Dec 5 - 19 2011 HoHoHo Is Not a Dirty Word Quad/Swiss

Quad or 3-SS, b/o entries. 40/90, SD/60, faster by mutual agreement.
EF: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Dec 5.
Rds.: 7:30 pm each Monday. angelodp@gmail.com.

Meschugge Quads Results

Paul Joseph and Angelo Depalma tied for first place in the top Quad. Al Walters continued his upswing by winning the B Quad.

Hail to Thee Swiss Results

Eric Mark returned from his chess hiatus to win the Hail to Thee Swiss Tournament. Angelo Depalma came in second place. Al Walters who was having a great tournament until he ran into Eric in the last round tied for third place with Eric Crawford.

Rapid Chess on October 31

The Hackettstown Chess Club is holding an impromptu 3 rounds G/29 Rapid Chess tournament on October 31st. Entry fee is $5. Prizes will be based on number of entries.

Chess Amateur vs Master

It is very hard to say who is the Chess Master in this evergreen played on ICC by HCC member Angelo Depalma  against International Master Francisco Sanchez-Guirado of Spain.

Oct 3, 10, 17, 24 Hail to Thee, Blight Spirit Swiss

4-SS. 40/90, SD/60. Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm 10/3. Rds.: 7:30 pm each Monday. angelodp@gmail.com.

Spam 'n' Swiss Results

Steve Ferrero won clear first. Rich Buschgans took 2nd place.

Our next event Hail to Thee Swiss starts October 3.

Sept 19,26 Spam 'n' Swiss Tournament

4-SS. G/45.

Entry Fee: $12.

Prizes (b/16): $75/35/25, U1800 $20, free entry top U1500.

Reg.: 7 pm.  9/19. 2 rounds per night. Rds.: 7:30 pm & ASAP each Monday.
Byes available all rounds.  angelodp@gmail.com.

Sept 12 Feed Your Greed for Speed

The Hackettstown Chess Club is holding the first ever Quick Chess Festival where you can to try your hands at various Quick Time controls.

Feed Your Greed for Speed
Multi-time-control quick-rated: Rd 1 G/5, Rd 2 G/10, Rd 3 G/15, Rd 4 G/20, Rd 5 G/25.
Entry Fee: $10.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $20, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm 9/12. Rds.: 7:30 pm, ASAP.
angelodp@gmail.com.

Life on the Wire

Tom Ostrosky won the Hackettstown Swiss International. Rich Buschgans came in 2nd Place.

My 2nd round encounter against Tom shows that life on the wire is a delicate balancing act as a great number of forces can quickly be directed at the uncastled King. Things went quickly downhill once I opened up the position with my knights on the rim after 22 ... dxc4 instead of Nxc4.

August 1, 8, 16, 23 Hackettstown International Swiss

4-SS. 40/90, SD/60.
Entry Fee: $14.
Prizes (b/16): $75/$40/25, $20 each U1800, U1500. Reg: 7 pm 8/1. Rds. 7:30 pm each Monday.
GM norms unlikely. Half-point byes available all rds (rd 4 must commit before rd.3). angelodp@gmail.com

Bust Your Prawn Swiss Result

Steve Ferrero and Isara Thanakit tied for 1st place in the July Bust your Prawn Swiss. Our next Monthly tournament is the Hackettstown International Swiss which starts on Monday, August 1st.

Intergalactic Quick Chess Results

Karl Dehmelt and Charles Pole tied for first place. Charles Miller took 2nd place prize. Numerous class prizes were awarded.

The Bust your Prawn Quads or Swiss based on turnout starts July 11. You can check our complete tournament listings here

July 11, 18, 25 Bust Your Prawn Quad/Swiss

Quad or 3-SS, depending on entries. 40/90, SD/60.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes $35 (b/16) top in quad or $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, U1500.
Reg: 7 pm 7/11. Rds: 7:30 pm each Monday. angelodp@gmail.com.

The Hackettstown Chess Club is closed on July 4 and all major holidays.

June 27 Intergalactic Open Warmup G/10

5 or 6-SS, depending on entries. G/10.
Entry Fee: $8.
Prizes (b/16): $40/25/15/10, $10 each U1800, U1500.
Reg: 7 pm 6/27. Rds: 7:30 pm, then ASAP. angelodp@gmail.com.

June is Busting Out Quads Results

Paul Joseph won the top Quad.

Russ Avarella captured 1st place in the B Quad.  Russ overcame a slip that cost him the full point but he managed to hold the draw against Todd Jobson by building a fortress with Knight and passed pawns against the rook.

                           Quad A

Ostrosky, Tom   0 - 1    Joseph, Paul

Ferrero, Steve    1   0   Buschgans, Rich

                         Quad B

Jobson, Todd  1/2 -  1/2   Avarella, Russ

Walters, Al     1/2  - 1/2    Crawford, Clay

King on the Wire

The May Swiss featured another delayed encounter between the runner up and the winner of the April Shower Swiss. I had a chance to take my fate into my own hands while Rich had his eyes set on a Three-peat. I  telegraphed my aggressive intention  by launching a pawn storm on the King side. Rich cooly replied by opening lines on the Queen side with a pawn sac. The stranded White King was forced to take a perilous walk toward the Queen side while the rest of White forces managed to snuff out the Black King from his safe haven just in the nick of time

Joseph, Paul  (1936) - Buschgans, Rich, (1967)
May Swiss, Hackettstown, NJ, May 9, 2011

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 d6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Qd2 Bd7 10. g4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. h4 a6 13. h5 b5 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. cxb5 axb5 16. Bxb5 Bxb5 17. Nxb5 Qd7 18. Nc3 Rfc8 19. Nd5 Qb7 20. Nb6 Nxe4
21. Qe3

(21. fxe4 Qxe4+ 22. Qe3 Qxh1+ 23. Kd2 Qxa1 24. Nxc8 Bxd4 25. Qxd4 (25. Nxe7+ Kf7 26. Qxd4 Kxe7) 25... Rxc8) (21. Qd3 Ng5 22. Nxc8 Nxf3+ 23. Kf1 Nxd4 24. Nxe7+ Qxe7 25. Rh3 Rf8+)

21... Bxd4 22. Qxd4

22. ... Rxa2!?

It feels like a crushing blow but the simple  22... Ng5 may be better after  23. Qd5+ Qxd5 24. Nxd5 Rc2 25. Rf1 e6 26. Nc3 Rxb2 27. f4 Nf7 28. Rf2 Rb4

23. Rxa2 Rc1+ 24. Ke2 Ng3+ 25. Kd2 Rxh1 26. Ra8+ Kf7 27. Qf4+ Ke6 28. Qc4+

I declined the draw by repetiton after Qe3+

28. ... d5 29. Qc5 29. Nxd5 Rh2+ 30. Kc3 d4+ 31. Kb3 Qxf3+ 32. Ka2 Kf7 33. Qc4+ Kg7 34. g5 Qf7 35. Nd5 Nf5 36. Ka3 e6 

Here I forgot about the clock and sank into deep thought with 2 min left . I look up on time to see my last second flash and rushed to play 

37. Qc8  leading to a forced mate on the back rank.

37. ... Rh3+ 38. Ka2 Ra3+   39. Kxa3 1-0

May Swiss Results

Tom Ostrosky won the May Swiss. Paul Joseph and Rich Buschgans tied for 2nd place.
Click here for the complete tournament crosstable.
Our next event June is Busting Out Quads starts on June 7.

Pawn Power in Chess

Back when I played online Chess before I quit cold turkey, my Blitz handle was Deja Vudoo as a nod to the fact that magic in Chess often relies on patterns "previously seen" or pattern recognition to be more precise. This positon will bring an eerie sense of  Deja Vu to the readers of this blog.

 Depalma A.

Joseph, P.

Find the winning continuation for Black.

June 6, 13, 20 June is Busting Out Again Quad/Swiss

June 6, 13, 20 June is Busting Out Again Quads/Swiss
Quad or 3-SS, depending on entries. 40/90, SD/60.
EF: $12.  Prizes $35 top in quad or $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, U1500 (b/16).
Reg: 7 pm. Rds: 7:30 pm each Monday.
angelodp@gmail.com.

One Game from the April Showers Swiss

                                                                              Ferrero

Buschgans

22. Bxg6 Rf8

Eric suggested giving up the Queen for two minor pieces but with White's space advantage the Queen is free to roam and pick up more pawns.

(22... fxg6 23. Re6 Qxe6 24. dxe6 Rf8 25. f4 Rf6 26. Qd4  Raf8 27. b4 Rc8 28. Re1 Ba6 29. Rc1 Kh7 30. c5 Bb5 31. Qd5 Bc6 32. Qb3 dxc5 33.  bxc5 Be8 34. Rc2 Rxc5 35. Rxc5 bxc5 36. Qb8)

23. Bf5 Qc7 24. Qd4+ Kg8 25. Qh4 e6 26. dxe6 fxe6 27. Bxe6+ Kg7 28. Bd5 Rf6 29. Rae1 Bxd5 30. Re7+ Qxe7 31.Rxe7+ Bf7 32. Qd4 Rf8 33. Rxa7 1-0



April Showers Tactics

 

                                                                          Ferrero S.

Buschgans, R.
Whtie To Play with a decisive advantage



May 2-23 2011 It's Not Just a Cheese Swiss

May 2-23 2011 It's Not Just a Cheese Swiss
Hackettstown Community Cntr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
4-SS. 40/90, SD/60.
EF: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm, 5/2.
Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday.
INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.

1st Place DOCA Swiss Grand Prix

I faced Life Master Vladimir Polyakin in round 3 after a 2-0 start at the DOCA Grand Prix

Vladimir Polyakin

                                                             
.

Polyakin, Vladimir, (2128) - Joseph, Paul, (1881)
Doca Swiss Grand Prix, Flemington, NJ March 27, 2011

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O a6 10. e4 c5 11. e5 Nd5 12. Ne4 cxd4 13. Bg5 Qb6 14. Rc1 h6 15. Bh4 g5  16. Bg3 Bg7!? 

I decided to  pressure his center indirectly and delayed g4 to keep things under control.

 17. Nd6+  Ke7 18. Qd2 

                                                                      Polyakin, Vladimir

Joseph, Paul

This is not the kind of position I was looking to play against a Master when I opted for the Queens Gambit. From here and out I had to play very actively to extricate my pieces.

18 ...  g4  I have to go for it.

19. Nxd4 Nxe5 20. Nxb7 Nxd3 21. Bh4+ Kf8 22. Qxd3 Bxd4

22 ... Qxd4 but I prefered to keep contact with the Knight on b7

22 ... Qxd4 23. Bd8 Qa7

                                                                     Polyakin, Vladimir

Joseph, Paul

(23 ... Rxd8 24. Nxd8 Kg7 25. Rc6 )

24. Na5! Bxb2  25. Rc2 Qd4 26. Qg3 Qe5

(26. ... Rxd8 27. Nc6)

27. Qb3 Bc3 28. Nc6  Qg7 29. Rd1 b4 30. Qc4 Qg6  31. Re2  Kg7 32. Bh4  Rhc8
33. Qc5 Qh5 34. Bg3 Qg5 35. Qd6 Bf6!

I finally complete my development. White is quickly running out of tricks and is behind on time.

36. Rc2  Nc3 37. Re1 h5 38. h4  gxh3 39. gxh3 Qf5 40. Rd2 Ne4 41. Rxe4 Qxe4 42. Be5 Bxe5
43. Nxe5 Rc1+ 44. Kh2

White's flag fell as he is facing mate after Rh1+  and h4 mate.
0-1


Joseph,Paul (1881) - Chi,Patrick (2041)
DOCA Grand Prix, Round 4




Joseph, Paul


I only needed a draw to guarantee clear 1st  place but I had to first shake ghosts of tournaments past.

Joseph,  Paul

After 24 ... Qc7

 25.Rhd4 Rxd4 26.Rxd4 Rd8 27.Rxd8+ Qxd8 28.g4 Qd6 29.f3 Kc7 30.Kc2 Nd7 31.Nd2 Ne5 32.Qe4 Nc6 33.a3 Qd4 34.Qxd4 Nxd4+ 35.Kd3 e5 36.Ke4 Kd6 37.f4 Nc6 38.Nf3 exf4 39.Kxf4 Kc5
40.b3 Nd4  41.Nd2 a5 42.Ne4+ Kc6 43.b4 axb4 44.axb4 b6 45.b5+ Kd7 46.Ke3 Ne6 47.Nc3 Kd6 48.Na4 Kc7 49.Ke4 Ng5+ 50.Kd5 Nf3 51.c5 bxc5 52.b6+ Kb7 53.Kxc5 Ne5 54.Kb5 Nxg4

55.Nc5+ [55.Ka5 Ne5 56.Nc5+ Kc6 57.Na4 (57.b7 Kxc5 58.b8Q Nc6+ 59.Ka6 Nxb8+) 57...Nd7 58.Ka6 f5 59.b7 f4 60.Nb2 Nc5+ 61.Ka7 Nxb7 62.Nd3 Nc5 63.Nxf4 Ne4] 55...Kb8 56.Kc6 Ne5+ 57.Kd5 f6 58.Ne6 Kb7 59.Nxg7 Kxb6 60.Nf5 Ng4 61.Ke4 Kc6 62.Kf4 Ne5 63.Nxh6 Kd6 64.Kf5 Ke7 65.Ng8+ Kf8 66.Nxf6 Nf7 67.Kg6 Ne5+ 68.Kf5 Nf7 69.Kg6 Ne5+ 70.Kf5 ½–½

Mission accomplished!

Apr 25, 2011 One Night of Quick Chess

Apr 25, 2011 Tower of Power G/10 (QC)
Hackettstown, NJ
5 or 6-SS, depending on entries. G/10.
Hackettstown Community Cntr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
EF: $8. Prizes (b/16): $40/25/15/10, $10 each U1800, U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm 4/25. Rds.: 7:30 pm, then ASAP.
INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.

April Showers Swiss Results

Rich Buschgans stopped the runaway Clay Crawford express to win first prize. Paul Joseph won a topsy turvy of a game against Angelo Depalma to earn 2nd place. Clayton Crawford won the U1800 prize to cap his great return to tournament play. Ken Toms took the U1500 prize.
You can see the complete tournament crosstable here.

Two Games from the World Amateur Team

I posted below two games annotated by my team mates Eric Marc and Al Walters from the recent World Amateur team. Eric drew national master Jim West in a very exciting thematic Sicilian sacrifice on b5 and Al Walters started the tournament with a first round upset of Expert Frederick Kurrasch.

2011.02.21"]
[Round "5"]
Eric Mark (1969) - Jim West (2215)
US Amateur East 2011
[Annotator "Mark,Eric"]


Jim West and I played once before at the USATE, the year his team won the event. That game was a long hard draw; I thought he might remember my name or face, but it seemed not so, as I staggered into the Hilton ballroom a few minutes after 9 a.m. on a snowy bleak morning, for round five.


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7
 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. Bd3 b5 11. Rhe1 Bb7 12. Qg3 O-O-O

Spassky played 13. Bxf6 against Fischer in game 15 of the 1972 match. The game was drawn, after White (and later possibly Black) missed chances.


Two years later, wild-eyed GM Velimirovic unveiled a new idea 13. Bxb5. The first time I played 13. Bxb5, in 1989, was against Tom Ostrosky in Hackettstown---long before many players in this year's USATE were born.


13. Bxb5 axb5 14. Ndxb5 Qb6 15. e5 Nc5


Jim's 15...Nc5 is likely the best move; Here I recalled a trick from Jim's analysis that I glanced at years ago: White must beware Qf2, lest he drop the Queen to Nb3+.
(15...dxe5 16. fxe5...Nd5?!  (Nh5 is better) 17. Bxe7 Nxe7 18. Nd6+ followed by Nxf7 and White is close to winning.)


16. exf6 (16. Qh4!?) gxf6 17. Bh4 Rhg8 18. Qe3 Rxg2 19. Bg3 f5 20. Nd4 Bf6 21. Nf3 Be4! 22. Nd2?

22. ...Bd4?

(22 ... d5! wins a piece. The threat is simply ...d4, forking and winning a piece. White cannot stop it without allowing something worse; his pieces are tied to varied defensive duties. But WHY JIm overlooked that might be interesting. Remember the idea from his old analysis about winning a White Qf2 with discovered check? Perhaps that theme rolling around in his memory helped him find the scary-looking but unclear 22...Bd4?! .  Black "wins" White's queen for three minor pieces and some pressure. (23. Qxd4...Nd3+; discovered attack.) Objectively it's unclear but a bit better for Black;

23. Qxd4 Nd3+ 24. cxd3 Qxd4 25. dxe4 Qd3 26. Rg1 Rxg1 27. Rxg1 fxe4 28. Ncxe4 Rd7
29. Rf1 Rc7+ 30. Nc3 f5  31. Rf3 Qa6 32. Kb1 d5 33. Nb3 Qc4 34. Nd2 Qd4 35. Nb3 Qg1+
36. Kc2 Rg7

(36 ... d4 37. Bf2 Qg2 38. Nd4 Rc4! seems winning for Black. Black wins a piece, since all White's pieces are pinned or tied to defending one another. Same theme as Black's missed chance on move 22....Queen should win against Bishop, Knight and (maybe) pawn, of course. White can play on, but it's likely hopeless.)

37. Ne2 Qg2  38. Re3 Rc7+ 39. Kd2 Kd7 40. Nbd4 1/2-1/2

Walters, Al  (1739) - Kurrach (2080)
US Amateur East 2011


1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bd7 6.0–0 Nf6 7.Nc3 g6 8.Be3 Bg7 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Be2 0–0 11.Rb1 c5?! 12.Qd2 Rb8 13.Bh6 Qa5 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Rfd1 Bc6 16.Bf3 Nd7 17.a3 Rb7 18.Nd5?

I lose the thread on move 18 and stumble for the next 4 moves or so.  Turns out I hit the wrong attack plan, as I was determined to loosen his e & d pawns.  This gave black counterplay.  He starts out correctly, but quickly stumbles as well, with incorrect follow up.  A real curiosity, as black never brings his K rook into play on the Queen side ( even after preparing it with a QR lift?!)  even his artificial move on 24 called for an obvious Re8 (as he pointed out post game), but used his King to defend instead.

Qxd2 19.Rxd2 Bxd5 20.exd5 Nb6 21.Be2 Na4 22.b3 a5?! 23.Re1 Nc3 24.Bc4 Kf6? 25.a4 Rb4 26.Rd3

Nxa4 27.c3 Rxc4 28.bxc4 Nb2 29.Rf3+ Kg7 30.Rxe7 a4 31.Ra7 g5 32.g4 Kg6 33.Re3 Nxc4 34.Re4 Nb2 35.Re2 Rb8 36.Ree7 Rf8 37.Reb7 Nd1 38.c4 Nc3 39.Rd7 Re8 40.Rxd6+ f6? 41.Rdd7 Rg8 42.Re7 h5 43.h3 1-0

Global Warming Swiss Results

Rich Bushgans won the Global Warming Swiss. Steve Ferrero came in 2nd place.
The April Shower Swiss is currently under way. You can access our upcoming tournaments page here.

April Showers Swiss from April 4 - April 18

Apr 4-18 2011 April Showers Swiss
3-SS. 40/90, SD/60.
Hackettstown Community Cntr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
EF: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm 4/4. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday.
INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.

Lincoln Memorial Quads Results

Stephen Hrop won the Lincoln Memorial Quads.

The Swiss section saw a rematch of February Freeze Your Buns Swiss last round clash between Steve Ferrero and Mike Laverty. Steve Ferrero prevailed this time to capture first place.

Solution to Open File Tactics

30. Rxg7+ Kxg7 
31. Qh6+ Kf7
32. Qe6+ Kg7  
33. Rg1+ Kh7 
34 Qh6#

Open File Tactics

                                                                 Depalma, Angelo

Joseph, Paul

White to Move. Mate in 6.

Global Warming Swiss

Mar 7 - 27, 2011 Global Warming Swiss 4-SS. 40/90, SD/60. Hackettstown Comm. Cntr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840. EF: $12. Prizes (b/16): $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, U1500. Reg.: 7 pm 3/6. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.

Solution to Freezing Tactics

Ne2! 

The sudden Knight jump in the middle of White's army creates pandemonium. A surprising deflection sacrifice that makes the rook sac possible. The immediate Rook sac does not work

 (1. ... Rxa3 2. Kxa3  Ra8+ 3. Ba4 Qc5+ Qb4, etc)

2. Qxe2 Otherwise Nc3+ is deadly.
Rxa3+ 3. Ba4 Qc3+ 4. Ka2 Rxa4+ 5. Kb1 Ra1 mate

Freezing Tactics

        Ferrero, Steve

Hrop, Stephen

Black to Move and Win

Black won the game but missed an amazing blow in this position that would have forced White to resign. 

Add 75 points to your current rating if you solve the position without any assistance from Fritz.

Freeze Your Buns Swiss Final Results

Mike Laverty defeated Steve Ferrero in their last round encounter to win the Freeze Your Buns Swiss. Steve Ferrero, Eric Mark, Tom Ostrosky ended up tie for 2nd place. Our next event is the Lincoln Quads on February 7.

Ho Ho Ho Tactics Solution

34...Bh3 35.Qd2 [35.Ne3 Ra1+ 36.Nfd1 Rxd1+ 37.Kf2 Qa6 38.Re1 Rxe1 39.Kxe1 Qa1+ 40.Ke2]
35...Ra1+ 36.Re1 Bxf2+ 37.Qxf2 Rxe1# 0–1

Ho-Ho-Ho Swiss Tactics

Joseph, P

Hrop, S

White just played Qg3-g5 after Black's Bc5-d4 threatening to win the e5 pawn.

Find the winning move for Black.