The April Check is in the Mail

BEAUTIFUL BLINDFOLD CHESS SET             Just look at the elegant design of this chess set made exclusively for blindfold chess players.  If you can visualize moving these gorgeous pieces – each created with a grip on its base so you may mentally grasp each piece while moving it, if you can picture yourself moving the pieces to attack the enemy forces, then you, too, may be able to play blindfold chess!  Available now at the low cost of your time and effort.   For more information  send no money at all to Blindfold Chess Set,  20-20 Gareyev Street,  Inthed, Ark.  Offer good only on April First. John Menke  1940-2019 Correspondence chess lost one of its great ones in March of this year with the death of John Menke of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  John had an amazing record, losing only a single game in 167 US Chess contests.  He was the 2004 and 2005 CCLA Champion , the 2003 Golden Knights Champion,  First in the 2004 Electronic Knights, third in 2005, and second in 2006. In the Absolute Championships he finished first in 2011 and 2012 and tied for second in 2013. Along the way in 2010 he picked up his ICCM title.   Rest in Peace, John Menke. NIMZO INDIAN DEFENSE (E13)

[pgn]

[Event "11A01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dunne, Alex"]
[Black "Menke, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E13"]
[WhiteElo "2215"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[PlyCount "62"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 {This was the most common
reply to 4. Nf3, and most likely to lead to equality, but John was not playing
for a draw} 5. Bg5 Bb7 6. Nd2 {This was quite popular at the time of this game,
but I was guilty here of playing book without really understanding the
reasoning behind such a play. An example is Moriseenko-Onischuk, World Team
2013: 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 0. Qc2 f5 with a double-edged game.} h6 7.
Bh4 O-O 8. e4 Be7 {Moriseenko-Alekseev, Warsaw 2005 continued 8...g5 9. Bg3
Nxe4 10. Ncxe4 Bxe4 11. a3 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 when White has enough for the Pawn.}
9. Bg3 {White has to avoid ...Nxe4. and 9. e5 Nh7 leaves White dangerously
overextended.} d6 10. f4 {10. Bd3 was played in Svetushkin-Efimenko, Moscow
2008. This was a novelty and not so bad, but it was played with the mistaken
idea of attacking on the kingside. White is behind in development and from
now on Menke's moves show he fierceness of his game and why he went, undefeated,
9 1/2-2 1/2 to win the 2011 Absolute by a full point.} e5 $1 11. fxe5 {After
11. d5 exf4 12. Bxf4 comes 12. ...Nfd7! whe Black will be in full control of
e5 and White's attack can be forgotten.} dxe5 12. dxe5 (12. d5 {After 12. d5,
Black plays 12...Nbd7 13. Bd2 a5 14. 00 Bc5+ with full equality. That was
White's best option, but ambition does White in.}) 12... Nfd7 13. Qg4 Bb4 {
Diagram #} 14. Nf3 $2 {About equal is 14. Rd1. Now John can show the power of
his game.} Nc5 15. Rd1 Qc8 $1 {After this White's hoped for attack evaporates,
and with his Pawn structure in ruins, Menke is in full control.} 16. Qxc8 Rxc8
17. Bd3 {Better is 17. Nd2, but White's game is beyond salvation.} Na4 $1 18.
Kd2 Nxb2 19. Rb1 Bxc3+ 20. Kxc3 Nxd3 21. Kxd3 Nd7 22. Ke3 Nc5 23. Rbd1 {White
has to jettison some material here. After 23. Nd2 Rd8 24. Rhe1 Rd3+ 25. Ke2
Rad8 26. Rbd1 Na4! 27. Nb1 Bxe4 is the end.} Nxe4 24. Rd4 Nxg3 25. hxg3 Rd8 26.
Rhd1 Rxd4 27. Rxd4 Re8 28. Kf4 g5+ 29. Kf5 Bc8+ 30. Ke4 f6 31. c5 g4 0-1

[/pgn]

MARCH RESULTS Walter Muir 18W25   Alex Strobehn         5-1 18W21  Gregory Goellner  5-1 With his 34^th move, Black thinks he is capturing a Rook.  With White’s 35^th move, he is capturing a King. CARO-KANN DEFENSE (B13)

[pgn][Event "18W25"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Strobehn, Alex"]
[Black "Grinsteinner, Raymond"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "1340"]
[BlackElo "1463"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2019.03.13"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Bg4 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O e6 7. h3 Bh5 8. Bg5
Be7 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. c3 Nbd7 11. Nh2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 Ne8 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Ng4
Nef6 15. a3 Nxg4 16. Qxg4 Nf6 17. Qg3 Rac8 18. Nf3 Ne4 19. Qf4 Qf6 20. Qe3 Rc7
21. Ne5 Nd6 22. Rab1 Nc4 23. Nxc4 Rxc4 24. Rfe1 Rfc8 25. Qd2 b5 26. Re3 Qe7 27.
Rbe1 Qd6 28. Rg3 R4c7 29. Qg5 g6 30. Rg4 Qe7 31. Qf4 Kg7 32. Rh4 h5 33. Qg3 Kh6
34. Re5 g5 35. Qg4 1-0[/pgn]

When White avoids protecting against a back rank mate by 26. h3, his game goes steadily down hill. BUDAPEST GAMBIT (A52)

[pgn]

[Event "18W21 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wade, Donald"]
[Black "Goellner, Gregory"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A52"]
[WhiteElo "1576"]
[BlackElo "1515"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Be2 Ncxe5 7. Nxe5 Nxe5
8. Nc3 O-O 9. b3 Re8 10. Na4 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Bd6 12. c5 Be7 13. O-O Bf6 14. Rc1
Nc6 15. Bc3 d6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. cxd6 cxd6 18. Nc3 Qg6 19. Bf3 Nb4 20. Nd5 Nxd5
21. Qxd5 Be6 22. Qxd6 Rad8 23. Qb4 Bh3 24. Qh4 Bd7 25. Rfd1 Qb6 26. Rd4 Rc8 27.
Rxc8 Bxc8 28. Rd2 Qa5 29. Re2 Qa3 30. Qc4 Be6 31. Qc3 Rc8 32. Qd2 Rc1+ 33. Re1
Rxe1+ 34. Qxe1 Qxa2 35. Qd1 Qa3 36. Bxb7 Bxb3 37. Qd8+ Qf8 38. Qd4 a5 39. Bc6
Qc8 40. Bb5 a4 41. Qa1 Qa8 42. Bd3 Bd5 43. Bf1 a3 44. f3 a2 45. Bd3 Qa3 0-1

[/pgn]

2019 Absolute Championship started The lineup for the 2019 Absolute Championship has been established.  Playing this year for the unofficial title of strongest player in US Correspondence Chess are Harry Ingersol (2431), Robert Rizzo (2384), Danny Horwitz (2364), Keith Rodriguez (2361), Kristo Miettinen (2358), Charles Jacobs (2334), John Millett (2334), David Sogin (2334), Ferdinand Burmeister (2326), Brad Rogers (2260), Timothy Harris (2189), Mark Stephenson (2188) and Robert Cousins (2074).  Good skill, gentlemen! OBITUARY Edward Kopiecki of Brooklyn. NY, born September 24,1958 died January 25, 2019. SICILIAN DEFENSE (B99)

[pgn]

[Event "81Ns67"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kopiecki, Edward"]
[Black "Naiser, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B99"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "1999.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3
Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. Bd3 b5 11. Rhe1 Bb7 12. Qg3 O-O-O 13. Bxb5 axb5 14. Ndxb5
Qb6 15. e5 Nc5 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bh4 Rhg8 18. Qe3 Rxg2 19. Bg3 f5 20. Nd4 Bf6
21. Nf3 Rg8 22. Nh4 Bxh4 23. Bxh4 Rxh2 24. Be7 Rgg2 25. Rxd6 Rxc2+ 26. Kd1 Bf3+
0-1[/pgn]

QUOTE: When I asked [Peter Millican] whether the fear of being attacked, or the elation of playing a brilliant attack, was at all like the sensations experienced at the board, his view was that the emotions were just the same [in CC play], and just as strong, except that they last for months, rather than minutes or hours! – Graham Burgess Terribly cramped, Black walks into a fatal loss of material on Move 23. QUEEN’s PAWN GAME (D02)

[pgn]

[Event "18ENs03"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lazzara, Derek"]
[Black "Serovey, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1404"]
[BlackElo "2122"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. h3 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 b6 8. Be2
Nc6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Ne5 Nd7 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. Nf3 Rad8 13. a4 f6 14. a5 cxd4 15.
a6 Ba8 16. exd4 e5 17. Bh2 exd4 18. cxd4 f5 19. Bb5 Qe7 20. Rc1 Rc8 21. Re1 Qf6
22. Ne5 Nb8 23. Bf4 Nc6 24. Nxc6 Bxc6 25. Rxc6 Rxc6 26. Be5 Qe6 27. Bxg7 Kxg7
28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Qc1 Rf7 30. Qc8 Rfe7 31. Qb7 Re1+ 32. Kh2 1-0[/pgn]

Thomas Biedermann has finished in second place in ICCF’s 5^th Webchess Open Final, winning three and losing none.  Biedermann continues to rack up accolades.  He has acquired the ICCM and SIM titles, finished first in the 16^th USCCC and second in the 18^th.  In May of this month I reported his win of the 13^th North American Invitational.  Congratulations, Tom Biedermann ! CATALAN OPENING (E04)

[pgn]

[Event "S-Open/5-final"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2017.02.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Biedermann, Thomas"]
[Black "Cintins, Ivars"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2433"]
[BlackElo "2349"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qe2
Bd6 9. Qxc4 O-O 10. Nbd2 Qe7 11. Qc2 Nb4 12. Qb3 Qe8 13. e4 Ba4 14. Qc3 Bb5 15.
Rd1 Be7 16. Ne5 Rd8 17. Nb3 Ba4 18. Bf4 c5 19. a3 cxd4 20. Rxd4 Rc8 21. Rc4 Nc6
22. Nxc6 Rxc6 23. Na5 Rxc4 24. Nxc4 Qc6 25. Rc1 Rd8 26. b3 Bb5 27. a4 Bxc4 28.
Qxc4 Qxc4 29. Rxc4 h6 30. Bf3 g5 31. Be3 Rd3 32. Rc7 Rd7 33. Rxd7 Nxd7 34. Kg2
Bc5 35. Bd2 Ne5 36. Bd1 Nd3 37. f4 gxf4 38. gxf4 Kg7 39. e5 b6 40. Kf3 a5 41.
Be2 Nb4 42. Ke4 Nc6 43. Bc3 Ne7 44. Bg4 Kg6 45. Bd2 h5 46. Bf3 Nf5 47. Kd3 h4
48. Be1 Bg1 49. h3 Ng3 50. Bd1 Kg7 51. Kc4 Be3 52. Kb5 Kf8 53. Kc6 Nf5 54. Kb7
Ke8 55. Kc7 Ne7 56. Bf3 Ng6 57. b4 Nxf4 58. bxa5 bxa5 59. Bxa5 Bd4 60. Bd2
Bxe5+ 61. Kc6 Ng6 62. a5 Ne7+ 63. Kb7 Kd7 64. a6 Bd4 65. Bc3 Bc5 66. Bf6 Nd5
67. Bxh4 Nc7 68. a7 Bxa7 69. Kxa7 e5 70. Bg4+ Kd6 71. Be1 Ke7 72. Kb6 Nd5+ 73.
Kc5 Nf4 74. Bc3 f6 75. h4 Kf7 76. h5 f5 77. Bf3 1-0[/pgn]

The winner of S-Open/5 shows the power of the Queen versus the Rooks. SICILIAN DEFENSE (B33)

[pgn]

[Event "S-Open/5-final"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2017.02.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Chamaev, Aleksandr Viktorovi"]
[Black "Jacobs, Rudolf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2416"]
[BlackElo "2377"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5
15. Bc4 Rb8 16. b3 Kh8 17. Nce3 g6 18. h4 Bxh4 19. g3 Bg5 20. f4 exf4 21. gxf4
Bh4+ 22. Kf1 f5 23. Ra2 fxe4 24. Rah2 g5 25. Qh5 Be6 26. Ke2 Rb7 27. Qh6 Bg8
28. Rg2 Bxd5 29. Nxd5 Ne7 30. Rxg5 Nxd5 31. Rxd5 Bf6 32. Rdh5 Qe7 33. Qg6 Qg7
34. Qxe4 Re7 35. Rxh7+ Qxh7 36. Rxh7+ Rxh7 37. Qe3 Rc8 38. Qg3 Bg7 39. Qg4 Rd8
40. Qf3 Rf8 41. Be6 Rh6 42. Qe3 Rh2+ 43. Kd3 Rh4 44. f5 Be5 45. Qg5 Rh3+ 46.
Kc4 Bxc3 47. Qg4 d5+ 48. Bxd5 Rc8+ 49. Kb5 Rb8+ 50. Ka6 Rh6+ 51. Be6 Ra8+ 52.
Kb7 Rf8 53. Qf4 Bg7 54. Qd2 Rh7 55. Kc6 Ra8 56. Qa2 Ra6+ 57. Kc5 Bc3 58. b4 1-0[/pgn]

The way the Black pieces are stripped away from the Black King leaving no defense to the coming Rf1+ makes this game a chessic miracle. NIMZOVICH DEFENSE (B00)

[pgn]

[Event "16EN06"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kazarian, Christ"]
[Black "Cobb, Jeffrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[BlackElo "1894"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. d5 Nb8 6. h3 Bg7 7. Be3 c6 8. Qd2
O-O 9. Bh6 Qa5 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. g4 cxd5 12. exd5 a6 13. h4 Bxg4 14. Be2 h5 15.
O-O-O b5 16. a3 Nbd7 17. Nd4 Ne5 18. Rdg1 b4 19. Na2 Qxd5 20. Nxb4 Qb7 21. f3
Bd7 22. f4 Neg4 23. Bf3 d5 24. f5 e5 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. Re1 e5 27. Nxd5 Rab8 28.
b3 exd4 29. Nxf6 Qa7 30. Re7+ Rf7 31. Nxh5+ gxh5 32. Qg5+ Kf8 33. Rxf7+ Kxf7
34. Bxg4 1-0[/pgn]