The Check Is in the Mail - September 2018

Michael Allard of Bowie, Maryland has won the 2017 Trophy Quad with a 6-0 score.  We hope that Michael’s trophy will fit well with the trophy he won in the 2008 event and his 3000+ library of chess books.

GAME OF THE MONTH

Michael has annotated one of his wins in his successful fight for first place in a strong trophy quad.

[pgn][Event "17Q07"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Leach, Charlie"]
[Black "Allard, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B41"]
[WhiteElo "2123"]
[BlackElo "2111"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Qc7 7. Be2 {
During my 1. c4 days I preferred 7. a3 when arrving here by transposition.
Some theorists consider this a waste of time.} Bb4 8. Nc2 {Posing the questiom
to Black whether to take on c3 or not. My belief us that the exchage reveals
Black;s intent to at best play for a draw. White's doubled Pawns are more than
compensated by the two B's and Black's weak K-side.} Be7 {Mission accomplished,
I think. White's Knight is misplaced on c2!?} 9. O-O {More accurate seems to
be 9. f4 in light of White's forthcoming Pawn charge. Actually the move chosen
hampers White's K-side options.} d6 10. f4 Nbd7 11. g4 h6 {Many of the Black
piece placements and moves that follow come by way of study Shipov's fine work.
} 12. Be3 {Mario Lanzani-Stuart Conquest, Alimini 2011 continued with 12. g5
hxg5 13. fxg5 d5!~ and White is in trouble (i.e.: his vulnerable K).} g5 {A
Shipov-type move in similar positions.} 13. f5 Ne5 {The Black Knight isideally
placed and puts pressure on White's Q-side.} 14. Na3 Bd7 {I chose not to waste
a tempo with 14...b6 and 15...Bb7 and keep an immediate eye on b5.} 15. Rc1 Rc8
16. b4 Qb8 17. Rf2 {Frankly, I did not understand the purpose of this move.
Looking at my side of tje board I pondered how and when to castle or even if I
should.} exf5 {Putting a question to White and ascertaining how he wanted to
proceed.} 18. exf5 {Now 18. gxf5 would be somewhat a different ilk. No Black
castling but a resultant K-side Pawn majority.} O-O 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Bc6 {
Much rejoice here for my decision on move 14.} 21. Qd2 Rfe8 22. f6 Bf8 {At
this juncture I pondered proffering a draw since I was getting less and less
sleep as this game moved on. Alas, I refrained and waited.} 23. h4 {This is in
essence a psuedo-threat that does require an accurate response.} d5 {Black's
K-side intentions are reawakened and with subsequent toxic results. 23...d5 is
a classic freeing move in these hedgehog positions but now accomplishes more.}
24. c5 {Probably not the best choice if there is one.} Nc4 {This along with 23.
..d5 starts a series of moves that relate back to picking at White's early
castling and g4 thrust.} 25. Nxc4 dxc4 26. Bxg5 {White's last ploy to save the
game. Bait not taken.} Qg3+ 27. Kf1 Qh3+ 28. Ke1 Rcd8 29. Qf4 Bg2 {0-1
Possibly a bit premature but White will lose decisive material and the
concluding position seems to be a fine one for readers to explore.} 0-1[/pgn]

Possibly a bit premature, but White will lose decisive material and the concluding position seems to be a fine one for readers to explore. Black is done in by a massive Pawn attack on the kingside.

[pgn][Event "18EN07"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yokela, Joshua"]
[Black "Hulslander, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D57"]
[WhiteElo "1390"]
[BlackElo "1527"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Ne4 8.
Bxe7 Qxe7 9. cxd5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 exd5 11. Qb3 Rd8 12. Bd3 c5 13. Bc2 b6 14. O-O
Be6 15. a4 Nc6 16. Rad1 Na5 17. Qb5 c4 18. Qb4 Qf6 19. Ne5 Rab8 20. f3 Bc8 21.
e4 Rd6 22. Ng4 Qd8 23. e5 Rc6 24. Ne3 Bb7 25. Nf5 Re6 26. f4 Nc6 27. Qb1 a6 28.
Nd6 Re7 29. g4 Bc8 30. f5 Na7 31. Qc1 b5 32. h4 Bd7 33. Rd2 Bc6 34. g5 h5 35.
Rdf2 Nc8 36. f6 Rc7 37. Nf5 g6 38. Nh6+ Kf8 39. Qa3+ Ke8 40. e6 Qd6 41. exf7+
1-0[/pgn]

AUGUST RESULTS

Trophy Quad

                Michael Allard  17Q07     6-0

John Collins

                Michael Butler  16C02  5-1

                Jeffrey Bosch    16C02  5-1

            Errol Acosta   16C03  6-0

Swift Quad

                Jay Hall           18SQ02  4 ½-1 ½

Toujors l’attaque, toujours

[pgn][Event "18EN05"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hersha, Peter"]
[Black "Gordon-Davis, Patrick"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B00"]
[BlackElo "1731"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 f5 3. exf5 d5 4. d4 Bxf5 5. Bb5 e6 6. Ne5 Nge7 7. Qh5+
g6 8. Qe2 Bg7 9. Bxc6+ Nxc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. g4 Be4 12. f3 O-O 13. fxe4 Bxd4
14. h3 Rf2 15. Qd3 Qh4 16. Kd1 dxe4 17. Qxe4 Rd8 18. Qxe6+ Kh8 19. Nd2 Qg3 20.
Re1 Bc3 21. bxc3 Qf3+ 22. Qe2 Rxe2 23. Rxe2 Qf1+ 24. Re1 Qxh3 25. Bb2 Qg2 26.
Re2 Qxg4 27. Ke1 Qg1+ 28. Nf1 Rf8 29. Kd2 Rxf1 30. Rxf1 Qxf1 31. c4+ Kg8 32.
Be5 Qf5 33. Re3 h5 34. Kc3 g5 35. Bxc7 g4 36. Re8+ Kf7 37. Ra8 Qf3+ 38. Kb2 g3
39. Bxg3 Qxg3 40. Rxa7+ Ke6 41. a4 Qb8+ 0-1[/pgn]

[pgn][Event "16N16"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cavaliere, Peter"]
[Black "Pitcher, Clive"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A53"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qc7 6. h3 Bxf3 7. exf3
Nbd7 8. d5 e5 9. Bg5 h6 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Be3 Be7 12. Be2 O-O 13. Rc1 Rfb8 14.
Qc2 Qb7 15. b3 d5 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Bd2 Ba3 18. Rd1 a5 19. O-O Rc8 20. Qb1 Bb4
21. Nb5 Bxd2 22. Nd6 Qb4 23. Nxc8 Bc3 24. Nd6 Qxd6 25. Rd3 d4 26. Rfd1 Qb4 27.
a3 Qxa3 28. f4 Rb8 29. fxe5 Nxe5 30. Rxd4 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 a4 32. Qd1 axb3 0-1[/pgn]

Willing to play prisoners ?? Occasionally, I get a request from a prisoner who wants to play correspondence chess but is too poor to afford USCF rated chess.  If you are willing to play such an opponent, please send in your name and address to me.

   OBITUARY

Robert Burlingame of Palm Desert, California was born March 2, 1923 and  died August 5, 2018 at age 95.  Robert was an avid chess and gin rummy player.

[pgn][Event "10EN17"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Burlingame, Robert"]
[Black "Bodon, Hiram"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1824"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. c3 Nf6 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2
Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Qb3 Nce7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfe1 c6 13. Ne4 Qb6
14. Nc5 Qxb3 15. Bxb3 Rd8 16. a3 Kf8 17. Bc2 b6 18. Na4 h6 19. Rac1 Be6 20. Bb1
Nf4 21. Nc3 Rac8 22. h3 Bc4 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

Errol Acosta wins this game with the help of a super Knight.

[pgn][Event "16C03"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Acosta, Errol"]
[Black "Barret, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C34"]
[WhiteElo "1235"]
[BlackElo "900"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nh5
8. Ne2 g5 9. Qe1 Bd7 10. c3 g4 11. Nd2 Bg5 12. Nc4 Qe7 13. Nxf4 Nxf4 14. Bxf4
Rg8 {Diagram #} 15. Nxd6+ Kd8 16. Nxf7+ Kc8 17. Nd6+ Kd8 18. Nxb7+ Kc8 19. Nd6+
Kd8 20. Nf7+ Kc8 21. Nxg5 1-0[/pgn]

When Black misses the defense by 20…Bxf2+ 21.  Kh1 h5! He succumbs to White’s persistent attack.

[pgn][Event "18SQ02"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hall, Jay"]
[Black "Burlingame, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C64"]
[WhiteElo "1733"]
[BlackElo "1860"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 f5 5. d4 exd4 6. exf5 dxc3 7. Nxc3
Nge7 8. O-O d5 9. Ne5 Bxf5 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Bg5 Qd6 12. Bxe7 Kxe7 13. Re1 Kf8
14. Qf3 Kg8 15. Qxf5 Rf8 16. Nf7 Rxf7 17. Re8+ Rf8 18. Rxf8+ Qxf8 19. Qe6+ Qf7
20. Qxc6 {Diagram #} Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Qxb2 22. Qe8+ Bf8 23. Rf1 Qb4 1-0[/pgn]

"Modern correspondence chess isn't all about CPU power (although that obviously helps), but more about how you prepare each move and how you work with the engine in tandem with your own ideas. You can get lazy and buy a powerful computer, and probably get to a fairly decent rating on ICCF just parroting the engine, but that's not going to take you to the top." –Wolf Morrow

On Move 18, the Pawns begin to scatter: fist on the kingside, then the center, and finally by Move 24, the queenside.

[pgn][Event "14EN04"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bussom, Andrew"]
[Black "Hulslander, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2177"]
[BlackElo "1445"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 cxd4
8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 Bd7 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. h4 O-O-O 14.
Rb1 Nf5 15. h5 d4 16. Rg1 f6 17. g4 Nh6 18. exf6 Rxg4 19. Rxg4 Nxg4 20. Nxd4
Nxd4 21. Qxd4 e5 22. Qxa7 Bf5 23. Rxb7 Qxb7 24. Ba6 1-0[/pgn]

After Black’s last chance of 31…g5, White mates in six.

[pgn][Event "13EN15"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "McCartney, Patrick"]
[Black "Sciacca, Patrick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B04"]
[WhiteElo "2027"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]{SEP} 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. exd6 cxd6
8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Bg4 10. c3 Nc6 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Be3
Qe7 15. Bxb6 axb6 16. Na3 Na5 17. Bd5 Kh8 18. Qe3 Qc5 19. Rad1 f5 20. Qxc5 bxc5
21. Nb5 Ra6 22. Nc7 Rb6 23. Ne6 Re8 24. Re2 Rc8 25. g4 e4 26. f3 exf3 27. Bxf3
Nc4 28. Nxg7 Kxg7 29. Rd7+ Kf6 30. Bd5 Nxb2 31. h4 1-0[/pgn]