tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59364130484757635712024-03-14T00:00:24.401-07:00Zibbit's Chess BlogEverything and anything about chess. Puzzles, games, news or anything that I feel I need to share with the chess world!Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-79959098931097845262011-08-07T17:58:00.000-07:002011-08-07T17:58:53.568-07:00New lesson on CV.tv along with some blitz gamesSome more recent posting on Chessvideos.tv<br />
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<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/"></a><br />
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I played a bunch of games in the 5-minute pool on the ICC and made Live blitz #94-97<br />
Here they are:<br />
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LB94: <a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9084">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9084</a><br />
LB95: <a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9085">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9085</a><br />
LB96: <a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9086">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9086</a><br />
LB97: <a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9087">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9087</a><br />
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My latest video was in a PPV series meaning usually it would cost credits, but Chessvideos.tv sponsored the lesson, so that it's free along with a few more in that series! Check it out and tell me if you like it:<br />
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Lessons #2 : The Averbakh Wedge: <a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9095">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9095</a>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-51945587836537052632011-07-23T17:13:00.000-07:002011-08-07T17:59:15.948-07:00Some recent videos on Chessvideos.tvI've been posting some new videos recently on the excellent website, Chessvideos.tv<br />
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<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJYEEYDLE4k/TitjEPqBr5I/AAAAAAAAAGA/X51aEzzFnos/s1600/logo.png" /></a></div><br />
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I played a game in the 15-minute pool on ICC and did a live commentary on that. It was a French defence.<br />
<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8883">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8883</a><br />
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I then solved some tactics on Chess.com using the tactics trainer and tried to explain my thoughts:<br />
<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8935">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8935</a><br />
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My next video I reviewed a game played by a forum member which was a standard 15 0 game on FICS. I thought the game had interesting moments and some instructive mistakes along with endgame moments that I liked. Judging by comments and rating the video was rather well received.<br />
<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8944">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8944</a><br />
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My latest video was a PPV one meaning you would have to shell up credits and pay a whooping $0.50 to see it. Shell it up or just watch the over 100 other videos I've made I guess ;-) But supporting the site would be nice (and me of course muhaha) ;-)<br />
<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8977">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8977</a>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-61300629221317128232011-07-10T23:23:00.000-07:002011-07-10T23:23:01.614-07:00Live blitz #20 - A bit crazier than usual<iframe height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bFkZITQcJ7k?fs=1" frameborder="0" width="425" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-22415301767894983202011-04-16T06:21:00.000-07:002011-04-16T06:21:01.370-07:00Icelandic Championship has started<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsQlHHU_5Ws/TamXmrUhjhI/AAAAAAAAAF4/WDaPXHIg8oM/s1600/ingvar_sthi_2011_eidum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VsQlHHU_5Ws/TamXmrUhjhI/AAAAAAAAAF4/WDaPXHIg8oM/s1600/ingvar_sthi_2011_eidum.jpg" /></a></div>I started with a draw in the first round with black against fellow FM Robert Lagerman. A fair start to the tournament and always nice to get on the scoreboard in such a strong tournament. Today is a very tough game against former World U-14 Champion, GM Hedinn Steingrimsson. I have white and the game is live here:<br />
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<a href="http://dl.skaksamband.is/mot/2011/Landslids2011/r2/tfd.htm">http://dl.skaksamband.is/mot/2011/Landslids2011/r2/tfd.htm</a><br />
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Games can be accesses from here:<br />
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<a href="http://skaksamband.is/?c=webpage&id=480">http://skaksamband.is/?c=webpage&id=480</a><br />
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Where 2. umferð means 2. round etc...Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-20785522409330423202011-03-31T17:43:00.000-07:002011-03-31T17:43:33.367-07:00Live blitz #17 - A pair of English Openings<div>Two 3-minute blitz games on ICC.</div><div><br /></div><iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ln7jnBcBlSE?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-6781768964718271072011-03-21T23:50:00.000-07:002011-03-21T23:50:17.449-07:00White to playCan white fight the passed pawns?<br />
<img src="http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/9rt3ope3pk18.png" />Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-2581323020978067822011-03-19T17:53:00.000-07:002011-03-19T17:53:15.928-07:00A nice draw for meIn the process of moving so been finding some old stuff in boxes, both books, pictures, scoresheets etc.<br />
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Here is a draw I made with black in 2005. Jonathan Speelman might be historically the strongest player I've drawn, not the highest rated but the one that got furthest in the Candidates Matches.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sJjSRSx-MHQ/TYVPc2pBMuI/AAAAAAAAAF0/cnx8C_PbVQU/s1600/speelman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sJjSRSx-MHQ/TYVPc2pBMuI/AAAAAAAAAF0/cnx8C_PbVQU/s640/speelman.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-14612415659287879262011-03-14T21:38:00.000-07:002011-03-14T21:38:26.120-07:00Reykjavik Open, my games from rounds 5-7Here is my 5th round game, the second game on Saturday after the poor loss against Gustafsson (meaning I played badly, not that the expected result wasn't the same)<br />
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<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik City Hall"] [Date "2011.03.12"] [Round "5.33"] [White "Horn, Emilia"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar Thor"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "2031"] [BlackElo "2338"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2011.03.09"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3%2B 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. h4 Qa5 8. Bd2 Nbc6 9. h5 Bd7 (9... h6 {funny story. This was the recommendation on Simon’s DVD on the French. I looked at Rg4 here and then I was so sleepy that I felt I must sleep like 30-40 minutes before the game (it was 2 rounds on this day) As luck would have it I didn’t see Qg4 so didn’t know what to do there and therefore went to this line because I played it before even though it’s ages since I played it. A better question is actually why I didn’t just play 6... Qa5 like in every single blitz game for the last 5-6 months with good results}) 10. h6 gxh6 11. Nf3 O-O-O 12. a4 Ng8 {I saw that Bb5 and taking on c6 was somewhat of a problem but couldn’t think of a alternative solution} 13. Bb5 f6 (13... Nce7 $5 {was my original intention but then I felt like dxc5 was annoying and also maybe Rb1. Still, Uhlmann played it so might be ok} 14. dxc5 (14. Rb1 $14) 14... a6 15. c4 Qc7 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. c4 Nde7 18. Bxd7%2B Rxd7 19. Qb3 Nf5 20. Qb6 Nge7 21. Bxh6 Qc6 22. Qxc6%2B Nxc6 23. Rd1 { 1/2-1/2 Drimer,D-Uhlmann,W/Raach 1969/EXT 2001}) 14. exf6 Nxf6 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Rxh6 Rdf8 17. Qe2 Bd7 (17... Ne4 $5 18. Rxe6 Rhg8 19. g3 { this might have been the way to play it, staying active} Qb6 $36) 18. Ne5 Be8 19. f3 Rhg8 20. Nd3 c4 21. Nf4 $16 { for the last few moves I felt completely planless and here I just felt worse} Bd7 22. Kf2 Qd8 23. Rah1 Qe7 24. a5 Qg7 25. Kf1 Qf7 26. Bc1 Rg7 27. Qe5 Qe7 28. Ke1 Rgf7 29. R6h4 (29. Ne2 {with idea of Bf4 was fairly difficult to meet here. My opponent has kept a strong grip on the position but failed to improve from like a %2B1,2ish advantage}) 29... Ne8 30. g4 Nc7 31. R4h3 Nb5 32. Bd2 Qd6 (32... Qa3 $2 {was original intention along with offering a draw, I quickly realised after calculating some useless move here that Rxh7 is hopeless for me} 33. Rxh7 $18) (32... Nxc3 $5 {this is interesting and I failed to recognize how strong it was, I could even turn the tables if white is not careful} 33. Bxc3 Rxf4 34. Rxh7 $4 Qa3 $19) 33. Ne2 (33. Qxd6 {I was more worried about this. Even though material will be equal my pieces don’t function well and g-pawn is very dangerous} Nxd6 34. Rxh7 Rxf4 35. Bxf4 Rxf4 $14) 33... Qxe5 34. dxe5 Rxf3 35. Rxf3 Rxf3 36. Rxh7 d4 $5 {I felt like this was strong in time trouble. I wanted to open lines for my white squared bishop} 37. cxd4 Na3 (37... c3 { is not good} 38. Bc1 $16) 38. Ng1 Nxc2%2B (38... Rg3 {I somehow missed this....I was so stuck with taking on c2 and d4 is she made knight moves, these little "hooks" can harm you in timetrouble but are usually helpful}) 39. Kd1 Rf1%2B 40. Kxc2 Rxg1 41. Rh8%2B Kc7 42. g5 Rg3 43. Rh7 Kc8 44. Rh8%2B Kc7 45. Rh7 Kc8 (45... c3 $6 {is only way to continue but I might become worse} 46. Bf4 Rg4 47. Rf7 $14) 46. Rh8%2B { she went for perpetual and probably neither side can try to win this} 1/2-1/2 '/></object><br />
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I bounced back on Sunday with a nice grind-out victory from a Catalan type position...</div><br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik City Hall"] [Date "2011.03.13"] [Round "6.40"] [White "Johannesson, Ingvar Thor"] [Black "Bjornsson, Tomas"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2338"] [BlackElo "2158"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2011.03.09"] 1. c4 (1. Nf3 {We played this game in the same tournament two years ago which I felt was a very well played game by me as well in similar grind out style} Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 Bf5 5. g3 e6 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. d3 h6 8. O-O Be7 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Qc2 Bh7 11. a3 a5 12. Bc3 b5 13. cxb5 cxb5 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 Qc7 16. Qb2 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 Rc8 18. Bd4 Qc2 19. Qa3 Qc7 20. Nb3 Bd6 21. Qa6 $1 Bxb4 (21... Qc6 22. Qxc6 Rxc6 23. Ra8%2B Bf8 24. Nc5 $16) (21... Qb8 22. Ba7 $1 Qc7 23. Rc1 $16) 22. Rc1 Qxc1%2B 23. Nxc1 Rxc1%2B 24. Bf1 Bf5 25. Kg2 Bf8 26. Qxb5 Be7 27. Qb7 Bf8 28. Bxf6 (28. Bb2 $5) 28... Nxf6 29. Ne5 Bg6 30. Nxg6 fxg6 31. h3 g5 $6 32. e4 $1 dxe4 33. dxe4 e5 $2 (33... Bc5 34. Qb2 Re1 35. Qc3) 34. Bc4%2B Kh7 (34... Rxc4 35. Qb3) 35. Be6 $1 (35. Qc8 Ba3 $1) 35... Rc2 36. Bf5%2B Kh8 37. Qb8 {1-0 Johannesson,I (2330)-Bjornsson,T (2173)/Rvk 2009/[Johannesson,Ingvar]} ) 1... c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 e6 {He thought for a bit here and avoided ..:Bf5 probably remembering the other game} 5. Qc2 Bd6 6. d4 O-O 7. Nbd2 Nbd7 8. O-O Qe7 9. Rd1 {actually thought for quite a bit here and landed on this move. Some other moves that have been played here are Re1 and a3. The a3 move has ideas of stopping Nb4 in some lines after a black ...e5 and a white cxd5. I was glad to see a Vaganian game and some notes about that when I looked this up after the game, confirming my thoughts during the game. Rd1 was also chosen by Khalifman so can’t be bad!} b6 {...e5 I thought was his idea but after this we just get to closed Catalan territory where I feel pretty comfortable} 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb7 13. Bf4 {exchanging black squared bishops is thematic and leaves some squares weak in the black camp} Nf6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Qe3 $146 {A new move. I a wanted to lure him into play ...Ng4 as I felt the knight stands badly there. Also on e3 I might support c5 move} Rfd8 16. Ne5 Nd7 17. Bf3 (17. c5 $1 {A completely thematic move for this kind of a position. I saw the move but failed to see the strong follow up} bxc5 18. Nc4 $1 Qe7 19. dxc5 Nxc5 (19... Qxc5 20. Rxd7 $18) 20. Na5 $1 { black seems completely busted here but I did not see this continuation} Rxd1%2B 21. Rxd1 Na6 (21... Rc8 22. b4 Na4 23. Qxa7 $18) 22. Qb3 $18) 17... Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qe7 19. Rac1 c5 {otherwise I might play c5 myself} 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. Rd3 ( 21. Rd6 Rxd6 22. exd6 Rd8 23. Rd1 Qc6 24. Rd2 $5 Kf8 {maybe this is ok but I felt the pawn needed too much attention making it difficult to make any progress in the position} (24... Rxd6 $4 25. Qe5 $18)) 21... Rxd3 22. Qxd3 Qc7 23. Rd1 h6 (23... Qxe5 $4 24. Qd8%2B Rxd8 25. Rxd8#) 24. f4 Qc6 25. Kf2 g6 26. Qf3 Qxf3%2B $2 {I feel the rook ending might be close to winning so I am going to label this as a mistake!} (26... Qe8 $1 {I think keeping the queens on is the way to defend. Black will always have chances of a succesful defence because of the danger of perpetual check while white tries to organise something} 27. Rd6 Rd8 28. b3 (28. Qb7 Rxd6 29. exd6 Qa4 $11 { here for instance it’s hard not see black getting a perpetual}) 28... Rxd6 29. exd6 Qd7 30. Qd3 {also in a position like this it’s hard to improve since the queen needs to constantly keep an eye on the d-pawn}) (26... Qc8 {this is less accurate as now I can better control the d-file. Still that might not be enough} 27. Rd6 Kf8 28. Qd3 $14) 27. Kxf3 a6 28. Rd7 { rook on the 7th, doesn’t get more thematic} b5 29. Ke3 $1 { a better king, the king comes over to help destroy the queenside} Rb8 30. Kd2 Kf8 (30... bxc4 31. Kc3 $16) 31. Ra7 bxc4 $6 { maybe it was better to try and get active immediately with 31...Rd8} 32. Kc3 Rd8 33. Rxa6 Rd3%2B 34. Kxc4 {it might just be a completely forced win by now} Rd2 35. Rb6 {the a-pawn is ready to run} Rc2%2B 36. Kd3 Rxh2 37. a4 Rg2 38. a5 { run Forrest, run!} Rxg3%2B 39. Kc4 Rg1 40. Kxc5 h5 {here I sat down after reaching the time control and having a small walk to relax. Not wanting to suffer more my opponent just resigned without waiting for my next move} (40... h5 41. a6 {is the simplest win} Ra1 42. Rb8%2B Kg7 43. Kb6 h4 44. a7 h3 45. a8=Q Rxa8 46. Rxa8 $18) 1-0'/></object><br />
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Today I won my 7th round game, bringing me to 4,5 out of 7. This was a Czech Benoni, a opening I believe I am now 3 out of 3 with!<br />
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<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik City Hall"] [Date "2011.03.14"] [Round "7.35"] [White "Einarsson, Halldor Gretar"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar Thor"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A56"] [WhiteElo "2220"] [BlackElo "2338"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2011.03.09"] {On a curious note, I share a birthday with my opponent. The 4th of March!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5 {The third time in my life I play this and every time I’ve played it I’ve been avoiding playing against lines I felt my opponents were too prepared. In this case I didn’t have anything vs his usual line in the Benoni, didn’t fancy his Semi-Slav line so it was a toss up between this or playing the Leningrad. I opted for this Czech Benoni which somehow I am now 3/3 with!} 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 {All my opponents have gone 5.e4 here so presumably we were both on our own here more or less} Be7 6. h4 {white wants to trade light squared bishops ASAP. Something like 6.e4 transposes to normal lines but again I have very little experience in them} O-O $146 7. Bh3 Na6 {Nbd7 is the more usual development in this opening but I played this ...Na6 in my last Czech Benoni game and I feel like going for a ...b5 break which is logial. I didn’t think ...Bxh3 was good since I only help white develop but still it might be quite ok} 8. e4 Nc7 9. g4 a6 {thought about Nfe8 as well, just to force through some pawn moves so I can make better decisions about my own pawn moves on the kingside if I need to make them. But then I thought he is gonna have to move something anyway so might as well get along with my plans} 10. a4 b6 {my feeling is that this is necessary as otherwise white goes a5} 11. g5 Nfe8 12. Nge2 Bxh3 {Now it felt right to take since I can harass his rook and the white squares are a little tender} 13. Rxh3 Qd7 14. Qd3 Rb8 15. b3 { Around here I was more worried about some type of f4 move but actually not too worried ;-)} b5 {I’ve forced through my break in the position and I felt that now I would get a weakness on c4 to play against and if white doesn’t achieve anything on the kingside he will be completely overextended with nothing but weaknesses and a weak king.} 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ra7 bxc4 18. bxc4 Ra8 $1 { only reasonable move I felt, I improve my knight which is more active on b6 and also eliminate this annoyingrook} 19. Rxa8 Nxa8 20. Rf3 {now we see a plus of Bxh3 and Qd7. The rook has to move so that white can play Ng3} Nb6 21. Ng3 g6 {again logical, I sort of felt like all my moves were natural and in accordance with my understanding of the position. I stop Nf5 ideas and now my knight can come into play through the g7 square and later we’ll see about breaking with the f-pawn} 22. Nge2 (22. Nf5 {although I felt it couldn’t possibly work I was still naturally more worried about a sacrifice here. Still I seemed to have work out ok how to defend here.} gxf5 23. exf5 f6 24. g6 hxg6 25. Rg3 g5 26. Ne4 Ng7 27. hxg5 fxg5 28. Bxg5 Bxg5 29. Rxg5 Rxf5 {I actually oked at something like this and although there is still work to do, white obviously doesn’t have enough for a piece}) 22... Ng7 { the knight is ready to come alive} 23. Nd1 $6 Qg4 $1 $15 {seriously probing the kingside, I was starting to feel really confident about my position here!} 24. Rg3 Qxh4 {I couldn’t see a way for him to trap the queen here so I just went for it even though I felt I could still chicken out and be better with 24. ..Qd7 (remember the d7 square from the 2nd round game, there the retreat was good!!)} 25. Ne3 (25. Qf3 { the blitz "way" to try and trap the queen but easily met with...} f5 26. gxf6 ( 26. Rh3 Qxe4 $19) 26... Qxf6 $17) 25... Nh5 {best move} 26. Rg4 Qh1%2B (26... Qh3 {seems more accurate}) 27. Nf1 {I somehow overlooked this move only thinking about Rg1 and Ng1 but it doesn’t matter} f5 28. exf5 Rxf5 {I felt like I should keep my kingside structure in place and computer agrees, this is better than 28....gxf5} 29. f4 $2 {A timetrouble desperado and one I overlooked resulting in me not reacting well to it} e4 $2 (29... exf4 {not much wrong with this, I keep control of the square e5, enabling Nd7-e5 in some lines and well it’s difficult to find a move for white!}) 30. Qc3 {threatening some evil things on the long diagonal and now I realize that my intended 30...Qf3 he has 31.Ne3 (which I thought was strong at the time). That plus I now was also in timetrouble with like 3 minutes vs his 2 meant my stress level was rising!} Bf8 (30... Qf3 {is probably best} 31. Ne3 {I have} {which somehow I overlooked. My calculation in this game became really dodgy after I missed 27.Nf1} Nxf4 32. Nxf4 Rxf4) 31. Rg1 Qh4%2B 32. Kd1 Nxf4 {some slight panic but if he takes twice, I already have two pawns for the exchange plus he has a dodgy king, no more trouble on long diagonal and I shouldn’t lose.} 33. Nxf4 Rxf4 34. Bb2 $2 (34. Bxf4 {he should just take} Qxf4 $13 {I felt I should be able to inconvenience him at least a bit in severe timetrouble, for instance} 35. Ne3 $2 Qf3%2B $19) 34... Na4 { pattern recognition, there is no mate and I am just completely winning} 35. Qh8%2B Kf7 36. Ba1 Qh3 37. Ng3 e3 $2 {both of us had serious timetrouble here like already pointed out. Like 1 minute each plus the 30 seconds each move} ( 37... Rf2 {is best}) 38. Bf6 $2 (38. Rh1 $1 { he misses his chance to give me a serous headache} e2%2B {was my intended move} 39. Kd2 $1 {only move} e1=Q%2B {computer says 39...Rf1 but this was what I had planned in the short time I had to think about it} 40. Rxe1 {but the thing is it’s not so clear and I am glad I didn’t have this position on the board having to make my 40th move!}) 38... Qh2 {back to completely winning} 39. Ne2 Rf2 40. Re1 Qh5 {Time control reached and I can finally take a piss and take a huge deep breath. As completely winning as this position obviously is I still had a strangely hard time to calculate a clear way to force an immediate resignation} 41. Ba1 Qh4 $1 {the most accurate I felt and computer agress. White now has almost a zugwang. The knight cannot move and the queen has no squares and king moves I take on c4 with check} 42. Bf6 Nb6 {still ok but meek} (42... Qe4 {I saw this but just couldn’t calculate it properly, very bad technique and once again sloppy calculation. I felt this was winning but kept seeing some ghosts where I felt I didn’t have full control but this is just completely and utterly over in a few moves.} 43. Qxh7%2B Ke8 44. Kc1 { Qb1 with mate was threatened} (44. Qb7 Qd3%2B 45. Kc1 Qd2%2B 46. Kb1 Qxe1%2B $19 {etc }) 44... Qxc4%2B 45. Kb1 (45. Nc3 Qd3 $19) 45... Qb3%2B 46. Kc1 Rxf6 47. gxf6 Qb2%2B 48. Kd1 Qd2#) 43. Ba1 Nxc4 44. Kc1 Nd2 45. Bc3 Nc4 46. Ng3 e2 47. Nxe2 Qxg5%2B 48. Kb1 Qf5%2B 49. Ka1 Qh3 50. Ng3 {It’s unbelivable how he didn’t lose in 2-3 moves for like the last 15-16 moves!! Tremendous fighting spirit by my opponent in this game!} Qh2 51. Ne2 Ne5 52. Nc1 Qh3 53. Na2 g5 54. Bxe5 (54. Rb1 Rf1 (54... Qd3 55. Rb7%2B Be7) 55. Be1 Bg7 56. Rb7%2B Nd7%2B) 54... dxe5 55. d6 Bg7 56. Qd8 e4%2B {ahhh finally....I was just totally done mentally and physically after this game. Not calculation 42...Qe4 correctly cost me a lot of time and energy!} 0-1'/></object><br />
<br />
Tomorrow it's Italian Carlo D'Amore rated 2505. I have the black pieces again. I need a good result to have some chances for a norm.</div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-20691535620981712422011-03-12T05:52:00.000-08:002011-03-12T05:52:15.449-08:00Chess sucks ;-(Lost somewhat embarrasingly in the 4th but ok I'll try to move on with life.<br />
<br />
Here is 3rd round game:<br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.11"] [Round "3"] [White "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Black "Larusson, Petur Atli"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2338"] [BlackElo "2095"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2010.03.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Rb8 7. a3 Nh6 8. Rb1 ( 8. d4 cxd4 (8... Nf5 9. dxc5 (9. d5 {Is probably what I would have played}) 9... dxc5 10. Qxd8%2B Nxd8 11. Bf4 Ra8 { is probably best but not what I was intending}) 9. Bxh6 Bxh6 10. Nxd4 Bd7 ( 10... Nxd4 11. Qxd4 $14) 11. c5 dxc5 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Bxc6%2B bxc6 14. Qc2 Qd2 15. Qxd2 Bxd2 16. Ne4 Rxb2 17. Rfb1 Rxb1%2B 18. Rxb1 Ba5 19. Rb8%2B Bd8 20. Nxc5 { maybe micro for white}) 8... a6 9. b4 cxb4 10. axb4 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. d4 Nf5 13. e3 O-O 14. Bd2 $6 {I actually don’t like this move now, it was based on a misunderstanding that I had some tricks based on e4/Qc1 trapping the f5 knight somehow or forcing weaknesses. Since I don’t see much for white after 14...e6 I should seek to improve here} d5 $2 (14... e6 $1 {The plan must be d5 and make sense of the knight on f5 giving it the route f5-d6-c4} 15. Nh4 Nce7 16. Nxf5 Nxf5 17. d5 {this is one way to stop ...d5 from black but still black should be perfectly ok here}) (14... e5 15. d5 Nce7 $14 { this is what I thought he would do}) 15. Nxd5 Qxd5 $2 (15... Be6 { is much better} 16. Nf4 Bc4) 16. Ne5 $16 Qd6 17. Nxc6 Rb6 18. Na5 h5 19. Bc3 h4 20. Qf3 hxg3 21. hxg3 Qc7 22. Rfc1 g5 23. e4 g4 24. Qd3 (24. Qxg4 {no need to et too fancy, only reason to play this is hoping he falls for ...Nxd4} Rg6 ( 24... Nxd4 25. Qxg7%2B Kxg7 26. Bxd4%2B)) 24... Nh6 25. d5 Bxc3 26. Rxc3 Qd6 27. Nc6 f6 28. Qe3 1-0 '/></object><br />
<br />
And here is the morale-killing game against Gustafsson. I hope he isn't too harsh on...http://www.jan-gustafsson.de/nc/jans-kolumne/</div><br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.12"] [Round "4"] [White "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Black "Gustafsson, Jan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2338"] [BlackElo "2647"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2010.03.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. c4 e6 {He thought for 10 minutes what to play here, was good to see that like me he didn’t have time to prepare anything} 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 dxc4 4. Qa4%2B { I don’t trust the Na3 lines and haven’t studied them well enough to play against this kind ofplayer} Nd7 5. Qxc4 a6 6. d4 (6. Bg2 Ngf6) 6... c5 { already I felt similarly bad to what I did in a game against M.Luch in Budapest some years ago. Also there I was lost in like 20 moves with my opponent playing only naturalmoves} 7. Bg2 b5 8. Qd3 Bb7 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Qxe3 Ngf6 12. O-O O-O 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. Ne5 $2 {I should just finish development with Nbd2 here and then at least he would have to work for several hours to try and grind me down.} Nxe5 15. Qxe5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Rac8 17. Nc3 Qb7%2B 18. Kg1 b4 19. Nb1 (19. Na4 {I thought this was losing so I rather quickly played 19.Nb1 by process of elimination. However maybe I can fight somehow in this variation like in this sample line} Qb5 20. Qxb5 axb5 21. Nb6 Rc2 (21... Rc7 22. Rac1) 22. Kf1 Rxb2 23. Rab1 Rxb1 24. Rxb1 Rb8 25. Rd1 g6 26. Nd7 Nxd7 27. Rxd7 Ra8 28. Rd2) 19... Rfd8 (19... Rfd8 {Maybe a bit premature to resign but it’s very close to hopeless, I just had no energy or will to fight so I just called it a day.} 20. Nd2 Rd5 21. Qe3 Rc2 $17 {also during the game I thought trippling up on the d-file was fairly devestating}) 0-1 '/></object></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-80194002371720713952011-03-12T00:55:00.001-08:002011-03-12T00:55:52.325-08:00Gustafsson in the morning roundNot a fan of morning rounds I barely feel awake. But I won in 3rd and play against GM Jan Gustafsson 2647 with the white pieces. I have no idea what I want to play or what he will play.Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-66689292842684340172011-03-10T17:51:00.000-08:002011-03-10T17:51:18.181-08:00My 2nd round near "something vs 2600 GM ;-)<div>I possibly would have written a very happy blogpost had I simply chosen ..Bd7 but still I can take good things from the game. White tomorrow vs 2095 player.<br />
<br />
<object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.10"] [Round "2"] [White "Hansen, Sune Berg"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D94"] [WhiteElo "2603"] [BlackElo "2338"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2010.03.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 {Spent some time here deciding on what to play. I really expected 1. e4 and prepared mostly weird lines I found he played vs the French. Also he had been playing almost only e4 recently on ICC so I didn’t think he’d play d4 openings. Also when he has, he has usually started with 1.d4 so 1.Nf3 was a bit surprising} 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 {Another slight surprise, thought he’d play 3. g3 since he chose this move order. I continue to use way too much time on the early moves here} d5 4. e3 {here I had a hard time deciding on a line. Do I play ...e6, ...g6 or even ...a6. Is ...Bf5 playable here? These are questions that should have been answered properly in tournament preparation which I don’t get a good grade for this time!} g6 { finally decided on this line but have never play it and don’t know it well} 5. d4 Bg7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 (7... Bg4 {I knew this was the main move but for some reason I felt like he would know too much here and I would drift further behind on the clock and still have no idea about the position which is way I chose my 7th move which still looks a bit odd to be honest}) 8. cxd5 { Logical since after white takes on d5 my knight should probably be on c6 if possible. Therefore I decided on another move name taking with the knight trying to get a Grunfeld typeposition} Nxd5 9. e4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 c5 {To be hones t I didn’t feel great here but slightly better than 4 moves ago. I very pessimistically felt I would be punished soon here and kept spending too much time} 11. Bg5 Re8 12. Rb1 Qa5 {I felt during the game that I should have placed the queen on c7 here but I had tricks in mind here.} 13. Qc2 {Computer a ctually like 13...Qc7 here!! I thought about it and wanted to play it but it just feels so stupid to play Qa5-c7. I therefore chose 13...a6 which felt right because in a lot of lines I have trouble on b5 and the computer agrees and has ...a6 #2 on it’s list. I also thought about...} a6 (13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Bxd4 {but I think I assessed correctly that white is much better after...} 15. Rb5 $1 Qc3 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 {that white is much better. He can quickly reroute the bishop to the long diagonal Bg5-c1-b2 and I just felt really bad about this position and it’s not worth a pawn!}) (13... b6 { is of course out of the question} 14. Rb5 Qa6 (14... Qa3 15. Bc1 $16) 15. Rxc5 $16) 14. Bd2 Qc7 {ok, now I am at least forced to go back so looks better and he retreated the bishop as well} 15. d5 c4 {I was starting to feel ok in this position. I felt like if I could take care of the c-pawn the position should be equal} 16. Be2 e6 {of course} 17. dxe6 Rxe6 18. Nd4 Re8 19. a4 Nc5 { here I couldn’t calculate exactly how to take care of the pawn but I felt ... Nc5 must be the correct move so I just played it and decided to postpone my decision} 20. f3 {so here Rb1-b4xc4 is the main problem} Be5 (20... Bd7 21. Rb4 {computer has this equal and says} Nd3 {a move I didn’t see working} 22. Bxd3 cxd3 23. Qxd3 Bf8 24. Rc4 Qe5 {I guess the computer think the bishop pair is enough compensation for black here, it even has a slight plus for black.}) 21. h3 Bxh3 $1 {here I was in huge timetrouble with only like 2-3 minutes left. Fortunately he started to spend some time here and then started shaking his head and was visibly upset with his position. That gave me confidence but perhaps too much as very soon after I drifted from my inital plan} 22. Bxc4 ( 22. gxh3 {is a draw offer} Bxd4%2B 23. cxd4 { not taking I think black is somewhat better} Qg3%2B {with a perpetual}) (22. f4 { I was initally worried about but then saw I had very dangerous play} Bxd4%2B 23. cxd4 Nxe4 24. gxh3 Ng3 { Later I saw this move and felt it was quite ok for black} (24... Qd7 { was the first move I saw and seems like black has interesting compensation}) 25. Bf3 (25. Bxc4 $2 Nxf1 26. Rxf1 Rac8 $19) 25... Nxf1 26. Kxf1 $13) 22... Bh2%2B {this was so tempting but unfortunately I missed a move in my calculations } (22... Bd7 $1 $15 {This is by far the best practical choice and was my inital plan but then I felt tempted by the other line. If only I had used my time more wisely in the opening I would have been able to calculate better here and take a good decision. After 22..:Bd7 I think black is better. White immediate problems on a4 and ...Nxe4 is possible as well so it’s not easy to find the next move for white here.}) 23. Kh1 Bxg2%2B $2 { A grotesque miscalculation. It was still not too late to simply retreat} 24. Kxg2 Qg3%2B 25. Kh1 Qh3 {seems like the only move to continue} (25... Bg1 { this almost works but unfortunately the queen controls the 2nd rank after the d2 bishop move}) (25... Re5 26. Be1 $18) 26. Bc1 $8 {this I simply missed} (26. Be1 Bf4%2B 27. Kg1 Be3%2B {was what I intended but 27...Re5 might be stronger} 28. Bf2 {with at least a draw for black if he wants. If rook interposes then ... Re5 and black is winning} Qg3%2B) (26. Rf2 Bg3%2B 27. Kg1 Bxf2%2B 28. Kxf2 Qh2%2B { with perpetual}) 26... Bg3%2B $2 { bad move in time trouble but was already too late} (26... Be5%2B {is what the computer likes but I didn’t see. It still thinks white is much better of course.} 27. Kg1 Rac8) (26... Bf4%2B 27. Kg1 Bxc1 28. Rfxc1 Re5 29. Qh2 $18 { better than 29.Bf1 which I thought during the game was the best defence althought I didn’t have time to calculatemuch} (29. Bf1 Rg5%2B 30. Bg2 Nd3 $1 { black might be hangin on here!?!})) 27. Kg1 Re5 28. Qg2 Qh4 29. Ne2 Nxe4 30. fxe4 Rxe4 31. Bxf7%2B 1-0 '/></object></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-74407372876841459512011-03-10T14:44:00.000-08:002011-03-10T15:42:47.894-08:00Reykjavik Open has started - My 1st round gameMy favourite tournament has started. Time to meet foreign friends and have fun on the 64 squares. I started with a victory with white in the first round against an 1800+ player. I would have preferred black since I now get the YoYo i.e. black against strong players and if I lose white against lower rated rinse and repeat!<br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Black "Fivelstad, Jon Olav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2338"] [BlackElo "1834"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2010.03.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 7. Nc3 (7. d4 { usually play this in online blitz games but decided I wanted more experience in these typical English type positions. Also it’s not much for white if black "finds" the following moves but still a micro-edge for white I guess.} exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Nf6 10. Qa4%2B c6 11. Rd1 Qb6 {not much}) 7... Nb6 8. a3 a5 { A rare move here but i think I reacted "correctly" at least according to the Marin books on the English.} 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Na4 Nd5 (11... Nxa4 12. Qxa4 {this seems comfortable for white with a buildup on the c-file}) 12. Bc5 Bd6 13. Rc1 Rc8 (13... h6 {this is the move here, taking control of g5 to prepare Qd7 so that white doesn’t have Ng5. One game used a similar plan to what I did in the game...} 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 b6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Rfd1 $16 {Kasparov-Georgiev, St.John 1988}) 14. d4 $1 { A very thematic move in these lines} exd4 (14... e4 15. Ne5 $14 {I thought this was a better choice, I think white is still slightly better but it’s still a fight and nothing is clear}) 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 $16 {I just couldn’t see how black was to avoid weakening himself severly in this position} Qf6 17. Qd2 {A safe practical choice to keep the queens on since he was getting short of time but on the other hand a little lazy not just to calculate Qxf6 properly} ( 17. Qxf6 {I saw that this looked promising but failed to calculate it properly} Nxf6 (17... gxf6 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Nb6 Rc5 22. Nd7 {I completely failed to see this move in my calculations and this end the game on the spot} (22. Rd1 {was the only move I considered here, I felt it was slightly better for white but no clear enough so I went for 17.Qd2 instead}) 22... Rb5 23. a4 Rxb2 24. Nxf6%2B $18) 18. Bxb7 Rb8 19. Bc6 Bb3 20. Bd4 $16 { this is a very safe line keeping a totally free extra pawn and black has very little counterplay but I always found something in my sloppycalculations}) 17... Rcd8 $2 { position was difficult but this just drops a pawn to a little neat trick} 18. Bxd6 Rxd6 19. Rxc7 {knight is pinned and white wins a pawn. Just had to calculate if black had anything funny here and didn’t see anything.} Rfd8 20. Rxb7 {yum yum} Nb6 21. Qxa5 {yum yum} Nc4 22. Qb4 {I felt it was more important to exchance at least one pair of rooks rather than queens. I felt if} (22. Qc3 Qxc3 23. Nxc3 Rd2 {he was getting a pawn back but a) up 3 pawns that hardly matters and b) I can just play 24.Rb1 and there are no tricks.}) 22... Qe5 23. Rb8 h6 (23... Qxe2 24. Qxd6 $1 $18 {I hate to admit I saw this idea but wanted to play 24.b3 and then take but taking immediately works}) 24. Nc5 Rd4 25. Rxd8%2B {I almost forgot my rook was hanging and came very close to leaving it there which would have been quite shocking!} Rxd8 26. Nxe6 Qxe6 27. Rc1 {up 3 pawns and all counterplay snuffed out my opponent called it a day} 1-0 '/></object></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-87153206432610991132011-03-06T17:08:00.000-08:002011-03-06T17:11:56.990-08:00The Icelandic League, Second WeekendThis weekend we finished the Icelandic League. It is played over two weekends, one in October and one in March. Each team has eight boards and it's round-robin 7 rounds. This year my team came painfully close to finally catching the title for the first time. We, Vestmannaeyjar Chess Club (Taflfélag Vestmannaeyja in Icelandic or T.V.) came 2nd with 40,5 out of the possible 56 and only 2 points behind the winners, Bolungarvik Chess Club. We played them in the last round and we won 4,5-3,5 but we needed 5,5-2,5 to get the title. It wasn't to be this time but for a moment it looked like the match could swing our way. I and board 8 both made draws but for a moment it looked like both of us had winning chances so the last round was very exciting and nervewracking for team members, team followers and captains.<br />
<br />
The top 3:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="CRs1"><tbody>
<tr class="CRg1b"><td class="CRc">Rk.</td><td class="CRc">SNo</td><td class="CR">Team</td><td class="CR">Team</td><td class="CRc">Games</td><td class="CRc"> + </td><td class="CRc"> = </td><td class="CRc"> - </td><td class="CRc"> TB1 </td><td class="CRc"> TB2 </td><td class="CRc"> TB3 </td></tr>
<tr class="CRg2"><td class="CRc">1</td><td class="CRc">8</td><td class="CR"><a class="CRdb" href="http://www.chess-results.com/tnr38865.aspx?art=20&lan=1&m=-1&wi=1000&snr=8">TB A</a></td><td class="CR">TB A</td><td class="CRc">7</td><td class="CRc">5</td><td class="CRc">0</td><td class="CRc">2</td><td class="CRc">42.5</td><td class="CRc">10</td><td class="CRc">0</td></tr>
<tr class="CRg1"><td class="CRc">2</td><td class="CRc">4</td><td class="CR"><a class="CRdb" href="http://www.chess-results.com/tnr38865.aspx?art=20&lan=1&m=-1&wi=1000&snr=4">TV A</a></td><td class="CR">TV A</td><td class="CRc">7</td><td class="CRc">6</td><td class="CRc">0</td><td class="CRc">1</td><td class="CRc">40.5</td><td class="CRc">12</td><td class="CRc">0</td></tr>
<tr class="CRg2"><td class="CRc">3</td><td class="CRc">2</td><td class="CR"><a class="CRdb" href="http://www.chess-results.com/tnr38865.aspx?art=20&lan=1&m=-1&wi=1000&snr=2">Hellir A</a></td><td class="CR">Hellir A</td><td class="CRc">7</td><td class="CRc">7</td><td class="CRc">0</td><td class="CRc">0</td><td class="CRc">39.5</td><td class="CRc">14</td><td class="CRc">0</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
It's interesting that the 3rd place finisher, my former club Hellir won all their matces but didn't score enough game points vs the "lesser" opponents and so came a little short this time as well. All in all a very interesting competition.<br />
<br />
For many players this is also sort of like a family reunion of sorts because the country is so small and most players know each other very well and sometimes for retired players this is the only time you see them each year and is always fun. This also means that for some the quality of the games is less important because many players do a lot of walking a round to see people, look at positions and have a short chat in the hallway. One of my favourite weekends each year!<br />
<br />
Here is my morning game from Saturdays rounds.<br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Icelandic League"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.05"] [Round "6"] [White "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Black "Traustason, Ingi Tandri"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2338"] [BlackElo "1834"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2010.??.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. c4 {My opponent here is rated 1834, a recreational player but has been able to get some scalps including 2300%2B FM’s. He perhaps lacks positional fundamentals but his strenghts probably lie in fighting and trying to create complicated positions.} c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. a3 {I decided to deviate here from my usual repertoire which is 5.Nf3 because of lack of practise and memorisation in these lines recenty.} Nf6 6. Rb1 O-O { Normally black prevents b4 with ...a5 here.} 7. b4 cxb4 8. axb4 {I’ve exchanged a flank pawn for a pawn that controls the center which is a small gain in terms of chess principles but the position is still just equal.} d6 9. Nf3 Bf5 10. d3 d5 $6 {Ok now we add another little plus for white. We already made theoretically favourable exchange and now black moves a pawn for the second time and we already had the advantage of the first move! This suggest that there might exist a concrete way to punish black...not saying what I did was but based on these factors there might exist such a way ;-)} 11. b5 $1 { Accurate because if I take first on d5 the knight has more options. It must go to a5 now where it’s not thatuseful} Na5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Bd2 ({ Of course I was never playing} 14. e4 $2 {for several reason. One it just seems good for black, and even if it wasn’t I don’t like giving black unnecessary counterplay and lets say that black got pressure by sacking piece for two pawns, I don’t like it and would rather keep control and play positionally. That’s my philosophy usually vs lower rated players.} Bxe4 15. dxe4 Qxe4%2B 16. Be3 Rfd8 17. Qc1 Rac8 $19) 14... Qd8 (14... Qa2 {seemed better to me during the game but the computer confirms I had the right idea planned here with...} 15. Rb4 $14) 15. Nh4 $16 {Even though I have yet to castle I have a big plus here because of some clumsy placement of black’s pieces. Black has to make some choices here between bad and worse! Let me wreck his structure and get the bishop pair or give up an exchange for murky compensation at best} Be6 { Now I win an exchange by force, the alternative was...} (15... Rc8 16. Nxf5 gxf5 17. O-O b6 $16 {With a big positonal plus for white but black can still try to fight for his life.}) 16. Qa4 b6 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. O-O {king is safe, there is no imminent danger on the long diagonal which can always be closed with f3 and immediate ...Bh3 is not a problem because the knight covers g2} Nb7 19. Be3 (19. Bb4 {My intuition said Bb4 which the computer likes as well but I can’t remember why I changed my mind}) 19... Nd6 20. Rfc1 Bh3 21. f3 (21. Rc7 Nf5 22. Rxa7 Qd5 23. Nf3 Nxe3 24. fxe3 { This is how the computer would have handled it!}) 21... Qd5 22. Bf2 g5 23. Ng2 {I am making my pieces a bit passive here but I still felt in full control but still black is more active than I should have allowed} Qb7 24. Ne3 h5 25. Rc6 Qd7 (25... Bd7 26. Nd5 {sacking the exchange back was my idea in case of this and also one of the points of 24.Ne3}) 26. Rbc1 Rd8 27. Qb3 Be6 28. Qb4 Ra8 29. d4 Qe8 30. d5 Bd7 31. Nc4 {Last few moves have been in mild joint timetrouble. Here I decide to just give the exchange back for a big big positional plus, exchanging material advantage for a positional one} Bxc6 32. dxc6 Nxc4 33. Qxc4 {Aside from the protected passed pawn, I will soon gain the only good file, black has weaker pawns and especially the pawns on the kingside can become weak. Also the black bishop is a bit empty but the white one could be useful in cleaning up the queenside or protecting a passed pawn there} Rc8 34. Qd5 Bf6 35. Rd1 {And here, for the second time this weekend my opponent ran out of time but like before in a lost position} 1-0 '/></object></div><br />
Here is my second round game in the deciding match. Like I said in earlier entry, my opponent was 1977 World Cadet Champion (U-16) ahead of Kasparov and Short!<br />
<br />
The earlier game finished around 15:00 and then I went and drove my teammates, Jan Gustafsson, Tomi Nyback, Kamil Miton and Jon Ludvig Hammer to the hotel to get some sleep for the 17:00 second round. I myself went downtown to a restaurant and had myself a good seafood soup while contemplating what to do against my opponent. Even though he is retired from tournament chess, he plays some games in the league and actually more in the last few years than before and also I have played him many times in blitz tournaments so I know his repertoire fairly well. He is one of those players that more or less always played the same and stuck to his guns and still does more or less. It has pros and cons, it means he usually has a familiar position but also he is easy to prepare for but that is a bigger problem in this era than it might have been back in his playing days.<br />
<br />
Ok so basically I knew the game would start 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 which is my beloved French Defence. What I didn't know was what would be his 3rd move. He has played both 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2 against me in blitz games and during his career he played both and switched between the two a lot. <br />
<br />
I have been playing more Winawers recently so I more or less decided not to prepare that as I feel pretty good in those lines and think I can just show up more or less and get a decent game in that line. Vs the Tarrasch however I have gone back and forth between 3...c5, 3...Be7 and 3...Nf6 a lot so I needed to decide in this short one hour+ what to do against the Tarrasch if he played that. I remembered our blitz game which was mainline stuff there with Bd6/Qc7. I looked up some games and saw a game of his vs Hjartarson which gave me an idea what to play. I had played ...g6 myself in the blitz game but saw that Hjartarson played ...h6 in the same position. Now this didn't score very well in the database but I still saw some recent games with encouraging results from for instance Emanuel Berg. So during the next hour I looked at these games and played around with the position with the engine running to get an idea what I wanted to do vs certain moves. Long story short my preparation worked out perfectly and I got a playable good position with a good time edge.....lets go on to the game:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Icelandic League"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Arnason, Jon L"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C06"] [WhiteElo "2500"] [BlackElo "2338"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2010.??.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 {Ok, so he decided on the Tarrasch this time} Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. O-O Qc7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bh4 {We had played this before in a blitz game} Nh5 14. Qc2 h6 15. Bg6 {this was the focus of my preparation, this he had played against Hjartarson which was drawn a few moves later} Rxf3 {This hardly came as a shock because it’s known in this position and similar ones. The speed with which I played it and the previous moves, only gaining time on my clock as the moves increased must have unnerved my opponent a little bit} 16. Bxh5 { this was a bit disappointing as most of my preparation centered around white taking on f3.} (16. gxf3 Bxh2%2B 17. Kh1 Nf4 18. Ng3 e5 {This was my preparation and it’s well....complicated!! I wasn’t sure I would remember everything but reaching this position I would have a time edge and have to work things out. The computers like it at this point and Berg did ok in his game and was close to winning vs very strong opponent. If white takes on h2 believe it or not black plays ..:Qd6 and the computers still rate it about even, even slightly preferring black down a whole rook!!}) 16... Bxh2%2B {I played this quickly as well....I had spent less time on this variation but found some games and played around with it a little bit as well} 17. Kh1 Rf5 18. Bg6 {I found out later after the game that this was some kind of idea from Timman. At least that’s what Baklan from the other team said.} Bd6 19. Bxf5 exf5 20. Rad1 $6 { This might be an inaccuracy or even a bad move since black gets to have his way after this. Probably...} (20. f4 {is necessary as otherwise black gets in ...f4 himself with increased scope for his bishop. Baklan also said that white must play f4 here and is probably slightly better.}) 20... Qf7 { My first "personal" move of the game and the first time I had to think. I was up to 1:38 on the clock here (we start with 1:30) and my opponent had used up a little over 30%2B minutes on his clock. This is also probably the best move. The queen should be moved to where it has more influence on action on the queenside and now ...Qh5 is a threat (followed by g5 if the bishop is pinned) and also g6 is covered so I can play ...f4 in other lines.} 21. Kg1 g5 { here I spent way too much time giving up most of my time advantage. I just couldn’t decide between g5/f4 or ...f4 immediately. The position has different character in both cases and I just couldn’t decide which was better. In retrospect putting the white bishop on h2 seems more logical and I should have just more or less bashed out the next two moves, keeping a big time edge.} 22. Bg3 f4 23. Bh2 Bf8 {Interesting idea I think. I remove the bishop so that ... f3 is available (Bd6 was hanging) and also the bishop gets ready to switch diagonals putting pressure on the weak d4 pawn. I don’t think moves like ...g4 are on the agenda for black here.} 24. Qb3 Bg4 {I wanted to force through f3 which gives him some weakness, like the e3 square and the g1-a7 diagonal which can be important because of the weakness of the d4 pawn} 25. f3 Bf5 26. g3 { an understandable move as white doesn’t want to allow black to build up at his leisure. Also this might increase the scope of the bishop. Maybe if white want’s to do this he should play 26.g4 to force me to take but it looks ugly, I don’t know if I take there or let it stand.} Re8 27. Nc3 Bh3 (27... fxg3 28. Bxg3 Re3 {this crossed my mind as well and looks good} 29. Qxd5 { for instance is good for black} Be6 30. Qb5 Bc4 31. Qa4 Bxf1 32. Rxf1 $17) 28. gxf4 (28. Rf2 {this allows for instance...} Nxd4 29. Qxd5 Qxd5 30. Nxd5 Ne2%2B 31. Kh1 Nxg3%2B $17) 28... Bxf1 29. Rxf1 Nxd4 30. Qxd5 Ne2%2B {Here I felt very good as from now on only I can win and losing is next to impossible!} 31. Kf2 Nxc3 32. Qxf7%2B Kxf7 33. bxc3 Bc5%2B 34. Kg3 {here I spent some time trying to figure out what was best, 34...gxf4, Bd6 or Re2} Re2 (34... gxf4%2B 35. Kg4 { this I didn’t like as I can’t hold on to the pawn....} Be3 36. Bxf4 { he simply has the f5 square for the king and I can’t harass him}) (34... Bd6 35. Kg4 Re2 36. Bg3 Rxa2 37. fxg5 Bxg3 38. Kxg3 hxg5 {this is more or less the position from the game so I don’t see this as being better than ...Re2}) 35. fxg5 hxg5 36. Bg1 $1 {going for the rook ending which seems forced for me} Bxg1 37. Rxg1 Rxa2 38. Re1 Kf6 {some criticized this move and suggested ...Ra4 but I felt like it didn’t matter intead white would have Re5 available and ...Ra4 also gives him access with his king to better squares via f2} 39. f4 gxf4%2B 40. Kxf4 {I am pretty sure it’s just theoretically drawn now. I still have to keep trying since it’s a team competition and we really needed the win but also I can play completely risk-free even if that wasn’t the case so why not test it, stranger things have happened. I don’t really have any big annotations for the rest, it’s just random winning attempts with very little time on the clock} Ra3 41. Rc1 b5 42. Ke4 Ke6 43. Kd4 Kd6 44. Rh1 Ra4%2B 45. Kd3 Kc5 46. Rh5%2B Kb6 47. Kc2 Rc4 48. Kb3 a5 49. Rh6%2B Rc6 50. Rh4 Rd6 51. Rg4 Kc5 52. Rg8 a4%2B 53. Ka3 Rc6 54. Rg4 Re6 55. Rg8 Re1 56. Rc8%2B Kd5 57. Kb2 Re2%2B 58. Ka3 Rc2 59. Rc7 Rh2 60. Rc8 Rg2 61. Rd8%2B Kc4 62. Rc8%2B Kd5 63. Rd8%2B Kc4 64. Rc8%2B Kd3 65. Rc5 Rg1 66. Rxb5 Kxc3 {The final "attempt"} 67. Rc5%2B {With a draw offer and a grin which I accept along with gratulating his team with the championship which was secured with this draw} ({Of course not...} 67. Kxa4 $4 Ra1#) 1/2-1/2 '/></object></div><br />
A good game I felt and I think I played pretty good. Slightly frustrating not to win but still can't see clearcut improvement on where the win should be.<br />
<br />
After the game it was the closing ceremony where prized were handed out, some beers were consumed and some interesting chats with some interesting people. For instance I talked a lot with GM Olafsson and GM Arnason and we talked a bit about old masters and some old stories. For instance it was pointed out to me that Levenfish was a great talent in the USSR, not less as such than Botvinnik but in those times being a communist was more imporant and therefore Botvinnik got all the chances.<br />
<br />
Also some chat about his career. He felt that of all the players he faced against Smyslov and Petrosian he truly felt like he didn't have a break. He managed though to draw against Petrosian but also mentioned an ending he felt he would have held against anybody in the world but lost against Smyslov. You decide for yourself:<br />
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</style><span class="boardshown" id="toggle9392385834"><a href="javascript:showboards('9392385834')" title="Show ChessFlash Game Viewer"><img height="16" src="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/opensmall.gif" width="16" />(show chess board)</a></span><span class="boardhidden" id="board9392385834"><a href="javascript:hideboards('9392385834')" title="Hide ChessFlash Game Viewer"><img height="0" src="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/closesmall.gif" width="0" />(hide chess board)</a></span><br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&autoplay=true&pgndata=[[Event "Haninge"] [Site "Haninge"] [Date "1989.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Smyslov, Vassily"] [Black "Arnason, Jon L"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2560"] [BlackElo "2550"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "1989.??.??"] [EventType "game"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1989.12.01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. a3 Bxc3%2B 7. Qxc3 d6 8. e3 Bb7 9. Be2 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. b4 Ne4 12. Qb3 Rb8 13. Bb2 Qe7 14. Rfd1 d5 15. Nd2 dxc4 16. Qxc4 Nd6 17. Qd3 cxd4 18. Qxd4 e5 19. Qd3 Rfd8 20. e4 Nf8 21. Qe3 f6 22. f3 Rbc8 23. Qb3%2B Qe6 24. Rac1 Qxb3 25. Nxb3 Ne6 26. Rxc8 Bxc8 27. a4 Kf7 28. g3 Ke7 29. b5 Nb7 30. Ba3%2B Ke8 31. Rc1 Bd7 32. Kf2 Rc8 33. Rxc8%2B Bxc8 34. Ke3 Nc7 35. f4 Be6 36. Nd2 exf4%2B 37. gxf4 f5 38. Bd3 g6 39. Kd4 fxe4 40. Bxe4 Na5 41. Ke5 Kd8 42. Kf6 Nb3 43. Be7%2B Kc8 44. Bb4 Kd8 45. h4 Nxd2 46. Bxd2 Bb3 47. a5 Nxb5 48. Kg7 Nd6 49. Bd3 Nf5%2B 50. Bxf5 gxf5 51. Kxh7 Ke7 52. Kg7 Bd1 53. a6 Kd6 54. Kg6 Be2 55. h5 Bxh5%2B 56. Kxh5 Kd5 57. Kg5 1-0 '/></object></div>We also talked about some old adjourned game where another Icelandic player was playing against a Romanian GM, this was in 1978. The Romanian called the Icelandic player and said they should accept a draw. The Icelandic player accepted but when he came to the board the morning after (of course not having analysed the game at all) the Romanian player pretended to know nothing about the draw offer and they played on.<br />
<br />
Years later Arnason had an adjourned game with the same player. In a dinner the night before he told Tal this story. Tal became absolutely furious when he heard this....he couldn't believe what the Romanian GM did. So Tal invited Arnason to come to his room the next day and analyse the adjourned game. Needless to say Arnason punished the guy and won the full point!<br />
<br />
As a final random note I'll add that we somehow had three US Chess Leauge GOTY judges sitting almost completely next to each other. I was judge this year and on my team was fellow judge Jan Gustafsson and Robert Hess from the USA was also playing for another team in the league. Quite a coincidence!<br />
<br />
BS! the final note is of course this link: <a href="http://www.chess-results.com/tnr38865.aspx?art=4&lan=1&m=-1&wi=1000">http://www.chess-results.com/tnr38865.aspx?art=4&lan=1&m=-1&wi=1000</a> I was top scorer in the whole league although my good friend Stefan had higher percentage in fewer games and some players had 3 out of 3.Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-61682320075549597322011-03-05T07:41:00.001-08:002011-03-05T07:41:44.926-08:00Icelandic leagueWon my game again this morning but the opponent was much lower rated and I had white. In the final round we will play against the top team and we need to win 5,5-2,5 to get the title. That will be very difficult but doable even though they have rating advantage on most boards.<br />
<br />
I will most likely play against retired GM Jon Arnason, former world junior champion in 1977 (the year I was born)....ahead of Short and a certain young little Gary Kasparov!!<br />
<br />
So will be tough obviously but I and we will do our best.Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-71142822767407709572011-03-04T18:31:00.000-08:002011-03-04T18:31:04.397-08:00Played tonight in the Icelandic LeagueWas my birthday so nice to get the W but unfortunately my team lost the match meaning our chances of gettign the title are almost relegated to purely mathematical. I don't have time to add analysis or words because the next game is tomorrow morning, but anyway here is the game, nice to win with black against 2444 and member of the Icelandic Olympic team.<br />
<br />
I had prepared for a completely different opponent as their lineup surprised us. I thought I was black against IM Thorfinnsson who I also played against with black in the Reykjavik Championship in January. So all my preparation was preparing against the English Opening. When my opponent here opened 1.d4 I decided to deviate and not play the Benoni because I had no preparation and feared that my opponent had prepared something there. So I went for the closed Czech Benoni and also thought this was a good type opening to get my type of position vs him and also something he wasn't very familiar with. I know him pretty well so these choices are always very psychological.<br />
<br />
<div><object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Icelandic League"] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.03.04"] [Round "5"] [White "Gretarsson, Hjorvar Steinn"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A56"] [WhiteElo "2444"] [BlackElo "2338"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2010.??.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5 4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. h3 Na6 8. Be3 Nc7 9. Nge2 a6 10. a4 b6 11. Ng3 Nfe8 12. Qd2 g6 13. O-O f5 14. exf5 (14. Bh6 f4 $5 15. Bxf8 Bxf8 (15... Bg5 $2 16. h4 $1) 16. Nge2 f3 17. gxf3 Bxh3 18. Rfe1 Qh4 $36) 14... gxf5 15. f4 e4 16. Be2 Nf6 17. b4 $6 cxb4 18. Nd1 (18. Na2 a5 19. Bxb6 Nd7 20. Bf2 Nc5 21. Nc1 Bf6 $15) 18... a5 19. Bd4 (19. Bxb6 Nd7 20. Bd4 Nc5 $15) 19... Nd7 20. Ne3 (20. Nh5 Nc5 21. Bb2 Ne8 22. Qd4 Nf6 $17) 20... Nc5 21. Qb2 Bf6 22. Nc2 (22. Ngxf5 Bxf5 23. Nxf5 Bxd4%2B 24. Nxd4 Qf6 $15) 22... Bd7 23. Nh5 Bxd4%2B 24. Nxd4 Ne8 25. g4 Nf6 (25... Qh4 $5) 26. Ng3 fxg4 27. hxg4 (27. f5) 27... Nxg4 28. Bxg4 Bxg4 29. Qd2 Qh4 30. Qg2 Kh8 {time} 0-1 '/></object></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-57134930857751020742011-02-16T15:57:00.001-08:002011-02-16T15:57:39.415-08:00New live blitz on Chessvideos.tv<a href="http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8274">http://www.chessvideos.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8274</a><br />
<br />
Yet another Black Queen Blues. 6...Qa5 in the WinawerZibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-58217776248583969702011-02-10T04:39:00.000-08:002011-02-10T04:39:06.647-08:00Good interview with ChuckyHe just had a fantastic tournament in Gibraltar and he always has those in between every year. He is obviously dripping with talent but sometimes he becomes very inconsistent in between his brilliant performances.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chessintranslation.com/2011/02/vassily-ivanchuk-i-can-still-become-world-champion/">http://www.chessintranslation.com/2011/02/vassily-ivanchuk-i-can-still-become-world-champion/</a>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-237127466313977122011-02-03T23:19:00.000-08:002011-02-04T00:46:48.739-08:00A wonderful mating theme from ICC gameMy friend and teammate from the Vestmann Islands team was playing a 3-minute game on ICC vs a Grandmaster and finished him off with a mate in 3 in this position.<br />
<img src="http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/nglr7neh8jgy.png" /><br />
<br />
<strong>1.Qf6!! Nxf6</strong><br />
<strong>2.Bg7!! Kxg7</strong><br />
<strong>3.h8=Q</strong><br />
<br />
Aside from being very beautiful and clean, this mating pattern also has a nice aesthetic geometry to it. White makes successive checks on the diagonal squares, f6, g7 and h8 and each time with a different piece! This could possibly be unique but I'll leave that to someone with good searching tools in databases.Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-3543428140780137372011-02-03T13:54:00.000-08:002011-02-03T13:54:42.671-08:00More Korchnoi!<div>Korchnoi had quite a tournament in Gibraltar. After 9 rounds, he was undefeated with 3 wins and 6 draws. He only lost this last round game today against Paco Vallejo(2698) but had a winning move in there had he been lucky. <br />
<br />
Had he won I am sure he would have set the bar pretty high for anybody to catch his Tournament Rating Performance at the age of 79! Even with the loss he might still have the best mark if this is his best TRP since turning 79.<br />
<br />
Here is the game and then some stories after it ;-)<br />
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<object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Gibaltar Masters"] [Site "Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "?"] [White "GM_Korchnoi"] [Black "GM_Vallejo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2544"] [BlackElo "2698"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2011.??.??"] [TimeControl "6000%2B30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5 {The Blumenfeld Gambit} 5. dxe6 fxe6 6. cxb5 { Obviously Korchnoi grabs the pawn....after all, that is what he is famous for!} d5 7. Bg5 Qa5%2B 8. Qd2 Qb6 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. e3 Nd7 11. Nc3 f5 12. a4 Nf6 13. Be2 Bd6 14. O-O Bd7 15. Rfd1 Ke7 {Black has obvious compensation. He has the bishop pair, a very strong center and a ready made attack on the white king. The black king is comfortable for now on e7. For white planning is much harder!} 16. a5 Qc7 17. h3 Rhg8 18. Nh4 Rab8 19. Kh1 Be5 20. Qc2 d4 {with some slightly timid moves, Korchnoi has now drifted into a worse position. The black pieces are starting to co-ordinate nicely and after he takes on e3 white is very weak on the dark squares and knight coming to e4 has juicy squares on g3/f2. Still I find it hard to pinpoint the exact mistake which Korchnoi made and where to splash some ?! and ? on his play.} 21. Na4 dxe3 22. b6 Bxa4 23. Rxa4 axb6 {Sensing that his position is drifting from worse to loseing, Korchnoi goes in a for a desperate piece sacrifice to try and get some counterplay} 24. f4 Bxf4 25. Nxf5%2B exf5 26. Qxf5 Be5 $2 { Still winning but I’ll splash a question mark since...} (26... Qc6 $1 { ...wins on the spot, threatening mate on g2 and the rook on a4. A badoversight by Paco with 9 minutes on the clock which is low but not low enough to miss this.}) 27. Bc4 Rg6 $2 (27... Rgd8 $142) 28. axb6 Rxb6 29. Rda1 $2 { no Victor....nooooooooooo (he should have found it with 30%2B on the clock)} (29. Ra7 $3 {what a finish to the tournament this would have been for Victor! Black is completely lost, for example:} Qxa7 30. Qxe5%2B Kf8 31. Rd8%2B Kg7 32. Rg8%2B Kh6 33. Qf4%2B Kh5 34. Be2%2B Ng4 35. hxg4%2B Rxg4 36. Qh2#) 29... Kf8 { Now black is winning again with adequate defences} 30. Bd5 e2 31. Qf2 Bd4 32. Qxe2 Nxd5 33. Ra8%2B Kg7 34. Qf3 Kh6 35. R1a7 Qf4 {White resigned} 0-1 '/></object><br />
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In the 9th round, Korchnoi beat A.Wohl with the white pieces and in a King's Indian. After beating him, Korchnoi says in German (He had lived in Swiss for many years so he can manage with German) something like: "Es gibt Leute gegen die man nich Konigsindisch spielen können" (his german is not perfect and mine is pathetic so apologies to my German audience)....Anyway. They part and just moments later while outside, Korchnoi walks up to him and now says in English "You know, there are some people against which you just can't play the King's Indian!". Wohl anwers "I know....I understood when you said it in German". To which Korchnoi replied "I just wanted to make that clear!!"<br />
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There is only one Korchnoi! It's like childish arrogange and the feeling I get it's not meant to be hurtful, it's just the way he is.<br />
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Once playing in Sweden around 1990. My current team captain observed this. He was playing against Swedish IM Ari Ziegler. Ziegler had white and got some advantage out of the opening so he offered the great warrior a draw. Victor the Terrible answered by throwing his hands in the air.....and screaming "HE OFFERED ME A DRAW" ....followed by some big laughs. Naturally Ziegler was so distraught after this that he lost his way and lost the game.<br />
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Once he played here in Iceland against Ivan Sokolov. This is like 8 years ago. The position is becoming drawish and instead of offering a draw Korchnoi says "Ok, I GIVE you a draw"....the exchange of words and expressions they had on the stage after that was hilarious, too bad I can't rememeber any of it. I must ask Ivan over a bottle of red win in Reykjavik Open 2011. I do remember though that Victor called Ivan a "Coffeehouse player"!!<br />
</div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-91351758049980252112011-01-31T05:09:00.000-08:002011-01-31T05:09:02.123-08:00A beautiful moveFrom Chernin-Morozevich<br />
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<img src="http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/2wdt4jdnhkmc8.png" /><br />
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Morozevich played 10...Ne6 and went on to lose although he stands well here. He however missed a killer move and even Ribli who has short annotations on this game in my database fails to mention this move. <strong>10...Nd5!!</strong><br />
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<img src="http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/55647z774dvx.png" /><br />
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White can resign! Both captures are met with ...b5 when white is in trouble because the queen can no longer protect against mate on c2 so white has to give up the queen. 11.exd4 is the best white can do but it's very ugly after 11...Nxc3 and then 12...exd4.Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-77564549967067265452011-01-30T04:35:00.000-08:002011-01-30T04:35:00.838-08:00Incredible oversight in an opening bookThe author (who I have hidden with black) says here that black can transpose to a line in Exchange Slav by playing ...d5!! Incredible to see in an opening book! (this is e-book of an opening book!) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_P3WsW6xbc6E/TUT4x5zXLmI/AAAAAAAAAFs/oAxPulAzAwg/s1600/oops_mistake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_P3WsW6xbc6E/TUT4x5zXLmI/AAAAAAAAAFs/oAxPulAzAwg/s640/oops_mistake.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-21881450102658465242011-01-29T19:37:00.000-08:002011-01-29T19:37:53.832-08:00Interesting YouTube Channel<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SergeySorokhtin">http://www.youtube.com/user/SergeySorokhtin</a> <br />
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Many interesting videos of blitz games, blitz fragments and some other interesting stuff. Check for instance Maxim Dlugy trying to grind out a R vs B endgame. When the king is in the corner, there is only one way to lose and this endgame should be really easy to hold.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MMgFqnEKNss?fs=1" width="425"></iframe>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-64041393226813877582011-01-28T19:00:00.000-08:002011-01-28T19:00:34.044-08:00The En Passant Pin!<img src = "http://www.chessvideos.tv/bimg/1rlytluhgs3ps.png"><br />
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I had black here in an online blitz game and my last move was 24...f5.<br />
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In a blitz game it would be very easy to fall for a trap here and take en passant. This is very unusual that a rank can be cleared with two pieces in between in one move so going 25.exf6?? Would certainly be plausible but my opponent didn't fall for it this time. Rare theme but still one I've seen before.<br />
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For the lesser skilled, 25.exf6 allows 25...Rxh5 winning the queen ;-)Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-25489131970547899202011-01-27T05:12:00.000-08:002011-01-27T05:12:01.055-08:00The ever fighting Korchnoi!On January 26th, just about two months shy of this 80th birthday, Victor Korchnoi beats a 2700+ rated player with black! This must be some sort of a record! At 79 to beat a player rated 2721? And with black! One wonders how many blank pages are still to be filled in the great history of one of the greatest fighting chess players of all time, Victor Korchnoi!<br />
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Instead of posting the game in a replayer, I suggest having a look at it from the tournament site with notes here: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/gib2011/reportrd2.htmlZibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936413048475763571.post-5193455189035350372011-01-26T21:30:00.000-08:002011-01-26T21:30:27.430-08:00Reykjavik Championship, one to go!<div>Well only one round remains to be played after Wednesday's round 8. So far I am having a solid tournament with 6 out of 8 but I have no chances to win as the leaders have 7 and 3rd place has 6,5 and plays the leader. It's a strange situation but has a little to do with perhaps some players rated around 5-10 not having a good tournament and therefore not playing the top players and taking away points from them. It must be said that on 6 out of 7 the #1 and #2 seed got fairly easy opposition at this stage in the tournament.<br />
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For myself, I finally won after 4 draws in a row, and in three of them I was lucky to escape with a draw, putting my undefeated streak in jeopardy. With today's game I have now played 24 games without being defeated in this specific tournament. My last loss was in round 2 in 2009 after I allowed myself to be tricked a piece up. I have to say I am very happy with this streak and I will do everything I can not to break it in the last round which will be a very tough game against talented Gudmundur Gislason 2317, who has underperfomed in this tournament, losing to a 1600 player and to my opponent today. I know however how strong my opponent is and in the last two Icelandic Championships he has been in contention for the title after 7-8 rounds before slipping in the last rounds.<br />
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Enough about that. Here is my game from today which was a nice creative effort. I played a rare opening and got a "chess position" as I like to call it and my gameplan worked well, my opponent didn't handle the position well and I managed to demonstrate the strength difference which is never a given!<br />
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<object data="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="http://chessflash.com/releases/latest/ChessFlash.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value='orientation=H&tabmode=true&light=f4f4fF&dark=0072b9&bordertext=494949&headerforeground=ffffff&mtforeground=000000&mtvariations=FF0000&mtmainline=000000&mtbackground=ffffff&pgndata=[Event "Reykjavik City Ch."] [Site "Rvk"] [Date "2011.01.26"] [Round "8"] [White "Thorsteinsdottir, Hallgerdur"] [Black "Johannesson, Ingvar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "1982"] [BlackElo "2340"] [Annotator "Johannesson,Ingvar"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2011.01.??"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] 1. e4 b6 {I decided before the game to enter a "chess position" in this game and make my opponent think. I know she likes safe positions and so plays 2.c3 vs Sicilian and Bb5%2B lines and Tarrasch vs French. I also feared the exchange variation. So it was 1...b6, 1...g6 or 1...Nc6!} 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 g6 4. f4 { if she had played something else I probably would have settled on a Hippo setup. Here however I was familar with a move played by Blatny and that game is both in the Hippo book by A.Martin and was mentioned on ChessPublishing.com a long time ago.} f5 5. Qe2 fxe4 6. Bxe4 Bxe4 7. Qxe4 {Play is a lot different from Austrian Attack type pawn structures because white no longer has a big center and black can try and get light square control and there is also potential for black squared bishop to be a bad piece for white} Nc6 8. c3 { a typical move for my opponent’s style and I expected it. Not a bad move but a little safe. White should just develop.} (8. Nf3 { Here is the energetic game by Blatny} Nf6 9. Qd3 Bg7 (9... e6 $5) 10. Ne5 O-O 11. Nxc6 dxc6 12. O-O Qd7 13. c3 c5 14. Qc4%2B Nd5 15. dxc5 e5 16. fxe5 Rxf1%2B 17. Qxf1 Rf8 18. Qe2 Qe7 19. Nd2 Bxe5 20. Qc4 Bd4%2B $3 { 0-1 in Serpik-Blatny, LA 2003}) (8. d5 { this is probably ok but white needs to get on with development} Nf6 9. Qc4 Na5 10. Qd3 $13) 8... Nf6 9. Qd3 e6 {controlling d5 and f5} 10. Nf3 Bg7 11. Nbd2 Ne7 { I didn’t want to define my king position just yet so I decided to stay flexible } 12. Ne4 Qc8 {I liked putting the queen on b7 to control some light squares and potentially support some queenside pawn push....very hypermodern ;-)} 13. b3 Qb7 14. Nfd2 {white for my taste is mucking around too much...does she want to exchange pieces or not? And where to put the king?} Nfd5 { I liked this move as it sets up some potential tactics on both long diagonals} 15. Nc4 {I am not a big fan of one move tricks type moves. I am not getting forked on d6! Why not finish development?} O-O 16. Rf1 $2 {Why not castle? White will never get a huge attack here and she will regret leaving the king in the center!} (16. g3 $2 { here is one type tactic I was talking about in note to black’s 14th move} Nxc3 $1 $17) 16... a5 (16... b5 {My first intention was:} 17. Na5 Qb6 18. b4 $15 { but I thought it was easier to create weakness as I thought for sure she’d play 17.a4}) 17. a4 b5 (17... c5 $5 { the computer likes this move but I didn’t even consider it}) 18. Ne5 (18. axb5 $142 Qxb5 19. Ne5 Qxd3 (19... Qxb3 $2 20. Rb1 $1 (20. Nxd7 Nb4 $1) 20... Qa4 21. Nc5 Qa2 22. Rf2 $18) 20. Nxd3 Rfb8 $13 {I didn’t fear such a position as I felt the position was imbalances enough to make something happen}) 18... d6 19. Ng4 {The Ng1-f3-d2-c4-e5-g4 knight tour doesn’t leave a big impression!} bxa4 ( 19... b4 $5 {I saw this idea and it was my original idea but in my assessment I failed to give credit to how strong it actually seems!} 20. c4 Nc3 21. Nxc3 ( 21. Ngf2 $2 Nf5 $19) 21... bxc3 22. Qxc3 Nf5 $17) 20. bxa4 (20. Qh3 $143 $2 { white has no time for moves such as this} axb3 21. Ng5 h5 $19) 20... h5 { I felt like just winning the pawn was strongest} 21. Ngf2 Nxf4 22. Qf3 { Again the one move threat type moves...I will not allow Nf6%2B with discovery!} ( 22. Bxf4 Rxf4 23. Ng5 Qxg2 24. Nxe6 Rf3 $19) 22... Qb3 (22... Nfd5 $142 23. Qh3 e5 24. Qe6%2B Kh8 25. Ng5 Qb3 26. Bd2 exd4 27. Nf7%2B Rxf7 28. Qxf7 {it’s easy afte rwards but with the clock ticking you kind of don’t want a queen on the a2-g8 diagonal and a knight on g5 vs the king. It should be safe but I avoid counterplay as much as I can even though I should just calculate such stuff properly!} dxc3 $19) 23. Bxf4 (23. Nd2 Nxg2%2B $5 {While waiting for Bxf3 or Nd2, this idea crossed my mind but it’s probably not the best way to realize my advantage.} (23... Qd5 $17 {this is the safe move}) 24. Qxg2 Qxc3 25. Rb1 Rab8 {here white can simplify a bit} 26. Qh3 Qxh3 27. Nxh3 Rxf1%2B 28. Kxf1 Rxb1 29. Nxb1 Bxd4 $15) 23... e5 {winning the piece back and opening lines} 24. dxe5 dxe5 25. Nc5 Qb2 26. Rd1 exf4 27. Nfe4 Nf5 $1 {she was running low on the clock here, like 3 minutes vs 9 minutes. I played this move immedately almost without calculating, I just felt it was the right move. I want to put a rook on the e-file and the knight threatens nasty things on e3 and h4} 28. Ne6 Nh4 { good enough} (28... Ne3 $142 $1) 29. Qe2 $8 Nxg2%2B (29... Bxc3%2B {is also good} 30. Nxc3 Qxc3%2B $19) 30. Kf2 Qb6%2B (30... Qxe2%2B 31. Kxe2 Rfe8 32. Nxc7 Rxe4%2B 33. Kf3 Rc8 34. Kxe4 Rxc7 $19) 31. N4c5 Ne3 32. Rb1 (32. Rd7 {I was more afraid ot this move when things are not as clear as I felt like they should have been at this point in the game....of course I am still much better but all of a sudden it’s possible to mess up!} Bf6 $17) 32... Qc6 33. Rg1 (33. Qf3 Qxf3%2B 34. Kxf3 Nxf1 {the check on d2 makes this line hopeless for white} 35. Rxf1 Rf5 $19) 33... Rf6 34. Qa2 Kh8 35. Rb5 Ng4%2B {white is completely lost now and was playing on 30 seconds per move now vs 7-8 minutes} 36. Rxg4 hxg4 37. Nd4 Qh1 38. Rb2 Re8 39. Nde6 g3%2B 40. hxg3 fxg3%2B 41. Ke3 Qf3%2B 42. Kd2 (42. Kd4 Rf4#) 42... Rd8%2B {I felt it was safe to get slightly fancy here ;-)} 43. Nxd8 Rd6%2B 44. Nd3 Rxd3%2B {white finally resigned as she is mated next move} 0-1'/></object></div>Zibbithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702750906337002745noreply@blogger.com2