to date results. To compare with 2006 series, see here.
For those up and coming juniors, consider planning to play in the AYM or AJM or AGM in 2010. Plan early and generate the interest early so that a better series can be planned. If enough interest is generated, perhaps enough funding can be found to organise another series in 2010. Contact FM Smirnov and/or IA Zworestine.
Great new resource on Openings for Juniors ......
One of the most interesting chess websites is ChessCafe which has tons of material for chess players and enthusiasts. One of the contributors is our own IM Gary Lane. This month ChessCafe started a new column on Openings, "The Openings Explained" by Abby Marshall. Abby has recently won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. (Read about it here and here.) The first column is on the Tarrasch Defence which is a Black defence to 1 d4. The reason it is a good starting defence for juniors is that it has an isolated queens pawn (IQP or an isolani). Learning to play with and against an IQP is an essential technique in chess.
I would recommend this column as a must-read for all intermediate and advanced juniors who wish to further their knowledge and understanding of openings. But remember that openings study should only be around 20% of your total time spent on chess study. More important to focus on tactics and endgames.
PS. If you search the Archives you will also find other Australian contributors to ChessCafe.
I would recommend this column as a must-read for all intermediate and advanced juniors who wish to further their knowledge and understanding of openings. But remember that openings study should only be around 20% of your total time spent on chess study. More important to focus on tactics and endgames.
PS. If you search the Archives you will also find other Australian contributors to ChessCafe.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
More Endgame Training: The Halley's Comet
The 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament is currently being held over in China and the chess world is agog at the performance of the eponymous hero of this blog, Magnus Carlsen. In the first half of the tournament (5 rounds), he was the only player to score wins (+4)! including a win against the current world no 1, Veselin Topalov. In the live rating, he has overtaken World Champion Vishy Anand as world no 2.
Late last night Magnus Carlsen won his 5th game at the Nanjing against Chinese GM, Yue Wang (or Wang Yue). He has now a +1 score against all the other competitors. All of Magnus' games are instructive and I may blog about them at a later date. However, his game against Yue Wang is instructive as it was theoretically drawn but Yue Wang made a mistake at move 59 with a losing check. Then at move 60, Yue Wang could have tested Carlsen in the the rare "Halley's Comet" of endgame, ie 2 Ns + K vs K + p. The endgame tablebases say it is winning in 30+ moves.
Here is the game:
Play through until move 59. Instead of 59...Re3+?. Black should play 59...Ra5 to draw. Then at move 60, instead of 60...Rb3?!, Black could play 60...Ka5.
Peter Doggers (Chessvibes): 60... Ka5 61. Nd5 attacks the rook and threatens mate, so Black has to go for 61... Re1+ ( 61... Ra3 62. Rc5+ followed by a knight check and taking on e5) 62. Kxe1 Nd3+ 63. Kd2 Nxc1 64. Kxc1 but this version of the famous two-knights-versus-pawn (after d4 has dropped) is lost, e.g. 64... f5 65. Nf4! blocking with a knight as soon as you can ......
Denis Monokroussos: 60...Ka5 was the best try. An interesting line now is 61.Nd5 Re1+ Forced, else Black will be mated on the a-file or lose decisive material stopping it. 62.Kxe1 Nd3+ 63.Kd2 Nxc1 64.Kxc1 and it's mate in 37 according to the tablebase. Two knights vs. bare king cannot force mate (unless it's mate in one from a perfect starting position), but when the weak side has one or more pawns, the knights win as long as the pawns aren't too advanced. In particular, the Troitzky line says how far back the pawn must be blockaded (in two knights vs. one pawn) for the knights to win. The answer: the knights win if the (single Black) pawn is safely blockaded at least as far back as the following squares: a4, b6, c5, d4 [and the mirror image for the kingside: e4, f5, g6, h4]. Let's see how this looks in practice. 64...f5 Pushing the pawn as far as possible. 65.Nf4 d3 66.Kd2 Kb4 67.Kxd3 Kc5 68.Nc4 Kb5 69.Kd4 Ka4 70.Ne5 Kb5 71.Ned3 Kc6 72.Kc4 Kd6 73.Kb5 Ke7 74.Ne5 Kd6 75.Nc6 Kc7 76.Kc5 Kd7 77.Nd4 Ke7 78.Nde6 Kf7 79.Kc6 Ke7 80.Kc7 Kf7 81.Kd7 Kf6 82.Kd6 Kf7 83.Nd4 Ke8 84.Nc6 Kf8 85.Kd7 Kf7 86.Nd4 Kf6 87.Nf3 Kf7 88.Kd8 Kf6 89.Ke8 Kg7 90.Ke7 Kg8 91.Ng5 Kg7 92.Nge6+ Kh7 93.Kf7 Kh6 94.Kf6 Kh7 95.Kg5 Kh8 96.Kg6 Kg8 And now that the king is in a coffin corner, the pawn can be released so White can complete the mate. 97.Nh5 f4 98.Nf6+ Kh8 If there were no pawn, this would be a draw, but because after 99.Ng5 the pawn prevents this from being a stalemate, White win: 99...f3 100.Nf7#
Earlier in the year at the 18th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament (2009), in the blindfold game, Anand could not win against Yue Wang in this 2 Ns vs p endgame. Here is that game:
Peter Doggers (Chessvibes): The starting position is won for Black and theoretically speaking Anand gave away the win three times, while Wang Yue gave away the draw two times. [......] It’s quite instructive. As GM Erwi l’Ami explained to me, the biggest mistake was not to go for 61…Ne4-c5, because the basic idea is to block the pawn with a knight as soon as possible, not with the king. After that a win in 62 moves isn’t relevant of course, but 70…Nb8 was the last practical chance. In a way 70…Nb6 is the wrong idea because the White king should be driven to a1, not to a8, where the c-pawn only gets in the way of the mating constructions, as was shown in the game.
Interestingly, Topalov has won such an endgame at the Amber but in the rapid game. This happened in 2000 against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Here is the game:
And here is Topalov defending in the same endgame against Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran at the 34th Olympiad 2000 but at classical time control:
However, in this game, Black could not get his Knight into position to blockade the h-pawn immediately after the White rook was swapped for the Black pawn at move 62. Black was forced to blockade with King which meant it was no longer winnable for Black. In any event, after taking the h-pawn, Black played on for nearly 20 more moves in a theoretically drawn position (2 Ns + K vs K) with adequate play from defender, ie, don't assist your opponent to mate you.
Play through the games to ensure you know how to win even if you may not get this ending in your chess lifetime. On the otherhand, if defending at a disadvantage or after making blunder, perhaps you should think of simplifying to such an endgame and test your opponent whether he/she knows the technique.
More games and further explanation available here.
Late last night Magnus Carlsen won his 5th game at the Nanjing against Chinese GM, Yue Wang (or Wang Yue). He has now a +1 score against all the other competitors. All of Magnus' games are instructive and I may blog about them at a later date. However, his game against Yue Wang is instructive as it was theoretically drawn but Yue Wang made a mistake at move 59 with a losing check. Then at move 60, Yue Wang could have tested Carlsen in the the rare "Halley's Comet" of endgame, ie 2 Ns + K vs K + p. The endgame tablebases say it is winning in 30+ moves.
Here is the game:
Play through until move 59. Instead of 59...Re3+?. Black should play 59...Ra5 to draw. Then at move 60, instead of 60...Rb3?!, Black could play 60...Ka5.
Peter Doggers (Chessvibes): 60... Ka5 61. Nd5 attacks the rook and threatens mate, so Black has to go for 61... Re1+ ( 61... Ra3 62. Rc5+ followed by a knight check and taking on e5) 62. Kxe1 Nd3+ 63. Kd2 Nxc1 64. Kxc1 but this version of the famous two-knights-versus-pawn (after d4 has dropped) is lost, e.g. 64... f5 65. Nf4! blocking with a knight as soon as you can ......
Denis Monokroussos: 60...Ka5 was the best try. An interesting line now is 61.Nd5 Re1+ Forced, else Black will be mated on the a-file or lose decisive material stopping it. 62.Kxe1 Nd3+ 63.Kd2 Nxc1 64.Kxc1 and it's mate in 37 according to the tablebase. Two knights vs. bare king cannot force mate (unless it's mate in one from a perfect starting position), but when the weak side has one or more pawns, the knights win as long as the pawns aren't too advanced. In particular, the Troitzky line says how far back the pawn must be blockaded (in two knights vs. one pawn) for the knights to win. The answer: the knights win if the (single Black) pawn is safely blockaded at least as far back as the following squares: a4, b6, c5, d4 [and the mirror image for the kingside: e4, f5, g6, h4]. Let's see how this looks in practice. 64...f5 Pushing the pawn as far as possible. 65.Nf4 d3 66.Kd2 Kb4 67.Kxd3 Kc5 68.Nc4 Kb5 69.Kd4 Ka4 70.Ne5 Kb5 71.Ned3 Kc6 72.Kc4 Kd6 73.Kb5 Ke7 74.Ne5 Kd6 75.Nc6 Kc7 76.Kc5 Kd7 77.Nd4 Ke7 78.Nde6 Kf7 79.Kc6 Ke7 80.Kc7 Kf7 81.Kd7 Kf6 82.Kd6 Kf7 83.Nd4 Ke8 84.Nc6 Kf8 85.Kd7 Kf7 86.Nd4 Kf6 87.Nf3 Kf7 88.Kd8 Kf6 89.Ke8 Kg7 90.Ke7 Kg8 91.Ng5 Kg7 92.Nge6+ Kh7 93.Kf7 Kh6 94.Kf6 Kh7 95.Kg5 Kh8 96.Kg6 Kg8 And now that the king is in a coffin corner, the pawn can be released so White can complete the mate. 97.Nh5 f4 98.Nf6+ Kh8 If there were no pawn, this would be a draw, but because after 99.Ng5 the pawn prevents this from being a stalemate, White win: 99...f3 100.Nf7#
Earlier in the year at the 18th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament (2009), in the blindfold game, Anand could not win against Yue Wang in this 2 Ns vs p endgame. Here is that game:
Peter Doggers (Chessvibes): The starting position is won for Black and theoretically speaking Anand gave away the win three times, while Wang Yue gave away the draw two times. [......] It’s quite instructive. As GM Erwi l’Ami explained to me, the biggest mistake was not to go for 61…Ne4-c5, because the basic idea is to block the pawn with a knight as soon as possible, not with the king. After that a win in 62 moves isn’t relevant of course, but 70…Nb8 was the last practical chance. In a way 70…Nb6 is the wrong idea because the White king should be driven to a1, not to a8, where the c-pawn only gets in the way of the mating constructions, as was shown in the game.
Interestingly, Topalov has won such an endgame at the Amber but in the rapid game. This happened in 2000 against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Here is the game:
And here is Topalov defending in the same endgame against Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran at the 34th Olympiad 2000 but at classical time control:
However, in this game, Black could not get his Knight into position to blockade the h-pawn immediately after the White rook was swapped for the Black pawn at move 62. Black was forced to blockade with King which meant it was no longer winnable for Black. In any event, after taking the h-pawn, Black played on for nearly 20 more moves in a theoretically drawn position (2 Ns + K vs K) with adequate play from defender, ie, don't assist your opponent to mate you.
Play through the games to ensure you know how to win even if you may not get this ending in your chess lifetime. On the otherhand, if defending at a disadvantage or after making blunder, perhaps you should think of simplifying to such an endgame and test your opponent whether he/she knows the technique.
More games and further explanation available here.
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