The March 2016 Check is in the Mail

Tim Corkum of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin has won the 2011 Electronic Knights Championship.  Tim, who qualified for all three Finals section, put together a strong 5 ½-½ finish to edge out Dan Woodard for the title. GAME OF THE MONTH A positional Queen sacrifice sets the stage for Corkum’s win of active  Rook, Knight, and Pawn versus a passive Queen.

[pgn]

[Event "11ENf03"]
[Site "USCF"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ellis, Mark"]
[Black "Corkum, Tim"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D76"]
[WhiteElo "2078"]
[BlackElo "2220"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 {Black opts for a Neo-Grunfeld
Defense rather than entering into a King;s Indian formation after 4...00 5.
Nc3 d6 6. e4} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 Nb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 {
Ellis has been here before in Ellis-Cotter, 2009 Golden Knights semifinal,
which continued 10...e5 11. d5 Na5 12. e4 which would have been basically even
after 12...c6. Corkum's choice is even better for Black.} a5 11. Qe2 {White's
position is vey solid but he has t make a decision abouit his Queen's Bishop.
A reasoanble line here is 11. b3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bb2 with
equality.} Be6 12. Rd1 Bc4 13. Qc2 Nb4 14. Qb1 e5 {Diagram # Black sets a trap
-- 15. dxe5? Qxd1+! 16. Rxd1 Bd3 winning, but the trap can easily be avoided
with 15. b3! and an edge.} 15. a3 $6 exd4 $1 16. axb4 dxc3 $1 17. Rxd8 Raxd8
18. Qc2 axb4 {The point of Black's 14..e5 -- Black threatens to engulf the
White Queen by ...b3 and ...c2.} 19. Nd2 cxd2 20. Bxd2 Ra8 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. h4
{White can't steal the b7 Pawn because Black will then show what a coordinated
army of pieces can do: 22. Bxb7 Ra1+ 23. Kg2 Bf1+ 24. Kf3 Nc4 25. Bxb4 Ne5+ 26.
Kf4 Nd3+ 27. Kf3 Rc1 28. Qa4 Rc4+ 29. e4 Nd3+ 30. Kf3 Nxb4 and Black's attack
continues with an extra piece. White is also too tied up after 22, Bxb7 Ra1+
23. Bc1 b3 24. Qd2 Be6 25. Kg2 Nc4 26. Qd1 h5 27. Be4 Bf6} Ra2 23. Bc1 h5 24.
Qd2 Ra1 25. Kh2 Be6 26. Bf1 {Failing is 26. Qd8+ Kh7 27. Bd2 b3! 28. Be4 Rd1
29. Qxc7 Rxd2 30, Qxb6 Rxf2+ 31. Kg1 Rxb2.} c5 27. e4 Nd7 28. f4 {White tries
his luck on a kingside attack but his pieces are too passive.} c4 29. f5 c3 30.
bxc3 bxc3 31. Qf4 Bb3 32. Kh3 {After 32. fxg6 Black simply answers 32...fxg6
and White has nothing.} Ra2 33. Qd6 Ne5 34. Qe7 Ng4 35. Bg2 Bc4 36. fxg6 fxg6
37. e5 Kh7 {Now Black is ready for ...Bf1 which could not have been played
immediately because of Qe6+ and Qxa2.} 38. Qxb7 Bf1 39. e6 Bxg2+ 40. Qxg2 Rxg2
41. Kxg2 Bh6 0-1

 [/pgn]

2011 ELECTRONIC KNIGHTS FINAL STANDINGS Tim Corkum                    39.15 Daniel Woodard               37.90 John Procopi               35.25 Andrew Bussom               32.40 Barry Endsley              32.40 Andrew Bussom               32.25 Dalibor Milenkovic           30.20 Samir  Alazawi   30.15 Mark Stephenson            30.15 Mark Ellis                    30.10 John Galvin                  29.65 Tim Corkum                          28.40 Tim Corkum                      27.90 Dennis Fees                         24.50 Mark Lehr                             23.95 Raymond  Mayers        23.45 John Galvin                           23.40 Vladimir Iglesias                  21.15 Richard Jenkins   19.95 Steven Patterson               15.40 Samir Alazawi                 12.20 FEBRUARY RESULTS Walter Muir Dwayne Hoffman  15W17  6-0 Jerry Blankenship  15W16  4 ½-1 ½ Charles Jacobs          15W02  4-2 Swift Quad David Pendergast  15SQ05   4 ½-1 ½ 15SQ05 SWIFT QUAD WINNER David Pendergast of Las Vegas, Nevada, won the 2015 Swift Quad 15SQ05.

[pgn]

[Event "15SQ05"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pedersen, Roger"]
[Black "Pendergast, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B32"]
[WhiteElo "2057"]
[BlackElo "2174"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 Be7
8. Nc4 b5 9. Ne3 Nf6 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 Rb8 12. O-O b4 13. Ncd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5
Bg5 15. Bxg5 Qxg5 16. f4 Qd8 17. Qd2 Ne7 18. Ne3 Qb6 19. Rf2 Rd8 20. Rd1 Qc5
21. fxe5 Qxe5 22. c4 bxc3 23. Qxc3 Qxc3 24. bxc3 Ng6 25. Rfd2 Ne5 26. Rxd6 Rxd6
27. Rxd6 f6 28. Nf1 Kf7 29. Rd8 g5 30. h4 h6 31. Bh3 g4 32. Bg2 Nc6 33. Rd2 Rb1
34. Kf2 Ne5 35. Ne3 Be6 36. Bf1 Nf3 37. Re2 a5 38. a4 Ne5 39. Rd2 Nf3 40. Rd1
Rb2+ 41. Be2 h5 42. Nf5 Ne5 43. Ke3 Rc2 44. c4 Bxf5 45. exf5 Nxc4+ 46. Kd3 Ra2
47. Kxc4 Rxe2 48. Rd7+ Kf8 49. Kc5 Re3 50. Kd6 Re5 51. Rd8+ Kf7 52. Rd7+ Kf8
53. Ra7 Ke8 54. Rc7 Re3 55. Rg7 Kf8 56. Rb7 Rc3 57. Ra7 Rxg3 58. Ke6 Rc3 59.
Kxf6 Rc6+ 60. Kg5 g3 61. Ra8+ Kf7 62. Ra7+ Kf8 63. Ra8+ 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

15SQ05  

Pendergast	2174		½½	½ 1	1 1	4½
Milenkovic	2011	½ ½		½ ½	1 1	4
Pedersen	2097	½ 0	½ ½		1 1	3½
Bedard	1999	0 0	0 0	0 0		0

How many Queens can a player sacrifice?  is the question this game asks.

[pgn]

[Event "14C06"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mullen, George"]
[Black "Hiber, Charles"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A99"]
[WhiteElo "1965"]
[BlackElo "1994"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. c4 f5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8.
b3 Ne4 9. Nxe4 fxe4 10. Ne1 d5 11. f3 exf3 12. Nxf3 c5 13. e3 Bf6 14. Ba3 b6
15. cxd5 exd5 16. Qd2 Bb7 17. Rac1 Na6 18. dxc5 Be7 19. c6 Bxa3 20. cxb7 Bxc1
21. bxa8=Q Qxe3+ 22. Kh1 Bxd2 23. Qxd5+ Kh8 24. Nxd2 Rg8 25. Qxg8+ 1-0

[/pgn]

2016 Absolute Underway The 2016 Absolute Championship has begun with eleven of our top players competing.  Leading the list at 2425 is Harry Ingersol followed by Dan Woodard at 2393..  Chris Torres, Gary Walters, Kristo Miettinen, Keith Rodriguez, and Gordon Magat make up the list of 2300+ rated players. Danny Horwitz, John Procopi, Charles Jacobs, and Andrew Bussom complete the roster.  It  is a fine collection of Masters and I wish them all Good Skill !   . The Queen can be a powerful force, but here she is overcome by the cooperation of three pieces and a Pawn.

[pgn] 

[Event "Chessfriends Rochade Bd. 5"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2016.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miciak, Emanuel"]
[Black "Schakel, Corky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2378"]
[BlackElo "2341"]
[Annotator "Schakel,C"]
[PlyCount "176"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 e5 7. d5 a5 8.
Be3 Na6 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. g4 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. gxf5 Ndc5 13. Nde4 Bxf5 14. Bg2
Qh4 15. Bg5 Nd3+ 16. Ke2 Qh5+ 17. Bf3 Qxf3+ 18. Kxf3 Bxe4+ 19. Ke3 Bg6 20. h4
$5 Nxf2 21. Qg1 Nxh1 22. Qxh1 h6 23. h5 Bh7 24. Bh4 Rf4 25. Rf1 Raf8 26. Rxf4
exf4+ 27. Kd2 Nc5 28. Qh3 a4 29. Be7 Bf5 30. Qg2 Rf7 31. Bh4 Nd3 32. b3 axb3
33. axb3 Nc5 34. b4 Nd7 35. Ne2 Bh7 36. Nd4 f3 37. Qf2 Ne5 38. Ne6 Nxc4+ 39.
Ke1 Bc3+ 40. Kf1 Bd3+ 41. Kg1 Bd2 42. Kh1 Ne5 43. Qa7 Kh7 44. Qb8 f2 45. Bxf2
Rxf2 46. Nf8+ Rxf8 47. Qxf8 Be4+ 48. Kg1 Bxd5 49. Qe7+ Bf7 50. Qxc7 Bxb4 51.
Qxb7 Bc5+ 52. Kf1 {(Draw offer)} Kg7 53. Qg2+ Kf6 54. Qd2 Bxh5 55. Qxh6+ Bg6
56. Qf8+ Kg5 57. Ke2 Bd3+ 58. Kd2 Be4 59. Qe7+ Kf4 60. Qf6+ Kg3 61. Kc3 Nf3 62.
Kc4 {(Draw offer)} Kg2 63. Qf4 Kf2 64. Kb5 Bd5 65. Qf5 Bb3 66. Qf6 Ke2 67. Qb2+
Nd2 68. Kc6 Kd1 69. Qh8 Bc4 70. Qh5+ Kc1 71. Qh8 Nb3 72. Qh6+ Kb1 73. Qg6+ Kb2
74. Qg7+ Ka3 75. Qf8 d5 76. Qa8+ Kb2 77. Qg8 Be3 78. Kd6 Kc3 79. Qg3 d4 80. Ke5
Bd3 81. Kd5 Bc2 82. Qe1+ Bd2 83. Qe2 Bc1 84. Qe5 Kb2 85. Kc4 Bd2 86. Qd5 Bc3
87. Qb7 d3 88. Qh1 d2 0-1

[/pgn]

The motto of this game might well have been, “Attack with all you’ve got!”

[pgn]

[Event "Elburg thematic C"]
[Site "corr"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nyman, Sture"]
[Black "Kozlov, Vasily F. (RUS)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C40"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[Source "Chess Mail"]
[SourceDate "2001.03.30"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bc4 fxe4 4. Nxe5 d5 5. Qh5+ g6 6. Nxg6 Nf6 7. Qe5+
Be7 8. Qxe7+ Qxe7 9. Nxe7 Kxe7 10. Be2 Rg8 11. g3 Nc6 12. O-O Nd4 13. Bd1 Bg4
14. Na3 Bxd1 15. Rxd1 Ng4 16. d3 Raf8 17. Be3 Nf3+ 18. Kg2 d4 19. Bd2 Nh4+ $1
20. Kg1 Rxf2 $17 21. Bg5+ Rxg5 22. gxh4 e3 23. Rf1 Nxh2+ 24. Kh1 Nf3 25. Rxf2
exf2 26. hxg5 Ne1 0-1

[/pgn]

Quote:  Most postal players look to improve their opening play by correspondence but endgame play is what you learn the most -- David Eisen Computer poll In the January issue of “The Check Is in the Mail”  I polled the readers on the use of engines in USCF correspondence chess.  The result was overwhelmingly against their use.  One of the emails was from David McCann who sums up the discussion very neatly:  “I enjoy playing without computers, matching wits with my opponent.  Recently, I have entered some ICCF tournaments where computers are allowed. Many players like this but I am not one of them.  I probably will drop out of ICCF as soon as I finish my games.  It seems to me it comes down to who has the latest software and most  recent and most powerful computer.  I got slaughtered in one game with an evenly matched opponent, in terms of our ratings, though my USCF OTB rating is much higher than his.  He said he used an Aquarium platform running Komodo, Houdini, and Stockfish (the latest versions) all at once, building trees of analysis.  Well, my single Houdini engine was no match for his supercomputer conglomerate, so I was crushed.  To me, that is not the true nature of competition in chess”. The upshot of it all is that players who want to use a chess engine to generate their moves have a place to do so – the ICCF allows the use of computers n their competitions.  US Chess CC players who use engines are welcome to compete there. GAMES FROM 2011  ELECTRONIC KNIGHTS CHAMPIONSHIP All was not easy for the 2011 Champion – witness this attacking masterpiece by 4^th place finisher Andrew Bussom

[pgn]

[Event "11ENf01"]
[Site "USCF"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bussom, Andrew"]
[Black "Corkum, Tim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2184"]
[BlackElo "2162"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4
Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Re8 10. c3 Bg4 11. h3 Be6 12. d4 exd4 13. Ng5 dxc3 14.
Bxh7+ Kf8 15. Qh5 Bc4 16. Be3 cxb2 17. Rad1 Re5 18. Bd3 Bxa2 19. Bf4 Ke7 20.
Bxe5 Nxe5 21. f4 Qh8 22. Qe2 Qh4 23. Qxb2 Qxf4 24. Nf3 Be6 25. Nxe5 Rf8 26. Re4
Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Rd8 28. Rxe6+ fxe6 29. Qxg7+ Qf7 30. Qg5+ Qf6 31. Qc5+ Kd7 32.
Be4+ Kc8 33. Bxb7+ Kxb7 34. Qb5+ Ka8 35. Qc6+ Kb8 36. Rb1+ Kc8 37. Qb7+ Kd7 38.
Rd1+ Ke8 39. Qc6+ 1-0

[/pgn]

Strong, solid chess shows a strong, solid Queen winning against two strong, solid Rooks. Second place finisher Dan Woodard shows first class skill in this win.

[pgn]

[Event "11ENf01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stephenson, Mark"]
[Black "Woodard, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2089"]
[BlackElo "2377"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 e6 7. Qc2 dxc4
8. Bxc4 Nbd7 9. e4 Rc8 10. O-O Be7 11. Ne5 Bh5 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Nb3 c5 14. d5
exd5 15. Bxd5 Qc7 16. Be3 Nf6 17. Qd2 b6 18. Bf4 Qa7 19. Nc1 O-O 20. Ne2 Rfd8
21. f3 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bg6 23. Rad1 c4 24. d6 Bf8 25. Qd4 Rc6 26. Nc3 Bxd6 27.
Bxd6 Rcxd6 28. Qxd6 b5+ 29. Kh1 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 h5 31. Ne4 Bxe4 32. fxe4 Qe3 33.
Rfd1 Qxe4 34. h3 f5 35. R6d4 Qe3 36. a4 f4 37. axb5 axb5 0-1

[/pgn]

When Black misses the safe 17...Nd7 his game disintegrates rapidly.

[pgn]

[Event "11ENf02"]
[Site "E-mail"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Jenkins, Richard"]
[Black "Endsley, Barry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "1980"]
[BlackElo "2244"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. g3 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. exd4 cxd4 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O f6 8.
d3 Nge7 9. a3 a5 10. Nbd2 Ng6 11. h4 Be7 12. Nh2 Be6 13. h5 Nf8 14. f4 exf4 15.
gxf4 f5 16. Ndf3 Qd6 17. Re1 Bd7 18. Ne5 Ne6 19. Bd2 Nxe5 20. Rxe5 O-O 21. Bxb7
Rab8 22. Bd5 Bf6 23. c5 Qe7 24. Re1 Bh4 25. Re2 Rfe8 26. c6 1-0

[/pgn]

Caution: You may get a headache working through all the complications in this game

[pgn]

[Event "11ENf02"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bussom, Andrew"]
[Black "Fees, Dennis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2186"]
[BlackElo "2128"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6
8. Qd2 Be7 9. f3 Nbd7 10. g4 h6 11. h4 b5 12. a4 b4 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 e4
15. Bd4 exf3 16. O-O-O Nxg4 17. Bxg7 Rg8 18. Bd4 Nde5 19. Kb1 Bxh4 20. Qxb4 Bf2
21. Bxa6 Kf8 22. Bb5 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Qf6 24. Rdf1 Rg6 25. Qd2 f2 26. a5 Qd8 27.
a6 Qb6 28. Rxf2 Nxf2 29. Qxf2 Kg8 30. Rd1 Rb8 31. Qe2 Rg4 32. c3 h5 33. b4 Kf8
34. Kc2 Ra8 35. Kb3 Rc8 36. Bc6 Rb8 37. Qb5 Qa7 38. Bb7 Rg6 39. Nc6 1-0

[/pgn]