KEVIN BACHLER –
DOUBLE MASTER
It is a rare player who can attain a Master’s rating in both OTB and in correspondence play. Such a player is Kevin Bachler of Park Ridge, Illinois
. Kevin’s successes in correspondence chess are well known to readers of this newsletter. He has won two Walter Muir tournaments. He played through APCT and was invited to the Fourth North American Invitational Correspondence Championship. John Wright of Canada won that event, suffering his only loss to Kevin. That game can be found later in this issue,
Correspondence chess was different in 1983, Kevin notes, because computers didn’t have an impact in terms of databases or analysis (today international correspondence allows computer use; the USCF restricts it).
In 1982 he made Master OTB and soon made Life Master, and FIDE Master. He added a Level V Professional Chess Coach title and FIDE Trainer. Nicknamed the “Caveman” for his style of play, he just recently won the OTB Caveman Open 2015 with a perfect score.
GAME OF THE MONTH
This game from two years ago shows Kevin on his way to improving his Expert’s rating to Master.
[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.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
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]
And you thought you had it tough because your opponent’s handwriting was difficult to read…
Quote: In one of the ICCF tournaments, a Russian player offered a bribe to toss the game which was politely refused. He proceeded to hack into his opponent’s home computer, resign all his games, steal his credit card information and otherwise create havoc in his life. The arbiter of the tournament didn’t believe him and it went downhill from there. For something that is supposed to be for enjoyment, he really doesn’t need that aggravation.
OCTOBER RESULTS
John Collins
Thomas Buchanan 14C01 5-1
Joseph Kuhajda 14C01 5-1
Everett Luoma 13C08 5-1
Thomas Breuers 13C07 5 ½-½
Joshua Kuzmen 13C21 5 ½-½
David Birozy 14C13 5-1
Daniel Tulloh 14C13 5-1
Swift Quad
Jessica Crouch 15SQ04 6-0
Walter Muir
David Wright 15W24 4 ½-1 ½\
David Wright 15W30 5 ½-½
Trophy Quad
Ben McGahee 14Q03 5-1
Alan Bokiev 14Q03 5-1
REMEMBER: MINIATURE GAME COLUMN NEXT MONTH
Do you have an interesting miniature game (20 moves and under) you would like to see published ? Remember, December is Miniature Game Month so send it in!
[pgn]
[Event "4th North American Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bachler, Kevin"]
[Black "Wright, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C91"]
[Annotator "Bachler,Kevin"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "1983.??.??"]
[EventType "corr"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
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. d4 Bg4 10. d5 Na5 11. Bc2 c6 12. h3 Bc8 13. dxc6 Qc7 14. Nbd2 Qxc6
15. Nf1 Nc4 16. Ne3 Nxe3 17. Bxe3 h6 18. a4 Be6 {I hadn't considered the
weakness of the a2-g8 diagonal after 18 a4, until he played here.} 19. Bd2 $6
$15 (19. Nd2 $11) 19... Nd7 20. Qe2 Nc5 21. Qd1 bxa4 22. Bxa4 Qb7 23. Qe2 f5
24. exf5 Bd5 $6 25. Bc2 Qxb2 26. Rec1 Nb3 {After the game, Wright wrote "Of
course, 26...Nb3 was an error, but even so I didn't think I was in danger
until move 39."} 27. Qd3 $1 Nxa1 28. Qxd5+ Kh8 29. Bd3 Bf6 30. g4 (30. Rb1 $11)
30... Rab8 31. Rb1 $1 Qa3 32. Rxb8 Rxb8 {It felt like this trade was important
because it removed a defender from Black's Kingside.} 33. g5 Qb3 34. Qe4 Qd1+
35. Kg2 d5 36. Qxd5 Rd8 {î /\ At the end of the game Wright wrote to me: "Your
moves 37 through 40 were a remarkable and beautiful combination, and certainly
you should be sure that this game gets published. -Wright. John shows that he
is very gracious player!} 37. Qf7 Bxg5 38. Bc4 e4 39. Ne5 Qxd2 {Losing.
Instead:} (39... Bf6 40. Ng6+ Kh7 41. Nf8+ Rxf8 42. Qxf8 Qf3+ 43. Kg1 Qd1+ 44.
Be1 Qd8 45. Qxd8 Bxd8 46. Bxa6 {makes White win a superior ending.}) 40. Qh5
$18 g6 41. Nf7+ Kg7 42. Qxg6+ Kf8 43. Nxd8 (43. Nd6 Rd7 44. Qe8+ Kg7 45. Qxd7+
{is faster}) 43... Ke7 44. Nc6+ Kd7 45. Ne5+ Kc7 46. Qc6+ Kd8 47. Bd5 1-0[/pgn]
For those of you who like to gambit a Pawn to enter into a successful endgame, here is an excellent example.
[pgn]
[Date "2014.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Addis, Edward"]
[Black "Adams, Gary"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2265"]
[BlackElo "2381"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "corr"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
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]
OBITUARY
Frank G. Lach of Willoughby, OH. Frank was born June 13, 1930 and died Sep 2015.
[pgn]
[Event "corr"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1975.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lach, Frank"]
[Black "Sarar, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A02"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "1975.??.??"]
[Source "Chess Mail"]
[SourceDate "2001.03.30"]
1. f4 Nf6 2. e3 g6 3. Nf3 c5 4. Be2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Qe1 Nc6 8.
Nc3 Rb8 9. a4 a6 10. Qh4 b5 11. axb5 axb5 12. Ng5 h6 13. Nh3 d5 14. Bf3 Nb4 15.
Rf2 c4 16. g4 cxd3 17. g5 Nxc2 18. gxf6 Bxf6 19. Qxh6 Nxa1 20. Ng5 Bxg5 21.
fxg5 Rb6 22. Bxd5 Qc7 23. Rf6 Bf5 24. Rxf5 b4 25. Rf6 e6 26. Be4 Qe7 27. Bxg6
fxg6 28. Rxg6+ Kf7 29. Rg7+ Ke8 30. Rxe7+ Kxe7 31. Nd5+ exd5 32. Qxb6 1-0[/pgn]
This exciting game was a decisive element in Eliza/s 6-0 finish.
[pgn]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Roberts, Ronald"]
[Black "Eggert, Eliza"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1181"]
[BlackElo "1385"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 Be7 4. Bxe7 Qxe7 5. e3 Qb4+ 6. Qd2 Qxb2 7. Qc3
Qc1+ 8. Ke2 b6 9. Ne1 Ba6+ 10. Nd3 Bxd3+ 11. Kxd3 Qd1+ 12. Nd2 Qh5 13. Qxc7 Nd7
14. Qb7 Rd8 15. Qxa7 Ngf6 16. f3 O-O 17. Qa3 e5 18. dxe5 Qxe5 19. Rb1 Nc5+ 20.
Ke2 d4 21. Rxb6 Rfe8 22. e4 d3+ 23. cxd3 Nd5 24. Qxc5 Nf4+ 0-1[/pgn]
When White misses his way on Move 31, Black finds his.
[pgn]
[Event "15WM24"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2015.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Strobehn, Alex"]
[Black "Wright, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "1380"]
[BlackElo "1618"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Be2 h6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 d6 7. O-O Be6
8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 O-O 10. b4 a6 11. h3 Qd7 12. Nh2 b5 13. f4 Qe7 14. f5 Bd7
15. Ng4 Nxg4 16. Bxg4 f6 17. Bh5 Be8 18. Bxe8 Qxe8 19. Rf3 Ne7 20. Qd2 d5 21.
Bb2 dxe4 22. dxe4 Rd8 23. Qe2 Nc6 24. Rg3 Kh7 25. c4 Nd4 26. Qg4 Rg8 27. Rd1 g6
28. Bxd4 Rxd4 29. Rxd4 exd4 30. cxb5 axb5 31. h4 g5 32. Rd3 Qe5 33. hxg5 Rxg5
34. Qd1 Qxe4 35. Rd2 Qe3+ 36. Kh1 Qg3 37. Qe2 Qe5 38. Qd1 Rxf5 39. Re2 Rh5+ 40.
Kg1 Qh2+ 41. Kf2 Rf5+ 42. Ke1 Qg3+ 0-1[/pgn]
