The Greater Toronto Chess Leaguehttp://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/
A collection of my thoughts on chess and lifeKevin Spraggetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12336153003665837620noreply@blogger.comBlogger1428125
Updated: 1 hour 39 min ago
Tidbits
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I found the following cute video today at the excellent portuguese blog http://aladerei.e-xadrez.com/ It appears to be part of a 1982 series on chess for children. I am impressed with the originality of the content.
Episode 34 (1982)of the children series Yeralash, (The world of chess) with Oleg Krokhin, Alina Gurevich and the dog Viking.
_________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS NEW WITH THE FIDE ELECTION?
Since my blog entry yesterday, there is nothing of substance to report to my readers. But the Karpov website (http://www.karpov2010.org/) had a number of unsigned articles that aimed to fling shit at Ilyumzhinov's reputation and distort information and facts.
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."
--GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
The first of the two articles mentioned was titled: Kirsan’s Inaction: Broken Promise in Khanty-Mansiysk. Essentially, the un-named author tries to make a mountain out of bump: the hotel complex being built especially for the Olympiad (a 4-star complex called Olympiyski ) is a bit behind schedule. The article tries to make it seem as though the FIDE representative from Israel (Gelfer) showed up to assess the progress being made and that he was more than a bit disappointed when he found out that it had not yet been finished.
Ofcourse, the article does not quote Gelfer in any way at all, and so we can only assume that the author's imagination was running wild in an attempt to discredit the FIDE president. The article goes on and insinuates that even if the hotel is finished in time, there will not be enough food to feed all of the players. That even if there is enough food , that the players will still have to travel the 7 km to the tournament site (naturally, the author insinuates that there will not be enough buses). You get the drift...
It is just an amateurish hatchet job (Good thing there is no name attached.) And ofcourse, several pictures were included in this kindergarden-level article that painted a distorted view of the actual progress of the state of the hote. Surprisingly, several links were provided (how did they get included?) that provided additional information.
Here are the pictures of the state of the hotel today: the reader can draw his own conclusion as to progress that has been made to date:
I recall that when I arrived in Elista for the 1998 Olympiad the playing hall was not 100% complete. The workers were at it 24 hours a day and the olympiad had to be delayed 1 day. No big deal: everyone loved the hospitality of Chess City and history records that Olympiad as one of the best ever.
I have no doubt that the Hotel will be finished before the Olympiad begins....____________________________________________________________________
The second of the articles that appeared on Karpov's site was entitled: ''Can we believe Kirsan?'' Once more, the article is unsigned and is nothing but another hatchet job!
The article mixes a few facts and a lot of fiction. I mean, really, if you want to criticize the mistakes and shortcomings that Kirsan made over the past 15 years (and there are many, I assure you) then is it necessary to smear his reputation in the process? (Why can't he believe in UFOs?) The man took over a sick and feeble FIDE and did things his way. Sure, he made enemies along the way. Who wouldn't? But the fact is that the overwhelming majority of grandmasters in the world SUPPORT Ilyumzhinov over Karpov!
The article shoots itself in the foot when it is written:
''False claims. Kirsan still falsely claims he was nominated by the Russian Federation, when in reality the only official nomination from Russia went to Anatoly Karpov. Kirsan and his single ally, Dvorkovich, then used physical force to take over the Moscow Chess Club and the Federation. But no matter what they announce now or how much physical force they exert, the only legitimate nomination that came from Russia went to Karpov, not Kirsan.''
Really? I suppose the author is referring to the time in May when Karpov and Kasparov went to Moscow , hijacked the Russian Chess Federation and held an illegal vote (not surprisingly 17-0--in true Stalin style) nominating Karpov (!) for FIDE president? I don't think that , TODAY, there are more than 12 people out of the 6 billion on earth who are fooled by this! The Russian Chess Federation--the last time I checked--supports Ilyumzhinov. It is only Karpov and his team who delude themselves...
Another part of the anonymous hatchet job is this:
''Campaign tricks: In fact, many of the federations that Kirsan currently claims to have the support of are simply too afraid of reprisals to make their opposition known. Several of them have expressed their support of Karpov’s candidacy confidentially and are biding their time to announce their decision in due course. This casts serious doubt on the total vote count claimed by Kirsan’s campaign. This disgrace must end!''
This contains serious allegations, but again no names, no examples, no facts...and clearly no way to refute it before the actual election in September. Numerous countries have not made up their minds, and no doubt a lot of pressure is being put on them--from both sides!
Ofcourse, Canada's Hal Bond is sitting on the fence for his own personal reasons. He could not care less who wins the FIDE presidency, as long as his own ambitions are not affected. Could he be one of those who are playing both sides? If so, this is a dangerous game. He could find himself with no friends in FIDE no matter who wins...
I recommend the reader to visit the Karpov site (http://www.karpov2010.org/) to read the entire shameful article. It is clear to me, atleast, that Karpov would never put his name on this crap. But someone should own up to it...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I found the following cute video today at the excellent portuguese blog http://aladerei.e-xadrez.com/ It appears to be part of a 1982 series on chess for children. I am impressed with the originality of the content.
Episode 34 (1982)of the children series Yeralash, (The world of chess) with Oleg Krokhin, Alina Gurevich and the dog Viking.
_________________________________________________________________
WHAT IS NEW WITH THE FIDE ELECTION?
Since my blog entry yesterday, there is nothing of substance to report to my readers. But the Karpov website (http://www.karpov2010.org/) had a number of unsigned articles that aimed to fling shit at Ilyumzhinov's reputation and distort information and facts.
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."
--GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
The first of the two articles mentioned was titled: Kirsan’s Inaction: Broken Promise in Khanty-Mansiysk. Essentially, the un-named author tries to make a mountain out of bump: the hotel complex being built especially for the Olympiad (a 4-star complex called Olympiyski ) is a bit behind schedule. The article tries to make it seem as though the FIDE representative from Israel (Gelfer) showed up to assess the progress being made and that he was more than a bit disappointed when he found out that it had not yet been finished.
Ofcourse, the article does not quote Gelfer in any way at all, and so we can only assume that the author's imagination was running wild in an attempt to discredit the FIDE president. The article goes on and insinuates that even if the hotel is finished in time, there will not be enough food to feed all of the players. That even if there is enough food , that the players will still have to travel the 7 km to the tournament site (naturally, the author insinuates that there will not be enough buses). You get the drift...
It is just an amateurish hatchet job (Good thing there is no name attached.) And ofcourse, several pictures were included in this kindergarden-level article that painted a distorted view of the actual progress of the state of the hote. Surprisingly, several links were provided (how did they get included?) that provided additional information.
Here are the pictures of the state of the hotel today: the reader can draw his own conclusion as to progress that has been made to date:
.jpg){kind=link}
I recall that when I arrived in Elista for the 1998 Olympiad the playing hall was not 100% complete. The workers were at it 24 hours a day and the olympiad had to be delayed 1 day. No big deal: everyone loved the hospitality of Chess City and history records that Olympiad as one of the best ever.
I have no doubt that the Hotel will be finished before the Olympiad begins....____________________________________________________________________
The second of the articles that appeared on Karpov's site was entitled: ''Can we believe Kirsan?'' Once more, the article is unsigned and is nothing but another hatchet job!
The article mixes a few facts and a lot of fiction. I mean, really, if you want to criticize the mistakes and shortcomings that Kirsan made over the past 15 years (and there are many, I assure you) then is it necessary to smear his reputation in the process? (Why can't he believe in UFOs?) The man took over a sick and feeble FIDE and did things his way. Sure, he made enemies along the way. Who wouldn't? But the fact is that the overwhelming majority of grandmasters in the world SUPPORT Ilyumzhinov over Karpov!
The article shoots itself in the foot when it is written:
''False claims. Kirsan still falsely claims he was nominated by the Russian Federation, when in reality the only official nomination from Russia went to Anatoly Karpov. Kirsan and his single ally, Dvorkovich, then used physical force to take over the Moscow Chess Club and the Federation. But no matter what they announce now or how much physical force they exert, the only legitimate nomination that came from Russia went to Karpov, not Kirsan.''
Really? I suppose the author is referring to the time in May when Karpov and Kasparov went to Moscow , hijacked the Russian Chess Federation and held an illegal vote (not surprisingly 17-0--in true Stalin style) nominating Karpov (!) for FIDE president? I don't think that , TODAY, there are more than 12 people out of the 6 billion on earth who are fooled by this! The Russian Chess Federation--the last time I checked--supports Ilyumzhinov. It is only Karpov and his team who delude themselves...
Another part of the anonymous hatchet job is this:
''Campaign tricks: In fact, many of the federations that Kirsan currently claims to have the support of are simply too afraid of reprisals to make their opposition known. Several of them have expressed their support of Karpov’s candidacy confidentially and are biding their time to announce their decision in due course. This casts serious doubt on the total vote count claimed by Kirsan’s campaign. This disgrace must end!''
This contains serious allegations, but again no names, no examples, no facts...and clearly no way to refute it before the actual election in September. Numerous countries have not made up their minds, and no doubt a lot of pressure is being put on them--from both sides!
Ofcourse, Canada's Hal Bond is sitting on the fence for his own personal reasons. He could not care less who wins the FIDE presidency, as long as his own ambitions are not affected. Could he be one of those who are playing both sides? If so, this is a dangerous game. He could find himself with no friends in FIDE no matter who wins...
I recommend the reader to visit the Karpov site (http://www.karpov2010.org/) to read the entire shameful article. It is clear to me, atleast, that Karpov would never put his name on this crap. But someone should own up to it...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Today's tactics training (Leonid Stein)
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Botvinnik vs Stein 1963
The following positions are from actual games from Leonid Stein's tournaments. White is to play and win in each. The solution can be found by re-playing the actual game with the pgn-viewer. Good luck!
EVANSSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S MOST ACCURATE CONTINUATION?
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Amsterdam (Netherlands)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Evans Larry M (USA)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C94"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d3 c5 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Bc2 Nc6 13. Nf1 d5 14. Ne3 dxe4 15.
dxe4 Rd8 16. Qe2 g6 17. a4 Rb8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ng5 h6 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5
hxg5 22. dxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxe5 Bb7 24. Qg3 Qf6 25. Rxe7 Qxe7 26. Bxg5 f6 27. Bf4
Ra8 28. Rxa8 Bxa8 29. Bxg6 Qg7 30. Be3 c4 31. Bf7+ Kxf7 32. Qc7+ Kg6 33. Qxd8
Bc6 34. Bd4 Qf7 35. Qd6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569194").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569194").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569194").submit();
__________________________________________________________________
PETROSIANSTEINWHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
[Event "Ch URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1961"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Petrosian Tigran V (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C18"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Nf5 8.
Bd3 h5 9. Qf4 Nc6 10. Ne2 Nce7 11. Ng3 Ng6 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Rb1 Rb8 14. O-O c4
15. Be2 Nxg3 16. fxg3 h4 17. Bg4 hxg3 18. hxg3 Qe7 19. a4 Bxa4 20. Ra1 b5 21.
Ba3 Qd7 22. Rf2 Rb7 23. Raf1 Qd8 24. Qd1 Rh6 25. Bc1 Rh7 26. Bxe6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280568966").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280568966").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280568966").submit();
________________________________________________________________________
KORCHNOISTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S STRONGEST CONTINUATION?
[Event "Zt"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Korchnoi Viktor (SUI)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B85"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8.
f4 O-O 9. Qe1 Qc7 10. Qg3 Qb6 11. Be3 Qxb2 12. Bf2 Qb4 13. e5 dxe5 14. fxe5
Ne8 15. Bd3 Qa5 16. Ne4 Nd7 17. Nf3 g6 18. Bd4 Ng7 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20. exf6 Nh5
21. Qh4 Qd8 22. Rae1 Ndxf6 23. Ng5 e5 24. Bxe5 h6 25. Bxf6 hxg5 26. Qxg5 Nxf6
27. Rxf6 Qd4+ 28. Kh1 Qg4 29. Qh6 Bf5 30. h3 Qd4 31. Rxf5 gxf5 32. Re3 Qg7
33. Qh4 Qa1+ 34. Kh2 Rfe8 35. Rg3+ Kf8 36. Qh6+ Ke7 37. Re3+ Kd7 38. Bxf5+
Kc7 39. Qf4+ Kc6 40. Qc4+ Kd6 41. Qb4+ Kd5 42. Rd3+ Ke5 43. Qd6+ Kxf5 44.
Rf3+ Kg5 45. Qf4+ Kh5 46. g4+ Kg6 47. Qxf7+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569454").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569454").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569454").submit();
_________________________________________________________________________
BARCZASTEINHOW DOES WHITE WIN?
[Event "Ch Yugoslavia"]
[Site "Zagreb (Croatia)"]
[Date "1972"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Barcza Gedeon (HUN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A29"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Nd5 Bf8 8.
d3 h6 9. Bd2 d6 10. Bc3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne7 12. e4 c6 13. dxc6 Nxc6 14. d4 Bg4
15. d5 Ne7 16. h3 Bd7 17. a4 Qc8 18. Kh2 Ng6 19. Nd2 Be7 20. Qe2 b5 21. axb5
Qb7 22. Rfe1 Bxb5 23. Qf3 Nf8 24. Bf1 a6 25. Nc4 Nd7 26. Na5 Qb6 27. Bxb5
Qxb5 28. Ra3 Bd8 29. Rb3 Qa4 30. Rb7 Bxa5 31. b3 Qa3 32. Ra1 Qxa1 33. Rxd7
1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569634").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569634").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569634").submit();
____________________________________________________________________
MATANOVICSTEINWHAT IS THE BEST CONTINUATION?
[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Tel Aviv (Israel)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Matanovic Alexander (YUG)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C97"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Rfe8 14. b3 g6 15.
Bg5 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Rxe7 17. Ne3 Nf6 18. Rc1 Nb7 19. b4 c4 20. a4 Rae8 21. axb5
axb5 22. Ra1 Bc6 23. Ra6 Qc8 24. d5 Bd7 25. Nh2 Kg7 26. Qf3 Rf8 27. Rea1 Ng8
28. Qg3 Kh8 29. f4 exf4 30. Qxf4 Rfe8 31. Nf3 Kg7 32. Nd4 f5 33. Ra8 Qxa8 34.
Rxa8 Rxa8 35. exf5 Re5 36. Ng4 Rae8 37. f6+ Kf7 38. Nh6+ Nxh6 39. Qxh6 Kxf6
40. Qxh7 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569815").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569815").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569815").submit();
____________________________________________________________________
PORTISCHSTEINWHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Stockholm (Sweden)"]
[Date "1962"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Portisch Lajos (HUN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B42"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Qc7 7. Nd2 Nc6 8.
Nxc6 bxc6 9. f4 Bc5+ 10. Kh1 d6 11. Nf3 e5 12. fxe5 dxe5 13. Nh4 O-O 14. Nf5
Be6 15. Qe2 a5 16. Bc4 Kh8 17. Bg5 Nd7 18. Rad1 Nb6 19. Nxg7 Bxc4 20. Bf6 Be7
21. Qf3 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569978").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569978").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569978").submit();
___________________________________________________________________
YANOFSKYSTEINHOW DOES WHITE FINISH OFF THE GAME ?
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Stockholm (Sweden)"]
[Date "1962"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Yanofsky D A (CAN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C05"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ndf3 Qb6 8. g3
cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb4+ 10. Kf2 f6 11. Kg2 Be7 12. Bd3 f5 13. Ne2 Qd8 14. Bd2 Nb6
15. b3 Bd7 16. h3 Qc7 17. g4 g6 18. Rc1 Ba3 19. Rc2 Qd8 20. Be1 Be7 21. a4
Nb4 22. Bxb4 Bxb4 23. h4 Rc8 24. h5 Rxc2 25. Bxc2 Ke7 26. Ne1 Kf7 27. Nd3 Be7
28. Ng3 Qg8 29. Nc5 Bc8 30. a5 Na8 31. Qf3 Nc7 32. Bd3 Ke8 33. b4 a6 34. Kf2
Qf8 35. g5 Kf7 36. Rh2 Rg8 37. Qh1 Qe8 38. Ne2 Bf8 39. Nc3 Bg7 40. Ke3 Qc6
41. N3a4 Na8 42. Rc2 Qe8 43. Nb6 Nxb6 44. axb6 Bf8 45. Nxb7 Bxb7 46. Rc7+ Be7
47. Rxb7 Rg7 48. Rc7 Qb8 49. hxg6+ hxg6 50. Qh6 Kg8 51. Rxe7 Rxe7 52. Qxg6+
Kf8 53. Qf6+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570153").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570153").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570153").submit();
___________________________________________________________________
UHLMANNSTEINHOW DOES WHITE WIN?
[Event "It"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1967"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Uhlmann Wolfgang (GER)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C07"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6
8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Be7 11. b3 a6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qf3 Qc7 14.
Rfe1 b5 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Qh3 g6 17. a4 bxa4 18. Rxa4 Nh5 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20.
Qxe6+ Rf7 21. Bc4 Qf4 22. Qxf7+ Qxf7 23. Rxe7 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570533").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570533").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570533").submit();
________________________________________________________________
TALSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S BEST MOVE?
[Event "Tournament"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1961"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Tal Mihail (LAT)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B94"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8.
Qd2 e6 9. O-O-O b5 10. Bb3 Bb7 11. Rhe1 Nc5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qf4 Be7 14. Qg4
O-O-O 15. Bd5 b4 16. Bxb7+ Kxb7 17. Nd5 exd5 18. exd5 Rd7 19. Nc6 Qxa2 20.
Qxb4+ Kc7 21. Nxe7 Rb8 22. Qa3 Qc4 23. Nc6 Rb3 24. Qa5+ Rb6 25. Kb1 Na4 26.
Rd4 Nxb2 27. Kc1 Qc5 28. Re3 Kb7 29. Rc3 Rb5 30. Qa3 Qxa3 31. Rxa3 Rxd5 32.
Na5+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570346").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570346").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570346").submit();
_____________________________________________________________
SMYSLOVSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S BEST MOVE?
[Event "Olympiad URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1972"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Smyslov Vassily (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A17"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e4 Bb7 5. Qe2 Bb4 6. e5 Ng8 7. d4 d6 8. a3
Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Ne7 10. h4 Nd7 11. h5 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 dxe5 13. h6 gxh6 14. Bxh6
exd4 15. Bg7 Rg8 16. Rxh7 Nf5 17. Bxd4 c5 18. g4 cxd4 19. gxf5 e5 20. Qd5 Rf8
21. cxd4 Rc8 22. Rd1 Qe7 23. Bg2 Rg8 24. Qb7 Rxc4 25. dxe5 Qxe5+ 26. Kf1 Qb5
27. Kg1 Qc6 28. Qxc6 Rxc6 29. Rh8 Rcg6 30. fxg6 Rxh8 31. Bc6 Rg8 32. Bxd7+
Ke7 33. Bf5 fxg6 34. Rd7+ Kf6 35. Bd3 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570804").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570804").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570804").submit();
Botvinnik vs Stein 1963
The following positions are from actual games from Leonid Stein's tournaments. White is to play and win in each. The solution can be found by re-playing the actual game with the pgn-viewer. Good luck!
EVANSSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S MOST ACCURATE CONTINUATION?
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Amsterdam (Netherlands)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Evans Larry M (USA)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C94"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d3 c5 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Bc2 Nc6 13. Nf1 d5 14. Ne3 dxe4 15.
dxe4 Rd8 16. Qe2 g6 17. a4 Rb8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ng5 h6 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5
hxg5 22. dxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxe5 Bb7 24. Qg3 Qf6 25. Rxe7 Qxe7 26. Bxg5 f6 27. Bf4
Ra8 28. Rxa8 Bxa8 29. Bxg6 Qg7 30. Be3 c4 31. Bf7+ Kxf7 32. Qc7+ Kg6 33. Qxd8
Bc6 34. Bd4 Qf7 35. Qd6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569194").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569194").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569194").submit();
__________________________________________________________________
PETROSIANSTEINWHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
[Event "Ch URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1961"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Petrosian Tigran V (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C18"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Nf5 8.
Bd3 h5 9. Qf4 Nc6 10. Ne2 Nce7 11. Ng3 Ng6 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Rb1 Rb8 14. O-O c4
15. Be2 Nxg3 16. fxg3 h4 17. Bg4 hxg3 18. hxg3 Qe7 19. a4 Bxa4 20. Ra1 b5 21.
Ba3 Qd7 22. Rf2 Rb7 23. Raf1 Qd8 24. Qd1 Rh6 25. Bc1 Rh7 26. Bxe6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280568966").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280568966").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280568966").submit();
________________________________________________________________________
KORCHNOISTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S STRONGEST CONTINUATION?
[Event "Zt"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Korchnoi Viktor (SUI)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B85"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8.
f4 O-O 9. Qe1 Qc7 10. Qg3 Qb6 11. Be3 Qxb2 12. Bf2 Qb4 13. e5 dxe5 14. fxe5
Ne8 15. Bd3 Qa5 16. Ne4 Nd7 17. Nf3 g6 18. Bd4 Ng7 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20. exf6 Nh5
21. Qh4 Qd8 22. Rae1 Ndxf6 23. Ng5 e5 24. Bxe5 h6 25. Bxf6 hxg5 26. Qxg5 Nxf6
27. Rxf6 Qd4+ 28. Kh1 Qg4 29. Qh6 Bf5 30. h3 Qd4 31. Rxf5 gxf5 32. Re3 Qg7
33. Qh4 Qa1+ 34. Kh2 Rfe8 35. Rg3+ Kf8 36. Qh6+ Ke7 37. Re3+ Kd7 38. Bxf5+
Kc7 39. Qf4+ Kc6 40. Qc4+ Kd6 41. Qb4+ Kd5 42. Rd3+ Ke5 43. Qd6+ Kxf5 44.
Rf3+ Kg5 45. Qf4+ Kh5 46. g4+ Kg6 47. Qxf7+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569454").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569454").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569454").submit();
_________________________________________________________________________
BARCZASTEINHOW DOES WHITE WIN?
[Event "Ch Yugoslavia"]
[Site "Zagreb (Croatia)"]
[Date "1972"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Barcza Gedeon (HUN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A29"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Nd5 Bf8 8.
d3 h6 9. Bd2 d6 10. Bc3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne7 12. e4 c6 13. dxc6 Nxc6 14. d4 Bg4
15. d5 Ne7 16. h3 Bd7 17. a4 Qc8 18. Kh2 Ng6 19. Nd2 Be7 20. Qe2 b5 21. axb5
Qb7 22. Rfe1 Bxb5 23. Qf3 Nf8 24. Bf1 a6 25. Nc4 Nd7 26. Na5 Qb6 27. Bxb5
Qxb5 28. Ra3 Bd8 29. Rb3 Qa4 30. Rb7 Bxa5 31. b3 Qa3 32. Ra1 Qxa1 33. Rxd7
1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569634").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569634").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569634").submit();
____________________________________________________________________
MATANOVICSTEINWHAT IS THE BEST CONTINUATION?
[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Tel Aviv (Israel)"]
[Date "1964"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Matanovic Alexander (YUG)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C97"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Rfe8 14. b3 g6 15.
Bg5 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Rxe7 17. Ne3 Nf6 18. Rc1 Nb7 19. b4 c4 20. a4 Rae8 21. axb5
axb5 22. Ra1 Bc6 23. Ra6 Qc8 24. d5 Bd7 25. Nh2 Kg7 26. Qf3 Rf8 27. Rea1 Ng8
28. Qg3 Kh8 29. f4 exf4 30. Qxf4 Rfe8 31. Nf3 Kg7 32. Nd4 f5 33. Ra8 Qxa8 34.
Rxa8 Rxa8 35. exf5 Re5 36. Ng4 Rae8 37. f6+ Kf7 38. Nh6+ Nxh6 39. Qxh6 Kxf6
40. Qxh7 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569815").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569815").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569815").submit();
____________________________________________________________________
PORTISCHSTEINWHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Stockholm (Sweden)"]
[Date "1962"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Portisch Lajos (HUN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B42"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Qc7 7. Nd2 Nc6 8.
Nxc6 bxc6 9. f4 Bc5+ 10. Kh1 d6 11. Nf3 e5 12. fxe5 dxe5 13. Nh4 O-O 14. Nf5
Be6 15. Qe2 a5 16. Bc4 Kh8 17. Bg5 Nd7 18. Rad1 Nb6 19. Nxg7 Bxc4 20. Bf6 Be7
21. Qf3 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280569978").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280569978").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280569978").submit();
___________________________________________________________________
YANOFSKYSTEINHOW DOES WHITE FINISH OFF THE GAME ?
[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Stockholm (Sweden)"]
[Date "1962"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Yanofsky D A (CAN)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C05"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ndf3 Qb6 8. g3
cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb4+ 10. Kf2 f6 11. Kg2 Be7 12. Bd3 f5 13. Ne2 Qd8 14. Bd2 Nb6
15. b3 Bd7 16. h3 Qc7 17. g4 g6 18. Rc1 Ba3 19. Rc2 Qd8 20. Be1 Be7 21. a4
Nb4 22. Bxb4 Bxb4 23. h4 Rc8 24. h5 Rxc2 25. Bxc2 Ke7 26. Ne1 Kf7 27. Nd3 Be7
28. Ng3 Qg8 29. Nc5 Bc8 30. a5 Na8 31. Qf3 Nc7 32. Bd3 Ke8 33. b4 a6 34. Kf2
Qf8 35. g5 Kf7 36. Rh2 Rg8 37. Qh1 Qe8 38. Ne2 Bf8 39. Nc3 Bg7 40. Ke3 Qc6
41. N3a4 Na8 42. Rc2 Qe8 43. Nb6 Nxb6 44. axb6 Bf8 45. Nxb7 Bxb7 46. Rc7+ Be7
47. Rxb7 Rg7 48. Rc7 Qb8 49. hxg6+ hxg6 50. Qh6 Kg8 51. Rxe7 Rxe7 52. Qxg6+
Kf8 53. Qf6+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570153").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570153").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570153").submit();
___________________________________________________________________
UHLMANNSTEINHOW DOES WHITE WIN?
[Event "It"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1967"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Uhlmann Wolfgang (GER)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C07"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6
8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Be7 11. b3 a6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qf3 Qc7 14.
Rfe1 b5 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Qh3 g6 17. a4 bxa4 18. Rxa4 Nh5 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20.
Qxe6+ Rf7 21. Bc4 Qf4 22. Qxf7+ Qxf7 23. Rxe7 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570533").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570533").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570533").submit();
________________________________________________________________
TALSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S BEST MOVE?
[Event "Tournament"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1961"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Tal Mihail (LAT)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B94"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8.
Qd2 e6 9. O-O-O b5 10. Bb3 Bb7 11. Rhe1 Nc5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qf4 Be7 14. Qg4
O-O-O 15. Bd5 b4 16. Bxb7+ Kxb7 17. Nd5 exd5 18. exd5 Rd7 19. Nc6 Qxa2 20.
Qxb4+ Kc7 21. Nxe7 Rb8 22. Qa3 Qc4 23. Nc6 Rb3 24. Qa5+ Rb6 25. Kb1 Na4 26.
Rd4 Nxb2 27. Kc1 Qc5 28. Re3 Kb7 29. Rc3 Rb5 30. Qa3 Qxa3 31. Rxa3 Rxd5 32.
Na5+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570346").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570346").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570346").submit();
_____________________________________________________________
SMYSLOVSTEINWHAT IS WHITE'S BEST MOVE?
[Event "Olympiad URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1972"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Stein Leonid (UKR)"]
[Black "Smyslov Vassily (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A17"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e4 Bb7 5. Qe2 Bb4 6. e5 Ng8 7. d4 d6 8. a3
Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Ne7 10. h4 Nd7 11. h5 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 dxe5 13. h6 gxh6 14. Bxh6
exd4 15. Bg7 Rg8 16. Rxh7 Nf5 17. Bxd4 c5 18. g4 cxd4 19. gxf5 e5 20. Qd5 Rf8
21. cxd4 Rc8 22. Rd1 Qe7 23. Bg2 Rg8 24. Qb7 Rxc4 25. dxe5 Qxe5+ 26. Kf1 Qb5
27. Kg1 Qc6 28. Qxc6 Rxc6 29. Rh8 Rcg6 30. fxg6 Rxh8 31. Bc6 Rg8 32. Bxd7+
Ke7 33. Bf5 fxg6 34. Rd7+ Kf6 35. Bd3 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280570804").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280570804").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280570804").submit();
Categories: Canadians blogs
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO....
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
THE FIDE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?
The silence is unbearable! I know what you are going to say: ''It is summer! Karpov and Ilyumzhinov are on vacation...'' But I think that is not entirely accurate. There is more to it than that...why has it disappeared from even the chess world news-reporting?
The Karpov website (http://www.karpov2010.org/) has not had a fresh news item update since July 18 when it was announced that Karpov would bring in 4 million dollars of sponsorship should he be elected. The last Ilyumzhinov website (http://www.onefide.com/) merely echoed that Karpov had announced the 4 million dollar sponsorship.
Ofcourse, if you dig a bit you will find that both Karpov and Ilyumzhinov are alive and well! Kirsan is at some FIDE congress at this moment. Karpov is planning to visit Argentina in August, invited by the government of Villa Martelli (reported today by chessbase-spanish edition). I think that some seminar in Angola is planned by Kasparov, Short and company. Not many countries from Africa are expected to attend.
But gone is the campaign momentum. Much of Karpov's travels right now are just the usual type of visits that Karpov makes every year. Promotional, private and lucrative. In Argentina, for example, Karpov will be paid for his time. I have heard a nasty rumour that some of he simuls that Karpov has given in recent months were not entirely free...even Ilyumzhinov offered to pay for them after the election should Karpov and Kasparov want to continue to do them (!).
Whatever the truth (every election has its share of nasty rumours), it should be apparent to the reader who has followed the election campaign since it began that something is amiss here! Campaigns don't disappear mid-stream. News no longer appears on either candidate's site; vote counts have stopped; new supporters are not mentioned.
My interpretation of the observable facts is that both Karpov and Ilyumzhinov have made a truce. It was clear more than a month ago that Ilyumzhinov had already won the number of votes necessary to assure his re-election. And the margin was about to become even more lop-sided. Even Canada, which has curiously been sitting on the fence for months, would likely vote for Ilyumzhinov should it be needed. Karpov no doubt saw the futility of it all...
For the good of FIDE in 2006. Kok--as a compromise-- was put in charge of a chess company fully funded by Kirsan and then quietly retreated from the public picture. Does the company even exist today?
Much as with the 2006 campaign versus Bessel Kok, a friendly solution was probably found: compromise and coming together for the good of FIDE. Karpov will likely not be so willing to disappear from the scene after the September elections in Siberia as was Kok, however, as he will have real chances for a successful campaign in 2014 should he do some much needed housecleaning within his own campaign team.
It rests to see how things play out in the coming weeks. Will there be any surprises, or will things fizzle out like warm beer....
Prague 2002. Only Ilyumzhinov (centre) has reason to smile today
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
THE FIDE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN?
The silence is unbearable! I know what you are going to say: ''It is summer! Karpov and Ilyumzhinov are on vacation...'' But I think that is not entirely accurate. There is more to it than that...why has it disappeared from even the chess world news-reporting?
The Karpov website (http://www.karpov2010.org/) has not had a fresh news item update since July 18 when it was announced that Karpov would bring in 4 million dollars of sponsorship should he be elected. The last Ilyumzhinov website (http://www.onefide.com/) merely echoed that Karpov had announced the 4 million dollar sponsorship.
Ofcourse, if you dig a bit you will find that both Karpov and Ilyumzhinov are alive and well! Kirsan is at some FIDE congress at this moment. Karpov is planning to visit Argentina in August, invited by the government of Villa Martelli (reported today by chessbase-spanish edition). I think that some seminar in Angola is planned by Kasparov, Short and company. Not many countries from Africa are expected to attend.
But gone is the campaign momentum. Much of Karpov's travels right now are just the usual type of visits that Karpov makes every year. Promotional, private and lucrative. In Argentina, for example, Karpov will be paid for his time. I have heard a nasty rumour that some of he simuls that Karpov has given in recent months were not entirely free...even Ilyumzhinov offered to pay for them after the election should Karpov and Kasparov want to continue to do them (!).
Whatever the truth (every election has its share of nasty rumours), it should be apparent to the reader who has followed the election campaign since it began that something is amiss here! Campaigns don't disappear mid-stream. News no longer appears on either candidate's site; vote counts have stopped; new supporters are not mentioned.
My interpretation of the observable facts is that both Karpov and Ilyumzhinov have made a truce. It was clear more than a month ago that Ilyumzhinov had already won the number of votes necessary to assure his re-election. And the margin was about to become even more lop-sided. Even Canada, which has curiously been sitting on the fence for months, would likely vote for Ilyumzhinov should it be needed. Karpov no doubt saw the futility of it all...
For the good of FIDE in 2006. Kok--as a compromise-- was put in charge of a chess company fully funded by Kirsan and then quietly retreated from the public picture. Does the company even exist today?
Much as with the 2006 campaign versus Bessel Kok, a friendly solution was probably found: compromise and coming together for the good of FIDE. Karpov will likely not be so willing to disappear from the scene after the September elections in Siberia as was Kok, however, as he will have real chances for a successful campaign in 2014 should he do some much needed housecleaning within his own campaign team.
It rests to see how things play out in the coming weeks. Will there be any surprises, or will things fizzle out like warm beer....
Prague 2002. Only Ilyumzhinov (centre) has reason to smile today
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
La Femme Fatale
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
The most dangerous chess piece is female. Curious, isn't it? The following position occurred after the 34th move of the game between grandmasters Leonid Stein and Ratmir Kholmov, Moscow 1963. The Black King position is wide open, but is not easy to rupture. For example, 35.Nxh7 works if Black takes the Knight (36.Rh4ch!), but fails to the simple 35...Bg7!.
Kholmov was a great defender of inferior positions, and this allowed him to get away with some really provocative middlegame play. Even Stein was unable to convert large advantages against Kholmov in previous encounters....HOWEVER, today (in this game!) Stein found a clever idea involving his Queen that soon forced Kholmov to throw in the towel. Can you see it? GOOD LUCK!
KHOLMOVSTEIN______________________________________________
[Event "Ch URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1963"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid Z (UKR)"]
[Black "Kholmov Ratmir D (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D35"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 c5 8.
Nf3 Nc6 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O Be6 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Bb1 Be7 13. h3 Qa5 14. Qe2
Rfd8 15. Rfd1 a6 16. Ng5 Re8 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Nxe4 Nd5 20. Bd2
Qc7 21. Re1 Qe5 22. Qc4 Qc7 23. Qb3 Qb6 24. Qc2 Nd4 25. Qd3 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 g6
27. b3 Rf8 28. Rc4 Nb5 29. Bh6 Rd8 30. Qg3 Nd4 31. Qe5 Nf5 32. Bd2 Bf8 33.
Ng5 Re8 34. Bxf5 gxf5 35. Bc3 Nxc3 36. Qf6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280481127").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280481127").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280481127").submit();
Leonid Stein (November 12,1934 to July 4, 1973)
Leonid Stein is something of an enigma in modern chess history. Born in the Ukraine in 1934, the young Leonid did not show much of anything that might have hinted of the extraordinary chess talent that he would later become world famous for. He was given to drinking and womanizing. Leonid became a master at age 24, even late for those times. But very quickly afterwards Stein swept away all comers. By the end of 1966 he had already won the coveted Soviet Championship 3 times! He was counted amongst the 10 best players in the world...
Stein won many international tournaments. His style of play was bold and dynamic, often willing to take enormous risks. His best games anthology is one of chess' greatest legacies. I have learned much from the study of these games...
And Stein is also a tragic figure. In the 60's , while the Soviets dominated the chess world, FIDE rules limited the number of Soviet players who could qualify for the candidates' matches. Stein was , curiously, often the Soviet player who had to stand down in favour of a less strong grandmaster from the west. His many fans hoped that one day Stein would qualify...and win the world championship!
In the summer of 1973, shortly before the Petropolis Interzonal that he had qualified for, Stein died of a heart attack at the Rossiva Hotel in the center of Moscow . (I remember reading this in the Montreal newspapers at the time!) He was just 38 years old and in his prime. Even the reclusive Bobby Fischer expressed his saddness at this loss. The newspaper accounts of the day pointed to Stein's excessive smoking and drinking as contributing factors to his early passing...
Taimanov (R) and his wife Nadya (la femme fatale) in 1997. Imagine her a quarter century earlier!
The story that I have been told (from reasonably reliable sources) is that it was not smoking and drinking that contributed to Stein's demise as much as it was the stunning beauty of the 18 year old daughter of grandmaster Yuri Averbakh--Nadya Averbakh! As the story goes, she once confided that her secret ambition was to seduce each and every Soviet grandmaster...and that she succeeded!
Alas, poor Stein died of a heart attack in bed. La femme fatale: check and mate!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
The most dangerous chess piece is female. Curious, isn't it? The following position occurred after the 34th move of the game between grandmasters Leonid Stein and Ratmir Kholmov, Moscow 1963. The Black King position is wide open, but is not easy to rupture. For example, 35.Nxh7 works if Black takes the Knight (36.Rh4ch!), but fails to the simple 35...Bg7!.
Kholmov was a great defender of inferior positions, and this allowed him to get away with some really provocative middlegame play. Even Stein was unable to convert large advantages against Kholmov in previous encounters....HOWEVER, today (in this game!) Stein found a clever idea involving his Queen that soon forced Kholmov to throw in the towel. Can you see it? GOOD LUCK!
KHOLMOVSTEIN______________________________________________
[Event "Ch URS"]
[Site "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Date "1963"]
[Round ""]
[White "Stein Leonid Z (UKR)"]
[Black "Kholmov Ratmir D (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D35"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 c5 8.
Nf3 Nc6 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O Be6 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Bb1 Be7 13. h3 Qa5 14. Qe2
Rfd8 15. Rfd1 a6 16. Ng5 Re8 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Nxe4 Nd5 20. Bd2
Qc7 21. Re1 Qe5 22. Qc4 Qc7 23. Qb3 Qb6 24. Qc2 Nd4 25. Qd3 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 g6
27. b3 Rf8 28. Rc4 Nb5 29. Bh6 Rd8 30. Qg3 Nd4 31. Qe5 Nf5 32. Bd2 Bf8 33.
Ng5 Re8 34. Bxf5 gxf5 35. Bc3 Nxc3 36. Qf6 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280481127").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280481127").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280481127").submit();
Leonid Stein (November 12,1934 to July 4, 1973)
Leonid Stein is something of an enigma in modern chess history. Born in the Ukraine in 1934, the young Leonid did not show much of anything that might have hinted of the extraordinary chess talent that he would later become world famous for. He was given to drinking and womanizing. Leonid became a master at age 24, even late for those times. But very quickly afterwards Stein swept away all comers. By the end of 1966 he had already won the coveted Soviet Championship 3 times! He was counted amongst the 10 best players in the world...
Stein won many international tournaments. His style of play was bold and dynamic, often willing to take enormous risks. His best games anthology is one of chess' greatest legacies. I have learned much from the study of these games...
And Stein is also a tragic figure. In the 60's , while the Soviets dominated the chess world, FIDE rules limited the number of Soviet players who could qualify for the candidates' matches. Stein was , curiously, often the Soviet player who had to stand down in favour of a less strong grandmaster from the west. His many fans hoped that one day Stein would qualify...and win the world championship!
In the summer of 1973, shortly before the Petropolis Interzonal that he had qualified for, Stein died of a heart attack at the Rossiva Hotel in the center of Moscow . (I remember reading this in the Montreal newspapers at the time!) He was just 38 years old and in his prime. Even the reclusive Bobby Fischer expressed his saddness at this loss. The newspaper accounts of the day pointed to Stein's excessive smoking and drinking as contributing factors to his early passing...
Taimanov (R) and his wife Nadya (la femme fatale) in 1997. Imagine her a quarter century earlier!
The story that I have been told (from reasonably reliable sources) is that it was not smoking and drinking that contributed to Stein's demise as much as it was the stunning beauty of the 18 year old daughter of grandmaster Yuri Averbakh--Nadya Averbakh! As the story goes, she once confided that her secret ambition was to seduce each and every Soviet grandmaster...and that she succeeded!
Alas, poor Stein died of a heart attack in bed. La femme fatale: check and mate!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Thursday's insight into the meaning of LIFE...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
''Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells.” Elizabeth Taylor
I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed more times than a hooker .--Sean Connery
'The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole Life to reading my works. James Joyce
''If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?''Bette Midler
'' The Welsh are all actors. It's only the bad ones who become professional.'' Richard Burton
'' I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.''-- John Steinbeck
'' Youthfulness is connected to the ability to see things new for the first time. So if your eyes still look at life with wonder, then you will seem young, even though you may not be chronologically young.''--- Goldie Hawn
''There is no me. I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed.'' Peter Sellers
______________________________________________________________________________
Here comes the Judge! Judge: When did you first realize that you had been raped?
Victim: When the cheque bounced a week later.
Penguin and his Princess
A good argument for shooting designers?
http://www.chesstalk.com/
...........................................................................
BBQ RULES & ETIQUETTE
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore, it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed “her night off”, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women!
(Thx Ivan!)
...............................................................
TIME UNDER THE BRIDGE...
BLADE RUNNER CHICK: Sean Young
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman
______________________________________________________________
THE ONE AND ONLY PAUL NEWMAN
_________________________________________________________________________
JACK NICHOLSON: still loveable after all this time!____________________________________________________________________
GOLDIE HAWN!_____________________________________________
WARREN BEATTY: THE ETERNAL PLAYBOY______________________________________________________________________
DARYL HANNA : ANOTHER BLADE RUNNER CHICK!____________________________________________
MICK JAGGER: FOREVER YOUNG
________________________________________________________________________
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It is not what you think! Each is really a vampire...honestly!
That is sooo... sad!
Boo boo?
Bob Armstrong: one man universe!
AIRLINES IN THE FUTURE
''Is that the REAL Hal Bond??''
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::FROM FAMOUS FILMS
.........................................................................................
FIRST CAME THE ULTRA- STREAMLINED, ZERO RESISTANCE SWIM SUITS. NOW TECHNOLOGY IS READY TO LITERALLY SHAVE SECONDS OFF THE WORLD RECORDS IN DOWNHILL TOBOGGANING:
...........................................................................................
MUST READING FOR RAINY NIGHTS
Nasty stuff! Worse than men!
Looks like a real winner!
How does oversex kill, exactly?
smart dog!
____________________________________
Necessity is the mother of invention...
What will they think of next?
Wow!
.......................................................
What does this woman think of hunting animals for fur?
But wait: do you really need to know?
TV-RATINGS WAR?
In winning teams, you don't need to ask your teammates for a hand. It is already there.
University cafeteria food has improved since my days....
Coincidence?
The wrong side of town, ofcourse!
Wow! No spokes...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
''Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells.” Elizabeth Taylor
I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed more times than a hooker .--Sean Connery
'The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole Life to reading my works. James Joyce
''If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?''Bette Midler
'' The Welsh are all actors. It's only the bad ones who become professional.'' Richard Burton
'' I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.''-- John Steinbeck
'' Youthfulness is connected to the ability to see things new for the first time. So if your eyes still look at life with wonder, then you will seem young, even though you may not be chronologically young.''--- Goldie Hawn
''There is no me. I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed.'' Peter Sellers
______________________________________________________________________________
Here comes the Judge! Judge: When did you first realize that you had been raped?
Victim: When the cheque bounced a week later.
Penguin and his Princess
A good argument for shooting designers?
http://www.chesstalk.com/
...........................................................................
BBQ RULES & ETIQUETTE
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore, it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed “her night off”, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women!
(Thx Ivan!)
...............................................................
TIME UNDER THE BRIDGE...
BLADE RUNNER CHICK: Sean Young
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman
______________________________________________________________
THE ONE AND ONLY PAUL NEWMAN
_________________________________________________________________________
JACK NICHOLSON: still loveable after all this time!____________________________________________________________________
GOLDIE HAWN!_____________________________________________
WARREN BEATTY: THE ETERNAL PLAYBOY______________________________________________________________________
DARYL HANNA : ANOTHER BLADE RUNNER CHICK!____________________________________________
MICK JAGGER: FOREVER YOUNG
________________________________________________________________________
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It is not what you think! Each is really a vampire...honestly!
That is sooo... sad!
Boo boo?
Bob Armstrong: one man universe!
AIRLINES IN THE FUTURE
''Is that the REAL Hal Bond??''
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::FROM FAMOUS FILMS
.........................................................................................
FIRST CAME THE ULTRA- STREAMLINED, ZERO RESISTANCE SWIM SUITS. NOW TECHNOLOGY IS READY TO LITERALLY SHAVE SECONDS OFF THE WORLD RECORDS IN DOWNHILL TOBOGGANING:
...........................................................................................
MUST READING FOR RAINY NIGHTS
Nasty stuff! Worse than men!
Looks like a real winner!
How does oversex kill, exactly?
smart dog!
____________________________________
Necessity is the mother of invention...
What will they think of next?
Wow!
.......................................................
What does this woman think of hunting animals for fur?
But wait: do you really need to know?
TV-RATINGS WAR?
In winning teams, you don't need to ask your teammates for a hand. It is already there.
University cafeteria food has improved since my days....
Coincidence?
The wrong side of town, ofcourse!
Wow! No spokes...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Thursday''s insight into the meaning of LIFE...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
''Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells.” Elizabeth Taylor
I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed more times than a hooker .--Sean Connery
'The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole Life to reading my works. James Joyce
''If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?''Bette Midler
'' The Welsh are all actors. It's only the bad ones who become professional.'' Richard Burton
'' I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.''-- John Steinbeck
'' Youthfulness is connected to the ability to see things new for the first time. So if your eyes still look at life with wonder, then you will seem young, even though you may not be chronologically young.''--- Goldie Hawn
''There is no me. I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed.'' Peter Sellers
______________________________________________________________________________
Here comes the Judge! Judge: When did you first realize that you had been raped?
Victim: When the cheque bounced a week later.
Penguin and his Princess
A good argument for shooting designers?
http://www.chesstalk.com/
...........................................................................
BBQ RULES & ETIQUETTE
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore, it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed “her night off”, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women!
(Thx Ivan!)
...............................................................
TIME UNDER THE BRIDGE...
BLADE RUNNER CHICK: Sean Young
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman
______________________________________________________________
THE ONE AND ONLY PAUL NEWMAN
_________________________________________________________________________
JACK NICHOLSON: still loveable!____________________________________________________________________
GOLDIE HAWN!_____________________________________________
WARREN BEATTY: THE ETERNAL PLAYBOY______________________________________________________________________
DARYL HANNA : ANOTHER BLADE RUNNER CHICK!____________________________________________
MICK JAGGER: FOREVER YOUNG
________________________________________________________________________
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It is not what you think! Each is really a vampire...honestly!
That is sooo sad!
Boo boo?
AIRLINES IN THE FUTURE
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::FROM FAMOUS FILMS
.........................................................................................
FIRST CAME THE ULTRA- STREAMLINED, ZERO RESISTANCE SWIM SUITS. NOW TECHNOLOGY IS READY TO LITERALLY SHAVE SECONDS OFF THE WORLD RECORDS IN DOWNHILL TOBOGGANING:
...........................................................................................
MUST READING FOR RAINY NIGHTS
Nasty stuff! Worse than men!
Looks like a real winner!
How does oversex kill, exactly?
smart dog!
____________________________________
Necessity is the mother of invention...
What will they think of next?
Wow!
.......................................................
What does this woman think of hunting animals for fur?
But wait: do you really need to know?
TV-RATINGS WAR?
In winning teams, you don't need to ask your teammates for a hand. It is already there.
University cafeteria food is improving since my days....
Coincidence?
The wrong side of town, ofcourse!
Wow! No spokes...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
''Success is a great deodorant. It takes away all your past smells.” Elizabeth Taylor
I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed more times than a hooker .--Sean Connery
'The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole Life to reading my works. James Joyce
''If sex is such a natural phenomenon, how come there are so many books on how to do it?''Bette Midler
'' The Welsh are all actors. It's only the bad ones who become professional.'' Richard Burton
'' I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.''-- John Steinbeck
'' Youthfulness is connected to the ability to see things new for the first time. So if your eyes still look at life with wonder, then you will seem young, even though you may not be chronologically young.''--- Goldie Hawn
''There is no me. I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed.'' Peter Sellers
______________________________________________________________________________
Here comes the Judge! Judge: When did you first realize that you had been raped?
Victim: When the cheque bounced a week later.
Penguin and his Princess
A good argument for shooting designers?
http://www.chesstalk.com/
...........................................................................
BBQ RULES & ETIQUETTE
We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore, it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity.
When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.
Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat.
Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.
And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed “her night off”, and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there’s just no pleasing some women!
(Thx Ivan!)
...............................................................
TIME UNDER THE BRIDGE...
BLADE RUNNER CHICK: Sean Young
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman
______________________________________________________________
THE ONE AND ONLY PAUL NEWMAN
_________________________________________________________________________
JACK NICHOLSON: still loveable!____________________________________________________________________
GOLDIE HAWN!_____________________________________________
WARREN BEATTY: THE ETERNAL PLAYBOY______________________________________________________________________
DARYL HANNA : ANOTHER BLADE RUNNER CHICK!____________________________________________
MICK JAGGER: FOREVER YOUNG
________________________________________________________________________
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It is not what you think! Each is really a vampire...honestly!
That is sooo sad!
Boo boo?
AIRLINES IN THE FUTURE
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::FROM FAMOUS FILMS
.........................................................................................
FIRST CAME THE ULTRA- STREAMLINED, ZERO RESISTANCE SWIM SUITS. NOW TECHNOLOGY IS READY TO LITERALLY SHAVE SECONDS OFF THE WORLD RECORDS IN DOWNHILL TOBOGGANING:
...........................................................................................
MUST READING FOR RAINY NIGHTS
Nasty stuff! Worse than men!
Looks like a real winner!
How does oversex kill, exactly?
smart dog!
____________________________________
Necessity is the mother of invention...
What will they think of next?
Wow!
.......................................................
What does this woman think of hunting animals for fur?
But wait: do you really need to know?
TV-RATINGS WAR?
In winning teams, you don't need to ask your teammates for a hand. It is already there.
University cafeteria food is improving since my days....
Coincidence?
The wrong side of town, ofcourse!
Wow! No spokes...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Upcoming articles in the pipeline
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
TRUE COLOURS:
THE RISE AND FALL OF ORGANIZED CHESS IN CANADA
Who is responsible for the mess today?
An indepth article, sometimes humourous, sometimes satirical, and carefully scrutinized by my personal legal counsel. A brief history of the myths, the lies and the corruption behind chess politics in Canada during the past 25 years. A sincere attempt to explain why the CFC has been turned into an empty shell. Carefully researched , based on little known facts and insider information.
The true story of the 'success' behind CMA. Of the corruption in the general Canadian Chess Community. Of the dirty war that CMA Executive Director Larry Bevand waged against the CFC and Canadian Chess Legend Kevin Spraggett.
An indepth report on Canadian Chess during the past 25 years that will have you questioning your loyalties in chess. Blending humour, satire and truth of the politics of Canadian Chess, this article will change the way you look at organized chess in Canada. Controversial, provocative and stimulating, this report will have been screened before publication by Canadian lawyers.
Of the often bizarre/incestuous legacy of the corrupted leadership in Canadian chess. This is the story that will be remembered by future generations of Canadians of what really happened, long after we are all gone.
There will be no hiding the truth this time! Absolutely uncensored!
The amazing story of how the OCA applied for and got a $120,000 grant from Trillium, and how the OCA can not account for it! Once more, no paper trail
No supervision. No oversight. No control. No accountability. Nothing but deception and incompetence! Why Trillium washed its hands of the OCA...and how OCA/CFC politicos are covering up the truth.
Divided into 5 parts, the article will be presented as a series:
Introduction;
1) The Kevin Spraggett Foundation for Chess (1988-1992) and the FQE
2) Larry Bevand's personal war on organized chess ( 1996-present)
3) The ChessTalk fiasco (especially the dirty war)
4) The sale of Canada's National Team (especially the Yves Charbonneau saga)
5) The last days of the CFC.
This much anticipated chronicle will soon be published on this blog!
__________________________________________________________________
APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
THE CHESS COACH IN THE ERA OF THE PC
An article that traces the role of chess coach/trainer from the era of the Soviet school of chess to modern times. What impacts have advances in sport psychology had on tournament chess players and coaches? How have the needs of the data-base generation affected chess coaching?
Traditionally, chess coaching has focused on two central aims: helping the player reach his full potential as student of the game and specific tournament preparation. With the advent of the data-base programs the coach is less necessary for tournament preparation, but his role has become even more important in guiding the player in his personal development. What do the world's top coaches and trainers think of the new challenges?
This article explores the difficulties that both players and their coaches face in adapting to the new technologies.
.........................................................................................................The long promised article on the life and games of Miguel Najdorf is close to finished!
Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf
Najdorf was one of the most colourful players of the 20th century. Born in Poland in 1910, he found himself stranded in Buenos Aires in 1939 when the war broke out, and he decided not to risk returning to Europe. Just as well, as his entire family was murdered by the Nazis.
Having to make his life all over again, he became a citizen of Argentina. His business interests quickly made him the richest chess player of his generation. But his passion was chess. He was a candidate for the highest title for decades, having played 11 world champions in over the board competition.
Najdorf was a close friend of Bobby Fischer. Here we see Miguel having a good time trying to tempt the American genius.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
TRUE COLOURS:
THE RISE AND FALL OF ORGANIZED CHESS IN CANADA
Who is responsible for the mess today?
An indepth article, sometimes humourous, sometimes satirical, and carefully scrutinized by my personal legal counsel. A brief history of the myths, the lies and the corruption behind chess politics in Canada during the past 25 years. A sincere attempt to explain why the CFC has been turned into an empty shell. Carefully researched , based on little known facts and insider information.
The true story of the 'success' behind CMA. Of the corruption in the general Canadian Chess Community. Of the dirty war that CMA Executive Director Larry Bevand waged against the CFC and Canadian Chess Legend Kevin Spraggett.
An indepth report on Canadian Chess during the past 25 years that will have you questioning your loyalties in chess. Blending humour, satire and truth of the politics of Canadian Chess, this article will change the way you look at organized chess in Canada. Controversial, provocative and stimulating, this report will have been screened before publication by Canadian lawyers.
Of the often bizarre/incestuous legacy of the corrupted leadership in Canadian chess. This is the story that will be remembered by future generations of Canadians of what really happened, long after we are all gone.
There will be no hiding the truth this time! Absolutely uncensored!
The amazing story of how the OCA applied for and got a $120,000 grant from Trillium, and how the OCA can not account for it! Once more, no paper trail
No supervision. No oversight. No control. No accountability. Nothing but deception and incompetence! Why Trillium washed its hands of the OCA...and how OCA/CFC politicos are covering up the truth.
Divided into 5 parts, the article will be presented as a series:
Introduction;
1) The Kevin Spraggett Foundation for Chess (1988-1992) and the FQE
2) Larry Bevand's personal war on organized chess ( 1996-present)
3) The ChessTalk fiasco (especially the dirty war)
4) The sale of Canada's National Team (especially the Yves Charbonneau saga)
5) The last days of the CFC.
This much anticipated chronicle will soon be published on this blog!
__________________________________________________________________
APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
THE CHESS COACH IN THE ERA OF THE PC
An article that traces the role of chess coach/trainer from the era of the Soviet school of chess to modern times. What impacts have advances in sport psychology had on tournament chess players and coaches? How have the needs of the data-base generation affected chess coaching?
Traditionally, chess coaching has focused on two central aims: helping the player reach his full potential as student of the game and specific tournament preparation. With the advent of the data-base programs the coach is less necessary for tournament preparation, but his role has become even more important in guiding the player in his personal development. What do the world's top coaches and trainers think of the new challenges?
This article explores the difficulties that both players and their coaches face in adapting to the new technologies.
.........................................................................................................The long promised article on the life and games of Miguel Najdorf is close to finished!
Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf
Najdorf was one of the most colourful players of the 20th century. Born in Poland in 1910, he found himself stranded in Buenos Aires in 1939 when the war broke out, and he decided not to risk returning to Europe. Just as well, as his entire family was murdered by the Nazis.
Having to make his life all over again, he became a citizen of Argentina. His business interests quickly made him the richest chess player of his generation. But his passion was chess. He was a candidate for the highest title for decades, having played 11 world champions in over the board competition.
Najdorf was a close friend of Bobby Fischer. Here we see Miguel having a good time trying to tempt the American genius.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Today's attacking game
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
There is nothing more attractive to the chess spectator than a well-executed attack against a King that has 'forgotten' to castle. In this game , from the recently finished 28th Andorra International Open, the young Ukrainian IM Alexander Ipatov played with great energy and sacrificed a piece in an effort to punish his opponent, Khosla Shiven.
Black defended as well as he could and prevented his position from completely collapsing, but then Ipatov found an original idea that paralyzed the Black pieces. When Ipatov started to advance his Queenside passed pawns, Shiven realized there was nothing to be done and he threw in the towel. MORAL OF THE STORY: Castle early in the game!
POSITION AFTER BLACK'S 16th MOVE
SHIVENIPATOV
Ofcourse Black wants to simplify the position, but White finds a cute idea to keep up the pressure. Do you see it? If you are thinking about taking the Black a-pawn, then you are doing something right!
17. Qxa7! Bxc4 18. Qxb7 Be6 19. Qxc6 Rd7
Even though material is balanced, White is not interested in anything other than finding a way to get at the Black Monarch. White's next move is natural...
20. Nb5! (threatening Nc7ch followed by taking on e6) 20... Qd8 (forced)
Black seems to have stopped the attack , atleast for the moment. Everything is defended and White has no direct threats...however, Ipatov finds an excellent idea. Do you see it?
21. Rd4!
A powerful move that prevents Black from playing ...Be7 and ...0-0. What is Black to do? Shiven finds the only chance: exchanging Queens , in the hope of relieving the pressure.
21... Qb8!? 22. Rhd1 Qb7
All according to plan. But unfortunately for Black, Ipatov has prepared a surprise:he agrees to the Queen exchange!
23. Rxd7! Qxc6 24. Nc7!
This wins back the Queen and White now finds himself with a won ending: the Rook and 3-passed Queenside pawns are more than a match for the 2 Black Bishops
24... Qxc7 25. Rxc7
Now it is just a question of advancing the pawns. But first White prevents Black from castling...
25... Be7 26. Ra7 Bd8 27. Ra8! Ke7 28. Ra7 Ke8 29. b4 !
Et voila! The White pawns are unstoppable. Black resigns.[1:0]
A finely executed attack!______________________________________________________________________
[Event "XXVIII Open d'Andorra"]
[Site ""]
[Date "2010.7.23"]
[Round "7.10"]
[White "Ipatov Alexander"]
[Black "Shiven Khosla"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A45"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Qd2 c6 8.
O-O-O e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qxe5 11. f4 Qe6 12. Qd4 Qf6 13. e5 dxe5 14.
fxe5 Qg5+ 15. Kb1 Be6 16. Bc4 Rd8 17. Qxa7 Bxc4 18. Qxb7 Be6 19. Qxc6+ Rd7
20. Nb5 Qd8 21. Rd4 Qb8 22. Rhd1 Qb7 23. Rxd7 Qxc6 24. Nc7+ Qxc7 25. Rxc7 Be7
26. Ra7 Bd8 27. Ra8 Ke7 28. Ra7+ Ke8 29. b4 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280401204").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280401204").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280401204").submit();
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
There is nothing more attractive to the chess spectator than a well-executed attack against a King that has 'forgotten' to castle. In this game , from the recently finished 28th Andorra International Open, the young Ukrainian IM Alexander Ipatov played with great energy and sacrificed a piece in an effort to punish his opponent, Khosla Shiven.
Black defended as well as he could and prevented his position from completely collapsing, but then Ipatov found an original idea that paralyzed the Black pieces. When Ipatov started to advance his Queenside passed pawns, Shiven realized there was nothing to be done and he threw in the towel. MORAL OF THE STORY: Castle early in the game!
POSITION AFTER BLACK'S 16th MOVE
SHIVENIPATOV
Ofcourse Black wants to simplify the position, but White finds a cute idea to keep up the pressure. Do you see it? If you are thinking about taking the Black a-pawn, then you are doing something right!
17. Qxa7! Bxc4 18. Qxb7 Be6 19. Qxc6 Rd7
Even though material is balanced, White is not interested in anything other than finding a way to get at the Black Monarch. White's next move is natural...
20. Nb5! (threatening Nc7ch followed by taking on e6) 20... Qd8 (forced)
Black seems to have stopped the attack , atleast for the moment. Everything is defended and White has no direct threats...however, Ipatov finds an excellent idea. Do you see it?
21. Rd4!
A powerful move that prevents Black from playing ...Be7 and ...0-0. What is Black to do? Shiven finds the only chance: exchanging Queens , in the hope of relieving the pressure.
21... Qb8!? 22. Rhd1 Qb7
All according to plan. But unfortunately for Black, Ipatov has prepared a surprise:he agrees to the Queen exchange!
23. Rxd7! Qxc6 24. Nc7!
This wins back the Queen and White now finds himself with a won ending: the Rook and 3-passed Queenside pawns are more than a match for the 2 Black Bishops
24... Qxc7 25. Rxc7
Now it is just a question of advancing the pawns. But first White prevents Black from castling...
25... Be7 26. Ra7 Bd8 27. Ra8! Ke7 28. Ra7 Ke8 29. b4 !
Et voila! The White pawns are unstoppable. Black resigns.[1:0]
A finely executed attack!______________________________________________________________________
[Event "XXVIII Open d'Andorra"]
[Site ""]
[Date "2010.7.23"]
[Round "7.10"]
[White "Ipatov Alexander"]
[Black "Shiven Khosla"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "A45"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Qd2 c6 8.
O-O-O e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qxe5 11. f4 Qe6 12. Qd4 Qf6 13. e5 dxe5 14.
fxe5 Qg5+ 15. Kb1 Be6 16. Bc4 Rd8 17. Qxa7 Bxc4 18. Qxb7 Be6 19. Qxc6+ Rd7
20. Nb5 Qd8 21. Rd4 Qb8 22. Rhd1 Qb7 23. Rxd7 Qxc6 24. Nc7+ Qxc7 25. Rxc7 Be7
26. Ra7 Bd8 27. Ra8 Ke7 28. Ra7+ Ke8 29. b4 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280401204").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280401204").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280401204").submit();
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Today's photo
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
LIFE
''You cannot travel the path until you have become the path.'' Gautam Buddha
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
LIFE
''You cannot travel the path until you have become the path.'' Gautam Buddha
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
German National Team : kaput!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I suppose the top news item today in our small, inwardly-looking chess world is the sad financial state of chess in Europe's number one economic powerhouse: Germany. Apparently the federation does not have the money to send its top players to the upcoming Olympiad in September!
Basic stats about chess in Germany:
----------------------------------------------
THIS MUST ALSO COME AS BAD NEWS TO THE MUCH MUCH SUFFERING KARPOV PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Kasparov, Weizsacker (President of the German Chess Federation) and Karpov in better times
Earlier this spring the Karpov campaign made a lot of noise about joining forces with the President of the German Chess Federation. (http://www.karpov2010.org/) Not only did Germany nominate Karpov for FIDE president, but both Karpov and Kasparov fully supported Weizsacker's campaign to become president of the European Chess Union (ECU).
Campaigning under the slogan ''For a brighter future'', the German president promised to bring in sustainable sponsorship! Critics are now asking if Weizsacker is not just one more incompetent politician making promises that he clearly can not keep. After all, if he is failing in Germany, what can he possibly do better in the rest of Europe?_________________________________________________________________________
A SCANDAL THAT MIGHT BRING DOWN THE GERMAN CHESS FEDERATION?
Grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch, the number one player in Germany
Today on the excellent chess site chessvibes (http://www.chessvibes.com/) grandmaster Naiditsch wrote a scathing criticism of the up to now little known problems in German chess. Unable to pay for its best players to represent Germany at the Olympiad, the federation is seen to be begging on its knees. Not mixing his words, Naiditsch spared nobody connected with the federation:
(Of the German Federation President, Weizsacker)
''Let’s start with the fact that nobody from the German A-team is going to participate in the Chess Olympiad this year... Why? The easy answer is that the biggest chess federation in Europe, about 100,000 active members, couldn’t manage to find money to pay the players.
So, the next question is “how could this happen”? This question is easy to answer as well: nobody in the federation has been doing anything for at least five years. The German Chess Federation has no sponsors at the moment, so the money is only coming from their members. Generally, even this should be enough to have a great and lazy life, but the main problem is the meetings attended by huge amounts of hungry officials that are being held almost monthly in expensive hotels.''
......
''As we know, Prof. Dr. Von Weizsäcker is running his campaign for the ECU Presidency, and many European countries are giving their support to him. Now, the logical conclusion would be since he could do absolutely nothing for chess in his own country in two years, or again had no time for it, which, of course, led to the same result, can he do something for Europe? I would say probably not.''___________________________________________________________________________
(Of the German National Coach, U.Bonsch)
Mr. U. Bönsch – National Coach
''The first Olympiad that I played in was in Turin, 2006. I played on the first board for the German team and Mr. Bönsch was already an experienced and well-respected trainer. But the strange thing was, all he ever did was distribute the line-up for the next match and make a great black tea that we drank together every evening. Not once did he make the slightest effort to help anybody from the team chess wise.... In my opinion, our national trainer could be a hero in any teahouse! ''
______________________________________________________________________
(Of Klaus Deventer, responsible for finding sponsors for the National Team)
''With regard to finding money there isn’t much to say. I think Mr. Deventer in his crushing career in the Chess Federation never even gave it a try.
In distributing money for the national team he has clear methods and opinions. That is, the national team should play for free!! ....Strangely, Mr. Deventer is a very important man in the federation. Personally, I could never understand what he is actually doing... And I think after many years of deep thinking, I finally got a little clue about his function; it is to try to stop anybody from being a professional chess player in Germany....''
_______________________________________________________________________
(Of Ralph Alt, national tournament director)
''Mr. Alt is a famous public prosecutor in Germany. He is the organizer of many official tournaments in Germany, such as the National Individual Championship.
He only has one problem: he is always scheduling these championships to match his holidays. So, sometimes he gets lucky and there is nothing running at the same time.......He held the German National Championship at exactly the same dates as the European Individual Championships. A normal reaction would be, what the heck? Easy answer: Sorry, holidays are holidays. Can’t move them! So nobody participated in it ...
...._______________________________________________________________________
(Of Jorg Schulz, federation handyman)
''Personally, I didn’t have much to do with Mr. Schulz... Slowly, over the years he took over about fifteen different positions within the federation and is almost completely in charge of the whole money flow now. Bravo to Mr. Schulz!
For example, he created a chess company that is paying the players for participating in the European Team Championships as well as Olympiads. The company is making no money but paying us. Wow, really great job by Mr. Schulz.''
___________________________________________________________________________
The entire letter can be found at http://www.chessvibes.com/ It might appear that these kind of problems are quite normal for chess federations, but you have to remember that no normal chess federation has 100,000 members and at the same time experiences financial problems! Clearly, there must be much more to the story than just what Naiditsch has written. I will keep you posted.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
I suppose the top news item today in our small, inwardly-looking chess world is the sad financial state of chess in Europe's number one economic powerhouse: Germany. Apparently the federation does not have the money to send its top players to the upcoming Olympiad in September!
Basic stats about chess in Germany:
----------------------------------------------
More than 100,000 active (paying) members of the German Federation
14,000 FIDE rated players
64 grandmasters
12 Wgms
165 international masters
THIS MUST ALSO COME AS BAD NEWS TO THE MUCH MUCH SUFFERING KARPOV PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Kasparov, Weizsacker (President of the German Chess Federation) and Karpov in better times
Earlier this spring the Karpov campaign made a lot of noise about joining forces with the President of the German Chess Federation. (http://www.karpov2010.org/) Not only did Germany nominate Karpov for FIDE president, but both Karpov and Kasparov fully supported Weizsacker's campaign to become president of the European Chess Union (ECU).
Campaigning under the slogan ''For a brighter future'', the German president promised to bring in sustainable sponsorship! Critics are now asking if Weizsacker is not just one more incompetent politician making promises that he clearly can not keep. After all, if he is failing in Germany, what can he possibly do better in the rest of Europe?_________________________________________________________________________
A SCANDAL THAT MIGHT BRING DOWN THE GERMAN CHESS FEDERATION?
Grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch, the number one player in Germany
Today on the excellent chess site chessvibes (http://www.chessvibes.com/) grandmaster Naiditsch wrote a scathing criticism of the up to now little known problems in German chess. Unable to pay for its best players to represent Germany at the Olympiad, the federation is seen to be begging on its knees. Not mixing his words, Naiditsch spared nobody connected with the federation:
(Of the German Federation President, Weizsacker)
''Let’s start with the fact that nobody from the German A-team is going to participate in the Chess Olympiad this year... Why? The easy answer is that the biggest chess federation in Europe, about 100,000 active members, couldn’t manage to find money to pay the players.
So, the next question is “how could this happen”? This question is easy to answer as well: nobody in the federation has been doing anything for at least five years. The German Chess Federation has no sponsors at the moment, so the money is only coming from their members. Generally, even this should be enough to have a great and lazy life, but the main problem is the meetings attended by huge amounts of hungry officials that are being held almost monthly in expensive hotels.''
......
''As we know, Prof. Dr. Von Weizsäcker is running his campaign for the ECU Presidency, and many European countries are giving their support to him. Now, the logical conclusion would be since he could do absolutely nothing for chess in his own country in two years, or again had no time for it, which, of course, led to the same result, can he do something for Europe? I would say probably not.''___________________________________________________________________________
(Of the German National Coach, U.Bonsch)
Mr. U. Bönsch – National Coach
''The first Olympiad that I played in was in Turin, 2006. I played on the first board for the German team and Mr. Bönsch was already an experienced and well-respected trainer. But the strange thing was, all he ever did was distribute the line-up for the next match and make a great black tea that we drank together every evening. Not once did he make the slightest effort to help anybody from the team chess wise.... In my opinion, our national trainer could be a hero in any teahouse! ''
______________________________________________________________________
(Of Klaus Deventer, responsible for finding sponsors for the National Team)
''With regard to finding money there isn’t much to say. I think Mr. Deventer in his crushing career in the Chess Federation never even gave it a try.
In distributing money for the national team he has clear methods and opinions. That is, the national team should play for free!! ....Strangely, Mr. Deventer is a very important man in the federation. Personally, I could never understand what he is actually doing... And I think after many years of deep thinking, I finally got a little clue about his function; it is to try to stop anybody from being a professional chess player in Germany....''
_______________________________________________________________________
(Of Ralph Alt, national tournament director)
''Mr. Alt is a famous public prosecutor in Germany. He is the organizer of many official tournaments in Germany, such as the National Individual Championship.
He only has one problem: he is always scheduling these championships to match his holidays. So, sometimes he gets lucky and there is nothing running at the same time.......He held the German National Championship at exactly the same dates as the European Individual Championships. A normal reaction would be, what the heck? Easy answer: Sorry, holidays are holidays. Can’t move them! So nobody participated in it ...
...._______________________________________________________________________
(Of Jorg Schulz, federation handyman)
''Personally, I didn’t have much to do with Mr. Schulz... Slowly, over the years he took over about fifteen different positions within the federation and is almost completely in charge of the whole money flow now. Bravo to Mr. Schulz!
For example, he created a chess company that is paying the players for participating in the European Team Championships as well as Olympiads. The company is making no money but paying us. Wow, really great job by Mr. Schulz.''
___________________________________________________________________________
The entire letter can be found at http://www.chessvibes.com/ It might appear that these kind of problems are quite normal for chess federations, but you have to remember that no normal chess federation has 100,000 members and at the same time experiences financial problems! Clearly, there must be much more to the story than just what Naiditsch has written. I will keep you posted.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Dortmund 2010: quality chess ?!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
This year's Dortmund super-tournament took place between the 15th and 25th of July. A six-player double round tournament, the participants were former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik ( top seed.and winner of 9 previous editions!) Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and the winner of the Aeroflot Open: the Vietnam prodigy 19 year old Le Quang Liem .
Ponomariov ran away with the tournament. Le Quang Liem surprised everyone with a solid performance and sole 2nd place, while Kramnik could never really find his form and had to be satisfied with a 50% score. Peter Leko found himself in an unusal position: sharing last place with the home town favourite!
Le Quang Liem: a rising star
The time control was 100 minutes for 50 moves, followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game (plus, ofcourse, a 30 second increment starting from the first move). This means that every player must make 50 moves in slightly more than 2 hours (2 hours and 5 minutes, to be precise), and then finish the game in the next half hour (more or less...).
(Editor's note: I have since been informed that the official bulletin of the tournament states that the time control is the FIDE long Fischer time control (100 min for 40 moves, plus 50 min for 20 moves, plus 15 mins for rest with additional 30 secs from move 1) This time control is also used at German Bundesliga etc. Thankyou, Christopher! )
When I took a look at the games from this famous tournament I found myself hard-pressed to find a good game to reproduce here for my readers. And the endings, especially, were generally very poorly played and will likely never find themselves included in endgame anthologies (except for how NOT to play endings!).
Perhaps it was the excessive heat during the tournament (on some days more than 30 degrees)that was responsible for the lower than usual performances...!?________________________________________________________________________
The Kramnik vs Mamedyarov encounter in the last round saw Kramnik hold on to a pawn sacrifice that his opponent gave in the opening. This is the position after White's 25th move:
MAMEDYAROVKRAMNIK
This type of ending (all pawns on one side of the board; Rook, Knight and 4 pawns versus Rook, Bishop and 3 pawns) occurs hundreds of times each year in tournament practice. What are White's REAL chances of winning this ending? Theory has not come to a conclusion, but I estimate that White has 50% chances of winning, though I would not be surprised if one day someone proves that it is a draw with correct play.
After all, White's material advantage is very minimal. In practice, White wins sometimes but rarely. It is much easier for Black to draw than it is for White to win! In my own games I have never lost this ending from the inferior side.
The correct plan of defence, ofcourse, is for Black to park his Bishop on f8, limit the White Knight's orbit by playing h6, and then to wait to see if White can make progress by advancing his pawns. Patience is necessary, as Black has no counterplay.
In anycase, I would expect atleast another 50 moves of play from this position!
But you will not believe that Black resigned in just 3 moves! How is it possible for a 2750 player to lose without a fight? Watch this:
27... Bd4??
It appears that Mamedyarov had not studied Rook and Pawn endings sufficiently...He forces Kramnik into a technically won ending!
28. ed! (ofcourse!) 28... Rxe4 29. Kd3 f5 (to let the King escape from the mate threat) 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5
This is a known ending. I remember writing an article on this type of Rook and Pawn ending some 25 years ago: already then there was a lot of literature on this, and I found dozens of practical examples from master play. White wins by advancing his King and center pawn.
Even so, Mamedyarov should play on for a few more moves. Instead, he resigned. 1:0 With this unexpectedly easy win Kramnik was able to finish the tournament with a 50% score.
[Event "Sparkassen GM"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2010.7.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kramnik,V"]
[Black "Mamedyarov,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D38"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8.
dxc5 Qa5 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 O-O 13. Bc4 Nf6 14.
Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 16. cxb6 Qxd5 17. Bxd5 Ba6+ 18. Bc4 axb6 19. a4 Bb2 20.
Rc2 Rfc8 21. Nd2 b5 22. axb5 Bxb5 23. Rb1 Bxc4+ 24. Rxc4 Bf6 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8
26. Ne4 Re8 27. f4 Bd4 28. exd4 Rxe4+ 29. Kd3 f5 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280309854").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280309854").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280309854").submit();
______________________________________________________________________
If the above example is hard to believe, take a look at this embarrassement:
Back to basics: buy Mamedyarov a book on how to play endgames!
MAMEDYAROVPONOMARIOV
This is position from the Ponomariov vs Mamedyarov game after White's 29th move. The position is about equal, but if anyone has chances it is Black: his pieces are well centralized and the White pawns are easier to attack (g3) than the Black counterparts. Black could start probing manoeuvres (..a5!?) in an effort to create another White target. I would expect the game to end up in a draw, especially at this level of play.
But the next 8 moves by Mamedyarov are impossible to rationally explain: he started to put all of his wonderfully active pieces onto the worse possible squares! He soon found himself getting into trouble. Below is the position after White's 37th move:
POSITION ONLY 8 MOVES LATER!
Take a look at Black's Knight on h8: can you find a worse square for a Knight?? The Black Bishop is no longer on its best diagonal, and the Black Rook and King are out of play. What on earth was in Mamedyarov's mind? While Black may not be lost in the above position, White has significantly improved his chances of winning. Ponomariov won on the 51st move after some more weak play by Black.
[Event "Sparkassen GM"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2010.7.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ponomariov,R"]
[Black "Mamedyarov,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "E32"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4
8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. Qa4 Qd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Nh3 Rd8 13. f3 Qc6 14.
Qxc6 Nxc6 15. e3 Bb7 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. Bd3 Ne7 18. Ke2 e5 19. dxe5 fxe5 20.
Nf2 Kg7 21. b4 f5 22. Rhd1 h5 23. g3 Kf6 24. Bc4 Rd6 25. f4 exf4 26. exf4 h4
27. Rxd6+ cxd6 28. Kd2 hxg3 29. hxg3 Bd5 30. Be2 Rh8 31. Ke3 Be6 32. Rh1 Rg8
33. Rh6+ Ng6 34. Bh5 Bf7 35. Rh7 Nh8 36. Bf3 Kg6 37. Rh1 Be6 38. Nd1 Nf7 39.
Nc3 Kf6 40. Kf2 Rc8 41. Rc1 Nh6 42. Nd5+ Kf7 43. Nc7 Bd7 44. Rc3 Kf8 45. Ke3
Ng8 46. Bb7 Rb8 47. Bc6 Rd8 48. Kd4 Nf6 49. Bxd7 Rxd7 50. Nd5 Nh5 51. Kc4 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280310018").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280310018").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280310018").submit();
___________________________________________________________________________
One more example of a misplayed ending....
Round one paring: Ponomariov vs Leko. How to lose an ending without really trying....
POSITION AFTER WHITE'S 26th MOVE (26.Rd1)
LEKOPONOMARIOV
This tournament was to prove to be one of Leko's worse results ever since cracking the 2700 barrier. Things started going wrong right in the first round. Here against Ponomariov Black has achieved a fully playable position. White has not even the hint of an advantage!
Besides the move played by the Hungarian, Black might want to consider taking the Bishop on c3 and activating his Rook via the 4th rank: 26...Nxc3 27.Kxc3 Rb4!?
Black gets counterplay with ...Ra4, ...Re4 or ...Rg4. The White e-pawn is vulnerable and Black might even try to advance his c-pawn (with or without ...Bf8). An easy defence for Black.
Instead, Leko played the reasonable 26...Nb4ch and after 27. Bxb4 cb 28. Kb3 we reach the following position:
The White King tries to blockade the Black Queen-side majority. He threatens to get some play with Rd7. How should Black proceed if he is not to get the worse of it? Actively, ofcourse!
Black should play the Rook-lift 28... Rb5 (diagram,right), attacking the e-pawn and threatening ...Ra5-a3ch , activating the Black Rook.
After the logical continuation (29. Rd8 Bf8 30. Rd7 Ra5) we arrive at the diagram below,right:
Why is Black even a bit worse? If White plays 31.Kb2 then Black can simply force a repetition of position with 31...Bg7!. And if White instead plays for broke with the speculative 31. e6, Black gets the edge with 31...fe 32.Nd4!? (what else?) 32...Ra3ch!
Instead, Leko played the very passive 30...Bf8?!, and after 31.Rd7! and 32.Nd2! (threatening N-e5 -f6) Ponomariov built up some advantage that he eventually converted into a win some 25 moves later.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
This year's Dortmund super-tournament took place between the 15th and 25th of July. A six-player double round tournament, the participants were former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik ( top seed.and winner of 9 previous editions!) Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and the winner of the Aeroflot Open: the Vietnam prodigy 19 year old Le Quang Liem .
Ponomariov ran away with the tournament. Le Quang Liem surprised everyone with a solid performance and sole 2nd place, while Kramnik could never really find his form and had to be satisfied with a 50% score. Peter Leko found himself in an unusal position: sharing last place with the home town favourite!
Le Quang Liem: a rising star
The time control was 100 minutes for 50 moves, followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game (plus, ofcourse, a 30 second increment starting from the first move). This means that every player must make 50 moves in slightly more than 2 hours (2 hours and 5 minutes, to be precise), and then finish the game in the next half hour (more or less...).
(Editor's note: I have since been informed that the official bulletin of the tournament states that the time control is the FIDE long Fischer time control (100 min for 40 moves, plus 50 min for 20 moves, plus 15 mins for rest with additional 30 secs from move 1) This time control is also used at German Bundesliga etc. Thankyou, Christopher! )
When I took a look at the games from this famous tournament I found myself hard-pressed to find a good game to reproduce here for my readers. And the endings, especially, were generally very poorly played and will likely never find themselves included in endgame anthologies (except for how NOT to play endings!).
Perhaps it was the excessive heat during the tournament (on some days more than 30 degrees)that was responsible for the lower than usual performances...!?________________________________________________________________________
The Kramnik vs Mamedyarov encounter in the last round saw Kramnik hold on to a pawn sacrifice that his opponent gave in the opening. This is the position after White's 25th move:
MAMEDYAROVKRAMNIK
This type of ending (all pawns on one side of the board; Rook, Knight and 4 pawns versus Rook, Bishop and 3 pawns) occurs hundreds of times each year in tournament practice. What are White's REAL chances of winning this ending? Theory has not come to a conclusion, but I estimate that White has 50% chances of winning, though I would not be surprised if one day someone proves that it is a draw with correct play.
After all, White's material advantage is very minimal. In practice, White wins sometimes but rarely. It is much easier for Black to draw than it is for White to win! In my own games I have never lost this ending from the inferior side.
The correct plan of defence, ofcourse, is for Black to park his Bishop on f8, limit the White Knight's orbit by playing h6, and then to wait to see if White can make progress by advancing his pawns. Patience is necessary, as Black has no counterplay.
In anycase, I would expect atleast another 50 moves of play from this position!
But you will not believe that Black resigned in just 3 moves! How is it possible for a 2750 player to lose without a fight? Watch this:
27... Bd4??
It appears that Mamedyarov had not studied Rook and Pawn endings sufficiently...He forces Kramnik into a technically won ending!
28. ed! (ofcourse!) 28... Rxe4 29. Kd3 f5 (to let the King escape from the mate threat) 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5
This is a known ending. I remember writing an article on this type of Rook and Pawn ending some 25 years ago: already then there was a lot of literature on this, and I found dozens of practical examples from master play. White wins by advancing his King and center pawn.
Even so, Mamedyarov should play on for a few more moves. Instead, he resigned. 1:0 With this unexpectedly easy win Kramnik was able to finish the tournament with a 50% score.
[Event "Sparkassen GM"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2010.7.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kramnik,V"]
[Black "Mamedyarov,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "D38"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8.
dxc5 Qa5 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 O-O 13. Bc4 Nf6 14.
Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 16. cxb6 Qxd5 17. Bxd5 Ba6+ 18. Bc4 axb6 19. a4 Bb2 20.
Rc2 Rfc8 21. Nd2 b5 22. axb5 Bxb5 23. Rb1 Bxc4+ 24. Rxc4 Bf6 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8
26. Ne4 Re8 27. f4 Bd4 28. exd4 Rxe4+ 29. Kd3 f5 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280309854").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280309854").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280309854").submit();
______________________________________________________________________
If the above example is hard to believe, take a look at this embarrassement:
Back to basics: buy Mamedyarov a book on how to play endgames!
MAMEDYAROVPONOMARIOV
This is position from the Ponomariov vs Mamedyarov game after White's 29th move. The position is about equal, but if anyone has chances it is Black: his pieces are well centralized and the White pawns are easier to attack (g3) than the Black counterparts. Black could start probing manoeuvres (..a5!?) in an effort to create another White target. I would expect the game to end up in a draw, especially at this level of play.
But the next 8 moves by Mamedyarov are impossible to rationally explain: he started to put all of his wonderfully active pieces onto the worse possible squares! He soon found himself getting into trouble. Below is the position after White's 37th move:
POSITION ONLY 8 MOVES LATER!
Take a look at Black's Knight on h8: can you find a worse square for a Knight?? The Black Bishop is no longer on its best diagonal, and the Black Rook and King are out of play. What on earth was in Mamedyarov's mind? While Black may not be lost in the above position, White has significantly improved his chances of winning. Ponomariov won on the 51st move after some more weak play by Black.
[Event "Sparkassen GM"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2010.7.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ponomariov,R"]
[Black "Mamedyarov,S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "E32"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4
8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. Qa4 Qd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Nh3 Rd8 13. f3 Qc6 14.
Qxc6 Nxc6 15. e3 Bb7 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. Bd3 Ne7 18. Ke2 e5 19. dxe5 fxe5 20.
Nf2 Kg7 21. b4 f5 22. Rhd1 h5 23. g3 Kf6 24. Bc4 Rd6 25. f4 exf4 26. exf4 h4
27. Rxd6+ cxd6 28. Kd2 hxg3 29. hxg3 Bd5 30. Be2 Rh8 31. Ke3 Be6 32. Rh1 Rg8
33. Rh6+ Ng6 34. Bh5 Bf7 35. Rh7 Nh8 36. Bf3 Kg6 37. Rh1 Be6 38. Nd1 Nf7 39.
Nc3 Kf6 40. Kf2 Rc8 41. Rc1 Nh6 42. Nd5+ Kf7 43. Nc7 Bd7 44. Rc3 Kf8 45. Ke3
Ng8 46. Bb7 Rb8 47. Bc6 Rd8 48. Kd4 Nf6 49. Bxd7 Rxd7 50. Nd5 Nh5 51. Kc4 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280310018").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280310018").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280310018").submit();
___________________________________________________________________________
One more example of a misplayed ending....
Round one paring: Ponomariov vs Leko. How to lose an ending without really trying....
POSITION AFTER WHITE'S 26th MOVE (26.Rd1)
LEKOPONOMARIOV
This tournament was to prove to be one of Leko's worse results ever since cracking the 2700 barrier. Things started going wrong right in the first round. Here against Ponomariov Black has achieved a fully playable position. White has not even the hint of an advantage!
Besides the move played by the Hungarian, Black might want to consider taking the Bishop on c3 and activating his Rook via the 4th rank: 26...Nxc3 27.Kxc3 Rb4!?
Black gets counterplay with ...Ra4, ...Re4 or ...Rg4. The White e-pawn is vulnerable and Black might even try to advance his c-pawn (with or without ...Bf8). An easy defence for Black.
Instead, Leko played the reasonable 26...Nb4ch and after 27. Bxb4 cb 28. Kb3 we reach the following position:
The White King tries to blockade the Black Queen-side majority. He threatens to get some play with Rd7. How should Black proceed if he is not to get the worse of it? Actively, ofcourse!
Black should play the Rook-lift 28... Rb5 (diagram,right), attacking the e-pawn and threatening ...Ra5-a3ch , activating the Black Rook.
After the logical continuation (29. Rd8 Bf8 30. Rd7 Ra5) we arrive at the diagram below,right:
Why is Black even a bit worse? If White plays 31.Kb2 then Black can simply force a repetition of position with 31...Bg7!. And if White instead plays for broke with the speculative 31. e6, Black gets the edge with 31...fe 32.Nd4!? (what else?) 32...Ra3ch!
Instead, Leko played the very passive 30...Bf8?!, and after 31.Rd7! and 32.Nd2! (threatening N-e5 -f6) Ponomariov built up some advantage that he eventually converted into a win some 25 moves later.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Today's tidbits...
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
SOVIET CINEMA
I read on the great Portuguese site http://aladerei.e-xadrez.com/ --which discusses everything under the sun (and NOT only chess!)-- about the Russian embassy in Portugal handing over some 400 old films to the Cinemateca Portuguesa ...The importance of this gesture is that now it will be easier to understand the cinematic contribution of the Soviet Union.
Ala de Rei gives some short excerpts that have chess has part of the theme. I reproduce them here. Enjoy!
_______________________________________________________________________
CHESS PHOTOS FROM A RANDOM CHESS TOURNAMENT
The internet won't let us chess players escape from each other! More and more tournaments are dumping photos, videos and tidbits...here is a sample from one such random event. Some of these photos are quite good--it has to be admitted--but it makes you wonder what was on the author's mind...
Sporting the --''Get out of my face!'' --look...
''I wonder what he is trying to do...''
''Isn't chess so much FUN ?''
Ah, finally a normal shot
_____________________________________________________________________
And Anastasiya Karlovich covered the 6th World School Championships and sent chessbase.com the following great photos!
_____________________________________________________________________
FROM ONE OF MY READERS
One of my regular readers sent me this fun video. Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________
WHAT DO CHESS PLAYERS AND CRIMINALS HAVE IN COMMON?
Meet the controversial chess politico Hal Bond and the legendary crook Hal Capone. Could they have more in common than just similar first names and a life-long history of public scandals?
I was attracted by a book review of 'THE INVISIBLE GORILLA'' by Chris Chabris and Daniel Simons that put in bold print : What criminals have in common with chess masters. I had to investigate! But to understand this, first you must view the video below
WHAT SMART CHESS PLAYERS AND STUPID CRIMINALS HAVE IN COMMON
http://www.sdchess.org/news-and-reports/features/98-what-smart-chess-players-and-stupid-criminals-have-in-common.html
By Bob Boland
''When you’re a chess player and you come across a chapter in a book with a title like this, it’s certainly got to perk your interest. Well, that’s exactly the name of chapter 3 of the new book, “The Invisible Gorilla,” by authors Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, two cognitive psychologists, and chess players, whose book has stemmed from their now famous “invisible gorilla” experiment, a pioneering study that demonstrated very clearly how faulty our intuitions can be.''
''If you’ve never heard of this experiment, essentially subjects were asked to watch a short video in which six subjects (three wearing white shirts, and three wearing black shirts) are passing around a couple of basketballs. The subjects are told they are to count the number of passes made by the subjects wearing white shirts (see www.theinvisiblegorilla.com to access a link to watch the video). In other words, the subjects must carefully focus their attention on the subjects wearing white shirts. In the midst (not “mist”) of this action walks a subject wearing a gorilla suit, who walks through the basketball-passing subjects, stops briefly and faces the camera, and then walks off screen.''
''So, what moron would not notice a person wearing a gorilla suit in the middle of this video? Turns out, a lot more morons than anyone would’ve thought! The experiment, which has been replicated numerous times, under a variety of different conditions, revealed that usually half the subjects were oblivious to the presence of the gorilla, including many who were emphatic that they would’ve seen a gorilla if there “really” was one in the video!''
''With this experiment, and their continued research into the basis for just how we perceive our world, Chabris and Simons have produced a book that takes a very thought-provoking look at six everyday illusions that shape our lives, to include the illusion of confidence with a chapter entitled, “What Smart Chess Players and Stupid Criminals Have in Common.”
''Think about this statement for a second, “confident (and by confident I mean confident in their area of “expertise”) people are competent people.” Do you agree with this statement? Whether you agree or not, experiments in the field of psychology have clearly established that people tend to perceive this as a true statement in many variations. Do we not purport confidence as a positive trait in people? Interestingly enough, Chabris, Simon, and others, did some experiments on experienced chess players at two national tournaments which revealed some interesting results in terms of confidence.''
''On their way to the playing hall, they stopped chess players and asked them to fill out a short questionnaire which contained these two questions: “What is your most recent official chess rating?” and “What do you think your rating should be to reflect your true current strength?” Feel free to write down your own answers before continuing on with this article.''
''Because ratings are something every chess player is highly in tune with, the answer to the first question is usually very accurate, or at least pretty close. The answer to the second question in their experiment resulted in 75% of the respondents saying they were underrated by, on average, 99 points!''
“…What explains this extreme overconfidence in the face of concrete evidence for their actual skills? Not a lack of familiarity with chess: These players had played the game for an average of twenty years. Not a lack of feedback about their competitive skill levels: They had been playing in rated tournaments for thirteen years, and their average rating was 1751, well above the average player’s. Not being out of touch with their own skill level (from being out of practice): Over half had played at least one other tournament within the two months before we surveyed them.”
''Although Chabris, Simon, and others concluded that there may have been a nominal number of players who were rapidly improving at the time of the study, they went back one year later and found that almost all the subjects were rated close to the same as when they submitted to the experiment. In other words, their original ratings at the time of the experiment were overwhelmingly accurate! I won’t ask what anyone else’s personal results were from answering these two questions, but I will readily admit my own assessment was woefully bad! Then again, I suffer from many illusions!''
“…The illusion of confidence has two distinct but related aspects. First, as with the chess players, it causes us to overestimate our own qualities, especially our abilities relative to other people. Second, it causes us to interpret the confidence – or lack thereof – that other people express as a valid signal of their own abilities, of the extent of their knowledge, and of the accuracy of their memories. This wouldn’t be a problem if confidence in fact had a close relationship with these things, but the reality is that confidence and ability can diverge so far that relying on the former becomes a gigantic mental trap, with potentially disastrous consequences. Thinking you’re better at chess than you really are is only the beginning.”
''So, who else underestimates their abilities on a regular basis? Well, with a prison population that is one of the largest in the world, guess? Hence, the name of the chapter. From the book, a classic case of the illusion of confidence by criminals:
“In a brilliant article entitled “Unskilled and Unaware of It,” social psychologists Justin Kruger and David Dunning of Cornell University tell the story of McArthur Wheeler, who robbed two banks in Pittsburgh in 1995 without using a disguise. Security camera footage of him was broadcast on the evening news the same day as the robberies, and he was arrested an hour later. According to Kruger and Dunning, ‘When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. ‘But I wore the juice,’ he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one’s face with lemon juice’ – a substance used by generations of children to write hidden messages – ‘rendered it invisible to videotape cameras."
The $120,000 question: calculated over-confidence or stunning incompetence? (Or ,blissfully, both?)
''Studies over the years have demonstrated that incompetence causes overconfidence, but most of us who play chess know that with practice and study one can improve our competence at chess. As our skills improve, eventually our competence catches up to our confidence, which explains why masters are both highly competent and confident. An appropriate perception at that level! “…The most dangerous kind of overconfidence in our abilities comes out not when we are already skilled at a task but when we are still unskilled,” write Chabris & Simons. Not that playing chess really presents any kind of actual danger, just that those of us who are below the level of master must just face the fact that our ratings are a pretty accurate depiction of our playing strength…no more, no less. Be at one with your rating might be a new banner to play by!''
''I’d highly recommend this book for reading as it goes into much detail about the illusion of confidence, and the five other illusions we perceive throughout our lives. There’s even a section that deals with the question of whether we can train our brains to overcome these illusions, with another focus on chess. That one I’ll save for another article.''
-Bob Boland
______________________________________________________________________
More information on this interesting book can be found here: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
SOVIET CINEMA
I read on the great Portuguese site http://aladerei.e-xadrez.com/ --which discusses everything under the sun (and NOT only chess!)-- about the Russian embassy in Portugal handing over some 400 old films to the Cinemateca Portuguesa ...The importance of this gesture is that now it will be easier to understand the cinematic contribution of the Soviet Union.
Ala de Rei gives some short excerpts that have chess has part of the theme. I reproduce them here. Enjoy!
_______________________________________________________________________
CHESS PHOTOS FROM A RANDOM CHESS TOURNAMENT
The internet won't let us chess players escape from each other! More and more tournaments are dumping photos, videos and tidbits...here is a sample from one such random event. Some of these photos are quite good--it has to be admitted--but it makes you wonder what was on the author's mind...
Sporting the --''Get out of my face!'' --look...
''I wonder what he is trying to do...''
''Isn't chess so much FUN ?''
Ah, finally a normal shot
_____________________________________________________________________
And Anastasiya Karlovich covered the 6th World School Championships and sent chessbase.com the following great photos!
_____________________________________________________________________
FROM ONE OF MY READERS
One of my regular readers sent me this fun video. Enjoy!
____________________________________________________________________
WHAT DO CHESS PLAYERS AND CRIMINALS HAVE IN COMMON?
Meet the controversial chess politico Hal Bond and the legendary crook Hal Capone. Could they have more in common than just similar first names and a life-long history of public scandals?
I was attracted by a book review of 'THE INVISIBLE GORILLA'' by Chris Chabris and Daniel Simons that put in bold print : What criminals have in common with chess masters. I had to investigate! But to understand this, first you must view the video below
WHAT SMART CHESS PLAYERS AND STUPID CRIMINALS HAVE IN COMMON
http://www.sdchess.org/news-and-reports/features/98-what-smart-chess-players-and-stupid-criminals-have-in-common.html
By Bob Boland
''When you’re a chess player and you come across a chapter in a book with a title like this, it’s certainly got to perk your interest. Well, that’s exactly the name of chapter 3 of the new book, “The Invisible Gorilla,” by authors Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, two cognitive psychologists, and chess players, whose book has stemmed from their now famous “invisible gorilla” experiment, a pioneering study that demonstrated very clearly how faulty our intuitions can be.''
''If you’ve never heard of this experiment, essentially subjects were asked to watch a short video in which six subjects (three wearing white shirts, and three wearing black shirts) are passing around a couple of basketballs. The subjects are told they are to count the number of passes made by the subjects wearing white shirts (see www.theinvisiblegorilla.com to access a link to watch the video). In other words, the subjects must carefully focus their attention on the subjects wearing white shirts. In the midst (not “mist”) of this action walks a subject wearing a gorilla suit, who walks through the basketball-passing subjects, stops briefly and faces the camera, and then walks off screen.''
''So, what moron would not notice a person wearing a gorilla suit in the middle of this video? Turns out, a lot more morons than anyone would’ve thought! The experiment, which has been replicated numerous times, under a variety of different conditions, revealed that usually half the subjects were oblivious to the presence of the gorilla, including many who were emphatic that they would’ve seen a gorilla if there “really” was one in the video!''
''With this experiment, and their continued research into the basis for just how we perceive our world, Chabris and Simons have produced a book that takes a very thought-provoking look at six everyday illusions that shape our lives, to include the illusion of confidence with a chapter entitled, “What Smart Chess Players and Stupid Criminals Have in Common.”
''Think about this statement for a second, “confident (and by confident I mean confident in their area of “expertise”) people are competent people.” Do you agree with this statement? Whether you agree or not, experiments in the field of psychology have clearly established that people tend to perceive this as a true statement in many variations. Do we not purport confidence as a positive trait in people? Interestingly enough, Chabris, Simon, and others, did some experiments on experienced chess players at two national tournaments which revealed some interesting results in terms of confidence.''
''On their way to the playing hall, they stopped chess players and asked them to fill out a short questionnaire which contained these two questions: “What is your most recent official chess rating?” and “What do you think your rating should be to reflect your true current strength?” Feel free to write down your own answers before continuing on with this article.''
''Because ratings are something every chess player is highly in tune with, the answer to the first question is usually very accurate, or at least pretty close. The answer to the second question in their experiment resulted in 75% of the respondents saying they were underrated by, on average, 99 points!''
“…What explains this extreme overconfidence in the face of concrete evidence for their actual skills? Not a lack of familiarity with chess: These players had played the game for an average of twenty years. Not a lack of feedback about their competitive skill levels: They had been playing in rated tournaments for thirteen years, and their average rating was 1751, well above the average player’s. Not being out of touch with their own skill level (from being out of practice): Over half had played at least one other tournament within the two months before we surveyed them.”
''Although Chabris, Simon, and others concluded that there may have been a nominal number of players who were rapidly improving at the time of the study, they went back one year later and found that almost all the subjects were rated close to the same as when they submitted to the experiment. In other words, their original ratings at the time of the experiment were overwhelmingly accurate! I won’t ask what anyone else’s personal results were from answering these two questions, but I will readily admit my own assessment was woefully bad! Then again, I suffer from many illusions!''
“…The illusion of confidence has two distinct but related aspects. First, as with the chess players, it causes us to overestimate our own qualities, especially our abilities relative to other people. Second, it causes us to interpret the confidence – or lack thereof – that other people express as a valid signal of their own abilities, of the extent of their knowledge, and of the accuracy of their memories. This wouldn’t be a problem if confidence in fact had a close relationship with these things, but the reality is that confidence and ability can diverge so far that relying on the former becomes a gigantic mental trap, with potentially disastrous consequences. Thinking you’re better at chess than you really are is only the beginning.”
''So, who else underestimates their abilities on a regular basis? Well, with a prison population that is one of the largest in the world, guess? Hence, the name of the chapter. From the book, a classic case of the illusion of confidence by criminals:
“In a brilliant article entitled “Unskilled and Unaware of It,” social psychologists Justin Kruger and David Dunning of Cornell University tell the story of McArthur Wheeler, who robbed two banks in Pittsburgh in 1995 without using a disguise. Security camera footage of him was broadcast on the evening news the same day as the robberies, and he was arrested an hour later. According to Kruger and Dunning, ‘When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. ‘But I wore the juice,’ he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one’s face with lemon juice’ – a substance used by generations of children to write hidden messages – ‘rendered it invisible to videotape cameras."
The $120,000 question: calculated over-confidence or stunning incompetence? (Or ,blissfully, both?)
''Studies over the years have demonstrated that incompetence causes overconfidence, but most of us who play chess know that with practice and study one can improve our competence at chess. As our skills improve, eventually our competence catches up to our confidence, which explains why masters are both highly competent and confident. An appropriate perception at that level! “…The most dangerous kind of overconfidence in our abilities comes out not when we are already skilled at a task but when we are still unskilled,” write Chabris & Simons. Not that playing chess really presents any kind of actual danger, just that those of us who are below the level of master must just face the fact that our ratings are a pretty accurate depiction of our playing strength…no more, no less. Be at one with your rating might be a new banner to play by!''
''I’d highly recommend this book for reading as it goes into much detail about the illusion of confidence, and the five other illusions we perceive throughout our lives. There’s even a section that deals with the question of whether we can train our brains to overcome these illusions, with another focus on chess. That one I’ll save for another article.''
-Bob Boland
______________________________________________________________________
More information on this interesting book can be found here: http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Tuesday's chess tactics
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Today's chess tactics are from actual games played during the 1924 Paris chess olympiad--July 12 to 20-- which was the first such team event of its kind. The organizers of the summer olympics decided to consider chess a sport to help facilitate its organization. As well, at this historic event FIDE was created (July 20, 1924). http://www.olimpbase.org/1924x/1924in.html
As only amateurs could participate at the Olympiads in those days, it should not be surprising that Paris' most famous player (Alexander Alekhine) was the tournament director of the event!
The solutions to today's tactics can be found at http://www.wtharvey.com/ol24.html Unless otherwise stated, the side with the 'dot' is to play and win. Good luck!
Manuel Golmayo de la Torriente vs Kornel Havasi, Paris, 1924
White Mates in 4. Hans Johner vs Shaun Smith, Paris, 1924
Herman Mattison vs Luis Palau, Paris, 1924
Stefano Rosselli Del Turco vs E Malmberg, Paris, 1924
Anatol Tschepurnoff vs Victor Kahn, Paris, 1924
K Vanek vs Marcel Duchamp, Paris, 1924
Black Mates in 5. Ion Gudju vs Carl Behting, Paris, 1924
Ramon Rey Ardid vs Giovanni Cenni, Paris, 1924
Kornel Havasi vs Max Euwe, Paris, 1924
John O'Hanlon vs Max Euwe, Paris, 1924
Gerard Oskam vs George Koltanowski, Paris, 1924
Sandro Kohn vs Joern Schulz, Paris, 1924
_________________________________________________________________
Here are some rare photos from the 1924 chess olympiad
The event had 54 participants from 18 teams. Alekhine can be seen seated in front of the chessboard. Only one of the participants was female.
The olympiad was held at the prestigious Majestic Hotel
While no longer the Majestic Hotel, this is the building today!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Today's chess tactics are from actual games played during the 1924 Paris chess olympiad--July 12 to 20-- which was the first such team event of its kind. The organizers of the summer olympics decided to consider chess a sport to help facilitate its organization. As well, at this historic event FIDE was created (July 20, 1924). http://www.olimpbase.org/1924x/1924in.html
As only amateurs could participate at the Olympiads in those days, it should not be surprising that Paris' most famous player (Alexander Alekhine) was the tournament director of the event!
The solutions to today's tactics can be found at http://www.wtharvey.com/ol24.html Unless otherwise stated, the side with the 'dot' is to play and win. Good luck!
Manuel Golmayo de la Torriente vs Kornel Havasi, Paris, 1924
White Mates in 4. Hans Johner vs Shaun Smith, Paris, 1924
Herman Mattison vs Luis Palau, Paris, 1924
Stefano Rosselli Del Turco vs E Malmberg, Paris, 1924
Anatol Tschepurnoff vs Victor Kahn, Paris, 1924
K Vanek vs Marcel Duchamp, Paris, 1924
Black Mates in 5. Ion Gudju vs Carl Behting, Paris, 1924
Ramon Rey Ardid vs Giovanni Cenni, Paris, 1924
Kornel Havasi vs Max Euwe, Paris, 1924
John O'Hanlon vs Max Euwe, Paris, 1924
Gerard Oskam vs George Koltanowski, Paris, 1924
Sandro Kohn vs Joern Schulz, Paris, 1924
_________________________________________________________________
Here are some rare photos from the 1924 chess olympiad
The event had 54 participants from 18 teams. Alekhine can be seen seated in front of the chessboard. Only one of the participants was female.
The olympiad was held at the prestigious Majestic Hotel
While no longer the Majestic Hotel, this is the building today!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Meet Ralph....
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Meet Ralph! My 600th follower. Though scientific research indicates that only 17 of them are real people. In anycase, Ralph needs a shave (to start with...)
Welcome Ralph!
Meet Ralph! My 600th follower. Though scientific research indicates that only 17 of them are real people. In anycase, Ralph needs a shave (to start with...)
Welcome Ralph!
Categories: Canadians blogs
Zdenko Krnic (1947-2010) R.I.P
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
http://www.chessdom.com/
''With great sadness we inform the public that the Director and Chief Editor of "Chess Informant", IM Zdenko Krnić, tragically lost his life in Belgrade at the age of 62. Krnić passed away in the hospital on Friday, 23rd July, after suffering severe injuries in a traffic accident one week earlier.
Zdenko Krnić was born 1947 in Maribor (now Slovenia), and he spent the childhood in Sombor. He became National Master at the 1970 Yugoslav Championship in Vrnjačka Banja. His biggest success was silver medal at the 1980 Yugoslavia Championship in Skender Vakuf. He participated in more than 50 international competitions and held a title of International Master. For many years he was player and captain of the popular club "Red Star".
He worked with Chess Informant for almost 40 years, on all levels, from contributor to director. During his carrier he co-operated with all of the world's best players. He joined the Chess Informant during the preparation of issue 15, and the tragic accident happened when he was working on the issue number 108. Zdenko Krnić was injured on the crosswalk by a careless motorcycle driver who then run away.
The departure of Zdenko Krnić leaves huge blank in Serbian chess and "his" Chess Informant.
Chess Informant colleagues''
With this it is left to say that Zdenko died of injuries sustained from an accident involving a motor cycle. He was not in any way at fault. He is survived by his wife Zdenka and two sons, Bojan and Goran.
I first met Zdenko in 1985 when I first broke onto the European chess scene. At the time the Chess Informat was the 'thing' and it maintained it's dominance in the market by agressive and dynamic marketing, especially by Zdenko. I was a frequent collaborator with Chess Informant for many years.
It was Zdenko who convinced me of the advantages of data-base technologies...as far back as 1989. Zdenko has family living in the Toronto area. My most sencere condolences to the whole family. The chess world will never be the same!
Here is the only game that I played against Krnic, at the 1995 Canadian Open in Toronto, without a doubt the best Canadian Open ever held in the Toronto area in the 20th century, and possibly since also. A classy event held at the (then) prestigious Primrose Hotel, it was not only competently organized by REAL arbiters, but it was an event that was enjoyed by all , without any of the Hal Bond--''Houston. We have a glitch here...''-- bullshit.
[Event "Open"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "1995"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spraggett Kevin (CAN)"]
[Black "Krnic Zdenko (YUG)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B46"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Bb7 9. b3 Nf6 10. Bb2 Be7 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. Rae1 Nd7 13. Na4 Bf6 14. e5 Be7
15. c4 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Nb6 17. Nxb6 Qxb6 18. Qg4 g6 19. Rd1 h5 20. Qf4 g5 21.
Qg3 g4 22. Qf4 Rd8 23. Rd6 Rg8 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Qe4 Qc7 26. Qh7 Rg5 27. Bc1
Qxe5 28. Bxg5 Qxg5 29. Qd3 Qa5 30. Rd1 Qb6 31. Qh7 Qc5 32. Bxe6 fxe6 33. Qg8+
Bf8 34. Qxe6+ Qe7 35. Qg6+ Qf7 36. Rd8+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280108052").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280108052").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280108052").submit();
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
http://www.chessdom.com/
''With great sadness we inform the public that the Director and Chief Editor of "Chess Informant", IM Zdenko Krnić, tragically lost his life in Belgrade at the age of 62. Krnić passed away in the hospital on Friday, 23rd July, after suffering severe injuries in a traffic accident one week earlier.
Zdenko Krnić was born 1947 in Maribor (now Slovenia), and he spent the childhood in Sombor. He became National Master at the 1970 Yugoslav Championship in Vrnjačka Banja. His biggest success was silver medal at the 1980 Yugoslavia Championship in Skender Vakuf. He participated in more than 50 international competitions and held a title of International Master. For many years he was player and captain of the popular club "Red Star".
He worked with Chess Informant for almost 40 years, on all levels, from contributor to director. During his carrier he co-operated with all of the world's best players. He joined the Chess Informant during the preparation of issue 15, and the tragic accident happened when he was working on the issue number 108. Zdenko Krnić was injured on the crosswalk by a careless motorcycle driver who then run away.
The departure of Zdenko Krnić leaves huge blank in Serbian chess and "his" Chess Informant.
Chess Informant colleagues''
With this it is left to say that Zdenko died of injuries sustained from an accident involving a motor cycle. He was not in any way at fault. He is survived by his wife Zdenka and two sons, Bojan and Goran.
I first met Zdenko in 1985 when I first broke onto the European chess scene. At the time the Chess Informat was the 'thing' and it maintained it's dominance in the market by agressive and dynamic marketing, especially by Zdenko. I was a frequent collaborator with Chess Informant for many years.
It was Zdenko who convinced me of the advantages of data-base technologies...as far back as 1989. Zdenko has family living in the Toronto area. My most sencere condolences to the whole family. The chess world will never be the same!
Here is the only game that I played against Krnic, at the 1995 Canadian Open in Toronto, without a doubt the best Canadian Open ever held in the Toronto area in the 20th century, and possibly since also. A classy event held at the (then) prestigious Primrose Hotel, it was not only competently organized by REAL arbiters, but it was an event that was enjoyed by all , without any of the Hal Bond--''Houston. We have a glitch here...''-- bullshit.
[Event "Open"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "1995"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spraggett Kevin (CAN)"]
[Black "Krnic Zdenko (YUG)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B46"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Bb7 9. b3 Nf6 10. Bb2 Be7 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. Rae1 Nd7 13. Na4 Bf6 14. e5 Be7
15. c4 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Nb6 17. Nxb6 Qxb6 18. Qg4 g6 19. Rd1 h5 20. Qf4 g5 21.
Qg3 g4 22. Qf4 Rd8 23. Rd6 Rg8 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Qe4 Qc7 26. Qh7 Rg5 27. Bc1
Qxe5 28. Bxg5 Qxg5 29. Qd3 Qa5 30. Rd1 Qb6 31. Qh7 Qc5 32. Bxe6 fxe6 33. Qg8+
Bf8 34. Qxe6+ Qe7 35. Qg6+ Qf7 36. Rd8+ 1-0document.getElementById("cwvpd_1280108052").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1280108052").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1280108052").submit();
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
A penny for your thoughts....
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
The innocence of a child
Do you think she works out in Kung Fu?
The one and only Brando
Free style diving
Naughty Marilyn
Very naughty!
Going on a date are we?
Don't let a little WORLD WAR ruin your vacation plans!
Ah...when life was good, it was VERY good!
Anxiously waiting for Hal's next excuses...
Sophia Loren
It's on the lower shelf...
Should I vote Karpov or Ilyumzhinov ?? Who has the better bananas?
Jane Fonda could sell jeans!
Do you recognize anyone famous here?
What a sexy leg you have Mrs. Robinson
The innocence of a child
Do you think she works out in Kung Fu?
The one and only Brando
Free style diving
Naughty Marilyn
Very naughty!
Going on a date are we?
Don't let a little WORLD WAR ruin your vacation plans!
Ah...when life was good, it was VERY good!
Anxiously waiting for Hal's next excuses...
Sophia Loren
It's on the lower shelf...
Should I vote Karpov or Ilyumzhinov ?? Who has the better bananas?
Jane Fonda could sell jeans!
Do you recognize anyone famous here?
What a sexy leg you have Mrs. Robinson
Categories: Canadians blogs
Puerto Rico sets higher standard than Canada!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Democracy in Action: Puerto Rico Adelante!
http://www.karpov2010.org/2010/07/puertorico-bahamas-chesssponsorship/
''It was a wonderful sight in Puerto Rico last weekend, as people power worked for the future of chess in beautiful Puerto Rico. When the Federation’s leadership balked at an open debate over whom to support for FIDE president, an Extraordinary Assembly was called. As the remarkable videos show, well over 100 members came out to vote! The result was a clear win to support the ticket of Anatoly Karpov, and the Assembly also supported the candidacy of Puerto Rico’s own chess dynamo, Rafael Ortiz Bonilla, for General Secretary on the Continental Americas ticket of Marvin Guevara, along with Francisco Guadalupe, which is supported by the Karpov2010 campaign.''
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Democracy in Action: Puerto Rico Adelante!
http://www.karpov2010.org/2010/07/puertorico-bahamas-chesssponsorship/
''It was a wonderful sight in Puerto Rico last weekend, as people power worked for the future of chess in beautiful Puerto Rico. When the Federation’s leadership balked at an open debate over whom to support for FIDE president, an Extraordinary Assembly was called. As the remarkable videos show, well over 100 members came out to vote! The result was a clear win to support the ticket of Anatoly Karpov, and the Assembly also supported the candidacy of Puerto Rico’s own chess dynamo, Rafael Ortiz Bonilla, for General Secretary on the Continental Americas ticket of Marvin Guevara, along with Francisco Guadalupe, which is supported by the Karpov2010 campaign.''
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Friday's ramblings....
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
http://www.escacsandorra.com/
Three rounds to go before the 28th edition of one of Europe's most prestigious opens comes to a close. There is a big group of 10 players tied with 5 points out of 6 games and then another group of 12 players (yours truly included) a half point back at 4.5 points. If someone is to win this tournament outright, then today is the time to start!
Here are the round 7 pairings
Alexander Ipatov (born 1993)
I had a short but sharp game with the Ukrainian youngster Alexander Ipatov. My opponent played very originally and after about 15 moves the game seemed balanced, but very sharp and complicated. I then misplayed my chances on the Kingside and Ipatov simply ignored my threats and built up a strong bind on the Queenside. Just when it seemed that I was in trouble, I found a sharp tactic that seemed to force the game into a drawn Rook and Pawn ending.
I spoke briefly with Alexander. He is a very talented player! Alex has recently changed federations to Spain, but maintains Ukrainian nationality. (FIDE has facilitated players changing federations in recent years). Apparently he is not happy with how the Ukrainian federation is run, and it often does not send representatives to the world youth championships, claiming financial distress (what federation does not claim this?). Alexander feels that the Spanish federation will treat him with the respect that he deserves.
I feel that Alex has a bright future in chess. The game is given at the bottom of this post.
______________________________________________________________________
As usual, the tournament is excellently run and the readers can follow the live games at the link given above, as well as much more information about the tournament. Here is a short selection of photos taken by the tournament photographer
Cori (Peru) vs Bruzon (Cuba)
Eva Baekelant (Belgium)
Isobel Sanders (England)
Diana da Rocha (Andorra)
A.M. Hamdouchi (France)
''What have I done??''___________________________________________________________________________
[Event "XXVII Andorra Open"]
[Site "Arinsal AND"]
[Date "2010"]
[Round ""]
[White "Spraggett Kevin (CAN)"]
[Black "Ipatov,Alex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2575"]
[BlackELO "2510"]
[Eco "D10"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. h3 O-O 7. Bd3 a6 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bb3 a5 11. a3 Na6 12. Re1 b4 13. axb4 Nxb4 14. Na2 c5 15.
Nxb4 cxb4 16. e4 Nd7 17. e5 Nb6 18. Ng5 a4 19. Bc2 Bb7 20. h4 b3 21. Be4 Bxe4
22. Nxe4 Qd5 23. h5 Rfd8 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Qg4 Nc4 26. Nc3 Qxd4 27. Re4 Nxe5
28. Rxd4 Nxg4 29. Rxg4 a3 30. Rb4 Bxc3 31. bxc3 b2 32. Bxb2 axb2 33. Rxa8
Rxa8 34. Rxb2 Ra1+ 35. Kh2 1/2-1/2document.getElementById("cwvpd_1279878498").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1279878498").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1279878498").submit();
__________________________________________________________________________
FIDE ELECTIONS EMBARRASSING CANADA ?
Yesterday on this blog I discussed the position of Brazilian grandmaster Geovani Vescovi with regards to the Ilyumzhinov vs Karpov presidential campaigns and how he felt the Brazilian chess federation should vote in September (they are currently committed to vote for Ilyumzhinov). I brought up the example of the Canadian Chess Federation's dilemma in this election race.
Yesterday on the CMA message board (http://www.chesstalk.com/) Jean Sasseville wondered what the CFC's position was, and if it has not already been taken, then when will it be made? Virtually all of the America's have already publically declared their stance (for example, the USA voted unanimously months ago to support Karpov's candidacy).
Jean concluded: ''Seriously, my suggestion is that CFC should set a deadline (like August 15) and ask the governors to vote.A timely decision is better than a late decision. With no decision, I am afraid that Canada does not look good on the international scene.''
Bob Armstrong, self-appointed spokesperson for the CFC Executive, did his best to obfuscate the CFC's position.
OBFUSCATE: To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
I am certain that my readers will get a big kick out of Bob's efforts:
________________________________________________________________________
'''Let's get the record straight here.........Hal Bond has been very clear that he prefers not to express an opinion, and to get direction from the governors ( who passed the ball to the CFC executive to tell Hal how to vote)...he felt he needed to declare a conflict of interest here...
Hal stated that if he publicly came out and supported Ilymzhinov, he would appear to be merely protecting his own future FIDE arbitering interests - in other words, he felt he needed to declare a conflict of interest here, and not vote as a governor publicly on who to support. It is also likely true that he would prefer to avoid publicly declaring for Karpov, where it appears Karpov is doomed to defeat, since there might be retribution from Ilyumzhinov against him in future.....
The position was put that CFC should do the " right "' thing - but what that was was not clear to all. There were legitimate arguments for supporting both sides it seemed, and the governors were clearly divided among Karpov, Ilyumzhinov and abstain.........and it had nothing to do with Hal's FIDE arbiter position.
Bob '''
____________________________________________________________________
I am certain that the more astute of my readers will notice the contradiction when Bob writes at the beginning that Hal Bond stated at the AGM that he is in a position of conflict of interest (an IA) ---and at the end when Bob emphasizes that this (dilemma-ed) has nothing to do with his IA position!
Equally hilarious is that Bob could write with a straight face that the CFC wants to do the 'right' thing but it is not clear what that is! What happened to doing the 'responsible' thing?
In anycase, I think that Jean hits the nail on the head when he mentions that the longer the CFC delays in making a decision, Canada's reputation will risk being harmed.
It is clear that Hal Bond wants his cake and eat it too: he wants to be FIDE representative of Canada and at the same time continue to represent his own personal interests in FIDE. He openly acknowledges that there is a conflict of interest. But as long as he does not step down as either IA or FIDE representative of Canada, the international embarrassment that Canada finds itself faced with will continue.
It appears to most of those removed from having direct interests in the FIDE election--and that is everyone except the CFC politicos--that there is no real problem here. Canada, as a member of FIDE, has a responsibility to faithfully representing the Canadian chess community's interests---and that the CFC can not distinguish between this and personal interests.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
http://www.escacsandorra.com/
Three rounds to go before the 28th edition of one of Europe's most prestigious opens comes to a close. There is a big group of 10 players tied with 5 points out of 6 games and then another group of 12 players (yours truly included) a half point back at 4.5 points. If someone is to win this tournament outright, then today is the time to start!
Here are the round 7 pairings
Alexander Ipatov (born 1993)
I had a short but sharp game with the Ukrainian youngster Alexander Ipatov. My opponent played very originally and after about 15 moves the game seemed balanced, but very sharp and complicated. I then misplayed my chances on the Kingside and Ipatov simply ignored my threats and built up a strong bind on the Queenside. Just when it seemed that I was in trouble, I found a sharp tactic that seemed to force the game into a drawn Rook and Pawn ending.
I spoke briefly with Alexander. He is a very talented player! Alex has recently changed federations to Spain, but maintains Ukrainian nationality. (FIDE has facilitated players changing federations in recent years). Apparently he is not happy with how the Ukrainian federation is run, and it often does not send representatives to the world youth championships, claiming financial distress (what federation does not claim this?). Alexander feels that the Spanish federation will treat him with the respect that he deserves.
I feel that Alex has a bright future in chess. The game is given at the bottom of this post.
______________________________________________________________________
As usual, the tournament is excellently run and the readers can follow the live games at the link given above, as well as much more information about the tournament. Here is a short selection of photos taken by the tournament photographer
Cori (Peru) vs Bruzon (Cuba)
Eva Baekelant (Belgium)
Isobel Sanders (England)
Diana da Rocha (Andorra)
A.M. Hamdouchi (France)
''What have I done??''___________________________________________________________________________
[Event "XXVII Andorra Open"]
[Site "Arinsal AND"]
[Date "2010"]
[Round ""]
[White "Spraggett Kevin (CAN)"]
[Black "Ipatov,Alex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "2575"]
[BlackELO "2510"]
[Eco "D10"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. h3 O-O 7. Bd3 a6 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bb3 a5 11. a3 Na6 12. Re1 b4 13. axb4 Nxb4 14. Na2 c5 15.
Nxb4 cxb4 16. e4 Nd7 17. e5 Nb6 18. Ng5 a4 19. Bc2 Bb7 20. h4 b3 21. Be4 Bxe4
22. Nxe4 Qd5 23. h5 Rfd8 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Qg4 Nc4 26. Nc3 Qxd4 27. Re4 Nxe5
28. Rxd4 Nxg4 29. Rxg4 a3 30. Rb4 Bxc3 31. bxc3 b2 32. Bxb2 axb2 33. Rxa8
Rxa8 34. Rxb2 Ra1+ 35. Kh2 1/2-1/2document.getElementById("cwvpd_1279878498").value=document.getElementById("cwvpg_1279878498").innerHTML;document.getElementById("cwvfm_1279878498").submit();
__________________________________________________________________________
FIDE ELECTIONS EMBARRASSING CANADA ?
Yesterday on this blog I discussed the position of Brazilian grandmaster Geovani Vescovi with regards to the Ilyumzhinov vs Karpov presidential campaigns and how he felt the Brazilian chess federation should vote in September (they are currently committed to vote for Ilyumzhinov). I brought up the example of the Canadian Chess Federation's dilemma in this election race.
Yesterday on the CMA message board (http://www.chesstalk.com/) Jean Sasseville wondered what the CFC's position was, and if it has not already been taken, then when will it be made? Virtually all of the America's have already publically declared their stance (for example, the USA voted unanimously months ago to support Karpov's candidacy).
Jean concluded: ''Seriously, my suggestion is that CFC should set a deadline (like August 15) and ask the governors to vote.A timely decision is better than a late decision. With no decision, I am afraid that Canada does not look good on the international scene.''
Bob Armstrong, self-appointed spokesperson for the CFC Executive, did his best to obfuscate the CFC's position.
OBFUSCATE: To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
I am certain that my readers will get a big kick out of Bob's efforts:
________________________________________________________________________
'''Let's get the record straight here.........Hal Bond has been very clear that he prefers not to express an opinion, and to get direction from the governors ( who passed the ball to the CFC executive to tell Hal how to vote)...he felt he needed to declare a conflict of interest here...
Hal stated that if he publicly came out and supported Ilymzhinov, he would appear to be merely protecting his own future FIDE arbitering interests - in other words, he felt he needed to declare a conflict of interest here, and not vote as a governor publicly on who to support. It is also likely true that he would prefer to avoid publicly declaring for Karpov, where it appears Karpov is doomed to defeat, since there might be retribution from Ilyumzhinov against him in future.....
The position was put that CFC should do the " right "' thing - but what that was was not clear to all. There were legitimate arguments for supporting both sides it seemed, and the governors were clearly divided among Karpov, Ilyumzhinov and abstain.........and it had nothing to do with Hal's FIDE arbiter position.
Bob '''
____________________________________________________________________
I am certain that the more astute of my readers will notice the contradiction when Bob writes at the beginning that Hal Bond stated at the AGM that he is in a position of conflict of interest (an IA) ---and at the end when Bob emphasizes that this (dilemma-ed) has nothing to do with his IA position!
Equally hilarious is that Bob could write with a straight face that the CFC wants to do the 'right' thing but it is not clear what that is! What happened to doing the 'responsible' thing?
In anycase, I think that Jean hits the nail on the head when he mentions that the longer the CFC delays in making a decision, Canada's reputation will risk being harmed.
It is clear that Hal Bond wants his cake and eat it too: he wants to be FIDE representative of Canada and at the same time continue to represent his own personal interests in FIDE. He openly acknowledges that there is a conflict of interest. But as long as he does not step down as either IA or FIDE representative of Canada, the international embarrassment that Canada finds itself faced with will continue.
It appears to most of those removed from having direct interests in the FIDE election--and that is everyone except the CFC politicos--that there is no real problem here. Canada, as a member of FIDE, has a responsibility to faithfully representing the Canadian chess community's interests---and that the CFC can not distinguish between this and personal interests.
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Categories: Canadians blogs
Friday's laughs
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
''Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.''-Pablo Picasso
''I don't do drugs. I am drugs.''-Salvador Dali
''Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.''--Sophia Loren
''Liars when they speak the truth are not believed''-Aristotle
''When I get down on my knees, it is not to pray.''--Madonna
''Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.''-Pablo Picasso
''Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali.''-Dali
'' There are two kinds of artists left: those who endorse Pepsi and those who simply won't. ''-Annie Lennox
''God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.''-Picasso
(The CFC is thinking of changing its name)
''I can't do the same thing every night, the same gestures... it's like putting on dirty panties every day.” --Brigitte Bardot
''All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.''-Picasso
Ooops...
Who turned off the lights?
''Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.'' -Dali
Really, its all part of my high school science project...
''The whole business is built on ego, vanity, self-satisfaction, and it's total crap to pretend it's not.''-George Michael (was he talking of the CMA?!)
...................................................
After going through a virus attack, losing a hard drive,fighting off hackers, upgrading all my software, installing fire-walls, being threatened with being cut-off by my email provider, and a host of other problems … I have fixed my computer... and NOW it works exactly the way I want it to!
.......................................................
My god...its alive!
Sorry babe, but my car won't support excess weight....
I'll teach them!
''My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.''-Jack Nicholson
If the CFC were an airliner...
''Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.''-Picasso
.......................................................................
''Children always understand. They have open minds. They have built-in shit detectors.” -Madonna
..........................................................................
BEING THERE...
................................................................................................
''Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.''-Pablo Picasso
''I don't do drugs. I am drugs.''-Salvador Dali
''Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.''--Sophia Loren
''Liars when they speak the truth are not believed''-Aristotle
''When I get down on my knees, it is not to pray.''--Madonna
''Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.''-Pablo Picasso
''Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali.''-Dali
'' There are two kinds of artists left: those who endorse Pepsi and those who simply won't. ''-Annie Lennox
''God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.''-Picasso
(The CFC is thinking of changing its name)
''I can't do the same thing every night, the same gestures... it's like putting on dirty panties every day.” --Brigitte Bardot
''All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.''-Picasso
Ooops...
Who turned off the lights?
''Democratic societies are unfit for the publication of such thunderous revelations as I am in the habit of making.'' -Dali
Really, its all part of my high school science project...
''The whole business is built on ego, vanity, self-satisfaction, and it's total crap to pretend it's not.''-George Michael (was he talking of the CMA?!)
...................................................
After going through a virus attack, losing a hard drive,fighting off hackers, upgrading all my software, installing fire-walls, being threatened with being cut-off by my email provider, and a host of other problems … I have fixed my computer... and NOW it works exactly the way I want it to!
.......................................................
My god...its alive!
Sorry babe, but my car won't support excess weight....
I'll teach them!
''My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch.''-Jack Nicholson
If the CFC were an airliner...
''Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.''-Picasso
.......................................................................
''Children always understand. They have open minds. They have built-in shit detectors.” -Madonna
..........................................................................
BEING THERE...
................................................................................................
Categories: Canadians blogs
Who's new
- silvia
- unknown
- jacobchen
- s.abbarin
- Yuanling
Recent blog posts
- GTCL 2009-10 Club Competition - Cup
- GTCL 2009-10 Club Competition - U2000
- GTCL 2009-10 Club Competition - Rules
- GTCL 2009-10 Club Competition - Premier
- GTCL 2008/09 Club Competition - Cup
- GTCL 2008/09 Club Competition - Premier
- GTCL 2008/09 Club Competition - U2000
- The Toronto Closed Chess Championships
- GTCL 2008/09 Club Competition
- Brentwood Library is seeking the possibility of running a chess club
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