Tag Archives: Rhys Goldstein

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The Magnetic Queen – a chess lecture

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“The Magnetic Queen” by Rhys Goldstein

“Let us say that a game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don’t yield to precise calculations; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory. I would choose the latter without thinking twice. If the opponent offers keen play I don’t object; but in such cases I get less satisfaction, even if I win, than from a game conducted according to all the rules of strategy with its ruthless logic.”
~ Anatoly Karpov

Despite his reputation for “boring” play, in this masterpiece, Karpov uses his queen like a magnet and essentially moves the enemy pieces.

Here are the PDF notes for The Magnetic Queen, a lecture given on February 13, 2017 at Annex Chess Club (just before Round Two of the What’s My Name Swiss).

And here is the featured Karpov game:

four square shadow

The featured image is from the tomb of Queen Nefertari (1295-1255 BCE). She was known by many titles, including Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt), Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t), Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy), and in the words of her husband Ramses II, ‘The one for whom the sun shines.’ There is no record of her ever having been known as The Magnetic Queen.

News

A Chess Lecture on Losing

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Rhys Goldstein
Rhys Goldstein

“The Role of the Loser” by Rhys Goldstein

…a lecture on losing inspired by the following quote:

“What we shouldn’t forget is that it takes two very good players to create a brilliant game. I always feel the role of the loser in a brilliancy is underestimated. I always thought the loser should really get the money for the brilliancy prize. The winner’s happy anyway.”

– Bill Hartston

  • 6:50-7:20 pm
  • 918 Bathurst
  • Mon March 23
  • $5 casual drop-in fee
  • Free for ACC members and chess students

If you missed the lecture, here is a great article version (pdf) of the lecture: Role_of_the_Loser

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Rhys Goldstein

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Player Profile: Rhys Goldstein (2038)

Rhys Goldstein
Rhys Goldstein

Rhys plays chess for the beauty of the game. Every chess player celebrates a good result against a strong opponent, but Rhys looks beyond ratings and results to the rigour and creativity behind the moves: “I am always hoping,” he says, “for a great game featuring inspiring ideas combined with impeccable logic.”

Rhys is delivering this week’s pre-tournament chess lecture at ACC: “Selected Double Piece Sacrifices,” Monday December 2, 6:50 to 7:20 pm.

Early days

Rhys first learned the game in Vancouver, where he grew up. As a curious seven-year-old, he was watching a child and an adult playing chess at a community centre. Seeing his interest, they called him over and taught him the basics. His parents then bought him his first chess set, and many of his early games were played at home with his father. While not a strong competitive player, Rhys’ father was a great teacher who tailored his games with his son to illustrate tactical and strategic themes: skewers, forks, mate with two rooks, etc. – things Rhys could use in his games against his friends.

inspiring ideas combined with impeccable logic

It was not until high school, however, that Rhys started playing regularly. He and his high-school chess club friends played almost every day: at lunch, after school, sometimes even in class (“passing a sheet of paper back and forth with a board drawn in pen and the pieces scribbled over top in pencil”). These high-school games led to lasting friendships. Indeed, the first person Rhys played at his high-school chess club – Rhys remembers his friend “fell for the four-move mate” in their first game – became the best man at his wedding.

Family life

The demands of family (Rhys and his wife have a young son) and professional life (Rhys investigates applications of architectural computer modelling for improved energy efficiency) haven’t kept Rhys away from chess. He still plays and lectures at Annex Chess Club. While his wife is “indifferent” to chess, he does play the occassional game with his one-year-old son, who likes “to smash through the king’s defenses with both hands.”

Rhys_Vacation

Just as every young hockey player dreams of playing in the NHL, every young chess player wants to become a grandmaster. Rhys, however, at 33, is old enough to have more modest goals: “It would be nice to get to 2200 [master level] one day, but I am not in any rush. For the time being, my goal is to slowly improve in the areas where I am weak, which include playing open positions, managing the clock, and not blundering so often!”

Chess at Annex Chess Club

Rhys likes a lot about the ACC, starting with its welcoming atmosphere. “Some clubs make you feel like an outsider when you first walk in the door. That’s not the case with the Annex Chess Club, where it’s easy to meet someone and start playing a casual game.” He is also impressed with the number of tournament players who come out regularly on Monday nights, with the range of playing strengths at the club, and (as a computer programmer) with the “terrific website.” Given the need for silence during tournament play, he thinks an online forum is an important place for ongoing conversations.

chess should be fun

Rhys not only plays at ACC; he is also one of our most regular lecturers. Like his father, he loves teaching chess: lecturing and writing articles, he says, “can be more rewarding than actually playing the game.”

In the end, the highest praise he gives ACC is personal and very simple. He credits the club for his own return to competitive chess after a decade-long hiatus: “The Annex Club is the reason I started playing chess again.”

Chess for fun

At ACC, where we promote chess for everyone,™ it’s music to our ears when we hear that we’ve brought a player to the game – or brought one back. On this point, however, Rhys might not subscribe to full ACC orthodoxy.

Should everyone play chess? We say yes, but Rhys is not out to convert the nonbelievers. “Maybe everyone should try chess once or twice in their life, but only those that enjoy it should keep playing.”

you must have the courage to play the move you think is best

Rhys’ first rule is that “chess should be fun,” but he admits it is not always fun, even for him: sometimes chess can become “more frustrating than entertaining.” When that happens, he takes a different tack in his games until he starts “learning new things and having fun again.”

For Rhys, also, there are limits to the educational value of chess. “The worst thing about chess is that, when you’re playing a game, you’re not really learning how to cooperate with other people. Team sports are a little better that way. At the moment I am playing both chess and soccer, and they complement each other well.”

Tips and advice

Apart from his advice that chess should be fun, and his suggestion to mix it with cooperative team activies, Rhys has two tips for the developing chess player. The first is to practise chess puzzles: “If your goal is to improve your rating as quickly as possible, then buy a book with hundreds of chess puzzles that you can solve in your head in less than one minute.”

With his second piece of advice, Rhys returns to the theme that chess is about the ideas behind the moves: “I agree with Capablanca that the beginner or average player must develop their imagination. According to the legendary world champion, this means you must attack when possible, and you must have the courage to play the move you think is best regardless of what other people might say. For inspiration, I recommend books of historical games annotated by passionate authors. The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, by Irving Chernev, will do nicely.”

Here is a favorite game of his own:

Rhys_2013

Results

Dave Southam wins the ACC Summer Love!

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Susan Polgar asks, “What movie is this chess scene from?”

“Summer lovin’, had me a blast. Summer lovin’, happened so fast!”

Annex Chess Club – Summer Love Swiss Tournament

To celebrate the end of a fantastic summer in Toronto – and before the summer days drift away – we’re launching another CFC-rated club tournament on August 20 (the week after the last round of our Beach Blanket Swiss). As per usual, it’s a 5-round Swiss in 3 sections: Premier (>1900), Reserve A (1500-1900), and Reserve B (U1500). And as per usual, the Premier section is also FIDE-rated.

Complete results are on the table below.

“Tell me more, tell me more…”

Round Five – September 24

In the Premier section, Dave Southam, with the better tie-break, needed only a draw against rival Pavel Peev in the last round to secure first place. Dave did just that and finished first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Dave!

Dave Southam

In the U1900 section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov, with a last-round win over Zaki Uddin, finished alone in first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Arkadiy!

Arkadiy Ugodnikov

Finally, in the U1500 section, six-year-old Harmony Zhu, with a win against Shabnam Abbarin, took first place, finishing undefeated at 4.5/5. Harmony will be playing in the U1900 section next tournament. Way to go, Harmony!

Harmony Zhu, analysing her final-round game with her dad and her opponent

Next week, Monday October 1, we’ll be starting a new tournament, the Autumn Colours Swiss. The first round starts at 7:30 pm, but please arrive by 7:00 pm to register if you haven’t already.

Final Results

SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: Premier

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 David Southam 102535 2176 W8 W9 W13 D3 D2 4.0
2 Pavel Peev 122223 2209 W7 B— W3 H— D1 4.0
3 Wajdy Shebetah 148432 2132 W18 W6 L2 D1 W5 3.5
4 Daniel Wiebe 132137 2012 W5 H— H— U— W7 3.0
5 Hayk Oganesyan 152587 1827 L4 D8 W18 W12 L3 2.5
6 Rolando Renteria 152626 2249 H— L3 L8 W18 W16 2.5
7 David Cohen 100234 1812 L2 W18 L11 W17 L4 2.0
8 Zehn Nasir 148198 1878 L1 D5 W6 D14 U— 2.0
9 Geordie Derraugh 132393 2242 W15 L1 H— H— U— 2.0
10 Melissa Greeff 153598 2112 W19 H— H— U— U— 2.0
11 Morgon Mills 127517 2206 H— H— W7 U— U— 2.0
12 Adrian David Valencia 153521 1967 H— W15 U— L5 U— 1.5
13 Pepin Manalo 112277 1845 H— H— L1 U— D18 1.5
14 Alex T. Ferreira 127516 2051 H— H— U— D8 U— 1.5
15 Andrew Pastor 127521 1926 L9 L12 H— H— U— 1.0
16 Scott Cliff 137007 1989 H— H— U— U— L6 1.0
17 David Krupka 102648 1943 H— H— U— L7 U— 1.0
18 Daniel Zotkin 146857 1920 L3 L7 L5 L6 D13 0.5
19 Adie Todd 125156 1718 L10 U— U— U— U— 0.0

SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: U1900

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Arkadiy Ugodnikov 146626 1679 D13 H— W11 W2 W4 4.0
2 Ulli Diemer 153538 1576 W4 W10 W3 L1 D5 3.5
3 Manuela Renteria 152627 1654 H— W13 L2 W7 W11 3.5
4 Mohammad Zaki Uddin 152024 1631 L2 W20 W15 W10 L1 3.0
5 Hooshang Ab-barin 152910 1669 L12 W19 D7 W8 D2 3.0
6 Josep Sobrepere 152976 1503 H— H— U— W14 W10 3.0
7 Jack Maguire 144604 1514 W8 L9 D5 L3 W19 2.5
8 Marcus Wilker 102713 1667 L7 H— W13 L5 W14 2.5
9 Adie Todd 125156 1726 B— W7 H— U— U— 2.5
10 Abdolreza Radpey 149018 1424 W19 L2 W14 L4 L6 2.0
11 Daniel Sirkovich 145096 1541 H— H— L1 B— L3 2.0
12 Chris Wehrfritz 151679 1660 W5 L16 H— H— U— 2.0
13 Kevin Gaffney 102701 1596 D1 L3 L8 W19 U— 1.5
14 Peter McNelly 106141 1645 H— H— L10 L6 L8 1.0
15 Nicholas O'Bumsawin 151261 1756 H— H— L4 U— U— 1.0
16 Ian Prittie 153588 1135 U— W12 U— U— U— 1.0
17 David Tolnai 126875 1571 W20 F— U— U— U— 1.0
18 George Supol 152286 1393 U— U— W19 U— U— 1.0
19 Bill Thornton 131181 1641 L10 L5 L18 L13 L7 0.0
20 Edmond Jodhi 150171 1679 L17 L4 U— U— U— 0.0

SwissSys Standings. Summer Love: U1500

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Harmony Zhu 151635 948 D10 W16 W14 W9 W4 4.5
2 Ian Prittie 153588 1135 L9 B— W17 W11 W8 4.0
3 Kuhan Jeyapragasan 147906 1467 H— H— W10 W14 W5 4.0
4 Shabnam Abbarin 151181 1385 W22 W11 D9 W6 L1 3.5
5 Vinorth Vigneswaramoorthy 153938 1349 W18 L9 W15 W7 L3 3.0
6 George Supol 152286 1393 W7 L14 B— L4 W10 3.0
7 Jean-Marc David 151900 1203 L6 W12 W16 L5 W14 3.0
8 Alejandro Renteria 152628 1379 H— H— W19 W13 L2 3.0
9 Yanfeng Zhao 154318 unr. W2 W5 D4 L1 U— 2.5
10 James Mourgelas 108540 1393 D1 W15 L3 W19 L6 2.5
11 Marc Antonio Nunes 154427 1034 W19 L4 H— L2 W20 2.5
12 Enrique Rodriguez 154428 1433 L14 L7 W18 W15 D13 2.5
13 Nick Harding 154309 1234 H— W21 H— L8 D12 2.5
14 Christopher Field 108098 1244 W12 W6 L1 L3 L7 2.0
15 Raymond Lin 150193 960 X23 L10 L5 L12 D17 1.5
16 Milan Cvetkovic 150817 1286 H— L1 L7 W18 U— 1.5
17 Eli Teram 107314 1287 H— H— L2 U— D15 1.5
18 Dennis Li 153129 982 L5 L19 L12 L16 W21 1.0
19 Jeffrey Zhu unr. L11 W18 L8 L10 U— 1.0
20 Michael Vermont 151783 1474 H— H— U— U— L11 1.0
21 Stone Hu 153507 653 H— L13 U— U— L18 0.5
22 Brian Groat 153518 634 L4 H— U— U— U— 0.5
23 Lawrence Garcia 106367 1438 F15 U— U— U— U— 0.0

Round One – Aug 20

Almost forty players came out for the start of the tournament – including three masters and a WGM!

With just one round in the books, it’s too early to announce tournament leaders, but with so many mismatched games on opening night, there are, as usual, a few nice (or painful, depending on your perspective) upsets to announce. In the top section, there were no surprises: the favourites won every game. In the bottom section, there was one upset draw (Harmony Zhu against Jim Mourgelas). But in the middle section, every single winner was a rating underdog! Special congratulations to Abdolreza Radpey, Jack Maguire, and David Tolnai, whose opponents out-rated them by over 100 points!

Chess Lecture

Before the tournament started, players were treated to a chess lecture by Rhys Goldstein: “Safety Behind Enemy Lines,” 6:50 to 7:20 pm. If you missed the lecture, you can check Rhys’s lecture notes. (Even if you saw the lecture, you’ll enjoy the bonus material in the notes.)

It would be great to have chess lectures more regularly. You don’t have to be a master. If you have an interesting game to analyse, or an opening line to explain, or a few examples of a middle-game or endgame theme to share, or any other aspect of chess culture or history you’d like to delve into, let us know and we’ll find you a slot in the schedule.

A couple of games from Round 1

Featured games this week include father-and-son games in the same opening: Jack Maguire was victorious (finally!) in what must be his fourth essay of the Budapest Gambit against Marcus Wilker, while his son Zehn (in the top section) was not so lucky with 2…e5 and 3…Ng4 against David Southam.

Round Two – Aug 27

After two rounds of play, there is a three-way tie for the lead in the top section, as David Southam, Pavel Peev, Wajdy Shebetah all have two points. In the middle section, there are just two leaders: Ulli Diemer and Adie Todd, with two points apiece. And finally, in the bottom section, unrated Yanfeng Zhao is tied for the lead with Shabnam Abbarin and Chris Field.

Labour Day – Sept 3

We were closed Monday September 3, but a number of our players played in the Labour Day Open, September 1, 2, and 3 at Hart House. Results are now posted on the CFC site.

Round Three – Sept 10

After three rounds of play, David Southam is leading the Premier section, with three wins and a 3.0/3 record. Pavel Peev is tied for first with two wins and a full-point bye. The two are due to face off in Round 4.

In the middle section, Ulli Diemer is alone in first, perfect at 3.0/3. George Supol, who was re-paired to the middle section after his opponent didn’t show, debuted in fine style with an upset win over Bill Thornton.

In the bottom section, unrated Yanfeng Zhao is tearing it up with 2.5/3 after a draw with co-leader, Shabnam Abbarin. Young Harmony Zhu, with a Round-three win over Chris Field, is tied for the lead.

Finally, in the casual section, Yakos Spiliotopoulos was proud finally to win a game against Brian Fiedler, after years of unsuccessful attempts.

A couple of games from Round 3

Featured games this week include George Supol’s debut upset win in the middle section, and Dave Southam’s third win in the top section. Dave gave a great demonstration of how to go for the kill in a relatively level-looking position.

Round Four – Sept 17

Six-year-old Harmony Zhu is on a rampage. She entered the bottom section with a 948 rating, but mid-tournament she scored 5.0/6 (+4 =2 -0) in the Toronto Labour Day Open, so her rating is actually now sitting at 1330. She’s continuing her unbeaten streak in the ACC Summer Love, with a 3.5/4 score, winning her last game in only ten moves. Shabnam Abbarin, who also won her Round-4 game, is still tied for the lead with Harmony.

In the middle section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov beat previously undefeated Ulli Diemer, to catch him at 3.0/4. Zaki Uddin also won his Round-4 game, joining the two leaders in a three-way tie for first.

In the top section, Dave Southam ended his winning streak but held onto his lead with a draw against Wajdy Shebetah; Dave now has 3.5/4. Pavel Peev, with a bye, is tied for the lead at 3.5/4.

Chess Lecture

We started off the night with a lecture by Michael Sutton, “Chess 960: Is this the future of chess?” 6:50 to 7:20 pm.

Michael says he quit playing “Classic Chess” four years ago and never looked back. A self-confessed Chess-960 evangelist, Michael argues that 960 saves the game from the computers and gives it back to human players.

If you missed the lecture, check out Michael Sutton’s lecture notes, and the 960 demo game, below:

Round-4 Games

Here are a few games from Round 4, including two 10-move wins by Harmony Zhu and Hayk Oganesyan, and the Shebetah-Southam draw from board one.

Round Five – September 24

In the Premier section, Dave Southam, with the better tie-break, needed only a draw against rival Pavel Peev in the last round to secure first place. Dave did just that and finished first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Dave!

In the U1900 section, Arkadiy Ugodnikov, with a last-round win over Zaki Uddin, finished alone in first with 4.0/5. Congratulations, Arkadiy!

Finally, in the U1500 section, six-year-old Harmony Zhu, with a win against Shabnam Abbarin, took first place, finishing undefeated at 4.5/5. Harmony will be playing in the U1900 section next tournament. Way to go, Harmony!

“Uh, well-a, well-a, well-a, uh!”

Summer Lovin’

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sang “Summer Lovin'” in Grease (1978).
Results

Michael Humphreys wins Fall Swiss!

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2011 ACC Fall Swiss

Our second annual (Steve Fairbairn won the last one) ACC Fall Swiss is all wrapped up, and Michael Humphreys has won the Premier section with a perfect 5.0/5! Greg Beal and Dan Geambasu are the Reserve A and B winners.

A new club tournament, the Holiday Swiss, starts at 7:30 pm next Monday, December 12. Pre-register now!

Check complete final results from the Fall Swiss on the cross-tables, below.

Final Results through Round 5:

Premier (>1900)

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Michael Humphreys 131628 2299 W4 W5 W2 W6 W8 5.0
2 David Southam 102535 2154 W11 W7 L1 W5 W4 4.0
3 Robert Bzikot 132541 1949 H— L10 H— W13 W9 3.0
4 Pavel Peev 122223 2146 L1 W13 D7 W10 L2 2.5
5 Rolando Renteria 152626 2289 W13 L1 H— L2 W6 2.5
6 Juliaan Posaratnanathan 146059 1878 H— W11 W10 L1 L5 2.5
7 Wajdy Shebetah 148432 2086 H— L2 D4 H— W10 2.5
8 Alex T. Ferreira 127516 2025 H— H— H— W12 L1 2.5
9 Manuela Renteria 152627 1743 H— H— H— H— L3 2.0
10 Hugh Siddeley 120619 1982 H— W3 L6 L4 L7 1.5
11 Carlos Romero Alfonso 153128 2360 L2 L6 L13 H— W12 1.5
12 Venci Ivanov 153031 1862 H— H— H— L8 L11 1.5
13 Bruce McKendry 111714 1903 L5 L4 W11 L3 U— 1.0

Reserve A (>1500)

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Greg Beal 101490 1708 W9 W4 W3 W10 L2 4.0
2 Nicholas O'Bumsawin 151261 1781 H— D7 D9 W3 W1 3.5
3 Edmond Jodhi 150171 1693 W15 W10 L1 L2 W9 3.0
4 Marcus Wilker 102713 1679 W12 L1 L8 W15 W10 3.0
5 Zehn Nasir 148198 1843 H— H— H— H— W7 3.0
6 Arkadiy Ugodnikov 146626 1814 L10 L13 W12 D9 W11 2.5
7 Yakos Spiliotopoulos 151471 1689 H— D2 W14 H— L5 2.5
8 Erik Malmsten 100196 1852 H— H— W4 H— U— 2.5
9 Josep Sobrepere 152976 1475 L1 W12 D2 D6 L3 2.0
10 Jack Maguire 144604 1528 W6 L3 W15 L1 L4 2.0
11 Adie Todd 125156 1667 H— H— H— H— L6 2.0
12 Mohammad Zaki Uddin 152024 1826 L4 L9 L6 H— W15 1.5
13 Alex T. Ferreira 127516 2025 H— W6 U— U— U— 1.5
14 Daniel Zotkin 146857 1673 H— H— L7 U— U— 1.0
15 Bazil Whitehead 153156 unr. L3 H— L10 L4 L12 0.5

Reserve B (U1500)

# Name ID Rating Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Dan Geambasu 134119 1395 W9 W2 W7 W8 W6 5.0
2 Bill Thornton 131181 1290 W13 L1 W3 W7 W8 4.0
3 Milan Cvetkovic 150817 1190 L11 W4 L2 W10 W7 3.0
4 Adam Palmer 153127 1060 L5 L3 W10 W13 W12 3.0
5 Christopher Field 108098 1298 W4 L7 W11 W9 U— 3.0
6 Larissa Souchko 145490 1157 H— L13 W15 W12 L1 2.5
7 George Supol 152286 1363 W15 W5 L1 L2 L3 2.0
8 Alexandre Johnson 109239 1449 W16 H— H— L1 L2 2.0
9 Jean-Marc David 151900 1116 L1 W15 W13 L5 U— 2.0
10 Hooshang Abbarin 152910 1470 H— H— L4 L3 W15 2.0
11 Francis He 153130 713 W3 H— L5 U— U— 1.5
12 Jason Waugh 152118 938 H— H— H— L6 L4 1.5
13 Raymond Lin 150193 951 L2 W6 L9 L4 U— 1.0
14 Alan Yulun He 141522 1016 U— U— U— W15 U— 1.0
15 Dennis Li 153129 1077 L7 L9 L6 L14 L10 0.0
16 Jennifer Ugodnikov 151196 1155 L8 U— U— U— U— 0.0

Round 1 (November 7)

Week one of a Swiss always sees mismatched games, but it’s exciting to see the underdog win some of them. In the top (Premier) section, Dave Southam beat a 2300, but Carlos Romero Alfonso’s 2360 rating is provisional – based on only two games. In the bottom (Reserve B) section, young Francis He defeated Milan Cvetkovic. Finally, there were two big upsets in the middle (Reserve A) section: Marcus Wilker beat top seed Mohammad Zaki Uddin, and the wily Jack Maguire miniatured Arkadiy Ugodnikov!

Get a copy of the lecture notes from Rhys Goldstein’s November 7 chess talk “Long Journeys on Horseback”.

And check out the upset of the week – Jack Maguire, known for his straight-for-the-jugular opening play, takes down one of our club’s giants in 17 moves!

White: Maguire, Jack (1528)
Black: Ugodnikov, Arkadiy (1814)

ACC Fall Swiss (1)
2011.11.07
Toronto, ON

D01 Veresov Attack

Round 2 (November 14)

After two rounds, all three sections have two-way ties for the lead. In the Premier section, it’s Michael Humphreys (with a win over Rolado Renteria) and David Southam (with a win over Wajdy Shebetah). In Reserve A, it’s Edmond Jodhi and Greg Beal. And in Reserve B, it’s Dan Geambasu and George Supol. All three pairs of co-leaders are due to face off in Round 3.

Take a copy of Mohammad Zaki Uddin’s November 14 chess talk, “Saving a Lost Game”.

Here are a few selected second-round battles:

White: Renteria, Rolando (2289)
Black: Humphreys, Michael (2299)

ACC Fall Swiss (2)
2011.11.14
Toronto, ON

B12 Caro Kann: Fantasy

White: Shebetah, Wajdy (2086)
Black: Southam, Dave (2154)

2011.11.14 ACC Fall Swiss (2)
Toronto, ON

C11 French Defence: Two Knights

White: Siddeley, Hugh (1982)
Black: Bzikot, Robert (1949)

ACC Fall Swiss (2)
2011.11.14
Toronto, ON

B33 Sicilian: Sveshnikov

Round 3 (November 21)

After three rounds, a clear leader has emerged in each of the three sections. In Reserve A, Greg Beal is in clear first, after defeating Edmond Jodhi. In Reserve B, it’s Dan Geambasu, with a win against George Supol. And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys has the top spot, after beating David Southam.

Here’s the game from board 1:

White: Humphreys, Michael (2298)
Black: Southam, David (2154)

ACC Fall Swiss (3)
2011.11.21
Toronto, ON

A41 Modern Defence

Round 4 (November 28)

The leaders are undefeated! In Reserve A, Greg Beal is running away with the tournament. Going into the last round, he is in clear first – and out of reach, at a point and a half ahead of the competition! In Reserve B, Dan Geambasu is perfect and a full point ahead. And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys is still perfect, a point ahead of his closest rival, David Southam.

Get a copy of Erik Malmsten’s lecture, “Q-KN3 What!!” (also available zipped with a .pgn file)

Round 5 starts at 7:30 pm on Monday December 5. Remember, it’s never too late to join an ongoing club tournament. The Holiday Swiss starts the following Monday December 12.

Check full Round 4 results on the cross-tables, below.

Here are a couple selected games:

White: Southam, David (2154)
Black: Renteria, Rolando (2289)

ACC Fall Swiss (4)
2011.11.28
Toronto, ON

E94 King’s Indian: Orthodox

White: Siddely, Hugh (1982)
Black: Peev, Pavel (2146)

ACC Fall Swiss (4)
2011.11.28
Toronto, ON

B52 Sicillian: Rossolimo

Round 5 (December 5)

In Reserve A, going into the last round, Greg Beal had already clinched the section, leading by a point and a half. After a last-round loss to Nick O’Bumsawin, he still wins clear first with 4.0/5. Nick finishes second, with 3.5/5.

In Reserve B, Dan Geambasu remained perfect, finishing with 5.0/5. Bill Thornton came second, with 4.0/5.

And in the Premier section, Michael Humphreys finished with a fifth win. (Alex Ferreira, making a third cameo appearance in the tournament, was his unlucky opponent this time.) Michael’s perfect result leaves him a point ahead of David Southam, who finished in clear second, with 4.0/5.

Here are Michael’s and Dave’s last-round games:

White: Ferreira, Alex (2025)
Black: Humphreys, Michael (2298)

2011.12.05 ACC Fall Swiss (5)
Toronto, ON

A45 Trompowski

White: Peev, Pavel (2146)
Black: Southam, David (2154)

2011.12.05 ACC Fall Swiss (5)
Toronto, ON

C06 French: Tarrasch

Besides winning the tournament, Michael also gave our weekly chess lecture. Michael’s lecture (Coffee’s for Closers, Part One?) was on the King’s Indian Defence, Orthodox variation. He showed an array of plans for both sides, and explained the tempo battles that are involved in the execution of plans in closed positions. We saw these positional struggles in action in the illustrative game, Mikhahil Tal v. Bobby Fischer (from the 1959 World Championship Candidates Tournament) – and we saw why Black needs his dark-squared bishop in these closed King’s Indian positions, even though it’s his bad bishop!

Here’s the illustrative game from Michael’s lecture:

White: Mikhail Tal
Black: Robert James Fischer

Candidates Tournament (3)
1959
Yugoslavia

E93 King’s Indian: Petrosian

.pgn for games

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.07”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Maguire, Jack”]
[Black “Ugodnikov, Arkadiy”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “D01”]
[WhiteElo “1528”]
[BlackElo “1814”]
[PlyCount “33”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 (3. e4 Nxe4) 3… Ne4 4. Nxe4 dxe4 5. f3 Bf5 6. g4
Bg6 7. Bg2 exf3 8. Nxf3 h6 9. Bh4 c6 10. O-O Qa5 11. Ne5 Na6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13.
Bxc6+ Kd8 14. Bxa8 f6 15. c3 Nc7 16. Qb3 Ke8 17. Bc6+ 1-0

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.14”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Renteria, Rolando”]
[Black “Humphreys, Michael”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B12”]
[WhiteElo “2289”]
[BlackElo “2299”]
[PlyCount “48”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 Qb6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. e6 fxe6 7. f4 g6 8. Nf3
Bg7 9. b3 c5 10. Na4 Qd6 11. c3 Nc6 12. g3 (12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Ba3 Nxa4 $5 14.
Bxd6 Nxc3 15. Qc2 exd6) 12… cxd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Qb4+ 15. Bd2 Qxd4 16.
Nc3 Nc5 17. Bb5+ Bd7 18. Qe2 Ne4 19. Bxd7+ Kxd7 20. Nxe4 Qxa1+ 21. Kf2 Qd4+ 22.
Be3 Qxe4 23. Qb5+ Kd8 24. Rc1 Bd4 0-1

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.14”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Shebetah, Wajdy”]
[Black “Southam, Dave”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C11”]
[WhiteElo “2086”]
[BlackElo “2154”]
[PlyCount “44”]

1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. d4 c5 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8.
Bd3 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Qe2 O-O 11. O-O-O a6 12. Ne5 Nb4 13. g4 Nd7 14. Nxd7
Bxd7 15. Be3 Bxe3+ 16. Qxe3 Qf6 17. Qh3 Nxd3+ 18. Qxd3 Bc6 19. Qe2 d4 20. Ne4
Qf4+ 21. Nd2 Bxh1 22. Qxe6+ Qf7 0-1

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.14”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Siddeley, Hugh”]
[Black “Bzikot, Robert”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B33”]
[WhiteElo “1982”]
[BlackElo “1949”]
[PlyCount “89”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8.
Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 f5 12. Bxb5 axb5 13. Nxb5 Ra4 14. b4
Rxb4 15. Nbc7+ Kd7 16. Nxb4 Nxb4 17. Nd5 Qa5 18. O-O Nxd5 19. exd5 Ba6 20. Re1
Bc4 21. Qh5 Qxd5 22. Qxf5+ Qe6 23. Qe4 Bd5 24. Qa4+ Ke7 25. Qa7+ Kf6 26. Re3
Rg8 27. Rg3 Rxg3 28. hxg3 Qg4 29. Qb6 Qe4 30. f3 Qxc2 31. Qd8+ Be7 32. Qh8+ Ke6
33. a4 Qd3 34. Qc8+ Kf6 35. Qc1 Kg7 36. a5 Bf6 37. a6 e4 38. Ra4 Bd4+ 39. Kh2
e3 40. a7 Ba8 41. Qc8 e2 42. Qg4+ Kh6 43. Rxd4 Qxd4 44. Qxd4 e1=Q 45. Qf6+ 1-0

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.21”]
[Round “3”]
[White “Humphreys, Michael”]
[Black “Southam, David”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A41”]
[WhiteElo “2298”]
[BlackElo “2154”]
[PlyCount “75”]
[SourceDate “2011.11.23”]

1. Nf3 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 Bg4 5. g3 Bxf3 6. exf3 c6 7. Bg2 e6 8. d5
exd5 9. cxd5 c5 10. Qa4+ Kf8 11. Bf4 Ne7 12. O-O h6 13. Ne4 Nc8 14. Rfe1 Kg8 $2
15. Nxc5 $1 Kh7 (15… dxc5 16. Re8+) 16. Nxb7 Qb6 17. Qb3 Bxb2 18. Rab1 Qxb3
19. axb3 Bf6 20. Bxd6 Na6 21. Bf1 Nxd6 22. Nxd6 Nb4 23. Nxf7 Rhf8 24. Ne5 Nxd5
25. Nd7 Rf7 26. Nxf6+ Nxf6 27. Bc4 Rc7 28. Re6 Kg7 29. Rd1 Re8 30. Ra6 Nh7 31.
Rdd6 Nf8 32. f4 Ree7 33. h4 Rcd7 34. h5 Rxd6 35. Rxd6 gxh5 36. f5 Rc7 37. f6+
Kg6 38. Rd8 1-0

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.28”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Southam, David”]
[Black “Renteria, Rolando”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E94”]
[WhiteElo “2154”]
[BlackElo “2289”]
[PlyCount “85”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. Be3
Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bc1 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Ng5 Ndf6 14. Qxd8 Rxd8
15. Nb5 Ne8 16. Bxg4 fxg4 17. Be3 c6 18. Nc3 Nd6 19. Rad1 Bf5 20. c5 Nf7 21.
Nge4 Rd4 22. Bxd4 exd4 23. Ng3 Bg6 24. Nce2 Bc2 25. Rxd4 Bxd4 26. Nxd4 Bg6 27.
Rd1 Rd8 28. Rd2 Rd5 29. Nb3 Ne5 30. Rxd5 cxd5 31. Na5 b6 32. c6 Be8 33. c7 Bd7
34. Nb7 Nf7 35. Nh5 Bc8 36. Nf6+ Kf8 37. Nd8 d4 38. Ne4 Ba6 39. Nxf7 Kxf7 40.
Nd6+ Ke6 41. c8=Q+ Bxc8 42. Nxc8 Kd5 43. Kf1 1-0

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto CAN”]
[Date “2011.11.28”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Siddeley, Hugh”]
[Black “Peev, Pavel”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B52”]
[WhiteElo “1982”]
[BlackElo “2146”]
[PlyCount “88”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nf6
8. Nc3 g6 9. O-O Bg7 10. Nde2 O-O 11. f3 b6 12. Bg5 Qb7 13. Qd2 Rfc8 14. b3 Ne5
15. a4 Ned7 16. Rab1 Nc5 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Re8 19. Nc3 Rac8 20. Rfe1 Qd7
21. Nb5 a6 22. Nd4 Bxd4+ 23. Qxd4 e5 24. Qh4 f5 25. Be3 b5 26. axb5 axb5 27.
Red1 f4 28. Bf2 bxc4 29. bxc4 Na4 30. Rb4 Rb8 31. Rdb1 Rxb4 32. Rxb4 Nc3 33.
Qf6 Qe7 34. Qxe7 Rxe7 35. Rb8+ Kf7 36. Rh8 Kg7 37. Rd8 Rc7 38. c5 Nxd5 39. Rxd6
Ne7 40. Bh4 $2 Nf5 41. Bf6+ Kf7 42. Bxe5 Rxc5 43. Rd7+ $2 Ke6 44. Rc7 Rxe5 0-1

[Event “Yugoslavia ct Rd: 3”]
[Site “Yugoslavia ct Rd: 3”]
[Date “1959.??.??”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “?”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “Mikhail Tal”]
[Black “Robert James Fischer”]
[ECO “E93”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “67”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5
7. d5 Nbd7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 a6 10. O-O Qe8 11. Nd2 Nh7 12. b4
Bf6 13. Bxf6 Nhxf6 14. Nb3 Qe7 15. Qd2 Kh7 16. Qe3 Ng8 17. c5
f5 18. exf5 gxf5 19. f4 exf4 20. Qxf4 dxc5 21. Bd3 cxb4
22. Rae1 Qf6 23. Re6 Qxc3 24. Bxf5+ Rxf5 25. Qxf5+ Kh8 26. Rf3
Qb2 27. Re8 Nf6 28. Qxf6+ Qxf6 29. Rxf6 Kg7 30. Rff8 Ne7
31. Na5 h5 32. h4 Rb8 33. Nc4 b5 34. Ne5 1-0

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.12.05”]
[Round “5”]
[White “Ferreira, Alex”]
[Black “Humphreys, Michael”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A45”]
[WhiteElo “2025”]
[BlackElo “2298”]
[PlyCount “90”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. dxe6 Bxe6 7. Bb5+ Nc6 8.
Nf3 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. exd6 Qxd6 13. O-O Qf4 14. Ne2
Qf6 15. c4 Nb6 16. b3 Bg4 17. Nd2 Rad8 18. f3 Qb2 19. Qe1 (19. fxg4 Rxd2 20.
Rb1 Qxa2 21. Ra1 Qb2 22. Rb1 Rxd1 23. Rxb2) 19… Rxd2 20. fxg4 Rxe2 21. Qg3
Qe5 22. Qf3 Qe3+ 23. Qxe3 Rxe3 24. Rf5 Rfe8 25. Rxc5 Re1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27.
Kf2 Re6 28. a4 Kf8 29. Ra5 Nc8 30. b4 Ke7 31. Rh5 h6 32. Kf3 g5 33. h4 Nb6 34.
hxg5 hxg5 35. Rxg5 Nxc4 36. Rc5 Nd2+ 37. Kf4 Re4+ 38. Kf5 Rxb4 39. Rxc6 Rxa4
40. g5 Nc4 41. g6 Ne3+ 42. Kg5 Rg4+ 43. Kh5 fxg6+ 44. Kh6 Nf5+ 45. Kh7 Kf7 0-1

[Event “ACC Fall Swiss”]
[Site “Toronto, CAN”]
[Date “2011.12.05”]
[Round “5”]
[White “Peev, Pavel”]
[Black “Southam, David”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C06”]
[WhiteElo “2146”]
[BlackElo “2154”]
[PlyCount “80”]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O
g5 9. dxc5 g4 10. Nd4 Ndxe5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nb3 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 e5 14. Qe3 Qc7
15. Re1 f6 16. Qh6 Be6 17. Nd4 Qd7 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. Bf4 Kd7 20. b4 Qf5 21. Bg3
Qg6 22. Qd2 h5 23. b5 Bxc5 24. bxc6+ Kxc6 25. Bh4 Rhd8 26. Qd1 Bb6 27. Qa4+ Kb7
28. Rad1 Rac8 29. Qb3 Qf7 30. Rd3 Rd6 31. Red1 Rcd8 32. a4 Ka8 33. Kh1 R8d7 34.
Bg3 d4 35. Qb4 Rd5 36. Qc4 Kb7 37. f3 f5 38. Qb3 e4 39. fxe4 fxe4 40. c4 $2 Rf5
0-1