The February Check is in the Mail

WILBUR TSENG  INTERNATIONAL CC MASTER Wilbur Tseng has won just about every US title there is –first place in Walter Muirs, John Collins, Trophy Quads, Express Tournaments, Palciauskas, first place n the 2008 and 2009 Electronic Knights and first in the 2013 Absolute Championship not to mention the Game of the Year Prize for 2014.  And now he has expanded his achievements to the international scene with the award of the International Correspondence Chess Master title. Given that he has won many awards in math and physics and his research on hippocampal systems in learning and memory has been published in numerous scientific journals, it is not too surprising that chess would naturally follow.   Wilbur is currently an analyst for the Chicago public schools.  He is currently engaged to be married in little under a year – and his chess rating has not gone down yet   8-) Wilbur notes that he feels correspondence chess is a great way for us to diversify our knowledge of other cultures.  Just from being courteous and respectful he has collaborated with many opponents from across the world on a variety of projects.  Tseng notes that is in  stark contrast to the chess scene in Chicago, which is a microcosm of everything you have read about Chicago in the news. GAME OF THE MONTH Tseng’s opponent won every game in this section except one, the one where he had to face Wilbur Tseng who was en route to his ICCM title.  

[pgn] [Event "CAPEA40-sf"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2013.09.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Tseng, Wilbur"] [Black "Stanach, Fabian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2399"] [BlackElo "2484"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. c3 Ne7 7. O-O h6 8. Nbd2 g5 {Black scores better with 8...Bh7 or 8...c5. This aggressive sortie has been played by extreme attackers such as in Svidler-Nakamura, Donostea 2009.} 9. Re1 {White's campaign against Black's premature kingside activity is basic: strengthen the center and kingside. When they are secure, queenside action to divet Black. Finally return to the kingside to take advantage of the weakening ..g5 Pawn advance. That is the theory. In practice it is much more complex.} Qc7 {Iordachescu-Evdlimov, Dubai 2012 continued 9...Bg7 10. Nf1 Bg6 11. h3 a6 12. Bd3 Rc8 11. Ng3 c5 with a small edge to White.} 10. Nf1 Bh7 11. h3 {A paradoxical move. It has the appearance of weakening the White kingside, but given the current arrangement of the Black forces, it is diffficult to see how Black can take advantage of it. On the plus side it freezes Black's Pawn chain on the kingside.} c5 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Nc6 {Stanach is quite familiar with this position. In Rotaru-Stanach, Canada CC 2011 he continued 13. ..000 14. Bd2 Kb8 15. Ng3 Rc8 16. Rac1 and steered the game toward a draw.} 14. Bd2 Be7 15. Rab1 $5 {In accordance with White's goal to divert Black on the queenside, When White plays b4 Black will have to decide whether to close the queenside with ...c4 or allow White play there.} O-O-O 16. Qe2 Qa5 $6 {Diagram # This seems to be an overplay on Black's part. It is almost impossible to foresee that in ten m ore moves the Queen will be resting on g6 ! Just what Stanach had in mind when he played 16. ..Qa5 is difficult to imagine.} 17. Ne3 cxd4 {Taking the a-Pawn is disastrous -- 17...Qxa2 18. b4! cxd4 19. cxd4 Rdg8 20. Qd3 Kb8 21. Ra1 and Black will have to give up material to save the Queen.} 18. cxd4 Qa4 19. b4 $1 {A deep Pawn sacrifice that would allow White to turn his attention to the kingside after 19...Nxb4 20. Bxb4 Bxb4 21. Qb2 a5 22. Nc2 Nb6 23. Nxb4 axb4 24. Nd2 Rd7 25. Qxb4 Qxb4 26. Rxb4 Na8 27. Rb2 Rc7 28. f4! with the better chances.} Nb6 20. a3 a6 21. Nd1 Qb5 {Black elects to flee rather than fight -- 21..Nc4 22. Nc3 Qc2 23. Rec1 Qg6 24. b5 gives White attacking chances but Black might survive.} 22. Qe3 Nc4 23. Qd3 Na7 24. Nc3 Qe8 25. a4 {Now with Black's King exposed and the kingside quiet, White has strong chances.} Qg8 26. b5 Qg6 {After 26...a5 27. Rec1 Qg6 28. Qxg6 fxg6 29. Nd1 Kb8 30. Ne3 Nxe3 31. fxe3 b6 32. Kf2, White has the plan of Ke2-d3 and e4 with an extra Pawn in the center.} 27. Ne4 $1 axb5 28. axb5 Kd7 {Now the Black King plans to join the Black Queen in an exodus to the kingside.} 29. Nf6+ Bxf6 30. Qxg6 fxg6 31. exf6 b6 {On 31.. .Nxd2 32. Nxd2 Rhf6, White has 33. b6 Nc6 34. Nb3 Rxf6 35. Nc5+ Kc8 36. Ra1! Rd6 37. Ra8+ Nb8 39. Ne5 Kc7 40. Rxb8!} 32. Ne5+ Nxe5 33. dxe5 {And White has broken through on the kingside with the protected passed Pawn on f6.} Ke8 34. Rb4 {Black's only counterplay is his passed d-Pawn and this effectively scotches that.} d4 35. Re4 Kf7 {Now 35...Rd5 36. Rbxd4 Rxb5 37. f7! will win the Knight.} 36. Rexd4 Nxb5 37. Rdc4 Rd5 {The ending is lost after 37...Rxd2 38. Rxb5 Rhd8 39. Rxb5 R2d5 40. Rc7+ R8d7 41. Rxd7+ Rxd7 42. Rb5} 38. Rxb5 Rxb5 39. Rc7+ Kg8 40. Rg7+ Kf8 41. Re7 h5 {After 41. ...Rxe5 42. Rb7 Black is left without a good move.} 42. Rxe6 Rh7 43. Bxg5 1-0[/pgn]

GAME OF THE YEAR AWARD The Game of the Year Award is given to the Master and non-Master player who played the best game published in “The Check Is in the Mail” for the year.  This year the nominees in the non-Master category are Pedersen-Bachler, March and Lewis-Sylvander, September.  And the winner is Kevin Bachler.  In the Master division the nominees are Kain-Rassler, June, and Addis-Adams, November.  And the winner is Gary Adams.  Congratulations, be sure to contact Joan DuBois for your prize.  SICILIAN DEFENSE (B51)

[pgn] [Event "13WM31"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2013.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Pedersen, Roger"] [Black "Bachler, Kevin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2021"] [BlackElo "2128"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] {NOV 15 GAme of the Year 2015} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {The Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian. Although it appears about ten times less than the usual 3, d4, it scores just about the same percentages for White, approximately 52% to 51.5%} Nd7 {The most common reply to 3. Bb5+ is 3...Bd7 but it is also the reply that White scores best against. Both 3...Nc6 and 3... Nd7 contain problems with the KB. Kasparov had tried all three replies: Timman-Kasparov, blitz 1987:3...Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.00 Nc6 6. c4 Nf6 7. Nc3 e6 8. d4 = and Sax-Kasparov, Eurpean Cup 2004:3...Nc6 4.00 Bd7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 g6 7. Nf1 drawn in 20.} 4. d4 {Kasparov tried 4.00, once, in Kasparov-Gimenez, Cordoba simul 1992, but coud only draw afte 4...Nf6 5. Re1 e6 6. c3 a6 7. Bf1 As 3...Nd7 cramps Black at least temporarily, White does best to open up the center immediately.} cxd4 {Playing Black, Kasparov played 4...Nf6 5.00 a6 (Black probably cannot afford to take the e-Pawn after 5... Nxe5 6.00 with too much play for the Pawn. The game Alekseev-Krush, Baku 2013, continued 6...Nf6 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Ng5 e6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Qe2 a6 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qxe6+ Kf8 13. Bc4 Qe8 14. Bf4 Nb8 15. Qd6 Bc6 16. Rxe7 Qxe7 17. Re1 Ne8 18. Qd1 Qf6 19. Nd5 Qg6 20. Nc7 Bg4 21. Qd5 Rd8 22. Qxc5+ Nd6 23. Bxd6+ Rxd6 24. Qxd6+ Qxd6 25. Re8 mate) 6. Bxd7+ Nxd7 in Ljubojevic-Kasparov, Amsterdam 1991 scoring the full point though White has a slight edge here.} 5. Qxd4 {With Black unable to attack the Queen on d4 to gain time, the Queen is well plaved here. After 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Bd3 g6 7. c4 Qb6 8. Nc2 Bg7 9. Nc3 00 10.00 Nc3 11. Ne3 Be6 12. Rb1 Qc6 13. Ned5 Bxd5 14. exd5 Qd7 15. Be2 a draw was agreed in Karthikeyan-Grover, IND National 2014} a6 6. Bxd7+ {The Rossolimo Bishop is expendable in this line. A rare sideline is 6. Be2 Ngf6 7.00 Qc7 8. c4 e6 as in Svidler-Grischuk, World Cup 2011, though White has some pull in this line also,} Bxd7 7. Nc3 e5 {Recently 7...Rc8 has been played here as in Andrelkin-Inarkiev, Capablanca Memorial 2013, but after 8.00 e5 it could transpose into the main line.} 8. Qd3 h6 {Designed to protect the d5 square, this has become the main line at this point, displacing 8...Nf6 9. Bg5.} 9. Nd2 {White takes adantage of Black's lull in development to reposition this Knight to control d5. This early Knight maneuver replaces Chadsev-Bindrich, Neustadt 2006 which saw 9.00 Nf6 10. a4 Be7 11. Nd2 00 with equality.} Rc8 {Largely faded from recent play is Bokros-Harikrishna, ECC Open 2014:9....Nf6 10. Nc4 Be6 11. Be3 Rc8 12. Nb6 Rc6 13. Nbd5 Be7 =} 10. Nc4 Qc7 {10...Be6 usually transposes here.} 11. Ne3 Nf6 12. Bd2 {Fedorchuk-Ponomariov, CEClub 2011 saw 12.00 Be7 12. a4 Qc5 14. Rd1 with an equal game. Pedersen has a different idea in mind.} Be6 13. O-O-O {Diagram # This is apparently a TN. It seems somewhat suspicious placing the King in the area of the board where Black has good attacking chances, but it may be worth further investigation.} b5 14. Ncd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 {If 15. Nxd5 Qc4! 16. Qxc4 Rxc4 17. f3 Bxd5 18. exd5 f5 gives Black good play in the endgame.} Bd7 16. f4 $1 {With Black's King stationary in the center, White strives to open up the game, but Black has time to consolidate.} exf4 17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Be7 19. Rhe1 O-O 20. Bxf4 Rfe8 {Black has found safety. White has a slight edge due to Black's slightly bad Bishop but once it gets on the a1-h8 diagonal, Black will have some attacking chances.} 21. Kb1 b4 22. Re3 Bf8 23. Qd3 Rxe3 24. Bxe3 g6 25. Re1 a5 26. Rc1 {White chooses to defend c2 with his Rook in an attempt to free his Queen, but the White Queen is well placed. Better was to seek activity for his other pieces with 26. Bf4 Bg7 27, Re4} Bg7 27. Qa6 {White leaps into activity but his pieces are not cooperating with each other. He avoids the passive position that occurs after 27. Bd4 Bxd4 28. Qxd4 Qe7 29. b3 Rc5 30. Rd1 f5} a4 $1 {Diagram # A brilliant reply -- the threat is ....a3 and forces the following exchanges,} 28. Qxa4 Bxb2 $1 29. Kxb2 Qc3+ 30. Kb1 Qxe3 31. Qxb4 Qe5 32. Rd1 Qxh2 {The result of the Bishop sacrifice is material equality but a vey unequal position. White has a passed a-Pawn but a King that is exposed to Black's heavy pieces.} 33. Rd2 Qe5 34. a4 {White's best attempt to hold -- the a-Pawn can become very dangerous if Black snoozes.} h5 35. a5 Qe8 $1 {The start of the pursuit -- Black's Queen and Rook combine to make life unbearable for the White King. The threat is the brutal ...Rb8} 36. Kc1 Qe3 37. a6 Qg1+ 38. Kb2 Qa7 39. Qxd6 Rb8+ 40. Kc3 {White misses his best chance to survive -- 40. Kc1 Eb6 41. Qe5 Rxa6 42. Rd3 Qg1+ 43, Rd1 Qxg2 44. d6 when White's passed d-Pawn offers hims some hope.} Qe3+ {Black can now use the geometry of Queen and Rook versus King to net the point.} 41. Rd3 Qe1+ 42. Kc4 {After 42. Kd4 Rc8 43. c4 Qh4+ etc.} Qe4+ 43. Kc3 {Going forward with 43. Kc5 leads to mate afte 43...Qb4+ 44. Kc6 Qb6+ 45. Kd7 Rd8+ 46. Ke7 Qxd6 mate} Rc8+ 44. Kb2 {Equally hopeless is 44. Kb3 Qc4+ 45. Ka3 Qxc2 46. Rb3 Rc5} Qc4 45. Rb3 Qxc2+ 46. Ka3 Qc1+ 47. Kb4 Qc4+ 48. Ka3 Rc5 49. Qb8+ {White would not be happy either after 49. Qb6 Qxd5} Kh7 50. Qb7 { With 50. Qb4 Qxa6+ White could play on down several Pawns with his King exposed, not a reasonable choice, but now it is a forced mate.} Ra5+ 51. Kb2 Qe2+ 52. Kc3 Qe3+ 53. Kb2 Qd2+ 54. Kb1 Qa2+ {It is mate after 55. Kc1 Rc5+ 56. Kd1 Qc2+ 57. Ke1 Qe4+ 58. Kd1 Qd4+ 59. Ke1 Rc1+ 60. Ke2 Rc2+ 61. Kf3 Qf2+ 62. Ke4 Rc4+ 63. Kd3 Rd4+ 64. Kc3 Qd2 mate} 0-1 [/pgn]

 

[pgn] [Event "14Ns03"] [Site "USCF"] [Date "2014.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Addis, Edward"] [Black "Adams, Gary"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A57"] [WhiteElo "2265"] [BlackElo "2381"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventType "corr"] {NOV 15 Game of the Year 2015} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. a4 d6 9. Ra3 Nbd7 10. e4 axb5 11. Bxb5 Ba6 12. Qe2 Bxb5 13. Nxb5 Ne8 14. O-O Nc7 15. b3 Nxb5 16. Qxb5 Qc7 17. Bg5 Rfb8 18. Qe2 h6 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Nd2 Qa6 21. Nc4 Ne5 22. Rc1 Nxc4 23. Rxc4 Bb2 24. Ra2 Rxb3 25. Qf1 h5 26. g3 Bc3 27. Bc1 Bd4 28. Bd2 Qc8 29. Qd1 Rab8 30. Kg2 h4 31. Rc1 h3+ 32. Kg1 c4 33. Bg5 Qc5 34. Rd2 Bb2 35. Rcc2 c3 36. Qf1 Ra3 37. Rd1 Qa7 38. a5 Qxa5 39. Qd3 Ra1 40. Rxa1 Qxa1+ 0-1 [/pgn]

Brian Higgins asked how much does a Golden Knights tournament actually cost ? Not counting US Chess  membership, the first expense is the $25 entry fee,  You now have six games to play.  The average postal game is about 35 moves and that gives 35 x 6 or 210 moves or 210 postcards.  A postcard costs 35 cents so $73.50 in postcards for a total of $98.50, not counting opening books, record keeping devices, or gas for the  drive to the post office.  Expensive ?  Well, consider that the average postal tournament lasts about two years, or 730 days.  That is about 13 ½ cents a day.  Where else can you get such entertainment and involvement for thirteen cents a day?   Not to mention the excitement when the mailman comes to your mailbox! Correspondence chess is still a rare bargain. JANUARY RESULTS Swift Quad Andrew Pierce    15SQ09    6-0 David Will            ,   15SQ03   5 ½-½ Walter Muir Mark Reeves        15W05    5 ½- ½ Stuart Wittenstein 15W25   5-1 Vincent Sereni        15W33    6-0 Dwayne Hoffman 15W31    6-0 David Wright        15W29   5-1 John Collins Jean Moeckel        14C04    5-1 Corey Karstetter  14C10   6-0 Jason Gilley             14C17   6-0 Gary Shrum                 13C17   6-0 George Mullen     14C06  5-1 A hardcore sacrificial attack is topped with a quiet Pawn move leading to unstoppable mate. CENTER COUNTER GAME (C11)

[pgn] [Event "15SQ09"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Pierce, Andrew"] [Black "Stone, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [BlackElo "1471"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O h6 10. Qe2 Nd7 11. Qe4 Nf6 12. Qh4 Nd5 13. Qg3 Bd6 14. Ne5 f6 15. Bxh6 Qe7 16. Qg6 fxe5 17. Qh7+ Kf7 18. Bg6+ Kf6 19. Bg5+ Kxg5 20. Qh5+ Kf6 21. h4 1-0[/pgn]

This game is a titantic struggle with Black’s iceberg finally being the b-Pawn. FRENCH DEFENSE (C18)

[pgn] [Event "15EN12"] [Site "US Chess"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Bussom, Andrew"] [Black "Sylvander, Dana"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "2218"] [BlackElo "2199"] [PlyCount "141"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 12. h4 d4 13. h5 Bd7 14. Qd3 O-O-O 15. h6 Be8 16. Ng3 f5 17. exf6 Nd5 18. h7 Rh8 19. Ne4 Kb8 20. Ng5 Nxf6 21. Kf2 Qe7 22. Kg1 Bh5 23. Qg3 Ka8 24. Bd3 Bg4 25. Qe1 Rde8 26. Rh6 Nd5 27. Bg6 Ref8 28. Be4 Qd7 29. Rb1 Re8 30. Qf1 Bf5 31. Bxf5 exf5 32. Qb5 Re1+ 33. Kf2 Re7 34. Qc5 Nc7 35. a4 Ne6 36. Qxf5 Nxg5 37. Qxd7 Rxd7 38. fxg5 Rhxh7 39. Bf4 a6 40. Rxh7 Rxh7 41. Ke2 Rd7 42. Kd3 Ka7 43. g3 a5 44. Kc4 Nb4 45. Rd1 b5+ 46. axb5 Nxc2 47. g6 Kb6 48. Kb3 Nb4 49. Rxd4 Rg7 50. Kc4 Rxg6 51. Rd6+ Rxd6 52. Bxd6 c2 53. Bf4 Kb7 54. g4 Kc8 55. g5 Kd7 56. g6 Ke6 57. g7 Kf7 58. Bh6 Kg8 59. b6 Nc6 60. Kb3 c1=N+ 61. Bxc1 Kxg7 62. Kc4 Kf7 63. Kd5 Nd8 64. Kd6 Ke8 65. Kc7 a4 66. Ba3 Ne6+ 67. Kc8 Nd8 68. Bb4 Nc6 69. b7 Na7+ 70. Kc7 Nb5+ 71. Kb6 1-0[/pgn]

When Black misses the drawing line with 54…Ke6, the White Pawns move on to victory. QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED (D31)

[pgn] [Event "15WM25"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Wittenstein, Stuart"] [Black "Badger, John"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "1900"] [BlackElo "1833"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 Qb6 8. Qd2 Nf6 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. h4 h5 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 g6 13. O-O-O Qa6 14. Rhe1 Qxd3 15. Rxd3 O-O 16. e4 Bb4 17. e5 Re8 18. Bd2 Nfd7 19. f4 Nf8 20. f5 Be7 21. Rh1 Na6 22. Nge2 gxf5 23. Rg3+ Kh7 24. Nf4 Ne6 25. Nxh5 Rg8 26. Bg5 Bxg5+ 27. hxg5 Rxg5 28. Nf4+ Kg8 29. Rgh3 Kf8 30. Nxe6+ fxe6 31. Rh8+ Rg8 32. R1h7 Rb8 33. Rxg8+ Kxg8 34. Re7 Nb4 35. Kd2 Kf8 36. Rxe6 Kf7 37. Rf6+ Ke7 38. a3 Na6 39. Rxf5 Rg8 40. Rf2 Nc7 41. Ne2 Ne6 42. Ke3 Rg4 43. Kf3 Re4 44. g4 Kf7 45. Kg3+ Ke7 46. Nf4 Nxd4 47. g5 Ke8 48. g6 Nf5+ 49. Kg4 Rxe5 50. Nd3 Nh6+ 51. Kh4 Rf5 52. Rxf5 Nxf5+ 53. Kg5 Ng7 54. Kf6 Kf8 55. Nc5 d4 56. Ke5 b6 57. Kxd4 bxc5+ 58. Kxc5 Nf5 59. Kxc6 Ne3 60. a4 Kg7 61. b4 Kxg6 62. a5 Nc4 63. Kb7 Kf7 64. Kxa7 { Diagram #} Ke7 65. Kb7 Kd7 66. a6 Nd6+ 67. Kb8 Nb5 68. a7 1-0[/pgn]

OBITUARY Thomas Hartmayer Thomas Hartmayer of Storrs, Connecticut, born 15 April, 1951, died 1 January 2016. Thomas was very active in Connecticut chess.   PIRC’S DEFENSE (B07)  

[pgn] [Event "06EN02"] [Site "?"] [Date "2006.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Hartmayer, Thomas"] [Black "Shields, Douglas"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "1703"] [BlackElo "1562"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2006.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. c3 d5 5. dxe5 Nxe4 6. Bxe4 dxe4 7. Qa4+ Bd7 8. Qxe4 Bc6 9. Qg4 h5 10. Qg3 h4 11. Qg4 Nd7 12. Nf3 h3 13. O-O hxg2 14. Re1 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Qh4 16. Bf4 O-O-O 17. Nd2 Bc5 18. Rad1 f6 19. Bg3 Qh6 20. Nb3 Bb6 21. e6 Ne5 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Qd5+ Ke7 24. Rxe5 Rd8 25. Qf3 1-0[/pgn]

Mark Morss Mark Morss of Columbus, Ohio, was born March 31, 1947 and died September 5, 2015.  Mark played in two Absolute tournaments 1997 and 1998, and kept an on-line journal of his 1998 event. QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED (D31)

[pgn] [Event "1997 Absolute"] [Site "?"] [Date "1997.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Michelman, Peter"] [Black "Morss, Mark"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2407"] [BlackElo "2350"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1997.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bb4 6. e3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 8. axb5 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 cxb5 10. b3 Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 13. Bd3 Nbd7 14. O-O O-O 15. Re1 Be4 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. Qc2 f5 18. c5 Qc7 19. c6 Rfc8 20. Rac1 Qd6 21. Qa4 Nb6 22. Qb5 Nd5 23. Ne5 a4 24. f3 Ng5 25. Nd7 b3 26. e4 Nf4 27. Nb6 Nfh3+ 28. gxh3 Nxf3+ 29. Kf2 Qf4 30. Ke2 Nxe1 31. Kxe1 a3 32. Qxb3 Qxe4+ 33. Kf2 axb2 34. Re1 Ra3 0-1[/pgn]

Frank Spooner, Sr. Frank Spooner, Sr. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,  was born January 19, 1937 and died December 26, 2015.  Frank was a prolific postal player accumulating a record of 932 games. BENONI DEFENSE (A56)  

[pgn] [Event "04CB01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2004.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Spooner, Frank"] [Black "DeAugustino, Philip"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A56"] [WhiteElo "1656"] [BlackElo "1661"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2004.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd1 e6 6. e4 Be7 7. Nf3 e5 8. g3 a6 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O d6 11. a3 Bg4 12. Be3 Na5 13. b3 Rc8 14. Rc1 Nc6 15. Qc2 Ne8 16. Nd5 f5 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bg5 Qc7 19. Bd2 fxe4 20. Qxe4 Bf5 21. Qe3 Nf6 22. h3 Be6 23. Ng5 Bf5 24. g4 Bd7 25. Qd3 Ne7 26. Rfe1 Ng6 27. Rc3 Nh4 28. Bh1 Rce8 29. Qg3 Ng6 30. Rcc1 Bc6 31. Re2 Bxh1 32. Kxh1 Qc6+ 33. Qg2 Qxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Nd7 35. Kg3 Nc5 36. Rc3 Ne6 37. Ne4 Rd8 38. Be3 Rd7 39. Rd3 Nd4 40. Bxd4 exd4 41. Rxd4 Rdf7 42. Re3 Nf4 43. Rd2 h5 44. Nxd6 h4+ 45. Kh2 Rd7 46. Ne4 Rxd2 47. Nxd2 Rd8 48. Nf3 Ng6 49. a4 Rd7 50. Ne5 Rd6 51. Nxg6 Rxg6 52. Kg2 Kf7 53. f4 Rd6 {To be adjudicated} 54. Kf3 Rd7 55. g5 Kg6 56. Kg4 Rd4 57. Re6+ Kf7 58. Rb6 Rd7 59. Kxh4 {1-0} 1-0[/pgn]

IM Tseng wins this queenside positional bind that allows for multiple sacrifices based on a Knight located in no man’s land. KING’S INDIAN DEFENSE (E99)

[pgn] [Event "WC37/sf05"] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2013.06.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Tseng, Wilbur"] [Black "Barria, Víctor Adrián"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E99"] [WhiteElo "2415"] [BlackElo "2527"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] 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. Ne1 Nd7 10. Nd3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Nf6 14. b4 c5 15. Nb5 cxb4 16. Nxb4 a6 17. Nc3 Bd7 18. a4 a5 19. Nd3 Nc8 20. Nb5 Bxb5 21. cxb5 Ne8 22. Ba3 Na7 23. Nb2 Rf7 24. Rc1 Rc8 25. Nc4 Rcc7 26. Rc2 Bf6 27. g3 Bg5 28. Rf2 Nc8 29. Bf1 Qd7 30. Bg2 h6 31. Qf1 Qd8 32. Rfe2 fxg3 33. hxg3 Kh7 34. Bh3 Na7 35. Be6 Rf6 36. Rf2 Ng7 37. f4 exf4 38. Bxd6 Rxc4 39. Rxc4 Qxd6 40. e5 Qxe5 41. gxf4 Bxf4 42. Rcxf4 Rxf4 43. Rxf4 Qg5+ 44. Kh1 Qh5+ 45. Kg2 Nc8 46. Bxc8 Qxd5+ 47. Qf3 Qg5+ 48. Kh3 Qc5 49. Bd7 Qg5 50. Rf7 Qe5 51. Bc6 Qe6+ 52. Kg2 Qa2+ 53. Kg3 Qe6 54. Bd5 Qe5+ 55. Kh3 Qd4 56. Be4 Qe5 57. Qf6 Qxf6 58. Rxf6 Nh5 59. Rxb6 Kg7 60. Rc6 Nf6 61. Rc7+ Kf8 62. b6 Ne8 63. Rc6 g5 64. b7 h5 65. b8=Q g4+ 66. Kh4 Kf7 67. Bg6+ Kg7 68. Qxe8 1-0[/pgn]