The July Check is in the Mail

Timothy Weil of Denver, Colorado, has won the closely contested Walter Muir 15W10.   By wining one and drawing one against each opponent, Tim made certain of at least first place, and he did better, winning his event by 1 ½ points.     GAME OF THE MONTH White’s attack in this game is based on the superior activity of his major pieces.  Black’s Rooks and Queen make one move each but can’t help their King. SICILIAN DEFENSE (B35)

[pgn]

[Event "15W10"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Weil, Timothy"]
[Black "Tuck, Drew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B35"]
[WhiteElo "1911"]
[BlackElo "1810"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 {The Accelerated Fianchetto
Defense has been gaining in popularity in recent events.} 5. Nc3 {The major
alternative is to set up a Maroczy Bind with 5. c4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 00 8.
Be2 d6 9.00 Bd7 10. Rc1 with approximate equality.} Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 {
This is the line most favored currently. Other choices are 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5
when Black must choose between the gambit line 8...Nd5!? or the play to
undermine White's center after 8. ...Ng8 amd ...f6; the Karpov Approach with 7.
Be2 followed by 00; or play for a kingside attack by first strengthening the
center by 7. f3 and then following with 7...00 8. g4 d6 9. Qd2 Re8 10.000 with
h4 to follow. White's choice is designed to discourage an early ...d5 by Black.
} O-O 8. Bb3 {White has to be careful here. After 8. Qd2 Nxe4! is good for
Black.} a5 9. O-O {White is banking on his lead in deelopment to compensate
for Black's two to zero Pawn center after 9...a4 10. Nxa4 Nxe4 11. Nb5. See
January 2015 The Check Is in the Mail for the game Endsley-Jarosz, Michigan
State Final CC 2013.} Nxd4 {Black could also play an immediate 9...d6 here. A
critical game is Garcia Trobat-Granero Roca, La Roda 2015 where 10. h3 Bd7 11.
a4 Nxd4 12. Bxb4 Bc6 13. f4!? Nd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 and now not the suicidal 15.
e5?! but 15. Qd4+ gives a pull for White.} 10. Bxd4 d6 11. a4 {Sound and safe.
White could continue his plan of a lead in develiopment with 11. Re1 Bd7 12.
Nd5 Nxd5 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. exd5 with a slight plus as in Garguly-Guseinov. 7th
Wolrld Team Championship 2010.} Bd7 12. f4 Bc6 13. f5 $5 {Diagram # Little is
known about this advance played in Ponomarev-Vujadinovic, Corres, 2008, which
continued 13...Nd7 14. Kh1. Tried here, rather unsuccessfuly, have been 13.
Qd3 and 13. Kh1.} Nd7 14. Rf2 $5 {This is new and worthy of a repeat try.
White avoids the exchange of Queens and allows for the possibility of quickly
doubling Rooks on the f-file.} Ne5 {Black's major problem is his minor pieces
have good squares buut his major pieces do not. Rybka suggests 14....Qb8! 15.
Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qd2 Qa7 as a possible solution, but White remains in better
shape.} 15. Qd2 Ng4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Hopeless is 16...Nxf2 17. Bxf8 Ng4 18. Bh6
Qb6+ 19. Kf1 Qa6+ 20. Ne2 Bxe4 21. fxg6 hxg6 22. Bg5} 17. Qd4+ Kg8 18. Rf4 Nf6
19. Qe3 {More accurate was 19. Rh4! Ra6 20. Qd2 gxf5 21. Rf1 ! with an
irresistable attack.} g5 {This cannot be a pleasant move to make but there is
still a breath of life, labored, but a breath, after 19...Qb8.} 20. Rff1 h6 21.
h4 $1 Nh7 22. Rad1 {All of White's army is mobilized and Black's major pieces
sit where they were on Move 7.} Qc7 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Rad8 25. hxg5 Nxg5 {
After 25...hxg5 White wins with 26. f6! e5 27. Qh3 Kh8 28. g4 Rc8 29. Kg2 and
Rh1 follows.} 26. f6 e5 27. Rf5 {There is no good defense left.} 1-0 [/pgn]

Palciauskas John McKearney   14P03   5 ½-½ Walter Muir Thomas Segreto    16W06   5-1 Tony West                15W38   6-0 John Davis                16W05   6-0 John Collins Brian Timms      14C03   6-0 Trophy Quad David Rodriguez  14Q09  5-1 Swift Quad Robert Irons   15SQ14  4 ½-1 ½ Gary Boye     15SQ14  4 ½-1 ½ Cuban stamp honoring Wilhelm Steinitz. TOP CORRESPONDENCE PLAYERS

1	Menke, John	IL		2496
2	Ingersol, Harry	IA		2421
3	Tseng, Wilbur	IL		2420
4	Buss, Michael	IN		2419
5	Adams, Gary	AZ		2406
6	Tracz, James	OH		2403
=6	Bonsack, Laurence	CA		2403
8	Miettinen, Kristo	NY		2397
9	Kain, Anthony	SC		2396
10	Torres, Chris	CA		2388
11	Walters, Gary	OH		2379
12	Woodard, Daniel	NV		2373
13	Levine, Joel	NY		2371
14	Sogin, David	KY		2355
15	Daves, Dana	NC		2344
16	Magat, Gordon	NY		2343
17	Rodriguez, Keith	FL		2337
18	Boege, Harold	MN		2317
19	Ryan, Patrick	NJ		2315
20	Lewis, Chris	VA		2314
21	Horwitz, Danny	TX		2313
22	Funston, David	CA		2296
23	Corkum, Tim	WI		2293
24	Cross, Gregory	TX		2286
25	Procopi, John	DE		2280

Quote:   The engines are strong enough now that a simple quad core machine can hold the draw in the Berlin even against a $100,000,000 super computer.. --  Wolff Morrow White aims all his pieces at the queenside.  Black aims all his at the Kingside.  Who wins ? LARSEN’S OPENING (A01)

[pgn]

[Event "16EN06"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cobb, Jeffrey"]
[Black "Kocian, Larry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "1894"]
[BlackElo "1886"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 d6 3. e3 Nf6 4. d4 Nbd7 5. c4 c6 6. Nf3 e4 7. Nfd2 d5 8.
f3 Bd6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. f4 Nf8 12. c5 Bc7 13. b4 a6 14. a4 Bd7 15.
O-O Ng6 16. b5 b6 17. bxc6 Bxc6 18. Nb3 Nd7 19. cxb6 Bxb6 20. a5 Bc7 21. Qc2
Nh4 22. Rfc1 Re6 23. Na4 Nf5 24. Qd2 Qh4 25. Bf1 Rg6 26. Nac5 Nxe3 27. Qxe3
Bxf4 0-1

[/pgn]

White’s attack is just too strong for Black. VIENNA GAME (C33)

[pgn]

[Event "15Q07"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ulrich, Robert"]
[Black "Clardy, William"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C33"]
[WhiteElo "1500"]
[BlackElo "1595"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Bc4 exf4 5. Nf3 Bb4 6. Qe2 O-O 7. d3 Bd6
8. a3 a6 9. b4 Re8 10. Bb2 Bf8 11. O-O-O d5 12. Bb3 Bg4 13. Qf2 dxe4 14. Nxe4
Qe7 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. Qh4 Bf5 17. Bxf6 Qd6 18. Qg5+ Bg6 19. h4 h6 20. Qxg6+
Bg7 21. Qxg7# 1-0[/pgn]

Thomas Connelly notes that he could not calculate whether the double sacrifice was sound but his chess instincts told him to go for it. NIMZOINDIAN DEFENSE (E32)

[pgn]

[Event "15N11"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lilien, Elliot"]
[Black "Connelly, Thomas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2268"]
[BlackElo "1963"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5
Bb7 8. f3 d5 9. e3 Nbd7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Ne2 Re8 14.
Kf2 Qe7 15. Qd2 c5 16. Rae1 Bc6 17. Bb1 Qd6 18. Ng3 Bb7 19. Nf5 Qc7 20. Qc2 h5
21. h4 g6 22. Ng3 Re6 23. Ne2 Rae8 24. Nf4 {Diagram #} Rxe3 25. Rxe3 Ng4+ 26.
fxg4 Qxf4+ 27. Rf3 Qxd4+ 28. Kg3 hxg4 29. Rxf7 Re3+ 30. Rf3 Qe5+ 31. Kf2 g3+
32. Rxg3 Qxg3+ 0-1[/pgn]

Here is a game from 165 years ago that has a modern flavor to it. GIUOCO PIANO (C54)

[pgn]

[Event "corr"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1851.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Amsterdam"]
[Black "London"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1851.??.??"]
[EventType "game (corr)"]
[Source "Chess Mail"]
[SourceDate "2001.03.30"]

{JUL} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4
8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Nc3 f5 11. h4 O-O 12. Bf4 c5 13. Kf1 Rb8 14. Na4
Qe8 15. b3 cxd4 16. Nxd4 c5 17. Nc2 d4 18. Rc1 Ba6+ 19. Kg1 Bb5 20. Na3 Bxa4
21. bxa4 Bc7 22. f3 Nc3 23. Qc2 Bxe5 24. Re1 Bxf4 25. Rxe8 Rfxe8 26. Kf2 Re2+
27. Qxe2 Nxe2 28. Kxe2 Re8+ 29. Kf2 d3 30. Rd1 d2 31. Kf1 {Diagram #} Bg3 32.
Nc2 Re1+ 33. Rxe1 dxe1=Q+ 34. Nxe1 Bxe1 35. Kxe1 Kf7 0-1

[/pgn]

An excellent example of the failure of defense against the success of attack. A methodical execution…. RETI OPENING (A09)

[pgn]

[Event "10Nf02"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rhodes, James"]
[Black "Addis, Edward"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "2287"]
[BlackElo "2265"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. c4 d4 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. O-O e5 6. d3 Nf6 7. e3 Be7 8.
exd4 exd4 9. Bf4 O-O 10. Ne5 Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Ng4 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14.
Nd2 Ne5 15. Re1 Bf5 16. Be4 Bxe4 17. Nxe4 Qc7 18. f4 Nd7 19. Qh5 Rae8 20. Qd5
Re6 21. a3 h6 22. b4 Rfe8 23. Kf2 b6 24. Nd6 R8e7 25. Rxe6 fxe6 26. Qa8+ Nf8
27. Nb5 Qb7 28. Qxb7 Rxb7 29. Nd6 Rd7 30. Ne4 Rc7 31. bxc5 bxc5 32. Rb1 {
Diagram #} Nd7 33. Rb5 a6 34. Rb1 Kf7 35. a4 Ke8 36. Kf3 Kf7 37. g4 Ke7 38. h4
g6 39. h5 Kf7 40. Rh1 Rc6 41. g5 gxh5 42. Rxh5 hxg5 43. Rh7+ Ke8 44. fxg5 Ne5+
45. Kg3 Kd8 46. Kh4 Ng6+ 47. Kh5 Nf4+ 48. Kg4 Ng6 49. Rh6 Ne5+ 50. Kh5 Rb6 51.
g6 Rb1 52. Rh7 Rh1+ 53. Kg5 Rg1+ 54. Kf6 Nd7+ 55. Rxd7+ Kxd7 56. Kf7 1-0[/pgn]

In this game Black’s Queen Bishop is always better than White’s Queen Knight. QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED (D43)

[pgn]

[Event "15wm10"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Badger, John"]
[Black "Tuck, Drew"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "1849"]
[BlackElo "1810"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Qd3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qd3 Bb7
8. a3 a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 Nd5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. Bg5 Qa5 13. Bd2 Bb4 14. Ne4
Bxd2+ 15. Nfxd2 Nc6 16. Qg3 O-O 17. Bd3 Nce7 18. Nf6+ Nxf6 19. exf6 Ng6 20. h4
b4 21. fxg7 Rfd8 22. h5 {Diagram #} Ne5 23. Nc4 Nxd3+ 24. Qxd3 Rxd3 25. Nxa5
Bxg2 26. Rh4 Bf3 27. Nc4 Rad8 28. Ne3 bxa3 29. bxa3 Kxg7 30. Rh3 Bg4 31. Rh4
Bf3 32. Rh3 Be4 33. Rg3+ Kf8 34. Rd1 Rxd1+ 35. Nxd1 Rd3 36. Ke2 Rxg3 37. fxg3
Ke7 38. Ke3 Bf5 39. Kf3 Kd6 40. Ne3 Bd3 41. Kf4 e5+ 42. Kg5 Kc5 43. Kf6 Kd4 44.
Ng2 e4 45. Kxf7 Bc2 46. h6 e3 47. Kg7 e2 48. g4 Kc3 49. Ne1 Bg6 0-1

[/pgn]

When two evenly matched opponents are willing to swap pieces, a draw is a reasonable outcome. NIMZOINDIAN DEFENSE (E54)

[pgn]

[Event "15wm10"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Badger, John"]
[Black "Van Hine, Jesse"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "1849"]
[BlackElo "1850"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c5 4. e3 cxd4 5. exd4 d5 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bd3 dxc4
8. Bxc4 O-O 9. O-O a6 10. a4 Nc6 11. Bg5 Be7 12. Qd2 b6 13. d5 {Diagram #} Na5
14. Ba2 exd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Be6 17. Qxd8 Bxd8 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Bxd8
Raxd8 20. Rfe1 Nb3 21. Rad1 Nc5 22. h3 a5 23. b3 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Nxb3 25. Rb1 Nc5
26. Rxb6 Nxa4 27. Ra6 Rf5 28. Nd4 Rd5 29. Nc6 Kf7 30. Rxa5 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

At the end, Black’s two Bishops just don’t have enough scope to dominate. RUY LOPEZ (C95)

[pgn]

[Event "15wm10"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Van Hine, Jesse"]
[Black "Weil, Timothy"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "1850"]
[BlackElo "1911"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

{JUL} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6
8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6
15. a4 c5 16. d5 c4 17. Be3 Qc7 18. Qe2 Nc5 19. Nd2 Rab8 20. Ra2 Rec8 21. axb5
axb5 22. Rea1 h5 23. Bg5 Bg7 24. Ra7 Ra8 25. Qf1 Rxa7 26. Rxa7 Ra8 27. Rxa8+
Bxa8 28. b4 cxb3 29. Nxb3 Nxb3 30. Bxb3 Qa5 31. Qd3 Nd7 32. Qd2 Nc5 33. Bc2 f6
34. Bh6 Bb7 35. Be3 Na4 36. Ne2 Nb2 37. Bd3 Nxd3 38. Qxd3 Bc8 39. f3 f5 40. Bg5
f4 1/2-1/2[/pgn]