The Check Is in the Mail – October 2018

Michael Horvath of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida won a closely contested  2016 Class A John Collins Quad.

GAME OF THE MONTH

[pgn][Event "16C12"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Horvath, Michael"]
[Black "Sensiba, Scott"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "1984"]
[BlackElo "1985"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 {This is a rather rare but
perfectly playable sideline to the more common 4...Bb4 or 4...Bc5.} 5. e3 Bg7
6. Nge2 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. a3 {Popular now is 8. d3. Grewal-Bako. 2008 Lightning
Match saw 8. d4 Re8 9. h3 cxd4 with equality. A recent game,
Gelfand-Mamedyanov, Tal Memorial Blitz 2016 continued 8. d3 Be6 9. Nd5 Rb8 10.
Nec3 Ne7 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. e4 Bg7 13. Be3 a6 14. Rc1 b5 with equality.} Ne7 {
A curious retreat previously seen in Horyna-Stanek, Vsetin Open, 2016,
possibly designed to encourage 9. b4 when 9...Be6! gives Black good play.} 9.
d4 {The best reply to Black's retreat.} c6 {Black's reply helps negate White's
fianchettoed Bishop while fighting for control,of d5.} 10. b3 {Stronger is 10.
e4 intensifying the struggle for contol of d5, but 10. b3 is also reasonable
here.} exd4 11. exd4 d5 12. Bg5 Be6 {Black has the choice of defending d5 as
played in the game or by playing against White's center by 12...dxc4 13. bxc4
Qa5 with fair chances.} 13. Nf4 {Diagram # White enters dangerous
complications with this excursion. Safer was 13. c5 with equality. Now Black
needs to strike out bravely with 13...Bg4! as 14. f3 will not work for him --
14...Bd7! 15. cxd5 h6! 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Nfe2 Nf5 with good play
for Black.} dxc4 $2 {An error that gives White all the play: the two Bishops,
a weak e6 Pawn, and the more active pieces. Black should play 13... Bg4 here.}
14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. bxc4 Nf5 16. Ne2 h6 {Black's only counterplay is against the
weak White d-Pawn. Better was ...Qd7and ...Rad8} 17. Be3 $6 {The d-Pawn can be
properly guarded by Bc1 and Nb2. By allowing ...Nxe3, White loses the two
Bishops and shields the Black e-Pawn from a direct frontal attack.} Nxe3 18.
fxe3 Ng4 $2 {After18, ,,,e5! White is hard pressed to show any advantage.} 19.
Qd3 {A more efficient posting of the Queen is 19. Qb3 which guards e3 and
attacks b7 and (by x-ray) e6.} Qg5 20. Nf4 e5 21. h4 Qf5 22. Be4 {Black's game
now comes apart.} Qd7 23. Nxg6 Rxf1+ 24. Rxf1 exd4 {There is no fun at all for
Black after 24...Nf6 25. Bf5 Qe8 26. Ne5} 25. Bf5 Qd6 26. Rf3 {White wraps it
up after 26. Nf4 Ne5 27. Qb3 dxe3 28. c5+} Ne5 27. Nxe5 Bxe5 {Stronger here is
an immediate 28. c5!} 28. Qb3 c5 $2 {Black's last chance was 28. Qe7.} 29. Qxb7
1-0[/pgn]

Michael Dreher celebrates a return to correspondence chess after a 27 year hiatus with a spectacular Knight fork in this Swift Quad win.

[pgn][Event "18SQ04"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stone, David"]
[Black "Dreher, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "1489"]
[BlackElo "1439"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 e6 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 Nbd7
8. Nd2 Bc5 9. c3 O-O 10. d4 Bb6 11. e4 e5 12. exd5 cxd5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nb3
Ne4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qc2 Nd3 17. Kg2 Bxf2 18. Rxf2 Ne1+ 0-1[/pgn]

                    Jeff  Bosch                        

Jeff Bosch of Edmonds, Washington, scored a tie for first in a 2016 John Collins.  He submitted the following win as an example of his play.  White’s King goes on a fatal journey.

[pgn][Event "16C02"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Myers, Matthew"]
[Black "Bosch, Jeffrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C20"]
[WhiteElo "1852"]
[BlackElo "1887"]
[PlyCount "22"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 Nf6 3. Nbc3 b6 4. d4 Bb7 5. d5 Bc5 6. Bg5 Bxf2+ 7. Kxf2
Ng4+ 8. Kf3 Qxg5 9. h4 Qe3+ 10. Kxg4 h5+ 11. Kf5 d6 0-1[/pgn]

September Results

John Collins

                16C11      Barry Walker      4 ½-1 ½

                16C11      David McCann   4 ½-1 ½

             17C05     Allen Woollen    5 ½-½

        17C09     Patrick Schilling  5-1

              16C16     Michael Gross   5 ½-½

Swift Quad

            18SQ04     Michael Dreher  5 ½ -½

Walter Muir

18W11     Brian Hey    5-1

   18W13    Robert Irons  6-0

            18W03   Patrick Walsh  5 ½-½

 

[Paul Keres’] great skill in dealing with complications was developed largely through correspondence play. -Max Euwe, the 5th Classical World Chess Champion

OBITUARY

Riley  E. Lane of Columbus, GA  Born Oct. 18, 1930 died April 17, 2017

[pgn][Event "04Nf03"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2004.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lane, Riley"]
[Black "Prieto, Alberto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A80"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2004.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. Bg3 Nf6 5. e3 d6 6. h4 Rg8 7. hxg5 hxg5
8. c4 Nc6 9. d5 Ne5 10. Nc3 c6 11. c5 Qa5 12. cxd6 exd6 13. a3 cxd5 14. b4 Qd8
15. Nxd5 Be6 16. Bb5+ Kf7 17. Nxf6 Qxf6 18. Rc1 Be7 19. Rc7 Rh8 20. Rh5 Ng6 21.
Nh3 Rac8 22. Nxg5+ Qxg5 23. Rxg5 Rh1+ 24. Ke2 Rxd1 25. Rxe7+ Kxe7 26. Kxd1 Kf6
27. f4 a6 28. Bd3 Rc3 29. Kd2 Rxa3 30. e4 Bd7 31. exf5 Ne5 32. Be2 Ra2+ 33. Ke3
d5 34. Bh4 Nc4+ 35. Bxc4 dxc4 36. g4 Rg2 37. Rg6+ Kf7 38. Be1 Rg1 39. Kf2 Rh1
40. Bc3 Rh3 41. Rg7+ Ke8 42. Be5 1-0[/pgn]

Michael Gross of Vienna, Virginia, sent in this miniature from his win of a 2016 John Collins tournament which illustrates the importance of accurate record keeping.

[pgn][Event "16C16"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gross, Michael"]
[Black "Ellison, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1909"]
[BlackElo "1842"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]1. Nf3 a6 2. d4 b5 3. e4 e6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Qe2 cxd4 8. cxd4
Nc6 9. Nc3 Bb4 10. e5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 g6 12. Nf6+ 1-0[/pgn]

When Black misses the best try of 16…Re4!?, White ends it mercifully.

[pgn][Event "18W03"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Walsh, Patrick"]
[Black "Cadarett, Joseph"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1499"]
[BlackElo "1498"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 e6 2. Qe2 Be7 3. g3 Nc6 4. Nf3 f5 5. exf5 exf5 6. d4 Nf6 7. Nc3 d5
8. Bg2 Ne4 9. O-O O-O 10. Rd1 Bf6 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 13. Qf1 Na5 14. Ne5
Bxe5 15. dxe5 Rxe5 16. Bf4 {Diagram #} Nc6 17. Bxe5 Nxe5 18. Bxd5+ 1-0[/pgn]

This game could be the definition of a “fightin’ draw”.

[pgn][Event "15Ns01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Buss, Michael"]
[Black "Millett, John"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2419"]
[BlackElo "2151"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. d4 Ndf6 6. c3 Nxe4 7. Qxe4
Nf6 8. Qc2 Bg4 9. Bd3 e6 10. Ne2 Bh5 11. Nf4 Bg6 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. g3 Qc7 14.
Be2 O-O-O 15. O-O Bd6 16. Rd1 Rh3 {Diagram #} 17. Bf1 Rh7 18. Qd3 Rdh8 19. h3
Rxh3 20. Bxh3 Rxh3 21. Kf1 Qd7 22. Qf3 Rh5 23. Kg2 e5 24. dxe5 Qh3+ 25. Kg1
Bxe5 26. Re1 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 Rf5 28. Qg2 Qxg3 29. Qxg3 Bxg3 30. Be3 Ng4 31. Kg2
Nxe3+ 32. Rxe3 Bxf2 33. Re8+ Kd7 34. Rg8 Bb6 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

Efficiency is the keyword here.

[pgn][Event "14EN14"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "McGahee, Ben"]
[Black "Young, William"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1448"]
[BlackElo "2124"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2
Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. O-O O-O 11. Nb3 b6 12. Ne5 Nce7 13. Qd2 f6
14. Nf3 Bg4 15. Be2 Re8 16. Rfe1 a5 17. Rac1 Qd7 18. Na1 Ng6 19. Nc2 Ngf4 20.
Ne3 Nxe2+ 21. Qxe2 Rac8 22. Qd1 Nf4 23. Nxg4 Qxg4 24. g3 Rxe1+ 25. Nxe1 Ne2+
26. Kg2 Qe4+ 27. f3 Qe3 28. Nc2 Qxc1 29. Qxe2 Kf8 30. Na3 Re8 0-1[/pgn]

They should rename the Sicilian Defense to Sicilian Attack.

[pgn][Event "14SQ06"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bedard, Eugene"]
[Black "Tamondong, Cesar"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2029"]
[BlackElo "2035"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6
8. f3 Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. O-O-O Be7 11. g4 O-O 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2 Ne8 14. f4 a5
15. f5 Bc4 16. Ng3 Bxf1 17. Rhxf1 a4 18. Na1 Kh8 {Diagram #} 19. h4 a3 20. b3
Rc8 21. Kb1 Nc7 22. Qd3 Rb8 23. Bd2 Rb5 24. f6 gxf6 25. gxf6 Nxf6 26. Nf5 d5
27. Qg3 Rg8 28. Qxe5 Bf8 29. Bg5 Nce8 30. Rg1 Qb6 31. exd5 Rxd5 32. Qf4 h6 33.
Nxh6 Bxh6 34. Rh1 Qc6 35. Bxh6 Ne4 36. Rd3 Rxd3 37. Qe5+ f6 38. Qh2 Rg2 39.
cxd3 Nc3+ 40. Kc1 Nxa2+ 41. Kd1 Qf3+ 0-1[/pgn]

Two Bishops prove too much in this struggle.

[pgn][Event "14N01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miehm, Robert"]
[Black "Keck, Nolan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2158"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{OCT} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. d4 Nf6 5. e5 Ne4 6. Nxe4 dxe4 7. h3 Bxf3
8. gxf3 exf3 9. Bc4 e6 10. c3 Nd7 11. Qxf3 Qe7 12. Bd2 O-O-O 13. Rg1 h6 14. Be2
Nb6 15. h4 Nd5 16. h5 Qc7 17. O-O-O Rd7 18. c4 Nb4 19. a3 Na6 20. Bc3 c5 21. d5
{Diagram #} exd5 22. Rxd5 Rxd5 23. cxd5 Nb8 24. d6 Qd7 25. Bf1 Qe8 26. Bh3+ Nd7
27. Bg2 1-0[/pgn]