More Rummaging

There's more to

Rummaging through 30-year-old chess magazines looking for details on zonals

than the sort of chess history in FIDE's Cradle. There's also art. This cover from the July 1984 issue of Europe Echecs reminded me of the Knights Errant, a group of early chess bloggers who believed that chess was all about tactics, tactics, tactics.

Sancho Panza Counting the Kibitzers, Roland Partos

The artist was the older brother of IM Charles Partos, and was himself a keen chess player. Who are the kibitzers that Sancho Panza is counting? Don Quixote? No, the trees to the right are full of faces.

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Borrowing Leaves

Yes, the holiday week continues and, no, I don't have enough time for blogging. Today I'll borrow a leaf from Felican Kristnaskon!(Merry Christmas!), which borrowed a leaf from Top eBay Chess Items by Price.

While I was working on the Christmas post, I looked at eBay auctions that never make the cut in 'Top Chess Items' and particularly liked the photo shown below. Titled '1957 Vintage MARCEL DUCHAMP LARRY EVANS Chess Photo Art 16x20 ~ PHILIPPE HALSMAN', it sold for nearly US $110, Buy-It-Now.

I don't normally use watermarked photos -- this one is marked 'Finephoto' (the name of the eBay seller) in the lower left -- but the subject, the quality of the photo, and the additional information convinced me to break this rule. The description ('Print Specifications') added,

Photographer: Philippe Halsman (Latvia born American, 1906 - 1979) - internationally renowned portrait and fashion photographer, one of the most important and influential photographers from the 1940's through the 1970's.
Subject: Marcel Duchamp and Larry Evans playing chess.
Date Of Negative: 1957
Type Of Print: Authentic Vintage Sheet Fed Photogravure (from original image - authorized by Philippe Halsman)
Date Of Print: 1972
Original Issue: Bound sheet fed photogravure compilation.
Paper: Medium weight, clay coat - satin/matte finish.
Print Origin: Italy
Approximate Image Size Inches: 8.75 x 10.25 inches
Mount Board Size Inches: 20 x 16 inches
Mount Board Color: White
Print Border: No - full bleed print.
Condition Grade: Extra Fine ++
Verso: Professionally dry mounted with Bienfang archival materials onto sturdy 4ply museum mat board.

One of the most significant photographic artists of the 20th century, Halsman has had numerous exhibitions of his work and his iconic portrait images are held in important collections and museums throughout the world. In 1958 Halsman was listed in Popular Photography magazine's "World's Ten Greatest Photographers" along with Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Ernst Haas, Yousuf Karsh, Gjon Mili, and Eugene Smith. In 1975 he received the Life Achievement in Photography Award from the American Society of Magazine photographers.

[More++]

Marcel Duchamp and Larry Evans weren't exactly unknowns either. All of that taken together makes a concise introduction to collecting vintage chess photos.

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Evaluation Anomalies - Engines Behaving Badly

After the previous post, Evaluation Anomaly - Mass Exchange, there are still a number of games to be examined in TCEC Season 8 - Evaluation Anomalies. In this post, I'll take a quick look at two more. (As in the previous posts, see TCEC Archive Modeto play through the complete games using TCEC's helpful game viewer.)

The diagram below shows positions from two games, both with Stockfish playing White and Komodo playing Black. The top row shows two positions from game 44 and the bottom row shows two positions from game 52.

In game 44, after 61.Bf2, reaching the first diagrammed position, Stockfish evaluated the position at wv=0.33 (a third of a Pawn in its favor). Komodo played 61...Rd5, with a value of wv=0.00 (dead equal). Stockfish played 62.g6+ (wv=0.33), to which Komodo replied 62...Ke7 (wv=-0.41), reaching the second position. Note that Komodo's evaluation of the position has dropped suddenly to a negative value (i.e. in Black's favor).

The game continued for another 30 moves with White giving itself an advantage of wv=0.33 and Black giving itself an advantage of around wv=-0.40. At move 90, Black's evaluation quickly dropped to zero (wv=0.00), and ten moves later White's evaluation did the same.

What happened here? It's easy for a human to see that after 62.g6+, the position is completely blocked. Neither player can break through without incurring a serious disadvantage. The game continued for another 50 moves before being declared a draw, with both engines recognizing the inevitable draw 10-20 moves before the 50th move was reached.

Stockfish - Komodo, TCEC Season 8 Superfinal, game 44

Stockfish - Komodo, TCEC Season 8 Superfinal, game 52

In game 52, Stockfish played 43.Raa1 reaching the first position in the bottom row and giving itself an advantage of wv=0.65. Komodo played 43...Qd2, with a similar evaluation of wv=0.62. Both engines consider the position to be nearly two-thirds of a Pawn in White's favor, which should give good winning chances.

The next few moves were 44.Qxd2 (wv=0.81) 44...exd2 (wv=0.03) 45.Red1 (wv=0.81) 45...Re2 (wv=0.00) 46.h3 (wv=0.00) 46...Ra8 (wv=0.00), reaching the second position in the bottom row. The advantage of two-thirds of a Pawn has evaporated and both engines consider the position to be completely equal, although it took White a few additional moves to realize it.

What happened here? In the first diagram, both engines saw that White will win a Pawn -- losing the a-Pawn in exchange for Black's d/e-Pawns. That leaves White a healthy Pawn ahead, right? No, unfortunately for White, the 'healthy' extra Pawn is an advantage of f/g/h-Pawns for White vs. g/h-Pawns for Black. With both Kings placed behind their Pawns, an experienced human player knows that the Rook and Pawn endgame is a draw. It took the engines a few more moves to see that.

In both games discussed here, the engines continued to move their pieces hither and thither for many moves before the draw was declared. Good human players would have agreed a draw as soon as boredom set in.

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Chess Curriculum - Summary

It's been nine months since I first got the idea from Google -- Google Autocompletes CIS(29 March 2015) -- to look at what constitutes a

• Chess Curriculum.

The initial survey included that kickoff post plus the following posts:-

• S.Polgar Chess Curriculum
• FIDE Chess Curriculum
• Chess Curriculum No.6• '(1) from the Kasparov Chess Foundation and (2) from Chess Cafe'

From that I derived:-

• Chess Curriculum Inventory

Then I looked at each curriculum in turn:-

• Short Versions
• Pre-chess
• Judit Polgar's Chess Palaceand Susan Polgar• The sisters are related but their methods aren't.
• FIDE I, FIDE II
• ChessCafe/ChessEDU
• ChessKid/Chess.com I, ChessKid/Chess.com II

If I were a relatively novice player looking for a comprehensive course to teach others, I would follow the ChessKid/Chess.com curriculum. As an experienced player looking for a structured approach where I supply the details, I would follow the Susan Polgar curriculum. The main FIDE curriculum ('Age 7-9') might also fill a niche somewhere. As for the others, I found them limited in their approach. Although I don't plan to take this series any further, I might come back to it from time to time. I realize that I've only scratched the surface.

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Peter Keffler R.I.P.

Peter Keffler, doyen of the Clacton Chess Club, passed away last Tuesday (22 December).   He had celebrated his 92nd birthday only a month earlier.

In his prime, Peter was a 200-grade player (or equivalent) and had several published games and positions.   His most famous win, and one that was celebrated on his 90th birthday cake, was in 1970 when he won with the Black pieces in just 15 moves, playing the Traxler Counterattack (see game below).

John Lambert has written the following: "When I arrived at Clacton Chess in the early nineties, Peter was the leading light.   His knowledge of chess was extensive, as was his generosity in passing on his skills to others.   He had studied at Oxford University and had many games published.   He was quoted in Harding & Barden's 'Openings for the Club Player' for his thoughts on the Two Knights Defence.   If you have a copy, see page 22 (well worth a look).   Peter was influential to me (although starting late I never got near him) as well as juniors at the club in his attacking style of play which made him a match for any player in the Suffolk & Essex leagues.   Peter also played County Chess for Somerset, Essex & Suffolk and was a keen golfer.   He will be missed by many in the Chess world."

The following position has been quoted in several books, and can be found online as a great example of a back row mate:

Peter was Black and two pawns behind.   White has just played R(f1) to d1??.

Peter played 18...Qxd1 and White resigned.   After 19. Nxd1   Nf3+ to be followed by Re1+ and mate to follow.

Peter's attacking style can be seen to good effect in the following correspondence game from 1972 (Peter was White):

Peter's well-stocked bookstall featured at many East Anglian events.   His diligence in carefully packing away every single book in the correct box caused some anxiety for local caretakers, as well as congress organisers who wanted to get home after a tiring weekend!

Peter last played a league game in March 2014.   His deteriorating eyesight and general infirmity meant that he could no longer play serious chess.

Club colleague Melvin Steele has also written a tribute to Peter on the Clacton Chess club website here.

The funeral will take place at Weeley Crematorium at 14.00 on Monday 18 January.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There will be no more articles until 6 January (off to the West Country).






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Christmas puzzles - Day 4

This is the last of the Christmas puzzles.   If you have answers to all four, email them to me by 3 January.   The best set of answers will win a chess book!

Here is the final puzzle:

It's White to play and mate in 2.





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Christmas puzzles - Day 3

It's Boxing Day, or should that be ChessBoxing Day?

I could have written an article about the new 'sport' of chessboxing, but as I really don't understand its attraction, I shall instead give you a straightforward little puzzle to add to those from the last two days.   It's another Christmas Tree puzzle, with the White Queen sitting proudly at the top of a rather spindly tree:

It's White to play and mate in 2.

Don't put your answer in the comments below, but send all your answers to me tomorrow (after Day 4 puzzle is published) for a chance to win a book prize.





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Christmas puzzles - Day 2

After yesterday's challenging little puzzle, here's something to test your ability at retrograde analysis.   As it's Christmas Day, it is a Christmas tree of course.   It's Black to play and mate in 2.

It should be easy to work out that White has just played one of two moves... but which one?   Only one is correct!

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Felican Kristnaskon!

Carrying on the CFAA Christmas greeting tradition (last seen in 2014's Joyeux Noël!) and borrowing a leaf from Top eBay Chess Items by Price, here is the first (and perhaps last) annual 'Top eBay Chess Christmas Items by Price'.

Left to right, top to bottom (taken from the items' descriptions):-

• Chess Lyrics A Collection of Chess Problems by A.F. Mackenzie 1887-1905. Edited by Alain C. White. Published by J.H. Graham New York 1905. Hardback, 476pp with 282 compositions. This is the 1st book edited by White in the Christmas Series and is signed by A.C. White! Two page memoriam by A. C. White after solutions at end for A.F. Mackenzie (October 6, 1861 - June 23, 1905) He passed when the book was going to press. Very scarce book!
  
  
• J. Juchli's Schachprobleme. Edited & published by Alain C. White of New York and Dr. M. Henneberger of Bern 1908. Text completely in German. Hardback, 93pp. 54 compositions with annotated solutions. Probably not part of the Christmas series? A scarce book.
  
  
• Chess Lyrics by A.F. Mackenzie. Edited by A.C. White. New York, 1905. Number 1 in the A.C. White series. Scarce.
  
  
• Chuck Berry CHESS 1714 Run Rudolph Run and Merry Christmas Baby
  
  
• A signed copy of Les Mille et un Mats Inverses By Alain C. White. Published by Numa Preti, Paris 1907. Two volumes, both completely in French. The first volume inscribed, "G. Dobbs Presented by Alain C. White Xmas 1907" and with tipped in insert "Avec les Meilleurs Voeux de Noel. Alain C. White 1907." Volume I, hardback, unnumbered pages with 1001 compositions. Volume II, hardback 231pp with Introduction, solutions and composers. Very scarce set.
  
  
• Disney Chess Collection NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Set of 24 Figure; Produced: Tomy Tec

And remember: Drive safely!

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Christmas puzzles - Day 1

Here is the first of four puzzles to entertain you over Christmas.

In the position below, it's Black to play.   But that's not the question.   Instead, it's what was White's last move?   And when you've solved that (it is possible!), what were the three previous half-moves (B/W/B)?:

When all four problems have been published (by Sunday), send in your answers to me.   The best set of answers will win a book prize.

=============================================================================================

Sad news received today... Peter Keffler has died, aged 92.   There will be a proper tribute to him after Christmas.




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Bobby's Big Hands

Three months ago I ran a couple of posts about Bobby Fischer photos from LIFE magazine: That's Not Bobby!and That's Definitely Bobby!. To round out the series, here is a composite photo that I've been saving for the right moment.

Source:Chess Champion Bobby Fischer

GM Seirawan talking about GM Byrne talking about Fischer:-

He had these very big hands and the pieces just danced as they moved about the board.

From An afternoon chat with Yasser - Part I(This Week's Chess Safari).

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78 points grading difference? No problem!

On Tuesday evening, Bury St Edmunds 'E' team of four juniors (average age 11) took on the experienced Ipswich B team in the first round proper of the Suffolk Cup.   With huge grading differences (89, 78, 100, 76) the result was never in doubt.   But the surprise was that the final score was not 4 - 0 (it was 3½ - ½).

Playing with Black on Board 2, the youngest member of the Bury team, 9-year old Adam John (pictured right), faced the experienced Martin Fogg.   The game, which is featured below, demonstrates Adam's exceptional maturity.   After 39 moves he is clearly winning, but the game ended in a draw with both players very short of time.   It says a lot that Adam can play a three-hour game, at an away venue, and still maintain sufficient concentration.   Formerly coached by Anita Somton's father, he (and older brother Alan) now receive regular coaching from Ed Player.

Enjoy the game:

Both players were in time trouble and Adam is unsure of the remaining moves.   If Martin knows, then please let me know!   The game ended in a draw with Martin having Q + N v Q, a notoriously difficult ending to win, especially when time is short.




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FIDE's Cradle

Rummaging through 30-year-old chess magazines looking for details on Zonals 1984-1987, I discovered a small photo filler (Europe Echecs 1986-02 p.4) captioned,

Mairie du 9e arrondissement de Paris ou furent signés, en 1924, les statuts constitutifs de la F.I.D.E. Le berceau n'a pas changé.

If your French isn't any better than mine, the photo showed the city hall of the Paris 9th district where the FIDE statutes were signed in 1924 ('the cradle hasn't changed'). There was no need to scan the photo, because better shots are available on the web (and the building still hasn't changed).

Source:Mairie du 9e arrondissement de Paris
or 9e arrondissement de Paris
[fr.wikipedia.org]

Wondering if anyone had already documented this bit of chess history trivia, I discovered a series of three more recent articles, also from Europe Echecs -- see Paris 1924 Création de la FIDE(1), (2), (3)-- signed Georges Bertola.

That's the same Bertola I featured a few years back in Early Chess Magazines, and that makes an easy blog post for a busy holiday season. Not bad for a half hour of rummaging, plus I found plenty of info about the zonal cycle I was researching.

***

In part (1) of the series, Bertola says that FIDE was born on Sunday, 21 July 1924. Kazic's 'International Championship Chess : a Complete Record of FIDE Events' says, 20 July 1924. The page on International Chess Day[Wikipedia] says,

The international chess day is celebrated annually on July 20, the day the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded, in 1924.

Did Bertola get it wrong? But he knew it was a Sunday...

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How to beat an IM / WGM

GM Matthew Sadler (279) was not only the top seed at the recent Bury St Edmunds Congress, he is also the highest-graded player in the ECF.   Considered to be the strongest non-professional chess player in the World, his attendance at this event for the past two years has helped to maintain its status as one of the leading weekend congresses in the UK.

On 3½ points after the first four rounds, he faced Suffolk's IM/WGM Dagne Ciuksyte (216) with the White pieces in the final round, needing a win to secure at least a share of first prize.   Dagne was also on 3½ points, having won her three previous games, with a half-point bye on Saturday evening.

The game lasted only 25 moves, and is a model of straightforward development by Sadler, as well as taking advantage of one rather weak move by his opponent.

Here's the game:

So Matthew Sadler finished the tournament on 4½ points, alongside Suffolk's Alan Merry, whom he didn't have to play.




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Evaluation Anomaly - Mass Exchange

I learned so much from the exercise in Evaluation Anomaly - Long Combinationthat I decided to repeat it on another position from TCEC Season 8 - Evaluation Anomalies. This time I chose game 18, Stockfish - Komodo.

The composite chart below shows four key positions from the game. I don't expect anyone to follow the moves mentally, but the game can be played on TCEC - Archive Mode, using the same instructions given in 'Long Combination'. All of the key move metrics are shown in the helpful interface used there.

The first position shows the game after the initial eight moves of the opening variation imposed on the engines. Stockfish's next move as White was 9.Bb3, which it evaluated as wv=0.17. Komodo's move as Black was 9...h6, with a value of wv=0.23. Note that both 'wv' values are close to the 0.20 predicted for the initial start position. For the other positions, I'll use a sum of the values from a White-Black move pair (0.17 + 0.23 = 0.40 here) to compare the evaluations through the game.

The game continued 10.Nf1 Re8 11.a4 b5 12.Ng3 Bd7 13.Bd2 b4 14.a5 Rb8 15.h3 bxc3 16.bxc3 Qc8 17.Bc2 Rb2, then 18.Qc1 (wv=0.54) and 18...Qb8 (wv=0.37), reaching the second position. Here the combined wv is 0.91, more than double the value in our first position. This was followed by 19.Nf5 Qb7 20.Ne3 Qb8 21.Nh4 Ne7 22.Nc4 Rb7 23.d4 Ng6.

Stockfish - Komodo, TCEC Season 8 Superfinal, game 18

The third diagram shows the position after 24.Nxg6 (wv=0.67) 24...fxg6 (wv=0.56), with a combined wv of 1.23. This is the highest evaluation reached in the game, which continued 25.Be3 Kh7 26.Qd2 Be6 27.Bd3 Bxc4 28.Bxc4 Nxe4 29.Qd3 c6 30.d5 cxd5 31.Bxd5 Nc5 32.Bxc5 Bxc5.

The next two moves -- 33.Bxb7 (wv=0.27) 33...Qxb7 (wv=0.09) -- reach the fourth diagram and involve an exchange sacrifice, where Black has one Pawn as compensation. The combined value of wv=0.36 is substantially below the combined wv from the third diagram.

What happened between the third and fourth diagrammed positions to cause such a dramatic decline in the evaluation? In the third position, a pair of Knights has just been exchanged, but all of the other pieces are still on the board. In the fourth position, three pieces remain for each side. Between the two positions, half of the pieces were swapped off. Although exchange sacrifices can be tricky to evaluate, the position in the fourth diagram looks harder to win for White than to draw for Black -- the Bishop is well placed for defense -- and the evaluation proves to be accurate.

The conclusion is that the evaluation in the third position is overly optimistic. Using the same calculation explained at the end of the post on 'Evaluation Anomalies', the ~0.60 advantage for White gives a 67% chance of winning the game. The third position might simply be in the 33% of positions that are more difficult to win. We are, after all, dealing with probabilities here. Only after more pieces are exchanged do we start to see the eventual outcome.

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Under 160 game

Andrew Shephard (155), who played on Board 2 for the Suffolk Under 160 team on 6 December, has annotated his quick win against Norfolk's Terry Tripp (155).

1.   e4   c5
2.   Nc3   Nc6
3.   f4   g6
4.   Nf3   Bg7
5.   Bb5  e6?!
This is dubious.   Correct is 5. ...Nd4.
6.   Bxc6   bxc6
7.   e5!
Black is left with holes on the dark squares whilst White plans the obvious Ne4-d6.   Black solves this problem but creates another one in the process.
7.    ...d5
8.   exd6   Qxd6
Now Black is left with isolated, doubled c-pawns.   White's plan is simple - to gang up on the c5 pawn.
9.   d3   Nf6
10.   O-O   O-O
11.   Qe2   Nd5
12.   Ne4   Qe7 (see diagram)
12. ...Nxf4?? fails to 13. Qe3!

13.   c4!
A multi-purpose move.   Firstly, it kicks the knight from d5 allowing my bishop to come to e3.   Secondly, it fixes the black c-pawns - he is prevented from freeing his position with the thematic pawn sacrifice ...c4; perhaps he should have tried this earlier when he had the chance.   Finally, it allows my queen to guard the b2-pawn.
13.    ...Nb4
14.   Be3   Na6
15.   Qf2
The pawn on c5 is lost.
15.    ...Rd8
16.   Nxc5   Bxb2??
A blunder, but Black was already a pawn down in a difficult position.
17.   Qxb2   Nxc5
18.   Qb4!
Winning a piece.
1 - 0.


More games wanted please!




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1978 USSR Championship

In 2014 I featured four items with multiple autographs on Top eBay Chess Items by Price:-

• 'Six World Champions on a Single Envelope'
• Soviets 8 - Americans 0
• Staunton and the First World Junior Championship
• 'Museum Worthy' Photo

In 2015, with the year nearly over, this is the first. Titled 'Russian Chess: Program of 46 USSR Chess Championship signed by all participants', it sold for US $415 after 50 bids from five bidders.

The description added,

Program of the 46 USSR Chess Championship among men (Major League) autographed by all participants:
Garry Kasparov
Efim Geller
[...]
Vitaly Tseshkovsky

Tbilisi, Chess Palace, 2-27 December 1978; Language: Russian; 16 pages.

For a crosstable of the event, see 46th USSR Chess Championship, 1978.

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Half-time in the Bury League

The six clubs in the Bury Area Chess League provide a total of 19 teams, playing in three divisions.

The club of the season, so far, is Linton.   Their three teams are unbeaten; in fact they have won 15 games out of 16 played, with just one drawn match.

Predictably, two Linton teams - Blacks and Whites - head Divisions 2 and 3 respectively.   But Linton A, the one team to have drawn a match, are in second place behind Bury St Edmunds Scorpions, the team which consists of Ipswich-based players (Moore, Gregory, Munson, Wallis, Lunn).

These are the current tables:

Division 1

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Bury St Edmunds Scorpions	5	4	0	1	19
Linton A	5	4	1	0	17½
Bury St Edmunds Scarabs	5	2	0	3	11½
Cambridge Examiners	5	2	0	3	10½
Cambridge Choristers	5	1	1	3	8½
Cambridge Oddfellows	5	1	0	4	7

Division 2

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Linton Blacks	6	6	0	0	22½
Cambridge Dons	6	2	1	3	18
Bury St Edmunds Cobras	6	2	1	3	15
Bury St Edmunds Vipers	6	3	0	3	15
Cambridge Academicals	6	2	2	2	14½
Ely Beet Bishops	6	1	1	4	10
Newmarket Stallions	6	1	0	5	7

Division 3

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Linton Whites	5	5	0	0	19½
Bury St Edmunds E	5	3	1	1	15
Cambridge Gowns	5	1	2	2	10½
Bury St Edmunds F	5	1	1	3	10
Bury St Edmunds G	5	1	2	2	9½
Stowmarket	5	1	0	4	7½

Individually, the top players in each division are:

Division 1   -   Ashley Stewart (Linton A)   -   4½/5
Division 2   -   Tom Smith (Cambridge Dons)   -   5½/6
Division 3   -   Adam Leigh (Bury St Edmunds F)   -   3½/4




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Chess in hibernation

With all matches in both the Suffolk League and the Bury Area League completed for the first half of the season, there are now no further league matches until 5 January, when matches in the Suffolk League re-commence.   The BACL starts again on 11 January.

It's good to see that all the Suffolk League's three divisions are being fiercely competed, with no one team dominating.

Just after Christmas there are two events which will feature some Suffolk players.   Adam Taylor has entered the Hastings Masters and Ed Player is also hoping to play.   The London Junior Championships are held immediately after Christmas and several youngsters from Bury will be playing.

So, with Christmas just around the corner, here is the plan for the next few days:

Sunday (tomorrow)   -   Half-time review of the Bury Area Chess League
Monday to Wednesday   -   Games from the Suffolk League (or something else if none is available!)
Thursday to Sunday   -   Christmas puzzles

Readers are requested to send me any interesting games or positions, for publication next week.   Please don't be modest!

Starting Christmas Eve (Thursday) there will be a tough puzzle to solve each day, until Sunday.   I will then be on holiday and there will be no further articles until 6 January.




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Zugzwang

Here's a game between John McAllister (Manningtree B) and Steve Lovell (Bury St Edmunds A), played this week.   It features the Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez, and contains an attractive Zugzwang finish.

Steve is Black:

Some comments on the opening first.   In the Marshall Attack, after 14... Qh3, White normally plays 15. Be3 or Re4.   15. Bxd5 is not considered favourable for White.   After 16. Bg4, taking on d5 is again unsatisfactory, as Black will play 17... Rad8 and although White would be two pawns ahead, he is hopelessly undeveloped.   Games in this line have usually resulted in wins for Black.

In the game, 18. Be3 is clearly losing (Bf4 is better), but it shows how easy it is for White to go wrong in the Marshall. It's the better 'booked' player who generally wins.

After the queens and rooks have been exchanged, it should be a simple win for Black, with bishop against Black's two extra pawns.   White's 40. f5 is the final nail in his coffin, allowing easy access for Black's king to penetrate to g5.

In the position above, with Black to play, White can resign.   Black plays 43... Bc7, taking control of the diagonal and preventing White's king from accessing g3.   After a couple more moves (c6 and a4), White does resign, because he is in Zugzwang and will lose both his kingside pawns.




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Mobius Chess

The caption explained,

A large suspended steel mobius strip covered by a grid of side glow fibre optic.

And it changes color.

Top photo:FIGMENT Boston 2015© Flickr user AnubisAbyss under Creative Commons.

No more back rank mates!

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Magnus Tweeted...

... and the world listened.

Chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen: 'Bobby Fischer is my dream opponent'
(CNN.com; Twitter: #AskMagnus)

What does the small print say?

MC: "Usually a salad or an omelet to get some energy. Something that's not too heavy." • MC: "I think there are many cultural reasons. Chess has generally [been a man's game and thus more men start playing chess -- so the numbers are much greater.]

Those were the answers, but what were the questions?

Q:What do you eat before a match? • Q:Why do men dominate chess, and what should be done about it?

Don't miss the other questions, like 'Who do you consider your strongest opponent in the next few years?' (Spoiler alert: GM Aronian)

***

I resisted the temptation to title this post 'Magnus Is Awesome', as in my previous post in the Yahoo series, Propaganda Is Awesome. P.S. The CNN photo slideshow of Magnus's career is worth the price of admission.

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Division 2 half-time round-up

All seven teams in Division 2 have now completed their six scheduled matches in the first half of the season.

This is the current table:

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Ipswich D	6	3	2	1	15½
Sudbury	6	3	3	0	15
Stowmarket A	6	1	5	0	12½
Bury St Edmunds A	6	2	2	2	12
Felixstowe A	6	2	1	3	11½
Clacton	6	0	3	3	9
Manningtree B	6	1	2	3	8½

It's all very tight at the top, with Ipswich D only half a point clear of the field.   Five teams are within four points of each other.   Both Sudbury and Stowmarket A are unbeaten, but of the 21 matches played so far, nine (43%) have been drawn.

At the other end of the table, it looks as if Clacton and Manningtree B will be fighting to avoid relegation, having only won one match between them.

Rob Sanders (Sudbury) is the only player with a 100% record, having won all four games played.   Close behind him are Phil Hopkins (Felixstowe A) on 5½/6 and Martin Tomes (Ipswich D) on 4½/6.

A total of 54 players have represented the seven teams so far (exactly the same number as have played in Division 3):

Bury St Edmunds   -   10
Felixstowe A   -   9
Stowmarket A   -   8
Manningtree B   -   8
Clacton   -   7
Ipswich D   -   6
Sudbury   -   6

Only two juniors have played in Division 2 so far this season - Alex Sheerin (Stowmarket) and William Moody (Bury St Edmunds).




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Forthcoming events

There are a number of local tournaments in the next few months:

Norfolk Rapidplay (Norwich) - Sunday 7 February.   Three sections - Open, u140, u100.    Contact - John Wickham

Bury St Edmunds Junior Congress - Sunday 6 March.   Four sections - u9, u11, u14, u18.    Contact - Bob Jones

Suffolk Junior Open (Woodbridge) - Sunday 13 March.   Sections for all age-groups.    Contact - Adam Hunt

Great Yarmouth Congress - Sat/Sun 23/24 April.   Open, u170, u145, u120.    Contact - John Wickham

As well as the above events, several Suffolk Juniors will be playing at the London Junior Championships (28/30 December) and the EPSCA Under 11 Zonals (Sat 19 March).





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Iconic Is Awesome

Iconic this, iconic that. These days, everywhere you look, something is 'iconic'. What about chess?

Google image search on 'chess "iconic"'

[Why the quotes around '>>>"iconic"<<<' in my search term? When I didn't quote the word, I received a whole page of results for chess plus the word 'famous'. Sometimes you have to tell Google that you want exactly what you wrote, not what Google thinks you want.]

First row: sandwiched between iconic Bobby Fischer and iconic Marcel Duchamp are four photos of an iconic chess set, which also appears in the middle of the second row. Maybe iconic doesn't mean 'widely recognized and well-established', because I couldn't remember seeing it before. The link on the first image goes to Iconic Buildings Become Pawns in Skyline Chess. Now I get it.

Second row: sandwiched between similar shots of the iconic chess scene from the iconic film 'Det Sjunde Inseglet' are iconic 'Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920', followed by our iconic chess set, followed by 'Baby Arthur recreates iconic movie scenes', i.e. the 'Seventh Seal' again.

Third row: starts with 'Chess Knight angry horse iconic', followed by 'a new chess set that is currently being used at the World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament in London' ('beautifully iconic and simple'), followed by 'Vaclav Touzimsky's iconic picture, a Soviet tank crashes into a building in the town of Liberec' (*), followed by an illustration for 'Famous Business Leaders' on AchieveIconic.com, followed by iconic Tobey Maguire ('Hollywood to bring iconic US-Sovyet chess standoff to silver screen').

Fourth row (not shown): more of the same.

(*) What does a Soviet/Sovyet tank have to do with chess? For the long answer, see Huffington: Chess in the Time of War[Chessbase.com, after GM Kavalek].

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Division 3 half-time round-up

All Division 3 matches scheduled before the New Year have been played, with the exception of Bury St Edmunds D v Saxmundham B, which is being played on 12 January.

This is the current table:

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Ipswich F	6	5	0	1	17
Ipswich E	6	3	1	2	14½
Bury St Edmunds D	5	4	0	1	14
Saxmundham B	5	3	0	2	11½
Stowmarket Rooks	6	1	1	4	8
Bury St Edmunds E	6	1	1	4	7½
Felixstowe B	6	1	1	4	7½

Ipswich E have a 2½ point margin over their nearest rivals, Ipswich E.   But the result of the outstanding match could see that advantage slip away, with Bury St Edmunds D only three points adrift.

At the foot of the division, three teams have identical playing records (+1, =1, -4), and there's only half a point between them.   Still, no team can be relegated from Division 3, so it's pride they're playing for!

Adam Leigh (Bury St Edmunds D) has won all five games to date and is level on points with Andy Molloy (Ipswich F), who has lost only to Adam.   Alex Sheerin (Ipswich F) is on 4½/6, whilst Phil Mortonson and Mike Spalding (both Ipswich E) have played four games with a 100% record.

A total of 54 players have represented the seven teams so far, with Bury St Edmunds fielding 19 players, 11 of whom are juniors, whilst Ipswich have utilised 12.   Of the clubs with only one team, Stowmarket head the list with 11 players this season, including two juniors.




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Evaluation Anomaly - Long Combination

I ended the post on TCEC Season 8 - Evaluation Anomalieswith the desire to 'take a closer look at one or two of these games to determine why the engine(s) failed'. The first game of the six I flagged was played in round eight, so I started there. To play through the game and to examine all of the engine evaluations, see TCEC - Top Chess Engine Championship - Archive Mode, Season 8 - 2015.08.21, Superfinal - 2015.11.06, game 8.

Annotating a game between good engines -- the two best chess engines in the world -- is almost hopeless. The calculations are (nearly) error free, the variations are razor sharp, and the plans are incredibly deep, making the whole game incomprehensible to the human analyst. Having said that, I'll give it a try anyway, hoping to learn something from the exercise.

The evaluation anomaly started at move 16, the first position shown in the following composite diagram. White has sacrificed a Pawn, getting the open g-file against the Black King as compensation. White (Stockfish) played 16.Be2, threatening a discovered attack on the Black Queen. The TCEC statistics show that White expected 16...Re8 in response, and gave the position a value of 0.29. Black (Komodo) played instead 16...Ne7, with a value of wv=0.40.

Here White saw a future combination and prepared it with 17.Qd2, while its evaluation shot up to wv=1.05. Now something went wrong with the TCEC stats. Black played the expected 17...Ng6, protecting the g-file, but the stats show wv=0.00, indicating equality. That can't be right, so I'll just ignore it. The game continued 18.h3 (wv=0.94), protecting the h-Pawn with the Rook and finally threatening the discovered attack on the Queen, 18...Qa5 (wv=0.37), reaching the position in the second diagram.

Here White unleashed the planned combination, sacrificing the Knight with 19.Nh4. The game continued 19...Nxh4 20.Rxg7+ Kxg7 21.Rg3+ (discovering another attack on the Black Queen) 21...Qg5 22.Rxg5+ hxg5 23.Qxg5+ Ng6, reaching the third diagram.

Stockfish - Komodo, TCEC Season 8 Superfinal, game 8

In the third diagram, White has a Queen and a Pawn against two Rooks and a Knight. Normally this would be better for Black, but the combination isn't finished yet. White played 24.h4 (wv=0.94), threatening to attack the pinned Knight. Play continued 24...f6 (wv=0.43, Black's evaluation is consistent with its opinion from before the combination started), 25.Qg3 Kh7 26.h5 Ne7 27.Qxd6 Rf7 28.Bd3 Ng8 29.e5+ f5 30.d5 Re7 31.Qd8 exd5 32.f4 b6, reaching the last diagram.

After 32...b6 (wv=0.11), White has two ways to repair the material deficit. It chose 33.Qxd5 (wv=0.81), followed by 33...Rb8 34.Qd8 Kh8 35.Bxf5 Bxf5 36.Qxb8. After the last capture, the material is a Queen and three Pawns against Rook, Bishop, and Knight (Q+3P:R+B+N). White gave the position wv=0.72, while Black, after 36...Kh7, gave it wv=0.12.

The game continued for another 40+ moves. White was unable to break Black's defense and the game ended 'Draw by adjudication: TCEC draw rule', both sides evaluating the position at wv=0.00.

What happened to the advantage of wv=1.05 that White calculated for 17.Qd2? Of course, I can't say for sure, but the combination initiated with 19.Nh4 wasn't completed until 36.Qxb8. That's 18 moves, around 36 ply, deep. The evaluation of the resulting material imbalance (Q+3P:R+B+N) is itself a complex task. Maybe it's simply an engine example of 'long analysis, wrong analysis'.

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London Chess Classic - Super Rapidplay Open

An amazing 368 players entered the Super Rapidplay Open at the London Chess Classic.   This must be one of the largest-ever single section events in the UK.   Entrants included 36 Grandmasters, 29 IMs and a host of other titled players (FMs, WGMs, WIMs etc).   Rating ranged from 2800 (GM Matthew Sadler) to a lowly 992.   The ten-round event was played over two days of this last weekend and included two Suffolk-based players:

Adam Taylor (2200) and Ed Player (2087) - this is their Rapidplay ratings.

Both performed slightly below their ratings, each scoring six points out of ten.   They both faced two GMs, losing both.

The main event at the LCC was the final tournament in the Chess Grand Tour.   World Champion Magnus Carlsen came from behind to win both this tournament and the whole event.   You can see details of all festival events here.




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Chess Curriculum - ChessKid/Chess.com II

After the recap and video in the previous post, Chess Curriculum - ChessKid/Chess.com, let's look at the curriculum itself. The first document, Introduction.pdf, has two parts:-

• Welcome & Introduction
• Table of Contents (TOC, detailed)

The 'Welcome' tells us who should benefit most from this material:-

We keep the language simple. However, while we believe children with a fourth- or fifth-grade reading level could work through this curriculum on their own, the most practical application of this curriculum is instructor-guided, and in many cases we recommend a classroom format. Most lessons are designed to be delivered in an hour – with optional worksheets to assign for independent learning.

The TOC outlines five sections with four lessons per section. The sections are structured as follows:-

• Section 1 – Starting Out: The Basics of Chess
• Section 2 – The Basics of Playing, the "Phases" of Chess & the Opening
• Section 3 – Tactics, Tactics & More Tactics
• Section 4 – Endgame Play: Passed Pawns, Technique & King Play
• Section 5 – Positional Chess, Planning & Advanced Piece Play

Each lesson contains three types of document : the material to be covered, an 'Instructor's Guide', and worksheets (plus answers). From the 'Welcome & Introduction' again:-

The Instructor's Guides furnish lesson plans, provide practical advice, and even suggest ways to keep the experience fun! They also describe the "when and how" to allow for "mini-game" and "worksheet" practice during class. We strongly recommend that coaches (whether teaching in groups or privately) review the lessons in their entirety first, grasping the "big picture" goal of that lesson and all its parts, before teaching their student(s).

For example, the first lesson in Section 1 is:-

• Lesson 1 - Meet the Players: King, Knight & Pawn

Its nine pages consist of the lesson material (three pages), 'Instructor Handout' (three pages), and three worksheets (one page each). The last section covers these four lessons:-

• Lesson 17 - The Fundamentals of Positional Chess
• Lesson 18 - Learning to Play with the "Little Guys"
• Lesson 19 - Bad Pieces & Other Advanced Piece Play
• Lesson 20 - Playing "Tournament Level" Chess Games & Planning

The last of the 22 documents, Summary.pdf, tells us,

Whether you are a chess coach just building your school program or club, an experienced chess teacher seeking new material and ideas, or simply a "chess kid" who had the work ethic and discipline to self-tutor your way through our curriculum – you should be proud of yourself! [...]

If you worked your way through our curriculum, solved every worksheet, played each mini-game, and took your time on the more difficult lessons, then we have fulfilled our promise to take you from a beginner's knowledge of chess to an experienced scholastic player's understanding of the game. (That's about 1300-1450 by the United States Chess Federation's rating system.)

Since my first post on this critical aspect of 'Chess in School' series, I've covered a half-dozen (or so) chess curriculums (curricula). The ChessKid/Chess.com offering is one of the most comprehensive. In my next post, I'll summarize my findings from all of the previous posts taken together.

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London Junior Chess Championships

The London Junior Chess Championships originated in 1924 as the London Boys Championship.   Titles are awarded for seven age groups, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21.   This annual event is considered to be the strongest junior tournament in the UK, outstripping the British where pre-qualification is not required.

Six juniors from the Bury Knights JCC played in the Under 10 and Under 14 sections this weekend.

Adam John was in the Under 10 Major section, whilst Joel Loyid and Toby Martin played in the Minor section.   9-year old Adam (pictured right) had the best performance, scoring five points out of seven. He had a disappointing first day, with +1, =2, -1, but recovered today with three straight wins.   He finished in joint 8th place in a field of 100 competitors.

Adam's 12-year old brother Alan played in the Under 14 Major section, where he faced opponents with an average grade of 139.   He scored two points out of six.   Only two of the 42 entrants were graded below 100.

Ralph Martin and Tom Roy played in the Under 14 Minor section, both scoring 50%.

Several Bury Knights members will be playing in the Under 8 and Under 12 sections, which are held immediately after Christmas.




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London Chess Classic - FIDE Open

The nine-round FIDE Open ended yesterday, with Suffolk's sole entrant, Ed Player (right), on five points.

Ed experienced one of the known pitfalls with the Swiss pairing system and a large entry (of 247 players).   Winning with White in Round 1, he faced a strong FM with Black in Round 2.   The colours alternated throughout the tournament, with Ed facing mainly lower-rated opponents when he had the White pieces, and higher-rated ones when Black.   In fact the average rating of his Black opponents (when he had White), was 2009 (scoring 4½/5), whilst his White opponents was 2372 (scoring ½/4).

The tournament was won by Dutch GM Benjamin Bok, who scored 8/9, a clear point ahead of the field.

The ten-round Super Rapidplay Open is taking place over this weekend, with Adam Taylor and Ed Player entered.   There is a massive entry of 367 players!   After five rounds today, both Adam and Ed are on three points.




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Division 1 half-time round-up

There are no more Division 1 matches scheduled before the New Year, so now is a good time to review progress up to now.

This is the current table:

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
Ipswich C	6	4	2	0	14
Bury St Edmunds C	6	3	1	2	13
Manningtree A	5	2	2	1	12½
Ipswich A	6	1	3	2	11½
Bury St Edmunds B	6	0	4	2	11
Ipswich B	6	1	2	3	10½
Saxmundham A	5	1	2	2	7½

No team is 'running away' with the division.   In fact, all seven teams are still 'in the hunt'.   Manningtree A will be playing their outstanding match against Saxmundham A on 20 January, a result which could see them overtake the current leaders, Ipswich C.   This match could also see newly-promoted Saxmundham A pull clear of the relegation zone.

Andy Lewis (Manningtree A) is leading the Player of the Year competition, having dropped only half a point from his four games.   He is closely followed by Jon Collins (Bury St Edmunds), who has scored three points from four games.

Only three juniors have played in Division 1.   Silas Peck has played in every game, scoring four points out of six.   The two John brothers from Bury St Edmunds both played in their first Division 1 match this week.   12-year old Alan lost to Andrew Shephard, but 9-year old Adam beat the experienced Les Jones.   This is Adam's best-ever win against an adult.

A total of 43 people have played in Division 1 so far this season.   Ipswich, with three teams, have used only 14 players.   Bury St Edmunds, with two teams, have utilised 16 players.   Clearly the two clubs have differing demographics; Bury players are often absent due to demanding work commitments.




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Nakamura on the Grand Chess Tour

This week's selections for Video Friday were dominated by the London Chess Classic, aka the Grand Chess Tour. By coincidence, the first clip I watched was relevant to my post from a few days ago, Propaganda Is Awesome, where I learned that

The London event is hugely important because it represents the culmination of the the first serious effort to bring all the best chess players in the world together for a big-money contest that can signal a challenge to the World Championship cycle, which commences early next year with the Candidates Tournament.

Would GM Nakamura have anything to say about the London event being 'the most important chess tournament in decades'?

London Chess Classic 2015: Hikaru Nakamura (2:57) • 'Hikaru Nakamura on playing against Levon Aronian and (not) playing on his birthday.'

About 40 seconds into the clip, Peter Doggers of Chess.com asks,

Q:In the virtual standings of the Grand Chess Tour, you're actually on top. Do you feel you're getting some extra pressure? • A:I think if there wasn't this tournament coming up in March, maybe I would be feeling a lot of pressure to win this. The Candidate's Tournament is coming up in March and it's a thousand times more important than the London Chess Classic or the Grand Chess Tour. It really doesn't bother me, because it's just preparation for that. I'm warming up.

So much for propaganda.

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FIDE Anti-Cheating Guidelines

A few days after my recent post on the 2014 adoption of the FIDE Anti-Cheating Proposal, I discovered news about the document in 2015 ACP General Assembly and Poll. This included the '2. ACP Poll: Anti-Cheating Committee' and a mention that 'You can find the Anti-Cheating Guidelines here', which led to the FIDE Handbook:-

A. Administrative Subjects
[...]
09. FIDE Code of Ethics
11. Anti-Cheating Guidelines
[...]

As far as I can tell (what's subject 10?), the guidelines were published before summer 2015 and incorporate the same document approved near the end of 2014.

I've already discussed the most recent FIDE Congress, Abu Dhabi, September 2015, in several previous posts -- see, for example, The Resurrection of Agon(on this blog) and Whither the World Championship?(on my WCC blog) -- and the Anti-Cheating Guidelines also played an important role at Abu Dhabi. Here are selected bullets from the document 'FIDE Congress, Abu Dhabi, Executive Board, 7-8 September 2015, Minutes':-

5.3. Arbiters' Commission. • The Commission’s next project is to train the arbiters in anti-cheating regulations, in cooperation with the ACC. This will be mainly done by Internet seminars, so arbiters become familiar with the regulations and trained permanently on the Internet, to minimise the expenses.

5.7. Constitutional Commission. • The Executive Board approved the report of the Commission, included the indications concerning the appointment and functioning of Ethics Commission’s investigative chambers on cheating cases. The Executive Board, on the other hand, bearing in mind the technicalities of the subject of the report, recommends to organise a joint meeting of the chairmen of the Constitutional Commission, Ethics Commission, Anti-cheating Committee, with the presence of the FIDE officials, if available, aimed to finalise the publication and dissemination of a consolidated text on FIDE rules concerning anti-cheating.

5.20. Online Commission. • Mr. Stubenvoll said QC [Qualification Commission] in its meeting was against the proposal to have ratings for these online matches and the main reasons that we are not against the idea, the idea is very good but there are not current regulations and we have to be careful to avoid cheating and that the main principles.

5.21.1. FIDE World Cup 2015. • The event shall be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, 10 September – 5 October 2015. Mr. Makropoulos said everything was prepared there. The Anti-Cheating Committee is ready. Ms. Tsedenova has visited recently and checked all facilities.

That excerpt for '5.20. Online Commission' doesn't make any sense to me and would be worth a separate look, both for its anti-cheating direction and for its current status re online play. The two most important anti-cheating commission/committee reports from the minutes referred to annexes, excerpts from which I incorporate here.

5.16. Ethics Commission. • Annex 52 is Minutes of the meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Annex 52: Anti-Cheating • In terms of the FIDE Statutes, independent Investigatory Chambers may be appointed by the Presidential Board and charged to investigate and submit motivated reports to the Ethics Commission on specific cases or typologies of cases. The Presidential Board in Abu Dhabi will be asked to approve separate Investigatory Chambers for three specific cheating cases as well as a standing Anti-Cheating Investigatory Chamber. As a consequence, the Ethics Commission expects to receive at least three cheating-related cases for decision in the very near future. Of course everyone agrees that the nature of these cases calls for expeditious judging.

5.19. Anti-Cheating Committee. • Annex 46 is Minutes of the meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Annex 46: The Anti-Cheating Committee (ACC), the FIDE successor of the ACP/FIDE Anti-Cheating Committee, was set up following a decision by the Presidential Board held in Sochi on 8-9 November 2014. Nominations to the Committee have been finalized in December and the Committee started operation on January 1, 2015. Originally it was FIDE’s intention to grant the Committee a Commission status but the lack of a quorum on the final day of the FIDE General Assembly at Tromso caused FIDE lawyers to call for prudence.

Annex 46 also included the following bulleted paragraphs.

• Ongoing investigations.
• Computer-assisted fraud detection system and Internet-Based Screening Tool. ['hindered by substantial technical difficulties']
• Developing a [web] site.
• Tournament inspections.
• Hindering external communication. ['hinder fraudulent transmissions during chess events']
• Improving procedures.
• AC Compliance form.
• AC Guideline awareness.
• Transmission delay.
• From Guidelines to Regulations.
• RCF Proposal. [Russian Chess Federation; see Annex 53]

There's so much more that I could discuss here, that I don't where to start. Add to that the 2015 World Cup that was ongoing at the time of the FIDE Congress -- Unprecedented Anti-Cheating Measures At Baku World Cup(Chess.com) -- and it's clear that I have to come back to this subject another time.

The ACP Poll that I mentioned in the first paragraph asked 'How do you rate' various aspects of the anti-cheating program ('ACP’s involvement', 'the Anti-Cheating Guidelines', etc.). At this point I would answer 'Good' or 'Very good' to all aspects. But, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

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Open Evening at Ipswich

Ipswich Chess Club hosted a second open evening yesterday (see here for a report on their first open evening in October).   Several juniors attended, as well as established members (Alex Sheerin, Steve Gregory, Roger Holt, Les Jones in the photo above).

'Professor' Ted Matthewson (in unfamiliar garb) provided a short presentation, before kids and adults present played a few games and practised the ideas Ted had introduced.   A cheerful and friendly evening.

The club is considering other ideas to stimulate youthful interest in chess in the Ipswich area - watch this space for more details.




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Mike Taylor Memorial

A Memorial for Mike Taylor took place today at Haughley Park Barns, near Stowmarket.   This moving tribute to Mike was attended by more than 150 people, and included six Suffolk chess-players (Michael Clapham, Mike Cook, John Feavyour, Steve Gregory, Bob Jones and Laurie Pott).

There were many 'chess' references in the family's memories of Mike, but it was clear that he had many other interests, including music, photography, cycling, food and wine.   It seems he was almost unbeatable at Scrabble and enjoyed a challenging Sudoku puzzle.

Mike had recently started to teach chess to his 6-year old grandson, Alfie, who lives in Bury.   So we may well be seeing him soon at the Bury Knights!

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Propaganda Is Awesome

The Yahoo headline said, 'The most important chess tournament in decades is happening right now in London', and the link went to BusinessInsider.com. As you can see for yourself, the lead said,

The London Chess Classic is underway in England and will continue until Dec. 13. This is one of the chess world's premier events, usually attracting all

Attracting all the what? Mosquitos? No, the article continued,

attracting all the top players, but this year it's extra-special.

Why is it extra-special?

That's because it's the culmination of the Chess Grand Tour, a brand-new, high-level $1-million series of tournaments.

Oh, right, I had forgotten about the Grand Tour. Thanks for reminding me. What about the Candidates Tournaments of 2012 and 2014 -- weren't they extra-special?

The London event is hugely important because it represents the culmination of the the first serious effort to bring all the best chess players in the world together for a big-money contest that can signal a challenge to the World Championship cycle, which commences early next year with the Candidates Tournament. The winner of that event will face Carlsen to battle for the World Championship. The past two times around, it's been won by former World Champ Vishy Anand of India, who's also in the Grand Chess Tour field.

In fact, Anand won the last Candidates Tournament in 2014. Carlsen won in 2012, giving him the right to challenge Anand. But we soon learn that facts aren't the strong point of this article.

Many chess experts and observers consider the World Championship, as it's currently managed by chess's governing body, FIDE, to be a deeply corrupt affair that's controlled by the Russian chess elite and cronies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We do? It is? In my previous post on the source, Business Insider Chess(May 2015), I mentioned that it was no longer in contention for the 'prize for bonehead chess reporting'. Maybe I spoke too quickly.

For the previous post on Yahoo's chess reporting, see Chess Is Awesome. If we're going to serve propaganda, let's keep it positive.

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SCCA vacancies

There are currently four vacancies on the SCCA Committee.   These need to be filled as soon as possible.

*    Secretary
*    Junior Organiser
*    Correspondence Captain
*    Vice-President

The County Chess Association is run by volunteers, and can only continue to do so if more people are prepared to take on these roles.   As things stand, I am doing some of these tasks - but I'm not prepared to do so indefinitely.

The Secretary's role is not too demanding.   As the season comes to a close, the Secretary will need to arrange dates for a Committee Meeting and the Annual General Meeting.   Agendas will need to be prepared (in conjunction with the President) and minutes will be taken at both meetings, and distributed.   Apart from the (very rare) correspondence to be answered, that's all there is to it.   So let's see some hands go up!.

The Junior Organiser's role is as big (or as small) as you want it to be.   We have managed for a few years without one, but things are perking up now, with new junior clubs being considered in Ipswich and Martlesham.   Several adult players are helping out at local schools and the County Under 11 team has entered the National Championships for the fourth successive year.   Somebody is needed to co-ordinate all this, and even to encourage further participation.   We all know how important it is to encourage youngsters to play; without them our clubs will eventually fold.

The Correspondence Captain co-ordinates the eight-board Suffolk team that currently plays in the top division.   Jim Buis has undertaken this role for many years but now wishes to stand down.   The team virtually picks itself, so there's little the Captain needs to do, except liaise with the National Organiser and keep his team informed of start and finish dates.

The Vice-President will do (almost) nothing for the next couple of years, but will eventually take over as President.   It's important that the next President is well-versed in the ways of the SCCA, so a minor involvement in 2016 and 2017 is all that's needed.   The VP will need to be committed to take over for a three-year spell in June 2018.

Please contact me if you would like to be considered for any of these posts.




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TCEC Season 8 - Evaluation Anomalies

After the TCEC Season 8 Superfinal ended (see Week 4for a wrapup), I stepped through all 100 games looking for examples of misleading evaluations. These are games where at least one of the engines seems to have misevaluated the position. Thanks to the TCEC Archive Modepage, it's easy to review the games in quick succession.

I found 32 games (there's that number again!) where one side or the other evaluated the position as a strong possibility of a win, but the game eventually ended in a draw. I whittled that number down to six and made the following composite chart. It shows the TCEC evaluation graph for each of the six games.

For example, the first graph (game 8, Stockfish - Komodo) shows that around move 20, White evaluated the position to be +1.20 in its favor, while Black evaluated the position at +0.40 for White. The game eventually petered out to a draw.

The third graph shows the infamous game 22 (Stockfish had White in all even-numbered games) discussed in my post on Week 2, where White apparently blundered a certain win. The sixth graph shows the same game I used in my post on Week 3, where I noted,

White starting with an advantage of ~0.60 Pawns in the opening, eventually dropping to 0.00 in the endgame.

Many games followed that same pattern, although with different evaluations in the opening, some with only the ~0.20 advantage predicted by theory for the traditional start position.

A previous post in this series, Chess Engines - Advanced Evaluation, discussed the components of the evaluation function. We also know that A Pawn Equals 200 Rating Points(February 2013), thereby allowing us to use the calculated evaluation to predict the probability of a win. In game 8, the +1.20 advantage equates to a 67% chance of a win, but the game was nevertheless drawn. In another post I'll take a closer look at one or two of these games to determine why the engine(s) failed.

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London Chess Classic weekend events

Three local players entered different sections of the Weekend Classic at the London Chess Classic.   Adam Taylor (Manningtree) played in the Open; John Peters (Bury St Edmunds) played in the Under 2000 section; whilst Stephen Pride (Cambridge & Bury St Edmunds) was in the Under 1800 section.

All three played well, recording only one game loss between them.   But the best result was by John Peters (pictured right), who was joint winner in the Under 2000 on 4½ points and a rating performance of 2246.   John has annotated his first round win, which is shown below.

Adam Taylor took a first round bye, but scored 3½/4 in his remaining games to finish joint second in the Open.

Stephen Pride was on 3½ points after four rounds in the u1800, but sadly lost his final game to finish in joint 8th place.

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Culling a Collection

This current edition of Top eBay Chess Items by Pricestarted badly. As I was working my way down the list of top items, selecting recently sold items for my short list, I realized that there were fewer items than usual. On top of that, the items were mostly chess sets. While I'll feature a chess set from time to time, there is more to chess collecting than sets.

When I reached my price cutoff point faster than usual, with almost nothing on my short list, I went back to see if the item on the previous edition, Chess Charcoal Drawing, was listed. Sure enough, it was missing. Then I noticed that the results page carried a notice near the top, 'All > Toys & Hobbies > Games'. Somehow my usual query had been altered to restrict items to the referenced category. I eliminated the restriction and again had a full list that I could work with.

I noticed long ago that eBay is constantly changing the look-and-feel of its web interface, usually catering to the needs of mobile users. It became so annoying that a few years ago I stopped using the auction service except for the 'Top Chess Items' series. If eBay doesn't want laptop customers, that's their choice.

Back to my short list, it was now longer than usual. While analyzing the items I had flagged, I realized they were almost all for books and signed documents, all from the same seller. The following image shows the top items from that seller; left to right, top to bottom, the items are for Chigorin, Ruy Lopez, Em.Lasker, Philidor, Staunton, and Lasker again. There were many more after this.

I looked at the seller's feedback and noticed that one of the first items was for 'Bobby Fischer Uncensored – Limited paperback edition'. The item's description started,

In 2009, I published Bobby Fischer Uncensored. At the suggestion of a friend I had a small number of books printed in paperback. It is the only time I ever did it. I still have a few copies left that I am now offering. Here is what Edward Winter had to say about the book when it was published:

"One of the most extraordinary of all chess books has just been published: Bobby Fischer Uncensored by David and Alessandra DeLucia (Darien, 2009). A richly-illustrated 394-page hardback of supreme quality, it presents hundreds of items from David DeLucia’s collection of Fischer material, including photographs, game-scores, correspondence, contracts, books and ephemera."

I've featured DeLucia’s collection several times on this blog, including Three Fischer Games Uncensored(October 2010). Looks like the world's top chess collector is/was selling a portion of his collection.

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Under 160s play Herts and Norfolk

The Suffolk Under 160 team faced Hertfordshire this morning at the Turner Hall, Newmarket, losing narrowly by 7½ points to 8½.   However, in the afternoon, Suffolk beat Norfolk quite convincingly, by 9 points to 7.   This scoreline could, and should, have been better, but two of the last games to finish were drawn, with Suffolk players missing the wins.

As anticipated, the Cambridgeshire team was very strong, with more than half their team graded over 150.   By comparison, Suffolk and Norfolk had only three 150+ players, whilst Herts had two.   Cambridgeshire won both their matches.

This is the current league table:

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Match Points	Game Points
Cambridgeshire	2	2	0	0	4	19
Suffolk	2	1	0	1	2	16½
Hertfordshire	2	1	0	1	2	15½
Norfolk	2	0	0	2	0	13

Of the Suffolk players, Andrew Donnelly and Martin Tomes won both games, whilst those on 1½ points included Phil Hutchings, Alan Watkins and Bob Jones.

Martin Tomes (White) reached the following position after 20 moves in his afternoon game.   Black has just played d5, forking bishop and knight.   In fact White is winning easily and there are a number of good moves.   But Martin found the most spectacular move, causing Black to resign immediately:

21. Rf5!! (with Qh6 to follow)





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London Chess Classic underway

The long-awaited London Chess Classic commenced yesterday at the Kensington Olympia.   The main event is the final tournament in the Chess Grand Tour, which features many of the world's top players.   Michael Adams, England's number 1, has been added to the nine who have played in the previous events.   After two rounds, there have been nine hard-fought draws out of the ten games played, with only Anish Giri beating Veselin Topalov in the first round.   With two draws, Adams is in equal second place, alongside eight others!

Also being played is the Final of the British Knockout Championship.   Initial rounds saw many of Britain's top players being knocked out, leaving just David Howell and former Suffolk boy Nick Pert through to the six-game final.   Nick has done very well, especially considering he was a last-minute replacement for the unavailable Nigel Short.   After a draw in the first round of the final, Nick eventually lost a rook and pawn ending in round 2, which lasted nearly five hours.   The match continues until Wednesday, with one game each day.

The third major event taking place is the FIDE Open, which has a massive entry of 246 players (including 28 Grandmasters).   After three rounds there are still 11 players on a maximum score.   Bury St Edmunds' Ed Player has two points, whilst former Suffolk girl Anna York-Andersen, now studying at Cambridge University, has lost two and drawn one.

Alongside these premier tournaments are several other events.   These include the Weekend Classic in four graded sections.   In the 63-player Open, Adam Taylor (Manningtree) is third seed and after taking a first round bye, is well-placed on 2½ points.   In the Under 2000 section (71 entrants), fifth seed John Peters (Bury St Edmunds) is joint leader (of two) on 3 points.   In the Under 1800 section (83 entrants), Stephen Pride (Bury and Cambridge) is on 2½ points.

Live games and latest results can be viewed on the London Chess Classic website.





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DBS checks

Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are now called Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.   Anyone involved on a weekly basis teaching chess to children, helping out at a school or club, or transporting children to tournaments, needs to undertake a DBS check.

Such checks can be arranged online through the Government website, but an Enhanced Check there costs £44.   Instead, an scheme has been set up between the Suffolk County Chess Association and Community Action Suffolk, whereby checks can be undertaken, also online, at a cost of only £15.

Anyone who teaches chess to children at a school or club, or coaches children at home, should apply for a DBS check. As the administrator of this scheme, contact me if you need to undergo a check.




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