Hart-Selling, NJ Open (u-1800) 2005

White to play after 26...Qe3.

I watched the end of the game between Kenilworth Chess Club regulars Glen Hart and Ed Selling in Round 1 of the under-1800 section of the New Jersey Open. I was especially interested in the moment depicted above, since I saw the best move and hoped Glen would find it. But Glen was in time trouble so he chose the "safest-looking move," breaking the pin on his Rook by moving the King to b1, which ironically gets him into trouble. You can play over the game online or download the annotated PGN file (or see it as text below) for the solution. We went over the game together in the skittles room and I think it is worth playing over. White's play might have been improved by including Pf3 at some point (in English System fashion) to strengthen his e-pawn.

Glen Hart (left) playing Ed Selling.

[Event "New Jersey Open (u-1800)"]
[Site "Somerset, NJ USA"]
[Date "2005.09.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hart, Glen"]
[Black "Selling, Ed"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B48"]
[Annotator "Goeller,Michael"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[TimeControl "40/2"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Qc7 7. Qd2 b6 8. O-O-O Bc5 9. Be2 $6 { This move may be too slow.} (9. Bf4 $5 Ne5 10. Nf3 Nxf3 11. gxf3 (11. Bxc7 Nxd2 12. Rxd2 Bb7 13. e5 Rc8 14. Bd6 f6) 11... Qc6 12. Rg1 $14) ({Best may be} 9. Nxc6 $1 Bxe3 10. Qxe3 dxc6 11. e5 Ne7 12. Ne4 $16) 9... Nf6 10. g4 $5 h6 11. h4 ({Better} 11. Nxc6 $1 Bxe3 12. Qxe3 dxc6) 11... Bb7 12. g5 $6 ({ White first must take a moment to strengthen his center:} 12. f3 $142 O-O-O $5 13. g5 hxg5 14. hxg5 $14) 12... Nxd4 ({Even better may be} 12... Nxe4 $1 13. Nxe4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bxe4 15. Bxg7 Bd6 $1 16. Kb1 Bf4 17. Qc3 Qxc3 18. Bxc3 Rh7 $11) 13. gxf6 Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Bxe3+ 15. Qxe3 gxf6 16. Rhg1 $44 {White is down a pawn but he has excellent compensation: Black's King is still in the center with lines opening up, White has good chances of gaining a grip on the dark squares, and the extra pawn is doubled and vulnerable to attack.} Rc8 $5 { It seems at first unwise of Black to completely forego castling. But Ed thought he was "content" to have his King sit in the center, especially since he has good counterplay on the Queenside.} (16... O-O-O $6 17. Rg7 d6 18. Qd4 $1 $14) (16... Qc5 $1 17. Qd2 Bc6 18. Qf4 Qe5 $11) 17. f4 $6 {Too slow.} (17. Qd4 $142 $1 $36) 17... b5 18. Rd2 $5 (18. a3 Qc5 19. Qd2 Bc6 $15) 18... Qc5 $1 $15 19. Qe1 $6 Ke7 $6 ({Black could win White's weak e-pawn immediately by} 19... b4 $1 {xe4} 20. Nd1 Bxe4 $1 $19) 20. e5 $5 (20. a3 a5) 20... fxe5 21. fxe5 Rcf8 $2 (21... b4 $142) 22. Qd1 $6 (22. h5) (22. Rg4 $5 Bc6 23. b4 $5) 22... Rd8 23. Qe1 {White begins to get into time trouble here.} d5 $6 24. h5 $5 ({Easier was} 24. Qf1 $1 Rdf8 25. Qf6+ Ke8 26. Rg7 $36) ({or} 24. exd6+ Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Qxd6 26. Qe3 $44) 24... Rdf8 $6 (24... Rdg8 $1 $11) 25. Qh4+ (25. Ne4 $3 Qc4 (25... dxe4 26. Qh4+ $40) (25... Qb6 26. Nd6 Rhg8 27. Rdg2 Rxg2 28. Rxg2 Ba8 29. Qb4 $40) 26. Qh4+ Kd7 27. Rg3 $1 b4 28. Nf6+ Kc6 29. Qxc4+ dxc4 30. Rd6+ Kb5 31. Nd7 $16) 25... Ke8 26. Rgd1 Qe3 27. Kb1 $6 (27. Ne4 $3 Kd7 28. Re1 $1 Qb6 29. Nd6 $16 { and Black is tied up while White can build up his attack on the kingside.}) ( 27. Re1 Qg5 28. Qd4 $132) 27... Qxe5 28. Ne4 $2 {Right idea but too late!} (28. Re2 Qg5 29. Qd4 $44 {would still give White play for his pawns.}) 28... Qxe4 $1 29. Qxe4 dxe4 30. Rd8+ Ke7 31. R1d7+ Kf6 32. Rxf8 Rxf8 33. Rxb7 Rd8 34. Kc1 Rd6 $19 {and White's flag fell.} (34... e3 $1 { of course would have been more immediately conclusive.}) 0-1

Stoyko-Cole, New Jersey Open 2005

White to play and begin his attack.

I decided some time this week not to play in the New Jersey Open as I had originally planned. I have been so busy with the beginning of school that I am simply too exhausted to play my best. I have also had no time to prepare. Besides, it is sometimes more fun to visit a tournament than to play in it.

I stopped by to observe Round 1 this afternoon, just as Steve Stoyko was showing his game with David Cole (which you can play over online or download as a PGN or get below).

Steve showing his game in the lobby.

I hope to have a chance later to annotate it more fully and post it as a java applet, since it is a wonderful example of a well-developed and sustained kingside attack. Black's only mistake is that he plays a bit too passively. And there are really no stunning moves in White's assault. He simply builds up on the kingside--first posting his Knight powerfully there, then advancing his pawns, then bringing over his Rooks, then opening up lines, and finally invading. And there appears nothing that Black could do to stop him. In fact, Black became so discouraged by his inability to generate counterplay that he resigned before Steve had secured a material advantage. Black's position is surely lost and it is just painful to continue.

[Event "New Jersey Open"]
[Site "Somerset, NJ USA"]
[Date "2005.09.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Stoyko, Stephen"]
[Black "Cole, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[TimeControl "40/2"]

1. Nf3 d6 2. e4 e5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. g3 $5 (5. Bc4) 5... Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. a4 O-O 8. O-O b6 $6 (8... Qa5) 9. Re1 Qc7 10. h3 Bb7 11. Be3 (11. Nh4) 11... a6 12. Nh4 Rfe8 13. Nf5 Bf8 14. g4 (14. d5) 14... Kh8 (14... d5) (14... h6) 15. g5 Ng8 16. d5 g6 17. Ng3 c5 18. b3 (18. h4) 18... Bg7 19. h4 Ne7 (19... f6) 20. Bh3 $1 Nf8 21. h5 Kg8 22. Kg2 Rad8 23. Rh1 Bc8 24. Qe2 f5 25. gxf6 Bxf6 26. Rag1 Kf7 $2 27. Qf3 Bxh3+ 28. Rxh3 Ng8 29. hxg6+ hxg6 30. Rgh1 Rd7 31. Rh8 $1 Qd8 32. Bg5 1-0

Lithograph of New York 1857

A scan of the souvenir lithograph from the First American Chess Congress, New York 1857. Click on the picture to see a larger version (which should automatically resize for your screen). You can also see the original book scan (recommended only if you have a speedy internet connection).

The lithograph shows all of the members of the congress, both those who played in the main tournament and those who did not. Top row: Colonel Charles D. Mead (chairman), George Hammond, Frederic Perrin, Daniel Willard Fiske, Hiram Kennicott, and H. Philips Montgomery. Left column: Hubert Knott, Louis Paulsen, and William Allison. Bottom row: Theodore Lichtenhein, James Thompson, Charles H. Stanley, Judge A. B. Meek, S. R. Calthrop, and Napoleon Marache. Right column: W.J.A. Fuller, Paul Morphy, and Dr. B.I. Raphael.

Favicons

If you visit my blog or the Kenilworth Chess Club site with Netscape, Firefox, or some other Mozilla-based browser, you may have noticed that I now have a Favicon (short for "favorites" "icon") composed of a blue Charlesworth "K" on a white Rook against a blue background. I will eventually insert the necessary coding into my pages so it will show up in Internet Explorer as well (though that will take some time and experimenting). You can make a Favicon for your site or blog too if you have some basic computer (and perhaps Photoshop) skills.

There are several instruction sites online, which you can find by searching on "how to make a favicon" or "create a favicon." I used the following excellent guide:

How to Create a Favicon by PhotoMatt
http://photomatt.net/2003/11/13/how-to-create-a-favicon/

Within an hour after reading those instructions, I had made a Favicon and posted it to the root of my site. Now I just have to find time for some coding....

Paul Morphy of New Orleans

I think, unconsciously at least, I picked up The Book of the First American Chess Congress (Paul Morphy's only tournament victory) as a way of thinking about the man from New Orleans without having to confront the terrible tragedy that is unfolding in the city that he loved. I suspect there will be a lot more discussion of Morphy at chess sites and blogs in the weeks to come for much the same unstated and unconscious reason. After all, there is so little we can do (other than donating to the Red Cross) to help that terrible situation. And chess has always been a wonderful escape.

I began putting together a list of Morphy links to publish here and should have it up by the weekend.