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Chess Life Online 2012 April The October Check is in the Mail
Chess Life Online 2012 April The October Check is in the Mail | The October Check is in the Mail |
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| By Alex Dunne | |
| October 3, 2012 | |
Michael Allard
Fortunately, Michael Allard came to the rescue with this win against the always dangerous Charlie Leach. GAME OF THE MONTH Michael's win once again reaffirms the adage that fortune favors the brave. SICILIAN DEFENSE (B66) 6484 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 Allard notes that 8...h6 is condemned by such GMs as Yermolinsky, Khalifman, and Wells. 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bf4 d5 11.Qe3 Be7 12.Be2 0-0 13.h4 Nh7 14.Qg3 White has a variety of choices here besides the solid 14. Qg3 -- the caveman 14. g4!? the wait-and-see 14. Kb1 and the positional 14. e5. 14...Kh8 15.Bc7 Qd7 Claridge-Szrama, World CC Championship 2000 continued 15...Qe8 16. Rhe1 Ra7 with an edge to White. 16.Na4 Bd8 17.Bd6 Be7 18.Bc7 Bd8 19.Bd6 Be7 In OTB play such repetitions are used to either gain time on the clock or establish a psychological advantage. In CC play sometimes family life takes precedence. 20.Bxe7 White rightly plays on as his position is somewhat better. 20...Qxe7 21.Qe3 Nf6 22.e5 The mistaken attempt to win a Pawn by 22. Nb6 boomerangs after 22...Rb8 23. exd5 Qb4! 22...Nd7 23.c3 With 23 Nb6 White gets rid of his liability on a4 and relieves the pressure on e5 all while leaving Black with his problem child on c8. 23...f6 For now 23...c5 looks natural and equalizing. 24.f4 f5? 25.g4 !? Black's Knight is his most dangerous piece. White could play 25. Nb6 and Nxd7 after which Black's position is basically passive. Nevertheless, Allard's decision to continue the kingside attack is reasonable and probably best. 25...fxg4 26.Bxg4 c5 With f4 a bit loose, White no longer has the move Nb6. Therefore Black should try 26...a5 looking at Ba6-b5. 27.Rhg1 Bb7 28.Rd2 Bc6 29.Bd1 White has neatly arranged to keep his a4 safe. Black should now make White defend f4 by 29...Rf5 30. Bc2 Bxa4 31. Bxa4 Raf8 with an equal game. 29...Qxh4? 30.Nxc5 Rxf4 It is Black's kingside that is coming under immediate pressure. Swapping Queens is a necessity 30...Qxf4 31.Nxe6 Adequate, but 30. Rxg7! is sharper -- 31...Nxc5 32. Qg1 (Threat 33. Qg6) Rf1! 34. Qxf1 Kxg7 35. Qg1+ Kh8 36. Qxc5 and Black's exposed King will prove fatal. 31...Re4 32.Qg3 Qxg3 33.Rxg3 Rxe5 34.Nxg7 Rg8? Black finally cracks under the pressure, but his game was already difficult. With 34...Rf8, Black could play on. 35.Rh2! 1-0 The conclusion could be 35...Re6 36. Nxe6 Rxg3 37. Rxh6+ Kg8 38. Nc7 and Black will lose another Pawn. LEARN CHESS BY MAIL ! Lessons given by mail, telephone, ICC - many different ways. I specialize in players rated 800-2100 who would like to improve their game. Contact me for information. Alex Dunne, 324 West Lockhart St., Sayre, PA 18840 or[email protected] Chess booklet for sale: 2004 Golden Knights Championship -- booklet of the 57th USCF CC Championship -- $10.00 postage paid. 35 pages, 90+ games SEPTEMBER RESULTS John Collins Joseph Miller 11C21 6-0 Walter Muir Bernard Miller 11W35 6-0 Roger Pedersen 12W22 6-0 Robert McCorkle 11W28 4-2 Ronald Roberts 12W21 4½-1 ½ Vincent Sereni 12W20 6-0 Roger Pedersen 12W18 5 ½-½ Trophy Quad Lester Ferrell 10Q11 6-0 Joseph Areias 11Q15 6-0 BOOK REVIEW Correspondence Chess is one of a new breed of books (new to me, anyway). This is a "print on demand" book -- When you buy the book, they print it at that time. It is available in many places over the internet with prices ranging from $8.70 to $22.41. The book, no author given, is basically a reprint of non-copyright material found on the internet in places such as Wikipedia. It lists information on chess servers, federations, biographical material on some CC Grandmasters, a few ICCF national organizations, and WCCF Champions. At 44 pages, Correspondence Chess, published by Books LLC, Wiki Series, is probably a welcome member of your CC reference library at the $8.70 price. OBITUARIES Paul O. Glass of Maplewood, New Jersey. Paul was born April 22, 1933, died in 2011. After conducting an excellent game, Paul falters on Move 18. GROB OPENING (A00) 6485 Joe Kennedy of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was born November 6, 1965. With wins like this one, Joe Kennedy is easy to remember! BLACKMAR GAMBIT (D00) 6487 Michael Allain born Jan 12, 1960. Michael last played in the 1996 Golden Knights. Jon Burgess of Mount Prospect, Illinois, died on August 12, 2012. 
Jon Burgess
Jon was an OTB Master, born May 2, 1977, who moved to the US from England. PHILIDOR'S DEFENSE (C41) 6488 Keith Holzmueller is Gold ! Scoring +3 =5 -0 IM Keith Holzmueller snagged the gold medal on Board 3 of the recently finished 18 Olympiad Preliminaries (The US Team qualified second). In the following game Keith first uses Rook and Pawn to fight against Bishop and Knight, and then sacrifices the Rook to queen a Pawn and win with Queen vs. two pieces. All very instructive! SICILIAN DEFENSE (B33) 6489 Quote: One of the most romanticized versions of chess is correspondence chess - Edward Scimia NEW ICCF NEWSLETTER Dennis Doren is the new ICCF-US Friendly Match organizer, and is now distributing a newsletter. It is available on a link at iccfus.com, and Dennis will distribute future issues on an email copy list to anyone who would like to receive them. We hope this promotion will allow USCF players to join in the two game matches, whether new to ICCF or old hands at international play. The fight for the center in the middle of this game makes for exciting and instructive play. SICILIAN DEFENSE (B87) 6490 Some exciting chess gets played online. Here are two electronic gladiators slugging it out. NIMZO-INDIAN DEFENSE (E46) 6491 White's two Rooks just can't get their motors started. CENTER COUNTER (B01) 6492 See a pdf index of Alex Dunne's columns. |