AustralianCorrespondence Chess

Quarterly

Australia Post No PPn 230594/00010Correspondence Chess League of Australia

Postal Address: GPO Box 2360, Sydney, NSW, 2001Website: www.ccla.asn.au

August 2011Vol. 64 No. 3 pp 65-96Editor: Shaun Press2 Auburn St, Amaroo, ACT, 2914shaunpress@gmail.com

$4.00ISSN 819-7806

A little bit of the old, and a great deal of the new in this issue of Australian Correspondence Chess Quarterly. My pleas for extra articles from reader did not fall on deaf ears, and a couple of new contributors have written articles on the early days of the CCLA, as well as the early days of chess itself.As for the new, this issue sees a big issue on Webserver chess. While postal chess has been the backbone of correspondence chess for over 100 years, technology is changing the way that we play. The ICCF has moved all of its major events over to online play, and the CCLA is heading in that direction. In this issue there is a quick guide to playing on the ICCF Webserver, and hopefully those of you who have been a little reticent about making the move to online play will take the plunge. Not only is it a little quicker to play (in terms of transmission time), it is also cheaper, as most events cost the equivalent of 20 stamps.To illustrate this point further, the crosstables for the 2007,2008 and 2010 Australian Championships are included in this issue. While the 2008 Championship finished last year, both the 2007 (Postal) and 2010 (Webserver) Championship have just been completed. Congratulations to Dr E.B. Morgan, John Paul Fenwick, and Simon Jenkinson for their victories in each of these events. The win for Dr Morgan signifies the end of an era however, as all future Championships will be played via webserver (or whichever technology supersedes that!)

66

Upstairs, 1 Garfield Road EastRiverstone, NSW 2765

Tel: (02) 9838 1529Fax: (02) 9838 1614

info@chessaustralia.com.au

Recommended Chess Software A$ChessBase 11 Starter Package 295.00ChessBase 11 Upgrade from ChessBase 10 175.00ChessBase Correspondence Database 2011 149.95Deep Fritz 12 (Multiprocessor Version) 195.00Deep Rybka 4 (Multiprocessor Version) 195.00Deep Shredder 12 (Multiprocessor Version) 195.00Fritz 12, Rybka 4 or Shredder 12 (each) 99.95Rybka 4 Book (Opening Theory) 49.95

Recommended Hardback Books A$The Turk Chess Automaton (Gerald Levitt) 105.00My Life, Games and Compositions (Pal Benko) 89.95Olympiad United! Dresden 2008 75.00Russians versus Fischer (Plisetsky & Voronkov) 75.00Chess is My Life (Victor Korchnoi) 65.00Breaking Through (Susan Polgar) 59.95Surviving Changi: E.E. Colman (Olimpiu Urcan) 59.95Behind Deep Blue (Feng-hsiung Hsu) 49.95Chess Bitch (Jennifer Shahade) 49.95Chess Duels (Yasser Seirawan) 49.95

Recommended Softback Books A$Bobby Fischer Career and Games (Karsten Muller) 79.95San Luis 2005 (Alik Gershon & Igor Nor) 59.95A Chess Omnibus (Edward Winter) 59.95The Giant Chess Puzzle Book (Zenon Franco) 42.95Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual 2nd Edition 39.95A Course in Chess Tactics (Bojkov & Georgiev) 37.95

Come visit our website at:www.chessaustralia.com.au

67

Overseas NewsThe ICCF 2010-2011 Champions League is drawing to a close, and the three Australian teams have found it tougher going than in previous years. The Chess Allies carried the flag in the A Division, with a team consisting of SIM Nigel Burne (Eng), SIM Stephen Kerr, IM Shane Dibley and SIM Tim Runting. With 3 games left to played (2 matches to be completed) they are 3 points, from 3 drawn matches. However to show how tough and competitive this Division is, they lost 6 of their matches by a narrow 2.5-1.5 margin. In Division C Purdy's Centurions A & B are also struggling. In Section C7 the A team have won 1 match, but have lost the rest, with 1 game outstanding. The B team (Section C 8) have failed to trouble the scorers, losing all their matches.Here are a collection of wins from each of the teams, with some light notes added by the editor.

Kerr,Stephen (2488) - Berlinger,Gerson (2516) [A25]

Champions League 2010 A ICCF, 25.01.2010

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.a3 a6 6.e3 0–0 7.Nge2 Ba7 8.Qc2 d6 9.b3 Ne7 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 h6 12.Bb2 c6 13.0–0 d5 14.Bg2 Bf5 15.Qc3 Ng6 16.f4

Bg4 17.Bf3 Bxf3 18.Rxf3 Re8 19.Raf1 f6 20.R3f2 Qd6 21.b4 Qd7 22.c5 a5 23.Qc2 e4 24.Nd4 Bb8 25.Qd1 axb4 26.axb4 Bc7 27.Qh5 Nf8 28.g4 Qf7 29.Qh4 Ne6 30.g5 fxg5 31.fxg5 Qg6 32.Nxe6 Rxe6

33.Rg2 hxg5 34.Qxg5 Qxg5 35.Rxg5 Re7 36.h4 Rf8 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.h5 Rf7 39.Kg2 Bd8 40.Rg6 Be7 41.Kg3 Rf1 42.Kg4 [42.Bxg7+? Kf7 43.Bc3 Rg1+ 44.Kf4 Rxg6 45.hxg6+ Kxg6 46.Ke5 Kf7=] 42...Rf7 43.Bc3 Bd8 44.b5! cxb5 45.Rd6 Ke8 46.Rxd5 Rf1 47.Re5+ Kd7 48.Rxe4 Rh1 49.Rd4+ Kc8 50.Rf4 Rh4+ 51.Kf3 Rxh5 52.Rf8 Kd7 53.d4 Rg5 54.Ke4 Rg4+ 55.Kd3 Rg5 56.Rf7+ Kc6 57.Be1 b6 58.Bh4 Rd5 59.Bxd8 Rxd8 60.cxb6 Kxb6 61.Rxg7 Rh8 62.Rg6+ Ka5 63.d5 b4 64.Kc4 1–0

68

Kerr,Stephen (2488) - Sabaev,Sergey Valentinovic

(2480) [A14]Champions League 2010 A ICCF,

25.01.20101.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0–0 0–0 6.b3 c5 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.e3 d4 9.exd4 cxd4 10.Re1 Ne8 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Rxe5 f6 13.Re1 e5 14.d3 Nc7 15.Nd2 Rb8 16.a3 Rf7 17.b4 b6 18.Qh5 a5 19.b5 Bd6 20.Ne4 Be7 21.f4 g6 22.Qh6 Bf8 23.Qh4 Be7 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.Qh6 Bf5 26.Bc1 Qd7 27.Nf2 Bd6 28.Qh4 h5 29.Bc6 Qe6 30.h3 Be7 31.Bg5 Bxg5 32.Qxg5 Qd6 33.Ne4 Qf8 34.Qh4 Qe7 35.Qxe7 Rxe7 36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Bxe4 38.Rxe4 Kg7 39.Rae1 Kf6 40.Kf2 Rh8 41.Kg3 Rb8

42.g5+! Kxg5 43.Rxd4 Ne8 44.Rg4+ Kh6 45.Be4 Re6 46.Bd5 Re7 47.Rge4 Nf6 48.Rxe5 Nxd5 49.Rxe7 Nxe7 50.Rxe7 Rd8 51.Kf4 Rxd3 52.Ke4 Rxa3 53.Rb7 g5 54.Rxb6+ Kg7 55.c5 g4 56.c6 g3 [56...Rc3 57.Ra6 g3

58.Rxa5 g2 59.Ra1] 57.c7 Rc3 58.Rc6 Rxc6 59.bxc6 g2 60.c8Q g1Q 61.Qd7+ 1–0

Jones,Brian (2115) - Plume,Gunars (1841) [A69]

Champions League 2010 C Group 7 ICCF, 25.01.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0–0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.e6 [12.Bg5 is by far the most common move here.] 12...fxe6 13.d6 Ne5 14.0–0 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bd4+ 16.Kh1 Qxd6 17.Nb5! This is why this line is playable. 17...Qd8 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Be4 Nc6 20.Qd3 Ne7 21.Bg5 Qb6 22.Qf3 Nf5 Only move 23.g4 Nd6

24.Be7!! Nf5 [24...Bd7 25.Bxd6 Qxd6 26.Qf7+ Kh8 27.Qf6+ Kg8 28.Bxg6! hxg6 29.Qxg6+ Kh8 30.Rf7+-] 25.Bf6 Rf8 [25...Nd6 26.Be5] 26.Bh4 Rf7 27.gxf5 exf5 28.Bd5 Be6 29.Rad1 Re8 30.Rfe1

69

Rd7 31.Rxe6! Rxe6 32.Bf2 Rxd5 33.Qxd5 Qc6 34.Rxd4 Qxd5+ 35.Rxd5 Re2 36.Bd4 Rd2 37.Rd7 b5 38.Rg7+ Kf8 39.Bc3 Rd1+ 40.Kg2 b4 41.Bf6 Rd2+ 42.Kg3 Rd3+ 43.Kf4 Rh3 44.Rxa7 Rxh2 45.Bg7+ Ke8 46.Ke5 Kd8 47.Ke6 Rc2 48.Be5 h5 49.Ra8+ Rc8 50.Rxc8+ Kxc8 51.Kf6 Kd7 52.Kxg6 Ke6 53.Bg3 h4 54.Bf4 h3 55.Kg5 1–0

Flude,David A (2158) - Zielinski,Sergej (2211) [C39]

Champions League 2010 C Group 7 ICCF, 25.01.2010

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.d4 [8.0–0 is the celebrated, but unsound, Rice Gambit.] 8...Nh5 9.Nc3 Qe7 10.0–0 Bxe5 11.Nb5 0–0 12.dxe5 a6 13.Nd4 Qxe5 14.b4 f3 15.Qd2 Ng3 16.Re1 Ne4 17.Rxe4 Qxe4 18.Bb2 Qe5 [18...Re8 19.gxf3 Qe5 seems testing here.] 19.Bc3 Qd6 20.Re1 h6

21.Ne6! fxe6 22.dxe6 Re8 [22...Qxd2 23.e7++-] 23.Bd5 Rxe6 24.Qxh6 Another pretty move. 24...f2+ 25.Kxf2 Qf8+ 26.Qxf8+ Kxf8 27.Bxe6 Bxe6 28.Rxe6 White is easily winning here. 28...Nc6 29.Rg6 Rd8 30.h5 Rd5 31.h6 Rh5 32.Rxg4 Ne7 33.Bd2 Rf5+ 34.Rf4 Rxf4+ 35.Bxf4 Nd5 36.Bd2 Nf6 37.Kf3 Kf7 38.g4 Kg6 39.g5 Nd7 40.Ke4 Nb6 41.Kd4 c6 42.Kc5 Nc8 43.a4 Kh7 44.c4 Kg6 45.a5 Kh7 46.Be3 Kg6 47.Kd4 Ne7 48.Ke5 Kf7 49.Bc5 1–0

Stubbs,Mike (1900) - Henderson,Greg (2056) [B43]

Champions League 2010 C Group 8 ICCF, 25.01.2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 b5 6.Bd3 Qb6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.0–0 Nge7 9.Re1 Qb8 10.e5 Ng6 11.Be4 Bb7 12.h4 d6 13.exd6 Bxd6 14.h5 Nge7 15.h6 gxh6 16.Bxh6 Qc7 17.Bd3 0–0–0 18.Ne4 Bf4 19.Bxf4 Qxf4 20.Nc5 Rhg8 21.Nxb7 Kxb7 22.a4 Rd5 23.axb5 axb5 24.Re4 Qh6 25.Rh4 Qg7 26.Qf1 Nf5 27.Rh3 Nd6 28.Rg3 Qh8 29.Rxg8 Qxg8 30.c4 bxc4 31.Bxc4 Nxc4 32.Qxc4 Qf8 33.Qf4 f5 34.Ng5 Nd4 35.Qe3 Qd6 36.b4 Qb6? [36...h6] 37.Qa3!+- Rd8 38.Nf7 Rg8 39.Ne5 Nb5 40.Qf3+ Kc7 41.Rc1+ 1–0

70

Games Columnby Colin McKenzie

Great weather for CC ! At our place we have had a monthly dump of about 100mm of rain since this time last year. If I was a very keen gardener, or a Rail Path Walker, I would most likely have the nose a little out of joint, but I am none of these. I am also grateful that we have not had horrendous flooding, and hope none of the readership has also.For this mid-winter edition I would like to focus, initially, on a game which features a theme in an opening which has become very popular since Vishy Anand played it in a celebrated outing against Wang Hao earlier this year. Of course, Black has to co-operate to allow this position to arise, which is probably why this experience has not arisen in any correspondence game to date.We CC players are way too cunning for that!

Anand, V (2810) - Wang Hao (2731) [E25]

73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (4), 18.01.20111.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.dxc5 Qa5 9.e4 Ne7 10.Be3 0–0 11.Qb3 Qc7 12.Bb5 Nec6 13.Ne2 Na5 14.Qb4 e5 15.0–0 Be6 16.Nd4!! And here we go, this

move as a theme has been played before, and its aim is obvious. Once the pawns are re-connected following the capture, White will have a massive pawn roller through the centre, and will overcome Black’s un-coordinated piece placement etc etc. Refusing a sacrifice remains unthinkable, although it seems that a N to c6 will remedy this, the R on a8 looks very sick after a couple of captures.

To continue, from Black’s point of view

16. … exd4 17.cxd4 Nbc6 18.Qc3 Ne7 19.Rfd1 Rad8 20.Bf2 a6? 21.Bg3 Qc8 22.Bf1 b6 23.Rab1 Nb3 24.Rxb3 Bxb3 25.Qxb3 bxc5 26.d5 Ng6 27.Qb6 f5 28.Bxa6 Qd7 29.Bb5 Qf7 30.exf5 Qxf5 31.Qxc5 Rc8 32.Qd4 Rfd8 33.a4 1–0

71

Apart from the observation that Black probably should not allow himself the luxury of 14...Be6, there seems little, on the face of it, to recommend the continuation after 9...Ne7.Notwithstanding that 20...a6 was a howler. The less popular alternative 9 …Nf6, which aims for a Nd7 to attack the c pawn seems as good, but has not been microscoped by this columnist. Former World Chess Champion Vassily Smyslov was an imaginative player of 9 …Nc7 in this position years ago, but Black certainly must be obliging to allow his opponent to develop his 2 Kingside pieces, the R and N, to get the concessions, in the main variation above, which enables this sac. And so it goes with all sacrifices, which of course can only be successfully implemented if the ‘victim’ side has either overlooked something or remained undeveloped. ChessSac 101.

While fiddling with ChessBase the other day, I became curious to see how the higher half live, and searched out my fairly up-to-date ICCF database to discover that of 2927 games played by players in the last 18 months, one in each game of whom is rated over 2500 ICCF, White emerged victorious a mere 430 times, Black managed to upset the apple-cart on only 221

occasions, and the other 2276 games were drawn, but rarely without a fight !! Thus, I thought I should check stats on the other major CC type organization: IECG.It seems that IECG is a more middle of the road organization, in that there were no games completed in the timeframe by players rated over 2500, and that it was necessary to drop the rating down to 2150 to achieve a sample of about similar to the ICCF case.Enlightening was the result!White clobbered Black in 867 games but was himself fixed up in 626 games. The remainder, 1166, were drawn.I am staggered that one organization can file 77% of games as draws, while the other club, although of lower overall rating, and probably not playing in events as prestigious , is a more usual 44%. One would have to wonder at the reasons for such a disparity, as quite a few of the players who ‘attend events’ on ICCF also play ‘casually’ under the auspices of IECG, although, interestingly, the reverse is not observably true.Both organizations have robust membership.

Thoughtfully, I have had a look at a few games from each of these organizations:

72

Copar,Anton (2341) - Kund,Wolfgang (2555) [B97]ICCF Olympiad 15 Final ICCF,

30.03.20061.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 This ancient line has become popular recently 6...e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Nb3 another way of avoiding the poisoned pawn, but not necessarily better 8...Nbd7 9.Qf3 Be7 10.0–0–0 Qc7 11.Bd3 b5 12.a3? I can't blame this for White's demise, but his aim is clear. He plans to make advances against his K a little harder and then smash his opponent off the board .... 12...Rb8 13.Rhe1 b4 14.axb4 Rxb4 15.Kb1 So! all he has done is activate Black's Rook 15...h6

White played :16.Bh4 , But 16.Qh3!? looks interesting, following 16...0–0?

(ironically better is 16...Bb7 17.f5 0–0 18.Bxh6 gxh6 19.Qxh6 Ng4 20.Qh5 when Black has 20...Nde5 and holds) 17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.Qxh6 Ng4 19.Qh5 and does well] 16...0–0 17.Na2 Rb8 18.Qe2

White must have been battle-weary here. He has misplaced his N to a2, and now intends a phantom attack on the a6 pawn, both manoeuvres will cost time 18...e5 19.f5 Bb7 20.Nc3 Ba8 21.Rf1 Rb4 22.Na2 Rb7 Now Black sees the value of doubling rooks on the b-file 23.Bxa6 Rb6 24.Nc3 Rfb8 25.Bc4 Rb4 All this seems a little timid, and I suspect both players were heeding an electronic chess aid at around this point, 25...Nc5 catches the eye, however, 26.Nb5 Rxb5 27.Bxb5 Nfxe4 (27...Nxb3 28.Bxf6 Bxf6 29.cxb3 Qb7) 28.Nxc5 Qxc5 29.Bxe7 Rxb5 30.Rf3 26.Bxf6 Nxf6 27.Bd5 Bxd5 28.Nxd5 Nxd5 29.Rxd5 The exchanges were unavoidable, but now all White's useful pieces have been removed from their defensive positions29...Rc8 30.Rf3 Ra8 30...Rc4 takes the rudder right out of White's hands 31.c3 Rb8 32.Nd2 Rxc3 33.Rxc3 Qxc3 31.Rb5 Rxb5 32.Qxb5 Qa7 The double threat of invading the

73

first rank and decisively activating his B ensures that black can force a weakness here 33.c3 Rb8 34.Qc4 Qg1+ 35.Nc1

35 …Bg5? allows White a respite 35...Qxg2 36.Qe2 Qg1 37.Rf1 Qc5 38.Na2 when Black must redefine the game by trying 38...d5 notice how White's once-proud pawn phalanx is in fragments 36.Qf1 Qa7 37.Qf2 Qa5 38.Qe1 Qa4 39.Rf1 the threat was Ra8, so White must over-defend his back rank 39...Qa6 now B is after the N! 40.Rf3 Bxc1 41.Qxc1 Qe2 42.h3 Qxg2 42...Qxe4+ 43.Qc2 Qe1+ 44.Qc1 Qe2 45.Qc2 Qa6 re-threatens everything all over again 43.Re3 Qf2 44.Ka2 h5 as on the previous move: 44...Rxb2+ 45.Qxb2 Qxe3 46.Qb8+ Kh7 47.Qb7 Qxc3 48.Qxf7 Qc2+ 49.Ka3 Qd3+

50.Kb2 Qe2+ 51.Kc3 Qe3+ 52.Kb2 Qf2+ 53.Kc3 Qg2 45.Re1 h4 46.Rd1 Qe2 The white R must stay away from the Q, but remain on the back rank ... quite a cute theme! 47.Re1? [47.Qd2 Qxe4 48.Qd3 Qb7] 47...Ra8+ 48.Kb3 Qf2 49.Rd1 Qg2 50.Re1 Rb8+ 51.Ka2 Qxh3 the double attack has netted Black a pawn and a passer ..... the technically minded may pursue this game to its finish

52.Qd2 Ra8+ 53.Kb3 Qg3 54.Kc2 Ra4 55.Qe2 Kf8 56.Qd2 Ke7 57.Rd1 Ra6 58.Qd5 Qf2+ 59.Rd2 Qa7 60.Rg2 Ra2 61.Qc6 h3 62.Rh2 Ra5 63.Qc4 Rc5 64.Qd3 Qa4+ 65.Kd2 d5 at last! Yep, I was still watching .... 66.Qc2 Qxc2+ 67.Kxc2 dxe4 68.b4 Rc8 69.Rxh3 Kf6 70.Rh5 Rd8 [70...Rd8 71.b5 e3 72.Rh3 Rd2+ 73.Kc1 Rd3 is clear] 0–1

Vontina,Maria (628) - Nowak,Ireneusz (2084) [B99]OP-2011–0–01385 Lechenicher

SchachServer, 25.01.2011

In only a few aspects, this outing bears resemblance to the first in this series of games. Note White's unbridled enthusiasm! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Nbd7

74

10.g4 b5 11.a3 Rb8 12.Kb1 b4 13.axb4 Rxb4 14.Kc1 Bb7 15.h4

As in the other similar game, White has delayed development of the B on f1 ..... note however, that all the pawns have been released in their full fury! 15...Nc5 16.Bg2 Qa5 it's obviously not worth going after the e-pawn 17.Kb1 Nfxe4 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Qe2 Ra4 20.Kc1 Ra1# This may have come at somewhat of a shock, but I am guessing that this was very early in White's chess career. Haven't we all done it? 0–1 Shouldn’t we all love Chess so much!

Bureš,Jiljí (2456) - Svoboda,Ing. František (2430) [C13]

Jaroslav Jezek Memorial ICCF, 01.12.2006

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6

7.Nf3 Nd7 8.c3 0–0 This has transposed into the turgid (but very effective!) variation that some spoilsports use to combat the Tarrasch French ( 3.Nd2) when cowardice somehow prevents them from engaging in a Man's Defence against an opening under siege .... (guess who employs this opening?)

9.Qc2 e5 This break is good while White's K is in the centre, so ........ 10.0–0–0 exd4 11.Nxd4 Bxd4 12.Rxd4 Qe7 13.h4 Ne5 Black has no problems, as the h-pawn poses no threat. White should concentrate on piece-play 14.Ng5 g6 15.Qe2 ......... which avoids locking his pieces in on their original squares 15...f6 16.f4 c5! 17.Re4 Bf5 development with tempo 18.Re3 Rae8 19.fxe5 fxg5 20.h5 Qe6

White looks to be in dire straits to

75

me, and his best seems to be 21.b3 21.Qb5 a6 22.Qxc5 b5 23.g4 White has material, but must dislodge the Black B to get his own out. It's hard to say why a pawn up, and playing against doubled pawns in front of the K is so losing for White 23...Bxg4 24.hxg6 Qxa2 25.Bd3 hxg6 26.Bb1 Qf7 After this, the White K may as well be on d4, but it is instructive 27.Rhe1 Be6 28.Be4 g4 29.Qd6 Rc8 30.Kb1 a5 31.Qd3 the a-pawn was immune, but the g-pawn is not! 31...Kg7 32.Qxb5 Qa7 tidying up and threatening ...Rf2 33.Qe2 Qb6 34.Qc2? Rcd8 White's last allowed the overlooked stinger 34...Qxe3 35.Rxe3 Rf1+] 35.c4 Rf1 Black's push meets little resistance after an exchange of Rooks Now of course 35...Qxe3 36.Rxe3 Rf1+ 37.Ka2 36.Qc3 Rd1+ 37.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 38.Kc2 Rf1 Black now directly threatens the c-pawn 39.Re2 a4 keeping the b-pawn quiet and looking to ...Qg1 40.Rg2 Ra1 [40...Rf2+ 41.Kd3 (41.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 42.Kd3 Qf1+ 43.Kd4) 41...Rxg2 42.Bxg2 Qf2 43.Be4 g3 is a chess engine line, but White can vary ...] 41.Bd5 a3! 42.Bxe6 Qxe6 43.Rd2

[43.bxa3 Ra2+] 43...a2 44.Rd7+ Kg8 Black noticed 44...Qxd7 45.e6+ 45.Ra7 g3! 45...Qf5+ 46.Kb3 Qf3 is quicker 46.Ra8+ Kh7 47.Ra7+ Kh6 48.Qe3+ g5 49.Qxg3 It's gone in any case 49...Qxc4+ 50.Qc3 Qxc3+ 50...Qxc3+ 51.bxc3 Rh1 ensures that the White pawns go now further ... a great win by Black! 0–1

Sedlácek,Tomás (2213) - Ziegler,Pio (2135)

CZE-SUI, friendly match 2011 ICCF, 15.01.2011

This opening is a personal favorite of mine, in that I love playing against it. The positions from it seem to be straightforward, and White, to my mind, does not gain from the early despatch of his B 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.h4 This seems to be a fairly transparent attempt to get on top 6...h5 7.Qd2 c6 8.0–0–0 and once again we have White salivating over his apparent superiority, while Black simply responds with logical moves. 8...b5 9.Ne1 0–0 10.e3 Nd7 11.g4 Once again, White believes he has a raging attack against what he perceives as an extra pawn, due to the doubling

76

11...hxg4 12.h5 Re8 13.Ne2 Nb6 14.hxg6 fxg6 The awkward doubled P still exists, but Black seems to be in charge of the centre, without doing much at all! 15.Nf4 Nc4 16.Qc3 Kf7 getting to the open h-file 17.Bd3 f5 18.Be2 This seems to waste time by wanting to occupy the recently accessible e5 ...... there is no advantage in doing so, as White must re-jig his pieces to prevent Black from neutralising him via ..N-d6-e4 18...Qe7 19.Ned3 Bd7 20.Kb1?! Rh8 21.Rdg1 loses a tempo at a very crucial time 21...Rxh1 22.Rxh1 g5 23.Nh5 Rh8 24.b3 Kg6 25.bxc4 dxc4 26.Ndf4+ gxf4 27.Nxf4+ Kf7 28.Rxh8 Bxh8 with the pyrotechnics over, Black has straightened out his pawns on one side of the board, but has doubled them on the other! To a

much better effect, one notes 29.a4 Qd6 30.axb5 30.Bf1 presumably to relocate onto the long diagonal to give a check after swapping the pawns was a thought. It struggles for credibility though 30...cxb5 31.Bxc4+? bxc4 32.Qxc4+ Kf8 33.Nd3 Bf6 Looking straight at f2, after .. Bh4 34.Qa2 f4! 35.Nxf4 Bxd4 36.exd4 Qb8+ 36...Qxf4 37.Qxa7 lacks the finesse of the move played ..... whereby Black gets material with checks, or deflects the White Q from his a -pawn; 36...Qb8+ 37.Ka1 Qxf4 and everything goes 0–1

After playing through these correspondence games, which came from a selection of ICCF and IECG events completed over recent years, the reader may have got the idea that I have a vendetta against White castling long.Not so, but I will complete this column by appending a game which clearly shows that White too, can have his day, even if it is in fits and starts.

McKenzie,Colin D (800) - Woods,Brian (800) [B86]

7/1 315, 05.1972

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 This game was played at the time

77

of the very high profile Fischer-Spassky match for the World Championship. I had absorbed most of the content of "My 60 Memorable Games" at this point, and was also a keen player of this Fischer-inspired Sozin Attack at a club level 6...e6 7.Bb3 or else, following ...d5, the "B bites on granite" 7...Be7? Oddly, this is given as 'best' by today's Chess Engines. The attitude of the day, however, was to get ...b5 in as fast as possible, it being the core of Black's counter to this system, an attitude which persists today 7...b5 8.0–0 Be7 9.f4 0–0 was the swashbuckling approach of this pre chess computer era. 8.f4 0–0 9.Qf3 Qc7 This set of moves has brought us to a position similar to the Velimirovich Attack, except that instead of 10.Be3, White cross-pollinates into the early Fischer system against the Najdorf 10.f5 e5 11.Nde2 Nbd7 12.g4!

Black played 12 ..b5 a recent game stemming from this variation: 12...d5 13.Bxd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Qd8?! (14...Bh4+ 15.Kd1 Qd6 is a promising possibility)

15.Be3 Bg5 now White wins easily 16.Bxg5 Qxg5 17.h4 Qd8 18.g5 Nb6 19.Nec3 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 b5 21.0–0–0 Qa5 22.Kb1 (22.f6 wins in a romp) 22...Bb7 23.f6 Bxd5 24.exd5 Rfe8 25.h5 e4 26.Qf5 gxf6 27.Rhg1 Kh8 28.Qxf6+ Kg8 29.h6 Kf8 30.d6 1–0 Miatello,A(2087)-Guglielmi,D (2113)]

13.g5 Ne8 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.h4 Nc5?! 15...Bb7 intending ...Nc5 with a double attack on the N on d5 is indicated, but Black does not get this opportunity, as White can save his B from the pawn duo on the Q-side by going to d5 16.Be3 a5 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.Nc3 ..... with either piece as it turns out]16.Nxe7+ The computer likes 16.Rf1 16...Qxe7 17.Bd5 Bb7 So Black neutralises the Sozin Bishop, but cedes an open file against his K

78

18.f6 Qc7 19.fxg7 Nxg7 20.h5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Nd7 otherwise the Q decisively comes to f6 22.Qh3 Justifiable. There is definitely a way through to the Black K after the forthcoming pawn to g6 22...Nb6 23.Nc3! relocating the N to the K-side 23...b4 24.Ne4

24. … Nxd5? The urgency of getting a N onto the supported f4 has given White a little comby 24...Qxc2 25.Nf6+ Kh8 26.0–0 is a little embarrassing for White, although I include it as a note 25.Qd3!! which now threatens Nf6+ 25...Nf5 26.Rf1? 26.Qxd5 Nd4 27.c3 yields a faster result ..... after the text move, the ubiquitous engine says that Black has the same equality as at move 1, but at that time I could only see the opening of the g-file as a winner; 26.Qxd5 Qxc2! 27.0–0 Nd4

28.Nf6+ Kh8 29.Rf2 Qd3 and we have another case of the Emperor's New Clothes 26...Nfe7? Unfortunately, Black returns the favour immediately. Modern players may sneer at this situation, but in 1972 computers did not exist except in large sheds with massive air conditioning systems. The only up-to-date reckoning of modern chess was Cecil Purdy, as Informant had not become generally available in Australia. No wonder then, that players would devour books such as the one referred to above. 27.Nf6+ Nxf6 28.gxf6 Ng6 29.hxg6 fxg6 30.Qd5+ Qf7 31.Qxf7+ Rxf7 32.Bh6 Rc7 33.0–0–0 Rd8 34.Be3 Rdd7 35.f7+!! Rxf7 36.Rxf7 Rxf7 37.Rxd6 Kg7 38.Rxa6 h5 39.Ra4 Rf3 40.Kd2 Kf6 41.Rxb4 g5 42.Ke2 Rh3 43.a4 Winning. Note Black's R is actually corralled in behind his own pawns and cannot approach the Q-side because of the understated unmoved pawns on b2 and c2 43...g4 44.a5 g3 45.a6 g2 46.Bg1

This was the last move of the game, as Black ceded here This was a lot of years ago, and I don't think we did too badly. In 1972, Chess was burgeoning due to the influence of Bobby Fischer. Reference books were as rare as hens' teeth, and in fact Informant only became generally available in

79

Australia that year. Magazines, except for the CCLA President, Cecil Purdy's, and the American 'Chess Life & Review ' seemed to be all written in Russian, and we soaked up books wherever possible to get an edge. In June 1972, the CCLA membership had passed 1250, and increased 292 the following quarter, and 229 the quarter after that. It peaked at about 2000 or so sometime later, I believe. (?)Notably, Chess was not played, or even allowed in schools, where today, coaching programs are abundant. 1–0

If ,in future columns, you wish to distract me from producing more of my own very old games, simply send me one of yours :cdmckenzie@internode.on.net will get me.

*ICCF WebserverThe CCLA is now making domestic events on the ICCF Webserver

available.Please go to www.iccf-webchess.com/ for further information, all entries must go via the International Secretary

runting@bigpond.net.au at the moment.The cost for each Server event is $10.00 (equivalent to 20

stamps!) so this is very reasonable. It is recommended that all new players to the Webserver view the ICCF Tutorial at

http://correspondencechess.com/campbell/tutorial/

ACCQ Office bearers

President & International Secretary Tim RuntingSecretary & Masterpoint Recorder John WilliamsTreasurer Colin ParsonsACCQ Editor Shaun PressRatings Registrar Mike FinchStationery Officer Ken AllanCoordinator of Directors Of Play Graeme McIntyreDirectors of Play Ken AllanDon KeastJohn KablePeter LewisGames Starter (Postal) Mrs Val OliverGames Starter (International and Webserver) Tim RuntingMajor Events Starting Committee Tim RuntingGraeme McIntyreColin ParsonsWebmaster Clive MurdenAppeals Committee David FraserMaurice NewmanDon KeastR Gilbert

80

ShopPrice Qty Total

Annual Subscription (due October) $25 .....Pensioners and Students $15 .....

General Tournament Entry*5-Player [ ] Four-Two [ ] FreeNo Preference [ ] Friendlies [ ] FreeWeb Server Tournament [ ] $10 …. ….

ICCF, Postal, Email & Webserver Tournaments (please circle)7-Player, Open Class, WT, EM, WS $12 ..... .....7-Player, Higher Class, WT, EM, WS $12 ..... .....11-Player,Master Class, WT, EM, WS $15 ..... .....13-Player,Master Norm,WT, EM, WS $45 ..... .....Thematic Openings, Post, Email, Server $15 ..... .....NAPZ 7-player,Server only,Open/Higher $12 ..... .....

Correspondence Chess Score Books $2 ..... .....The CCLA scorebook is designed for CC play with room for 24 games of up to 55 moves plus dates and analysis.

Scorecards (in packets of 125) $6 …. ….CC Scoresheets (10) $2 …. ….These “unofficial” scoresheets are ideal for your private games.

Back Issue: ACCQ and CCLA Record (pre-1986) $1 per copyBack issues of our magazine are available from the Editor. Stocks include all recent editions and a selection of past issues dating back to 1972. A mine of information. Please state date of issue (month and Year) when ordering.Date(s) of Issue......................................

All prices include postage Total $..........Name and Address:

Post order to: GPO Box 2360, Sydney, NSW, 2001

81

History of chessby Terry Mills

This is the first in a series on articles on the history of chess. In this article, I will address the question “How did chess begin?” The source of my information is the classic treatise by H.J.R. Murray (1913).First, I should clarify what I mean by “chess”. To adopt a selfish point of view, I am interested in tracing our game of chess back to early games that are similar to our game. Although draughts, which seems to have been played in ancient Egypt, may be older than chess, I am not keen to classify draughts as an early version of chess. On the other hand, Chinese chess bears a fair similarity to our chess and it would be interesting to find out if the two games are branches of a tree with the same root.For my purposes, I am interested in ancient board games that bear a strong resemblance to the game that we love to play today.Murray (Chapter 2) states that there are allusions to chess in Sanskrit literature in the 7th century C.E. (A.D.). He quotes several examples and, while I did not find any one of them to be compelling evidence by itself, collectively, they gave me the strong impression that a game, like

ours, existed in India at that time. We should also allow many years to pass before a game is played often enough that it is mentioned in literary sources. Murray contends that chess seems to have originated in India at least 1400 years ago.One can readily appreciate the difficulty involved in drawing these inferences from Sanskrit literature. These days, chess features in many modern movies, albeit fleetingly. If you studied these movies carefully, you would learn that the game of chess exists, it is played on an 8x8 board, and maybe you would work out the pieces. But you would not learn much from movies about how the game was played. Scholars face similar difficulties in trying to learn about the origins of chess from ancient literary sources.Murray argues that chess travelled from India to Europe in much the same way that our number system developed. Our number system is based on the numerals 0, 1, 2,…, 9 and the very clever system of place value. Mathematicians agree that the system was developed in India, and carried to Europe by Arab traders in the middle ages. Hence we talk about “Hindu-Arabic” numerals. Surprisingly, it took Europeans quite a long time to see

82

that this new system was superior to their system based on Roman numerals. Similarly, according to Murray, chess spread from India to Persia and then taken by Arabs on to Europe. The game also spread eastwards to China, Korea and Japan. Perhaps this different route led to the development of Chinese chess. Murray states “Christian Europe began to learn chess from the Moors as early as 1,000 A.D.” (p. 29). Throughout this development, there have been some constant threads: the 8x8 board, 8 pawns on the squares a2-h2 and a7-h7, and 8 pieces on a1-h1 and a8-h8.There have been some changes in the names of the major pieces. It seems that there has always been a King, but initially, there was a Counsellor rather than a Queen, and an Elephant rather than a Bishop. I imagine that a Bishop was a European idea rather than an Indian one. The Horse has been a constant. Initially there was a Chariot rather than a Rook or Castle. Recently my brother gave me a chess set from Vietnam and it has some fine looking Elephants instead of Bishops.Murray adds an intriguing footnote. “In the European and earlier Muslim games, the Kings stood on the same file: in modern Asiatic varieties, the Kings each stand on the same file as the

opposing Counsellor (Queen)” (p. 27). It would be fun to play a game of chess with this configuration.Another major different feature that appeared in parts of ancient India was 4-handed chess. There were 4 players, one on each side of the board. Each player had 4 pawns and 4 pieces. The game also involved dice. The throw of the die determined which piece should be moved. Murray (Chapter 3) tries to reconstruct the rules of the game from a number of sources. But this is straying a bit from my main interest, namely, the origins of our game.In this article I have tried to summarise the views of H.J.R. Murray o the origins of chess. Other scholars argue, with good reasons, that chess originated in Persia rather than India. It appears that the question “Where did chess begin?” is unsolved by experts.In any case, we have the Indians, Persians, Arabs, and Europeans to thank for bringing our game to us in Australia today.

Reference: Murray, H.J.R. (1913). A History of Chess. Oxford: OUP.

83

Early Years of the CCLAby Roger Gilbert

The origin of postal chess is rather obscure. However, it is a fair guess that the invention of postage stamps in 19th century Britain, and the consequent establishment of a reliable postal service, gave separated friends the opportunity of playing a game of chess.Our own Correspondence Chess League could hardly have been the first such organisation in the world, but it formed in the 1930's on the initiative of C.J.S. Purdy, who designed the constitution and general rules of play, perhaps drawing on overseas experience. He would have been helped by other prominent players of the time, such as Frank Crowl and Gaius McIntosh.It is worth saying something more about Cecil Purdy's achievements. He had won the Australian cross-board Championship, and went on to win the inaugural World Correspondence Chess Championship. Playing in this grueling event took so much out of him he later said that wild horses couldn't drag him into another such contest.Cecil had started publishing a monthly magazine, the Australasian Chess Review (ACR). As a teenager in the 1930s I began to subscribe to it. There was to be a series of articles on the principles of good

chess, and the first was entitled “Preliminary Iconoclasm'. I had some comments to make on this and sent them to Purdy, who soon recruited me to the CCLA.It should be remembered that the 1930's were depression years; many people were on reduced incomes, or unemployed. The postal authorities agreed to allow a concession rate of one penny for chess moves sent by surface mail, provided the envelope was unsealed. Some players would save on stationary by turning envelopes inside out for use a second time. Air mail was quite expensive.There was one brave attempt, int 1939, to use air mail. Purdy arranged a match between Australia and the United States. To bring down the cost, moves would be sent on a bulk basis. The Australian participants would send their moves to a central point in Sydney; the moves would then be sent bu air mail to an equivalent collecting point in the America for distribution by surface mail. The replies would come back the same way.It is easy to see the problems that could arise under this system. However the outbreak of the war in September 1939 put an end to the project. That cam as a relief to me, as I had been nominated to operate the Sydney collection point.

84

The International Correspondence Chess Federationannouncement

ICCF Diamond Jubilee1st Chess 960 World Cup

The tournament will be played by server and will be organized in three or four stages, depending from the number of the entries. The sections of the preliminary round will have 6 players (10 games) with 2 qualified for the next round. All sections will be with double round robin (players will have the same position with Black and White but all positions will defer from one opponent to another). Time control will be 10 moves for 20 days. The event will be not rated.

Entries Players may enter in the usual way through their National Federations or, where eligible, via the ICCF Direct Entry system.Entries via National Federations should contain player’s name, e-mail address and ICCF ID and should be forwarded by e-mail to the Tournament Organizer, Leonardo Madonia, (e-mail: lmadonia@iccf.com) to reach him before 30th September 2011. It would be appreciated if Federations send entries “as received” and not delay them until closing date. A player can apply for more than one preliminary group.Allocation of players to their sections will be made as random as possible; however, geographical distribution as well as an achievement of reasonable equality of the average rating will be taken into account.

85

Tournament Organization The tournament will start on 30.10.2011. Registration will begin on 01.05.2011 and will close on 30.09.2011 to allow for pairings. All preliminary groups will finish at the latest on 30.12.2012.Any unfinished games that will decide promotional positions in the group will be adjudicated. The players involved will send the record of the game (with the required result –win or draw–) and an analysis to their TD for adjudication no later than 20.01.2013. The adjudication will be organized in such a way that all qualified players will be known by 1.03.2013.The second stage is expected to start on 30.03.2013 at the latest. The next stage (Semi-finals or Final)) is expected to start on 01.09.2014 at the latest.

Prizes Prize 2000 € for the first 4 players (1000 €; 600 €, 300 €; 100 €), no tie break. One book prize to all winners of the preliminary groups.

QualificationsThe first two players of each preliminary section will qualify for the next round.Although the number of preliminary groups which each player may enter is unlimited, no player will qualify for more than two semifinal groups or more than one place in the final (in the case of four stages the qualification to the second round is unlimited)The following qualifications can be achieved in the final: The winner of the Diamond Chess 960 World Cup will qualify for a World Championship final, place 2-4 to World Championship Candidates (tie break applies); All other finalists qualify to World Championship semifinal; Member Federations are asked to give the tournament wide publicity to all their players. We wish all participants many interesting games and new connections with CC friends in other countries, based on the spirit of friendship and the ICCF motto AMICI SUMUS.

86

Webserver ChessHow to play Server Chess(This how to guide is a based on instructions found at http://correspondencechess.com/campbell/tutorial/ For full instructions please visit the website)While chess by mail is still a big part of correspondence chess, playing chess on a webserver is where most of the top level CC is being played these days. The International Correspondence Chess Federation runs all its major events on its own webserver, and the CCLA is also heading in this direction.However playing on a webserver can be a little daunting for the uninitiated, so here is a brief description on how it works.The first thing you need is a computer (or other device) connected to the internet. While most people have them at home, for those that don't, the local library is a good place to go. You also need a web browsing program (Google Chrome or Firefox are good choices)

1. The address of the ICCF webser is www.iccf-webchess.com (Type this into the address bar of your browser)2. The ICCF Webchess screen should now load. Along the left side of the screen is a menu. The

two important choices are 'Login' and 'Registration'3. If you are new to webchess then you should register. Choose 'Registration'. On the registration screen fill in the details. Under existing rating put your CCLA rating (or your ICCF rating if you have one). There is also a 'captcha' field at the bottom (to identify you has human). Type in the two words and press OK.4. To login, choose the 'Login' option. On the login screen you use your ID number you were given when you registered, along with the password you chose. If you have logged in successfully, you will see a welcome screen, and have new menu options on the left hand side.5. If you wish to enter an event, just choose the 'New Events' menu choice. A list of events that you can play in will appear. Click on the 'Enter' field next to the event you wish to enter and follow the instructions (NB Some event do have an entry cost)6. If you are already playing in an event, choosing 'Games List' from the menu will bring up a list of the games you are currently playing. Along with a link to the game, you can also see who's move it is, the time left to move, and the event the game is from.

87

Playing a gameWhen you actually get to play a game you will see a screen like the one above.The screen shows you the board, the moves played, as well as additional information. You can even move the game back and forward by using the arrow keys at the bottom.To play a move, you simply 'drag and drop' the piece you wish to move. You click on the piece you wish to move, and drag it to the square you want it to go to. The server will not let you enter an illegal move.Once the move is chosen you still have an opportunity to change it. If you do not like the move you've chosen, just click the 'Undo' button.

If you are happy with your move, choose 'Submit'. Even now you still haven't sent off your move. You now have the choice of entering 'Conditionals', if the rules of the tournament allow it (Not all tournaments do, This is set by the tournament organiser). You enter conditionals in the same way as you enter normal moves (they show up as red on your move list).If you are now happy with your move, you send the move to your opponent by clicking the 'Commit' button. This sends the move to your opponent (and cannot be undone). You can also choose to offer draws, resign, and send messages to your opponent as part of this screen.

88

I.C.C.F.Thematic Tournament Office

Leonardo Madoniavia Leandro Alberti 54IT - 40137 BOLOGNA

E-mail: lmadonia@iccf.com

WEBSERVER THEMATIC TOURNAMENTS 2012

Theme N° Entries not later than... Startdate

1 1.01.2012 15.01.2012 2 15.02.2012 1.03.2012 3 1.04.2012 15.04.20124 15.05.2012 1.06.20125 1.09.2012 15.09.20126 15.10.2012 1.11.20127 1.12.2012 15.12.2012

Themes:

1 Amar (70th Death Anniversary) Opening, A00

1. Nh3

2 Queen's Indian, E17

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5

3 English, Botvinnik Variation, A25-6

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2

4 Muzio Opening, A45

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O

5 French, MacCutcheon Variation, C12

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bg4 5. e4e5 h6

6 Anti-Benoni, Kasparov's Gambit, A31

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d5

7 Sicilian, Scheveningen Variation, B80-9

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6

89

Opening Cornerby Shaun Press

Recent Developments in the Evans Gambit

Evans Gambit theory tends to grow in fits and starts. The opening does not seem to have the same passionate fan base as the Blackmar-Diemar or the Latvian, and often relies upon a high profile player (such as Kasparov) to return it to the theoretician's table. While not being any sort of opening analyst myself, I do subscribe to a couple of good sources. One source is the Chessvibes Opening magazine, which once a week covers the topical openings from top level OTB chess. The analysis is mainly done by IM's Robert Ris and Merijn van Delft, and while it mainly focuses on Gruenfelds and Semi-Slavs, they also look at the 'rarer' openings. Using this as a source, I've selected three Evans Gambits played over the last 18 months in top level (OTB) events. Most of the analysis is mine, although I have referenced some conclusions from the CVO magazine.The first two games look at the move 5. … Be7. When Kasparov began using the Evans as a shock weapon in the 1990's, this was the move chosen by the more cautious of his opponents (eg Anand!). The third game involves the more

aggressive 5. … Ba5, which White tries to counter with an early Qb3.

Vallejo Pons,F (2698) - Godena,M (2549) [C51]

53rd Masters Reggio Emilia ITA (1), 28.12.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 When Kasparov revived interest in the Evans Gambit in the 1990 a few different approaches were tried. In the following game, Piket declined the pawn, but lost just the same. [4...Bb6 5.a4 a5 6.b5 Nd4 7.Nxd4 Bxd4 8.c3 Bb6 9.d4 exd4 10.0–0 Ne7 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.cxd4 Qd6 14.Nc3 Bxd4 15.Nd5 Bxa1 16.Qxa1 0–0 17.e5 Qc5 18.Rc1 c6 19.Ba2 Qa3 20.Nb6 d5 21.Nxa8 Kh8 22.Nb6 Be6 23.h3 Rd8 24.bxc6 bxc6 25.Rc3 Qb4 26.Rxc6 Rb8 27.Nxd5 Qxa4 28.Rc1 Qa3 29.Bc4 1–0 Kasparov,G (2805)-Piket,J (2670)/Amsterdam 1995/CBM 47] 5.c3 Be7 This is considered the most solid reply. 6.d4 [The idea of an early Qb3 turns up in a number of variations. In 2000 Morozevich tried it against Bacrot. 6.Qb3 Nh6 7.d4 Na5 8.Qb5 Nxc4 9.Bxh6 Nd6 10.Qxe5 Nxe4! 11.Bxg7! Rg8 12.Qxe4 Rxg7 13.0–0 d5 14.Qe5 Kf8 15.Re1 Qd6 16.Qe2 Bh3 17.g3 f6 18.Nbd2 Kg8 19.c4 c6 20.Rab1 Bf8 21.cxd5 cxd5 22.Nf1 Re7

90

23.Qd3 Rxe1 24.Nxe1 Qd7 25.Qf3 Bf5 26.Rxb7 Qxb7 27.Qxf5 Re8 28.Nd3 Re4 29.Nf4 Rxd4 30.Ne3 Bh6 31.Qe6+ Qf7 32.Qc8+ Qf8 33.Qg4+ Qg7 34.Qf3 Rxf4 35.Qxd5+ Kh8 36.Qd8+ Qg8 37.Qxg8+ Kxg8 38.gxf4 Bxf4 39.Nd5 Be5 40.f4 Bd4+ 41.Kg2 Kf7 42.f5 Ke8 43.Kf3 ½–½ Morozevich,A (2748)-Bacrot,E (2594)/Sarajevo 2000/CBM 77] 6...Na5

7.Be2 [7.Nxe5 Nxc4 8.Nxc4 d5 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Ne3 Qa5 11.0–0 Nf6 12.c4 0–0 13.Bd2 Qa6 (13...Qh5?? 14.Nd5 wins material) 14.Nc3 c6 results in an interesting position where White has the space, Black has the two bishops.] 7...d6 8.Qa4+ c6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Nxe5 b5 11.Qc2 Nf6 12.a4 [RR 12.0–0 Be6 13.Nf3 0–0 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.e5 Nd5 16.Bd3 g6 17.Bh6 Re8 18.e6 Bc8 19.Nd2 Bf8 20.exf7+ Kxf7 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.a4 b4 23.cxb4 Nxb4 24.Qc5+ Qe7

25.Qxa5 Nxd3 26.Nxc6 Qf6 27.Ra3 Bf5 28.g4 Qxc6 29.gxf5 Rad8 30.Qb5 Qd6 31.Rb3 Nf4 32.Nf3 Rb8 33.Qc4 gxf5 34.Kh1 Rxb3 ½–½ Godena,M (2537)-Brunello,S (2507)/Sarre ITA 2009/The Week in Chess 786 (34)] 12...0–0 13.0–0 Be6N [RR 13...b4 14.cxb4 Bxb4 15.Bb2 Qe7 16.Na3 Be6 17.Nac4 Bxc4 18.Nxc4 Nxe4 19.Nxa5 Bxa5 20.Bd3 Rfe8 21.Qxc6 Nd2 22.Rfd1 Rad8 23.Qc2 Qg5 24.Kh1 h5 25.Bc1 Rc8 26.Bxd2 Bxd2 27.Qxd2 Qf6 1–0 Del Pozo,J-Edwards Lee/corr IECC 0; RR 13...Qc7 14.Nf3 a6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bh4 Nh5 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Re1 Nf4 19.Bf1 Bg4 20.Nbd2 Qc5 21.e5 Nd5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Ne4 Qb6 24.Nd4 Nb7 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Qd3 Nc5 27.Qg3 Nxe4 28.Rxe4 Bd7 29.e6 Bxe6 30.Nxe6 fxe6 31.Rxe6 Qc5 32.Rxh6 Nxc3 33.Rh3 Ne4 34.Qb3+ Qd5 35.Qxd5+ cxd5 36.Rd3 b4 37.Rxd5 Ra1 38.f3 b3 39.Rd8+ Kf7 40.fxe4 b2 41.Rb8 ½–½ Kurnosov,I (2550)-Kobalia,M (2644)/Warsaw POL 2005/The Week in Chess 555 (41)] 14.axb5 cxb5 15.Bxb5 Qc7 [15...Nb3 16.Ra6 Qb8 17.Nc6 Qxb5 18.Nxe7+ Kh8³ Van Delft & Ris CVO105] 16.Nf3 Nb3 17.Ra6 Nxc1 18.Rxc1 At this point the opening has delivered pluses and minuses for both players. White has the extra pawn(!), and an aggressive rook on a6. Black has two bishops, and the c pawn is a

91

target, at least for the foreseeable future. 18...Rab8 19.c4 Rfc8 20.Nc3 Qf4 Black surrenders another pawn, in return for activating his pieces. 21.Rxa7 Bb4 22.Ba6 Rd8 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.cxd5 [24.exd5? Bc5 25.Rb7 Ra8 26.Rb5 (26.Bb5 Ra2!!) 26...Ba3 27.Ra1 Rxa6–+] 24...Nxe4 25.Rc7 Ba3 26.Rf1 Nf6 27.Rc4 Qd6 28.Rc6 Qxd5 29.Bc4 Qh5 30.h3 Rb7 31.Re1 As this game was played OTB, time no became a factor. The position has been basically equal for the last 10 moves, but in time trouble Black goes wrong. 31...Qa5? 32.Ra1 Ra7 33.Qb3 Rda8 34.Rb6 g6?? 35.Rxf6 1–0

Huschenbeth,N (2502) - Gustafsson,J (2646) [C51]

82nd ch-GER Bonn GER (6), 31.05.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7 6.d4 Na5 7.Be2 exd4 8.Qxd4 d5 [8...d6 9.Qxg7 Bf6 10.Qg3 Ne7 11.0–0 Short played this move against Sokolov, and won, but Sokolov chose not to try the following forcing sequence 11...Rg8 12.Qf4 Bh3 13.g3 (13.Ne1 Bg5 14.Qxg5 Rxg5 15.Bxg5 Be6) 13...Ng6 14.Qe3 Bxf1 15.Bxf1µ; 8...Nf6 9.e5 Nc6 10.Qh4 Nd5 11.Qg3 g6 was Anands choice as black against Kasparov in 1996. Kasparov went on to win.] 9.Qxg7 Bf6 10.Qg3 dxe4 11.Nd4 Ne7N [RR 11...Bd7

12.0–0 Ne7 13.Nd2 Rg8 14.Qe3 Bxd4 15.cxd4 Nf5 16.Qc3 Nc6 17.Re1 Ncxd4 18.Bf1 e3 19.fxe3 Qh4 20.Ba3 Nc6 21.Nb3 Nd6 22.e4 0–0–0 23.Nc5 f6 24.Rab1 Ne5 25.Nxd7 Rxd7 26.Bxd6 Li Chao2 (2548)-Recuero Guerra,D (2407)/Pamplona ESP 2007/The Week in Chess 686/1–0 (35)] 12.Nb5 Nd5 13.c4 a6 14.cxd5 axb5 15.Nc3 Now Black blunders. c6 or Nc4 were both OK for Black here. 15...Qd6?? 16.Bf4 [16.Bxb5+ is also very strong. 16...Ke7 (16...Kd8 17.Bf4 Qc5 18.Rc1+-) 17.Bf4 Bxc3+ 18.Qxc3 Qxf4 19.Qxh8+-] 16...Qb4 17.Be5 Qe7 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.0–0 White has enough targets to be able to spend a move castling. 19...Bd7 20.Nxe4 Qd4 21.Qf4 Kd8 22.Rac1 Nc4 23.Bxc4 bxc4 24.Rxc4 Qxc4 25.Qf6+ Ke8 26.Re1 Rf8 27.Nd6# 1–0

Savchenko,B (2615) - Cmilyte,V (2528) [C52]

Politiken Cup Helsingor DEN (8.8), 05.08.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 The older main line. 6.Qb3 It is better to wait one more move before trying this idea [6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3!? Qe7 8.0–0 Bb6 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Bxd4 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.Nb5! Bxa1 13.Nxc7+ (13.Ba3?? d6 14.Rxa1 0–0 just lead to a losing position in Hector v Kurnosov) 13...Kd8 14.Nxa8 is either unclear or equal,

92

depending upon your taste.] 6...Qe7

7.d4 Nf6 [RR 7...exd4 8.0–0 Bb6 9.Ba3 Na5 10.Qa4 Qd8 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.cxd4 0–0 13.d5 d6 14.e5 Bf5 15.Bxf5 Nxf5 16.Nc3 Re8 17.Qe4 Qc8 18.g4 Nd4 19.Ng5 f5 20.gxf5 0–1 Barbeau,S (2389)-De la Paz Perdomo,F (2452)/Montreal CAN 2007/The Week in Chess 664] 8.d5N One of three tries in this position. As the other two moves lead to wins for Black, and this one should of, White is clearly struggling here. [RR 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Qxe5 10.Bxf7+ Ke7 11.0–0 Rf8 12.Bd5 Bb6 13.h3 d6 14.Na3 Bxh3 15.c4 Bd7 16.c5 Bxc5 17.Nc4 Qh5 18.Qg3 Qg4 19.Qd3 c6 20.e5 Nxd5 21.exd6+ Kd8 22.Qb3 b5 Jobava,B (2616)-Aronian,L (2645)/Antalya TUR 2004/The Week in Chess 499/0–1 (31); RR 8.Ba3 d6 9.d5 Nd4 10.Qa4+ Bd7 11.Qxa5 b6 12.Qa6 Nc2+ 13.Kd1 Nxa1 14.Nbd2 0–0

15.Kc1 (RR 15.Bd3 c6 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.Ke2) 15...c6 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.Re1 Qc7 18.Bb4 Bb7 19.Qa3 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Qxc4 21.Nfd2 Qd3 22.Qb2 Bxe4 Lundgren,B-Wastfelt,T/SVE-ch34 corr 1974/0–1 (43) RR 23.Nxe4 f5 24.Nxd6 a5 25.Ba3 Rac8] 8...Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.0–0 0–0 11.f3 dxc3 12.Ba3 d6 13.Nxc3 Nh5 It turns out that White's impressive pawn chain is more of a help for Black. There are a number of weak squares around the king, and the White pieces are on the wrong half of the board. 14.Kh1 f5! Opening files is crucial. 15.exf5 Rxf5? [15...Bxf5 16.g4 b5! leading to the following forcing line 17.Bxb5 (17.Nxb5 Bxg4 18.fxg4 Qe4+ 19.Kg1 Bb6+–+) 17...a6 18.Bc6 (18.Bxa6 Rxa6 19.gxf5 Qe5 20.Ne4 Qxf5 and Black has an overwhelming attack.) 18...Rab8 19.Qc4 Bxc3 20.Qxc3 Bxg4 21.fxg4 Qe4+ 22.Kg1 Qxg4+ 23.Kh1 Qe4+ 24.Kg1 Nf4–+] 16.g4 Qh4? [Van Delft & Ris show that Black can still cause trouble with 16...Rxf3 17.Rxf3 Bxg4 18.Raf1 (18.Rff1?? Qe3–+) 18...Bxf3+ 19.Rxf3 Rf8 20.Ne2 Qe4 21.Ng1„] 17.Ne4 Rf4 [17...Re5 18.gxh5 Bh3 19.Rf2 (19.Bb2 Bxf1 20.Rxf1 Rxh5 21.Qc2=) 19...Rf8³] 18.gxh5 Now White is better 18...Bh3 19.Bb2 Bxf1 20.Rxf1 Re8 21.Qe3 Bb6 22.Nf6+ 1–0

93

Australian Championship Results2007 Australian Championship (Postal)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 141 Morgan, Dr. E. B. 2340 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 7.5 37.752 Thomas, A. J. 2200P ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7 37.253 Babi, Dezsoe 2267 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7 35.754 Jenkinson, Simon W. 2324 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 7 34.755 IMBasden, Ralph 2463 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 6.5 33.756 Flynn, Phillip L. 2242 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 5.5 27.257 Kershaw, Maxwell 2117 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 5.5 27.258 Davidson, Jamie 2200P 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 5 24.759 Tanti, Joe G. 2309 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 4.5 24.2510 Booth, Dr. R. Stewart 2304 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 4.5 21.7511 Luey, Ryan 2150 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 3 16.7512 McIntyre, Dr. Graeme N. 2045 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 3 15.25

2008 Australian Championship (Webserver)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Score SB

1 Fenwick, John Paul 2376 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 10.5 62.252 IM Barnett, Dr. Clive 2361 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 10 56.753 SIMKerr, Stephen 2554 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 9.5 534 Stock, Gunter 2036 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 8 44.55 Flynn, Phillip L. 2267 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 7.5 44.56 Thew, Brian W. 2148 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 7 367 Davidson, Jamie 2167 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 6.5 388 Boronowskis, Peter 2308 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 6.5 32.59 Stibal, George 2244 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 6.5 32.510 Gross, M. C. 2212 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 5.5 28.2511 Jones, Brian 2132 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 5 25.7512 Booth, Dr. R. Stewart 2246 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 5 2413 Jenkinson, Simon W. 2325 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 3.5 1614 Jonovic, Paul 1975 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2010 Australian Championship (Webserver)Rated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Score SB

1 Jenkinson, Simon W. 2056 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 7.5 37.752 Booth, Dr. R. Stewart 2204 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 6.5 333 Kershaw, Maxwell 2132 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6.5 31.754 Stock, Gunter 2150 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ . ½ ½ 1 1 6 29.255 Jones, Brian 2161 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 6 326 Marsden, J. A. 2266 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 30.757 Davidson, Jamie 2084 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 30.758 Gross, M. C. 2213 0 ½ ½ . ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5.5 25.59 Thew, Brian W. 2224 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 5 25.510Willow, Dr. Max 2158P 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 1 5 23.2511Boronowskis, Peter 2286 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 2.5 1412McElroy, W. 1967 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.5 12.5

94

RatingsA list of 42 players who have been re-rated from some or all of the 52 games received for the quarter from 1 March to 31 May 2011.G=Grandmaster;I=Intnl,W=Intnl Lady,C=Candidate Master;M=Master;S=Senior IM;L=Life Member.* indicates fewer than 12 games rated.

Accola B. * 1012Accola T. 1105Allan K.W. 1851Anderson C.L. 988Ashe I.R. 1049Basden R. M I 2180Bedelph M.J. 1476Bubb D.C. 1472Cariss D. 1271Cavendish M.F. 1455Coburn A. 1347Cook P. 1401Dasler J.M. 1881Davies J.L. 1444Deacon G. 1460Griffiths M.T. 1529Groenhout R. 1526Harrison R.W. 1193Hughes P.J. 1132Jeffreys R.W. 1514Johnson R.S. 1385Kershaw M.J. 1975Kissick Rev P.H.E. 700Kruse P.D. 1264Laguerta C. 1273Luey R. 1886Macnab A. 1808

Martin A.W. 1409McIntyre Dr G.N. 1774Mitchell Dr K.R. 1807Oats A. 1939Omachen S. * 1006Parsons C.J. 1408Piavanini G.M. 968Potter C.M. 1152Ridout P.R. 1013Searle J.M. 891Sims A.T. L 1467Spoljar M. * 836Stewart L.M. 1111Valiaho V. 1367Yeats A. 937

MEMBERSHIP REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30 JUNE 2011NEW3316 G DAVIS 11803038* R MITCHELL* 1069* = rejoinedRESIGNED ( incl address unknown)3279 R DYSON2152 D FREIREMEMBERS 31/3/2011 312Add NEW 2

___314

Less Resigned 2___

MEMBERS 31/6/2011 312

95

Best value top 20 book Classics1 Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master (540 large pages) $54.95

2 Life and Games of Tal by Tal (496p) $57.953 My 60 Memorable Games by Fischer (2008 Ed, 384p) $39.954 Modern Chess Openings 15th edition 2009 $54.955 How to Reassess Your Chess: The Complete Chess-Mastery Course(Exp. 3rd Edition) (Paperback) $39.95

6 The Reassess Your Chess Workbook (423 large pages) $44.957 The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery (444p) $44.95

8 Complete Book of Chess Strategy: Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z (Paperback) $39.95

9 Winning Chess Combinations - Yasser Seirawan $47.9510 Winning Chess Tactics, revised edition - Yasser Seirawan $47.9511 Winning Chess Strategies, revised edition - Yasser

Seirawan $47.9512 My System 21st Century Edition by Aron Nimzowitsch $36.9513 Chess Praxis 21st Century by Aron Nimzovitsch $37.9514 Logical Chess: Move by Move by I.Chernev (256p) $39.9515 Play Winning Chess by Seirawan $41.9516 The Search for Chess Perfection II by Purdy $59.9517 Kasparov on Modern Chess KK Matches 1975 - 1985 (2008) $74.9518 My Great Predecessors Part 2 by Kasparov $69.9519 606 Puzzles for Chess Nuts by Wilson $17.9520 Chess for Children by Chandler (h/c) $27.50

96

NEVILLE LEDGER CHESS CENTREPOSTAL: P. O. BOX 837 BURNIE TASMANIA 7320

TELEPHONE (03) 6431 1280E.MAIL ADDRESS nlchess@tassie.net.au

Books: Latest titles, Second-hand,Sets, Boards, Digital Clocks

Play the Najdorf Sicilain James Rizzitano 2010 144pp $41.95Play the Catalan Nigel Davies 2009 192pp $44.95Who Dares Wins Lorin D’Costa 2010 190pp Vastly entertaining

with players attacking on opposite sides at the same time $47.95C.J.S.Purdy’s Fine Art of Chess Annotations and Other Thoughts

Volume 1 2004 152pp $20.00, Volume 2 2001 256pp $20.00Volume 3 2003 256pp $20.00

Grandmaster Repertoire The Caro Kann Lars Schandorff 2010 256ppTired of bad position? Try the main lines! $52.95

Heroes of Classical Chess Craig Pritchett 2009 224ppLearn from Carlsen, Anand, Fischer, Smyslov and Rubinstein $47.95

The Giant Chess Puzzle Book Zenon Franco 2010 288 pp Giant isthe word 1001 new chess puzzles. Interesting with many positionsshowing the actual moves played and you are asked how to improve$49.95

Understanding the King’s Indian Mikhail Golubev 2006 208pp $44.95Starting Out: Open Games Glenn Flear 2010 318pp

The Quiet Italian, Two Knights Defence, Evans Gambit, Four KnightsScotch, Central Gambits, King’s Gambit, Vienna Game etc $49.95

Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch Palliser, Williams. Vigus 2009 224pp $47.95Genius in the Background Tibor Karolyi & Nick Aplin 2009 384pp

Introduces brilliant chess that will be unfamiliar to even well-readchessplayers. Twelve stars are profiled with examples of their greatest achievements, but these stars are not famous – they aregeniuses who stay in the background. $52.95

Starting Out: The Reti Neil McDonald 2010 206pp $47.95Play the King’s Indian Joe Gallagher 2004 208pp $44.95Nimzo-Indian Attack Byron Jacobs & Jonathan Tait 2001 192pp $44.95Black is O.K. in Rare Openings Andras Adorjan 1998 110pp $16.95 1.d4 Volume Two Boris Avrukh 2010 614pp Covers the King’s Indian

Dutch, Grunfeld, various Benonis, Benko, Budapest and otherMinor systems $59.95

The Classical Sicilian Yermolinsky 2006 111p Was $39.95 $29.95Winning Chess Openings Yasser Seirawan 2004 258pp Was $47.95 $37.95Tony Miles: It’s Only Me Lawton 2003 288pp Was $49.99 $24.95Chess – Tasmanian Records Neville Ledger. Volume 1 1800s-2000 $8

Volume 2 1800s – 2000 $8, Volume 3 2001 – 2009 $8Volume 4 2009 $6.

TO MARK OUR THIRTY YEARS OF SELLING CHESS BOOKS WE OFFER A THIRTY PERCENT DISCOUNT ON ALL THE ABOVE IF ORDERED WITHIN TWO MONTHS OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT APPEARING

Terms: Payment 7 days. Postage To buyer’s account