Route 20 Chess Club

2011-11-27T21:13:00.008-06:00

Put 1/21/12 on your calendar!!
Route 20 Chess Club is sponsoring a Rated Beginners Open/Open Swiss Tournament on Saturday, January 21, 2012. It will be at Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Rd, Building R, Park in Lot B.

Two sections:
Open Swiss: 3/SS, G/65 (rounds at 10 AM, 1, 3:30 PM), prizes 80 percent of entry fees for the section. May be divided into two sections at tournament director's discretion.
RBO: 5/SS, G/30 (rounds at 10 AM, 11:15, 1, 2:15, 3:30 PM), open to players rated under 1200 or unrated; trophy prizes for top three places.

Entry fee: $10 ($6 for Route 20 Chess Club members).
Registration: 9 - 9:45 AM on-site.

U.S Chess Federation membership required. Full and trial memberships available on-site. Chess sets will be available, bring a clock if you have one.

2011-09-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

PWNED! IV Youth Chess Tournament- National Chess Day

Saturday, October 8, Freeport Public Library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. (map). 4/SS, G/30, FREE! In three sections: K–3 (USCF-rated), 4–6 (unrated), 7–12 (unrated). Prizes: first and second place trophies in each section. Registration: 9–9:45 AM or in advance at library Youth Services desk. Rounds: first round at 10 AM, later rounds ASAP. USCF membership not required in upper sections; one-day tournament memberships are free in K–3 section. Lunch break between rounds 2 and 3. Sets provided, bring clocks.

Our fourth totally free, all-scholastic tournament, presented in cooperation with the Freeport Public Library. If you're a young player who's been wondering how your skills measure up, this is your chance to find out.

Route 20 Chess Club Seeking Secretary; Regular Meeting Change

2011-08-02T19:26:00.001-05:00

The Route 20 Chess Club's September 2011 regular meeting will be held the second Tuesday of the month, Sept. 13, rather than the usual first Tuesday. Also, with Keith Ammann's departure, the position of secretary is open. A vote will be held at the September meeting; nominations will be accepted from the floor before the vote.

Route 20 RBO/Open Swiss

2011-07-10T16:41:00.004-05:00

One year ago, the Route 20 Chess Club ran its first rated event: a combination rated beginners' open and open Swiss tournament. Our first-anniversary edition of this recurring tournament format shows how we've grown in the past year: from 16 local players at our first (unrated) open tournament to 19 players at last year's RBO/open to 27 participants from Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa at this year's, a new high-water mark for rated tournament participation. Our third partially-rated PWNED! youth tournament on Memorial Day weekend set an even higher bar, with 42 players participating. Clearly, there's been pent-up demand for introductory-level chess in northwest Illinois and neighboring areas of other states, and we're happy to be meeting it.

At the same time, we're still reaching out to advanced players in the hope of providing satisfactory competition at the higher end. This weekend, we changed the format of the Route 20 Open Swiss from 4/SS, G/45 to 3/SS, G/65 after players at our Pecatonic Octads indicated that they preferred the longer time control. It was a modest field, but one that allowed a couple of young Class B players from our backyard, Caleb Larsen and Ben Spinello, to shine. Caleb won all three of his games; Ben won two before losing to Caleb and shared second place with Dane Bell and our own Will Engel.

In the RBO, the Pretzel Kings' Zach Kauffman -- free, as of July 1, of the low rating that kept attracting the blessings of the Bye Fairy -- finally had the opportunity to rise to the top of his section without being penalized on tiebreaks. He won the first-place trophy with four wins and a draw; past trophy winner Leo Ma of Madison placed second with the same score. Route 20 member Ken Conter came in third.

Complete results may be found on our tournament results page; click here for official crosstables and post-event ratings.

On to the highlight reel:

Ben Spinello and Caleb Larson

B.Spinello–C.Larsen
Route 20 Open Swiss (3)
Freeport, Ill., July 9, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 Qxb6 6.Nc3 d6 7.e4 g6 8.Nf3 Nbd7 9.Be2 Bg7 10.0-0 0-0

11.Kh1 a5 12.Nd2 Ba6 13.a4 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Ne8 15.Nb5 Nc7 16.Nc4

The knight sets off on a long walk.

16...Qb7 17.Nca3

Ben may be slightly better off initiating the trade on c7.

17...Rae8

Meanwhile, Caleb's other knight looks strong on b6.

18.f4

18.Bd2 is another possibility that looks good for Ben.

18...Nxb5 19.Nxb5 f5 20.Bd2 fxe4

Now is not the right time for 20...Bxb2?, which leads to a strong position for Ben: 21.Rab1 Bg7 22.Nxd6 Qxb1 23.Rxb1 exd6 24.Qa6.

21.Qxe4 Nb6 22.Bxa5 Qxd5

Not 22...Nxd5 23.Rad1 Ra8 24.Bc3, which strongly favors Ben. The alternative 24.Rxd5?! Rxa5 25.b3 Kh8 is slightly better for Caleb.

23.Qxd5+?

With the queen trade, things begin to go awry for Ben. Better is 23.Qe1 Qc6 24.Bxb6 Qxb6 25.Qe6+ Kh8 26.Rab1, which maintains an equal position.

23...Nxd5 24.Bd2?

Another stumble, as Caleb no longer has any reason not to pick off the weak b-pawn. 24.Bc3, challenging Caleb's fianchettoed bishop, is better. From here, it's all uphill for Ben.

24...Bxb2 25.Ra2 Bg7 26.g3 Ra8 27.a5

There's hope of rescue on the horizon after 27.Kg2 Rfb8 28.Rb1 Nb4 29.Bxb4. If black plays the dubious reply 29...cxb4?!, white can obtain an equal position with 30.Rxb4 e5 31.Rd2. But after 29...Rxb5 30.axb5 Rxa2+ 31.Kf3, black must play 31...cxb4; if he blunders with 31...Rxh2??, white will push his b-pawn in.

27...Rfb8 28.Rb1 Nc7

28...Nb4 29.Nc7 Nxa2 30.Rxb8+ Rxb8 clinches the victory.

29.Nc3 Rxb1+ 30.Nxb1 Na6 31.Na3 Nb4 32.bxb4 cxb4 33.Nb1 b3 34.Ra4 b2 35.a6 Kf7 36.Kg2 Ke8 37.Kf3 Kd7 38.Ke4

38...e6

38...Kc6 is just as effective at keeping Ben's king from running the barricade and brings Caleb's king farther forward as well.

39.Na3??

A blunder that permits 39...Rc8 40.Rb4 d5+! 41.Kd3 Rc3+ 42.Kd2 Rxa3.

39...Kc6 40.Kd3 d5 41.Kc2 Kb6 42.Rb4+ Kxa6 43.Nb5 Rc8+ 0-1

RBO winners (l-r): Leo Ma (2nd), Zach Kauffman (1st), Ken Conter (3rd)

In the RBO, after a slight stumble in the opening, Zach plays a safe and solid game to secure a draw against the higher-rated Leo:

Z.Kauffman–L.Ma

Route 20 Rated Beginners' Open (2)

Freeport, Ill., July 9, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.e3? Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bd3 Be6 6.Bd2 Bd6 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.Nge2 c5 9.Nb5 Be7 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Bc3 Nxd3+ 12.Qxd3 0-0 13.Nf4 a6

14.Nxe6

Zach should take a look at 14.Nd4!? Ne4 15.Ndxe6 fxe6 16.Nxe6 Nxf2 17.Qc2. Leo doesn't have time to take the rook in the corner with his own queen under attack, and Zach gets his draw after 17...Qb6 18.Nxf8 Qxe3+ 19.Qe2 Nd3+ 20.Kd1 Nf2+ 21.Ke1 Nd3+ 22.Kd1. (After anything else -- say, 17...Qd7 -- it's much worse for Leo: 18.Nxf8 Rxf8 19.0-0 Ne4 20.Rxf8+ Bxf8 21.Bd4, and Zach's material advantage is locked in.)

14...fxe6 15.Nd4 Qd7 16.0-0 Ne4 17.Rac1 Nxc3 18.Rxc3 Bf6 19.f4 g6 20.h3 Bg7 21.Rcc1 Rac8 22.g4 Bxd4

22...Rxc1!? is Leo's last chance to hold on to the slight advantage he's got: 23.Rxc1 e5 24.fxe5 Qe7.

23.Qxd4 Rxc1 24.Rxc1

24...Qg7?

A mistake that allows Zach to gain the upper hand with 25.Qb6 Qf6 26.Qxb7.

25.Qxg7+

Zach opts for an equal endgame instead.

25...Kxg7 26.Rc7+ Rf7 27.Rxf7+ Kxf7 28.Kf2 Kf6 29.Ke2 e5 30.Kd3 b5 31.b4 h6 32.a3 Ke6 33.Kc3 h5 34.Kd3 Kf6

After some dancing back and forth, with time running out on both clocks, Zach and Leo shake on it.

Games of the Week

2011-07-01T15:24:00.003-05:00

I've been slacking off on my reportage lately, so to make up for it, here are two games, in which Zach Kauffman and I have a rematch and a tenacious Steve McWhirter puts up a stiff fight against Will Engel.

K.Ammann–Z.Kauffman

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., June 28, 2011

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5

That accursed Dutch Defense again. Well, it worked for him before, so I shouldn't be surprised, should I?

3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 b6 6.Bd3 Ne4 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Nbd2

Develops an inactive piece -- but since my deployment is aiming toward the queenside, it might have been better to play 8.Nfd2 Nxd2 9.Nxd2.

8...Bb7 9.Qc2 Nxd2 10.Qxd2 Bxf3 11.gxf3 0-0

12.Ke2

I need to quit doing things like this. It never works. 12.Rg1!?, which I consider later but not here, is better.

12...c5 13.Qxc3

I should consider 13.dxc5!? bxc5 14.f4.

13...cxd4 14.Qxd4 Nc6 15.Qc3 Qb4

15...f4, threatening gruesome damage to my pawn structure, is advantageous to Zach.

16.Qxb4 Nxb4 17.Rhd1 Rac8 18.a3 Nxd3 19.Rxd3 Rxc4 20.Rxd7 Rc2+ 21.Rd2 Rxd2+ 22.Kxd2 Rc8

23.Rc1

This time it's I who should be looking at f4. The rook trade is good for Zach, my pawns being backward relative to his.

23...Rxc1 24.Kxc1 g5 25.Kc2 b5??

The pawns on b6 and e6 work together to keep my king from penetrating black's territory; advancing to b5 dismantles the barrier. Besides, Zach needs to begin centralizing his king.

26.Kd3

26.Kc3!? is better, as it threatens the bold b-pawn and forces the queenside into stasis: after 26...a5 27.b4 a4, the black pawns are sitting ducks.

26...e5 27.Kc3 a5 28.a4

An inaccuracy on my part. 28.b4!? a4 locks up the pawn structure as before; my king is shut out again, but 29.f4 breaks the door down.

28...bxa4 29.Kc4 Kf7

Finally, Zach begins to centralize.

30.Kd5

Risky. 30.Kb5 is a sure thing. I'm not sure why I don't consider it. Probably because I'm thinking that the queenside is an even fight, and I want to try to tip the scales on the kingside.

30...Kf6 31.Kd6

31.Kc6 is more flexible.

31...f4??

Allows me to lock up the pawn structure in a formation unfavorable to Zach. Leading with the e-pawn, 31...e4, keeps things more fair.

32.e4 h5 33.Kd7 g4 34.fxg4 hxg4 35.Kd6 f3 36.Kd5 a3 37.bxa3

I'm running Zach out of options. He has to abandon the e-pawn.

37...Kg5 38.Kxe5 Kh4 39.Kf4 Kh3 40.e5

Run, Forrest, run!

40...Kg2 41.Ke3 Kxh2 42.e6 Kg2 43.e7

A straight-up won endgame for white. Or is it?

43...g3

The smart thing to do is to promote, right? In fact, mate is practically assured -- for example, 44.e8Q Kg1 (44...gxf2 45.Qg6+ Kh3 46.Kxf2 Kh4 47.Kxf3 a4 48.Qg4#) 45.Kxf3 Kh2 46.Qh5+ Kg1 47.Kxg3 a4 48.Qd1#.

Alas, I allow myself to be momentarily distracted, and my winning advantage melts away.

44.fxg3 f2 45.e8Q f1Q 46.Qe4+ Kxg3 47.Qe5+ Kg4 48.Qd4+ Kf5

Draw city. My only hope for a win is to trade queens, kill Zach's a-pawn and run mine in.

49.Qd3+ Qxd3+ 50.Kd3 Ke5 51.Kc4 Kd6 52.Kb5 Kc7 53.Kxa5 Kb7 54.Kb5 Ka7 55.Ka5 Kb7

Arrgh . . . it's no good. My pawn is on the a-file, and too far back. I wriggle around a bit more, but it's drawn.

56.a4 Ka7 57.Kb5 Kb7 ½-½

W.Engel–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., June 28, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 c5

An unusual reply to an unusual opening, the Danish Gambit. 3...d5 or 3...dxc3 is book. We're in weird territory from the get-go.

4.cxd4 cxd4 5.Qxd4?!

5.Bc4 or 5.Nf3 seems better. That d-pawn's not going anywhere.

5...Nc6 6.Qa4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Bb4+ 8.Nd2

Really? Inviting the piece trade where either the bishop recaptures and unpins black's king's knight, or the king recaptures on a half-open file? Is that better than having isolated pawns after 8.Nc3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 ?

8...Bxd2+

Black has the opportunity to make some mischief with 8...Qe7!?, pretty much forcing 9.f3.

9.Bxd2 0-0 10.Bd3

The pawn is not in urgent need of overprotection, at least not as badly as the white king is in need of cover; white might consider seizing the opportunity to castle queenside.

10...Re8 11.Ne2 a6

11...d5!? 12.Be3 dxe4 will put uncomfortable pressure on white.

12.Bg5 b5 13.Bxb5!

13...Rxe4

Tricky, but it fails to 14.Qxe4! (threatening 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Bd3) Qa5+ 15.Bd2 Qxb5 16.Qf4, where white is up the exchange. Better is 13...Bb7, allowing Will's bishop to retreat with 14.Bd3. After 14...d5, it's looking pretty even.

14.Bxf6??

Will unfortunately passes up the chance to win material.

14...Rxa4

Steve should prefer to avoid trading queens; 14...Qe8 prevents Will from winning material as described above.

15.Bxd8 axb5 16.Nc3 Rg4

A sound material decision, but positionally detrimental. Steve looks great after 16...Nxd8! 17.Nxa4 Rxa4 -- he may be down a rook for two minors, but Will's position looks downright catatonic, and his king has no protection whatsoever.

17.Bc7 Rxg2 18.Bg3 Nd4 19.0-0-0 Nf5 20.Rhe1

Will's pieces have snapped awake and launched a counterattack. Meanwhile, Steve's poor rook is trapped on g2.

20...Ba6 21.Rxd7 h6 22.Nd5 Rc8+ 23.Kd2

23.Kd1 is better, since after 24...Rxf2 isn't a check after 23...Nxg3 24.hxg3.

23...Nxg3 24.hxg3 Rxf2+ 25.Ke3 Rcc2 26.Nb4

26.Ra7 dares black to take a pawn and lose his bishop.

26...Rxb2 27.Nxa6 Rxa2??

The pawn is poisoned, as becomes apparent immediately.

28.Nb4 Rab2 29.Nd3 Rbd2!

A shrewd pin gives a reprieve: 30.Nxf2?! Rxd7 31.Rb1 Rd5.

30.Rb7 Rg2 31.Rxb5 Ra2 32.Kf3 Rgd2 33.Nf4 Ra3+ 34.Kg4

Will should welcome the rook trade: 34.Re3 Rxe3+ Kxe3, and Steve's rook looks sad and lonely.

34...Rd4?

Steve's king really needs more air. 34...g6 gives it to him.

35.Re8+ Kh7 36.Rbb8 g6 37.Rh8+ Kg7 38.Rbg8+ Kf6 39.Rxh6 Ke5 40.Re8+ Kd6

41.Rd8+

The demolition job isn't yet complete. 41.Rh7 f5+ 42.Kh4 g5+ 43.Kxg5 Rxg3+ 44.Kxf5 Rf3 finishes the job (right). Will can handle the threat to his knight with 45.Re6+, 45.Rd8+ or 45.Rh4.

41...Ke5 42.Rxd4

The rook trade takes much of the oomph out of Will's attack.

42...Kxd4 43.Rh7??

Without its partner, Will's remaining rook needs to be reassigned to pawn protection duty, because in a moment, his king won't be available to handle it.

43...f5+! 44.Kh4 g5+ 45.Kxg5 Rxg3+ 46.Kxf5+ Rf3

The same pattern as in the move 41 variation, with one big difference: each player is missing a rook. It's the difference between a white win and a draw.

47.Rd7+ Ke3 48.Rd3+ Kf2 49.Rd2+ Ke3 50.Re2+ Kd4 51.Kg4 Re3 52.Ne6+ Kd3 53.Nf4+ Ke4 54.Rd2 Ra3 ½-½

Will retains an infinitesimal edge, but it's worth nothing as long as Steve continues to play accurately. He concedes the draw.

Game of the Week

2011-06-15T18:12:00.003-05:00

It's always a joy -- no, really -- when the student begins to outpace what the master can teach him. (Or, in this case, what the Class E coach can teach him.) Zach Kauffman, a rising star on the Freeport Pretzel Kings, came to this week's meeting and busted out a Dutch Defense on me. Dutch Defense?! I know I didn't teach him that.

K.Ammann–Z.Kauffman

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., June 14, 2011

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.c4 d5 7.cxd5 Qxd5

Zach is a very strong beginner, but a beginner nonetheless. A more experienced player would automatically choose 7...exd5, holding white to a slim advantage.

8.Nc3 Bb4 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Qd6 12.Qd2

12...Bd7 13.Qh6 Qf8 14.Qxf8+ Rxf8+ 15.Rfe1 0-0-0 16.Rad1 e5 17.e4

Well, I never claimed I was infallible. With 17.e3!?, I hold my edge. Now the game is equal.

17...fxe4 18.Rxe4 exd4 19.cxd4

Alternatively, I can recapture with the knight: 19.Nxd4 Bf5 20.Rf4 Nxd4 21.Rdxd4 Rxd4 22.Rxd4 Re8.

19...Rfe8

Zach can play 19...Bf5 to move his bishop to a better location with tempo.

20.Rxe8

Or I can play 20.Rf4!? and take aim at the newly unprotected pawn.

20...Rxe8

Recapturing with the bishop is much nicer for Zach: 20...Bxe8 21.Bh3+ Kb8 22.Bf5 is mostly bark.

21.Kf1

Thinking to keep Zach's rook from entering on e2. But 21.a3 accomplishes the same goal of pawn safety and keeps his knight off b4 as well.

21...Bg4 22.h3 Bxf3

Zach does not benefit from this trade. The pin can be held momentarily with 22...Bh5!?, after which I'm obviously going to play 23.g4, but the bishop is perfectly content to relocate to f7.

23.Bxf3 Kd7 24.d5 Ne5 25.Be2

Erp, not so good. If I want to keep my newly regained advantage, 25.Be4 is the correct move, forcing 25...h6.

25...Kd6 26.f4

26.Rd4 is called for.

26...Nd7 27.Kf2 Nc5 28.Kf3 f5

28...Re4 is aggressive. White has to reply 29.Rd2 in anticipation of 29...Ra4.

29.Bc4

A nothingburger. I should play 29.g4 immediately.

29...a6 30.g4 b5

How about some forcing moves: 30...Re4 31.Bd3 Ra4 32.Bxf5 Ra3+ 33.Ke2 Rxa2+ 34.Kf3 Ra3+ 35.Kg2.

31.Be2

The counterintuitive 31.Bd3! is better, because it forces a favorable trade (31...Nxd3 32.Rxd3). Black can't take the hanging pawn because of a discovered check: 31...Kxd5?? 32.Bxb5+! Ke6 33.Bxe8.

31...Rf8

This move doesn't make much sense, and Zach seems to realize it right away. What else can he do? 31...Ne4 is strong, because 32.gxf5? doesn't work: 32...Nc3 33.f6 Nxd1 (not the much weaker 33...Nxe2?! 34.f7 Rf8 35.Kxe2) 34.Bxd1 Kxd5 is superb for black. White must therefore reply 32.Bd3 Nc3 33.Rd2 fxg4+ 34.hxg4, with a slight advantage for black.

32.g5

Too soon.

32...Ne4 33.Rd3 Re8 34.Ra3

Not as clever as it looks. 34.Bd1!? is worth looking at.

34...Kxd5 35.Rxa6 Nd6

35...Nd2!? 36.Kf2 b4 37.Bf3+ Kd4 is a little better.

36.Ra5 Kc6 37.h4 Kb6 38.Ra3 c5 39.h5

39.Re3!? bears a closer look. Zach can't afford to accept the trade, thus 39...Ra8 40.Re6 Ra3+ 41.Kf2, with a slight advantage for white.

39...c4!

Zach seizes the moment.

40.Re3 Ne4 41.Kg2?

Wrong answer. 41.Bd1 Kc5 42.Ra3 Re7 is necessary.

41...c3

Hold up on that moment, Zach. 41...Ra8 42.a3 Kc5 makes things way easier for you.

42.Bd3 b4 43.Kf1

I'm making a hash of this endgame. Better is 43.Kf3!? Kc5 44.g6 hxg6 45.hxg6.

43...Kc5 44.Bc2 Kc4

44...Rd8 45.g6 hxg6 46.hxg6 is big for black.

45.Kg2

No. 45.Ke1.

45...Re7

Or 45...Ra8 46.Bb1.

46.g6?

No. I have to play 46.Kf3 if I want to live.

46...hxg6 47.hxg6 Re6??

47...Rg7 48.Rxe4+ fxe4 49.Bxe4 Re7 does a number on me. In contrast, 47...Re6 allows the exchange sacrifice 48.Rxe4+!! fxe4 49.f5. Which is a necessary precursor for . . .

48.g7??

See, if there's a pawn on f5, this move doesn't merit the double what. Since there isn't, it does, and Zach now has the opportunity to take me apart. Which he proceeds to do. I'm so proud of him.

48...Rg6 49.Kf3?! Rxg7 50.Bxe4 fxe4+ 51.Rxe4+ Kd3 52.Re3+ Kc2 53.Ke2 Rg2+ 54.Ke1 (54.Kf3 Kd2 55.Re4 offers some faint hope) 54...Kb2 55.f5 c2 0-1

It's over. Good job, Zach.

PWNED! III Youth Chess Tournament

2011-05-28T20:28:00.005-05:00

We had a hunch that turnout was going to be robust when we received 17 advance registrations (our first PWNED! tournament, in contrast, had only 15 participants). But there was still something incredible about the crush of signups this morning, toward the end of which it was beginning to look as if we were going to pack the house. In the end, we'd drawn 42 players -- a huge increase over our previous high of 27 -- with all three age groups well represented.

The Freeport/Carl Sandburg Middle School Pretzel Kings were there, of course, dominating the grade 4–6 section (Milo Collier, Austin Rucker, Noah Watson and Garrett McDonald grabbed first through fourth place, while Marius Dornhagen-Schradermeier finished eighth), but there were also large first-time contingents from Empire Elementary School in Freeport and North Boone and Dakota high schools, as well as two competitors from Freeport High School, also represented for the first time.

Even more amazing, three players came all the way from Naperville to participate! One of them, Nicholas Schwebe, won the grade K–3 section; Farah Tolu-Honary (Empire) placed second, while Jaxon Shuey (Forreston Elementary -- another first!) took third. Nadine Didier and Zach Kauffman (Freeport MS) reprised their recent Rockford Chess Challenge triumphs with perfect 4.0 scores in the grade 7–12 section; John Werkheiser of Pearl City, our most frequent flier (he's participated in every Route 20 Chess Club event since National Chess Day last October -- 10 in a row!), finished third. (Complete results may be found on our tournament results page.)

We're now faced with an awkward question: Are we about to outgrow our space? One Freeport Public Library meeting room (we need the other for skittles space) can accommodate 48 players. Will we need to change format, or registration procedures, or something else, to ensure that nobody is turned away at PWNED! IV? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Game of the Week

2011-05-25T19:07:00.003-05:00

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., May 27, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5!?

A Modern Benoni. Reminding me that sooner or later I need to get around to reading about Benonis.

4.d5 d6 5.e4

5...Be7 6.Qa4+ Bd7 7.Qb3 b6 8.f4 0-0 9.Nf3

I'm feeling pretty good about my development, even though both my bishops are still sitting on their starting squares. Gary's are both more or less incapacitated at the moment, so I figure my knights are stronger. Of course, he's not going to let them stay incapacitated.

9...Ng4

Gary might also free his better bishop by opening the center up a bit with 9...exd5 10.cxd5 Re8.

10.Qc2

Not wanting to allow a sacrifice invasion on f2 to dislodge my king. Is this something I should be worried about? Probably not.

10...Bh4+ 11.g3 Bf6

Not bad for me.

12.h3

12.e5 is a little better. Still, it's nice to be sending Gary's active knight into exile on the rim.

12...Nh6 13.Be3 e5?

Allows me to blow up half the kingside with 14.fxe5 Bxe5 15.Nxe5 dxe5 16.Bxh6 gxh6 before castling queenside. If, you know, I should happen to think of it.

14.0-0-0 exf4 15.Bxf4 g5

Apparently missing the threat against his rook after 16.Bxd6. 15...Re8 makes the invasion less desirable, as white has to be content with positional compensation after 16.Bxd6?! Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Ba4 18.Bxb8 Bxd1.

16.Bxd6 g4??

16...Ba4 17.Qxa4 Qxd6 removes the invader with the least collateral damage.

17.Bxd8 Kxf8

18.Nd2

It's not horrible, but I'm going to regret putting this knight here.

18...Bg5 19.Be2

Wanting to develop my last undeveloped piece and connect my rooks. But 19.e5 is very big here.

19...gxh3 20.Nb5

20.Rdf1 is pretty sweet here, as is breaking the pin with 20.Kb1. Really, I have no excuse for putting off the king move as long as I do.

20...Bg4 21.Bxg4 Nxg4 22.Rxh3 h6 23.Qc3

I already see that the knight is going to be a threat, and I'm trying to maneuver into position to stop it, but my pieces are tripping over each other. Stupid pinned knight.

23...f6 24.Kb1

I have waited to make this king move until the moment is . . . totally wrong.

24...Nf2

Dagnabbit! I saw this coming, and I flaked on it. (24.Rf1!? would have immunized me.)

25.Rf1

It's like I'm just not paying attention now. The rook I should be trying to save is the one on h3. Of course, I clearly can't let Gary play ...Nxd1, because then he gains a tempo off my queen. The conclusion I should come to is 25.Rdh1 Nxh3 26.Rxh3.

25...Nxh3

26.Nc7??

I'm thinking I'm being clever here: distract the queen away from d8 with a threat against the rook, then sacrifice my rook for a breakthrough on f6: 26...Qxc7 27.Rxf6+ Bxf6 28.Qxf6+. But there's no follow-through, so eventually the attack is going to fizzle, and I'll be down a rook for a pawn (I can even up the minor-piece score by choosing the continuation 28...Kg8 29.Qe6+ Kg7 Qxh3). Luckily for me, Gary tries to get clever too.

26...Bxd2??

It so happens that I now have a forced mate in 11: 27.Rxf6+ Ke7 28.Qe5+ Kd7 29.Rf7+ Kc8 30.Ne6 Bf4 31.gxf4 Nd7 32.Qd6 h5 33.Nxd8 Nxf4 34.Qxd7+ Kb8 35.Nc6#. Yeah, like I'm going to notice mate in 11.

27.Qxd2 Ng5 28.Nxa8 Nd7 29.Nxb6?! axb6 30.a4

30.Qh2 Kg7 31.Rh1 is a line I should be investigating. Instead, I'm marching steadfastly toward a likely draw.

30...Kg7 31.Qf4 Qe7

The pawn on e4 is getting a lot of attention. I hope it's not shy.

32.Qg4

I'm thinking that if we end up trading queens, a rook and a passed pawn against two knights may be salvageable, but what I don't want is the exchange on e4 to be initiated by the knight and end with a queen check against me. So I decide to pin the knight. And what's my plan in case of 32...h5 ? Ermmm . . .

32...Ne5 33.Qe2 Qa7

32...Qd7!?, threatening 33...Qh3, is quite good for Gary.

34.b3 Qa5 35.Kc2 Qb4

It's better to break up my pawn chain first with 35...b5 36.cxb5.

36.d6??

When Fritz told me this was a blunder, I was surprised. The problem with it is that it allows 36...Ne6!!, threatening a royal fork on d4. I have to blow two moves, one to save the queen, the other to get out of check, thereby allowing Gary to terminate my backward b-pawn (one potential line: 37.Qd1 Nd4+ 38.Kb1 Nxb3). After that, all I can do is desperately push my d-pawn, in which case Gary cuts off its protection with discovered check (39.d7 Nd4+), then snuffs it out (40.Kb1 Nxd7). Damn.

So what's the alternative? 36.Kb2 keeps the white king and queen out of forkable position, while also ensuring that the black queen has no way into white's territory, and maintains winning chances for white. Anything else favors black.

36...Nef3 37.Rxf3! 1-0

If the knight retakes, it's curtains for black (38.Qxf3 Qa3 39.Kb1 Qb4 40.Qd1 b5 41.d7 bxa4 42.d8Q Qxb3+ 43.Qxb3). If black attempts the ...Ne6 trick now, the sixth-rank passed pawn takes all the joy out of it (38.d7 Nd4+ 39.Kb2 Nxf3/Nxe2 40.d8Q). If black tries to slip his queen into white's territory with 38...Qa3, 39.Kb1 puts the kibosh on that plan (the f3-rook prevents ...Qxb3). White can effectively ignore black's best reply, 37...b5, by shifting his rook over to the d-file, opening up a diagonal through which his queen can fork king and knight (39.Rd3 bxc4 40.Qg4+ Kh7 41.Qxe6). Go ahead -- try and stop that pawn from promoting now.

Pecatonic Octads

2011-05-22T10:46:00.002-05:00

Perhaps it should have been called "Pecatonic Octad," since we fell just one player short of creating a second group of eight. Still, this experimental format proved a success in other ways: the longer time control drew our strongest field of players to date, including Expert Glen Gratz (who won the octad), and the event was our first truly tri-state tournament, with representation from both Iowa and Wisconsin.

The octad pitted eight players ranging from Class C to Expert against one another in a three-round, G/65 Swiss. Glen fought off Joe Willett from the Quad Cities' Illowa Chess Club, Phil Jarrette of Elgin and a player from our own backyard, Ben Spinello, who was around for the first few meetings of the Route 20 Chess Club, then disappeared on us, only to reappear Saturday having become scary strong. (McHenry Area Chess Club members will have been aware of his ascent over the past two years; we were caught by surprise.)

Thirteen other players faced off in a four-round, G/45 Swiss, in which Cliff Adams and Gary Sargent, who complain that they always end up paired against each other, forced it to happen yet again by both winning their first three games. Bill Feldman of the DeKalb Chess Club, a frequent backdrop against which this drama plays out, suggests that there should be a traveling trophy for the two to pass back and forth. On Saturday, it was Cliff who won the as-yet-notional Adams-Sargent Cup, along with the reserve section's $20 first prize.

Complete results may be found on our tournament results page; click here for official crosstables and post-event ratings.

P.Jarrette–G.Gratz

Pecatonic Octads (2)

Freeport, Ill., May 21, 2011

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.0-0 Bg4 7.d3 Qd7 8.Nd5 h5 9.h3 Bxh3

10.Nc7+

Premature, and much more risky than the riskier-looking bishop trade 10.Bxh3 Qxh3 11.Nc7+ Kd8 12.Nxa8. If black immediately takes the forward knight, he can crack open the cover around white's king like an oyster: 10...Qxc7 11.Bxh3 h4.

10...Kd8

Glen lets Phil have his way, putting himself at a disadvantage.

11.Nxa8 h4 12.Bg5

Significantly better is 12.b4!? Nxb4 13.Bd2, threatening to take the black knight out of the picture. White needs to let the h-pawn be for now: 13.Nxh4 Rxh4 14.Bh1 (14.gxh4?? Qg4, mate follows on g2) 14...Rh8 is quite satisfactory for black, while 13.gxh4?? is simply careless; after 13...Bxg2 14.Ng5 Bxg5 15.Bxg5+ f6, white is doomed to lose another piece.

12...f6 13.Be3 hxg3 14.fxg3 Nh6?

Glen shouldn't be giving Phil opportunities to trade. 14...Kc8 is something to consider.

15.Bxh6 Rxh6 16.Kf2 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qh3+ 18.Kf2 Rg6 19.Rg1 f5 20.Qf1 Qg4 21.Ke1 e4

22.Nd2??

22.dxe4!? fxe4 23.Nh2 holds on to the edge that Phil has enjoyed. The passive 22.Nd2 gives Glen the chance to even things up again.

22...Nd4 23.e3??

Another flub! Perhaps Phil was feeling time pressure -- for much of the latter part of the game, Glen had roughly twice as much time left on his clock as Phil had on his. Here, Phil's best chance is 23.Nb3 exd3 24.Nxd4 Qxd4 25.Rh1 Qxb2 26.Kf2.

23...Nc2

Glen is in command now.

24.Kf2 Nxa1 25.Qxa1? (25.dxe4 fxe4 26.Qb1) 25...exd3

Yet, just two moves later, his command wavers. 25...Bh4 26.Nf1 Qf3+ 27.Ke1 f4 keeps the pressure on.

26.Qf1 f4

26...Bh4 no longer heralds the arrival of a demolition crew, but rather a request for a repetition draw: 27.gxh4 Qxh4+ 28.Kf3 Qh5+ 29.Kf2 Qh4+ 30.Kf3 Qh5+ 31.Kf2 Qh4+ ½-½. But 26...f4 is reckless, giving Phil a chance to seize back the advantage.

27.exf4 (not 27.Qxd3 fxe3+ 28.Qxe3 Bg5) 27...Bf6 28.Nf3 Qf5 29.Qd1

29.Qe1!? Kc8 30.Rh1, dominating the open files, is much better.

29...Qe4

Glen is about to come roaring back.

30.Re1?? Bd4+ 31.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 32.Kf3??

32.Kg2 Qxb2+ 33.Kh3 is the only escape.

32...Qxc4

Something of a thank-you move for white. In contrast, 32...d2! 33.Rg1 Re6 (or 33...Qd3+ followed by 34...Re6) is devastating.

33.Re3 Qd5+ 34.Kf2 d2 35.Re8+

Trying to set a trap -- a little transparently. 35.Ke2 is safer, despite 35...Qg2+ 36.Kd3 Rxg3, since 37.Rxg3 Qxg3+ 38.Kc2 Qe1 39.Qxd2 Qxd2+ 40.Kxd2 defuses a lot of the tension in the neighborhood. Even so, black holds a decisive advantage.

35...Kd7 36.Qa4+ Qc6 37.Qc2

37...d1N+!

Rescues the g6-rook by distracting white's queen. (37...d1Q! works also.) In contrast, 37...Kxe8 38.Qxg6+ Kf8 39.Ke2 concedes a draw.

38.Qxd1 Kxe8 39.Qh5 Qe4 40.f5 Qc2+ 41.Kg1 Qc1+ 42.Kh2 Qh6 43.Nc7+ Kd7 0-1

There's nothing left for white.

Thanks again to all who attended. Our next rated event will be at Highland Community College on Saturday, July 9, format to be determined; if you have a request or a suggestion, please leave a comment or e-mail us at route20cc@gmail.com. (And yes, we know that air conditioning is at the top of everyone's list!)

Positions of the Week

2011-05-18T14:23:00.004-05:00

Usually I like to present a reasonably close game, but this was a week of drubbings. Therefore, rather than an entire game transcript, here are some interesting positions (anonymized to protect my sources):

Game No. 1

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., May 17, 2011

White to move. White has just played 1.Bb5+, which black has answered with 1...c6. Has white played a clumsy, thoughtless check that dooms him to lose a tempo -- and his d-pawn, and another tempo after that -- or does he have an ace up his sleeve? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

Black's queen is a goner after 2.Nd5!! White already has an almost insurmountable winning advantage, but black can salvage some dignity with 2...Qxb5 3.Nc7+ Kd7 4.Nxb5 cxb5, taking two white pieces for the doomed queen.

Black, hopelessly outgunned, is after a stalemate. Can he get one? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

Sadly, no: 1.Qf4! (1.Qf6+ g5 2.Qc3 g3+ 3.Qxg3#) 1...g5 46.Qg3#. The actual game went 1.h3!? gxh3? (1...Kg5 2.h4+ Kxh4 3.Qd8+ g5 4.Qd6 g3+ 5.Qxg3#) 2.gxh3?! (2.Qf4#) 2...Kxh3 (2...Kg5 3.h4! Kxh4 4.Qf4+ Kh3 5.Qg3#) 3.Qf3+ Kh4 4.Qg3#.

Game No. 2

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., May 17, 2011

This time it's black's turn to be tricky. In this otherwise equal-looking position, what can black do to give white a real headache? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1...Nd2! threatens a royal fork on f3. 2.Nd4 stops the threat; 2...Nxb3 3.Nxe6, and black has the advantage.

Game of the Week

2011-05-11T09:52:00.002-05:00

Wow! Major churn this week in our usually placid ladder. Eighth-grade up-and-comer John Werkheiser scored a point against the encyclopedic Gary Sargent, then got his own bell rung by our resident park hustler, Steve Black, who in turn let one go to Monica Kearney; while Ken Conter caught me zoning out in an endgame and beat me with a king-rook fork. At least one thing remains constant: It's very, very difficult to beat Will Engel.

K.Ammann–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., May 10, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3

I know this is a perfectly legit book move and all, but I always mean to play 4.Bg5, and I always forget. Grrr.

4...b6?!

An odd moment, and an odd way, to go out of book. And kind of an odd choice in general -- I know so little book, there's no real advantage in going out of it against me.

5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 Bb7?

The fianchetto seems natural, but if I were playing more aggressively, 7.cxd5 Be7 (≤7...exd5 8.Bb5+ Bc6 9.Qa4 Bxb5 10.Nxb5+−) 8.Bb5+ Kf8 9.dxe6 would set me up pretty nicely.

7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0

9.Qc2

I'd call this my first real miscue of the game. It's not even that serious an error, more like a missed opportunity to do the most right thing: 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.dxc5 Nd7. I guess I just don't feel ready to set off the fireworks yet.

9...h6

Incidentally, by not setting off the fireworks, I leave Will a chance to grab a slight advantage with 9...dxc4!? 10.Bxc4 Bxf3 11.gxf3 cxd4.

10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e4 cxd4 13.Nxd5 Nc6 14.Rac1 Rc8 15.Qa4 Ne5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5

Will should preempt 17.Rxc8 Bxc8 18.Qxa7 with 16...Rxc1 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.Rxc1 Qxe5 19.Qxa7 Bxe4.

I've been playing a competent game so far. Time to do something about that.

17.Ba6??

Seeking to trade my bad bishop for Will's sniper. Alas, not only does a rook trade give him the tempo he needs to dodge my attack . . .

17...Rxc1 18.Rxc1 Bxd5

. . . but, in fact, if he calls my bluff with 18...Bxa6!? 19.Qxa6, then 19...Qh4! wins my e-pawn.

19.exd5 Qxd5 20.Bc4

20.Bd3 is slightly better.

20...Qd6

I see the battery, and I see the easy way to thwart it (21.g3). But now, reasoning spuriously that I'm unlikely to win against Will anyway and so may as well try something and see what I learn from it, I play my next bonehead move:

21.Qxa7? Bxh2 22.Kh1 Bf4 23.Bxf7?? Rxf7

It's good to remember that kings can in fact defend other pieces.

24.Rc8+ Rf8 25.Rc7

A piece down, but clinging to a bad idea like a terrier.

25...Qf6 26.g3

What's the move that wins the game for Will? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

26...Bxg3! 27.fxg3 (27.Rxg7+ merely postpones the inevitable: 27...Qxg7 28.Qxg7+ Kxg7 29.Kg2 d3 30.f4 Bxf4 31.b4 d2 32.a3 d1Q 33.Kf2 Bd6+ 34.Ke3 Rf3+ 35.Ke4 Qd3#) 27...Qf1+ 28.Kh2 Rf2# 0-1

Northwest Illinois $5 Open

2011-04-17T20:40:00.007-05:00

With 26 entrants in two sections, the Northwest Illinois $5 Open was our most successful rated tournament to date. For the first time, I'm pleased to say, we drew players from Iowa, a milestone we've been hoping to pass for some time. In addition, many of our participants were new to rated chess: 11 out of the 18 players in the U1000 section were unrated, including Juan Meraz of Rockford, who won the section. Congratulations, Juan! (His daughter Yesenia, a veteran of the Rockford Chess Challenge, finished eighth.)

Our eight-player open section was won by Luis Peralta of Moline. Both Luis and Juan finished the day with perfect 4.0 scores. (Complete standings may be found on our tournament results page; click here for official crosstables and post-event ratings.)

Also, there were doughnuts. Lots and lots of doughnuts. And snow. What was up with that?

W.Engel (1684)–L.Peralta (1922)

Northwest Illinois $5 Open (3)

Freeport, Ill., April 16, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 h6 4.f4 d6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.fxe5 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 dxe5 8.Qg3 Qd6 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.0-0 0-0-0 11.Be3 a6

12.Bxf7 Qb4 13.Bb3 Kb8 14.Rf3

Will is clearly trying to double his rooks on the f-file, but 14.Rf2 is the better move for this. 14.Rf3 cuts the bishop off from the queen, leaving it defenseless. Even better than 14.Rf2 is 14.a3, chasing away Luis's bold queen before centralizing Will's queen's rook.

14...Nh5

Passing up the opportunity to challenge Will's momentarily defenseless dark-square bishop, thereby forcing him to trade that good piece away.

15.Qg6 Nhf6

15...Nf4!? 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Rxf4 Ne5 blunts Will's advantage by forcing him to trade away some kingside cover, leaving open the diagonal his king is sitting on.

16.Raf1 Nc5 17.Nd5
It's not too late to chase that queen away with 17.a3.

17...Nxd5 18.exd5

Why weaken an active bishop by dropping a pawn in its path? Better to retake with the bishop, even though it means giving up the pawn on b2.

18...Nxb3 19.axb3 Qb5 20.Qe6 Bd6 21.Rf7 g5

21...Rhe8 drives Will's impertinent queen back to the kingside: 22.Qg4 Bc5 23.Bf2 Rxd5 Qxg7.

22.R1f6

As an alternative, 22.c4!? gains queenside space while patching the gap in Will's pawn structure.

22...Rde8 23.Qh3 Qxd5 24.c4 Qa5

25.Kf2

Not the piece-losing 25.Rxh6?? Rxh6 26.Qxh6 Qe1+ 27.Rf1 Qxe3+ 28.Kh1 Qe2.

25...Bc5 26.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 27.Qe3 Qb4 28.h4?

Will gained a significant advantage early on, but it's been dwindling away. This miscue allows Luis to turn the tables on him. 28.Qe1 Qxb3 29.Qc3 is Will's best chance to keep the game close.

28...Qxb3 29.hxg5 hxg5 30.Qd2 e4 31.dxe4 Qxc4

32.Qxg5??

Oof. Will isn't normally one to miss something like the two attackers trained on his e-pawn. He can defend it directly with 32.Qe3 Qc2+ 33.Qe2, or take a subtler damage-control approach with 32.Qc3 Rxe4 33.Qxc4 Rxc4 34.Kg3.

32...Rxe4

With Will's queen out of the way, 32...Qxe4! is the superior capture. The continuation 33.Qd2 Qh4+ 34.Kf3 Rhg8 reminds me of Spider-Man whipping around, wrapping up a bad guy in webbing. Ain't no getting out of that.

33.Rf8+ Rxf8 34.Rxf8+ Ka7 35.Qh5

Another dangerous misstep: 35...Qd4+ 36.Kg3 Qd6+ 37.Kh3 Qxf8 wins Will's rook.

35...Qc2+ 36.Kg1 Qxb2 37.Rd8

37.Qc5+ Qb6 38.Qxb6+ Kxb6 39.Rf6+ c6 40.Kf2 is the best of a lot of bad choices.

37...Qc1+ 38.Rd1 Qe3+ 39.Kh1 Re5

The slick 39...Qf2 40.Qg5 Rh4+ 41.Qxh4 Qxh4+ 42.Kg1 wins Will's queen for a rook.

40.Qf7 Qe2 41.Rf1 c5 0-1

There's still some fight left in the position, but none in Will -- he resigns.

K.Conter (589)–J.Meraz (unr.)

Northwest Illinois $5 Open (4)

Freeport, Ill., April 16, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.h3 Bxf3 4.exf3 a6 5.g4 Nc6 6.c3 e6 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bf4 g5 9.Be3 Bd6

10.0-0

Ken's kingside pawn structure is too badly damaged for castling to seem like a good idea, especially with that bishop on d6 staring right down an open diagonal into the king's corner. Qb3, Nd2 and castling queenside seem like a better plan, perhaps accompanied by a pawn push on the h-file.

10...h5 11.Bd2?

Missing the danger. Ken has the option of gumming up Juan's pawn attack with 11.h4 gxh4 12.g5.

11...Qf6

Better to precede this with 11...hxg4 12.hxg4, bringing the king's rook into the attack.

12.f4?

Moving the pawn from relative safety to a thrice-attacked square. Eep.

12...gxf4 13.gxh5 Qg5+

Ken has only three possible replies. The worst is 14.Kh2?? f3+ 15.Kh1 Qg2#. The best is to block with his queen, daring Juan to trade. Juan will take the dare, but not without exacting a price first: 14.Qg4 Qxh5 15.Qxh5 Rxh5 16.Be2.

14.Kh1 (That's the third.) Rxh5 15.Kh2

A bitter error, placing the king directly in the sights of a discovered attack. Better to blockade the f-pawn with 15.Qf3.

15...f3+ 16.Bf4 Bxf4+ 17.Kh1 Qg2# 0-1

...Qg2# is also possible on move 16.

Thanks to all our players and other guests, and special thanks to Carl Woll, who generously agreed to take notation for a player with a motor disability.

See you in May at the Pecatonic Octads!

Game of the Week

2011-04-13T18:49:00.003-05:00

In honor of our newly elected president (Will Engel) and treasurer (Steve McWhirter) . . .

W.Engel–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., April 12, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e6 4.Bxc4 a6 5.a4

Steve might play ...b5, but that's nothing to worry about; it's easy enough for Will to step away with Bd3. 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Nc3 takes a commanding lead in development.

5...Bb4+ 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.f3

7.e5 deals with the threat of ...Nxe4 just as well, and gives Will a slight advantage.

7...0-0 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5

That bishop is not going to get trapped. If Steve picks a fight with 9...c5!? 10.dxc5 Nbd7, then even though he's a pawn down, e5 is no longer a threat, while ...Qa5 is.

10.Bg3 Nc6 11.Nge2 Na5 12.Bd3

Deactivates Will's light-square bishop by tucking it back behind the pawn chain. 12.Ba2 keeps it powered up.

12...c6?

12...c5 now possesses added menace, as after 13.dxc5, Will's light-square bishop is pinned.

13.0-0

Except for that bishop on d3, it's looking good for Will so far. Not so much for Steve: his pawn structure and piece placement are haphazard, and he's behind in development.

13...b5 14.Bb1 Nc4?

It should be a good move, but it treads perilously close to a hidden bomb: 15.e5 Bxc3 16.exf6 Bxd4+ 17.Qxd4 Qxd4 18.Nxd4 Bd7, and Steve's surviving bishop is looking forlorn, consigned to pawn protection duty.

15.b3 Na5??

Tragically missing 15...Ne3, forking rook and queen -- Steve's last chance to keep a lid on Will's game.

16.Qc2

Good, but 16.e5 is still better.

16...Nd7 17.e5 (at last!) f5 18.exf6

18...Nxf6

It's got to be 18...Rxf6, because of what happens next.

19.Qg6+! Kh8 20.Qxh6+ Kg8 21.Qxg5+

21.Qg6+ Kh8 22.Ne4 Ra7 23.Nxf6 Qxf6 24.Be5!! Qxe5 25.dxe5 is even better.

21...Kf7 22.axb5

22.Bg6+ is even more powerful.

22...axb5

22...Rg8, driving back the queen, gives Steve a little more room to breathe.

23.Ne4

Even better is 23.Qg6+ Ke7 24.Bh4.

23...Nxe4 24.Qh5+ Ke7 25.Bxe4

25.Bh4+! demolishes what's left of Steve's defenses: 25...Nf6 26.Qh7+ Rf7 27.Bxf6+! Kxf6 28.Qh4+ Kg7 29.Qxd8.

25...Kd7 26.Bh4 Be7 27.Qh7 Bb7 28.b4 Nb3 29.Rxa8 Rxa8 30.Nc3 Nd2 31.Re1 Nc4

32.Nxb5!

A crafty tactic, but in fact, Will has a quiet move that's downright devastating. Can you find it? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

After 32.Ra1!! Bb7 33.Ra7 (threatening 34.Bxe7!) Kc8 34.Qxe7 Qxe7 35.Bxe7 Rf7 36.Bc5 Rg8 37.Bxc6 Rxg2+ 38.Kxg2 Bxc6, white is up a rook and two pawns, and black is bereft of options.

32...cxb5 33.Bxa8 Nd6

If 33...Re8 then 34.Bc6+! Kxc6 35.Rxe6+ Kc7 36.Bg3+ Nd6 37.Bxd6+ Qxd6+ 38.Rxd6 Kxd6 39.Qg6+ Kd7 40.Qf5+ Kd8 41.Qd5+ Kc8 42.Qa8+ Kd7 43.Qb7+ Kd8 44.Qb8+ Kd7 45.Qxb5+. Where did all black's cover go?

Will has one more unpleasant surprise for Steve. Think you know what it is? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

34.Bd5! Rf7 (34...exd5 35.Rxe7+) 35.Bxe6+ 1-0

Checkmate is just over the horizon after 35...Kc6 36.Bd5+ Kxd5 37.Qc2.

Three Spring Events! THREE!

2011-04-02T23:24:00.010-05:00

Northwest Illinois $5 Open

Saturday, April 16, Community Services Center (Building R), Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Road, Freeport, Ill. (park in Lot B -- map). 4/SS, G/45. Entry fee: $5. Prizes: Every entrant will receive a free doughnut. Registration: 9–9:45 AM or online (select "$5 Open" and click "Register" button at right). Rounds: 10 AM, 12:15, 2, 3:45 PM. U.S. Chess Federation membership required; one-day tournament memberships available. In two sections if 24 or more entrants. Nonsmoking, wheelchair-accessible, sets provided, bring clocks.

Whether you’re interested in a low-cost, low-risk introduction to chess or just a wallet-friendly way to get your game on, you won’t find a better bargain in the region than this four-round fracas. Bring a friend!

Pecatonic Octads

Saturday, May 21, Room H201D, Student/Conference Center, Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Road, Freeport, Ill. (park in Lot A East -- map). 3/SS, G/65 (bottom section 4/SS, G/45). Eight players per section; bottom section may include 6 to 13 players, depending on entries. Entry fee: $10 ($6 for club members). Prizes: $40 first place, $20 second place in each octad; $20 first place in bottom section. Registration: 9–9:45 AM or online (select "Octads (nonmember)" or "Octads (member)" and click "Register" button at right). Rounds: 10 AM, 12:45, 3 PM (bottom section 10 AM, 12:15, 2, 3:45 PM). USCF membership required; one-day tournament memberships available. Nonsmoking, wheelchair-accessible, sets provided, bring clocks.

Octads combine the leisurely time control and close competition of quads with the variety of a Swiss. Come on out and try it!

PWNED! III Youth Chess Tournament

Saturday, May 28, Freeport Public Library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. (map). 4/SS, G/30, FREE! In three sections: K–3 (USCF-rated), 4–6 (unrated), 7–12 (unrated). Prizes: first-, second- and third-place trophies in each section. Registration: 9–9:45 AM or in advance at library Youth Services desk. Rounds: first round at 10 AM, later rounds ASAP. USCF membership not required in upper sections; one-day tournament memberships are free in K–3 section. Lunch break between rounds 2 and 3. Sets provided, bring clocks.

Our third totally free, all-scholastic tournament, presented in cooperation with the Freeport Public Library. If you're a young player who's been wondering how your skills measure up, this is your chance to find out.

Game of the Week

2011-03-16T09:18:00.002-05:00

Gary's tenure at the top of the ladder didn't last long -- I knocked him off it at the beginning of last night's meeting. After which I was challenged by Will, and the rightful order of the cosmos was restored.

K.Ammann–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., March 15, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.e3 b6?! 7.Bd3?! Bb7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qc2 h6

11.Nb5 Na6 12.a3 c6 13.Nc3 Nc7 14.b4 Ne6

So far, I've been able to preserve my dignity, but now paranoia gets the better of me. For some reason, I'm apprehensive about castling short, afraid that a kingside attack will come flooding in and I'll end up helpless in the face of it. Castling queenside, of course, makes little sense in this position. So I get creative. Wrongly.

15.Kd2??

Castling kingside maintains equality, and is in fact the best course of action as far as my dignity is concerned.

15...Rc8

In fact, this preparatory move is unnecessary -- Will can, if he chooses, play 15...c5 right away.

16.Rab1 Qc7

16...Qe7 is slightly better: it still adds fuel to the fire on c5, but in addition, it maintains the implied threat of rook against queen down the c-file.

17.Bf5

This is the move that I suspected of being my big failure; it's actually not as bad as 15.Kd2. But after 16...Qc7, I have some hope of trimming Will's lead with 17.Ke1!? c5 18.Ne2 Qe7.

17...Ba6

Fritz prefers 17...Qe7, and yet I have a hard time finding fault with Will's choice. His bad bishop has suddenly become very, very active, and my threat detection system does not recognize the severity of the danger. Can it really be said that Will is significantly better off continuing to batter his way down the c-file instead?

18.Rhc1 Bc4

Again, Fritz prefers 18...Qe7 19.Ne2 c5 20.dxc5. The only drawback I see to 18...bc4 is that it practically commands me to trade the bishop off. Yet, for some incomprehensible reason, I don't. Instead, I get the idea of bringing my c3-knight to c5 (via Ne2-f4-c3) in order to park it in the hole that will be created after an exchange of pawns. I didn't say it was a good idea.

19.Ne2

Instead of 19.Bh7!? Kg8 20.Bd3.

19...c5 20.bxc5

20.dxc5 bxc5 Ke1 is better.

20...bxc5 21.Nf4 Nxf4

I thought Will wouldn't capture, because of 22.Bxc8. But as it turns out, taking out a rook doesn't do much to blunt his attack.

22.Bxc8 Nd3

Will doesn't need to get fancy like this; 22...Rxc8 is plenty solid (23.exf4 Qxf4+ 24.Kd1 Qg4).

23.Rf1

Evacuating the bishop with 23.Bf5 Nxc1 24.Kxc1 cxd4 25.exd4 Qf4+ 26.Kd1 lets me maintain material parity, though I'm still coming under heavy fire.

23...Rxc8 24.Ne1 Nxe1 25.Rfxe1 cxd4 26.e4??

26...Bg5+! 0-1

I have nowhere to run from the bishop pair. It's over.

Game of the Week

2011-03-09T07:04:00.002-06:00

As protesters for democracy topple dictators across the Arab world, so too do we experience a revolution this week -- one difference being that, in all likelihood, Will Engel will take back the top spot on the club ladder fairly soon. Another being that, to the best of our knowledge, Will does not command a secret police force.

W.Engel–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., March 8, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5!? 4.d5 d6

4...exd5 is the normal move.

5.Bg5 Be7 6.h4 Nh5

A move of uncertain purpose. Why not castle?

7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Nf3

8.dxe6 fxe6 9.Ne4 threatens either to dislodge black's king from castling position or to win a pawn. The best reply is 9...Kd7, leaving white with the advantage.

8...0-0 9.e4 e5 10.g3 Bg4 11.Bg2

11.Be2 works as well.

11...Nd7 12.0-0 Nb6 13.b3 f5

14.Qc2

Allowing the f-pawn charge cedes too much ground. White is well advised to take the attacking pawn: 14.exf5!? Nf6 15.Qd2.

14...f4 15.Kh2 Nd7 16.Ne2 Rf7 17.Ng5 fxg3+ 18.fxg3 Rxf1 19.Rxf1 Rf8 20.Rxf8+ Nxf8 21.Ng1 Ng6 22.Bh3

Gary's advantage has drained away. The position is roughly equal again.

22...Bxh3 23.N5xh3 Qf6??

A careless move that affords white the chance to trap black's h5-knight for a winning advantage: 24.Qe2 Nxg3 25.Kxg3 Qxh4+ 26.Kg2.

24.Kg2??

Will misses the opportunity. Now Gary only needs to move his g6-knight, clearing the square for his queen, to prevent the trap.

24...Ne7 25.Qf2

25.Ne2 or 25.Nf2 is better. Will's knights are badly placed and in need of activation.

25...h6 26.Qxf6 gxf6

Recapturing with 26...Nxf6 is significantly better.

27.Kf3

Still not activating a knight.

27...f5 28.exf5 Nxf5

That g-pawn is feeling the pressure. The best way to defend it is 29.Ne2.

29.Kg4

The move doesn't accomplish anything: 29...Nhxg3!? and what looked like a clever counterattack is revealed to fizzle, since the knights reinforce each other.

29...Nhg7?! 30.Nf2 Nd4 31.Ne4 Ngf5

Precarious. 32.Kh3 threatens to kick the knight off f5 with 33.g4, at which point black's backward d-pawn falls.

32.Ne2??

An uncharacteristic lapse. Obviously, Gary can't take the e2-knight right away (32...Nxe2? 33.Kxf5 b6 34.Nxd6 Nxg3+ is big for white), but he has an in-between move that drives Will into a losing endgame.

32...Ne3+ 33.Kh5 Nxe2 34.Nxd6 Nxg3+ 35.Kxh6? Ngf5+! 36.Nxf5 Nxf5+ 37.Kg5 e4 38.Kxf5

38.Kf4 is Will's last chance for counterplay.

38...e3 39.Ke4 e2 40.d6 Kf7 41.d7 Ke7 0-1

Both races are lost. Will resigns.

Nominations Being Accepted for Club Officers

2011-03-02T10:34:00.001-06:00

The Route 20 Chess Club will hold elections for our three officer positions at our annual meeting on April 5. The following members have been nominated so far:

President: Will Engel

Secretary: Keith Ammann

Treasurer: Steve McWhirter

Additional nominations will be accepted at the April 5 meeting before the vote is held. Nominees must be members in good standing.

Game of the Week

2011-03-02T08:30:00.006-06:00

K.Ammann–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., March 1, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Bd3

The first deviation from the main line Orthodox Queen's Gambit Declined. Black's most common reply to this variation is 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4, and his sharpest continuation is 8...c5; if white replies 9.dxc5, his chances after 9...Nxc5 aren't good. But after 9.0-0 a6 10.a4, as this game plays out, the odds are favorable to white.

7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.0-0 a6 10.a4 Nb6?!

Threatening ...Nxc4, either before or after ...cxd4. But that knight is probably better off staying on d7, with other moves (10...b6, 10...cxd4, 10...Qc7, 10...h6) presenting themselves as just as valid.

11.Bd3 c4 12.Bc2 Bd7 13.b3

This is where Fritz begins nagging me to play Ne5. Depending on Will's response, I may be able to play 14.a5, kicking the defender off c4, then take with the centralized knight.

13...cxb3 14.Bxb3 Rc8 15.Qd3 Bb4

The alternative 15...Nbd5!? 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 takes command of the c-file.

16.Rfc1 Bc6 17.Bc2

Another missed opportunity to play Ne5, when the threat is now a minor piece trade on c6. 17.Bc2 is a good-looking but ineffectual move: the mate threat is easily stopped, either with the blunt 17...g6 (which Will chooses) or the agile 17...Nbd7!, which provides a backup defender for the pawn on h7 and discourages Ne5 as well.

17...g6

Time to go looking for a new plan. Immediate concern: A trade on f3 will double my pawns and leave my king exposed. My solution: think about what I'd rather have on that square besides a weak pawn.

18.Bd1

Fritz's solution: "Play 18.Ne5, stupid! You still gain by trading on c6, though you might want to consider first chasing black's knight off b6 with a5."

18...Kg7

Both Will and I seem to be missing the strategic importance of the e5-square -- of getting my knight onto it (Ne5), or of keeping my knight from getting onto it (...Nbd7).

19.a5

Fritz nags me one last time to play 19.Ne5 first, then, after due preparation, to trade on c6. In a moment, though, it's going to become moot.

19...Nbd5

Not a terrible move by any means, but the quieter 19...Nbd7! maintains a dead heat. The trade on d5, on the other hand, works out slightly to my advantage.

20.Nxd5 Qxd5

Considering I'm both playing against an opponent who's 800 points my superior and coming off a weeklong head cold, I flatter myself to think I've been doing a respectable job so far. Now, however, inexperience and fatigue catch up with me, and I don't think through my next move.

21.Qc4?!

Giving back the slight advantage I've just earned. It's not a blunder, it just fails to consider the true degree of risk of an exchange on f3 (why would Will lead with his queen?) or the potential merits of chasing his queen around a little. The best move is 21.Bb3!; if Will tries to keep up the attack on the f3-knight, which happens to be his best bet, 21...Qf5 22.Qxf5 gxf5 accomplishes the same goal as Qc4 (trading queens), messes up Will's kingside pawn structure and still allows a subsequent 23.Ne5. Another thing to consider -- which I do realize, but only after the fact -- is that the f6-knight is no longer pinned, and trading it off with 21.Bxf6 Kxf6 right now, before it can advance and become a nuisance, is a good idea.

21...Qxc4 22.Rxc4 Bxf3??

Will gives me a gift. 22...Bxa5 23.Rxa5 Bxf3 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.gxf3 Rc1! swings the game in his favor.

23.Rxb4 Bd5

Will doesn't follow up with the obvious 23...Bxd1 24.Rxd1 because, as I am, he's keeping an eye on his backward b-pawn. But suppose he plays 24...Rfd8 and I follow with 25.Rxb7. It turns out that this gets me nowhere: 25...Rd5! forks my bishop and my a-pawn, and material equality will be restored -- with a black rook behind my lines.

24.Bb3 Be4 25.f3! Bc6 26.Rc1

Meh . . . better to play 26.e4, continuing to throw caltrops in the path of Will's light-square bishop. (As a bonus, it also obstructs his knight and allows my bishop to protect the rook on c1.)

26...Nd5

This would not have been possible with 26.e4.

27.Bxd5 Bxd5 28.Rc5?!

All hat, no cattle. 28.e4 is still excellent, 28.Rxc8 Rxc8 is not bad, and even the passive-looking 28.Rbb1 has merit (for example, 28...f6 29.e4 Rxc1+ 30.Bxc1 Bc6 keeps material even and makes my spatial advantage stand out). In contrast, there's no good reason why Will shouldn't trade: 28...Rxc5 29.dxc5 f6 splits the lead pawn off the kingside chain, leaving me no particular advantage anywhere.

28...Rc6

It's not the objectively best move. But it's the right move. Because it's the one that tricks me.

I should play 29.e4, then allow the rook trade 29...Rxc5 dxc5, leaving me with a smidgen of extra space. But all my virus-addled patzer-brain can see is, "Hey! Hanging b-pawn!"

29.Rxb7?? Rxc5 30.dxc5 Bxb7

Ouch.

From here, I play a losing endgame about as well as it can be played.

31.Be7 Rc8 32.Kf2 f5 33.h3 e5 34.g4 e4 35.f4 Kf7 36.Bd6 Rc6 37.Kg3 Rxd6 38.cxd6 Bc8 39.Kh4 h6 (Will needs only play 39...Ke6 here to shut me down entirely) 40.g5 h5 41.Kg3 Ke6 42.Kf2 Kxd6 43.Ke2 Kc5 44.Kd2 Kb4 45.Kc2

Watch what Will does with his bishop and king now . . .

45...Be6 46.h4 Bc4 47.Kb2 Bb3

Dang, that's cold.

48.Kb1 Kxa5 49.Kb2 Kb4 (I can't even get out!) 50.Kb1 Kc3 51.Ka1 Bc2 52.Ka2 Kd2 53.Kb2 a5 (He does it again!) 54.Ka2 Kxe3 55.Kb2 Kd2 56.Ka3 e3 0-1

I resign here, knowing that I'm lost but not realizing that mate is only four moves away: 57.Kb2 e2 58.Ka2 e1Q 59.Kb2 Qb1+ 60.Ka3 Qb3#.

Two question marks may not be enough for 29.Rxb7??. There's no doubt about it: That is the move that loses this game.

Local Boys Make Good

2011-02-20T02:27:00.011-06:00

Congratulations to the Freeport Pretzel Kings chess team for finishing in fourth place at the IESA 5–8 State Chess Tournament!

The consolidated team, competing in the eighth-grade section, won games on every board in the last round for a spectacular finish in the seven-round tournament.

First-board player Alec Mangan of Freeport Middle School scored 4.0 game points out of 7. Austin Rucker of Carl Sandburg Middle School finished in individual sixth place on second board, also with 4.0/7. On third board, Noah Watson (FMS) won individual fourth place with 5.0/7. Fourth-board player Milo Collier (FMS) scored 4.0/7. Fifth-board players Joe Kozeliski and Garrett McDonald (both FMS) finished in individual sixth and seventh place, each with 5.0/7, and Kurt Rodriguez (CSMS) scored 4.0/7. The team finished Friday in 10th place out of 32 teams in the section, then on Saturday surged ahead of six other teams for its decisive fourth-place finish. It was an exceptional achievement in the team's first year of competition.

Problem of the Week: Smoking Crater Edition

2011-02-16T11:54:00.003-06:00

K.Ammann–K.Conter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Feb. 15, 2011

White (yours truly, alas) has just played the lamentable 1.a3??. Black to move and win. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1...Nxd4!! simultaneously wins a pawn, discovers an attack on white's queen and double-teams c2, making a king-rook fork nearly inevitable. There is no dignified way out, but the least pathetic is to give up the queen: 2.Nxd4 Bxa4.

Game of the Week

2011-02-09T10:30:00.002-06:00

This week, Steve McWhirter and I played what felt, and probably looked, like a pretty low-key game. Yet it had become clear well before the end that Steve had run off the rails and had little hope of getting back on, even though neither of us could recall his making any obvious blunder. He suspected that his error had lain in his neglecting to take my c-pawn in a Queen's Gambit Declined. He was right. The consequences are edifying.

K.Ammann–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Feb. 8, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Bg5

Up to here, it's all textbook.

5...0-0?

A mistake only in the sense that it passes up the opportunity to take my c-pawn without immediate repercussion, which would give him time to do other things (or secure his own pawn from recapture).

6.e3 a6

Preparing ...b5, but this is not necessarily the most important thing for Steve to be doing. 6...Nbd7, 6...h6 or 6...c5 is the most effective way to fight back.

7.a4 Nbd7 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bh4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3

This is the next chance Steve has to liquidate my c-pawn. Actually, in a sense, it's the next five chances, all of which he passes up.

10...g5 11.Bg3 Ne4 12.Qc2 Nxg3 13.hxg3 f5?

Of those five chances to play ...dxc4, two may be described as critical. This is the first. Even though I've constructed a battery along the b1-h7 diagonal, I can't do much with it yet, so this blocking move is unnecessary.

14.Rxh6

Meanwhile, my own play, tight so far, begins to slacken. There's nothing wrong with this move, grabbing a hanging pawn and making Steve's king sweat bullets, except to the extent that it's even better after laying some groundwork: 14.cxd5! g4 15.Nh4 exd5 16.Nxf5 Nf6 17.Rxh6 Bxf5 18.Bxf5, with a big advantage for white.

14...Rf6

I ponder this challenge. Controlling the h-file is nice, but I am a pawn up, and I can easily mobilize my other rook to the kingside, while Steve can't. I decide it's worth it to eliminate this potential bodyguard.

15.Rxf6 Qxf6 16.Ke2

Being wrapped up in my plan to redeploy my a1-rook to the kingside, I neglect to consider the all-important 16.cxd5 for myself.

16...Qh6?

Steve sees my plan and thwarts it. But this is the second critical moment at which ...dxc4 outweighs everything else.

17.cxd5

And the window of opportunity slams shut, as I observe that trading pawns on d5 restores my backward c-pawn to full vigor.

17...Nf6

Instead of recapturing! Undoubtedly, Steve sees 17...exd5 18.Bxf5 and doesn't like it, or maybe he's reacting to the continuation 18...c6 19.c4 dxc4 20.Qxc4+. But 18.dxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxf5 is even worse for black.

18.c4

Too bad I don't think of it.

18...exd5 19.Bxf5 Bxf5 20.Qxf5 Ne4

21.cxd5

Not bad, but 21.Qxd5+! Kf7 22.Qxe4 cripples black permanently.

21...Re8 22.Rc1

I contemplate 22.Qd7, with the idea of mowing down Steve's pawns (22...Nf6 23.Qxc7 Nxd5 24.Qxb7) but then conclude that putting my rook on the c-file kills Steve's c-pawn just as dead while also activating my last undeveloped piece. But 22.Ne5!, cutting support for the e4-knight, followed by 22...Nd6 23.Qd7 is best.

22...c6 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.Qd7

So pretty -- yet 24.Ne5 is still better. I'm hesitating to move that knight from where it's sitting, even to a textbook outpost, because I believe it's providing valuable cover for my king. But what happens if Steve does check me? 24.Ne5 Qh5+?! 25.g4 Qh7 26.Rxc6!, fin.

24...Re6 25.Qc8+ Kf7

This is not what I expected when I played 25.Qc8+. I figured Steve would play 25...Kg7 (the superior retreat), and I'd simply pick off his a-pawn. But with his king on f7, suddenly 26.Ne5+ is extremely tempting. Does it work? I feel like it should, but I can't prove it to my own satisfaction (beyond noting that 26...Kg7 is the only retreat that works), and that fear of ...Qh5+ rears its head again. Do I go for the sure thing, or do I try to be slick? Bad things often happen when I try to get slick. I opt to play it safe.

In this case, though, slick wins big. 26.Ne5+!! Rxe5 27.dxe5 wins the exchange and gives me a bona fide passed pawn; 26...Kg7 27.Qd7+ Kg8 28.Rh1! (it works because of 28...Qxh1?? 29.Qxe6+ Kh8 30.Qe8+ Kh7 31.Qg6+ Kh8 32.Nf7#) 28...Nc3+ 29.Kd3 Nxa4 leads to a forced mate; 26...Kf6?? drops the queen to a knight fork; and 26...Ke7 walks into a mating net (27.Qd7+ Kf8 28.Qf7#).

26.Qxa6 c5 27.Qc4

27.Ne5+!! is still a sledgehammer blow: 27...Kf8 28.Qc8+ Re8 29.Qf5+ Nf6 30.Rxc5, and black's pieces look like they're cowering.

27...Nd6 28.Qxc5 1-0

Steve, nearly out of time and with no way to save the game, resigns.

No Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 1

2011-02-01T14:16:00.004-06:00

Highland Community college is closed because of severe weather. The Feb. 1 regular meeting is postponed until Feb. 8.

Route 20 RBO/Open

2011-01-17T14:59:00.002-06:00

Open winner Will Engel selects his favorite game from this weekend's tournament:

W.Engel–G.Sargent

Route 20 Open

Freeport, Ill., Jan. 15, 2011

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.d3 d6 4.f4 exf4 5.Bxf4 Ne5 6.Bb3 Qf6

6...Bg4 does more to keep Will in his place.

7.Ne2 Ne7?

Passive. 7...Bg4 is still strong, and it allows speedy queenside castling.

8.0-0 N7c6

At this point, there's nothing stopping Will from playing d4; the square is well covered. By playing ...N7c6, Gary prevents himself from suppressing the advance with ...c5.

9.Nbc3 Bg4 10.Bxe5

After 10.d4 Ng6 11.Be3, white has almost completed his development, while black is struggling to keep his balance.

10...Qxe5 11.Bxf7+ Kd7 12.Bd5 Be7 13.d4 Qh5

14.e5??

After 14...dxe5 15.Qd3 Kc8 16.Bxc6 bxc6, white's initiative has fizzled. With 14.Qd3 Kc8 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Qa6+ Kb8, the position is similar, but with one significant difference: white still has center control, with both his d- and e-pawns.

14...Bxe2?

Gary hesitates to blow up the center, and Will gets a reprieve.

15.Nxe2

As opposed to the clumsy 15.Qxe2?! Qxe2 16.Nxe2 dxe5, after which white's attacking power has evaporated.

15...Raf8 16.e6+

Will also has the sly 16.Be6+!, after which 16...Kxe6 is impossible because 17.Nf4+ wins Gary's queen.

16...Kd8 17.Bf3 Qg5 18.Qc1

Despite being down a pawn, it's in Gary's interest to trade queens, for two reasons. First, his position is full of soft spots that Will's queen can target, and the game is closer without her. Second, if by some fluke Will answers 18...Qxc1 with 19.Nxc1 (as opposed to the sound reply 19.Raxc1) then 19...Nxd4 20.Nb3 Nxf3+ 21.Rxf3 Rxf3 22.gxf3 Rf8, and the tables are turned. A better move is 18.Qd3, with the same idea as at move 14.

18...Qh4 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Qe3 Rf6

A half-measure. Will is not going to be afraid of doubled black rooks. Better is 20...Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Rf8, threatening 22...Rxf1 23.Kxf1. Yes, Gary is still a pawn down. But clear the decks of rooks, and the position begins to look faintly drawish. If only the queens can be traded off as well . . .

21.d5 c5 22.g3

Will passes up a freebie in 22.Qa3 and 23.Qxa7.

22...Qc4 23.Qb3 Qxb3

Better to trade rooks first: 23...Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Rf8+ 25.Kg1 Qxb3 26.axb3.

24.axb3 Rhf8 25.Rxf6

A bit rash. 25.Nf4!? thumbs its nose at the doubled rooks and proceeds to run circles around black: 25...Kc8 26.Rxa7 g5 27.Ra8+ Kb7 28.Rxf8 Rxf8.

25...Bxf6 26.Rxa7 Bxb2 27.Ra8+ Kxf8

Similar to the end result of the variation above, except that all the rooks are gone, black's bishop look better, and white's knight looks worse.

29.c3 Ba3

29...Ke7 seems like a sensible precaution.

30.Kf2 Ke7 31.Ke3 c6 32.Ke4

32.dxc6!? isn't a silver bullet, but it does head off Gary's next move.

32...cxd5+ 33.Kxd5 g5 34.h3 h6 35.h4 Bb2 36.h3 Ba3 37.g4 Bb2 38.b4! cxb4 39.cxb4 Ba3 40.Nd4 Bxb4 1-0

It's over. After 41.Nc6+!! Kf6 42.Nxb4 Ke7 43.Nc6+, the e-pawn will inevitably promote.

PWNED! II Youth Chess Tournament

2011-01-13T19:17:00.007-06:00

"PWNED!" (ōnd, pōnd, pônd, pōōnd, pē-ōnd') interj. Used to indicate conquest or domination. [From owned, through typing error.]

The PWNED! free youth chess tournament returns to the Freeport Public Library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, on Saturday, Jan. 29.

The four-round Swiss (non-elimination) tournament will have sections for grades K–3, 4–6, and 7–12. Trophies will be awarded for first, second, and third place in each section; all players will receive participation awards. In addition, the K–3 section will be sanctioned by the U.S. Chess Federation, and players will receive ratings based on their performance. Participants in this section who are not USCF members may request a free one-day junior tournament membership. Participants in the other two sections, which are unrated, do not need to be USCF members.

The event will begin at 10 AM and is expected to finish by 3:30 PM. On-site registration will be held from 9 to 9:45 AM; the event is limited to the first 48 entrants. Players who have chess clocks are asked to bring them. The site is wheelchair-accessible.

The Gallery Café at the library will be open during the Saturday tournament for players who want to buy food and drinks on-site.

For more information, e-mail us at route20cc@gmail.com.

(Are you already a competitive chess player, or thinking about getting into tournament chess? Don't miss our Route 20 Rated Beginners' Open and Open Swiss tournaments this Saturday, Jan. 15! Details at right.)

Games of the Week

2011-01-12T07:21:00.002-06:00

The tactics give, and the tactics take away. That's the lesson of Will Engel's two games this week. I played one of my better games against him yet still fell in the end to a tactic that was just over my (admittedly short) visualization horizon. But then Shawn Prue stepped up and slipped Will a dagger in the same way.

K.Ammann–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Jan. 11, 2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.e3 0-0

8.Bb5 Bg4 9.h3 Bd7 10.Bd3 Nc6 11.Ne2

I'm worried about a d4 push and trying to make it less attractive. But actually, such a move wouldn't be bad for me: 11...d4?! 12.exd4 13.Nxd4 Bxd4 14.Bxh7+ (the part I didn't think of) Nxh7 15.Qxd4 ends with me a pawn up. 11.0-0 is fine for me.

11...Nb4 12.Ned4

A clever solution to what isn't really a problem. I should be more concerned that I'm about to lose my good bishop to an adventuresome knight.

12...Nxd3 13.Qxd3 Ne4 14.0-0 a6 15.Qb3 Bc6 16.Ne5

I should finish my development with 16.Bd2.

16...Rc8 17.f3 Ng3 18.Rf2 Re8

19.Rc2

Resorting to my usual "If defending seems too difficult, attack somewhere else" plan. Here, it's inferior to the desperado 19.Nexc6!? bxc6 20.Qd3.

19...Bxd4

According to Will, at this point I'm forcing him to do what he wants to do anyway. 19...Rxe5?! 20.Rxc5 Nf5 21.Nxf5 Rxf5 22.Bd2 gives up black's edge.

20.exd4 f6

The moment is right for a strategic reset: 20...Nf5 21.Qd3 Qh4.

21.Nd3?

This is where the game begins to fall apart for me, as I fail to realize that once my knight is no longer blocking the e-file, my c2-rook can no longer stop Will's knight incursion without losing the exchange. This is where my "If defending seems too difficult, attack somewhere else" plan is the right one: 21.Bf4 fxe5 22.Bxg3 exd4 23.Rd1 gives me a respite. I consider it briefly but give it up because I'm worried about what Will's marauding pawn can do -- not realizing that, after 23.Rd1, it can't do anything more, while I enjoy the positional advantages of connected pawns and a superior bishop.

21...Ne2+ 22.Kh1??

A suicidal decision. I have to give up the exchange with 22.Rxe2 Rxe2 23.Qd1.

22...Nxd4

Owww. Even the best defense, after this point, isn't enough to save me.

23.Qc3 Nxc2 24.Qxc2 Bb5 25.Qb3 Bxd3 26.Qxd3?

This is where it ends.

26...Re1+! 0-1

The only way to parry the coup de grâce is 26.Bf4 Bc2 27.Qd1.

Avenge me, Shawn!

S.Prue–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Jan. 11, 2011

1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e4 Bb4? 4.Nd5 Ba5?

Shawn's weird move order seems to have thrown Will off.

5.Bc4 Nf6 6.0-0 0-0 7.d4

7...exd4

7...Nxd5 8.exd5 Nxd4 9.Nxe5, as strange as it looks, is better for black.

8.Bg5

Stronger than picking off the pawn with 8.Nxd4?! Nxe4 9.Nb3 d6.

8...d6 9.Qe2

Now, however, the pickoff 9.Nxd4 makes sense, because Will can no longer return the favor with 9...Nxe4.

9...Bg4 10.a3

A solution to a nonexistent problem. Will's threat is not 10...Nb4 but 10...Ne5, freeing his c-pawn to kick Shawn's knight. A farsighted solution is 10.Qd3!?, after which 10...Ne5? leads to 11.Nxe5 dxe5 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Qg3, radiating evil down the g-file. If black still plays 10...Nb4, then 11.Nxb4 Bxb4 12.Nxd4 takes care of things.

10...Ne5 11.b4 Bb6 12.Bxf6?

Shawn needs to think about putting a rook on the d-file.

12...gxf6 13.a4 Bxf3

Better is 13...f5!? 14.a5 c6 15.axb6 cxd5 (15...Nxc4?! 16.Nc7 Bxf3 17.gxf3 is slightly better for white) 16.Bxd5 Nxf3+ 17.gxf3 Bh3 -- advantage black.

14.gxf3 c5

An overreach. 14...c6!? 15.Nxb6 Qxb6 is more solid.

15.Kh1 Kh8

Will: "I agree with you!"

16.f4

The piece to kick is Will's bishop: 16.a5 Bc7 17.c3 dxc3, regaining a slight edge. 17...Nxc4 is inadvisable: 18.Qxc4 f5 19.cxd4 (but 19.bxc5 dxc5 20.Qxc5 Be5).

16...Nxc4 17.Qxc4 Rg8

The obvious strategic move, but what's Shawn going to do about 17...cxb4!? ?

18.Rg1 Rg6

The glamor of that open file seems to be keeping both Shawn and Will from seeing the pivotal roles to be played by the pawn advances a5 and ...f5 between moves 13 and 19.

19.Rxg6 fxg6 20.Rg1 Rc8 21.f5 gxf5 22.a5

Aha!

22...cxb4

Not 22...fxe4 23.axb6 axb6 24.Qe2.

23.Qxb4

At this point, all Shawn is threatening to do is to pick up a piece for free -- and maybe promote a pawn, if Will isn't careful. But Will makes two fateful decisions that turn it into something much, much worse.

23...Rxc2??

23...Qe8 casts the game into the repetition-draw vortex: 24.Qxd6 Qxe4+ 25.Rg2 Qe1+ 26.Rg1 Qe4+ 27.Rg2 Qe1+ 28.Rg1 Qe4+ ½-½.

24.axb6 a5 25.Qxd4 Qe8?? 26.Qxf6# 1-0

The moral of the story: Even strong players are well advised to look for the checks.

Game of the Week: Championship Edition

2010-12-22T09:01:00.005-06:00

According to the USCF December rating supplement, I'm rated an intimidating 937. Will Engel -- our club titan and now rated champ -- is rated 1760. I didn't hold out much hope going into this round, but I thought, "I've made enough noise about how much I hate playing against the Dutch . . . maybe he'll use the Dutch against me." And so I spent a couple of hours before last night's game studying up on the Dutch.

After I opened 1.d4, Will said, "I know what I could do, but I'm not going to do that to you." He played a Semi-Slav. Doh!

K.Ammann–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club Championship (3)

Freeport, Ill., Dec. 21, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf6 e6!?

Will postpones ...Nf6, presumably for the extra tempo.

4.Nc3 dxc4!? 5.a4 Bb4 6.Bd2?

My first opening stumble. I was concerned about being unable to use the knight and/or my b-pawn to break down Will's pawn structure on the queenside. But the book line is 6.e3 b5 and only then 7.Be2 (if black plays anything else on move 6, white can then take on c4 right away).

6...Bxc3 7.Bxc3

Preserving freedom of movement and the ability to break down Will's queenside pawns with b3.

7...Ne7

Will's first opening stumble. There's no good reason to play anything except 7...Nf6, especially with my queen's knight gone.

8.e4 b5 9.b3 cxb3

At this point, I need to remain calm and realize that the pawn on b3 has nowhere to go, not with my bishop on c3. The key square is b5: if I play 10.axb5, I win my pawn back and enjoy a significant positional advantage. Unfortunately, I go into a momentary fog and fail to realize the importance of the move order.

10...bxa4 11.Qxa4 0-0 12.Bc4 Nd7 13.0-0 Nb6 14.Qa2 Nxc4 15.Qxc4 a5

Remarkably, according to Fritz, my development is so good that, despite being a pawn down, I still have the advantage. Can't have that. I'd better do something about it.

16.Ne5??

I've overlooked the potential skewer along the a5–f1 diagonal, which 16.Qc5 sidesteps. Will hasn't -- in fact, it's probably why he played 15...a5 -- and wrests the advantage away from me.

16...Ba6

At this point, having twice failed to spot tactical shots against me that I feel I should have been aware of, I force myself to slow down and look for a constructive way out of this mess. What I eventually discover is a nice bit of counterplay that keeps things from getting any worse than they already are.

17.Bxa5 Bxc4 18.Bxd8 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 Rxd8 20.Nxc4

Amazingly, I've even managed to win back the pawn I was down! But while before I was materially down but had an advantage owing to better position, the situation is reversed: We're materially equal, but Will has the better position and the advantage now.

The question in my mind is what to do about my d-pawn. Just as I realize that Will can't take it -- if he does, then 21.Ra8 leads to a back-rank mate -- he makes one quiet little move that says, "Yes, I can."

20...f6

Now his king has an escape square, and the mate is mooted.

21.Rd1 c5 22.d5 exd5 23.exd5 Rxd5

Not 23...Nxd5? 24.Ne3, which turns the tables.

24.Rxd5

Being down a pawn again, I probably shouldn't be chasing trades. But at this point, I'm thinking about the endgame -- specifically, that if I can get the rooks off the board, it might be easier for me to obtain a draw. This is going to take some doing, since the passed pawn that Will now has gives him a decisive advantage.

24...Nxd5

25.g3 Kf7 26.f4 Ke6 27.Kf2 Nb4 28.Ne3 f5 29.Ke2 Nc6 30.Kd3 Na5

I'm not doing badly at all here, but I'm starting to get a little frustrated. Where is my break going to come from? I can't trade knights until our pawns are equal, and I shouldn't sacrifice my knight unless I can be certain that either his knight will go or his last pawn will. Meanwhile, Will's paired pawns on c5 and f5 prevent any sort of a breakthrough. Rather than continue to dance around, I take a gamble.

31.g4?! fxg4 32.Nxg4

I'm better off seizing the opening with 32.Ke4.

32...Kf5

Ouch. Now I'm going to be two pawns down if I'm not careful. Looking at the arrangement of Will's pawns, I get a new idea: working my way around to e6 for a fork.

33.Ne5 Kxf4

With my f-pawn immobilized, Will can humiliate me with 33...g5!? 34.Nf3 Kxf4.

34.Nd7 Nb7 35.Nf8 Kg4 36.Nxh7 Nd6

New problem: I can't get to e6 anymore. If I play 37.Nf8, then 37...Kf5 guards the square. This is, in fact, my best course of action, despite the concomitant failure of my plan. Desperate, I try to pull Will's king away from where I want my knight to go.

37.h3+?? Kh4

Will should simply take the pawn.

38.Kc3??

My endgame-sense is failing me. Which pawn is Will going to try to promote, the one far from his king or the one near it? I should simply play 38.Nf8, now that Will can't cover e6 with his king anymore.

38...Kxh3 39.Ng5+ Kg4

39...Kh4!? makes hash of my fork plan by covering g5 so that Will's g-pawn can make a dash for it: 40.Ne6 g5 41.Nxc5 g4.

40.Ne6 g5 41.Nxc5 Kf3 42.Nd3 Ke3 43.Ne5 Ne4+ 44.Kc4 Nf2

Just one pawn to go. How to get in front of it?

45.Ng6??

Not like this. 45.Nf7!, despite looking completely ineffectual, achieves the draw because of 45...g4 46.Nh6 g3 47.Nf5+ Kf4 48.Nxg3.

45...g4 46.Nh4 Nd1 47.Ng2+?! Kf2

47...Ke4 48.Nh4 holds on.

48.Nf4 Kf3 49.Nh5 Ke4??

Immediately after making this move, Will sheepishly extends his hand and says, "You see it, don't you?" And I do: The fork 50.Nf6+ Kf4 51.Nxg4 wins the last pawn.

½-½

And so it was that I achieved my goal for the evening by fighting Will to a draw, and that Will won the well-deserved title of Route 20 Chess Club rated champion on the tiebreak. Congratulations also to Ryan Ekvall, our unrated champion. Complete crosstables are on our Tournament Results page.

No meeting Dec. 28 or Jan. 4 -- happy holidays, and see you next year!

Round 3 games in Chessbase format: Route 20 CC Ch 3.cbv

Game of the Week: Championship Edition

2010-12-15T10:24:00.007-06:00

Round 2, and a clean sweep: the players with white won every game. This week's games, for some reason, were short, the longest of them lasting only 36 moves. One was a TKO, two were alley brawls . . . but this one had a whiff of aikido about it. And I'm not just saying that because I won.

K.Ammann–D.Velazco

Route 20 Chess Club Championship (2)

Freeport, Ill., Dec. 14, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5?!

Ahh, the Albin Counter-Gambit. It always gives me a warm feeling, because despite having amassed more than enough grandpatzer norms to qualify for the title, I've never lost against this one.

3.dxe5 dxc4?

3...d4 is book, and necessary to avoid a premature dislocation of black's king.

4.Qxd8+ Kxd8 5.Nc3 Bb4

6.Bd2

I thought about this one for a while. 6.Nf3 is a straightforward developing move, but it doesn't accomplish anything else, and if there's one thing I learned playing go that has an application to chess, it's to look for moves that serve more than one purpose. 6.Bg5+ is easily dodged, so I skipped past it in favor of 6.Bd2, which not only breaks the pin on my queen's knight but also gives me a chance to set up 7.Rd1, with the potential follow-up 8.Bg5+! Ke8 9.Rd8#. And even if Demetrio doesn't give me that gift, breaking the pin allows me to play e4 without having to fear ...Nf6.

But it turns out, 6.Bg5+ is like the guy next door who always seemed real quiet and never bothered anyone: 6...Be7 7.Rd1+ Ke8 8.Bxe7 Nxe7, and black's development is found dismembered in the backyard. What to do next? How about picking off that loose pawn (9.e4 a6 10.Bxc4), then trading down (10...Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6) and finally taking aim at black's newly weakened pawn (12.f4)?

6...Nc6

6...Be6 7.e4 Kc8 8.f4 keeps me from running amok.

7.Rd1

I considered castling queenside but decided I didn't like the placement of my king on c1. Fritz, however, strongly prefers 7.0-0-0 -- no doubt because of the importance of getting my king off the b4–e1 diagonal.

7...Bd7 8.Nf3 Nge7 9.e4 Na5?

Demetrio wants to keep me from picking up his c-pawn, but his knight will remain literally marginalized for the rest of the game. An alternative that maintains equality is 9...Ng6 10.a3 Bc5 11.Na4.

10.Nd5

Thinking that if I can entice Demetrio to trade knights, I can undouble my center pawns. But I'm better off just kicking the bishop: 10.a3 Bc5 11.e6 fxe6 12.Ne5. Black is a pawn up, but white has all kinds of tactical shots, such as 12...Nec6 13.Bg5+ Kc8 14.Nxd7.

10...Nec6??

Bad call -- the b4-bishop is lost. Better is 10...Bxd2+ 11.Nxd2 Ng6 12.Bxc4 Nxe5. But even after that, my formation is way prettier, and I can slip out of the almost-but-not-quite-deadly counterattack with 13.Be2.

11.Bxb4

With the center wide open, 11.Nxb4 is the better capture.

11...Nxb4 12.Nxb4 c6 13.Ng5

A good move, but 13.e6!, which wins a piece, is better: 13...fxe6 14.Ne5 Ke8 15.Rxd7.

13...Ke7 14.Be2

14.Nxf7 tempts black into a trap: 14...Kxf7?? 15.Rxd7+ Kg6 f4, and black's king is wandering alone through a dangerous no-man's land. Black must therefore call white's bluff with 14...Bg4 15.Nxh8 Bxd1 Kxd1 Rxh8, but even after that, white has an active piece and can easily bring in two more, while black's are all passive.

14...Rhd8 15.0-0

Perfectly adequate -- but 15.Nxh7 is a freebie. However, I'm thinking that I need to activate my last piece and get my king into his bunker -- I've put it off long enough.

15...h6 16.e6

16.Nf3 is more solid, but I'm trying to put Demetrio on tilt. Plus, if he plays 16...fxe6, I no longer have doubled pawns, while he's got an isolated one; while if he plays 16...Bxe6, I reply 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Nc2, and I've still improved the pawn situation.

16...fxe6 17.Nh3

Yeah, yeah, a knight on the rim. But I'm seeing some potential on the f-file, and I don't want to plug it up.

17...e5?

This is my lucky break, although it looks like all I've done is leave my knight in the line of fire of Demetrio's bishop. But Demetrio had a tactic in 17...c5!? 18.Nc2 Ba4.

18.f4 exf4?!

18...Bxh3 19.gxh3 Rxd1 20.Bxd1 Rd8 21.fxe5 Rd2 hurts me a little. Not much, but a little. 18...exf4, on the other hand, is a thank-you move.

19.Nxf4

No more doubled pawn problem, and my knight is off the rim and out of danger. I'm feeling good.

19...c5

At this point, Demetrio spots some kind of tactic that he believes will take me apart -- perhaps some form of the one he had two moves ago. But the death blow arrives so fast, he doesn't even see it coming. (If he had, he'd have parried it with 19...Be8.)

20.Ng6+ Ke6 21.Bg4# 1-0

Demetrio stares at the board for a moment, unable to believe it's over already. Then, a good sport, he smiles and shakes on it.

Round 2 games in Chessbase format: Route 20 CC Ch 2.cbv

Game of the Week: Championship Edition

2010-12-11T18:46:00.005-06:00

The Route 20 Chess Club end-of-year championship is under way, and the first round has offered up a number of potential games of the week, such as Demetrio Velazco's doomed outing against Will Engel -- rated 825 points higher -- in which, despite an opening error that put him permanently behind, he fought on gamely and accurately for another 22 moves; and Gary Sargent and Steve McWhirter's slow and delicately balanced game, which ended in a sudden tactical knockout. But perhaps the most interesting game came from the unrated side:

S.Prue–R.Ekvall

Route 20 Chess Club Championship (1)

Freeport, Ill., Dec. 7, 2010

1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4?

If you asked that bishop, it would tell you it really wanted to be on g5.

3...Nc6 4.Nb5 e5?!

Strangely enough, this move is not the novelty . . .

5.dxe5 Ne4 6.e6 Bd6 7.Nh3

. . . this one is. Aside from the fundamental peculiarity of that knight move, Shawn misses a magnificent opportunity to win two more pawns by not playing 7.exf7+ Kf8 8.Nxd6 Nxd6 9.Qxd5.

7...Bxf4

Why not 7...fxe6, restoring material equality? Oh, and preventing 8.exf7+?

8.Nxf4

8.exf7+!? still dangles there, temptingly.

8...Bxe6

Whoops, not anymore.

9.e3 a6 10.Nc3

It's getting hot around d5.

10...Qf6

Misses the point. Playing 10...Nxc3 11.bxc3 first before 11...Qf6 is necessary to keep Shawn from jumping in and seizing d5 . . .

11.Nh3??

. . . unless Shawn decides not to do that. Too bad, because 11.Ncxd5 Qe5 12.c4 Bxd5 13.Qxd5 is an intriguing possibility. But now it's going to be Ryan's game for a while.

11...Nxc3 12.Qd3 Nb4

12...Ne4 is much better: 13.0-0-0 (threatening 14.Qxb2) Bxh3 14.gxh3 Nxf2 15.Qd2 and black has nothing to complain about.

13.Qd2 0-0 14.a3??

Instead of threatening to take a knight with a pawn, why doesn't Shawn just take a knight with a pawn (14.bxc3 Bxh3 15.gxh3)?

14...Qe7 15.Qxc3 Nc6 16.Bd3?

16.0-0-0 is the best option Shawn has. There's no better place for that rook, and no safer place for his king.

What's Ryan's best move now? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

16...d4! The implicit threat is 17.exd4 Bxh3+! with a discovered check. Therefore, this is not how white should respond; the best answer is 17.Qd2 Bxh3 18.gxh3 Rae8. This can be played in another order too: 16...Bxh3 17.gxh3 d4 18.Qd2 Rae8.

17.Qd2 Rad8 18.0-0

The development idea is all right, but activating that wallflower knight -- and getting it out from under the bishop's eye -- with 18.Nf4!? is something that should be done sooner rather than later.

18...Bxh3

See?

19.gxh3 Qg5+ 20.Kh1 Ne5??

An awful square for that knight, because of the unpleasant pawn fork 21.f4.

21.Qe2?? Rg1?? 22.Ng4??

We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.

23...b5

It seems kind of pointless to level all that firepower at e3, then not do anything with it. 23...dxe3 24.fxe3 Rxe3 25.Qf2 is authoritative.

24.Rae1 c5 25.c4??

If there's an exchange on the e-file, that queen is going to be in an uncomfortable spot. 25.Qf3 is a useful preventive measure. After 25.c4, Ryan has the en passant capture 25...dxc3, followed by 26...c4, forcing Shawn's bishop to face some existential questions.

25...Re7??

Ryan makes the last blunder of this series, and Shawn has emerged with the advantage.

26.cxb5 Rde8 27.Qf3 dxe3 28.bxa6 exf2 29.Qxf2 Qd5+ 30.Be4

30.Qg2 is a surprise killer: if black plays 30...Qxd3??, white replies 31.Rxe7!! (31...Rxe7?? 32.Qa8+ Qd8 33.Qxd8+ Re8 34.Qxe8#). Black's best option is to trade queens and rooks for leverage: 30...Qxg2+ 31.Kxg2 Rxe1 32.Rxe1 Rxe1 33.a7.

30...Rxe4 31.Rxe4 Rxe4 32.Qf3 c4 33.Rd1??

Disaster! 33.Rf1 is just fine -- white's position holds plenty of promise. But 33.Rd1 is a blunder that black can exploit. What does Ryan play? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

33...Re1+!! wins a piece by forcing Shawn to answer the check: 34.Kg2 (34.Rxe1 Qxf3+) 34...Rxd1

35.Kg3

35.Qxd5 Rxd5 seems awful, but what else is there?

35...Rd3 36.Kf2

36.Qxd3 only postpones the inevitable: 36...cxd3 37.b4 d2 38.a7 d1Q 39.a8Q+ Qxa8 40.Kh4 Qe1+ 41.Kh5 Qd5+ 42.g5 Qdd1#.

37.Ke1 Qe4+ 38.Kd1 Rf2 39.Kc1 Qc2# 0-1

Round 1 games in Chessbase format: Route 20 CC ch.cbv*

* Does not include K.Conter–M.Kearney, which was not recorded.

Game of the Week

2010-11-24T10:42:00.004-06:00

In which Steve McWhirter comes tantalizingly close to ending Will Engel's reign of terror.

S.McWhirter–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Nov. 23, 2010

1.d4 f5

I hate playing against the Dutch. Glad it's Steve and not me.

2.c4 Nf6 3.Bg5?!

More typical white third moves are Nc3, Nf3 and g3. This move promptly launches the game out of book, although not into completely unexplored territory: according to ChessBase, Vladimir Raičević used it to beat GM Slobodan Martinović in Valjevo, Yugoslavia, in 1984. So there.

3...d6 4.Bxf6 gxf6

May 4...exf6 be slightly better?

5.Nc3 e5 6.e3 Qe7 7.Qh5+ Kd8 8.Nd5

Steve can solidify his advantage by castling queenside instead.

8...Qg7 9.g3 Na6

By playing 9...c6, Will can kick out Steve's knight and obtain equality.

10.Bh3

The arrangement of Steve's pawns suggests queenside activity, not kingside. What about 10.b4!?, taking a big bite of space? If 10...c6, Steve can counterattack with with 11.b5.

10...c6 11.Nc3 Qg6 12.Qe2

12...Bh6

Will is setting up to push his f-pawn. An interesting alternative is to play 12...exd4!? first, trading pawns, then play ...Bh6.

13.Nf3 f4

This alarming-looking move is actually not bad for Steve at all, because his misplaced kingside bishop gets to go out in a blaze of glory, taking out its counterpart on c8. Does Will have an alternative? Well, there's 13...exd4 14.Nxd4 (14.exd4?? is terrible because of 14...Re8) 14...f4 15.Bxc8 Kxc8 16.gxf4 (again, not 16.exf4? because of 16...Re8 17.Ne6 Nc5) 16...Bxf4 17.0-0-0 (17.exf4 is not as good because of -- you guessed it! -- 17...Re8).

14.Bxc8 Rxc8

Surprisingly, 14...Kxc8 really is better. Will can't castle anymore anyway, and 14...Kxc8 pulls his king just a little farther out of harm's way.

15.0-0

What? This is mystifying. Why put the king on the g-file when Will's queen is staring straight down it? In this case, castling does not provide king safety. Why not play 15.gxf4, threatening dxe5, 0-0-0 (with potential check) and Rhg1, instead?

15...fxe3 16.fxe3 Re8

It's as if both players are trying their darnedest not to allow any path to open up through the center, even if they can do it in an advantageous way.

17.d5

Finally some movement in the center. Steve is looking good. Will, perhaps feeling the pressure, makes a couple of eyebrow-raising moves in reply.

17...Nb4?

There's a pin combo in 17...Qg4 and 18...e4. Perhaps the point of Will's 17th move is to prepare 18...Qd3 or 18...Qc2, but both are easily thwarted by Steve's playing 18.e4.

18.Nh4 Qg5?

The welcome mat is out, but Will doesn't accept the invitation. Now the door slams.

19.Nf5 Kc7 20.Rad1

The e4-square is huge huge huge, yet neither Steve nor Will has moved to occupy it since move 15. Why the blind spot? 20.Ne4! Qg6 21.Nexd6 Bf8 22.Nxc8 Kxc8 is devastating for Steve.

20...Rcd8?

Why? Why? 20...e4. Come on, please?

21.a3 Na6 22.Ne4

Finally!

22...Qg6 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.Nexd6 Re6

Steve is only a pawn up in material, but positionally, he's dominating the board. Now he has an incredible (but complicated) tactical opportunity: 25.c5!! dares Will to take the pawn, and Will cannot but accept the dare with 25...Nxc5, whereupon 26.Qc4 forks rook and knight. The line proceeds 26...Rdxd6 27.Qxc5 Qxf5 28.Qxa7+ Kc8 29.Rxd6 Qxf1+ (29...Rxd6?? 30.Rxf5) 30.Kxf1 Rxd6, and Steve finishes with a queen and a pawn against a rook and a bishop (diagram).

In reality, it doesn't happen quite that way.

25.Nxh6 Rexd6 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.Nf5 Rd8

The position is still significantly better for Steve -- in particular, Will's knight is awfully placed -- but the path to victory is murky.

28.e4 Qg5 29.Ne3

Oh, no. Steve's knight is spooked off a secure outpost square, and the pressure begins to bleed off. Compare this submissive move with the iron-fisted 29.Rd1 Nc5 30.Rxd8 Kxd8 31.Qd1+ Nd7. The pawns can take it from there.

29...Rd4 30.Rf5 Qh6 31.Rh5

Not bad per se . . . but if I had a rook, I don't think that's the part of the board I'd want it on.

31...Qg6 32.Nf5

Back where it belongs.

32...Rxe4 33.Qxe4 Qh5

Steve's pawn advantage is gone now. Positionally, the main thing he has going for him is Will's passively placed knight.

34.b4

This second-best move is the crack that Will needs to claw his way back into the game.

34...Qd1+

34.Qd3 would have suppressed this move. Now, suddenly, Steve is on the defensive.

35.Kg2 Qb3 36.b5

Only 36.Qe3 Qxe3 37.Nxe3 maintains a meaningful advantage.

36...cxb5 37.Qd5??

What will it profit him to save a pawn and forfeit a knight? By taking protection off c2, Steve permits the king-knight fork 37...Qc2+.

37...Qxc4

This is nearly as bad, since Will has now gone from being one pawn down to two pawns up.

38.Qd6+ Kb7 39.Qd7+ Kb6

40.Qd6+??

40.Qd8+ Nc7 41.Qxf6+ Qe6 42.Qf8 might hold on for a while. As it is, it's going to go downhill rapidly from here.

40...Qc6+ 41.Qxc6+ Kxc6+ 42.Kf3 b4 43.axb4 Nxb4 44.Ke4 Kc5 45.h4 a5 46.Ne3 a4 47.Nd1 Nd5 48.Kd3

48...e4+! 49.Kxe4 a3 0-1

Game of the Week

2010-11-18T08:18:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted one of my own games in a while.

K.Conter–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Nov. 16, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3

It's funny: I coach a team of middle school players, and one of them was confronted with exactly this unusual line at the Illinois Chess Association All-Grade Championship this past weekend. He replied by mirroring his opponent. I decided to take a different approach: turning it into a sort of Grünfeldy thing.

3...g6 4.e4 Bg7

Hewing a little too closely to my plan. I should have examined 4...dxe4!? before fianchettoing the bishop.

5.e5 Ne4 6.Ng5

There's also 6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.Ng5.

6...0-0

For some reason, I perseverate on the "threat" of Nxf7 (not really a threat yet, since without backup it throws away a knight for a pawn) and fail to notice that my knight is under attack. 6...Nxc3!? 7.bxc3 c5 is my best option.

7.Ngxe4 dxe4 8.Nxe4

Now I'm a pawn down. A cunning plan is required.

8...Bf5 9.Nc5

9.Ng3 forces the bishop back.

9...b6 10.Nb7??

This is a stroke of luck for me. My queen can easily sidestep the attack, after which the knight has nowhere to go.

10...Qd7 (10...Qd5 may be more direct) 11.Bf4 Be4 12.f3

The knight is toast. Ken may as well force me to double my pawns on the a-file on the way out: 12.Na5 bxa5 13.f3 Bb7. By itself, 12.f3 is a thank-you move, "forcing" me to do what I intend to do anyway.

12...Bxb7 13.Qd2 c5 14.0-0-0 Nc6

I'm eager to catch up on development, but I can win back my pawn with 14...Qa4 15.Kb1 Rd8 16.Bd3 cxd4.

15.dxc5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 bxc5

This move isn't obviously bad unless you read a few more moves down the line: 17.e6 fxe6 18.Be3 and the c-pawn is vulnerable.

17.Bc4 Nxe5 18.Bd5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 f6 20.b3

I guess this is to prevent ...Nc4, but the pawn pickup 20.Rxc5 is a freebie. Following up with 20...Rfc8 21.Rxc8+ Rxc8 22.Bxe5 fxe5 brings us quickly into the endgame. In this variation I'm up a piece for a pawn, but my doubled e-pawns look awful.

20...c4 21.b4 e6 22.Rd6

22...Rfe8

There's something to be said for 22...Rfb8!? -- "Here, go ahead, have my e-pawn." If the bait is taken, 23.Rxe6 Rxb4 24.Bd2 c3 25.Bxc3 Bh6+ 26.Bd2 Rab8 27.Bxh6 Rb1+ 28.Kd2 Rxh1 is decisive, winning the exchange.

23.g4 Nxf3 24.Rf1 Ne5

24...e5 is better. "Sure, take my knight. And I'll have your bishop, thanks." After 25.Rxf3 exf4, the pawn capture 26.Rxf4?? steps into a pin, 26...Bh6.

25.g5 f5 26.h3 Nf7 27.Re1 Nxd6

Obvious, right? But 27...e5 is even more brutal: if white doesn't move off with 28.Rd7, he loses the rook anyway, and if he does, he loses the bishop after 28...exf4.

28.Bxd6 Rad8 29.Bc7 Rd7 30.Bf4

30...e5

I should get the bishop out first: 30...Bc3!? 31.Rd1 e5 32.Bg3 (32.Rxd7 exf4 33.Rd3 cxd3) 32...Rxd1+ 33.Kxd1 Rd8+ 34.Ke2 Rd2+ 35.Kf3 Rxc2 and white has no hope left.

31.Bh2 c3 32.Re2 Rd2

This powerful-looking move is actually a setback. Better is 32...a5 33.b5 (33.bxa5 allows 33...Rb8 34.Rd2 Rxd2 35.Bf4 exf4 36.a4 [36.a6 Rb1+ 37.Kxb1 Rd1#; 36.a3 Bf8 37.h4 Bxa3#] Rh2 37.Kd1 [37.a4 Rh1#] 37...Rb1#) 33...Bf8 34.a4 Red8. You saw that, I'm sure.

33.Rxd2 cxd2+ 34.Kxd2 Rd8+ 35.Kc1

Is it wise to run back into the corner? Now I'm going to use my rook to keep Ken's king away from my advancing pawn.

35...f4 36.a4 f3 37.Bg1 Rf8

A player with a more wicked imagination might see 37...e4 38.Bxa7 Bd4!, forcing the exchange of bishops -- 39.Bxd4 Rxd4 -- and sacrificing the rook in favor of a brutal two-queen finale, 40.c3 f2 41.cxd4 f1Q+ 42.Kc2 Qd3+ 43.Kb2 e3 44.Ka2 e2 45.d5 e1Q 46.d6 Qeb1#.

38.b5 f2 39.Bxf2 Rxf2 40.a5 Rf4 41.b6 axb6 42.axb6 Rb4 43.c3 Rxb6 44.Kc2 Rd6 45.c4 e4 46.c5 Rd5 47.c6 Be5 48.Kb3 e3 49.Kb4 e2 50.Kc4 Rd1 51.Kc5 e1Q 52.c7 Bxc7 53.Kc6 Qc3+ 54.Kb7 Bh2

You're not hiding behind me!

55.Ka8 Rb1 56.Ka7 Qa3# 0-1

Game of the Week

2010-11-12T07:20:00.002-06:00

I've heard it said that chess games are won by whoever makes the second-to-last mistake. It was true of a lot of our games this week, including this one.

G.Sargent–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Nov. 9, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6?!

A passive alternative to 3...a6. If you're going to open up a pin on yourself, you should have a good reason.

4.d4 Bd7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Nc3 exd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.Qxd4 c5 10.Qe3 g6

11.e5?!

This has to be seen as bad, if only because it takes a decisive positional and development advantage and undermines its certainty. With a little advance preparation (11.Re1; 11.Qf3, 12.Rd1), the move e5 greatly increases in power.

11...Ng4

Steve gains a tempo, and now there's nothing backing up that e-pawn.

12.e6

Answering a threat with a counter-threat . . . and throwing away the advantage. Black, not white, will control the center now. Gary can avoid that sort of trouble by sidestepping the attacking knight with 12.Qg3 (or the slightly inferior 12.Qe2 or 12.Qf3). Regardless of which of those moves Gary chooses, Steve's best follow-up is to castle queenside.

12...Qxe6

12...fxe6 is slightly better. Why not 12...Nxe3, threatening to win the exchange? Because 13.exd7+ Kxd7 14.fxe3 wins a knight for a pawn, ruins black's chances of castling, reestablishes white in the center and opens up a file for white's king's rook. Danger: high voltage!

13.Qxe6+

Trading queens leaves a muddled position in which Steve, with his block of center pawns and his advanced knight, now has the advantage.

13...fxe6 14.Re1 Ne5 15.Ne4 Be7

Gary, as white, has a move that holds the line against Steve. What is it? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

16.Nxc5 Nf3+

Slightly better is 16...Kf7 17.Ne4. Steve can't play 16...dxc5 because of 17.Rxe5.

17.gxf3 dxc5 18.Rxe6

18...Kd7 19.Re4 Rhf8 20.Kg2 Rae8 21.Bh6 Rf5

The momentum begins to shift Gary's way again.

22.Rd1+ Kc6 23.Rg4

And the fish is let off the hook. The rook lift 23.Rd3 is significantly stronger. Now the game is starting to look drawish.

23...Bf6 24.c3 Re2

25.Bf8??

What's that about? This move overlooks the major positional threat of Steve's seventh-rank rook -- and the straightforward solution 25.Rd2 Rxd2 26.Bxd2. 25.Rb1 works also.

25...Rd5??

Returns the favor. 25...Rxb2 wins, period.

26.Rxd5 Kxd5 27.c4+ Kc6 28.Re4 Rxe4 29.fxe4 Bxb2

Heading back into Drawishland, with one point in Steve's favor: His pawns are all joined. Gary's are mostly isolated. But Gary repeatedly passes up the ramming shot a4 -- maybe because he's not sure he can stop Steve from promoting a passed pawn?

30.Bh6 Be5 31.f4 Bd4 32.Kf3 b5 33.cxb5+ Kxb5 34.f5

34.e5 offers better chances . . .

34...gxf5

. . . as does ignoring the f-pawn. In this lineup (diagram), both sides are in "pawn zugzwang." Capturing either of the middle pawns gives the opponent a passed pawn he didn't have before, while the bishops stand guard to pick off any would-be escapee who makes a break for the fence.

35.exf5 c4?

In this instance, following the dictum "Passed pawns must be pushed" is a mistake. Gary's bishop covers the c-pawn's promotion square, and without 35...Kc6 to block his king, he can try to slip into Steve's territory with 36.Ke4 and 37.Kd5 and alter the balance of power on the kingside.

36.Ke4 Bf6 37.a3??

A beautiful victory plan left lying in the gutter. 37.Kd5 c3 38.Ke6 almost guarantees that the f-pawn will promote -- for instance, 38...Bd4 39.f6 c2 40.f7 Bc5 41.Kd7 Kc4 42.Ke8 Kc3 43.Bc1 h5 44.f8Q.

37...a5

37...Bb2 is enough. That a-pawn has nowhere to go.

38.Bf8??

A game-ending blunder if Steve plays it right. The c-pawn's promotion square is no longer covered.

38...h5

38...Ka4!? is better. Even though Gary is defending the a-pawn with his bishop, this king move means that bishop can never leave its post. Gary will quickly find himself trying to fend off too many threats at once.

39.Bd6?

Still passing up the chance to invade with 39.Kd5. If Steve makes a break for it with 39...c3, then 40.Bh6 Ka4 41.Ke6 Bd4 42.Bc1 adroitly takes care of the problem.

39...Kc6??

39...Ka4 is still the better move, because Gary is running out of options. If he plays 40.Kd5 now, 40...c3 works: 41.Bf4 Kxa3 42.Kc4 c2 43.Bc1+ Bb2, and Gary can stop either the a-pawn or the c-pawn but not both; 41.h3 Bg5 42.f6 Bxf6 43.Bf4 Kxa3; and pretty much anything else Gary tries will be answered by 41...c2 42.Bf4 Kxa3.

40.Be5??

40.Bf4, getting back on the c1-h6 diagonal, is Gary's only chance to hold the draw. Anything else gives Steve a crack he can eventually pry open, but 40.Be5 is practically a capitulation, as the endgame makes clear.

40...Bxe5! 41.Kxe5 c3 42.f6 Kd7 43.f7 Ke7 44.Kd4 c2 45.Kd3 c1Q 46.f8Q+ Kxf8 47.a4 Qa3+ 48.Ke2 Qxa4 49.Kf3 Qb3+ 50.Kg2 a4 51.Kf1 a3 52.Kg1 a2 53.Kg2 a1Q 54.h3 Qba2+ 0-1

National Chess Day Delayed Blast

2010-10-24T09:07:00.006-05:00

Whether because of the early morning rain, the simultaneous scheduling of the North American Chess Association's G/60 Championship in Skokie or both, turnout for our National Chess Day Delayed Blast Open Swiss was paltry, and as a result it was shortened to three rounds. However, we made up for it in our rated beginners' open, which drew 16 participants. Ten players in the RBO and two in the open Swiss were previously unrated. (Several membership checks have to be mailed in and processed, so the tournament will be rated around midweek. Patience, grasshoppers!)

Will Engel is no longer the Route 20 Chess Club's newest member -- several players joined at the tournament -- but he's still our toughest. Here's his game against second-place open finisher Kelsen Alexander of Madison, his only draw alongside two wins.

K.Alexander–W.Engel

National Chess Day Delayed Blast

Freeport, Ill., Oct. 23, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4

Strong grandmasters have played 3...B4, including Lautier, Ehlvest and Korchnoi. However, none of them has a winning record with it. In most cases, white simply ignores the bishop and continues developing with 4.Nf3.

4.Bd2 Nf6 5.Nf3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Qa4

7...Bd7 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Bb5

Black, about to castle, is looking a little better here. White can subtly refocus his line of fire by way of 10.Qb3 d4 11.exd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4, maintaining equality.

10...0-0 11.0-0 Rc8 12.Rac1 Re8

Now's a good moment to kick the bishop with 12...a6.

13.Nxd5

Clever. Although it's probable that black will recapture with the king's knight, if for some reason he doesn't, 14.Ba5! traps the queen.

13...Nxd5

The obvious play, but there's also 13...Ne4!?, simultaneously attacking the d2-bishop and defending the c5-bishop.

14.Rxc5

It's looking good for Kelsen.

14...Nb6 15.Qc2 a6 16.Bxc6 Bxc6

Better to recapture with the rook, 16...Rxc6 17.Rc1 Qe7.

17.Ne5??

This move leaves Kelsen vulnerable to a slick king-exposing attack by which black can restore equality: 17...Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Rxe5 (the white rook on c5 is pinned) 19.Rxc8 Nxc8 (not 19...Qxc8 20.Qxc8 Nxc8 21.Rc1, which is still better for white). It also passes up a chance to take advantage of his pieces' activity, 17.Ng5 g6 18.Ba5.

17...Re6??

The idea behind Will's move is unclear.

18.Rd1??

Kelsen still isn't seizing the moment. Having brought his knight to e5, and being a pawn ahead, it makes sense for him to trade down with 18.Nxc6 Rexc6 19.Rxc6 Rxc6.

18...Qf6??

Better for Will is an exchange sacrifice that pulls Kelsen's rook off the c-file, 18...Rxe5! 19.Rxe5, followed up by 19...Ba4!, a double attack on Kelsen's queen. The only answer that keeps Kelsen in the game is to trade queens with a discovered attack of his own: 20.Ba5 Bxc2 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8. No matter what, he loses a rook, and Will remains at least a piece ahead.

19.Bc3 Na4??

Overlooking a potential discovered attack on his queen: 20.Nxc6! Nxc5 21.Bxf6 Rexc6 22.Bc3.

20.Nd7

Also overlooking the discovered attack! Nevertheless, it's looking bad for Will right now. Even his best move, 20...Qe7 (diagram), allows Kelsen a remarkable tactic. Can you spot it? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

21.Qxa4! can't be retaken -- at least, not immediately. If black tries, he loses his own queen as well: 21...Bxa4?? 22.Rxc8+ Qe8 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8. The necessary reply is 21...Qxc5 22.Nxc5 Bxa4 23.Nxa4, after which black has a rook against a bishop and a knight -- far from ideal, but better than being down a whole piece.

20...Qg6

Not significantly worse than 20...Qe7.

21.Qxg6

It may not look it, but this is a gift to Will. 21.Rxc6! Rexc6 22.Qxa4, threatening the fork 23.Ne5, keeps a tight grip on the initiative; if 22...Qe6, then 23.Qd4 uses the threat of mate to win other concessions -- for example, 23...Rxc3 24.bxc3. Black's best hope is 23...f6 24.Qd5 Kf7 25.e4 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 (not 26.exd5?? Rd6, trapping white's knight). The problem is that even after the queens are traded, Will's rook can still punch a hole in Kelsen's king defense, seizing back the initiative and potentially picking up the loose rook on c5.

21...Rxg6 22.Rc4?

Kelsen clings to his rook at the expense of his king's safety. 22.g3!? Nxc5 23.Nxc5 is unfortunately necessary.

22...Rxg2 23.Kf1 Nxc3

Lets Kelsen off the hook somewhat. 23...Rxh2 is a freebie, and can be followed by 24.Nf6+ Kh8 25.Ne4 Rh1+ 26.Ke2 Bb5 27.Kf3 Bxc4 28.Rxh1. After 28...Bd5 29.Rd1 Nxc3 30.bxc3 Bxa2, there's not much hope remaining for white.

24.Rxc3 Rxh2 25.Ke2 h5 26.Ne5 Bb5+ 27.Kf3 Rxc3 28.bxc3 Rh4 29.Rd8+

Kelsen hangs on tenaciously.

29...Kh7 30.Nxf7 Bc6+ 31.Ke2 g6 32.Ne5 Bb5+ 33.Kf3 Ra4 34.Rd6

Pressuring the backward pawn on g6 . . .

34...Rxa2 35.Nxg6

. . . but just because the pressure is there doesn't mean it has to be used right away. Kelsen can keep it even with 35.c4!? Bc6+ 36.Nxc6 bxc6 37.Rxc6.

35...Rc2

Chipping away at Kelsen's foundation.

36.Nf4 a5 37.Rb6?

A stumble on the tightrope. Kelsen is best off giving his king more freedom of movement with 37.Ke4.

37...Bc6+ 38.Kg3 h4+

Unnecessary when 38...a4!? 39.Nxh5 Rxc3 is available.

39.Kxh4

39...Rxf2

The last window of opportunity closes on that poor passed pawn.

40.Nd3 Re2 41.Ne5 Be4 42.Nc4 a4

Too late for that.

43.Nd6 Rxe3 44.Nxe4 Rxe4+ 45.Kg3 Re3+ 46.Kf4 Rxc3 47.Rxb7+ Kg6 48.Ke4 a3 49.Ra7 Kf6 50.Kd4 Rb3 51.Kc4 ½-½

Congratulations to Will and to second-place finishers Kelsen and Gary Sargent, and to RBO winners R.J. Swedlow, Zach Woll and Taylor Soddy, who won third place on a modified-median tiebreak -- he was one of seven players who finished with a 3.0 score. Congratulations also to the dozen participants playing USCF-rated chess for the first time, and thanks to Monica Kearney for handling the lunch orders. See event pictures on our Photos page and complete crosstables on our Tournament Results page.

No Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26

2010-10-20T16:26:00.005-05:00

The Conference Center at Highland Community College is fully booked on Tuesday, Oct. 26. Rather than relocate, we're taking the week off.

Enjoy the breather. Spend time with your family. Watch NCIS.

And don't forget to join us at our National Chess Day Delayed Blast tournament, this Saturday at HCC!

Game of the Week

2010-10-20T15:43:00.008-05:00

A hearty welcome to Roger Stanfield of Sterling, who first joined us at our Route 20 Rated Beginners' Open in July and swung by again for a visit this Tuesday night.

K.Ammann–R.Stanfield

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Oct. 19, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Qa5+

3...Nf6 is the standard response in the Slav Defense. Not getting his king's knight out in a timely manner is going to be a liability for Roger.

4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 e6

5...b5!? should be considered.

6.Bxc4

6...c5 7.0-0 Qb4

7...a6 prevents my next move.

8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7

Over the next few moves, I decide I shouldn't have been quite so eager to trade bishops, especially a good, active bishop for a bad one, and especially since Roger can develop a knight while recapturing. An alternative path is 9.a3!? Qa5 10.Qb3 Bxb5 11.Qxb5+ Qxb5 12.Nxb5.

9...Nxd7 10.Bd2 cxd4 11.exd4 Qa5

Trying to switch to the kingside. But Roger is behind in development; an attack is premature. 11...Be7 is about right for this situation.

12.Qc2

12.d5!? conceals an Uzi under its trenchcoat. If black replies 12...exd5, the following mayhem ensues: 13.Qb3 Nc5 14.Rae1+ Be7 15.Qxd5 (or 15.Nxd5 Nxb3 16.Bxa5 Nxa5 17.Nc7+ Kd7 18.Nxa8) 15...Rd8 16.Qh5 g6 17.Rxe7+ Nxe7 18.Ne4 Nc6 (18...gxh5 19.Nf6+ Kf8 20.Bh6#) 19.Nf6+ Ke7 20.Nd5+ Kd6 21.Qg5 (diagram), down the exchange but all set to unleash a ferocious attack with the bishop and two knights.

12...Bd6

Passing up a quiet moment to play 12...Ngf6.

13.Ne4

I'm prouder of this double attack than it merits: Black is in no trouble after 13...Qd5, although I do get to trade off one of his developed pieces with 14.Nxd6 Qxd6. A better way to obstruct Roger's crosstown traffic is 13.a4, threatening 14.Nb5.

13...Qh5??

The double attack shouldn't work as intended, but it does.

14.Nxd6+ Ke7 15.Nxb7

A cheap pickup, and nothing to sneeze at, but there's no reason why I shouldn't bring the attack immediately with 15.Qc7 Ngf6 16.Ne5.

15...Ngf6

I see the threat of a mating attack on h2. But I've been ahead in development this whole time; can I generate an attack of my own before Roger can initiate his, or do I need to block before I punch, playing 16.h3 first? I read out my plan and conclude: The time is now.

16.Bb4+ Ke8 17.Rac1

The one tempo-costing move I'm allowed.

17...Nb6 18.Qc6+ Nfd7 19.Nd6+ Ke7 20.Ne4+

Victory through retreat!

20...Ke8 21.Qd6

I balk at 21.Qxa8+! because of the guarding knight, but in fact it still works: 21...Nb8 (21...Nxa8 22.Rc8#) Qxb8+ Nc8 Qxc8#.

21...Qd5

Only 21...Nc5 can do anything more than postpone black's fate.

22.Qe7# 1-0

Game of the Week

2010-10-14T06:58:00.002-05:00

Another battle for the top of the ladder!

G.Sargent–W.Engel

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Oct. 12, 2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6?!

An unusual way to continue a Sicilian, though not unprecedented: Veselin Topalov has used it successfully. (Though, of course, he's Topalov.)

3.d3 Bg7 4.Be3 d6 5.Qd2 Nc6 6.a3

6...Be6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Nf4

Gary has set himself up well for a d4 push; it's a shame to discard that opportunity.

8...Qd7

That's one way to try to discourage a trade on e6, but 8...Bd7, retreating the bishop, might be better. Because as it turns out, Gary isn't discouraged after all.

9.Nxe6 Qxe6 10.Rb1

With Will's queen blocking his e-pawn, d5 is a nice outpost for Gary's other knight, and 10.Nd5 also packs the threat of a fork on c7. Does Gary perhaps mean 10.Rb1 to defend his b-pawn in anticipation of moving the knight?

10...Nf6

Bye-bye outpost. Gary's plan is too slow.

11.Be2 Nd4 12.Nd5

Or Gary could just castle. Because that knight's not going to get to stay there.

12...Nxd5 13.exd5 Qxd5 14.0-0 0-0

Up a pawn, Will can increase his advantage by trading minor pieces on e2 before castling: 14...Nxe2+ 15.Qxe2 0-0.

15.Bxd4 Qxd4

Down a pawn, Gary should not be trading. Instead, he should evacuate his e2-bishop to g4. Will, meanwhile, is right to retake with his queen -- 15...Bxd4?! 16.Bf3 Qe6 17.b4 is lame for black.

16.c3 Qa4 17.Rfe1 e6 18.Qd1
The queen is more active on e3, and anyway, Gary should not be inviting trades.

18...Qd7

It's odd that Will passes up a trade when one is offered. Is he hoping to avoid a grinding endgame?

19.c4 b5 20.b4 cxb4 21.axb4 Rfb8 22.Qc2 Ra7 23.Red1 Qc8

24.d4?

In an otherwise blunder-free game, this move begins Gary's unraveling.

24...bxc4 25.Qxc4 d5 26.Qxc8+ Rxc8 27.g3 Rc6 28.b5 axb5 29.Bxb5 Rb6 30.Bd3 Rxb1 31.Bxb1 Ra1 32.Bc2 Rxd1+ 33.Bxd1 Bxd4 0-1

Gary: "Despite the opposite-color bishops, Will's pawns can't be stopped." Fritz bears this assessment out: 34.Kf1 Kf8 35.Ba4 Ke7 36.Bc6 f5 37.h3 h5 38.f3 g5 39.Bb5 Bb6 40.Ba4 Kf6 41.Kg2 e5 42.Bc6 Ke6 43.Bb7 e4 44.Bc6 Ke5 45.h4 (45.fxe4 fxe4 46.h4 gxh4 47.gxh4 d4 48.Kf1 d3 49.Be8) 45...gxh4 46.gxh4 d4 47.Be8 d3 48.fxe4 fxe4 49.Kf1 Bd8 and white resigns.

A Celebration of Chess

2010-10-11T08:49:00.011-05:00

The Route 20 Chess Club in Freeport, Ill., teamed up with the Freeport Public Library, City Coffee Co. and Freeport Golden K Kiwanis Club to put on a morning-till-night National Chess Day celebration that drew more than two dozen tournament participants, plus family and friends, from as far away as Princeton, Ill., and Cambridge, Wis.

While Gallery Café owner Sandi Schubert provided coffee, refreshments and lunch and artist Jennifer Marshall was on hand to paint young celebrants' faces, players faced off in a free four-round, G/30 community tournament comprising three sections: a USCF-rated sections for grades K–3, an unrated section for grades 4–8 and an unrated open section that included one high schooler and five adults. USCF member Finn Buck of Cambridge won first place in the primary section, followed by Sam Knaup of Belvidere and Finn's sister, Pria. The intermediate section was swept by Demetrio Velazco and brothers Bill and John Werkheiser, all of Pearl City. Matthew Coomber of Freeport won the open section; Roger Wedekind of Princeton took second place, and William Wedekind of Sterling and 11th-grader Zach Woll of Belvidere tied for third.

Thanks to a donation from Golden K, the Route 20 Chess Club was able to purchase an inventory of chess equipment for sale at the event. Tournament carry-all bags were the hottest item -- they were sold out before lunchtime.

Route 20 club member Gary Sargent of Rockford provided absolute-beginner chess instruction, and the library put on display more than two dozen chess books acquired for the occasion. After the tournament, library visitors were treated to a free showing of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.

In the evening, we relocated to City Coffee Co. for an evening G/5 speed chess tournament. Seven players, including yours truly, competed in a single round-robin . . . which I swept. As the tournament director, I considered it unseemly of me to have earned the day's only cash prize of $20 -- besides which, I had defeated second-place finisher Gary on a technicality when, having failed to notice that his king and queen were misplaced, he played Kd1xd4 -- and so I offered him a two-minute honor match for the prize. He defeated me on time with just 9 seconds remaining on his own clock, in what would have been an exciting game even at a regular time control (thanks to photographer Jennifer Marshall for making it possible to reconstruct the moves!):

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

National Chess Day Speed Chess at City Coffee Co.

Freeport, Ill., Oct. 9, 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Bb4 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Nbd7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Nd5 10.Bxd5 exd5 11.Bb2 Nf6 12.Rc1 b5 13.a4 Ba6 14.Re1 bxa4 15.Qxa4 Bc4 16.Qc8 Qb8 17.Ba3 Re8 18.Nd2 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4? 20.d5? Bxd5? 21.Qxd5 Qd8 22.c4 Rb8 23.Rb1 Rb6 24.Red1 Rd6? 25.Qb5? Qc8? 26.Kf1? Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 a6 28.Qc6 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Ke2? Qd3+ 31.Ke1 Qb1+ 32.Kd2 Qd3+ 33.Kc1 Qf1+? time 0-1

Club member Ryan Ekvall of Freeport took third. (Click the Tournament Results tab above for crosstables of the day's events.)

The Route 20 Chess Club is just over one year old, and this is the largest event we've hosted to date. To capture the momentum, we're following it up in two weeks with our National Chess Day "Delayed Blast" rated beginners' open and open Swiss tournament, a concurrently run pair of USCF-sanctioned and rated events. Winners of trophies in the community tournament are entitled to free entry into the RBO section.

Pictures of the speed chess tournament are up on our Photos page; check back for more photos of the day's festivities.

Proposed Amendment to Bylaws

2010-10-11T08:28:00.004-05:00

We are hereby providing notice of a proposed motion to amend the bylaws, to be voted on at our next regular meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 2. To be adopted, the motion to amend must pass by a vote of two-thirds of members present.

Motion to amend the following sections of the Route 20 Chess Club bylaws:

Article III. Membership

Section 2. (Amended) Dues. Dues are payment for society membership for a period lasting until the end of the April annual meeting of the following calendar year. Members may choose to enroll as Regular or Supporting members. For Regular members, the ~~annual~~ dues shall be $5 for an Individual, $3.50 for a Senior, $3 for a Student, and $6 for a Family, payable upon joining and to be renewed on or before ~~the anniversary of membership~~ the date of the annual meeting of the next calendar year. For Supporting members, the ~~annual~~ dues shall be $10 for an Individual, $7 for a Senior, $6 for a Student, and $12.50 for a Family, payable upon joining and to be renewed on or before ~~the anniversary of membership~~ the date of the annual meeting of the next calendar year. A member may choose to change his status from Regular to Supporting or vice versa by paying dues at the alternative level when the dues become due, the change becoming effective as of ~~the anniversary of membership~~ the start of the membership period. The Treasurer shall notify members who are two months in arrears, and those whose dues are not paid within one month thereafter shall be automatically dropped from membership in the society.

National Chess Day Is THIS SATURDAY!

2010-10-05T21:11:00.002-05:00

The Route 20 Chess Club and the Freeport Public Library, along with Freeport Golden K and City Coffee Co., will celebrate National Chess Day, Saturday, Oct. 9, with an all-day community event featuring an open tournament, a speed chess tournament and exhibition, free chess lessons for beginners, and a screening of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (rated PG).

The community celebration will be held at the library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. (map). All activities will be free and open to the general public. Players may register for the tournament between 9 and 9:45 AM on the day of the event or sign up in advance at the library’s Youth Services desk (limit 48 players). The first round will begin at 10 AM. The tournament will be a four-round Swiss with a 30-minute time control and will be divided into three youth-only sections (grades K–3, 4–8 and 9–12) and one open section for all ages. The K–3 section will be rated by the USCF. Winners will receive trophies and free entry to the National Chess Day Delayed Blast Rated Beginners' Open on Oct. 23. Beginners’ lessons will be held in two sessions, starting at 10:15 AM and 12:45 PM, and the movie will start at 3 PM. The celebration will then move to City Coffee Co., 15 N. Chicago Ave., Freeport (map), for a six-round Swiss blitz tournament (bring clocks). Registration will be open until 7:15 PM, and the first round will begin at 7:30. The first-place winner will receive a $20 prize; runners-up will receive coupons for coffee drinks.

We look forward to your celebrating the game of chess with us this Saturday!

Game of the Week

2010-09-29T10:26:00.002-05:00

In which our newest member, Will Engel, seizes the top spot on the ladder with his fifth consecutive win. It's going to be tough to take it away from him!

W.Engel–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Sept. 28, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 0-0 6.Nc3 b6?

The first slip in a slightly offbeat but otherwise accurate Queen's Gambit Declined. Better is 6...h6 or 6...Nbd7, since Will has raised the issue of a minor piece trade on f6.

7.Qc2 Bb7 8.Ne5

8...dxc4 9.Nxc4 Nc6 10.f4 Nd5

Thanks to his decision to fianchetto the queen's bishop, Steve has an interesting and potentially powerful rushing play in 10...Nb4!? 11.Qe2 Ne4, with the likely continuation 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Nxe4 Bxe4.

11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.0-0-0

A risky choice: Will castles his king onto a half-open file on the side of the board where all the action is. Steve seizes the moment.

12...Ncb4 13.Qd2 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Nd5 15.Bd3?!

Danger! All Steve has to do is kick Will's knight off c4 with 15...b5!, then come barreling in with 16...Qa3+, and at a minimum he wins a pawn, possibly two, and Will's king is out in the great open spaces where cats are cats.

15...g6??

Steve misses his moment, and Will has a chance to rebound.

16.e4 Nf6 17.Rhe1 Ba6

Steve's rooks are not looking especially active. 17...Rfd8 is one solution to that.

18.f5 Bxc4 19.Bxc4 exf5 20.exf5 21.Ne4

21.Qb2

Now it's Will's turn to miss an opportunity: Without careful replies, 21.Bd5!? wins material. Black can avoid the worst with 21...Qa3+ 22.Qb2 Qxc3+ 23.Kb1 (23.Qxc3 Nxc3 24.Bxa8 Nxd1 25.Bc6 Nf2) 23...gxf5 24.Bxa8 Rxa8 25.Rc1, where black loses the exchange but wins two pawns. With 21...gxf5, black gets only one pawn in compensation.

21...Qg5+ 22.Kb1 Nd6

Steve can't play 22...Qxf5? because of 23.Bd3 Rae8 24.Qc2, which can only be resolved by 24...Nxc3+ 25.Qxc3. This leaves him down a bishop for two pawns, and Will has the initiative.

23.Bd3 Nxf5 24.Qb5 Qxg2??

This move leaves Steve's knight underdefended. Will wins a pawn, and Steve's king loses its cover. Much better is to slam the door in the queen's face with 24...c5, then answer 25.Re5 with 25...Qg4, threatening to seize Will's other rook (25...cxd4 is inferior, because the threat against the knight is renewed: 26.Bxf5 gxf5 27.Rxf5).

25.Bxf5 gxf5??

Steve is in fact better off letting the bishop live and grabbing a free pawn with 25...Qxh2 instead; if 26.Be4 then 26...Rae8. Will's pieces are more active by far, but at least material is equal. Here Steve seems to be two pawns up, but the removal of his king's cover leaves him tragically vulnerable . . .

26.Rg1 1-0

Even after 26...Qg6 27.Qxf5 Rae8, Steve's queen is on life support. 28.h4 Kh8 29.Rxg6 pulls the plug.

Find the Best Move

2010-09-22T07:13:00.002-05:00

I don't know about other players, but for me, this was a real week for tricky tactics -- a couple that I perpetrated myself, and one that clobbered me so elegantly I was momentarily dumbstruck. Thus, rather than a Game of the Week, I present a selection of "best move" challenges.

First, an easy one for the kids.

K.Ammann–S.Prue
Route 20 Chess Club
Freeport, Ill., Sept. 21, 2010

White to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1.Bb5 0-0 2.Bxc6 Nxc6

Now for something more challenging:

White to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1.Nc6! Bxc6 2.Rxd8 Bd5 3.Qxb6

J.Carter–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Sept. 21, 2010

Black to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1...Bxe5 2.dxe5 d4!

This sets off a complicated chain of variations. White's best response is 2.Rxd4 Nxd4, but caution is required, because if white doesn't play 3.exd4, then 3...Rc2# is immediate mate, while 3...Rg2 and 3...Nxc6+ merely prolong the inevitable.

3.exd4 Rxd4?!

A wise-fool play on my part. I'm thinking about material, but I need to be aware of Jason's passed g-pawn. 2...f4 scores a palpable hit, forcing back the g3-rook (3.Rgg1) and giving me a check (3...Rh3+) which in turn lets me advance my e-pawn as well (4...e3). However, even after 3...Rxd4, black has to walk a tightrope to come out ahead . . .

4.Rxd4 Nxd4 5.g6?? Ne2+ 6.Kc2 Nxg3+

. . . and 5.Kxd4 f4 6.Rg4 Rxb2 7.g6 Bxg6 8.Rxg6 is the only way to avoid falling.

W.Engel–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Sept. 21, 2010

White to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1.Nd6 Kf8 2.Rxa5 (≤2.Nxb7+ Bxb4+ 3.Kf1 Qb8 4.Rxa8 Qxa8) 2...Rxa5 (2...Qe7 3.Rxa8+ Bxa8) 3.Nxb7+

A check and a queen-rook fork simultaneously. How articulate would you be after that?

Game of the Week

2010-09-15T11:23:00.003-05:00

K.Ammann–S. McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., Sept. 14, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Nc6

Although 4...Nc6 looks like a book move, it actually works out poorly for black on average, no doubt because it inhibits the advance of black's c-pawn.

5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0

A more critical response for black is 6...b6 7.cxd5 exd5. As played, a good plan for white is to play Bd3, a3 and 0-0, while black can consider h6, b6 and Bb7.

7.Bd3 h6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qc2

Not a particularly good idea for various reasons, the most salient of which is 10...Nb4. 10.a3 being unnecessary because of the bishop trade, better choices for me are 10.0-0, 10.Rc1 and 10.Qb3, in response to any of which Steve should pull his knight back to e7 and advance his c-pawn to support d5.

10...g6 11.0-0 Ne7 12.Rfe1 Re8 13.e4 dxe4 14.Rxe4 Bf5 15.Rf4 Bxd3

Steve can manhandle the rook with 15...Bg5, forcing a trade with 16.Nxg5 hxg5 and ending up with the initiative and a slight advantage after 17.Rf3.

16.Qxd3 Kg7 17.Re1 Nf5

A battle royal is shaping up around d4, and I have to be careful, because if I let Steve initiate it, ...Rxd1 will be the end of me. 18.Rxe8!? Qxe8 19.g4 defuses the attack and puts Steve on the defensive, but I opt for something more wu-wei.

18.d5?!

Positionally, it's not much, but it puts Steve on tilt.

18...Qd6 19.Rfe4! Rxe4 20.Nxe4

Not the inferior 20.Rxe4 or 20.Qxe4, either of which lets the initiative slip away and gives Steve a chance to ratchet up the pressure on my d-pawn again with 20...Rd8.

20...Qb4??

Walks into a trap I wish I knew I was setting. It begins with 21.Nxf6!; 20...Qe7 defuses it.

21.Nxf6!

Threatening to win the exchange with 22.Ne8+ Rxe8 23.Rxe8. But there's even more nastiness packed into this apparent trade offer that isn't really.

21...Kxf6??

The obvious move, right? What could be wrong with it?

There's a surprising killer move here. Don't feel bad if it escapes you; I'd never have thought of it either. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

The unassuming 22.a3!! leaves black bereft of chances. His best reply is 22...Qxb2 23.Rb1 Qxb1+ 24.Qxb1, where white wins a queen for a rook and a pawn. Next-best is 22...Qxe1+ 23.Nxe1 -- white has only a queen for a rook, but black will fall apart after 23...Ke7 24.Qe4 or 23...Rc8/d8 24.Qc3+. If black's queen runs, abandoning the defense of c3 leads to a mating net -- e.g., 22...Qa5? 23.b4 Qa4?? 24.Qc3+ Nd4 25.Qxd4+ Kf5 26.g4# (23...Qb6? only prolongs the inevitable). If black's queen doesn't run, she dies. Ouch!

OK, back to what actually happens.

22.Qxc3+? Qxc3 23.bxc3 Rd8 24.c4 b6 25.a4 a5 26.g4 Nd6 27.Nd2 g5

28.Ne4+

Steve can easily force a rook trade with 28...Re8. It's probably time for me to bring my king into the action with 28.Kg2. Otherwise, if it comes down to KNP vs. KNP endgame, Steve will invade my backfield with little difficulty. I may have more space, but his pawn chains are intact. Also, my momentary blockage of the e-file gives him the chance to slip across to the queenside -- a chance I should not give him.

28...Ke5 29.Nxd6+ Kxd6 30.Re4

Better is 30.f4!?, daring Steve to double his pawns.

30...Rd7

A time-waster. 30...c6 is potent and timely.

31.f4

Fine a moment ago; stupid now. It leaves me vulnerable to 31...Re7! 32.Rd4 Re8 33.fxg5 hxg5, where Steve controls the open file and my rook just looks sad.

31...Kc5

Still nasty in its own right.

32.fxg5 hxg5 33.Kg2?

33.Kf2 is better. There's trouble a-brewin' on the queenside.

33...f6 34.Kg3? Kb4! 35.h4 gxh4+ 36.Kxh4 Rh7+ 37.Kg3 Rg7??

This stumble returns us to positional equality, but Steve regains his footing quickly.

38.Kf4 Kxa4

39.c5+

In this position, the second-best move turns out to be a costly mistake. My only advantageous choice is 39.Kf5 Kb4 40.Kxf6.

39...Kb5 40.cxb6 cxb6 41.d6

Second-best again. This is no time for second-best! 41.Kf5 Kc5 42.Kxf6 Kxd5 43.Re5+ Kd4 44.g5 retains an edge.

41...Rd7 42.Rd4??

After the game, Steve points to this as my fatal error, telling me that 42.Re6 would have held me together. It's vastly better than 42.Rd4, that's for sure, but the best choice, counterintuitively, is 42.g5 fxg5+ 43.Ke5.

42...Kc5 43.Rd1 Rxd6 44.Rxd6 Kxd6 45.Kf5

45...Ke7 46.Ke4 a4 47.Kd4 a3 48.Kc3 b5!

Aw, daaang.

49.Kb3 b4 50.Ka2

It's either this sad little two-step or watch the a-pawn queen.

50...Kd6 51.Kb3 Kc5 52.Ka2 Kc4 0-1

EOG.

Route 20 Celebrating USCF's National Chess Day With Two Events

2010-09-10T19:15:00.003-05:00

Mark your calendars: The Route 20 Chess Club and the Freeport Public Library, along with Freeport Golden K and City Coffee Co., will celebrate National Chess Day, Saturday, Oct. 9, with an all-day community event featuring an open tournament, a speed chess tournament and exhibition, free chess lessons for beginners, and a screening of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (rated PG). Then, on Saturday, Oct. 23, we will continue the celebration with our second rated beginners' open and open Swiss tournament at Highland Community College in Freeport.

The community celebration will be held at the library, 100 E. Douglas St., Freeport, Ill. (map). All activities will be free and open to the general public. Players may register for the tournament between 9 and 9:45 AM on the day of the event or sign up in advance at the library’s Youth Services desk (limit 48 players). The first round will begin at 10 AM. The tournament will be a four-round Swiss with a 30-minute time control and will be divided into three youth-only sections (grades K–3, 4–8 and 9–12) and one open section for all ages. The K–3 section will be rated by the USCF. Winners will receive trophies and free entry to the RBO on Oct. 23. Beginners’ lessons will be held in two sessions, starting at 10:15 AM and 12:45 PM, and the movie will start at 3 PM. The celebration will then move to City Coffee Co., 15 N. Chicago Ave., Freeport (map), for a six-round Swiss blitz tournament (bring clocks). Registration will be open until 7:15 PM, and the first round will begin at 7:30. The first-place winner will receive a $20 prize; runners-up will receive coupons for coffee drinks.

The RBO and open tournament will be held in the Community Services Center (Building R) at Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Road, Freeport, Ill. (park in Lot B -- map). The open Swiss will be in four rounds with a 45-minute time control and a cash prize fund equal to 75 percent of entries. The RBO, open to players with USCF ratings under 1200 or unrated, will be a five-round Swiss with a 30-minute time control; first-, second- and third-place finishers will receive trophies. Both events will begin at 10 AM. Players may register for either section between 9 and 9:45 AM on the day of the event or on this site (choose your section and click "Register" button at right). USCF membership is required; single-day tournament memberships are available. Entry fees are $20 for the open Swiss ($12 for Route 20 Chess Club members), $10 for the RBO ($6 for members).

We look forward to your celebrating the game of chess with us this October!

Proposed Amendment to Bylaws

2010-09-09T15:15:00.004-05:00

We are hereby providing notice of a proposed motion to amend the bylaws, to be voted on at our next regular meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 5. To be adopted, the motion to amend must pass by a vote of two-thirds of members present.

Motion to amend the following sections of the Route 20 Chess Club bylaws:

Article V. Meetings
Section 2. (Amended) Annual Meetings. The regular meeting on the first Tuesday in ~~August~~ April shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers, along with any other business that may arise.

Article IV. Officers
Section 2. (Amended) Nomination Procedure, Time of Elections. At the first regular meeting held in ~~July~~ March, members of the society may nominate candidates for the offices to be filled at the first regular meeting held in ~~August~~ April. If an officer resigns his or her position before his or her term expires, replacement candidates shall be nominated at the next regular meeting, and a special election to fill the office shall be held at the first regular meeting of the following month. At the meeting during which an election is held, additional nominations from the floor shall be permitted before the election is conducted.

Section 3. (Amended) Ballot Election, Term of Office. The officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for one year or until the next annual meeting, whichever comes first, and their term of office shall begin at the close of the meeting at which they are elected. If there are three or more candidates for a single office, the election to that office shall be decided by preferential ballot.

Section 4. (Amended) Limitations. No member shall hold more than one office at a time, and no member shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive full (12-month) terms in the same office. Two full terms separated by a shorter term shall be considered consecutive, provided the member remains in office through the shorter term.

Game of the Week

2010-09-02T09:39:00.006-05:00

Last week I wished for a Petrov. This week I got my wish!

S.McWhirter–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 31, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3!? Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3 5.dxc3 0-0?

Misses an opportunity to swing the balance. If Gary plays 5...d6, Steve can't take the e5-pawn, but Gary still has a shot at the e4-pawn.

6.Nxe5

PREVED PETRAV!

6...d6

A moment too late, and not as forceful as 6...Re8!, which has the added effect of pinning the d4-pawn before capturing it.

7.Nf3 Nxe4 8.Bd3 Nf6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Re1 Nbd7 11.Be2

11...Ne5

Gary should not be dilly-dallying about getting his rook on the e-file. Besides, there's no downside to 12.Nxe5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2.

12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4

13.Bxf6!? Qxf6 14.Nxe5 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 dxe5 16.Qxe5 Qxe5 17.Rxe5 leaves Steve a pawn ahead when the smoke clears.

13...Ng6 14.Qd4 Nxh4 15.Nxh4 Bxe2 16.Rxe2 c5 17.Qd3

17...Qd7

Leaves Gary vulnerable to 18.Nf5, attacking the pinned, backward d-pawn. After 17...Nh5, the same move by white fails because of the knight fork threat on f4.

18.h3 Nh3?

This move, which was dandy just a moment ago, is bad now because of the relocation of Gary's queen: 19.Qf5 Qxf5 20.Nxf5. There's still that open e-file . . .

19.Qf3 Nf6 20.Rd1 Rae8

At last!

21.Red2

Huh? A strangely meek move. There's nothing wrong with trading rooks, then attacking that pinned pawn: 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.Nf5 Re6.

21...Re6

If Steve isn't going to attack down the e-file, how about having the black knight run interference: 21...Ne4!? 22.Rd3 g6, preparing ...f5? Another plan that Gary should be considering is ...Qa4, attacking the c2-pawn and pressuring the undefended knight on h4.

22.Nf5!

Now it's getting real.

22...Nh7?

Removes coverage of g4, which allows the hit-and-run 23.Qg4!? g6 24.Nxh6+ Kg7 25.Nf5+ Kh8 26.Nxd6.

23.Nxd6 Ng5 24.Qxb7 Qxb7 25.Nxb7

Steve has slickly managed to pick up two pawns without being punished for it. Instead of 23...Ng5, Gary is better off either evacuating (23...b6) or defending (23...Rb8) his vulnerable b-pawn. Otherwise, Steve is liable to hopscotch his way through Gary's material.

25...Rfe8??

25...Rb6 is necessary to gain tempo against Steve's knight, then snag his b-pawn so that things don't get any worse.

26.Rd8 Rxd8 27.Rxd8+ Kh7 28.Nxc5 Re2

29.Kf1

Unnecessary: the king has an escape square, the f-pawn is safe, and there's mischief to be made. For instance, 29.Rd7!, about which no positional player would have to think twice, answering 29...Rxc2 with 30.h4 (with the rook off the e-file, the knight is trapped!) Ne6 31.Nxe6 fxe6.

29...Rxc2 30.Na4

Why put a knight on the rim? He'd much rather be on d3.

30...Ne4 31.f3

...Rxf2+ is not as grave a threat as it might appear. Gary can afford to play 31.Ra8.

31...Nd2+ 32.Kf2

Why step into harm's way? 32.Kg1 Nc4 33.Rd7 will mop things up in short order, as pawns get picked off one by one.

32...Nc4+ 33.Kg3 Nxb2 34.Nxb2 Rxb2 35.Rd7 Rb3 36.Rxa7 Rxc3 37.a4 Ra3

If not for two things, this would be looking disappointingly drawish: Steve's extra pawn and his king's head start toward the center.

38.Kf4 Kg6 39.Ke5 Ra2 40.g4 f6+ 41.Ke4 Rh2 42.Rb7 Rxh3

Might want to pay more attention to that a-pawn . . .

43.a5 h5 44.Kf4

Just sprint, brother.

44...hxg4 45.fxg4

The king capture is better, gaining a tempo off Gary's rook.

45...Rh8?

An uncharacteristic endgame miscalculation from Gary, who knows well that the rook needs to be behind the passed pawn. But both Gary and Steve are in time trouble, so the moves are coming fast and sloppy.

46.Rb3 Re8? 47.a6 Kf7? 48.g5?? (48.a7 g5+ 49.Kf3) fxg5+ 49.Kxg5 g6? 50.a7?? (50.Rf3+ Kg7 51.Ra3) Re5+ 51.Kf4 Re8?? (51...Ra5 52.Rb7+ Ke6 Rg7) 52.a8Q

52...g5+ 53.Kf5 (53.Kxg5 Rxa8 is a certain draw) g4?? (ditto 53...Rxa8 54.Kxg5 Ra1) 54.Qd5+ Kf8 55.Qd6+ 1-0

And Gary runs out of time. Steve has only 5 seconds left, three moves from checkmating him, and breathes out his gratitude for move delay.

Bonus!

K.Ammann–D.Velazco

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 31, 2010

White to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

1.Nxc6! Bc5+ (1...bxc6 2.Bxc6+ Kf7 3.Bxa4+−) 2.Kh1 (better is 2.Be3+−) g5 (2...Kf7 3.b4 Bd6 4.Rd1 Bc7+−) 3.Rxe6+ (3.b4 Kd7 4.bxc5 bxc6 5.cxb6+−) Kf7 4.Bd5 (4.Rxf6+ Kxf6+−) bxc6 5.Re4+ (5.Rxc6!?+−) cxd5 6.Rxa4+−

Game of the Week

2010-08-26T14:09:00.002-05:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but Game of the Week is back. This time, we bring you a challenge for the top ladder step with a surprise twist ending.

S.McWhirter–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 24, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3!?

When I saw those first couple of moves, I was hoping for a Petrov, but no such luck.

3...Nc6 4.Bb5 a6 5.Bxc6 bxc6?!

5...dxc6 offers much better chances.

6.Nxe5 Bb4 7.d3 0-0 8.0-0 Bb7

8...Re8 9.f4 Bb7 looks better.

9.Be3 d6 10.Nf3 h6 11.Re1 Qd7 12.h3 Rae8

It's not pretty, and Steve is a pawn up, but Gary has managed to complete his development first.

13.a3 Ba5 14.b4 Bb6 15.d4

Preparing to push the e-pawn. But this is careless: 15...Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Rxe4 wins black's pawn back.

15...Re6 16.e5 Nd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5

The doubled pawns on the d-file are much less of a liability than they were on the c-file. Imagine that Steve now decides he wants to move his knight to a more active position. He can't do it: c4, e4, a5 and c5 are all off-limits to him now. The only path forward is Nh4-f5, and as soon as he makes the first move, Gary can shut it down with g6, leaving Steve's knight without options.

18.Bf4 Rfe8 19.Qd2

Finally, Steve is fully developed, but his position is awful. What can he do from here?

19...c5 20.bxc5

Better to strike at the defending pawn first: 20.exd6 cxd4 21.Rxe6 Qxe6 22.Re1 (not the more dispersed 22.Nxd4 Qf6 23.Nb3 Bc6).

20...dxc5 21.Rab1 Ba7 22.c3 Bc6 23.g4?!

A dubious move that disregards the potent threat of ...c4, which will allow black to come roaring down the queenside.

23...Rg6

Luckily for Steve, Gary doesn't seem to be thinking that way. But his advantage, despite being a pawn up, has narrowed significantly.

24.Nh4

A shrewd and subtle defensive move. Now if Gary tries to bash through with Rxg4+?? -- which would have worked just a moment ago -- Steve interposes his knight and bats the threat away effortlessly. Having driven Steve's knight to the edge of the board, Gary's best move is simply to pull the rook back where it came from.

24...Rxg4+??

Uh-oh. Gary goes for it anyway.

25.hxg4 Qxg4+ 26.Ng2

Steve is out of immediate danger and has won a rook for a pawn. But he still has to get his balance back; his knight is pinned, and his pieces aren't working together.

26...Re6 27.Qe2

27.Re3 is better, setting up Rg3. Pulling the queen off d2 allows Gary to desperado his queen in order to gain back a pawn: 27...Qxe2 28.Rxe2 cxd4 29.cxd4 Bxd4.

27...Qg6

Gary misses that the desperado move is actually mandatory, as his a-pawn is hanging and under attack, and his dark-square bishop is trapped in the corner, where it will be next to fall.

28.Qxa6 cxd4

Not much else to do, since the bishop is toast.

29.Qxa7 dxc3 30.Rbc1

30.Rb8+ is a sledgehammer blow, setting up a potential mating combination on the back row, though one that will take a few moves. Steve's actual move, meanwhile, overlooks a nasty attacking combination from Gary. What's the black move that releases the hounds? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

30...d4 threatens ...Qxg2#. If Steve plays any response other than 31.Bg3, at best his material advantage is demolished (e.g., 31.f3 Bxf3 32.Re2 Bxe2 33.Qxd4 c2), and at worst, he loses outright. Fortunately, Steve finds the one response that lets him hold onto his winning advantage: 31.Bg3 Qd3

32.Re3?

Recognizes the re-energized mating threat -- but why put a rook where it can be taken by a pawn? 32.Kh2 is actually sufficient to neutralize it. Now 32...Qf3 is easily sidestepped by 33.Nh4, after which both potential invasion squares are defended and the queen is counterattacked to boot.

32...Qd2

A bit of a gift, as you can't really fork two rooks when one can move to defend the other. 33.Rexc3 gobbles up a pawn on the way to the afterlife, and 33...dxc3 34.Qe3 keeps the other rook from being lost.

33.Ree1??

Allows Gary to reactivate the threat of ...Qd3. Plus, by repeating the position, Steve runs the risk of a threefold draw. This is a tightrope walk.

33...d3??

For whatever reason, Gary gives up on his combination attack. It can't be that he thinks Steve will seek the repetition draw, can it?

34.Red1

Nope, better to just kick Gary's queen in the face.

34...Qb2 35.Qe3 Qb7

It's just not the same with the queen in back rather than in front . . .

36.Rxc3

. . . but that doesn't mean there's nothing at all to it. Steve overlooks the threat to his knight, allowing Gary to pick it off. He has a swellegant alternative in 36.Nf4!, which cleverly forks Gary's rook and one of the paired pawns. Gary can buy time with 36...c2, but all Steve has to do is advance his rook with 37.Rd2, corking the other pawn and holding it in place to be picked off after Gary evacuates his rook with 37...Re8. The c-pawn must abandon all hope as well. It's a beautiful cascade of seemingly predestined moves.

36...Bxg2

In contrast, the loss of the knight is as ugly as a skinned palm from falling down in your own driveway.

37.Rcxd3 Bh1 38.f3

Nice try, Gary.

38...Rg6 39.Rd8+

Assertive, but Steve isn't out of the woods yet. 39.Kh2 allows Steve to relax, as there's nowhere for that bishop to go.

39...Kh7 40.Qe4

Does Steve not realize his bishop is hanging? Or, for that matter, that Gary's bishop is hanging? Either 40.Kf2 or 40.Kxh1 is practically mandatory.

40...Qxe4 41.fxe4 Bxe4

Batmobile lost a wheel, Joker got away. Steve's hopes now rest entirely on his extra rook and his a-pawn. Can he convert these advantages into a win? It's pure endgame now, and you can never count Gary out in such a situation.

42.Kh2 Rc6 43.R1d6 Rc2+ 44.Kh3

The more assertive 44.Rd2 forces black to reassess his priorities. 44...Rc3 45.Rf2 Rxa3 46.Rxf7 sacrifices the a-pawn and transfers its aspirations to the e-pawn, which is better suited to fulfill them anyway. And should Steve's king really be hanging around on light squares?

44...Bf5+ 45.Kh4 Rc3 46.Kh5??

Leaving the bishop to die. That's cold, man. And moving onto another light square . . . Steve's king is living dangerously.

46...Rxa3

If 46...Rxg3, it's all over, because of the threat of 47...Rh3#. White's moves are forced: 47.Rxh6+ gxh6 48.Rd4 (preparing to block check) Rxa3, and now it's black who's a piece and a pawn ahead. White is in no position to keep black from picking off his e-pawn (49.Rh4 Ra5 50.Rf4 Rxe5; 49.Rf4 (or 49.Rb4) Rh3+ 50.Rh4 Re3 51.Rf4 Rxe5).

Self-preservation would seem to dictate 47.Kh4, getting onto a dark square and defending the bishop, which Gary has magnanimously spared. Alternatively, Steve might play 47.Rf8 first, followed by 47...g6+ 48.Kh4. Either line will progress into a series of checks that ultimately amount to an equalization of pieces, after which Steve and Gary can get down to the business of agreeing to a draw. (One possible line: 47.Rf8 g6+ 48.Kh4 Ra4+ 49.Bf4 g5+ 50.Kg3 gxf4+ 51.Kf3 Be6 52.Rxe6 fxe6 53.Rf6 Kg7 54.Rxe6=.)

But self-preservation isn't on Steve's agenda.

47.Bf4?? 48.Rh3# 0-1

Friday Night Speed Chess CANCELED

2010-08-13T14:04:00.001-05:00

Because of a last-minute issue with the availability of the venue, tonight's Friday Night Speed Chess at City Coffee Co. in Freeport is canceled. There is no "rain date" at this time.

Games of the Week

2010-08-11T11:03:00.004-05:00

Plural, since I'm including both the game in which Gary Sargent deposed me from my place on the ladder and the one in which I took it back.

G.Sargent–K. Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 10, 2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 b6!? 4.Nf3 Ba6 5.Be2

Rather than waste a tempo, since I'm obviously aiming to trade bishops, white is best off initiating the trade with 5.Bxa6.

5...Bxe2 6.Qxe2 Ne7 7.Bg5 c5

Thematic to the French, but I can also kick the bishop with 7...h6.

8.0-0 cxd4 9.Nxd4

9...h6??

Uh-oh . . . the timing is off now. Gary is threatening Nb5-d6+. 9...a6 covers the critical square, while 9...Qc8 breaks the pin on the e7-knight, which allows it to get out of the way of the f8-bishop, which then covers d6. Subtle but effective.

10.Bh4??

Gary flinches. In fact, he can safely ignore my h-pawn: 10.Nb5! hxg5 11.Nd6+ Kd7 12.Nxf7 forks queen and rook, more than adequate compensation for the lost bishop.

10...g5 11.Bg3 Nbc6 12.Qb5

12.Nxb6 Nxb6 13.Rd1 retains the advantage. Now things are evening up.

12...Qd7 13.Nxc6 Nxc6 14.c4

Limiting the mobility of the queen without really defending it. Backing off with 14.Qe2 is safer.

14...Nd4 15.Qxd7+ Kxd7

16.cxd5

16.Nc3 is essential, because the a1-rook is trapped, and I'm coming after it.

16...Nc2

Not 16...exd5?! 17.Nc3, which lets the rook off the hook.

17.Nc3 Nxa1 18.dxe6+

Rather than recapture right away with 18.Rxa1 Rc8 19.dxe6+ Kxe6 20.Nb5, which is wiser.

18...Kxe6 19.Rxa1 Rd8 20.h3 Bg7 21.Nb5 Bxe5

Slightly better to cover the hanging a-pawn with 21...Rd7.

22.Bxe5 Kxe5 23.Rxe1+ Kd5

With ideas of plodding toward Gary's queenside pawns and doing something untoward to them. But should my king really be wandering around so close to Gary's knight? What about 23...Kf6!? 24.Nxa7 Rd2 25.b4 Rxa2 26.Nc6 ?

24.Nxa7 Kc5

Cute, but not sustainable.

25.Rc1+

25...Kd4??

26.Nc6 Ke4 27.Nxd8 Rxd8 28.Rc6 Ra8?

An unclear idea, wrongly executed. I need to march that little b-pawn forward. One against two is still better than zero against two.

After this, I stumble my way through another 30 moves of endgame that boil down to K vs. KPP, with the pawns connected on the f- and g-files. Just pretend I have the sense to resign here. 1-0

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 10, 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 7.Qc2 Bb4 8.Bd3

It's all book up to here. Now that Gary's knight is unpinned, I'm worrying about 8...Ne4. Luckily for me, he not only gives me a chance to avert this but practically asks me to.

8...h6 9.Bxf6 Nxf6

Hrm. This sure doesn't feel like a Christmas present. ...Ne4 is still a threat, and after dxc4 Bxc4, removing the guard, I'll have three attackers piling on my knight. Must break pin now.

10.0-0 0-0 11.Ne5

11...Bxc3

A lucky break for me, but I don't realize it quite yet. I'm wrapped up in the dilemma of whether to recapture with my queen, inviting a trade, or with my b-pawn, declining it. "Don't rush," teases Gary, watching my clock count down. "Take all the time you need to think about it."

12.bxc3 (I choose wisely.) c5 13.f3?!

That knight is still causing me anxiety. The c-pawn isn't.

13...cxd4 14.cxd4 Nd7 15.cxd5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 exd5 17.e4

Now would be a good time to activate a rook -- say, with 17.Rab1.

17...Be6

Passive compared with 17...dxe4 18.Bxe4 Qxe5.

18.Rfb1

My timing is off -- 18.f4 is necessary to prevent the loss of the pawn in the above variation.

18...b6??

Suddenly I get a tactical idea: With my bishop defending b5, I can take the d-pawn, and if Gary recaptures with the bishop, I can fork bishop and queen with Rb5, while if he recaptures with the queen, I can place my bishop on the long diagonal and skewer his rook. It's a nice idea, but Gary finds the flaw in it, while I miss the simple elegance of 19.Rb5 Qa3 20.exd5.

19.exd5 Qxd5 20.Be4 Qd4+

Oops.

21.Qf2 Qxe5 22.Bxa8

This oversight rattles Gary, but in reality, my advantage is slight. For one thing, he's just picked up a loose pawn of mine, so I'm one down. Also, back-rank threats still exist, and one of my rooks is stuck in the corner. I mutter something about the difficulty of turning checks into cash.

22...Rxa8 23.Re1 Qc7 24.Re4

A microsecond later, I realize that my outpost square is vulnerable to Gary's light-square bishop.

24...Bd5 25.Re3 Kf8 26.Qd2 Rd8??

A self-pin. I'm happy because I finally have a satisfactory emplacement for Alekhine's gun.

27.Rd3 Qc5+ 28.Kh1 Rd6 29.Rd1

Aim . . .

29...Bxf3 30.Rxd6

. . . fire.

30...Bxd1 31.Qxd1 g6 32.Rd5

Suboptimal, but I'm still smarting from the last endgame, and I'm looking for a path to a winning position that doesn't involve trading queens.

32...Qc4 33.Rd7 Qxa2 34.h3 a5 35.Qd4

And there it is.

35...Qa3 (35...Qb1+ 36.Kh2 Qh1+ 37.Kxh1 Kg8 38.Rd8+ Kh7 39.Qh8#) 36.Qh8# 1-0

Game of the Week

2010-08-05T15:04:00.003-05:00

In which I continue my exploration of the Slav Defense and fail, once again, to knock Steve McWhirter off the top of the ladder.

S.McWhirter–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, Aug. 3, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5?

This is thematic to the Slav, but it doesn't fit this particular line because of the pressure on d5: 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3, and black must reply 6...Qd7 or lose either d5 or b7; white then plans 7.Nf3 and 8.Ne5. Ugh. Black's most common play is 4...e6, but 4...a6 may offer slightly better chances, though I'll be darned if I can figure out why.

5.Nf3 Nbd7

Still neglecting ...e6. This is gonna hurt.

6.Qb3 Qb6

After I play this move, both Gary and I begin to think I should have played 6...Nb6 instead, both shielding b7 and defending d5. However, this fails to 7.c5 Nbd7 8.Qxb7. My queen move, which maintains equality, is best.

7.Qa4 c5

An unfortunate choice that kicks off my downhill slide. Rather than take a defender away from d5, I need to add one with 7...e6.

8.Nxd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Qb4+

I should not be inviting trades.

10.Qxb4 cxb4 11.Bb5 a6 12.Ba4 b5 13.Bb3 e6

Again! Better is 13...Nb6 or 13...Nf6 14.Ne5 Be4 15.f3 Bxd5 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.e4 Nb6. Another option is 13...Rc8 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 e6.

14.dxe6 Bxe6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Ng5 Be7?

Overlooking the threat to e6. Better is 16...e5.

17.Nxe6 Kf7 18.d5 Rac8 19.0-0 Ne5? (19...Nf6 20.Rd1 Nxd5 21.Nxd7 Rhd8) 20.Rd1 Rc2 21.h3 Rhc8 22.b3

22.Nd4 kicks out the intruder.

22...R8c3?

Hems in the intruder.

23.Nd4

Seals the intruder's fate. From here it's just undignified wriggling on my part, which I won't bother commenting on:

23...Rxc1 24.Raxc1 Rxc1 25.Rxc1 Nd3 26.Rc7 Ke8 27.Nf5 Bf6 28.d6 (28.Nxg7+ Bxg7 29.Rxg7 h5) Kd8 29.Nxg7 Bc3 30.Ne6+ Ke8 31.d7+ (31.Re7#) Kf7 32.d8Q+ Kxe6 33.Re7+ Kf6 34.Qf8+ Kg6 35.Qf7+ Kg5 36.f4+ Kh6 37.Qxh7# 1-0

Game of the Week

2010-07-21T08:58:00.003-05:00

A quick-and-dirty recap of a quick-and-dirty game:

S.McWhirter–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, July 20, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5?

Standard lines include 4.Nf3, 4.e3 and 4.cxd5 . . .

4...Nbd7

. . . and black's soundest response is 4...e6.

5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qa4 e6 7.Nf3 Bd6 8.Ne5 0-0 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.e3 Bxe5 11.dxe5 Ne4 12.Nxe4 dxe4

Better is 12...Bd7!?, which allows black to trade his lost knight down to a pawn with 13.Qb4 dxe4 14.Qxe4 Bc6.

13.Qxe4 Qb6 14.b3 Bd7 15.Bd3 g6 16.0-0 Rac8 17.Rad1 f5

A fat nothingburger. 17...Bb5!? is better.

18.exf6 Rxf6 19.Qh4 Qd8??

How about getting that rook out of the way with 19...Rf7 -- not that it would have changed the outcome, which is starting to look predestined.

20.Bc4 Qe7

Sadly, my best option here is to give up the exchange in order to blunt Steve's attack: 20...Rxc4 21.bxc4 Rf8 22.Qxd8 Rxd8.

White to move. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

21.Rxd7! Qxd7 22.Qxf6 Re8

23.a4 a6 24.Qd4 Qxd4 25.exd4 Kg7 26.Re1 Kf7 27.f4 h6 28.Re5 Re7 29.d5 Rd7 30.dxe6+ 1-0

My rook is lost, and I can only wriggle.

Friday Night Speed Chess Survey

2010-07-20T09:45:00.002-05:00

Our second Friday Night Speed Chess tournament is coming up on Aug. 13. We're interested in your input into how to make this recurring event a success. Please take a few moments to fill out our brief online survey.

Game of the Week

2010-07-14T13:36:00.006-05:00

Steve McWhirter, a player who prefers a slower pace, was still smarting over the time trouble he'd repeatedly gotten into in our open Swiss tournament on Saturday. I wanted to train up for this weekend's Chicago Class Championships. And so we set the clock to G/70 and settled in.

K.Ammann–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Ill., July 13, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 b5

"I always feel like it's a good idea to get out of book," Steve says, "even though I'm not sure what book is." In this case, the main line is 3...Nf6, with 3...a6, 3...c5 and 3...e6 as frequently attempted sidelines.

4.e4

Seizing the center but missing the retort that refutes 3...b5, which is 4.a4 c6 5.e3 e6 6.axb5 cxb5 7.b3, bloodily regaining the pawn and blowing black's queenside wide open. Not taking on the b-pawn -- and thus remaining a pawn down -- plants the seed of disadvantage that will grow to entangle me.

4...Bb7 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6

7.a3

Here I'm worrying about ...Bb4 coming in and taking out my vital queen's knight, without which my e-pawn falls. In actuality, though, my fear is exaggerated: 7.0-0 Bb4 8.a4 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Bxe4 10.Ne5 leaves me two pawns down but with the bishop pair, an advanced knight and the makings of a strong attack, whereas if Steve simply plays for development, e.g., 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qc2 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5, his position is the stronger one.

7...Nf6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Qd2 0-0 11.Bxe7

Despite being down a pawn, I decide it's worth my while to trade my bad bishop for Steve's good one.

11...Qxe7 12.0-0 Nd7

13.Nxd5

This, however, is not a good trade for me. Once again, I'm worrying excessively about the safety of my queen's knight. But the greater threat from Steve is that he's going to hit my center pawns with ...f6 or ...c5. My best choice here is 13.a4.

13...Bxd5

Not 13...exd5, which gives me chances on the e-file.

14.Qb4

Another foolish throwaway trade. 14.a4 is still an option, but not for much longer.

14...Qxb4 15.axb4 f6 16.Rfd1

I should be considering 16.Ra3, preparing to double my rooks on the a-file.

16...fxe5 17.dxe5 Nb8

17...c5!? begins to present itself as particularly powerful: 18.bxc5 Nxc5 19.Nd4 is strong for black.

18.Nd4 Nc6

Allows a trade that opens up the d-file for my rook . . .

19.Nxc6 Bxc6 20.Bg4 Bd5

. . . which I promptly squander.

21.f3 g6

I see the Noah's Ark trap coming and take measures to prevent it. Actually, I don't mind this so much, since my idea behind 21.f3 is to march my king over to the opposite side and start taking out vulnerable pawns. But to do that, I have to get Steve's bishop off the long diagonal somehow.

22.Kf2 h5 23.Bh3 Rf4 24.Ke3 g5 25.Rd4!?

Steve is taken aback by this in-your-face move. Rather than trade rooks, he backs off.

25...Rf7 26.Rd2

Not sure what else to do, I pull back too. A beautiful opportunity missed: As Gary Sargent points out after the game, 26.Rxd5! exd5 27.Be6 Kf8 (27...c6 28.Kd4 Kf8 29.Bxf7 Kxf7) 28.Bxf7 Kxf7 clears the path for my king to invade on the queenside, just as I'd hoped to do.

26...Rg7

Cocking for another shot.

27.g4

A significant stumble. The counterintuitive move 27.Bf5!, aiming at 28.Be4, challenges black's control of the long diagonal; if 27...exf5? 28.Rxd5 with a cleared diagonal and a passed pawn.

27...h4 28.Bg2 Rf7 29.h3 Bb7 30.Rd4 Raf8 31.Rf1 Rc8 32.Rd2?

And here's the mistake that's going to cost me the game once and for all. 32.Rfd1, doubling rooks for a direct attack, is my only shot at counterplay.

32...c5 33.f4

33.bxc5 Rxc5 34.f4 Bxg2 35.Rxg2 Rxe5+ 36.fxe5 Rxf1 is better, but not enough.

33...Bxg2 34.Rxg2 Rxf4 35.Rxf4 gxf4+ 36.Kxf4 cxb4 37.Rd2

Hastens the inevitable.

37...c3 38.Rc2 b3 0-1

Seeing how I'm about to get pwned, I resign.

Route 20 RBO/Open Swiss

2010-07-11T13:24:00.018-05:00

Our first fully rated event! And with an impressively diverse turnout -- allowing us finally to live up to our mission of promoting and facilitating chess in northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Check out all the red pins on the map! We're encouraged by the success of our outreach and hope to continue to be able to attract players from beyond the immediate area.

All told, we had 19 registrants: 11 in our rated beginners' section and eight in our open section, enough to demonstrate the feasibility of running cash-prize tournaments in the region.

Fortunately for our long-distance travelers, it was sunny when players arrived and sunny when they left -- but the second-to-last round was punctuated by a surprise downpour, visible and audible through the windows of the classroom that served as our tournament floor.

First place in the RBO went to Mihir Parag Kansara of Madison, Wis., in a 5-point clean sweep. Out of a crowd of finishers with 3 game points apiece, Leo Ma of Madison and Taylor Soddy of Monroe, Wis., won second and third place on modified-median tiebreaks. In the open section, Bob Gallenberg of Madison defeated third-round leader Donald J. Reyes of Sycamore, Ill., in the final round to split the $85 first prize and $55 second prize with James Freestrom of Sycamore, each finishing with 3 points. Reyes, with a score of 2.5, claimed the $35 third prize.

M.Kansara–N.Kozinski

Route 20 Rated Beginners' Open

Freeport, Ill., July 10, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7

6...c6 challenges white more directly.

7.Qe2 a6 8.Qxe5+

Daring! Is Mihir bringing his queen out too soon?

8...Be7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.d6

It's too soon for an attack. Mihir can defend his d-pawn and catch up on development with 10.Nc3.

10...Nc6 11.Qe3 Qxd6 12.Nc3??

It's good that Mihir is thinking about development now, because his only active piece is his queen! But after 12.Nc3 Nb4!? (threatening the fork on c2) 13.Kd1 0-0, black is fully developed and ready to go on the attack. In contrast, after 12.Nf3!?, both sides can castle, then white can hope to free himself up with d4.

12...0-0 13.0-0 Ng4 14.Qh3

Nathanael has a fine strategic move here. What is it? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

14...Qxh2+ 15.Qxh2 Nxh2 16.Kxh2 Bxg5 punches a hole in white's pawn structure and pulls his king out into the open.

17.Nd5 Rac8 18.d3 Bxc1 19.Raxc1 Rfe8 20.Rfe1 Rxe1 21.Rxe1

Initiating the rook trade wasn't the best idea for Nathanael. It leaves Mihir with control of the open file, a more advanced knight and a slight advantage.

21...f6 22.Re3 Kf7 23.b4

Yikes! With Nathanael's king on f7, the options are narrowed for Mihir's rook. He needs to play 23.Re4 and gain in horizontal mobility what he's just lost in vertical.

23...Ne5

Nathanael elects not to punish Mihir for his error. (23...Rd8!? 24.c4 Ne5 weakens white's d-pawn, then lays siege to it.)

24.f3 c6

24...Rd8 is still good, and now sets a trap: White is all right if he replies 25.Nf4, but 25.Nxc7? Rc8 26.Nd5 Rxc2 allows black's rook deep into white's territory.

25.Nf4 Re8 26.Kg3 g5 27.Nh5 Re7 28.d4

28...Kg6

There's a sweet opportunity in 28...Nc4!?, forcing white's rook off its square. Does white abandon the e-file and allow ...Ne3 or ...Re2, or does he acquiesce to a rook trade that's not in his best interest?

Not moving the knight turns out to be the error that shifts the momentum in Mihir's favor.

29.dxe5 Rxe5??

It had to be 29...Kxh5 to rescue Nathanael from his oversight. Then 30.exf6 is followed by 30...Rf7 (not the greedy 30...Rxe3??, which allows 31.f7 and promotion).

A piece ahead, Mihir brings it home with authoritative endgame play:

30.Rxe5 fxe5 31.Kg4 h6 32.Ng3 b6 33.c4 c5 34.bxc5 bxc5 35.a3 a5 36.a4 Kf7 37.Kf5 g4 38.fxg4 e4 39.Kxe4 1-0

By the way, what in the world kind of chess clock are those guys packing there? It looks like it was designed by the Department of Defense.

B.Gallenberg–D.Reyes

Route 20 Open Swiss

Freeport, Ill., July 10, 2010

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Bg7 7.e5 dxe5 8.Qxb7 Nbd7 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bb5+

10...Nfd7 11.Bxd7+ Nxd7 12.Nd5

Perhaps aiming for an exchange-winning fork with 13.Nxc7+ Kf8 14.Qxa8 Qxa8 15.Nxa8, but seemingly passing up a golden moment to castle.

12...0-0 13.0-0

Now 13.Nxc7 Rb8 14.Qxa7 Ne5 and white is worse.

13...Be5

13...e6 neutralizes white's slim edge.

14.Bh6 Re8 15.Rae1 Bd6 16.Qb3 e6 17.Qc3 Bf8 18.Bxf8 Rxf8 19.Nb4 Nb8?!

It's hard to see what the idea of this move is. Black can gain some space with tempo with either 19...a5 or 19...c5.

20.Rd1 Qe7 21.Rd2 a5 22.Nd3 Rd8 23.Rfd1 a4 24.Nb4 Rxd2

Don fights back aggressively while Bob looks for a plan.

25.Qxd2 Na6 26.Nc6 Qe8

An unfortunate retreat. 26...Qc5 is more forceful.

27.Qd7 Kg7 28.a3 Qxd7 29.Rxd7 Kf6

30.Nb4??

A present for black, swinging the game in Don's favor. He doesn't miss the occasion.

30...Nxb4 31.axb4 Ra7

31...Rb8!? 32.c3 c5 helps clear a path for black's a-pawn.

32.Kf1 h5 33.Ke2 Rb7 34.c3 e5

The e-pawn isn't likely to get very far with its neighbor blockaded by its own king.

35.Ke3 Ke6 36.Rd8 c5 37.bxc5 Rxb2??

This sequence, so promising before, is now fraught with danger. 37...Ra7 is necessary to keep the c-pawn from promoting.

38.c6 Rb6 39.c7 Rc6 40.c8Q+ 1-0

There's no question about the outcome.

Thanks and congratulations to all our players, and extra-super-special mega-thanks to Angie Torre, who ably and indispensably fielded a barrage of lunch orders. Also thanks to Mike Nietman of the Wisconsin Chess Association for posting our tournament announcement on the WCA website. Nietman is running for the USCF executive board and asks us to remind everyone to cast your vote for the board and return your ballot as soon as possible, if you haven't done so already.

See event pictures on our photo page and complete standings on our tournament results page; click here for official crosstables and post-event ratings.

Game of the Week

2010-07-07T13:30:00.003-05:00

W.Koester–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, July 6, 2010

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2

Gary writes "Reverse Sicilian" on his scoresheet, but we know this, of course, as Bill's Opening.

3...Nf6 4.Nf3 h6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0

7.Nh4

A questionable move. White needs to play 7.d4 exd4 8.Nxd4 to gain an edge.

7...d6 8.e3 Nh7

Gary has his eye on Bill's wayward knight. Bill's best answer is to put it back on f3 where it belongs.

9.Nd5 Bxh4 10.gxh4 Ne7 11.d4?! Nxd5 12.cxd5 Qxh4 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Qc2?! Bh3

15.Bxh3?!

Bill's minor stumbles are beginning to accumulate, giving Gary a significant advantage. Of course, Bill can't just allow Gary to play 15...Bxg2, but what's the alternative? 15.f4 discovers a defender for the bishop in the form of white's queen, while threatening e4 and fxe5. 15.f3 also makes e4 possible while defending the g2-bishop.

15...Qxh3 16.Qxc7??

Grabbing a pawn when his king is about to come under attack!

16...Qg4+ 17.Kh1 Qf3+ 18.Kg1

18...Qxd5

Missing 18...Ng5!!, which threatens mate in one and drives white inexorably toward his doom: 19.Qc8 Raxc8 20.h3 Qxh3 21.f4 Rc2 22.Bd2 Rxd2 23.Rf2 Nf3+ 24.Rxf3 Qg2#.

19.f3?

Not as good as 19.f4.

19...Ng5

No longer packs the same wallop as it did a move ago. Better is 19...Rac8 20.Qe7 Rc2.

20.e4 Qd4+ 21.Kh1 Nh3

Black should consider the opportunistic 21...Nxe4!?, since the recapture 22.fxe4 is undesirable because of 22...Qxe4+.

22.Qc2 Rac8 23.Qg2 Nf4 24.Bxf4 exf4 25.Rfd1 Qb6 26.Rg1 g5 27.h4 f6 28.e5 Rc7 29.exf6 Qxf6

White needs to recapture with 29...Rxf6 because of the initiative gained from 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Qxg5+. If black follows 29...Rxf6 with 30.hxg5, black blockades and pins the g-pawn with 30...Rg6.

30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Qxg5+ Qxg5 32.Rxg5+ Kh8

An even-looking endgame position with even material. But Gary's advanced f-pawn is a latent advantage just waiting to be activated.

33.Rh5+ Rh7 34.Rxh7+ Kxh7 35.Rd1 Kg6 36.Rd7 Rf7 37.Rd6+ Kf5 38.Kg2 Ke5 39.Rg6 Kd4 40.Rg4 Ke3 41.Rg5 Re7 42.Ra5 a6 43.Ra3+ Ke2 44.Kh3?

Better is 44.Rb3, tying black's rook down to the defense of his b-pawn while covering white's own f-pawn so that his king can outflank black's.

44...Re3!

Setting up a rook trade that will allow Gary to pass his f-pawn.

45.Rxe3+ Kxe3??

Black wins the game with 45...fxe3, and I'd have sworn that was what Gary had in mind when he played 44...Re3. "Would you believe I didn't see it?" he says.

46.Kg4 b6 47.a4 1-0

And Gary resigns, since 47...b5 48.axb5 axb5 49.b4 forces him to abandon the defense of his f-pawn. But actually, it's not a lost cause in light of the continuation 49...Kd4 50.Kxf4 Kc3 51.Kg5 Kxb4 52.f4 Kc4 53.f5 b4 54.f6 b3 55.f7 b2 56.f8Q b1Q; in fact, it looks drawish. In contrast, white slams the door on black's hopes with 47.b4 Kd4 48.Kxf4.

July 10: Route 20 RBO/Open Swiss

2010-06-29T23:14:00.003-05:00

The Route 20 Chess Club will hold a rated beginners' open and an open Swiss tournament in the Community Services Building (Building R) at Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Road, Freeport, on Saturday, July 10 (map).

The rated beginners' open is for players who do not yet have U.S. Chess Federation ratings or are rated under 1200. It is a five-round Swiss tournament, with each player given 30 minutes to make all moves. The entry fee is $10 ($6 for Route 20 Chess Club members). Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place. For chess enthusiasts who have never taken part in official tournament play, an RBO is the ideal introduction.

The open Swiss will be played in four rounds, with each player given 45 minutes to make all moves. The entry fee is $20 ($12 for Route 20 Chess Club members), and at least 75 percent of entry fees will be returned as cash prizes. This event is intended for players with tournament experience.

USCF membership is required to participate in either event. Participants who are not USCF members may join at registration or purchase one-day tournament memberships for $12 ($7 for players from fourth grade to age 24, free for players entering kindergarten through third grade). Players who purchase tournament memberships may deduct the cost (minus $2) if they join the USCF after the day of the event.

Both events will begin at 10 AM. On-site registration will be held from 9 to 9:45 AM. Players may also register in advance through the "Register" button in the sidebar of this page or by check to the Route 20 Chess Club, c/o William Koester, 529 W. Avon St., Freeport, IL 61032. Advance registration is appreciated. Bring clocks; smoking is prohibited; site is wheelchair-accessible. For more information, e-mail us.

PWNED!

2010-06-27T21:39:00.010-05:00

The local paper neglected to announce it until the last minute, but the PWNED! Youth Chess Tournament at the Freeport Public Library drew 15 participants, with the greatest turnout in the grade 4–6 section. Because of low numbers, the grade K–3 and 7–12 were changed from four-round Swiss to double round robin. (See event pictures on our photo page, crosstables on our tournament results page.) Winners were:

K–3

1st place: Dominick Welte (Roscoe)

2nd place: Darius Lewers (Freeport)

3rd place: Faith Hunter (Mount Carroll)

4–6

1st place: Hayden Keltner (Pearl City)

2nd place: Kirkland Shun (Rockford)

3rd place: McKinley Torre (Rockford)

7–12

1st place: Nathanael Kozinski (DeKalb)

2nd place: Yesenia Meraz (Rockford)

3rd place: John Werkheiser (Pearl City)

Yesenia generously shared her record of her second game with Nathanael.

Y.Meraz–N.Kozinski

PWNED! Youth Chess Tournament

Freeport, Ill., June 26, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4

Transposing into a Scotch Game.

4...exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4?

Trading knights leaves black at a disadvantage, with poor development.

6.Qxd4 b6 7.e5!

Yesenia presses forward aggressively.

7...Bb4??

With the queen on d4, Nathanael's bishop is defenseless.

8.Qd3

Aggressive just a moment before, Yesenia unexpectedly pulls back and settles for equality.

8...Ng8

Nathanael has a crafty move in 8...Qe7!?, saving his knight by pinning the e-pawn.

9.Be2

Nathanael's g-pawn is a soft patch in his side's armor; 9.Qg3! threatens 10.Qxg7 and a potent fork, while allowing Yesenia to answer 9...Bxc3+ with 10.Qxc3.

9...d6??

Opens the door to 10.Qb5+, gaining time to pick off the bishop (11.Qxb4). Might as well play 9...Ne7 immediately.

10.0-0 Ne7

In light of the Qb5+ threat, Nathanael should back up his bishop with 10...a5.

11.Qxd6?!

Wow! Yesenia seems to be throwing away her queen -- for what? Well, Nathanael offers an answer:

11...Qxd6

11...cxd6 is clearly the way to go.

At this point, there appears to be a move missing on the transcript. I've interpolated 12.exd6 Bxd6 to make possible the subsequent positions played.

13.Re1 0-0 14.Bf3 c6 15.g3

15.Nb5! is an audacious move that exploits the bishop pin on black's c-pawn and threatens to capture the bishop on d6. Then 15...Bc5 16.Bg5 takes aim at the knight that guards the pawn.

15...Bf5 16.Be4 Rfe8 17.Bxf5 Nxf5

The scales are tipping in Nathanael's favor now.

18.Rxe8+ Rxe8 19.a4

Nathanael is threatening 19...Re1+, followed by ...Nd4 and ...Nxc2. Yesenia needs to get her bishop out of the way so that she can defend that c-pawn. With material even, 19.Bf4!? Bxf4 20.gxf4 is tolerable.

19...Re1+

Whoomp! There it is!

20.Kg2 Nd4 21.Bd2??

Losing the c-pawn isn't a great prospect, but losing the remaining rook is worse.

21...Rxa1 22.Ne4 Rd1 23.Nxd6 Rxd2 24.c3 Ne6 25.Nf5 Rxb2 26.Ne7+

Using the check to slingshot over and grab a pawn.

26...Kf8 27.Nxc6 a6 28.a5 b5! 29.h4 Rc2 30.Nb4 Rxc3 31.Nxa6 Ra3 32.f4 Rxa5 33.f5?

Trading knights is just too good a prospect for black. If 33...Rxa6 34.fxe6, black can simply make a dash for the first rank with 34...b4!, and white has no way of stopping him. 35.fxg7 goes nowhere as long as black's king sits tight on the pawn's promotion square. If 34.Kf3, on the other hand, black can ruin white's day with 34...b4 35.Ke2 Ra2+!!.

33...Nd4

Overlooking the power of the trade. But really, with a material advantage of a rook and a pawn, Nathanael has no grounds for complaining about his position.

34.Nc5 b4 35.Nd3 b3 36.f6 gxf6 37.h5 Ra2+ 38.Kh3

At this point, the transcript offers the move 37...g4+, which is both inscrutable and impossible. But equally impossible is white's position, and in fact, the game ends just a few moves later.

Thanks and congratulations to all our participants, and we hope to see all of you at future events.

Update/correction: Nathanael Kozinski confirms that his seventh move is 7...Bc5, not 7...Bb4. Also, the missing move sequence is 11.exd6 Qxd6 12.Qxd6 Bxd6.

Game of the Week

2010-06-16T16:32:00.006-05:00

Gary Sargent and I were going over a game I blundered away at the Evanston Swiss Groups this weekend which began with a French Exchange. Afterward, Gary reset the board and played 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 himself, then followed up with 4.Be3. I took the hint.

G.Sargent–K.Ammann

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, June 15, 2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Be3?

A non-book move upon which ChessBase looks dimly, giving white only a 42 percent chance of winning. Jacques Mieses apparently loved this line; he seems to have played it exclusively from 1889 to 1905. (Later in life, he switched to 4.Bd3.)

4...Nf6 5.c4 c6

Actually, my first move -- as I'm finding nothing at all to my liking -- is 5...c5. This is followed by 6.dxc5 Bxc5?? 7.Bxc5. I shake my head sheepishly, and we return to the position after 5.c4. (Fritz smacks its virtual forehead and tells me to just play 5...Bb4+, then castle.)

6.Nc3 Bb4 7.a3 Bxd3+

"I guess I shouldn't be writing checks I'm not going to cash," I say.

8.bxc3 0-0 9.Nf3 Ne4

I see the unprotected pawn on c3 and smell blood.

10.Qc1
The right idea, inaccurately executed. 10.Qc2, the best move in the position, gives white a slight advantage. 10.Qc1 gives Gary a nearly equal disadvantage.

10...Bf5 11.Be2 Nd7 12.0-0 Qa5 13.cxd5
After the game, Gary commented that he "lost a pawn there somewhere" but wasn't entirely sure where. According to Fritz, this is where. Gary's pawn capture threatens further damage to my pawn structure -- but my next move threatens a piece capture and an ugly fork, making it the more pressing issue. (As an alternative, 13.Nd2!?, vacating f3, gives white's e2-bishop a chance not only to slip out of the capture but to shut down the idea of the fork with 14.Bf3.)

13...Nxc3
Threatening the devastating 14...Nxe2+. 13...Qxc3?, in contrast, is a fiasco: 14.Nh4 Bg6 15.f3 Qxc1 16.Rfxc1 wins two pawns (or the bishop, if white foolishly plays 16...cxd5?, which also leaves white's c-rook an unimpeded path to the seventh rank), while 13...cxd5?! 14.c4 allows the knight outpost to be undermined, and after 13...Qxd5 14.c4 Qd6 15.Qb2, you can practically hear the black pieces whimper, "Please don't hurt me."

14.Qe1 Nxe2+ 15.Qxe2 Qxd5
The knight looks pinned, but the check proves that it isn't, giving my queen time to scoot out of the way -- and to finish the pawn transaction.

16.Nd2 Rfe8 17.Qc4

I've spotted another lovely tactic . . .

17...Qxc4 18.Nxc4 Bd3 19.Nd6
. . . and missed one of Gary's. Still, there's nothing bad in this for me: I'm up a pawn, and it's an even trade that ends with my rook controlling the open e-file.

19...Bxf1 20.Nxe8 Rxe8 21.Kxf1 b5
A stumble. I'm thinking that we're even on the kingside and that there's no obvious goal in the center, so I may as well press on the queenside, where I have a significant pawn advantage. But why operate on the flank when I'm stronger in the center as well? Plus, 22.Rb1 is no real headache, but 22.d5!? could be. Thus, 21...Nf6 is a useful preventive move. 21...b5, in contrast, just gives Gary a target; I still have an advantage, but it's no longer decisive.

22.Rc1 Rc8 23.d5 c5

My pawn majority is intact, and I'm holding onto my material, but now Gary has a passed pawn.

24.Rb1
A non-threat. My active pieces are both tied down guarding a stupid pawn, making this a fine moment for Gary to bring his king into the action with 24.Ke2.

24...a6 25.a4
This just invites me to slip past with 25...b4 . . .

25...Rb8
. . . but I guess I haven't gotten the invitation.

26.axb5 axb5 27.Bf4 Rb7 28.Ke2
Here he comes!

28...c4
Not the best idea available to me. 28...f5 gives the black king a shorter path to his diminutive nemesis.

29.Bd2 Nf6 30.d6 Nd7
The blockading move is wholly unnecessary.

31.Bb4 Ra7 32.Ke3
Gary's king is threatening to slip behind my advanced pawns and knock them out. Where did my advantage go?

32...Nb6 33.Kd4 Nd7 34.Kd5 Ra2

I'm not paying enough attention to that open e-file. Re1 presents the risk of a back-rank mate. The thing for me to do right now is to push an h-pawn and give my king room to breathe.

35.Bc5??
Gary can cause me all kinds of headaches with 35.Kc6! and 36.Kxb5. This move, on the other hand, allows me an opportunity to trade off that bothersome bishop with 35...Rd2+ 36.Kc6 Nxc5 37.Kxc5.

35...c3 36.Kc6
36.Rxb5 leaves nothing to chance, and 36...c2 37.Be3 keeps my c-pawn from promoting.

36...c2??
Allows intolerable pressure in the form of 37.Re1! Nf6 38.d7.

37.Rc1??
It must be getting toward the end of the night. At this point, I spot what I think is another clever tactic:

37...Ne5+ 38.Kxb5 Nd3??

This slick-looking triple fork is actually a blunder, as it allows 39.d7! Rb2+ 40.Ka5 Rb8 41.Rxc2 -- and now it's white who's ahead in material, his d-pawn a ticking time bomb that forces black to cower in the corner with 41...Ne5 42.Ba7 Rf8. Gary gets the first part of my punishment right, but not the second.

39.d7! Rb2+ 40.Kc6
Allowing my knight to throw himself on the bomb with 40...Ne5+ 41.Kc7 Nxd7 42.Kxd7.

40...Rb8
Committing my rook to stopping Gary's d-pawn from promoting is a terrible idea. 41.Bd6 Rd8, and it might as well be locked in a cage.

41.Kc7
A clumsy move that hangs the bishop and also allows white to neutralize the d-pawn with 41...Nxc5 42.Kxb8 Nxd7+. "Driving home, it occurred to me that given the back-rank threat, 41.Rxc2 instead of the immediate 41.Kc7 is probably sufficient for a draw," Gary says, but he's wrong -- 41.Rxc2 is probably sufficient for a win. After 41...Ne5+ 42.Kc7 (or 42.Kd6) 43.Nxd7 Kxd7, white is a bishop ahead in an otherwise symmetrical endgame.

41...Nxc1??
An incredible blunder, allowing the d-pawn to promote with threat of mate after 42.Kxb8 -- but what's even more incredible is that Gary misses this too.

42.d8Q+ Rxd8 43.Kxd8 Nd3 44.Be3

The threat from Gary's d-pawn gone, my own passed pawn miraculously alive, yet with Gary's bishop covering its promotion square, I proceed to end the game with one opportunistic move. What is it? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

44...Nxf2!? 0-1 If white takes the knight, the pawn will promote; therefore, 45.Ke7 Nd3, and white must part with his bishop on the promotion square, leaving black ahead by a knight and a pawn.

Game of the Week

2010-06-09T11:28:00.005-05:00

G.Sargent–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, June 8, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6? 3.Nf3 e6 4.Bg5 Bb4? 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 0-0 7.Nf3 h6 8.Bh4 g5

9.Nxg5?!

Oddly aggressive, trading a piece for two pawns; there's some positional compensation, but probably not enough. 9.Bg3 is safe and sound.

9...hxg5 10.Bxg5 Kg7

Why can't black play 10...dxc4? here (diagram)? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

11.e4 opens up a Pandora's box: 11...e5 12.Qf3 (not 12.Bxc4 Qd6) Nbd7 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Qxf6 Qxf6 15.Bxf6 Re8 and black is in disarray.

11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Bxf6+ Kxf6 13.e3 Ke7 14.c4 Qa5+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Nc6 17.f4 b6 18.g3 Bb7 19.Rg1 Na5 20.Kc3 f5 21.h3 Be4

22.Bg2

A significant error. 22.g4!? is better.

22...Bxg2 23.Rxg2 Rh8 24.Rh1 Rac8 25.Rgg1?

25.g4 is still called for.

25...c5 26.Rc1 Rcg8

Steve should bust things open -- and pick up the pawns he's lost in the process -- with 26...cxd4+ 27.exd4 Rxc4+ 28.Kb2 Rxd4 29.Rh2.

27.Rcg1 Rd8 28.g4 fxg4 29.hxg4 cxd4+ 30.exd4 Rhf8 31.Rh7+ Rf7 32.Rxf7+ Kxf7 33.Re1

33...Nc6

33...Rc8 34.c5 bxc5 35.dxc5 Rxc5+ 36.Kb4 Nb7 claims a pawn and leaves white's king in a bad position.

34.f5??

Steve is threatening Gary's d-pawn; 34.Re4 or 34.Rd1 is a necessary protective move.

34...exf5 35.gxf5?

With Steve's e-pawn out of the way, Gary should consider 35.d5 Na5 36.Rf1.

35...Nxd4 36.Rd1

Time to end it. Black to play and win. (Highlight to reveal answer.)

36...Nb5+! 0-1

Gary resigns in light of 37.Kb4 Rxd1 38.cxb5 Kf6.

Game of the Week

2010-06-02T10:43:00.003-05:00

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, June 1, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 h6

A nonstandard move; I guess Gary is trying to prevent 5.Bg5.

5.e3 Bb4 6.Qc2

Fritz wants me to play 6.Qa4+.

6...Ne4

This is a nuisance. I consider 7.Bd2, to break the pin, but decide instead to challenge the knight and prepare to castle.

7.Bd3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Bd6

Now I'm thinking about how to develop my other bishop. Based on the shape of my pawn structure and the fact that the e-pawn is blocking it in, I'd like to put it on a3 . . .

10.a4 a5 11.Ba3 0-0 12.Bxd6

Trading off my bad bishop for Gary's good one and putting me nicely ahead in development.

12...cxd6 13.0-0 Nd7

My pawn structure points toward queenside play . . . hey, b5 looks like a perfect knight outpost! It's slow getting there, but I think I've got time.

14.Nd2 Nf6 15.f3

Stay back, horsey.

15...b6 16.Nb1 Ba6

17.Na3

I like this move because it's the one I wanted to play anyway, and it also defends my bishop. But Fritz urges 17.Bxa6 Rxa6 18.c4 because of the threat of 17...Bxc4 18.Nxc4 Rc8 followed by 19...Nd5, piling on my backward pawn.

17...Qc7 18.Bxa6 Rxa6 19.Nb5 Qc6

Now I spend a lot of time trying to figure out which rook to put where. I wish I knew some kind of rule of thumb. Finally, I decide that some reinforcement is needed behind my c-pawn.

20.Rfc1 Nd5

Well, that's a pain. This move attacks both my backward pawns. Can I defend both of them? Yes.

21.Qd3 Rc8?

Fritz points out that this move allows 22.Nxd6!? Rca8 (22...Qxd6 23.Qxa6) 23.Nb5.

22.e4 Nf4 23.Qd2 e5 24.d5 Qc4

With the threat of 25...Ne2+ 26.Kh1 (26.Qxe2 Qxe2) Nxc1 27.Qxc1. Better head that off immediately.

25.Rc2 Qd3?

Unpleasant choice: 26...Rxc3 27.Rxc3 Qxd2 or 26...Rxc3 27.Qxc3 Qxc3 28.Rxc3 Ne2+. OK, that queen's got to go. And a beautiful bonus: After he retakes with the knight, I can knock out his backward d-pawn with initiative on his rook (which is why Fritz strongly prefers 25...Rd8).

26.Qxd3 Nxd3 27.Nxd6 Nb4??

Gary has one rook on a half-open file and another trapped in a cage. Also, I have way more space and an extra pawn. Oh, yeah -- I'm happy to trade.

28.Nxc8 Nxc2 29.Rb1

I miss a magnificent opportunity to sprint: 29.d6! Nxa1 30.d7 Ra8 31.d8Q+.

29...Ra8

You want to give me another pawn? OK.

30.Nxb6 Rb8

A pin. How do I get out of this with equality? First, I need to put the rook somewhere it's not hanging. At first, I consider the basic 31.Rb2 (which is in fact the best move), but then I get what I think is a cleverer idea. (It's not.)

31.Rb5 Na3 32.Nd7

I should send my rook back to b2 and let Gary trade away a rook for a knight if he wants to. I still have a decisive advantage after 32.Nd7, but much less of one.

32...Rxb5 33.axb5 Nxb5 34.c4

A psychologically amusing moment, as I suddenly "realize" that 34.c4 is a big mistake: 34...a4 35.b6 a3 36.Na4 a2 and 37...a1Q, which I can't stop, and I hope against hope that Gary doesn't see it.

Except that Gary does see . . . that he can't promote the pawn! The sequence he notices, which I'm missing, is 34...a4 35.Nc5 a3 36.Nb3.

34...Nd4?

Bad only because if 34...Nc3, his a-pawn can make a dash for the door, and while I can still stop it, I do so at the cost of my knight (35.Nxe5 -- hey, why not? -- a4 36.Nc6 a3 37.Nb4 a2 38.Nxa2 Nxa2).

35.Nb6

Thinking I've just had a narrow escape, I rush to blockade the little punk before it makes its break. I miss 35.Nxe5, which is a gimme.

35...f6 36.Na4 Kf7

Now that the "threat" of the passed a-pawn is put to rest, I feel good about this endgame. I'm going to get one of those two connected pawns to the finish line.

37.c5 Ke7

Gary's king can't get anywhere near those pawns, but I'm not going to be able to advance them any further unless I can do something about his knight.

38.Kf2 g6 39.g3 f5 40.f4 exf4 41.gxf4 (41.e5!) fxe4 42.Ke3 Nf3 43.Kxe4 (better is 43.h3 first) Nxh2

44.Ke5 (44.c6!! Kd6 45.Nc3 Ng4 46.Nb5+ Ke7 47.d6+ Ke6 48.c7 Kd7 49.Na7 is devastating) Nf3+

I have a brief moment of checkmate panic before I spot the escape square.

45.Ke4 Nd2+ 46.Kd3 Nb3 47.c6 Kd6 48.Kc4 Nd2+ 49.Kb5 h5

I count moves. Gary needs four free moves to promote his pawn. I need only one king move and two pawn moves.

50.Kb6

Adequate, but 50.Nc5 is a sure thing.

50...Nc4+ 51.Kb7 Kxd5

This concerns me, because now Gary can move Nd6 and take away my promotion square. Can I stop this from happening? Actually, I can, because as it happens, the placement of his pieces gives me a lovely fork.

52.Nb6+ Nxb6 53.Kxb6 h4 54.c7 h3 55.c8Q h2 56. Qh8 1-0

Game of the Week

2010-05-27T15:30:00.005-05:00

K.Ammann–J.Strong

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, May 25, 2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6?

A weak response, possibly intended to prepare ...b5 or prevent the utterly improbable Nb5. 3...c6 is the most solid response to the line, 3...Nf3 the most popular. 3...Be7 isn't unreasonable either.

4.e4

I'm looking to take advantage of Jim's failure to play 3...Nf3 or 3...c6, but more direct is 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Qb3.

4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nf6

There was also 5...Bb4+ to consider.

6.Bg5

I'm reluctant to trade, but 6.Nxf6 Qxf6 7.Nf3 is the only move.

6...Be7

Better is 6...Bb4+ 7.Nc3 c5.

7.Qd3??

We're both stumbling through this offbeat QGD offshoot. With this queen move, I'm trying to defend my knight and my d-pawn simultaneously, but it doesn't really work: with 7...Nxe4! 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Qxe4 Qb4+! 10.Kd1 Qxb2, my king is exposed, I can't castle anymore, I'm down a pawn, and I'm about to lose another. In light of this potential calamity, I'm still better off trading on f6: 7.Nxf6+ Bxf6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6.

7...Bb4+

Fortunately for me, Jim overlooks the threat too.

For the next dozen moves or so, it's more as though Jim is playing white and I'm playing black: he's trying to generate some kind of attack, and I'm batting his efforts aside, to his mounting frustration.

8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Nf3 h6 10.Bh4 0-0 11.Be2 c5 12.0-0 cxd4 13.Nxd4

I miss a good opportunity here in 13.Qxd4 e5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Qxe5 Re8 16.Rad1, winning a pawn.

13...Nc5 14.Qe3 Bxc3 15.Qxc3

I could recapture with 15.bxc3 here. The doubled pawns aren't much of a problem -- they just give me the lovely b-file for one rook and d-file for the other.

15...e5

The game is going to be all about this pawn for a while.

16.Nf3 Re8 17.Rad1 Qe7 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Rd5 Ne4

An aggressive "forward retreat," but 19...Nd7 is better: it both saves the knight and adds another defender to the e-pawn.

20.Qa5

There was nothing wrong with 20.Qe3 Bf5 21.Rfd1. With this move, I effectively give up my assault on the e-pawn. But I'm OK with that -- with his knight move, Jim has blockaded his own pawn's advance, so I needn't fear ...e4 threatening exf3 anymore. Still, my backing down gives Jim more freedom of movement.

20...b6 21.Qa3 Bg4 22.Rfd1 b5

Jim's threat is not ...b4 but ...bxc4. I can't resist.

23.c5

Perhaps I should have resisted, though, since 23.cxb5 is actually better: if 23...axb5 24.Qe3, then 24...Rxa2 loses a piece to 25.Qxe4. And better still is to move the queen right away: 23.Qe3 Bxf3 24.Nxf3, also threatening Qxe4.

23...Red8??

Jim really needs to get that knight out of the way of his e-pawn. This move gives me a chance to triple my heavies on the e-file with a threat on the knight as well: 24.Qd3! Rxd5 25.Qxd5 Rc8 26.Qxe4. After that, the bloodbath continues 26...Bxf3 27.Qxf3 Qxf3 28.Bxf3 Rxc5, heading into an endgame with white up a bishop for a pawn. Yow! That would have made an exciting finale to this game . . . if, y'know, any of it had actually happened.

24.h3 Bxf3 25.Bxf3 Ng5 26.Bg4 Ne4

Fritz says forget that -- instead, trade rooks on d5 and push the pawn!

27.Qf3 Qxf3??

A straightforward queen trade, right? Wrong. What tactic are Jim and I both missing? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

28.Rxd8+!! Rxd8 29.Rxd8+ Kh7 30.Bxf3 and white goes into the endgame a rook ahead.

28.Bxf3 Rxd5 29.Rxd5 Nf6

Jim has to retreat the hanging knight, but 29...Ng5 gives him 30.Rxe5?! Nxf3+ 31.gxf3 Kf8, giving his pawn a respite (white needs to play 30.Bg4 to defuse the threat) and allowing it to advance.

30.Rxe5 Rd8 31.c6

A little imagination reveals that playing 31.Bb7 first both attacks black's a-pawn and guards the c-pawns promotion square.

31...Ne8? 32.Rc5

Lucky Jim. If I play 32.Re7, his a-pawn is history (32...Kf8 33.Ra7). He could have prevented it with 31...Kf8.

32...Nc7 33.b4 Rd2 34.a3 Ra2 35.Rc3 Ra1+ 36.Kh2 Ra2??

This move looks natural, but it's horrible! Watch what happens if white has his head screwed on straight: 37.Rd3!? Rxf2 38.Rd8+ Kh7 39.Rd7 Ne8 40.Rxf7. White regains his dropped pawn, and the knight is going to die falling on that little grenade on the c-file.

Note to self: When you're a pawn up, don't let the loss of a pawn stop you from looking for an attack.

37.Kg3

Bah. Sensible and tame. Not in the spirit of the position.

37...g6 38.Rd3

A move too late. After, say, 38...Kg7 39.Rd7? Ne6 is merely pitiful (40.c7?? Rc2).

38...h5??

The bad thing about this move is that it sorta kinda allows 39.Rd7 to work (39...Ne6 40.Bd5 Rxa3+ 41.f3 Rc3 42.Bxe6 Rxc6 43.Bxf7+ Kf8 drops the knight).

39.Bd1

I . . . I don't know what I'm thinking with this move. Bb3, maybe? 39.Rd7 is the only move worth considering.

39...Rb2??

I guess Jim is reading my mind and dodging the stupid move that I shouldn't make anyway.

40.Rd7 (finally) Ne6 41.c7 Nxc7 42.Rxc7 Rd2

Let's see, now . . . when you're a piece up in a straightforward, almost symmetrical endgame, what do you do?

43.Bb3?????????

Seriously, I have to give it that many question marks because of the utter delight with which it fills Jim. You see why, right? I'm not even going to insult your intelligence by making you highlight it.

43...Rd3+ 44.Kf4 Rxb3

Sigh.

"I've been waiting this whole game for you to make that one mistake you always make," crows Jim. Yeah, yeah. I'm not done fighting.

45.Ke5 Rb2 46.Ra7 Rxf2 47.Rxa6 Rxg2 48.a4 bxa4 49.b5??

49.Rxa4 is a no-brainer -- kills the a-pawn, defends the b-pawn. This dumb move just sets up a skewer.

49...Rg5+ 50.Kf6 Rxb5 51.Ra8+ Kh7 52.Kxf7 Rb7+

52...Rb3 followed by 52...Rxh3, roll credits.

53.Kf6 Kh6

Goodness gracious . . . after all that, we're heading into draw territory.

54.Rh8+ Rh7 55.Ra8 Rc7

56.Rxa4??

If I just keep swooping in with Rh8+ and back out, I can force a threefold easily. Two pawns down, why am I still trying to win? It's not going to happen.

56...Rc3 57.Ra8??

Now Jim can check me, and I can forget about that forced draw.

57...Rf3+ 58.Ke5 Rxh3 59.Rh8+ Kg5 60.Rf8 Kh4 61.Rf4+ Kg3 62.Ke4 g5

Jim can force a win here with 62...Rh4! 63.Rxh4 Kxh4 64.Kf3 -- the g-pawn will promote.

63.Rf3+ Kg2 64.Rf5 g4 65.Rg5 g3 66.Kf4

I'm gambling that I can get Jim so cramped in the corner that he'll be forced to drop something.

66...h4 67.Kg4 Kh2 68.Kf3 Kh1

68...g2! 69.Ke4 Rg3 is Jim's only chance to force a win.

69.Kg4 g2??

Swindle achieved! (Jim needs to play 69...Rh2 first to save himself.)

70.Kxh3 g1Q 71.Rxg1+ Kxg1 72.Kxh4 ½-½

Game of the Week

2010-05-20T17:31:00.002-05:00

I chose this game for three reasons: because Steve McWhirter occupies the top of our club ladder, because it's a wild collision ultimately decided in the endgame, and because I can't remember the last time I saw a game that began 1.e4 e5.

G.Sargent–S.McWhirter

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, May 18, 2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 d6?

3.d4 is the Scotch Game. The standard answer is 3...exd4; "3...d6 gives a bad Philidor," Sam Collins dryly says in Understanding the Chess Openings, "with the knight committed to c6." (The Philidor Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6.)

4.dxe5?

That being said, Gary's response to Steve's out-of-book move is also suboptimal. 4.Bb5 is more heavily favored, 4.Nc3 a bit less so.

4...Bg4 5.exd6 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Qxd6

Gary seizes his opportunities and stands a pawn up.

7.Bc4 Qb4+ 8.Qc3 Nf6 9.a3 Qe7 10.0-0

Relinquishes the pawn advantage -- black's natural answer is 10...Nxe4. 10.f3 holds the line for white.

10...0-0-0

Not awful -- black's second-best move, actually -- but why pass up material equality when you're down?

11.Bg5

It's like Gary is asking Steve to take his pawn . . .

11...Rd4?

. . . and Steve is saying, "No, really, I couldn't"! (Although with his knight pinned, black now has to take with his queen, allowing white to swipe another pawn with 12.Bxf7.)

12.Bd5

What's the idea of this move -- to box in black's rook somehow? Gary has many better ways to tighten the screws on Steve, for instance, 12.Nd2 Nxe4 13.Qxd4 Nxd4 14.Bxe7 Nxd2 15.Bxf8 Rxf8, winning the exchange and clearing the center for cannon fire. There's even the cheap shot 12.Qh3+.

12...Qc5?

So much for an attack on e4. Steve should strike immediately with the gonzo 12...Nxd5 13.exd5 Qxg5 14.dxc6 Bc5.

13.Bxf6 Qxc3 14.Nxc3

Gary hasn't lost his decisive advantage, but contemplate the situation after the wicked 14.bxc3!: with a jab at black's rook, white gains time to evacuate his bishop from f6, leaving him a piece and a pawn up. Which just goes to show that Steve should have played 13...gxf6 instead of trading queens (something he should have avoided anyway, being down in material).

14...gxf6 15.Bxf7 Bd6 16.Nb5

16.Rad1!? challenges black's control of the open d-file.

16...Rxe4 17.Nxd6+ cxd6 18.Bd5

18.Rae1 Re7 19.Rxe7 Nxe7 looks good too. Even trades favor Gary right now.

18...Re2 19.Bxc6

The trouble with this, rather than an immediate Rac1!? (or the less favorable Rfc1), is that it throws away an active piece and gives Steve's pawns space and mobility. With nothing but rooks, kings and pawns in the field -- and with a black rook already on its seventh rank, while both white rooks are still on their first -- Gary's one-pawn material advantage looks a lot less significant.

19...bxc6

20.Rac1 Kd7 21.h3 a5

The open b-file and e-file are calling to Steve's undeveloped rook, but it doesn't hear.

22.Rfe1 Rd2 23.Kf1 Rb8 24.b3 Rb5 25.Re2 Rxe2 26.Kxe2 Re5+ 27.Kf1 h5 28.Re1 Rc5

With precise endgame play, Steve is keeping Gary from taking advantage of his extra pawn.

29.Re2 f5 30.a4 Rd5 31.Ke1 h4 32.Rd2 Re5+ 33.Kd1 Re4 34.Rd3 Rf4

Steve's first stumble in many moves, blockading his own f-pawn. Better to advance it.

35.Rf3

Gary repays the favor. 35.Ke2 seizes a chance to break out: 35...c5 36.c4 Re4+ 37.Kf3.

35...Rxf3 36.gxf3 f4

The door is slamming on Gary's winning chances. His extra pawn is useless now, trapped behind its compadre.

37.Kd2 c5 38.c4 Ke6 39.Kd3 Ke5 40.Kc3

40...d5??

A disastrous choice. Steve's best bet is to maintain the deadlock, and claim the draw, with a king move. Instead, the dominoes fall:

41.cxd5 Kxd5 42.Kd3 c4+?! 43.bxc4+ Kc5 44.Kc3! Kd6 45.Kd4 Kc6 46.c5 1-0

If Gary's c-pawn doesn't promote, his a-pawn will.

Friday Night Speed Chess

2010-05-15T11:16:00.003-05:00

Perhaps we should have known better than to go up against a Criminal Minds marathon on A&E. Turnout was sparse; with six participants, we changed the format at the last minute from Swiss to round robin. Steve Black, who also led in our practice round on May 4, won first place with a total of 4 game points, and Steve McWhirter finished second with 3. Monica Vorass won third place on tiebreaks. (See crosstable on our Tournament Results page.)

Thanks to Andy Golz of City Coffee Co. for hosting the event!

Game of the Week

2010-05-12T18:11:00.002-05:00

K.Ammann–G.Sargent

Route 20 Chess Club

Freeport, Illinois, May 11, 2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5

When Gary and I postmortemed this game, I thought this move was a mistake on my part, because the game transposed into a Semi-Slav, in which white doesn't play the bishop move. But at this point, it's just the Cambridge Springs variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, and I'm doing fine so far. Except that I don't really know the Cambridge Springs.

4...Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Be7

Instead of the more standard move, 6...Qa5.

7.Bd3 h6 8.Bf4!? 0-0

This concludes our opening. I have a slight edge.

At this point, I have three almost equal choices: 9.Nd2, 9.cxd5 and 9.Ne5.

9.Ne5 Nxe5 10.Bxe5 Bd6 11.Bxd6

Not my best move. I'm thinking that I may as well take the opportunity to trade away Gary's good bishop. But my "bad" bishop is already outside my pawn chain and active, and trading helps him develop his queen, while if I just sit tight and let him initiate the trade, I retake with tempo. 11.Qe2, clearing white's back rank, retains the edge.

11...Qxd6 12.c5 Qc7 13.b4

I've forgotten about the center. 13.f4 is necessary to suppress the ...e5 push.

13...e5

The game is starting to swing Gary's way, and I can feel it. Like it or not, the center is about to get cracked open. My king is suddenly looking very exposed. Castling isn't a really attractive option, since Gary's queen and bishop are staring menacingly down at my kingside, but what other choice do I have, besides wishing I'd played 11.Qe2 so that I could castle queenside now? In fact, I have several choices, 14.Qd2 being the best, and the counterintuitive (to me, anyway) 14.dxe5 coming in second. Alas, I give in to my emotions.

14.0-0 e4 15.Be2 Bd7 16.f4

Corking the queen's diagonal and daring Gary to capture en passant, opening my rook's file.

16...b5

"The villainy you teach me, I will execute."

17.h4

Wrong side. Better is 17.a4 a6 18.f5.

17...a5 18.a3 a4 19.g4!? Qc8 20.f5 g6 21.Qe1!

Considerably more subtle than I'm usually capable of. Gary found it frustrating. This one little adjustment takes much of the steam out of the attack he's been preparing. As for me, I'm just looking for a way to get my queen out of the backfield.

21...Nh7 22.Qg3 Kh8?

It's important for black to exchange pawns first (22...gxf5 23.gxf5+ Kh8), but I guess Gary didn't like the look of the discovered check. Neglecting the exchange leaves him open to the nasty sequence 23.fxg6 fxg6 24.Qe5+ Kg8 25.Nxd5 cxd5 26.Qxd5+ Kg7 27.Qe5+ Kg8 28.Qxe4 (diagram).

Unfortunately, I missed it too.

23.h5??

Instead of exploiting Gary's error, I weaken my own position.

23...gxf5 24.gxf5??

Even worse -- I'm opening myself up to a pin on my queen! Evacuation is essential: 24.Qd6 Qb8 25.Qxb8 Raxb8 26.gxf5 Rg8+ 27.Kh2 limits the damage.

24...Rg8 25.Bg4

My best defense. What's Gary's best reply? (Highlight to reveal answer.)

25...Bxf5! 26.Qe5+ f6 27.Qxf5 Qxf5 (black can put a quick end to white's hopes with 27...Rxg4+!) 28.Rxf5 Rxg4+ 29.Kf2 Rag8 30.Rh1 Rg2+ 31.Kf1 Rc2 32.Ne2 Ra2 33.Nf4 Ra1+ 34.Kf2 Rxh1 35.Ng6+ Kg7 36.Ne7 Rh2+ 37.Kg3 Ra2 38.Nxc6 Rxa3 39.Kf4 Ng5 40.Ne7 Nh3+ 41.Kg4 Kf7+ 42.Kxh3?? (42.Nxg8 Kxg8 43.Kxh3) Rxe3+ 43.Kh4 Kxe7 0-1

Blitz Practice

2010-05-04T21:27:00.003-05:00

Our next event, Friday Night Speed Chess at City Coffee Co., is just a week and a half away, so tonight we decided to get in some blitz practice. Gary Sargent noticed that we had six members present and proposed a round robin. Congratulations to Steve Black, who won four games in five rounds. As for myself, I claim the unique honor of being the only player to win against the top-scoring player and the only one to lose against the bottom-scoring one!

Route 20 Chess Club
Blitz Round Robin (G/5)
Freeport, Illinois, May 4, 2010

#	Name	Total	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5
1	Gary Sargent	3.0	W2	L4	W3	W5	L6
2	Steve McWhirter	2.0	L1	W6	L4	L3	W5
3	Bill Koester	2.0	L6	W5	L1	W2	L4
4	Steve Black	4.0	W5	W1	W2	L6	W3
5	Monica Vorass	1.0	L4	L3	W6	L1	L2
6	Keith Ammann	3.0	W3	L2	L5	W4	W1