The April Check is in the Mail

NEW: LEFT-HANDED CHESS BOARD Tired of constantly having to live in a right-handed world?  Fed up with “white on the right”  rules and regulations?  Do you want your chessboard to reflect your view of the world?  Well now you can! Now on sale at the Left Handers’ Chess Federation at a special rate of only 50% more than a standard chessboard.  Buy one (or two for left handed bughouse games) of these left handed chessboards -- dark square on the left side – now before April 1^st  is gone! And remember when using this board, the Queen does not go on its own color – the Black Queen goes on a white square and the White Queen a dark square, depending on your fashion sense. 28^th World Champion  Leonardo Ljubicic Leonardo Ljubicic of Croatia is the new World Champion of correspondence chess, the 28^th.  In an interview with ChessBase he was asked, “Today’s chess engines are much stronger than the best humans and many people wonder about the role of humans in correspondence chess.  What can you do that the engines cannot do?” Ljubicic’s answer: “It is indeed impossible to achieve any significant result in today’s correspondence chess without engines and databases. But we humans play, not the engines, and the input of humans mainly effects two areas: a) the choice of a suitable opening, and b) steering the engine toward (or away) from certain types of position. “If you want to be successful in top correspondence chess you can only play a certain set of openings because you simply cannot afford one single sub-optimal move – if you do, you will sooner or later regret it.  That’s as certain as death and taxes.” GAME OF THE MONTH Ljubicic plays a popular opening with some nuanced improvements until Black’s over-optimistic fourteenth.

[pgn] [Event "28 World Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.??.??"] [White "Ljubicic, Leonardo"] [Black "Clever, Hans-Harmann"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B99"] [WhiteElo "2604"] [BlackElo "2520"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The Najdorf Variation has been around a long time.} 6. Bg5 {And this continuation is rivalled only by 6, Be3 with Karpov's favorite 6, Be2 being a distant third.} e6 7. f4 Be7 {And here the most popular continuaton is the brazen theif move of 7...Qb6 inviting White into 8. Qd2 Qxb2 and the complications involved in the sacrifice of the b-Pawn.} 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Bg2 {Ljubicic avoids the highly successful main line of 12, g5 Nd7 13. f5 Nc5 14. f6 as in Andersson-Sanaoev, 12th World Championship perhaps because of 13...Bxg5+ which has seen a bit of a rennaisance lately though statistically unappealing for Black.} Bb7 13. a3 Nd7 14. g5 b4 {Diagram # The loss of the game may be able to be traced to this over-ambitious Pawn sacrifice. While it is true that Black gains the initiative in advancing his a=Pawn, his pieces are just not set up for a successful attack.} 15. axb4 O-O 16. h4 a5 17. b5 a4 18. Kb1 a3 19. b3 Rfc8 20. Rh3 e5 {White's Knights are just too powerful defenders. Black must drive them away if he is to have any chance of an attack. } 21. Nde2 {White, possessing a winning queenside, chooses to coordinate his pieces in defense rather than send one piece off into attacking formation (Nf5) .} Qa5 22. Ka2 Rc7 23. Qe3 exf4 24. Qxf4 Bf8 25. h5 Ne5 26. Qd2 {White overprotects c3 to avoid 29. h6 Bc8 30. Rg3 Bg4!} Rac8 27. Rg3 Rc5 28. g6 $1 { With his King safe, White foresees a decisive Bishop sacrifice leading to a final assault on the Black King.} hxg6 29. hxg6 Nxg6 30. Bh3 R8c7 31. Bf5 Ne7 32. Bh7+ $1 Kxh7 33. Rh1+ Kg8 34. Qh6 f6 35. Qxf6 Bc8 36. Rhg1 Nf5 37. exf5 Rxb5 {A possinle conclusion was 37,,,Rxf5 38. Qg6 Rcf7 39. Ne4 Qd8 40. Rh3 Rc7 41. Rgh1 Rxc2+ 41. Ka1} 38. Nxb5 Qxb5 39. Nd4 Qe5 {Now follows a bit of cat and mouse, Black seeking to exchange Queens to fight an exchange down endgame, White seeking to keep attacking chabces alive to pick up a Pawn or two more. Note that White could exchange Queens at any time withn a winning endgame.} 40. Rg6 Qe3 41. Qh4 Qc3 42. Rb1 Bxf5 43. Rg2 Qh3 44. Qg5 Rf7 45. Nxf5 Rxf5 46. Qg6 Rf7 47. b4 Qc8 48. b5 Qc4+ 49. Rb3 Rb7 50. Qh5 Qf7 51. Qh3 Qd7 52. Qxd7 Rxd7 53. b6 Rb7 54. Kxa3 {1-0 The White b-Pawn will cost Black at least a piece.} 1-0[/pgn]

FRANK SPOONER, Sr. GAMES Frank Spooner, Jr. is setting up a web site in honor of his late father Frank Spooner, Sr.  He is requesting opponents of Frank Sr. send their games or game fragments to him in CBH, PGN, or SCID file formats (though PGN is preferred) to Click here to show email address.  Frank had a deep affection for correspondence chess.  Now is your chance to honor him.

   Charles Jacobs of Anchorage, Alaska put together an undefeated result to win a closely contested quad, his third Walter Muir victory.

[pgn] [Event "15WM02"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [White "Jacobs, Charles"] [Black "Pedersen, Roger"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2167"] [BlackElo "1926"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 Bd6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O Qe7 11. e4 b5 12. Bd3 e5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 15. f4 Qd4+ 16. Kh1 Rd8 17. Bc2 Qb6 18. Qf3 Bb7 19. e5 Nd7 20. Rae1 c5 21. Qg3 c4 22. f5 {Diagram #} f6 23. exf6 Qxf6 24. Be4 Bxe4 25. Nxe4 Qe5 26. Qg6 Nf8 27. Qg4 Rd4 28. f6 g6 29. Qh3 h5 30. Qc3 Rad8 31. h3 h4 32. a3 Kh7 33. Nd2 Qg3 34. Nf3 Rf4 35. Qb4 Kg8 36. Qe7 Rd7 37. Ne5 Rxe7 38. fxe7 Rf2 39. Rxf2 Qxf2 40. Rg1 Qf6 41. e8=Q Kg7 42. Ng4 Qe6 43. Qd8 a6 44. Qd4+ Kf7 45. Rf1+ Ke7 46. Qg7+ 1-0[/pgn]

MARCH RESULTS Trophy Quads Andrew Smith           15Q08   6-0 Lance Schuttenhelm  14Q01  5-1 John Collins Zachary Dressner  15C09  6-0 Jay Roy Hall         13C23  4 ½-1 ½ Walter Muir Vincent Sereni   15W39    5 ½-½ Rama Gitananda 15W36   6-0 Errol Acosta            15W37  5-1 Swift Quad Kairav Joshi         14SQ10  4 ½-1 ½ Kenneth Lopez 14SQ12  5-1 Black makes what looks like a reasonable capture on Move 28.  White proves it is actually unreasonable with his 29^th.

[pgn] [Event "15WM36 "] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [White "Gitananda, Rama"] [Black "Wright, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A41"] [WhiteElo "1263"] [BlackElo "1403"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Bg4 3. e4 Nf6 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nbd7 6. Bc4 e5 7. c3 c6 8. a4 Be7 9. Nd2 O-O 10. O-O Rb8 11. Qe2 d5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. exd5 Nxc4 14. Nxc4 cxd5 15. Ne5 Ne4 16. Be3 a6 17. Qc2 Rc8 18. Rfd1 Qc7 19. Nf3 Rfd8 20. Rd3 Bc5 21. Bd4 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Nf6 23. Rad1 Rd7 24. Qf5 Re8 25. c4 Re4 26. Rxd5 Rxd5 27. Rxd5 Rxc4 28. Rd1 Rxa4 $4 29. Qc2 1-0[/pgn]

Quote:  Correspondence chess has become just pushing buttons on a machine – Nigel Short Another game from Ljubicic’s championship run.  At the end Black can’t compete against White’s two passed Pawns.

[pgn] [Event "WC28/final"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2013.06.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Ljubicic, Ing. Leonardo"] [Black "Straka, Zdenek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2604"] [BlackElo "2547"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] {APR} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 h5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Qc1 Rg8 14. Rd1 h4 15. Be5 Qe7 16. h3 a6 17. b3 Nd7 18. Bh2 b4 19. Na4 c3 20. a3 a5 21. Qc2 Rc8 22. axb4 axb4 23. Nc5 Nxc5 24. dxc5 Qxc5 25. Qd3 Qe7 26. Ra7 Rd8 27. Rxb7 Rxd3 28. Rxe7+ Bxe7 29. Bxd3 Bc5 30. Kf1 Ke7 31. Ke2 Ra8 32. Bc2 Ra2 33. Kd3 Bxf2 34. Be5 Ra5 35. Rf1 Rxe5 36. Rxf2 c5 37. Kc4 f6 38. Rf1 Kf7 39. Kb5 Ke7 40. Rf2 Kf7 41. Rf3 Ke7 42. Rf1 f5 43. exf5 exf5 44. Bxf5 Kd6 45. Kc4 Rd5 46. Bg4 Rd4+ 47. Kb5 Rd5 48. Re1 Re5 49. Rd1+ Rd5 50. Rf1 Re5 51. Bf3 Ke7 52. Rd1 Ke6 53. Bg4+ Kf7 54. Bh5+ Ke7 55. Bg6 g4 56. hxg4 Re2 57. Rg1 Kd6 58. Bd3 Re3 59. Rd1 Ke5 60. Kxc5 c2 61. Bxc2 Rc3+ 62. Kxb4 Rxc2 63. Rh1 Rd2 64. Rxh4 Rd4+ 65. Kc3 Re4 66. b4 Kd5 67. Rh5+ Kc6 68. b5+ Kb6 69. g5 Rg4 70. Kd3 Kxb5 71. Ke3 Rxg2 72. Ke4 Kc6 73. Ke5 Kd7 74. Kf6 Rf2+ 75. Kg7 Rg2 76. g6 Ke6 77. Rh1 Rg4 78. Re1+ Kd6 79. Kf7 Rf4+ 80. Kg8 Rg4 81. g7 Rg3 82. Rh1 Ke6 83. Rh7 Ke7 84. Kh8 Ke6 85. g8=Q+ Rxg8+ 86. Kxg8 Kd5 87. Rh5+ Kd4 88. Kf7 1-0 [/pgn]

White’s play is very sharp

[pgn] [Event "13SQ17"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Pedersen, Roger"] [Black "Bedard, Eugene"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2000"] [BlackElo "2040"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] {APR} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f3 Bg7 5. Be3 O-O 6. Qd2 a6 7. O-O-O b5 8. Nge2 Bb7 9. Ng3 Nbd7 10. h4 c5 11. dxc5 d5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Rc8 14. Qf2 Ne5 15. d6 exd6 16. Rxd6 Qa5 17. a3 Ne8 18. Bd2 {Diagram #} Qa4 19. Bb4 Nc4 20. b3 Bb2+ 21. Kd1 Qxb4 22. axb4 Ncxd6 23. cxd6 Nxd6 24. h5 Rcd8 25. Bd3 Be5 26. f4 Bc3 27. Qc5 Bg7 28. f5 g5 29. h6 Bf6 30. Nh5 Bb2 31. Re1 g4 32. Re7 Kh8 33. c3 Ne4 34. Rxe4 Kg8 35. Rxg4+ Kh8 36. Qe5+ f6 37. Rg8+ Kxg8 38. Qg3+ Kf7 39. Qc7+ 1-0[/pgn]

An exciting game that proves draws can be interesting.

[pgn] [Event "13EN13"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.??.??"] [White "Lewis, Chris"] [Black "Bussom, Andrew"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "1997"] [BlackElo "2177"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 Nf6 5. Nf3 b6 6. g3 Ne4 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. Bg2 f5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 d6 12. Rfd1 Nd7 13. Ng5 Qxg5 14. Bxb7 Rad8 15. e3 Nf6 16. Qa3 Qh5 17. Bg2 a5 18. Rac1 Ng4 19. h3 Nf6 20. Qb3 Qf7 21. Qb5 Ne4 22. Qc6 Rc8 23. a3 h5 24. h4 Qg6 25. b4 Nxg3 26. fxg3 Qxg3 27. Re1 axb4 28. axb4 Qxh4 29. Rf1 Qe7 30. Qf3 g6 31. b5 h4 32. e4 Qg5 33. Kh1 Kg7 34. Bh3 Kh6 35. Rg1 Qh5 36. Qe3+ g5 37. exf5 Rce8 38. f6 Rxf6 39. Rcf1 Ref8 40. Rxf6+ Rxf6 41. Rg4 e5 42. dxe5 Re6 43. Re4 Rxe5 44. Rxe5 dxe5 45. Qxe5 Qd1+ 46. Kh2 Qd2+ 47. Bg2 g4 48. Qf6+ Kh5 49. Qf5+ Qg5 50. Qh7+ Qh6 51. Qf7+ Qg6 52. Qxc7 g3+ 53. Kg1 Qf6 54. Qh7+ Kg5 55. Qc2 Qd4+ 56. Kf1 Qf4+ 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

There are only a few pages in the dictionary between beautiful and brutal.  Where would you put this game ?

[pgn] [Event "10Nf01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2010.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Forbush, Ramsey"] [Black "Connelly, Thomas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2149"] [BlackElo "2265"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2010.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. f3 Qa5+ 5. c3 Nf6 6. d5 Qb6 7. Bc1 e6 8. c4 exd5 9. cxd5 c4 10. e4 Bc5 11. Nh3 d6 12. g4 O-O 13. Nc3 Re8 14. Qa4 Nbd7 15. g5 Ne5 16. gxf6 Nxf3+ 17. Kd1 Bg4 18. Nf4 Bb4 19. Be2 Qd4+ 20. Kc2 Rxe4 21. Bxc4 Qxc4 0-1[/pgn]

GAMES FROM WALTER MUIR 15W02 Complications galore !

[pgn] [Event "USCF/WS/15WM02 (USA)"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2015.02.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Owens, Johnny"] [Black "Pedersen, Roger"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "1728"] [BlackElo "1926"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. Nbd2 c5 5. e3 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. c3 b6 8. Bc4 d5 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Qc7 11. Re1 h6 12. Bh4 Nh5 13. Bb5 g5 14. Bg3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bf5 16. Nf1 e6 17. Qe2 Bh7 18. Ne3 Na5 19. Rac1 Rfd8 20. b4 Nb7 21. c4 dxc4 22. Rxc4 Qb8 23. Bc6 a5 24. d5 axb4 25. Nd4 Bg6 26. dxe6 Rxd4 27. e7 Qd6 28. Bxb7 Re8 29. Rc8 Qxe7 {Diagram #} 30. Nf5 Qxe2 31. Rxe8+ Kh7 32. R1xe2 Bxf5 33. Be4 Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Bxe4 35. R2xe4 Bc3 36. Re2 Rf1 37. R8e4 Kg6 38. g4 f6 39. g3 Rb1 40. Rc4 Be5 41. f4 gxf4 42. gxf4 Bd6 43. Rd4 Bc5 44. Rd7 Rg1 45. f5+ Kg5 46. Re4 Ra1 47. Rg7+ Kh4 48. g5+ Kh5 49. gxh6 Rxa2+ 50. Kg3 Ra3+ 51. Kg2 Ra2+ 52. Kf3 Ra3+ 53. Ke2 Bf8 54. Re8 Kxh6 55. Rg6+ Kh7 56. Rxf8 Ra7 57. Rfxf6 Ra5 58. Rf7+ Kh8 59. f6 Rh5 60. Rf8+ 1-0[/pgn]

Black’s positional exchange sacrifice pays handsome dividends when it is not countered by a reciprocal, exchange sacrifice on Move 20.

[pgn] [Event "USCF/WS/15WM02 (USA)"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2015.02.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Serovey, Michael"] [Black "Jacobs, Charles"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2037"] [BlackElo "2167"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] {APR} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. c4 e6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. d3 Nbd7 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nh4 Qc7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nd2 Bd6 13. Ndf3 O-O 14. Nxg6 fxg6 15. Be3 Rae8 16. Rac1 h6 17. Rfe1 {Diagram #} Rxe3 18. fxe3 Re8 19. e4 Nc5 20. Qc2 dxe4 21. dxe4 Ncxe4 22. e3 Qb8 23. Rcd1 Kh7 24. a3 Bg3 25. Re2 Bc7 26. Ree1 Ba5 27. b4 Bb6 28. Rd3 Nd5 29. Rd4 Nec3 30. Qd2 Rf8 0-1[/pgn]