Josh Flores replaces Patrick Cohen as secretary and Dan Wilson accepts general board position

There have been a couple of board changes. Patrick Cohen contacted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know he was going to resign in a couple of months due to his limited time to be available for meetings. I contacted Josh Flores to see if he would take over the secretary position, since he held it previously. He was willing to start in March and Patrick was willing to resign effective February 29. Patrick has informed me he will graciously assist the board with several behind-the-scenes efforts he does to help this great organization.

Daniel Wilson had previously  reached out to me to see if he could be part of the board. Since Josh was currently on board as a general collar county member, we now had an open position. The board offered Dan that position.

We now have a full board minus a downstate general board position. If anyone is interested please email Josh at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,

Thanks and please lets welcome Dan and Josh to their new positions and thank Patrick for his many years of service where I personally will miss his input and knowledge at meetings.

Steve

President Illinois Chess Association

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Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Chess State Championship 2024

 

Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

Chess State Championship 2024

Peoria, Illinois February 9-10, 2024




Firstly, I’d like to thank the organizers and the directors, along with all of the players for making this edition of the IHSA State Championship the best it could’ve been.

 

I myself played in the tournament, and I can confidently say that it was an amazing experience – more than simply being a tournament, but as a way to make friends and bond as a team.

 

After the first day, when we were 4/4, the anticipation for the possibilities of the following day was immense. And even though we didn’t end up performing as well as we hoped, the experience was all that mattered.

 

I’ve been to many tournaments throughout my life, but something about this one was special. The opportunity of being able to be with friends outside of the plain school environment, on top the combination of my own hobbies, made this an exceptionally special tournament.

 

Enough about that, onto the results of the tournament.



128 teams played in the tournament – after the first day, only 8 teams remained undefeated.

 

Round 5; Final 8 undefeated

Table 4: Aurora (IMSA) defeated Naperville (Neuqua) 56.5 vs 11.5

Table 3:Palatine (Fremd) defeated Naperville (Central) 39.5 vs 28.5

Table 2:Chicago (Payton)defeated Evanston (Twp.) 55 vs 13

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Chicago (Whitney Young) 50 vs 18

 

Round 6; Final 4 undefeated

Table 2:Chicago (Payton) defeated Aurora (IMSA) 34.5 vs 33.5

Table 1:Lincolnshire (Stevenson) defeated Palatine (Fremd) 50.5 vs 17.5

 

Round 7, Final round; Final 2 undefeated

Table 1. After a long match, Stevenson and Payton finished the tournament with a draw in the final round. Stevenson eventually won on tiebreakers.

 

Here is the winning team:




Glenn Panner from Chess Weekend supplied individual award medals to all players with at least 5.5 points out of 7. Bronze was awarded with 5.5, Silver with 6, and gold with 6.5 or 7 points. Around 100 players received medals out of 1200.

 

The following participants were awarded medals.

 

Name

Total Points

Medal

Arthur Xu (Jr.)

7

Gold

Dario Pjevic (So.)

7

Gold

Gustavo Garcia (Fr.)

7

Gold

Makhi Fox (Fr.)

7

Gold

Ochirbat Lkhagvajamts (Jr.)

7

Gold

Owen Geraghty (Sr.)

7

Gold

Shakira Luster (Sr.)

7

Gold

Vrishank Ramnath (Jr.)

7

Gold

Benjamin McKendall (So.)

6.5

Gold

Chris Garcia (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Connor Nance (So.)

6.5

Gold`

Daniel Avalos (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Ekansh Mehrotra (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Feolu Kolawole (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Issac Padua (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Paul Hanrahan (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Saboor Khan (Fr.)

6.5

Gold

Sammy McCandless (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Tate Morrison (Sr.)

6.5

Gold

Whitman Kosak (Jr.)

6.5

Gold

Adrian Montesino (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andre Dzwiniel (Fr.)

6

Silver

Andrew Coss (Jr.)

6

Silver

Andy Ordway (Sr.)

6

Silver

Andy Yuen (So.)

6

Silver

Arnav Karthikeyan (So.)

6

Silver

Beren Ozer (So.)

6

Silver

Caleb Valentino (Sr.)

6

Silver

David Yong (So.)

6

Silver

David Zappa (Sr.)

6

Silver

Emmett Lin (So.)

6

Silver

Ethan Tobias (So.)

6

Silver

Gavin Snopko (Jr.)

6

Silver

Hansen Du (So.)

6

Silver

Jacob Ang (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jacob Jensen (Sr.)

6

Silver

Jo Swan (So.)

6

Silver

Kayden Zhu (Jr.)

6

Silver

Konrad Kremper (Jr.)

6

Silver

Lazar Martic (So.)

6

Silver

Maddox Todd (Fr.)

6

Silver

Marc Ntumba-Mukadi (So.)

6

Silver

Michael Li (Fr.)

6

Silver

Neil Gani (Sr.)

6

Silver

Ray Sun (Jr.)

6

Silver

Ria Raj (So.)

6

Silver

Sadkrith Malladi (Jr.)

6

Silver

Shalen Chawla (Jr.)

6

Silver

Sohan Bendre (Sr.)

6

Silver

Sreekar Gangavarapu (So.)

6

Silver

Tugstumer Yesuntumur (Sr.)

6

Silver

Tyler Chen (Fr.)

6

Silver

Young Cha (Sr.)

6

Silver

Agastya Sapru (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Andrew Mazzio (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Anthony Tsyganov (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Asher Reedy (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ayush Shah (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Bao Ta (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Brian Farkas (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Chase Brinkmann (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Christine Liu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Cole Tupper (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Connor Osullivan (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Craven Andaya (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Daniel Arredondo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Derek Wietelmann (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Dylan Zec (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Eduardo Mota (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Erik Garcia (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Montemayor (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Ethan Singerman (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Faris Pena (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Harrison Weinberger (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Iman Ansari (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jack Drucker (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jacob Plotnick (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jake Wittman (Fr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jameson Tenopir (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Jamila Matovu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jerry Bauer (So.)

5.5

Bronze

John Waldo (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jonathan Cheng (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Gravel (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Joshua Thorstenson (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Jovanni Juarez (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Junho Park (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Liam Whitecotton (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Madeline Green (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Matthew Erlec (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Max Lu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Nolan Collins (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Pauline Yang (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Roman Kash (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Ryan Austin (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sam Kemeny (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Sanad Abu Awad (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Seth Parent (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Soham Dongre (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

Taofeeq Amuda (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Vinay Sridhar (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wentao Lin (So.)

5.5

Bronze

Wilbert Chu (Sr.)

5.5

Bronze

Yasin Kansu (Jr.)

5.5

Bronze

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2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

2024 Kings and Queens (K-8) and High School CPS Championships

Senn Park High School

January 20, 2024



The Kings and Queens tournament consisted of three sections – K-4, K-6, and K-8 – with almost 350 CPS players. The High School tournament consisted of two sections:  Junior Varsity and Varsity, which consisted of a combined 175 CPS high schoolers.

 

In the K-4 section, Edison–Blue finished with a perfect 4-0 for an uncontested first place. Three teams tied for second place with 3 points: Keller – Red, Decatur, and Edison – white.

 

Three players from the K-4 section won all 4 games: Natalie Huang from Decatur, Amay Sarupia from Edison – Blue, and Nurislam Ababakirov from Edison – Blue as well. A further three players finished with 3.5/4 points: Angel Salgado from Carson, Camilo Farinella from Edison – White, and Daniel Zheng from Keller – Blue.

 

In the K-6 section, Skinner North beat Pritzker to complete a perfect 4-0 for first place. Second place had a tie of three teams at 3 points, the teams were Lincoln, Edison – RGC, and Pritzker.

 

The K-6 had a remarkable seven players that went undefeated in all 4 games. They were Shrihaan Bathula from Decatur, Shane Thomas Veale and Ethan Villadiego playing for Edison – RGC, Esen Munkhtur and Vincent Yang from Lincoln, and Avida Biswas and Jonathan Cui from Skinner North.

 

Similarly, K-8 was an uncontested victory with a perfect 4-0 by Whitney Young – Gold who beat Lane Tech – AC. Five additional teams tied for second with 3 points: Lane Tech – AC, Decatur, Taft – AC, Bateman, and Keller.

 

The K-8 also had seven players who went undefeated: Gabriel Jael and Kalen Anderson from Bateman, Kyle Mak from Keller, Christopher Vele from Nobel – Blue, and Mason Qiao and Gene Tcheng from Whitney Young – Gold.

 

The High School JV section had one uncontested winner with 4 points: Whitney Young – Orange who beat Whitney Young – Blue during the final round. Four teams also tied for second place with 3 points; Whitney Young - Blue, Walter Payton, Brooks - Blue, and Englewood – STEM Red.

 

Four players from the JV section finished with a perfect record of 4-0. June Vincent Lee Mino from Lincoln Park High – Blue, Alexander Alvarez from Whitney Young – Blue, Chetan Cherukuri and Vincent Pan from Whitney Young – Orange. Additionally, David Zachary Zurawski finished with 3.5 points.

 

Similarly, in the High School Varsity Section, Walter Payton won with a perfect 4-0 after defeating Lane Tech in the final round. Three teams tied for second with three points: Whitney Young, Lane Tech, and Brooks.

 

In the Varsity section, six players had a perfect four wins: Avi Kaplan and Whitman Kosak from Lane Tech, Marco Baldwin from Lincoln Park, Sohan Anup Bendre from Walter Payton, and Dimitrios Deligiannia and Nithin Ramasamy from Whitney Young.

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2024 Illinois K-8 State Chess Championship

The 2024 Illinois K-8 Championship will be both a team and individual event held by Chess Weekend, Inc. with the Illinois Chess Association on March 8-10, 2024 in Schaumburg, IL. The main event will consist of four sections based on grade level – K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 – with seven rounds starting Saturday morning. Besides the main event, there will be numerous fun side events such as bughouse, blitz, and puzzle-solving contests. 

 

Over 200 trophies will be awarded on top of a commemorative medal or ribbon for all players. Additionally, a wonderful book and equipment vendor will be on site for all needs at the tournament. Though the tournament is an Illinois Championship, players from all states are welcome; but state championship titles go to Illinois players. Complete details of round times and entry fees can be found here.

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ICA Editor and Staff Writer Message

ICA Editor and Staff Writer  – receive any emails sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

My name is Jacob Plotnick and I am the new editor for ICA to write about their tournaments . As the editor and staff writer I will write articles for ICA tour events, state championships, and other larger tournaments. I will additionally take concerns of error into consideration and work to mend them ASAP. I can receive any such emails at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. My goal is to reply to any requests within 72 hours. 

 

I am currently a sophomore in high school and have been playing chess for almost seven years. Outside of chess, my main areas of study are math and engineering. Most recently, the de Rham cohomology, with hopes to pursue aerospace engineering in the future. 

 

If you notice any errors when reading one of my postings, please reach out at your soonest convenience. 

 

Jacob

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Tim Just Winter Open 2024

The Illinois Chess Association would like to congratulate Bill Buklis for successfully running the initial tournament of the 2024 year for the Illinois Chess Tour. The 40th annual Tim Just Winter Open was played from January 5th to January 7th and had six sections ranging from a U1300 to a Major section. There was a separate tournament on the 6th specifically for scholastic players with a further three sections. In total, the event had over 300 players.

 

Major

IM Sam Schmakel defeated Ankush Moolky in the final round to take outright first place. Tugstumur Yesuntumur drew Augusto Cesar Campos to tie for second place.

 

Click the image below to see the top games of round 5: 

U2100

Bryce McClanahan was the outright winner with 4.5/5 points. Artemii Khanbutaey, Steven Napoli, Aidan Baker and Andrey Dmitriev tied for second with a score of 4/5 points.

U1900

Aaron Anderson beat Aayush Thakker and Memanth Samayamantri beat Jack Drucker in their last matches to tie for first with 4.5/5

U1700

Carl John Gibson beat Carmelo S Napoli to finish as the  outright winner at 4.5/5. Carmelo ended with 4/5. Madison Lofts, Harrison Schilling and Nathaniel Bafia all joined Carmelo Carmelo in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

U1500

There was a two-way tie for first between Kostandinos Skoufos and Alastar WIlliam Keely-Walker, both ended with 4.5/5.

U1300

Hector Guifarro won outright with a perfect 5/5. Hector beat Andy Barrientos who ended up in a five-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 1200

Owen Yang finished in first with an uncontested 5/5. Owen Beat Andy Yu who finished in a four-way tie for second at 4/5.

Scholastic Under 800

Silas Judge and Poojith Jada both won their final games to finish tied with 4.5/5.

Scholastic Under 500

There was another perfect 5/5 by Joshua Anderson. Joshua beat Joseph Zachary Taylow who finished in a four-way tie at 4/5.



The Illinois Chess Association would also like to recognize the following scholastic players for increasing their USCF rating by over 50 points:

Joahua Anderson (U500)

Calvin Rivas (U500)

Joseph Zachary Taylor (U500)

Pierce Kruse (U500)

Joel Jonathan Boodu (U500)

Silas Judge (U800)

Poojith Jada (U800)

Sairam Manimaran (U800)

Aidan Michael Cassidy (U800)

Jotin Samayamantri (U800)

Rogelio Jorge Diaz-Portales (U800)

Neeraj Movva (U800)

Aarav Varshney (U800)

Owen Yang (U1200)

Andy YU (U1200)

Saketh Viswanadha (U1200)

Dane Allen Cooper (U1200)

Kevin McAleenan (U1200)

Nilan Velu (U1200)

Anish Itagi (U1200)

Sahasvath Indla (U1200)

James Patrick Budd (U1200)



If you have any questions or comments, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Jacob Plotnick accepts Position as ICA Editor and Staff Reporter

 

Jacob has graciously accepted the position as our editor and a new position as a staff reporter. Jacob is currently a sophomore at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. He is a former Illinois State Champion for the United States Chess Federation Jr. Grand Prix. In addition to being a Class "B" player, Jacob is also a certified local tournament director.

As our editor, Jacob fills a void that the ICA has had for a number of years. He will be reviewing, editing, and publishing articles sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Jacob will also have a staff position responsible for creating articles and working with organizers for our state championships, ICA tour events, and larger Illinois tournaments and events.

Please join us in welcoming Jacob to his new position.

 

 

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ICA Tour to restart in 2024

 

In July, the ICA conducted a survey among chess players with the intention of getting feedback to help us improve and shape the future of the ICA. We listened and are bringing back the ICA Tour! Details to follow. Our first tour tournament will be the Tim Just Winter Open, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg from Friday, January 5 to Sunday, January 7, 2024.

 

 

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ICA Elections - Nomination Period for 2023 Is Now Open!

The ICA is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the five general members of the Board of Directors. Directors will take office on January 1, 2024 and serve a two-year term.

Who Is Eligible to Be Nominated?

Under the ICA Bylaws, directors must be residents of Illinois and members of the ICA. At least two at-large directors must reside in Cook County or the Collar Counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), and at least two must reside outside these counties.

Submitting Your Nomination

Any ICA member may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are also permitted and encouraged.
Nominations may be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Nominations must be seconded by 10 voting ICA members and the nominee must agree to serve. The deadline for submitting nominations is October 10, 2023.

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Mex Chess Champ, Age 12, Seeks Help to Compete in World Contest

Levi Kalani Fogo Esquivel, who hails from Tulum in Quintana Roo, is Mexico’s National Chess Champion in the Under-12 category. He earned a gold and two silver medals at the CONADE Games. (CONADE: Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte.)

He also finished in first place in Las Vegas at the International Youth Championship as well as first in the Illinois Open Championship-Reserve Section. At the Illinois Open Blitz tournament, 3-minute games, he finished in second place in a group of twenty-six players. There he had two wins, and two losses, against two local Masters. Only George Li, an International Master, finished ahead of Kalani.

At the World Open tournaments in Philadelphia, he had outstanding performances which earned him some prizes.

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Brock,William (2106) - Moskwa,Robert (1928) [B06]
Illinois Class (4), 11.12.2011

[Brock,Bill]

White gets tricked out of his repertoire and finds himself in a dubious middlegame. Time for "Confuse a Cat"!

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be2 c5 5.dxc5 Qa5+ 6.Bd2 Qxc5 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.0–0

I don't think either player should get an award for "most precisely played opening," but we've reached a reasonable-looking Sicilian.

8...a6

Premature? Better 8...0–0

9.Be3 Qa5 10.Nd4

Better 10.Nd2 Be6 (10...0–0?? 11.Nc4 Qd8 12.Nb6+-) 11.f4 0–0 12.Kh1 and White will play f4-f5 with tempo.

10...0–0 11.f4 Bd7 12.Nb3 Qc7

13.g4!?

I thought the fact that d7 was occupied made this push stronger.  Either 13.Bf3 or 13.a4 would be reasonable.

13...Bc6

So much for that thesis.

14.Bf3 h6?! 15.Qe1 b5 16.a3?!

A patzer's move. Perhaps 16.a4 b4 17.Nd5 or simply 16.Nd4.

16...e6 17.h4

17.Rd1 would have taken aim at the newly-tenderized d6 square.

17...d5

Black can try to prove the (reasonable) thesis that White has overextended on the kingside with a move like 17...Nbd7.

18.e5 Ne4 19.Bxe4 dxe4

Both of Black's bishops are ineffective, and his queenside is undeveloped. But if Black could open the position, I might be embarrassed.

20.Rd1

 

20...g5!?

I was very impressed by this move: undermining e5 is thematic. But wouldn't Black rather have his king in the center and his horse on d7?

21.hxg5?!

I was afraid of an Exchange sacrifice after 21.Nc5 gxf4 22.Bxf4 Bxe5 23.Bxh6 for example, 23...Bh2+ 24.Kg2 e3+ which the computer refutes via 25.Kh3.

21...hxg5 22.Qg3?

Again, 22.Nc5 gxf4 23.Bxf4

 22...Nd7

Hmm: I'm in trouble. Time for a cheap attack!

23.Rd2 gxf4 24.Rxf4!?

24.Bxf4 Nxe5 25.Rh2 f6 and Black is for choice.

24...Nxe5

24...Bxe5 25.Rh2 Rfd8! 26.Qh4 Nf8 and I have no clue.
 

25.Rh2

25...f6?!

This is not Black's best move, but it's by no means losing, as I thought in the game.

  • 25...Nf3+? 26.Rxf3 Be5 is refuted most cutely by Awonder Liang's 27.Bd4!! (This is the first of several variations in which the unguardedness of the Qc7 becomes relevant.).
  • The computer likes 25...Rfd8! I looked at 26.Qh3 Nf3+ 27.Rxf3 exf3 28.Qh7+ Kf8 29.Bc5+ Rd6 (29...Ke8 30.Qg8+ Kd7 31.Rd2+ Bd5 (31...Kc8 32.Rxd8+ Qxd8 33.Qxg7) 32.Qxg7) after which Houdini suggests 30.Ne4 Bxe4 31.Qxe4 Rad8 32.Qxf3 and the Black king is more secure.
  • Another try I considered was 25...Ng6 (exploiting the pin) 26.Qh3 f5 (26...f6?? 27.Qh7+ Kf7 28.Rxf6+ Kxf6 29.Rf2++-) and now 27.Ne2 looks obscure.

26.Nd4 Kf7

During the game and even the post-mortem, I thought I now had a big advantage, but Houdini is less impressed: 26...Ng6 27.Nxe6 Qe5 28.Nxg7 (28.Nxf8 Rxf8 29.Rh5 Qb8! (retreating to a guarded square!)(29...Qd6?! 30.Rf3!) ) 28...Kxg7 29.Rh5 (29.Ne2 Nxf4 30.Bxf4 Qd5 31.Bh6+ Kg8 32.Bxf8 Rxf8 33.Qf4 Qd1+ 34.Kf2 Qxc2) 29...Nxf4 30.Rxe5 fxe5 31.Qh4 Rae8!=

27.g5+- Rh8

On 27...f5 I was planning 28.g6+ Ke7 29.Rh7 , after which Houdini gives 29...Rg8 30.Qg5+ Kd7 31.Nxe6+-.

28.gxf6

28...Bxf6

28...Bh6 is another try: I doubt I would have found Houdini's cool line: 29.Rxh6! (29.Qg7+! Bxg7 30.fxg7++- looks more "human") 29...Rag8 30.Rxh8! Rxg3+ 31.Kf2 and everything is hanging in Black's camp.

29.Rxf6+ Kxf6 30.Rf2+ Nf3+

On 30...Ke7 I saw 31.Qg7+ Kd6 32.Nf5+ exf5 33.Bc5+ Kxc5 34.Qxc7 , but I was worried about 34...Nf3+ . However, White wins with  35.Rxf3 exf3 36.b4+ etc, and Black's alternative 34...Rh1+ 35.Kxh1 e3+ is most easily refuted by 36.Rg2 which I did not see.

31.Rxf3+ exf3

White to play: is it time for lunch yet?

32.Bg5+!

Closing the g-file.

Taking the free queen with 32.Qxc7 is messier: 32...Rag8+ 33.Bg5+ (the only move!) (33.Kf1? Rh1+ 34.Bg1 Rgxg1+ 35.Kf2 Rg2+ 36.Ke3 Re1+ 37.Nde2 Rexe2+ 38.Nxe2 Rxe2+ 39.Kd4 e5+ 40.Kc3 Be4 and Black has excellent winning chances) 33...Rxg5+ 34.Kf2 Rg2+ 35.Ke3 f2 36.Qf4+ Kg6 37.Nxc6 and White will win, but will get no style points.

32...Kg6 33.Qxc7 Rh1+!

This idea helps explain the point of 32.Bg5+.

34.Kf2!

Moving the bishop to g5 not only blocked the g-file, but also made Luft for the king on e3.  34.Kxh1? f2+ and Black queens!

34...Rf8 35.Nxc6 1–0

 


Turgut,Tansel (2381) - Brock,William (2106) [C47]
Illinois Class (3), 11.12.2011

[Brock,Bill]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3

Circa 1975, GM Andy Soltis wrote a very funny article for an short-lived glossy chess magazine published in Pennsylvania (was the title Overboard?) on the position after 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.a3 One of the points was that 3...d5 (3...Nc6 4.Nf3 transposes to our game.) 4.exd5 Nxd5 could now be answered by Steinitz's defense to the Scotch: 5.Qh5!? (and 5..Nb4 is not possible here).
 

2...Nc6 3.Nc3

Nothing for White in the Ruy Lopez, nothing in the Scotch: why not the Four Knights? I think this is White's most underrated opening.

3...Nf6 4.a3!?

This line was featured in Secrets of Opening Surprises some years ago: it's popular and fun to play! I'd already lost two games in the line: once to Robert Loncarevic after 4...g6, and again earlier this year to Steve Szpisjak after 4...d6. The text move is very logical.

The Hallowe'en Gambit is 4.Nxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Nc6 (I have won a few ICC blitz games with 5...Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 d5 8.Bxd5 c6 9.Bb3 N8e7) 6.d5 Bb4! (Pinski) 7.dxc6 Nxe4 8.Qd4 Qe7.
 

4...Be7

Dr. Turgut bought me lunch after the game, and confessed that he was planning to answer 4...g6 with a version of the Hallowe'en Gambit: 5.Nxe5!? (the insertion of 4.a3 and 4...g6 favors White: even if a2-a3 is a useless move, ... g7-g6 is worse than useless, as it denies the g6 square to the Ne5). When I told this to Albert Chow on the ride home, he said, "Then why don't people play 4...Nxe4 against the Glek System?" (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 Nxe4!?!?) 5...Nxe5 6.d4 Nc6 The g6 square is not available to the horsie! 7.d5 Nb8 The b4 square is not available to the Bf8, as in Pinski's line! (And ...g7-g6 weakens the dark squares.) (The faint of heart may substitute 7...Bg7 ) 8.e5 Ng8

Black to play (variation): would the "Deferred Hallowe'en" be the "All Saints Day Gambit"?

I can't bring myself to look at this position seriously, but Houdini actually gives White a miniscule plus, and White scores very well in practice.  The alternative 8...Nh5!? may be worth investigating.
 

5.d4 exd4

Albert noted that the strongpointing Philidor line 5...d6 is perfectly viable. I had unpleasant memories from my game with Steve Szpisjak.
 

6.Nxd4 Nxd4

6...0–0 7.Nxc6 bxc6 (7...dxc6) 8.e5 Ne8
 

7.Qxd4 d6 8.Bc4 0–0 9.0–0 Be6 10.Bg5 Ng4!

The player with less space wants to exchange pieces.

11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.Bxd5 c6 14.Bb3 Qe5

 

Having foreseen this position on move 10, I was very pleased with myself. And the computer agrees that this is a dead equal endgame. But a correspondence Grandmaster knows how to make an opponent suffer in dead equal positions.

Yes, the resultant pawn structure is balanced, which does not favor the bishop. (See Capa's explanation in Chess Fundamentals.) Yes, Black can successfully fight for the only open file. But the bishop exerts annoying pressuer on the a2-g8 diagonal, and the knight has no similar "square of power." So perhaps White is still better when human is playing human?

15.Qxe5 dxe5 16.f3 Nf6 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.Kf2 Kf8 19.Ke3 Nd7 20.c3 Ke7 21.g3 Nc5 22.Bc2 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rd8

 

24.Rf1!

Of course, White doesn't want to exchange.

24...f6 25.f4 Nd7 26.h4 h6 27.Rg1 Nb6 28.Bb3 a5 29.Rf1 Nd7 30.Rf2 Nc5 31.Bc2 Nd7 32.Bd3 Nc5 33.Be2 Rd6 34.Rf1 Rd8 35.Rc1 Ne6 36.Bc4 Rh8

Black signals to White: "Break on the kingside with g4-g5, and I'll get counterplay on the h-file."

37.f5 Nc7 38.g4 Ne8 39.Rd1 Nd6 40.Ba2 Rd8 41.Rg1 Rh8 42.Rg2 b6 43.Bb3 Rh7 44.Bd1 Nc4+ 45.Kd3 Nd6 46.Be2 Rh8 47.Ke3 Nf7 48.Rg1 Rg8

49.Rb1!

White signals to Black, "The board has two sides, and my bishop can deal with play on opposite wings better than your horsie can."

49...Rd8 50.b4 a4 51.b5 c5 52.Bc4

Six of Black's seven pawns are now on dark squares, but giving up control of the d5 square allows the bishop to grab a strong central post.

52...Nd6 53.Bd5 Rh8 54.c4


Chow, on the Dan Ryan Expressway: "That's Botvinnik's bishop, you know." Fortunately for me, the artificially isolated pawn on a4 is difficult to tickle.

54...Rh7

Black marks time.

55.Rh1 Nf7

"If you want to break on f7, you're going to have to eat the horse."

56.Rd1

 "Are you going to give me the d-file?"

56...Nd6 57.Kf3 Rh8 58.Rd3 Rd8 59.Kg2 Nf7 60.Rg3 Rd7

In time pressure, I thought that 60...Rh8 lost its effect because of the Kg2: 61.Bxf7 Kxf7 62.g5 But 62...hxg5 63.hxg5 Rd8 is fine for Black.
 

61.Kf3

For one brief moment, the White rook is not communicating with its queenside.

 

Black to play

Chris Merli once tried to explain the facts of life to me: "Bill, rooks are actually more valuable than minor pieces!"

61...Rxd5??

Played instantly and with authority, as all bad moves should be played. The idea is actually a good one, as this is the kind of position in which knight plus pawn may prove to be stronger than rook. But even the few lines that I calculated showed that the move wasn't that promising: I lost objectivity.

Never one to leave an opinion unexpressed, Albert Chow told me on the ride home, "The way you play for a win against Turgut here is to show that you are willing to hold the draw. Don't give up the fortress: make him overreach, and you'll get your counterplay on the h-file."  It always pains me to admit to Albert that he is correct.

62.cxd5

62.exd5? Nd6
 

62...Nd6 63.g5 hxg5 64.hxg5 Nxb5

Dr. Turgut suggested 64...Kf8 as possibly a sturdier defense But 65.g6! seems sufficient: (65.gxf6 gxf6 66.Rg1 Nxb5 67.Rb1 Nd4+ 68.Ke3 b5 69.Rc1 Nb3) 65...Nxb5 66.Rg1 Nd6 67.Rb1 b5 68.Rc1 Nc4 69.Rh1 Kg8 70.d6! (with the king on g8, back-rank mate is in the air) 70...Nxd6 71.Rd1 Ne8 72.Rd5 b4 73.Rxc5 bxa3 74.Ra5+-; 64...Kf7 65.g6+ Kg8 66.Rg1 Nxb5 67.Rb1 Nd4+ 68.Ke3 b5 69.d6 Kf8 70.Rh1 is similar.
 

65.gxf6+ gxf6 66.Rg7+ Ke8 67.Rb7 Nd4+ 68.Ke3 b5 69.Kd3 Kd8

69...c4+ 70.Kc3 Ne2+ 71.Kb4 Ng3 72.Kxb5 Nxe4 73.Kc6 c3 74.Rc7 c2 75.Rc8+ Ke7 76.d6+ Kf7 77.Kd5 finito

70.d6 Kc8?

I overlooked the obvious reply, but it no longer matters.  70...Ke8 71.Rc7 Nb3 72.Kc3 Kd8 73.Rf7 Nd4 74.Rxf6 Kd7 75.Rf7+ Kxd6 76.Rb7 Kc6 77.Re7 Kd6 78.f6.

71.Rc7+ Kd8 72.Rxc5 Kd7 73.Rd5

Zugzwang is in the air.

73...b4 74.axb4 Nc6 75.Kc4 a3 76.Rd3

I did not expect White to fall for the cheap trap 76.Kb3 a2 77.Kxa2?? Nxb4+ drawing, but there's no harm in trying.

76...a2 77.Ra3

Dr. Turgut's play in this game is a beautiful example of Shereshevsky's maxim "Do not hurry!" It was clear as early as move 27 that the game's outcome would hinge on the break g4-g5, but White waited another thirty-six moves to make this break! Before my blunder, White's advantage was never more than microscopic. But if one probes on one side of the board, then the other, and delays the critical pawn break as long as possible, there's always the chance that your opponent will go wrong. Psychology is part of the game!

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