Dec 3-17 Ho Ho Ho Quads

Quad 30/90, SD 30
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes $35 top in quad.
Reg.: 7 pm Dec 3. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry.

Hackettstown Turk's Free Swiss

The Turk's Free Swiss is on for this Monday, Nov 5.

4-SS 30/90, SD 30
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25. Free Entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Nov 5.. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry.

Quick Chess Cancelled due to FrankenStorm

The Quid Pro Quo Speed chess tournament tomorrow is cancelled due to the storm forecast.

See you all on November 5 for the Turkey Free Swiss.
Be safe and Happy Halloween.

Hackettstown Fall Chess Schedule

October 1-22 Spook 'em Swiss

4-SS. 30/90, SD/30.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25. Free Entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Oct 1. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry


October 29 Quick Pro Quo Chess
One round each G/7, G/10, G/15, G/25
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25.
Reg.: 7 pm Oct 29. Rds.: 7:30 pm, than ASAP. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net

Nov 5-26 Turkey Free Swiss

4-SS 30/90, SD 30
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25. Free Entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Nov 5.. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry

Dec 3-17 Ho Ho Ho Quads

Quad 30/90, SD 30
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes $35 top in quad.
Reg.: 7 pm Dec 3. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry

Solution to Tactics

1. Nd4!        exd4
2. Qc6     looks sufficient to me. But Eric armed with Houdini found an escape for Black    
2  ...               Rd7!
I doubt Fritz ...  Qxc2+ 3. Qxc2 Rc8 4. Bc6  Rxc6  5. Qxc6 Rc8   6. Qxc8+ Kxc8 is really better.
3. Qxd7        Qe3+
4. Kb1          Qe7!

Back to school tactics

                                                                  

                                                                        Daudelin, Tim


Hill, Cameron
White to move

Find the best continuation for White in this game between our college-bound Chess club members Cameron Hill and Tim Daudelin.

Sept 10 - 24 Spam n Quads

 Our next event Spam n Quad starts on September 10. The club is closed as usual for a major Holiday on September 3.

Quad. 30/90, SD/30. Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes $35 top in quad
Registration: 7 pm Sept 10. Rds 7:30 pm each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested..

Hackettstown Summer Chess Schedule

July 2 Quick Chess Fireworks

One round each G/7, G/10, G/15, G/20, G/25.
Hackettstown Community Ctr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ.
Entry Fee: $10.
Prizes (b/16): $60/30/20, U1800 $20, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm July 2. Rds. ASAP. INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.


July 9-30 Bust Your Prawn Swiss
4-SS. 30/90, SD/30.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16) $60/30/20, $20 each U1800, Free entry top U1500.
Reg: 7 pm 7/9. Rds: 7:30 pm each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net.
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry.


Aug. 6-27   First Monday Swiss
4-SS, 30/90, SD/30.
EF: $12. Prizes (b/16) $75/40/25. Free entry top U1500
Reg.: 7-7:30 p.m. Aug. 6. Rds.: 7:30 p.m. each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net.
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry.

June 4-25 2012 Not A Swiss Cheese

4-SS. 30/90, SD/30

Hackettstown Community Ctr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16) $75/40/25, U1800 $25, Free entry to top U1500.
Reg: 7 pm. June 4. Rds: 7:30 pm each Monday. INFO: PRJoseph@Verizon.net.

MayFlower Swiss Results

The MayFlower Swiss ended in a tie for 1st place between Paul Joseph and the Club's young Lions Cameron A. Hill and Tim Daudelin.

Cameron Ashton Hill is fast approaching 1800 after tying for 2nd Place at the NJ Junior Open. I commented below on a tough 1st round win against Cameron.

Position after 17 ... Rce8

Here I lost my cool after seeing a mate after 18. Nd5 BxNd5 19. exd5 Re1 mate, but I had to focus on my own mating threats after the correct
18. h6 RxNe7 19. hxg7+ Kxg7 20. g5 Rd7 21. Bxf6+ Kg8 22. Rxh7 KxRh7 23. Rh2+ Kg8 24. Rh8 mate

May 7-21 2012 Mayflower Quads

3-SS 30/90, SD/30
Hackettstown Community Ctr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes $35 top in quad or based on 16 entries $75/40/25, U1800 $25.
Reg.: 7 pm, May 7. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday.

April Shower Swiss Results

The April Shower Swiss was filled with the kind of upsets and reversal of fortune that make amateur chess so exciting. It ended up in a three-way tie for 1st place between Rich Buschgans, Paul Joseph and Mike Laverty after the smoke cleared in the last round.

Black to Play and Draw

                                                                             Hill, C

Joseph, P
Black to Play and Draw

White just played Rf4 to f2 and managed to win a drawn ending.

Global Warming Swiss Results

Tom Ostrosky was the sole winner of the Global Warming Swiss.

Return to Historic Marshall Chess Club

I recently won the March U2100 tournament in a rare visit to the Marshall Chess Club. I withdrew last year in a Fischer like protest after I was forfeited a game when my cell phone went off. The cell phone policy has since been replaced by the standard penalty of the lost of half of your time.

Joseph, Paul (1880) - Kopiecki, Ed (2045)
Marshall March U2100, Round 3
[Annotator ",Paul Joseph"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4
 
The Anti Marshall

Bb7 9. d3 d5

Black proceeds to gambit the pawn in Marshall like fashion

10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxe5 Nd4  12. c3 Nxb3 13. Qxb3 Bg5

Here is the venom in this side line of the Marshall gambit, Black threatens to bring his Queen to the King side after exchanging the black Bishop with a strong attack.

14. Nd2 f6  15. Nef3 Kh8 16. Nxg5 fxg5 17. Ne4 h6  18. axb5 Nf4 19. Bxf4 gxf4 20. f3 axb5 21. Rxa8 Bxa8 22. Qxb5 Qh4 23. Ra1 Rd8 24. Nf2 Bd5 25. d4 c6 26. Qd3 Re8 27. Qd2 Qe7 28. Ng4 Qg5 29. Ne5 Qf6 30.  Qxf4 Qe6 31. Ra7 c5 32. Qg3 Qf6 33. Kf2 cxd4 34. cxd4 Rc8 35. Qg6 Qh4
36. Ke2  Rg8

Here I came up with the plan to land the Knight on f6 but Qd3 threatening Ng6+ or Rd7 may be more direct.

 37. Ng4 Bc4+ 38. Kd2 h5

39. g3?

I continued with the original plan to deflect the Queen from f6 missing winning the Queen or mate. after  39. Ra5.

39... Qh3 40. Nf6 Qg2+

The King is faced with the proverbial tree of variation. Should he flee to the East or to the West? I decided to run over the Bishop  keeping vigil on the East gate and seek shelter on the a-file guarded by the rook.

41. Kc3 Qxf3+ 42.  Kxc4 Rc8+ 43. Kb4 Rb8+ 44. Ka5

The King is still running but at this point I am only checking that my cell phone is turned off.

44. ... Rb5+ 45. Kxb5 Qf1+ 46. Kc5 Qc1+ 47. Kd6 1-0

Apr 2-30 2012 April Showers Swiss

Note this is a FIVE-round Swiss; plenty of time to recover from a rough start!

Come play, bring a few friends.

5-SS. 30/90, SD/30.
Hackettstown Community Ctr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25. Free Entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Apr 2. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.

Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry

White to Play and Win

                                                                          Kopiecki, Ed

Joseph, Paul

Marshall March U2100

Occupying the Center in Parsippany

Our team Occupy The Center, the 99% Solution had an average performance at the USATE in Parsippany  but we got nominated for Best Team name.  The best team name prize was awarded to Team Romney, We Play Both Sides of the board.
Eric Mark had a great tournament on board 1 with 4 wins and one loss. In the second game, our youngest member Cameron Hill put up a valiant effort against Grandmaster Joel Benjamin.
He did not know his opponent when he asked for his rating but he will not  forget this experience anytime soon.

Eric provided some analysis of his  round one upset of USCF Master Alena Kats.

Mark, Eric (1955) - Kats, Alena (2235)
US Amateur East  2012, Round One
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator ",Eric Mark"]

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

This is a well-analyzed variation of the Najdorf. Fischer played 12....0-0-0 vs. Spassky, as did NM Jim West against me last year at USATE. I inflicted that game, which ended in a draw, on most of you.

After Alena's 12...b4, I sacrificed the Knight, of course, with 13. Nd5!...exd5, but after I played 14. e5, she sank into deep thought for more than 30 minutes. Seems she never saw this line before. e5, rather than opening the e-file with exd5, is supposed to lead to an almost-forced draw, after White sacs his Qg3 for pieces and pressure.

13. Nd5! exd5 14. e5 dxe5 15. fxe5 Ne4

15... Nh5 is the main line when White takes a deep breath and plays 16. e6!?...Nxg3, 17. exf7+! (taking the Nd7 is weaker) followed by Rxe7 and probably Ne6....with a mess. GM Nunn, in his old Najdorf book, analyzes a forced draw where either side who deviates loses. Fritz says Black is clearly better. Go figure.

16. Bxe4 dxe4

 .....and now I expected 16... Bxg5+  which is best per the cyber-beasts.

17. Bxe7 Qxe5!

which she played, after another long think.  17... Kxe7 loses 18. Nf5+ Kd8 19. Qxg7 Re8 20. Qxf7 Rxe5 21. Qg8+ Re8 22. Qg5+ Kc8 23. Nd6+ Kb8 24. Nxe8

I traded Queens, though Bd6 is playable

18. Qxe5 Nxe5

My first instinct was to play Bxb4 and offer a draw---but the more I studied the position, the more I liked the strength of the Bishop. Too good to offer a draw, even to a Master with the Queens off. The strength of the Bishop.....hmmm. That led me to---finally---find what should have been the winning move.

19. Nf5! g6

is much better. Black must cede the Exchange to avoid mayhem---as Alena did---or else try the ugly
 19... f6 20. Bxb4 Kf7 21. Nd6+ Kg6 22. Nxb7 Rab8 23. Rxe4 Rxb7 24. Bd6

20. Bf6 gxf5 21. Bxh8 Nd7 22. Rd4 Ke7

Here, the simple 23. Rxb4 should win. White takes a pawn, threatens a piece and opens the c3 square for a Bishop retreat. (If 23...Rxh8 then 24. Rxb7 wins.)

23. Red1? Bc6!

and Black was right back in the game.

 24. Rd6 Bb5 25. Bg7 Rg8 26. Bh6 Rxg2 27. Bf4 Rg4 28. Bh6 Nc5 29. R6d5 Ne6 30. Rxf5 Be2 31. Re1 Bf3 32. Bd2 Nd4 33. Bxb4+ Ke6 34. Ra5 Rg2 35. Rxa6+ Kf5 36. Bc3 Ne6  37. Ra5+ Kg4 38. Be5 f5 39. Ra6 Ng5 40. Rf6 Be2 41. Rf8 Bc4 42. b3 Be6 43. Re3 Nf3 44. Bb8 Rf2 45. Rf6 Bc8 46. Rh6 Kg5 47. Rxh7 f4 48. Rxe4 Bf5 49. Bxf4+ Kf6 50. Rh6+ Kf7 51. Rc4 Ng1 52. Rc7+ Kg8
53. Be5 1-0

Mar 5- 26, 2012 Global Warming Swiss

4-SS. 30/90, SD/30.

Hackettstown Comm. Cntr., 293 Main St. (Rte. 46), Hackettstown, NJ 07840.
Entry Fee: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25. Free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm March 5. Rds.: 7:30 pm, each Monday. INFO: ericmark4@gmail.com.
Half-point byes available any round; last-round bye must be requested with entry.

Lincoln Swiss Results

Paul Joseph won the Lincoln Swiss. Tom Ostrosky took 2nd place.
The Global Warming Swiss is currently underway with a new time control of 30/90 SD 30.

Lincoln Memorial Swiss

The Lincoln Memorial Swiss is currently underway. It features a new time control of 40/75, SD/30

Feb 6, 13, 27 Lincoln Memorial Swiss
3-SS. 40/75, SD/30.
EF: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Feb 6. Rds.: 7:30 pm each Monday.

Quick Pro Quo Speed Results

Congratulations once again to Tom Polese, who only gave up a half point to win the speed tournament. Angelo Depalma came in clear second, Rich clear third. Cameron Hill won the U1800 and Russ the U-1500.

Freeze 'Em Hard Swiss Results

Paul Joseph took clear first in the January Swiss, after another win last night. This will be the year he makes Expert, no doubt. Clayton and Cameron tied for both second place and the U-1800 prize. Russ wins a free entry to his next HCC tournament. He scored a big upset last night against Angelo.

Also take not of the excellent progress of our newest players,Cameron Hill and Victor.Vejil.  Victor scored an upset win against Jordan.  Cameron held Eric Mark to a draw and gained 90 rating points. A rating of 1649 after three tournaments and 11 games is above well above average. As Gary once said of Magnus, "Watch out for this kid."

Jan 2 - 23, 2012 Freeze'Em Good'n' Hard Swiss

4-SS. 40/90, SD/60.
EF: $12.
Prizes (b/16): $75/40/25, U1800 $25, free entry top U1500.
Reg.: 7 pm Jan 2.
Rounds.: 7:30 pm each Monday. angelodp@gmail.com.

Ho Ho Swiss Results

Tom Ostrosky prevailed over Mike Laverty in the last round to clinch first place in the December Ho Ho Swiss event.

Our first event of the new year is the Freeze 'em Hard Swiss on January 2.