Robert Rizzo
ICCM Robert Rizzo of Merrick, NY has won the 2018 Absolute Championship. He had finished third in both the 1999 and 2017 event, and facing an even stronger 2018 contest, he brought home the victory inspired by none other than AlphaZero. As Robert expresses it:
Just before the onset of 18A01, AlphaZero was turning the chess world on its head with a novel style of play that seemed to diminish the classical evaluation of chess pieces, instead opting for the opening of files and diagonals while placing activity at a premium. To me it was daring and exciting chess and much more applicable to correspondence chess where one can study deeply into possible lines – I made the decision to try to mimic some of those “radical” new ideas where possible….
In my opinion this is the most enjoyable type of chess as it is often not subject to the application of general rules but requires one to search for, as GM Seirawan so aptly put it, “the zen of the position."
GAME OF THE MONTH
[pgn]
[Event "18A01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rizzo, Robert"]
[Black "Levine, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E70"]
[WhiteElo "2367"]
[BlackElo "2359"]
[Annotator "Rizzo"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
{The contest against Joel Levine was probably the one most akin to
AlphaZero's style of play. It involved active piece placement, a critical pawn
sacrifice, the opening of diagonals against the enemy king, the eschewing of
possible material captures, ensuring my own king safety and a suffocating
finish where black was in zugzwang with all major pieces on the board.} 1. d4
Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bd3 {another variation of the King's
Indian was ventured in a game by my Olympiad 17 teammate and former ICCF-US
National delegate, Corky Schakel. His novelty was analyzed by Dutch GM Erwin
l'Ami in New in Chess Yearbook #127.} (5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 $146 7. d5 Ne5 8.
f4 Neg4 9. Bd2 Nh6 10. Qc1 c6 11. Nf3 cxd5 12. cxd5 Bd7 13. f5 Nhg4 14. h3 Ne5
15. Nxe5 dxe5 16. fxg6 hxg6 17. Be3 Rc8 18. Qb1 a6 19. O-O b5 20. a3 Ne8 21.
Qe1 Nd6 22. b4 f5 23. Bc5 Nb7 24. Be3 Nd6 25. Bd3 f4 26. Bc5 Nb7 27. Ba7 Qe8
28. Nd1 {1/2-1/2 David Bordier,C (2325)-Schakel,C (2405)/ICCF 2017}) 5... O-O
6. Nge2 e5 7. d5 Nbd7 8. Bc2 {this sub-variation shows an OTB score of over
80% in my database} ({despite that record} 8. O-O {is the main line here}) 8...
a5 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bd2 Nc5 11. O-O c6 12. f3 (12. Be3 cxd5 13. cxd5 Bd7 14. a3 a4
15. f3 Qe8 16. Qd2 Kh7 17. Nc1 b5 18. b4 axb3 19. Nxb3 Nxb3 20. Bxb3 Qb8 21.
Rfb1 b4 22. axb4 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Qxb4 24. Rb1 Rc8 25. Na4 Qxd2 26. Bxd2 Rb8 27.
Nc3 Ne8 28. Bc4 Rxb1+ 29. Nxb1 f5 {1/2-1/2 Haraldsson,H (2363)-Krzyzanowski,A
(2357)/ICCF 2017}) 12... cxd5 13. cxd5 (13. exd5 {is also possible}) 13... b5
14. a3 (14. Nxb5 $6 Qb6 $1 $17) 14... Bd7 15. b4 Na6 16. Rb1 axb4 17. axb4 Qb6+
18. Kh1 Nh5 {black initiates a knight maneuver with the aim of freeing his
dark squared bishop} 19. Bd3 Nf4 20. Nxf4 exf4 {the exchange leaves a target
which costs black a tempo} 21. Ne2 g5 22. Rb3 ({I had no desire to open up the
kingside with} 22. g3 fxg3 23. Nxg3) ({However} 22. Be1 {with the aim of an
eventual Bf2 was worthy of consideration}) 22... Nc7 {black wants to take
control of the a-file} 23. Bb1 f5 $6 {why open up the b1-h7 diagonal for my
bishop?} ({better is} 23... Ne8 {to shore up the airy king}) 24. Bc3 Ne8 25.
Nd4 {What would AlphaZero do? I jettison a pawn to create open lines against
the black king while creating an advanced pawn that is hard to deal with} fxe4
26. Ne6 Bxe6 27. dxe6 Bxc3 28. Rxc3 exf3 29. gxf3 {my king is perfectly safe,
my pieces are active and the pawn on e6 is a monster} Ra7 30. Qd3 Qb7 31. Re1 {
a number of alternative rook moves work just as well} Qg7 32. Rc8 Re7 {black's
choices are dwindling - the noose tightens} 33. Rd8 Nc7 (33... g4 {this
attempt at counterplay fails to} 34. Rg1 Nf6 35. Qxd6 Rxd8 36. Qxd8+ $16) 34.
Rxd6 Rfe8 35. h4 Kh8 {sidestepping the potential pin on the g-file} 36. Qf5 g4
{black has nothing better} 37. Red1 g3 38. Qh5 Nxe6 39. R1d2 {prophylactic to
prevent any back rank forays by black} Rc8 40. Kg2 Qf6 {stepping into a pin}
41. Ba2 Kh7 42. Re2 Rce8 43. Bb3 Kg7 44. Qg4+ Kf7 (44... Qg6 45. Qxg6+ Kxg6 $18
46. Rdxe6+ Rxe6 47. Rxe6+ Kf7 48. Rxe8+ Kxe8 $18) 45. Bd5 {the noose has
tightened - black is in zugzwang} Kf8 (45... h5 46. Qxh5+ Kg7 47. Qg4+ Kf7 48.
Bb3 Kf8 49. Rdxe6 Rxe6 50. Bxe6 Rxe6 51. Qxe6 Qxe6 52. Rxe6 $18) (45... Qg6 46.
Qxg6+ Kxg6 47. Rdxe6+ Rxe6 48. Rxe6+ Rxe6 49. Bxe6 $18) 46. Rdxe6 Rxe6 47. Bxe6
Rxe6 48. Qxe6 1-0
[/pgn]
JULY RESULTS
Walter Muir
Raymond Grinsteinner 18W20 4 ½-1 ½
Raymond Grinsteinner 19W02 4 ½-1 ½
Chris Wainscott 18W19 6-0
John Collins
Vaughn Gregg 17C01 5-1
How do you fight a Pawn avalanche?
[pgn]
[Event "17ENs03"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Braider, Christopher"]
[Black "Leslie, Cameron"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteElo "1577"]
[BlackElo "2031"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 d5 4. e5 Nc6 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be3 Nh6 7. h3 Bxf3 8.
Qxf3 Nf5 9. Bb5 Qb6 10. a4 cxd4 11. cxd4 a6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. O-O Qxb2 14. Nd2
Nxd4 15. Qg4 Nf5 16. Rab1 Qxe5 17. Rb7 Bg7 18. Ba7 O-O 19. Nf3 Qc3 20. Rfb1 c5
21. Bb8 e5 22. R7b3 Qxb3 23. Rxb3 Raxb8 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 {Diagram #} 25. Nd2 c4
26. Qd1 e4 27. f3 e3 0-1
[/pgn]
[pgn]
[Event "18W19 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wainscott, Chris"]
[Black "Hall, Carter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteElo "1134"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Bb4 6. e3 Nge7 7. a3 Bxc3+
8. bxc3 O-O 9. Be2 f6 10. O-O Nc8 11. Qb3 Nd6 12. cxd5 Na5 13. Qa2 Re8 14. Nh4
Ne4 15. Rac1 g5 16. Nxf5 exf5 17. f3 gxf4 18. fxe4 Rxe4 19. exf4 Qd6 20. g3
Rae8 21. Bf3 Re3 22. Kf2 b6 23. Rfe1 R3e7 24. Bh5 Rd8 25. Rxe7 1-0
[/pgn]
A balanced fight between the two winners of this 2017 John Collins doesn’t mean both sides were not trying to win.
[pgn]
[Event "17C01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Woollen, Allen"]
[Black "Gregg, Vaughn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B78"]
[WhiteElo "1744"]
[BlackElo "1716"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O
8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12. Qe2 {Diagram #} Rxc3 13.
bxc3 Qa5 14. Kb2 Rc8 15. c4 Qb4 16. c3 Nxc4+ 17. Qxc4 Qxc4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19.
Nc2 Be6 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Nb3 Ne8 22. Bd4 b6 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. e5 Bc8 25. Rhe1
dxe5 26. Rxe5 Rc7 27. Nd4 Ba6 28. Nb3 Nd6 29. Ree1 Nc4+ 30. Ka1 Nd6 31. Rd4 Nc4
32. f4 Nd6 33. Rdd1 Bb7 34. g3 Bf3 35. Rd3 Bg4 36. Nd4 a6 37. Rde3 e6 38. Rd3
Nb7 39. Rc1 Nc5 40. Re3 Rd7 1/2-1/2
[/pgn]
White sacrifices two Queens to wrap this one up.
[pgn]
[Event "18N09"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petersen, Bryan"]
[Black "Hart, Bert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D20"]
[BlackElo "1891"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Bxc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bf5 7. Ne2 e6
8. O-O c5 9. Nbc3 Nc6 10. Be3 cxd4 11. Bxd4 Bg4 12. Ba4 Nxa4 13. Qxa4 Bb4 14.
Rfd1 Qe7 15. f3 Bf5 16. Nb5 O-O 17. Rac1 Nxd4 18. Nexd4 Bc5 19. Nd6 Bxd6 20.
exd6 Qg5 21. Nxf5 Qxf5 22. d7 b5 23. Qa6 e5 {Diagram #} 24. Rc8 Rfxc8 25. Qxc8+
Rxc8 26. d8=Q+ Rxd8 27. Rxd8# 1-0
[/pgn]
OBITUARY
Roger Morin was born December 23, 1944 and died July 8, 2019.
Roger was also a Chess Master and a two time State Of Maine Champion.
[pgn]
[Event "US postal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1984.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Killcrease, W.."]
[Black "Morin, Roger"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2088"]
[BlackElo "2200"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "1984.??.??"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 f5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 d6 8.
h3 Bd7 9. e4 fxe4 10. dxe4 Qe8 11. Ne1 Qg6 12. Be3 Rae8 13. a3 h5 14. b4 Be6
15. Nd5 Bd8 16. Qd3 Kh8 17. c5 $1 Bxd5 18. exd5 Qxd3 19. Nxd3 Ne7 20. cxd6 cxd6
21. Bxa7 Nexd5 22. Rac1 Be7 23. b5 Rc8 24. b6 e4 25. Nb2 Nc3 26. Rc2 Rc5 27.
Re1 Rfc8 28. Bf1 Na4 29. Rxc5 Nxc5 30. a4 Nd5 31. a5 Nb4 32. Nc4 d5 33. Ne5 Kg8
34. Rc1 Rd8 35. Be2 d4 36. Bxh5 d3 37. Bf7+ Kf8 38. Bc4 d2 39. Rd1 Bf6 40. Ng6+
Ke8 41. Nf4 g5 42. Ng2 Bc3 43. Ne3 Kd7 44. Bb5+ Ke6 45. Be2 Nba6 46. Rb1 Bxa5
47. Kf1 Bc3 48. Bc4+ Ke5 49. Ke2 Nb4 50. Kd1 Ncd3 51. Ke2 {Diagram #} Nc1+ 52.
Kd1 Kd4 53. Bf1 Rf8 54. Rxb4+ Bxb4 55. Nc2+ Kc3 56. Nxb4 Kxb4 57. Kxd2 Rxf2+
58. Ke1 Nd3+ 59. Bxd3 exd3 60. Kxf2 Kc3 61. Bb8 d2 62. h4 d1=Q 63. hxg5 Qd4+
64. Kf3 Qxb6 65. Be5+ Kd3 0-1
[/pgn]
GAMES FROM THE 2018 ABSOLUTE
[pgn]
[Event "18A01"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miettinen, Kristo S"]
[Black "Millett, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2384"]
[BlackElo "2286"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 5. Ne2 Qb6 6. d4 e6 7. Ng3 c5 8.
Bd3 Nxg3 9. fxg3 cxd4 10. O-O Nc6 11. Qe2 h6 12. a3 Be7 13. b4 Bd7 14. g4 O-O-O
15. Kh1 Kb8 16. Bb2 Rc8 17. h3 h5 18. g5 Rhf8 19. b5 Na5 20. a4 Bc5 21. Qf2
Rfd8 22. Nxd4 Be8 23. Bc3 g6 24. Rab1 Nc4 25. Qh4 Ka8 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Nf3 Rd5
28. Qg3 Qd8 29. Qf4 a6 30. Nd2 Bd4 31. Ne4 Rxe5 32. Rfd1 Rd5 33. Bxd4 Rxd4 34.
Qf3 Rxd1+ 35. Rxd1 Qc7 36. Rb1 Qb6 37. Nf6 Bc6 38. Qf4 Bd5 39. Nxd5 exd5 40.
Qxf7 d4 41. a5 Qc7 42. Qxg6 axb5 43. a6 b6 44. Qe4+ Ka7 45. Qxd4 Rd8 46. Qh4 b4
47. Qxh5 b3 48. cxb3 c3 49. Rc1 Rd2 50. g6 c2 51. Qf3 Qd7 52. Qf7 Qxf7 53. gxf7
Rd1+ 54. Kh2 Rxc1 55. f8=Q Rh1+ 56. Kxh1 c1=Q+ 57. Kh2 Qc7+ 58. Kg1 Qc1+ 59.
Qf1 Qe3+ 60. Kh2 Qxb3 61. Qf3 1-0
[/pgn]
[pgn]
[Event "18A01 "]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bonsack, Laurence"]
[Black "Burmeister, Ferdinand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "2387"]
[BlackElo "2318"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. Nge2 a6 8.
a4 exd5 9. cxd5 Nbd7 10. Ng3 O-O 11. h3 Rb8 12. O-O Ne8 13. Be2 h5 14. Re1 Bd4
15. Bf4 Qf6 16. Qd2 Nc7 17. Bf1 b5 18. Nge2 Be5 19. Bg5 Qh8 20. f4 Bf6 21. Bxf6
Qxf6 22. e5 dxe5 23. d6 Ne6 24. Nd5 Qg7 25. axb5 axb5 26. fxe5 Nxe5 27. Nec3
Bb7 28. Nxb5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 Nd7 30. b3 Nd4 31. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 32. Qxd4 cxd4 33. Re7
Nb6 34. Re4 Rfd8 35. Rxd4 Kg7 36. Re1 Rb7 37. Re7 Rbd7 38. Rxd7 Nxd7 39. Kf2
Kf6 40. Bc4 Nc5 41. b4 Nb7 42. d7 Ke7 43. Bb5 Ra8 44. Bc6 Ra2+ 45. Ke3 Nd8 46.
b5 Rc2 47. Re4+ Kd6 48. Re8 Kc7 49. Kf4 Rc5 50. Rg8 f6 51. Rxg6 Nxc6 52. bxc6
Rxc6 53. Kf5 Kxd7 54. Rxf6 Rc3 55. Rh6 Ke8 56. Rxh5 1-0
[/pgn]
[pgn]
[Event "18A01"]
[Site "ICCF"]
[Date "2018.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Levine, Joel"]
[Black "Ingersol, Harry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteElo "2359"]
[BlackElo "2435"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O
8. b3 Ne4 9. Qc2 f5 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Rac1 Rf6 13. g3 Rh6 14. a4 a5
15. Ra1 g5 16. Qc1 g4 17. Ne1 Qg5 18. Nxe4 fxe4 19. Ba3 Bc7 20. b4 Nf8 21. Kg2
Qh5 22. Rh1 Ne6 23. b5 Ng5 24. Qc5 Bd7 25. Qe7 Nf3 26. Bxf3 Qh3+ 27. Kg1 gxf3
28. bxc6 bxc6 29. Ra2 Re8 30. Qc5 Bc8 31. Qa7 c5 32. Qa8 Rhe6 0-1
[/pgn]
