The Check is in the Mail: June 2020

Burmeister wins 2017 Electronic Knights

Ferdinand Burmeister has won the 2017 Electronic Knights with a dominant one and a half point lead.  His mantra in plying CC is “I never lose.  I either win or learn.”  Here is a struggle from the 2017 final.

[pgn] [Event "17ENf01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "McCartney, Patrick"] [Black "Burmeister, Ferdinand"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C33"] [WhiteElo "1987"] [BlackElo "2336"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "108"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 {Welcome back to the 1860's. While the King's Gambit may be a good choice OTB, I don't think it is quite suitable in CC.} exf4 3. Bc4 Nf6 {Black chooses the safest line, but the wild 3...Qh4+ is also playable and scores equally as well.} 4. Nc3 {White was unsuccessful in 4. e5 d5 5. Bb6+ c6 6. exf6 cxb5 7. Qe2+ Be6 8. Qxb5+ Nc6 9. fxg7 Bxg7 Gil Capapo-Oms Pallisse, Zaragoza 2010} Bb4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Bxc3 8. bxc3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Bxd5 {White is forced to surrender te two Bishops and the game becomes roughly even.} Qxd5 11. Bxf4 Qc5+ 12. Kh1 Qxc3 13. Bxc7 f6 {Although this move grabs a chunk of the center for Black and allows Black to defend b7 by ...Rf7, it looks like 13...Bg4 14. h3 Rac8 15. Bg3 Bh5 would be better.} 14. Bf4 {14. Qe1!?} Bg4 15. h3 Bh5 16. Bd2 Qc5 17. c3 Qd6 18. d4 {Now the theme of Black's play is to take advantage of White's bad Bishop.} b6 19. Qa4 Rfe8 20. Nh4 Bf7 21. Nf5 Qd5 22. Ne3 Qd6 23. Rae1 {There was no reason to avoid 23. Nf5 to see if Black would be willing to repeat.} Qd7 24. Qb5 Rad8 {The a-Pawn is poison: 24...Bxa2? 25. c4! Qxd4 26. Qxc6 Qxd2 27. Nf5 and White wns.} 25. Nf5 Ne7 {Once again the a-Pawn is taboo -- 25...Bxa2? 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. c4 and Black has lost much of his edge.} 26. Qxd7 Rxd7 27. a3 Nxf5 28. Rxe8+ Bxe8 29. Rxf5 Bf7 30. g4 {At this point a draw seems a likely outcome. White's three Pawn islands and bad Bishop are compensated by his active pieces.} Bc4 31. Kg2 Bd3 32. Rf2 Kf7 33. Kf3 Ke6 34. Ke3 Bc4 35. Rf5 g6 36. Rf4 g5 37. Re4+ Kf7 38. Kf2 Rd5 39. Bc1 Rb5 {Diagram #} 40. d5 $2 {Tired of twenty moves of defense, White makes a combination to exchage Rooks in the hopes of drawing an opposite colored Bishops ending.} Bxd5 41. c4 Bxe4 42. cxb5 Bd3 43. Bb2 Bxb5 {White has to lose this endgame. Black as two Pawns plus and can create two widely separated passed Pawns that White cannot contain.} 44. Kg3 Kg6 45. Bd4 Be2 46. Bc3 f5 47. gxf5+ Kxf5 48. Bd2 g4 49. hxg4+ Bxg4 {There is one.} 50. Bf4 h5 51. Bb8 a6 52. Bc7 b5 53. Ba5 Ke4 54. Bd8 Kd3 {And Black will soon gain a second passed Pawn on the queenside for a clear win.} 0-1 [/pgn]

  Mark Maynard Maine Champion Mark, who hails from Bangor, Maine, where America’s day begins, dominated the field scoring a perfect 8-0. Maynard’s only challenger for first place was Wyatt Hendrix who lets the champion go on to win when he misses 29…Bc8 and 30…Rh5.

[pgn] [Event "19ME01 "] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Maynard, Mark"] [Black "Hendrix, Wyatt"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C29"] [WhiteElo "1692"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe4+ 9. Qxe4 dxe4 10. Bf4 Bd7 11. O-O-O O-O-O 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. Rxd8+ Kxd8 14. Be3 Bc5 15. Kd2 Bxe3+ 16. Kxe3 Re8 17. Ne2 Rxe5 18. Rd1+ Ke7 19. Nd4 Bd7 20. a3 c5 21. Ne2 Bc6 22. h4 h6 23. b4 g5 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. c4 Rf5 26. Ng1 b6 27. b5 Bb7 28. Ke2 Rf6 29. Nh3 {Diagram #} Rh6 30. Nxg5 f6 31. Nf7 Rh2+ 32. Ke3 Rxc2 33. Nd6 Rc3+ 34. Ke2 Rd3 35. Nxb7 Rxd1 36. Kxd1 f5 37. a4 Kd7 38. a5 Kc7 39. a6 Kd7 40. Ke2 Kc7 41. Ke3 Kb8 42. Nd6 1-0 [/pgn]

                        OBITUARY Martin Phillips, aged 60, of Springfield, MO.  Martin loved chess and played it throughout his life.  He maintained a monthly bulletin for the Springfield Chess Club.

[pgn] [Event "USCF"] [Site "corr USCF"] [Date "1991.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Phillips, Martin"] [Black "Sawyer, Timothy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B02"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1991.??.??"] [EventType "simul"] [Source "Chess Mail"] [SourceDate "2001.03.30"] 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e5 Ne4 4. Nxe4 dxe4 5. d4 exd3 6. Bxd3 Nc6 7. Bf4 Qd4 8. Bg3 Qxb2 9. Nf3 Qc3+ 10. Nd2 Nxe5 11. Rb1 Nxd3+ 12. cxd3 Qxd3 13. Rb3 Qa6 14. Bxc7 Be6 15. Rb2 Bxa2 16. Qf3 Qe6+ 17. Kd1 Bd5 18. Qg3 f6 19. Re1 Qd7 20. Re3 e6 21. Rd3 b6 22. Nb1 Rc8 23. Bf4 Qa4+ 0-1 [/pgn]

Joseph Fadigan, age 91, of Philadelphia, PA has died.

[pgn] [Event "ASPCC"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "King, Z."] [Black "Fadigan, Joe"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A18"] [WhiteElo "1474"] [BlackElo "1571"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "93"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Be7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. a3 Bd7 8. Be3 a6 9. Qc2 h6 10. h3 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Nxb5 Kh8 13. O-O Rb8 14. Rac1 Nh7 15. d5 Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxb5 17. Nc6 Bxc6 18. Qxc6 e5 19. Qxc7 Rxb2 20. Qc3 Rb8 21. a4 Bg5 22. Bb5 Bxe3 23. Qxe3 Nf6 24. Rc6 Ne8 25. Rfc1 Nf6 26. f3 Ng8 27. Qa3 Qa5 28. Qxd6 Rfe8 29. Qc5 Re7 30. d6 Re6 31. Rc7 Qd2 32. d7 Rd8 33. Qf2 Qg5 34. h4 Qf4 35. g3 Qf6 36. Kg2 g5 37. hxg5 Qxg5 38. Rc8 Rxc8 39. dxc8=Q Rd6 40. Rc2 Kg7 41. Qg4 Nf6 42. Qxg5+ hxg5 43. Qc5 Re6 44. Qc7 g4 45. Rc6 gxf3+ 46. Kxf3 Rxc6 47. Bxc6 1-0 [/pgn]

MAY RESULTS

Walter Muir Kendrick Aung  20W04  5 ½- ½ John Collins Mark Bellnap    18C14    5 ½- ½

[pgn] [Event "20W04 "] [Site "ICCF"] [Date "2019.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Aung, Kendrick"] [Black "Angres, Robert L. S"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1973"] [BlackElo "1729"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. h4 h6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Ngf6 10. Bd2 e6 11. O-O-O Bd6 12. Rhe1 O-O 13. Ne5 Qc7 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Rxe4 Qe7 17. Qe2 Rad8 18. g4 Rfe8 19. Qf3 Qf8 20. g5 Kh7 21. Rg1 f5 22. Ree1 e5 23. gxh6 gxh6 24. Qh5 exd4 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Bxh6 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "19EN05"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Walsh, Patrick"] [Black "Dreher, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "1875"] [BlackElo "1492"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "67"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 c5 6. Bg2 cxd4 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Nc3 a6 10. O-O Rb8 11. Rfd1 Qb6 12. e4 Qc5 13. b3 b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Rac1 Qxd4 16. Qxd4 Nxd4 17. Rxd4 b4 {Diagram #} 18. e5 bxc3 19. exf6 gxf6 20. Rxc3 d5 21. a4 Bd7 22. a5 Bb5 23. b4 Rbc8 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Rd1 Kf8 26. Bf1 Bxf1 27. Kxf1 Rb8 28. Rb1 Ke7 29. b5 Kd6 30. Ke2 f5 31. Kd3 e5 32. b6 Kc6 33. Kc3 d4+ 34. Kc4 1-0 [/pgn]

GAMES FROM THE 2017 ELECTRONIC KNIGHTS

What happens in this game is absolute insanity from Move 19 on.

[pgn] [Event "17ENf01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ryan, Patrick"] [Black "Corkum, Tim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2334"] [BlackElo "2333"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qd3 Ne7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. a3 Ba5 8. O-O-O Bc7 9. Qe3 b5 10. h4 a5 11. h5 b4 12. Bxc7 Qxc7 13. Na4 Nd7 14. h6 g6 15. Nh3 e5 16. Be2 Re8 17. Kb1 Rb8 18. Nf2 Qa7 19. Rhe1 {Diagram #} exd4 20. Qf4 bxa3 21. Ng4 Rxb2+ 22. Ka1 f5 23. exd5 fxg4 24. Bc4 Ba6 25. Bxa6 Rf8 26. Qe4 Nxd5 27. Bc4 N7f6 28. Qe6+ Kh8 29. Nxb2 axb2+ 30. Kxb2 gxf3 31. Bxd5 Nxd5 32. gxf3 Ne3 33. Qe5+ Kg8 34. Rxd4 Qb8+ 35. Qxb8 Rxb8+ 36. Kc3 Nf5 37. Rd7 a4 38. Ra7 1-0 [/pgn]

Black operates on the slimmest of margins to bring home his win.

[pgn] [Event "17ENf01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "McCartney, Patrick"] [Black "Simon, Julius"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "1987"] [BlackElo "2230"] [Annotator " "] [PlyCount "94"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Re1 O-O 8. c3 Rb8 9. a4 e5 10. h3 Be6 11. Nbd2 h6 12. Nc4 Nxe4 13. Rxe4 d5 14. Rxe5 dxc4 15. Rxc5 cxd3 16. Bf4 Qe7 17. Rxc6 bxc6 18. Bxb8 Rxb8 19. Qxd3 Rxb2 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Rd1 Kh7 22. g4 Be8 23. Nf3 Qc7 24. Re1 Rb8 25. Qc4 Rd8 {Diagram #} 26. Qc5 Qb6 27. Qc4 c5 28. g5 h5 29. Ne5 Qb2 30. Qxc5 Bxa4 31. Qxa7 Qxc3 32. Qe3 Qa5 33. f4 Rc8 34. Kh2 Rc3 35. Qf2 Qb5 36. Qf1 Qc5 37. Qg1 Qc7 38. Qd4 Bb3 39. h4 Rc2 40. Qe4 Be6 41. Re2 Rc1 42. Re1 Rc5 43. Qe3 Bxe5 44. fxe5 Rc4 45. Qf2 Kg8 46. Bh3 Bxh3 47. Kxh3 Qd7+ 0-1 [/pgn]

Who said draws weren’t exciting?

[pgn] [Event "17ENf01"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Simon, Julius"] [Black "Corkum, Tim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2230"] [BlackElo "2333"] [PlyCount "83"] [SourceDate "2005.04.21"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 O-O 9. b4 Be6 10. Rb1 f6 11. d3 a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 14. Bb2 a4 15. e3 Nf5 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. dxc4 Bxc4 18. Bd5+ Bxd5 19. Nxd5 Rd8 20. Qf3 Qd7 21. Rfd1 {Diagram #} Nd6 22. Rbc1 Rac8 23. Bc3 Bf8 24. Bb4 e4 25. Qe2 Qxb5 26. Qg4 f5 27. Qg5 Nf7 28. Qxf5 c5 29. Rb1 g6 30. Nf6+ Kh8 31. Qe6 cxb4 32. Qxf7 Bg7 33. Rxd8+ Rxd8 34. Qe7 Qd3 35. Ne8 Qxb1+ 36. Kg2 Qb2 37. Qxd8 Bf8 38. Qd5 bxa3 39. Qf7 Bg7 40. Nxg7 Qxg7 41. Qe8+ Qg8 42. Qe5+ 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]