The Check Is in the Mail - May 2018

Thomas Biedermann wins 13^th North American Invitational CC Championship

Thomas Biedermann is no stranger to this column. He has been here many times before – he tied for first in the 16^th US Correspondence Chess Championship and was second in the 18^th.  He received his International Correspondence Chess Master and Senior Master title.  He played on Board 5 in the 20^th Olympiad and on Board 2 in the Pan-Am games. And now he has annexed the North American Invitational Championship. Congratulations, Thomas!

[pgn][Event "NAPZ/NAIC/13 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Biedermann, Thomas"]
[Black "Harvey, Donald"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "2406"]
[BlackElo "2360"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]{MAY} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8.
d5 Ne7 9. b4 {White shows his intentions right away: attack on the queenside
using his superior space. Black will reciprocate soon on the kingside
producing a life and death battle. It is the many-told tale of the King's
Indian Defense.} Nh5 10. c5 f5 11. a4 Nf4 12. Bc4 fxe4 13. Nxe4 Bg4 14. Ra3 {
Reinforcing the f3 Knight as protection against the threatened ...Nxg2.} Nf5
15. h3 {The "safer" 15 Bxf4 scored a draw in Kochemasov-Hansen, ICCF 2012. The
choice of 15, h3 scores an overwhelming +18 =7 -0 (!) in correspondence chess.}
Bh5 16. Kh2 Nxg2 $5 {Sun-Gonzalez Martinez, PAN 2016 saw a hard-fought draw
after 16...Bxf3 17. Rxf3 Nd4. The text is more enterprising but scores
horribly for Black.} 17. Bg5 Qe8 18. Kxg2 h6 19. Bd2 Qf7 {Black chooses to
build up his attack. After the hurried 19..Nh4+ Black managed to escape with a
draw after 20. Nxh4 Bxd1 21, Rxd1 in Morrow-Ingersol, Berliner Invitational
2013, though the over-all record of 19...Nh4+ is +5 =2 in White's favor.} 20.
Bc1 Nh4+ 21. Nxh4 Bxd1 22. Rxd1 g5 23. Nf3 Kh8 {Also faring poorly +2 =1 was
23...Qg6. Ballow-Bellegotti, RCAA 20 continued 24. Re1 b6 25. Bb5 Rad8 26.
cxb6 cxb6 27. Bc6} 24. Nfd2 Qg6 25. Rg3 {26. f3 saw an abrupt end after 25...
Rf4 26. Nf2 Qf7? 27. Nde4 1-0 in Ballow-Schakel, USA 2016.} Rad8 26. cxd6 {
Thomas has been here before in Biedermenn-Krzyanowski, PawnStorm Imperium -
Szachow 2015 where he originally played 26. f3 Rf4 27. Rg4 b5 28. Rxg5 Qf7 29.
Nf1 Nh6 30. Bxf4 exf4 31. Nfd2 Bxg5 32. Nxg5 Rg7 and drawn in 65.} cxd6 27. Bd3
Qh5 28. Re1 Qf7 {Prozorovsky-Grego, ICCF 2016 continued 28...Rf4 29. Nb1 a6 30.
Nbc3 Qf8 31. b5 axb5 32. Bxb5 Qg8 with an edge to White.} 29. b5 Qxd5 {Diagram
# A very difficullt position to assess -- Black has Queen and two passed
center Pawns and a mildly bad Bishop against a newly invigorated White army
with control of the center. All in all, when White wins the d-Pawn back, Black
will be left on the defensive.} 30. Bc4 Qd4 31. Rd3 Qb6 32. Ba3 Rf4 33. Bxd6 g4
34. hxg4 Rxg4+ 35. Kf1 Rg6 36. Ba2 Rgxd6 37. Rxd6 Rxd6 38. Nc4 Qd4 39. Ncxd6
Bf8 {White's plan becomes clearer after 39...Qxa4 40. Bc4 Bf8 41. Nf7+ Kg7 42.
Nxe5 when the emperor has no clothes.} 40. Nf7+ Kg7 41. Be6 Qxa4 42. Kg2 Qb4 {
Taking the b-Pawn may be Black's last meal. After 43. Re3 Bb4 44. Nd8! Kf8 45.
Bf5 Ke8 46. Ne6 Qa5 47. Rg3 Kd7 48. Rg7+ the hunt is on.} 43. Re3 Bc5 44. Rg3+
Kf8 45. Rf3 Qxe4 {Black is exposed to the full force of White;s pieces after
45...Ke7 46. Bd5 Qxb5 (or 46...Bd4 47. N7d6) 47. Nxe5.} 46. Ng5+ Qxf3+ 47. Nxf3
Ke7 48. Bc8 e4 49. Nd2 e3 50. fxe3 Bxe3 51. Nc4 Bc5 52. Bxb7 {A simplified
endgame has been reached. White's goal is to win the a-Pawn, but first he must
nullify the danger of the h-Pawn.} Kf6 53. Kf3 Kf5 54. Bc8+ Kg6 55. Ke4 Kg5 56.
Kd5 Bg1 57. Nd6 Kh4 {Black recogniizes the h-Pawn might be a buirden after 57..
.h5 58. Ke4 h4 59. Nf7+ Kh5 60. Bh3 Kg6 61. Ne5+ Kh5 62. Kf5 Bf2 63, Nf7 with
mate to follow.} 58. Ne4 h5 59. Bd7 Bh2 60. Be8 Kg4 61. Nf6+ Kf5 62. Nxh5 Bg1 {
The goal of nullifying the h-Pawn has been accomplished. Now White can turn
his attention to the a-Pawn.} 63. Bd7+ Kg5 64. Ng3 Kf6 65. Ne4+ Ke7 66. Kc6 Kd8
67. Nd6 Bd4 68. Nc8 Bg1 69. Bg4 Bf2 70. Kb7 Bg1 71. Nxa7 1-0[/pgn]

13^th North American Invitational Championship

APRIL RESULTS

Palciauskas

              Preston Ladson  15P03   5-1

Walter Muir

              Jay Hall              17W17   3 ½-2 ½

            Brian Higgins  17W17  3 ½-2 ½

            Rick Zeckzer   18W04  5 ½-½

Swift Quad

            David Stone    17SQ06   4-2

 

17C03 John Collins won by Claude Corbett

[pgn][Event "17C03"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Corbett, Claude"]
[Black "Babcock, Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2156"]
[BlackElo "210"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]{MAY} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7
8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 Bd7 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. Nxc3 a6 14.
Ne2 Rc8 15. Rb1 Nf5 16. h3 Na5 17. g4 Ba4 18. Rb2 Ne7 19. Nd4 b5 20. Ra2 Nec6
21. Nxc6 Nxc6 22. Bd2 Ne7 23. Kd1 Qc4 24. Rb2 d4 25. Rh2 Rg7 26. Qxc4 bxc4 27.
Rb4 Bb5 28. a4 Nd5 29. axb5 Nxb4 30. Bxb4 axb5 31. Rd2 f5 32. exf6 Ra7 33. Rxd4
1-0[/pgn]

This is a draw where each player plays like it is worth ¾ of a point.

[pgn][Event " 17N13"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cross, Gregory"]
[Black "Ellis, James R"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2311"]
[BlackElo "2269"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "corr"]{MAY} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O
Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Re1 Qc7 12. Bb3 Bd6 13. Nf5 Bxh2+
14. Kh1 O-O 15. Nxg7 Rd8 16. Qf3 Kxg7 17. Bh6+ Kg6 18. c3 Nh5 19. Be3 f5 20.
Rad1 Rxd1 21. Bxd1 Nf6 22. g3 Ng4 23. Qg2 Bxg3 24. Bxg4 fxg4 25. Qe4+ Kh5 26.
fxg3 Qc6 27. Qxc6 bxc6 28. Bf4 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

Black sacrifices his Knight for a board full of Black Pawns.

[pgn][Event "17W17 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Davis, Roddye"]
[Black "Hall, Jay"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D07"]
[WhiteElo "1719"]
[BlackElo "1718"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]{MAY} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Qa4 Bxf3 5. exf3 dxc4 6. Be3 a6 7. Qxc4
e6 8. Be2 Bb4+ 9. Nc3 Qd6 10. O-O b5 11. Qd3 Nge7 12. Ne4 Qd7 13. a3 Bd6 14.
Bh6 O-O 15. Rac1 Nxd4 16. Nxd6 Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 cxd6 18. Be3 Rfc8 19. h3 Rxc1 20.
Rxc1 Rc8 21. Rxc8+ Qxc8 22. Qd3 Nd5 23. Bd2 Qc4 24. Qb1 Nf4 25. Kh2 d5 26. b3
Qc7 27. Kh1 Ng6 28. Qe1 Qc2 29. Qe3 e5 30. Bb4 d4 31. Qg5 f6 32. Qg4 Nf4 33. g3
h5 34. Qd7 Qxf2 35. Qc8+ Kh7 36. gxf4 Qxf3+ 37. Kg1 Qe3+ 38. Kg2 Qe4+ 39. Kg1
Qxf4 40. Qc2+ e4 41. Qe2 Kh6 42. Bf8 d3 43. Qg2 Qc1+ 44. Kh2 Qc2 0-1[/pgn]

It’s a story as old as chess – Black steals a poisoned Pawn and then…

[pgn][Event "17W17 "]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Higgins, Brian"]
[Black "Shannon, Paul D"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "1674"]
[BlackElo "1934"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]{MAY} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6
8. Qf4 Bb4 9. O-O O-O 10. Bd2 Qb8 11. Qxb8 Raxb8 12. Rad1 h6 13. a3 Be7 14. b4
Rfd8 15. Bf4 d6 16. e4 Rbc8 17. Rfe1 g5 18. Bc1 Ng4 19. h3 Nge5 20. Nd2 Nd4 21.
Re3 Nxc4 22. Nxc4 Rxc4 23. Bf1 Rxc3 24. Rxc3 Bf6 25. Re3 e5 26. f3 d5 27. Bb2
dxe4 28. fxe4 Kg7 29. Kf2 Kg6 30. Bg2 Rc8 31. Rc1 Rxc1 32. Bxc1 Bd8 33. Rd3 Ba6
34. Rc3 f5 35. Be3 f4 36. gxf4 gxf4 37. Bxd4 exd4 38. Rc6+ Kg5 39. Rd6 Bc7 40.
Rxd4 Bb8 41. Rd5+ Kf6 42. b5 1-0[/pgn]

After 18. a5 the board just seems to explode.

[pgn][Event "18W04"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Moujan, Pablo"]
[Black "Zeckzer, Rick"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "1232"]
[BlackElo "1221"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]{MAY} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 d5 5. e3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. b3 Qc7 8.
h3 Bf5 9. a4 e5 10. c5 b6 11. b4 bxc5 12. bxc5 Bg7 13. O-O O-O 14. Nh4 Be6 15.
f4 exf4 16. exf4 Qa5 17. Bd2 Qd8 18. a5 {Diagram #} Ne4 19. Nxe4 Bxd4+ 20. Kh2
Bxa1 21. Qxa1 dxe4 22. f5 Qxh4 23. g3 Qe7 24. Bh6 Qf6 25. Qxf6 Nxf6 26. Bxf8
Rxf8 27. fxe6 fxe6 28. Bc4 Kf7 29. g4 Ke7 30. Kg3 Nd7 31. Rxf8 Nxf8 32. Kf4 e3
33. Kxe3 Kf6 34. Kf4 Nd7 35. g5+ Ke7 36. h4 Nxc5 37. Ke5 Nd7+ 38. Ke4 Kd6 39.
Ba6 Nc5+ 0-1[/pgn]

"Correspondence chess is the perfect form of the game." -Ward

A draw offer at just the right time saves White.

[pgn][Event "17SQ06"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stone, David"]
[Black "Perks, Grant"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "1454"]
[BlackElo "1558"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]{MAY} 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. e4 Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. Bg2 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. Re1 O-O
8. d3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Rb8 11. Bg2 b5 12. Rb1 b4 13. Ne2 a5 14. b3 a4
15. bxa4 Qa5 16. Bb2 Qxa4 17. Ra1 Ne8 18. Bxg7 Nxg7 19. c3 Qa3 {Diagram #} 20.
f4 bxc3 21. Qc2 Nd4 22. Nxd4 cxd4 23. Qf2 e5 24. Rab1 Rb2 25. Rxb2 cxb2 26. Rb1
1/2-1/2[/pgn]

GAMES FROM NORTH AMERICAN INVITATIONAL

[pgn][Event "NAIC/13 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Biedermann, Thomas"]
[Black "Mercader Martínez, Juan Gustavo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2406"]
[BlackElo "2368"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]{MAY} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 g6 8.
Be2 Bg7 9. e4 O-O 10. O-O Rd8 11. e5 Qe7 12. Rc1 Nd7 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Ne1 Nb6
15. Nd3 h5 16. f4 Bf5 17. b3 Rf8 18. Nf2 Bh6 19. g3 Kg7 20. Bd3 Be6 21. Ne2 a5
22. f5 gxf5 23. Nf4 Bxf4 24. gxf4 Qh4 25. Kh1 Rg8 26. Qc2 Kh8 27. Bxf5 Nd7 28.
Bxe6 fxe6 29. f5 Nf8 30. f6 Qxd4 31. Rce1 a4 32. Qe2 Qh4 33. bxa4 Rg5 34. Qd2
Nh7 35. Nd3 Rxa4 36. Nc5 Rag4 37. Nxb7 Nf8 38. Nd6 Rg6 39. Qf2 Qxf2 40. Rxf2 c5
41. Rb2 Rb4 42. Rxb4 cxb4 43. Rc1 Rg8 44. Rc7 h4 45. Rb7 b3 46. a4 b2 47. Rxb2
Ng6 48. Nf7+ Kh7 49. Rb7 Ra8 50. Ng5+ Kh6 51. Nxe6 Nxe5 52. f7 Nxf7 53. Rxf7
Rxa4 54. Rf4 Ra1+ 55. Kg2 Kg6 56. Rxh4 Ra2+ 57. Kh3 Ra3+ 58. Kg4 Kf6 59. Rh6+
Ke5 60. Nf4 Ra1 61. Re6+ Kd4 62. h4 Rg1+ 63. Kf5 Kc4 64. Rc6+ Kb3 65. Nxd5 1-0[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "NAIC/13 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Demian, Valer-Eugen"]
[Black "Ingersol, Harry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2267"]
[BlackElo "2409"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]{MAY} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8.
Bg3 b5 9. h4 g4 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Be2 Bb7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Be5 Qe7 14. b3 Rg8
15. O-O b4 16. Na4 c3 17. Qc2 Nd7 18. Bg3 h5 19. a3 a5 20. Rfd1 Rd8 21. Bc4 Bh6
22. Qe2 Kf8 23. e5 Kg7 24. Qe4 Rh8 25. axb4 axb4 26. f3 Ba8 27. fxg4 c5 28. Qe2
cxd4 29. g5 Bxg5 30. hxg5 h4 31. Bh2 h3 32. Qg4 hxg2 {Diagram #} 33. Qf4 Bc6
34. Rxd4 c2 35. Rd3 Rh5 36. Qf6+ Kf8 37. Qf4 Nc5 38. Nxc5 Qxc5+ 39. Qe3 Qxe3+
40. Rxe3 Rh3 41. Ree1 Rd4 42. Re2 Rdh4 43. Rxc2 Rxh2 44. Rcc1 R2h3 45. Kf2 Rf4+
46. Ke2 Bf3+ 47. Kf2 Kg7 48. g6 Kxg6 49. Rg1 Bc6+ 50. Ke2 Kf5 51. Rae1 Rd4 52.
Kf2 Rf3+ 53. Ke2 Rc3 54. Kf2 Rf4+ 55. Ke2 Bf3+ 56. Kf2 Bg4+ 57. Kxg2 Rc2+ 0-1[/pgn]