The Fantasy Variation

IM Dorsa Derakhshani (2306)

vs WGM Anna Sharevich (2281)

U.S. Womens Championship 2018 round 01

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 (One of the things I like about 365Chess.com is learning who is the leading practitioner of an opening and/or particular variation. Heather Richards has played 3 f3, the opening FM Kazim Gulamali, called the “Little Grandmaster” at the House of Pain when still a child, proclaimed the “Caro-Kann Crusher,” in twenty-two games. GM Nikola Mitkov has used the weapon eighteen times; and Artyom Timofeev is credited with playing the Crusher on sixteen occasions. The thing about playing so-called “offbeat” openings is that one can compare the play of other, stronger, players with that of your own play. Chess is a language of sorts. The moves “talk” to you if you will listen. The game you are replaying contains ideas of the players producing the moves. The beauty of Chess is “understanding” those ideas, and possibly incorporating them into your own play. With tools like the 365Chess.com and the CBDB (http://database.chessbase.com/js/apps/database/) how can players not be better than their predecessors? If one wanted to learn this opening a good start would be to replay the above mentioned fifty-six games. With only that one would be well-armed for battle in a weekend tournament. Stockfish ‘thinks’ little of the Fantasy variation. If white played 3 Nd2 SF shows an advantage of +0.47. After playing 3 f3 it shows black with a small advantage of -0.2)

3…g6 (After this move Heather leads with ten, scoring seven wins; two draws; and only one loss. GM Julian Hodgson has faced 3…g6 five times, scoring three wins and two draws. Stockfish 8, at depth 49, plays 3…e6, which is a tough not to crack. Houdini 3 x 64 at depth 30 plays 3…dxe4. The CBDB shows white scoring only 52% against 3…e6, but an astounding 64% after 3…dxe4!)

4. c3

(After reading an article advocating this move it was my choice the next time facing 3…g6, something soon regretted because of the lack of development. The Fish at the CBDB has 4 Nc3, but the Fish at ChessBomb shows 4 Be3.)

Bg7 5. Bf4 (Komodo plays 5 Na3 [Najer v Rozum below] or Bg5. The Fish at ChessBomb plays 5 Na3, but I prefer it’s second choice…Qe2!)

5…dxe4

(This move is not shown so it is an unsound Theoretical Novelty. Komodo & Stockfish play 5…Nd7. See Mitkov v Azmaiparashvili below for 5…Qb6.)

6. fxe4 e5 (6…Nf6) 7. dxe5

7…Qxd1+ (7… Nd7 is better. If 8. Qd6 Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Nxe7, for example.)

8. Kxd1

Be6 (Stockfish “thinks” black should play 8…f6, with this to follow: 9. Nf3 fxe5 10. Bxe5 Bxe5 11. Nxe5 Nd7 12. Nf3 Ngf6. Black is down a pawn, but the isolated e-pawn can be attacked. It may be the best hope for black.)

9. Nf3 Nd7 10. Nbd2 h6 (There is no reason to delay developing with 10…Ne7)
11. Nc4 (11 Bc4 is better)

11…g5 (She should take the knight with 11…Bxc4)

12. Bg3 Ne7 (SF shows 12..Kf8; Bxc4; g4; & 0-0. The move played in the game is not shown.)

13. Nd6+ (White has a ‘won’ game)

Kf8 14. Kc2 Rb8 (14…Ng6)

15. Nd4 (Why not develop with Bc4?)

Ng6 (SF prefers 15…Bxe5)

16. Be2 (The Fish prefers 16 Rd1)

Bxe5 17. Nxe6+ fxe6 18. Rhf1+ Nf4 19. Nc4 Bc7

20. e5 (And there goes the advantage…20 Rfd1 or a4 keep the advantage)

Ke7 21. Bxf4 gxf4 22. Rxf4 b5 (Why not take the pawn with 22…Nxe5?)

23. Raf1 (I’m “advancing to the rear” with 23 Nd2)

Rbf8 ((23… bxc4 looks strong)

24. Rxf8 (24 Nd2) Rxf8 25. Rxf8 Kxf8 26. Ne3 Nxe5 27. Ng4 Nxg4 28. Bxg4 Bxh2 29. Bxe6 Ke7 30. Bg4 Kd6 ½-½

Derakhshani- Sharevich

U.S. Womens Championship 2018 round 01

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 g6 4. c3 Bg7 5. Bf4 dxe4 6. fxe4 e5 7. dxe5 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Be6 9. Nf3 Nd7 10. Nbd2 h6 11. Nc4 g5 12. Bg3 Ne7 13. Nd6+ Kf8 14. Kc2 Rb8 15. Nd4 Ng6 16. Be2 Bxe5 17. Nxe6+ fxe6 18. Rhf1+ Nf4 19. Nc4 Bc7 20. e5 Ke7 21. Bxf4 gxf4 22. Rxf4 b5 23. Raf1 Rbf8 24. Rxf8 Rxf8 25. Rxf8 Kxf8 26. Ne3 Nxe5 27. Ng4 Nxg4 28. Bxg4 Bxh2 29. Bxe6 Ke7 30. Bg4 Kd6 ½-½

Evgeniy Najer (2706) v Ivan Rozum (2573)

Event: TCh-TUR Super League 2017 07/30/2017

B12 Caro-Kann, Tartakower (fantasy) variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 g6 4. c3 Bg7 5. Na3 e5 6. dxe5 Bxe5 7. exd5 cxd5 8. Bf4 Bxf4 9. Qa4+ Nc6 10. Qxf4 Nge7 11. O-O-O Be6 12. Ne2 a6 13. Nc2 Qa5 14. a3 O-O-O 15. Ned4 Qc7 16. Qf6 Bf5 17. Nxf5 Qf4+ 18. Rd2 Qxf5 19. Qh4 Rd6 20. g3 Qxf3 21. Bh3+ Nf5 22. Rhd1 Kb8 23. Qa4 Qh5 24. Bg4 Qg5 25. h4 Qf6 26. Rf1 Qe5 27. Bxf5 gxf5 28. g4 fxg4 29. Qxg4 Rf6 30. Rxf6 Qxf6 31. Rxd5 Re8 32. Rf5 Qe6 33. Rg5 Qf6 34. Rg8 Qf1+ 35. Kd2 Qf2+ 36. Kd1 Qf1+ 37. Kd2 Qf2+ 38. Kd1 1/2-1/2

Nikola Mitkov (2495) vs Zurab Azmaiparashvili (2625)

Event: Moscow ol (Men) 1994

B12 Caro-Kann, Tartakower (fantasy) variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 g6 4. c3 Bg7 5. Bf4 Qb6 6. Qb3 Be6 7. Qxb6 axb6 8. Nd2 Nd7 9. Bd3 O-O-O 10. Ne2 dxe4 11. fxe4 Bg4 12. h3 Bxe2 13. Bxe2 e5 14. Bg5 Re8 15. Nc4 Kc7 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. O-O f6 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Rxf6 Rd8 21. Kf2 Rd2 22. Re6 Nd3+ 23. Ke3 Rxe2+ 24. Kxd3 Rxg2 25. Rf1 Rd8+ 26. Ke3 Rg3+ 27. Rf3 Rxf3+ 28. Kxf3 Rf8+ 29. Ke3 Kd7 30. Re5 h6 31. b4 Kd6 32. Kd4 Rc8 0-1

The Passive Caro-Kann

“If you play the Caro-Kann when young, what are you going to play when old?” – Bent Larsen

Federico Perez Ponsa (2553)

vs Hikaru Nakamura (2781)

Gibraltar Masters 2018

Round 3

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Rd1
d4 9. Nb1 Ne7 10. d3 c5 11. a4 Nbc6 12. Na3 O-O 13. Qg3 a6 14. Bf4 e5 15. Bd2
Rb8 16. Rf1 b5 17. axb5 axb5 18. f4 Bh6 19. Qh4 Bxf4 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Rxf4 Ne5
22. Raf1 N7c6 23. Qf2 b4 24. Nb1 b3 25. c4 Nb4 26. Qg3 f6 27. Kh2 Qd6 28. Na3
Nc2 29. Nb5 Qe7 30. R4f2 Ra8 31. Rb1 Ne3 32. Na3 Rf7 33. Re1 Kh8 34. Bf1 Re8
35. Nb1 f5 36. Nd2 Qc7 37. Kg1 f4 38. Qh4 Ref8 39. Be2 Qa5 40. Qg5 Qxd2 41.
Qxe5+ Kg8 42. Rb1 Qc2 43. Rbf1 Nxf1 44. Bxf1 Qc1 45. Qxc5 f3 46. g3 Qe3 47. Qd5
h5 48. h4 Kh7 49. Qg5 Ra7 50. Qc5 Ra1 51. Qe7+ Kg8 52. Qe6+ Kg7 53. Qe7+ Rf7
0-1

Does this mean Naka has grown old, at least as a Chess player? Seeing this game caused me to reflect on a post found at GM Kevin Spraggett’s website recently, Samurai Spassky. Kevin provides Spassky’s original annotations to a Caro-Kann game played in 1959: Boris Spassky vs Aaron Reshko, St.Petersburg. Also provided is a PDF of a 1969 Soviet-Life article containing Spassky’s thoughts on the Caro-Kann, which I transcribed:

“The Caro-Kann is quite popular now, but it is usually employed by passive-minded players. The main idea of this system is that Black temporarily declines a Pawn battle in the middle and strives, instead, to quickly as possible finish deploying his forces, especial the Queen’s Bishop, before the King’s Pawn move P-K3. Only after this does he launch vigorous operations in the center. The result is that Black’s position is solid, even though passive. The weakness of this system is that it offers White too much a wide a choice of possible patterns of development, which provides not only chess, but also psychological trumps.”
http://www.spraggettonchess.com/samurai-spassky/

Former US Chess Champion Stuart Rachels,

now an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama, said, “Play main lines.” That may be good advice for top flight players, but for the rest of us, “Where is the fun in that?” I have never, ever, not once, played Bf5. After 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 I have only played 3…c5 and Qb6. Upon returning to Chess after leaving the Royal game for the more lucrative Backgammon I played mostly obscure and little known openings, such as what was called by Kazim Gulamali,

the “Caro-Kann Krusher.” 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3!

Now there is a book on the move…

There are so many multifarious opening lines, yet top players continue to trot out the same ol’, same ol’…BORING!

Kevin plays the “passive” 5…exf6 in this game, which features double doubled pawns, and a Queen sacrifice!

Daniel H. Campora (ARG)

(

vs Kevin Spraggett (CAN)

Portugal Open 2018 round 06

B15 Caro Kann, Forgacs variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Bc4 Bd6 7. Qe2+ Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. Be3 Nd7 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Bb3 a5 14. a4 Nb6 15. c4 Bb4 16. Rad1 Re8 17. Nh4 Be4 18. f3 Bg6 19. Nxg6 hxg6

White to move

20. Qf2 Qe7 21. Rd3 Nd7 22. Bf4 Nc5 23. Re3 Ne6 24. c5

Black to move

Nxf4 25. Rxe7 Rxe7 26. Qc2 Ne2+ 27. Kg2 Nxd4 28. Qc4 Nxb3 29. Qxb3 Bxc5 30. Qc4 b6 31. Rd1 Rae8 32. Rd2 Re1 33. h4 g5 34. h5 Rg1+ 35. Kh3 Rh1+ 36. Rh2 Rhe1 37. Rd2 Rh1+ 38. Rh2 Rb1 39. Re2 Rd8 40. Qc2 Rh1+ 41. Kg2 Rg1+ 42. Kh2 Ra1 43. Kg2 Bd4 44. Qxc6 Be5 45. Qxb6 Rdd1 46. Rxe5 fxe5 47. Qb8+ Kh7 48. Qxe5 Rd2+ 49. Kg3 Rg1+ 50. Kh3 Rh1+ 51. Kg3 Rg1+ 52. Kh3 ½-½

Rea B. Hayes vs John Harold Belson

1936 Canadian Championship

Toronto

B15 Caro-Kann, Forgacs variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Bc4 Bd6 7. Qe2+ Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. Be3 Nd7 11. Rad1 Qc7 12. h3 Bh5 13. Bf4 Qxf4 14. Qxe7 Nb6 15. Bb3 Rae8 16. Qa3 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Nd5 18. Bxd5 cxd5 19. Qd3 f5 20. Rde1 a6 21. c3 Qg5+ 22. Kh2 f4 23. Qd2 Re6 24. Rxe6 fxe6 25. Re1 Rf6 26. Re5 Qh4 27. Qe1 Kf7 28. Qe2 g5 29. Qf1 h5 30. Qg2 Rg6 31. Re1 g4 32. fxg4 hxg4 33. Rg1 b5 34. Kh1 g3 35. Qf1 Rh6 0-1

Tribute to Rea Hayes

Rea B. Hayes

October 31, 1915 – February 15, 2001

Rea Bruce Hayes was born in Weston Ontario, Canada, on October 31, 1915. His first memory of chess was when he was taught to play at age eleven by a boy in the neighborhood. When he thought his friend was being inconsistent about the rules, Rea “read the article in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica”. From that point on he was the teacher.

Rea joined the St. Clair Chess Club in Toronto and became its champion a few years later. This club later became the Canada Dairies Chess Club.

He moved to Greeneville, South Carolina in 1953 and won his first tournament at Columbia. One trophy was for being the South Carolina Open Champion, the other one was for being the highest scoring South Carolina resident. At the time, no one expected a resident to win the state tournament outright. In 1954, Rea was again the South Carolina Open Champion, but he only received one trophy this time.

While living in South Carolina, Rea tied for third with a 5-2 score in the 1953 Southern Open in Columbia. He finished in a foursome of 5.5-1.5 scores in the 1954 Southern Open in Atlanta and had to settle for fourth on tie breaks.

From South Carolina, Rea transferred to Chattanooga, TN for a two year period. Having just moved, he entered the 1955 Southern Open in Chattanooga and won the Southern Championship with a 6-1 score.

Rea lived the next 30 years of his life in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, he organized the Parkway Chess Club and the City League, a chess team competition. He revived the city championship which had been abandoned for years, winning both the city and club championship many times. For his efforts on behalf of the club, Rea is an honorary member.

In Ohio, the annual Ohio Championship was captured outright by Rea in 1963, winning with only one draw. Several other times, he tied for first in the event. The Region V Championship was his at least once. He was instrumental in organizing the Cincinnati Open, the second annual tournament in Ohio. He was also the president of the Ohio Chess Association. Rea was twice honored by his Cincinnati club, as Chessman of the Decade (1958-1968) and again when he left Cincinnati in 1987.

Before leaving Cincinnati, Rea retired from Union Central Life where he worked as an actuary. Rea visited New Zealand in 1980-1981. Playing chess with players in the Hastings area, one of them paid him the compliment of saying that if Rea lived there, he would be the second or third player in the country.

During 1981, he traveled to Sun City West in Arizona, to take part in the 1st US Senior Open tournament. Although ranked 7th of the eight upper section players, he won top honors. He conceded only one draw, to the player ranking below him. He also won the upset prize, a nice wristwatch, for beating the favorite, Eric Marchand.

Rea’s lasting legacy is being the first US Senior Champion. The Senior trophy now rests at the US Chess Hall of Fame in Washington DC with his name engraved first on the list of champions.

He moved to Chattanooga for the second time in 1990 and became a regular player at the tournaments in and around the state of Tennessee. In 1992, he entered the 46th Annual Tennessee Open in Oak Ridge and captured State Champion honors. He had three wins and three draws.

Since his coming to Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Chess Club, Rea fulfilled the role of Chessman of the Area. He served in almost every club capacity over the years, including president and newsletter editor. All of his contributions and accomplishment have prompted the Chattanooga Chess Club to elect him Life Member and hold an annual tournament in his honor.

http://www.chattanoogachess.org/rea-hayes/

Viva Las Vegas!

Jennifer Shahade posted a fine article on Chess Life online (http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12874/793/), “Kazim’s Back: Gulamali on Taking Down Vegas.” By now the Millionaire Open is yesterday’s news, and it shows because many other articles appeared almost immediately after this article, pushing it to the back of the line, which is unfortunate. It is a shame the producers did not switch coverage from the Wesley So vs Ray Robson debacle to the match between IM Burnett and FM Gulamali. It would have been amazing to watch. I am grateful, though, that USCF has given it some attention.

Being a Dutch aficionado, I want to concentrate on the two Dutch games played in the match. With his back to the wall, having lost the first game, and having to win the next game to even the match, Kazim Gulamali answered IM Ron Burnett’s 1 d4 with f5! When you absolutely, positively must win, play the Dutch! The time limit for the following game was G/25+.

Millionaire Chess, Las Vegas 2014
White: IM Burnett, Ronald
Black: FM Gulamali, Kazim

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nh3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 d6 7.d5 Na6 8.Nd2 Bd7 9.Rb1 c6 10.dxc6 Bxc6 11.Nf4 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 Qd7 13.b4 Nc7 14.Qb3 e5 15.Nd3 e4 16.Nf4 g5 17.Nh3 Ne6 18.Bb2 Rae8 19.f4 g4 20.Ng1 e3 21.Qxe3 Qc6+ 22.Kf2 Nc5 23.Qa3 Nce4+ 24.Nxe4 Nxe4+ 25.Ke1 Bxb2 26.Qxb2 Qxc4 27.Rc1 Qd5 28.Rd1 Qf7 29.e3 Qh5 30.Qb3+ Rf7 31.Qb2 Rfe7 32.Rd3 Rc7 33.Qb3+ Kf8 34.Ne2 Rec8 35.Qe6 Rc2 36.Nd4 Qf7 37.Qxf7+ Kxf7 38.Nxc2 Rxc2 39.Ra3 a6 40.Ra5 Ke6 41.b5 axb5 42.Rxb5 Nc3 43.Rh1 0-1

Ron’s tenth move is a new one. The more standard Nf4 was seen in this game:

Purnama,T (2337)-Reyes Lopez,D (2072)
Castelldefels 2005

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nh3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 d6 7. d5 Na6 8. Nd2 Bd7 9. Rb1 c6 10. Nf4 Nc7 11. Nf3 Qe8 12. h4 Rb8 13. Nd4 c5 14. Nde6 Bxe6 15. dxe6 b5 16. Bd2 Ne4 17. Ba5 Na8 18. Bxe4 fxe4 19. Nd5 bxc4 20. Qc2 Nb6 21. Bxb6 axb6 22. Qxc4 Rf5 23. Qxe4 Re5 24. Qd3 g5 25. hxg5 Rxg5 26. Kg2 Qc6 27. e4 Qc8 28. f4 (Missing 28 Nxe7+) Rg6 29. f5 (29 Nxe7+ still looks strong) Rg5 30. Rf3 (Third time..) Ra8? (Maybe he was afraid White would finally see it?) 31. Nxb6 Qa6 32. Nxa8 Qxa8 1-0 (Proving there are several ways to skin a cat)

The next set was played at G/15+. Kazim won the first game so now Ron had his back to the wall in a must win situation. Once again Kazim played the Dutch, answering 1 Nf3 with f5. Not to be outdone, Ron played 2 e4!?, the Lisitsin Gambit! Back in the day there was scant information on this opening. It was big news when “Inside Chess,” the wonderful magazine produced by GM Yasser Seirawan and the gang from the Great Northwest, contained an article by, was it GM Michael Rohde, or was it GM Larry Christiansen? Memory fails…I only faced the Lisitsin Gambit a few times, the last a draw with Tim “The Dude” Bond. I had seen a way to win a piece in the middle game, but The Dude avoided the line. Some moves later the possibility appeared on the board, but I missed it! The game was drawn, and when I showed The Dude how I could have won a piece, he went into a funk, morose over the fact that he was obviously quite lost at one point. I will be the first to admit my memory is not what it used to be, but I have a vague recollection of losing to The Dude in a previous game featuring the Lisitsin Gambit…

Millionaire Chess, Las Vegas 2014
White: IM Burnett, Ronald
Black: FM Gulamali, Kazim

1.Nf3 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Ng5 Nf6 4.d3 e5 5.Nc3 e3 6.fxe3 d5 7.e4 c6 8.d4 Bd6 9.exd5 Qe7 10.Be3 cxd5 11.Bb5+ Bd7 12.O-O Bxb5 13.Nxb5 e4 14.Rxf6 Qxf6 15.Qh5+ g6 16.Qh3 h6 17.Nxd6+ Qxd6 18.Qc8+ Qd8 19.Qxd8+ Kxd8 20.Nf7+ Ke7 21.Nxh8 g5 22.Ng6+ Ke6 23.Ne5 Na6 24.c3 Nc7 25.Rf1 Nb5 26.Nf7 a5 27.Nxh6 a4 28.a3 Nd6 29.Bxg5 Nc4 30.Rf6+ Kd7 31.Nf5 Ra5 32.Bc1 Rb5 33.h4 Nxb2 34.Bxb2 Rxb2 35.h5 Rb1+ 36.Kh2 Rf1 37.g4 Rf4 38.h6 e3 39.h7 e2 40.h8=Q 1-0

5 Nc3 is a rather rare move, but 5…e3 is a TN. I found this old game, played before most players were born. Come to think about it, the game was played before many of the parents of today’s players were born…

Pavlovic, Dejan S (2340) vs Maksimovic, Branimir (2265)
Nis 1979
1. Nf3 f5 2. e4 fxe4 3. Ng5 Nf6 4. d3 e5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. dxe4 h6 7. Nf3 Bc5 8. Bc4 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Be2 Be6 11. a3 Nc6 12. Qd3 a6 13. Be3 O-O 14. g4 Bxe3 15. Qxe3 Nh7 16. O-O-O Qf6 17. Rh2 Ne7 18. Nd2 Qf4 19. Qxf4 Rxf4 20. f3 Nf8 21. Nf1 Rf7 22. Ne3 Nfg6 23. Nf5 Nf4 24. h4 Kh7 25. h5 b5 26. Rg1 Ng8 27. Nh4 Rb8 28. b4 c5 29. Bf1 Rc7 30. Ne2 Nxe2+ 31. Rxe2 cxb4 32. axb4 Ne7 33. Rd2 Rbc8 34. Rgg2 d5 35. Bd3 d4 36. g5 hxg5 37. Rxg5 Nc6 38. Kb2 Bc4 39. Ka3 a5 40. bxa5 Ra8 41. Rdg2 Rxa5+ 42. Kb2 Bxd3 43. Nf5 Raa7 44. h6 g6 45. Rxg6 Bc4 46. Rf6 Nb4 47. Rg7+ Rxg7 48. hxg7 Rxg7 49. Rh6+ Kg8 50. Nxg7 Kxg7 51. Rh2 Kf6 52. Rg2 Na2 53. Kb1 Nc3+ 54. Kc1 Ne2+ 55. Kd2 Nf4 56. Rg3 Ke6 57. Rg1 Be2 58. Rg3 Kd6 59. Kc1 Kc5 60. Kd2 b4 61. Rg5 Kd6 62. Rg3 Ke6 63. Kc1 Kf6 64. Kd2 Bc4 65. Rg1 b3 66. cxb3 Bxb3 67. Rg3 Bf7 68. Ke1 Ne6 69. Rg1 Ng5 70. Ke2 Bh5 71. Ra1 Bxf3+ 0-1

It came down to a “game” in which one player had more time with the other having draw odds in something called an “Apocalypse” game, or some such. I urge you to click on the link and go to the USCF website and read Jennifer’s article for much more detail.
I have it on good authority that as Kazim was heading to his plane, leaving “Lost Wages,” he could be heard singing this song in his best imitation Elvis Presley voice…

Apology to Thad Rogers

In my post dated November 28, 2014, I mistakenly wrote that Grant Oen is the, “owner of the Atlanta Kings.” I took this from the Southeast Chess website (http://www.southeastchess.com/atlanta-kings.html). Grant is the “Manager” of the Atlanta Kings. The impresario, L. Thad Rogers is the owner. My apologies to Thad. No slight was intended. I made a regretful mistake. Thad has tried for quite some time to bring a USCL team to Atlanta before succeeding.
For all of his foibles Thad has done much good for chess, not only in Georgia, but in the Southeast as well. In addition, I know Thad has helped many players throughout the years, and he has done it because he has a generous heart. One example will suffice to illustrate. Decades ago I was on a MARTA train heading to visit one of Thad’s tournaments when I encountered another chess player, called “Smokin’ Gun.” I nodded, Smokin’ Gun shot back a big grin and moved toward me. Upon mentioning I was headed to one of Thad’s tournaments and he asked, “You playing?”
“No, Smokin’ Gun, I said, I’m just going to visit. Why don’t you come with me?” He shook his head and said, “I can’t. I own Thad money.”
“What do you mean? Everyone has owed Thad money at one time or another. Come on by later if you can…Don’t dodge him…Tell him you haven’t forgotten about him, but circumstances are such that you can’t pay him back now, and he will be glad to see you..”
Hours later as I was about to leave, there was Smokin’ Gun, talking with Thad. On my way out the Gun grinned, saying, “It played out just like you said, man.”
Atlanta hosted the 1980 US Open because of Thad. When the Nashville Strangler hit it big at the World Open by winning the expert section, he made a point in the interview published in Chess Life to thank Thad for organizing all the tournaments in which he had played. FM Jerry Wheeler, along with LM Brian McCarthy, played so often some thought they lived in Atlanta. The same could be said for the “Little Hayseed,” Tom Waymouth, who took first in a “B” section of the World Open. Then there is Spencer Bledsoe, one of the Legendary Georgia Ironman’s students, who cut his teeth at the House of Pain before tying for first in an “A” section at the World Open. Spencer is best known for his part in the Survivor TV show. (http://survivor.wikia.com/wiki/Spencer_Bledsoe)
To top it off, FM Kazim Gulamali just played a match with IM Ron Burnett for the under 2500 money at the Millionaire Open. Ron, like the aforementioned Tennessee players, has played in as many of Thad’s tournaments as any Atlanta player. Kazim literally grew-up at the House. Together they brought $60,000 back South from Lost Wages!
Did I mentioned the time a former GCA President bankrupted the organization? Thad stepped in using his own money to keep the GCA solvent. I could go on and on, but why? Like everyone you know, or will ever know, Thad has entries on both the positive and negative side of the ledger, but he is one of the fortunate ones in which the positive outweighs the negative.
I know all of the above mentioned players, and the Legendary Ironman, will join me in saying, “Thank you, Thad, for all you have done for the Royal game.”

Draw Eliminates Kings from Playoffs

The Atlanta Kings season ended last night when, needing a win, they could only manage a draw with the Sharks of Miami. The Kings were eliminated from the playoffs.

Week 10: Miami Sharks (MIA 2406) vs Atlanta Kings (ATL 2405)

​Tuesday, October 28, 7:40pm

1. GM Julio Becerra (MIA 2626) – Deepak Aaron (ATL 2446) 1/2

2. ​FM Kazim Gulamali (ATL 2397) – FM Marcel Martinez (MIA 2474) 0-1

3. Federico Gonzalez (MIA 2315) – FM Daniel Gurevich (ATL 2393) 1/2

​4. Richard Francisco ​(ATL 2382) – Oscar Maldonado (MIA 2209) ​1-0

Match Tied 2-2

Becerra,Julio (2626) – Aaron,Deepak (2446) [C78]
USCL Week 10 Internet Chess Club, 28.10.2014

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.axb5 axb5 9.c3 d6 10.d4 Bb6 11.Na3 Bg4 12.Nxb5 0-0 13.Be3 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Bg5 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxg5 17.Bxd5 Ne7 18.Bc4 exd4 19.Nxd4 Ng6 20.Nc6 Rbe8 21.Rfe1 Nh4 22.Qd5 Qf6 23.Kh1 g6 24.f4 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Nf5 26.g3 Ne3 27.Qe4 Ng4 28.Kg2 Qd6 29.Ne7+ Kg7 30.Nd5 Nf6 31.Nxf6 Qxf6 32.Rd1 Rd8 33.Rxd8 Qxd8 34.Bd5 c5 35.Qe5+ Qf6 36.Kf3 Qxe5 37.fxe5 f5 38.Ke2 Bc7 39.e6 Kf6 40.Kd3 Ke7 41.Kc4 Bd6 42.Kb5 h5 43.Kc4 g5 44.Kd3 h4 45.gxh4 gxh4 46.h3 Kf6 47.Kc4 Ke7 48.Kb5 Kf6 49.Kc6 Be7 50.Bc4 Bf8 51.Kd7 Be7 52.Be2 Bf8 53.Bd3 f4 54.Be2 Be7 55.Bg4 Bf8 56.Bf3 Be7 57.Bd5 Bf8 58.Bf3 Be7 59.Bd5 1/2-1/2

Gulamali,Kazim (2397) – Martinez,Marcel (2474) [D18]
USCL Week 10 Internet Chess Club, 28.10.2014

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.d4 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Qb3 a5 11.Nxd7 Qxd7 12.Rd1 Qe7 13.f3 e5 14.e4 Bg6 15.Be3 Rfd8 16.d5 Bc5 17.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 18.Kh1 h5 19.Rd3 h4 20.Rf1 Rac8 21.Qa2 Qb4 22.b3 Nh5 23.Qf2 Nf4 24.Re3 Qc5 25.g3 Nh5 26.Kg2 Qe7 27.Kh1 Rd6 28.Ree1 hxg3 29.hxg3 Bh7 30.Rg1 Qg5 31.Rg2 Rg6 32.Reg1 Qh6 33.Rh2 Qg5 34.Rh3 Rh6 35.Kh2 Rd8 36.f4 Qe7 37.f5 Qg5 38.Kg2 Nf4+ 0-1

Gonzalez,Federico (2315) – Gurevich,Daniel (2393) [B30]
USCL Week 10 Internet Chess Club, 28.10.2014

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Nc3 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxc3 9.Nxc6 Nxd1 10.Nxd8 Kxd8 11.Kxd1 Be6 12.Bd3 Bd5 13.f3 e6 14.Bf4 Rc8 15.Ke2 Kd7 16.Rhc1 Bd6 17.Bxd6 Kxd6 18.a3 h6 19.Ke3 g5 20.Rc3 Rxc3 21.bxc3 Rc8 22.Kd2 f5 23.h4 f4 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.Rh1 g4 26.Be4 gxf3 27.gxf3 Bxe4 28.fxe4 Rg8 29.Rh6 Rg2+ 30.Kd3 Rg3+ 31.Kc4 b5+ 32.Kxb5 Re3 33.e5+ Kd5 34.Kb4 f3 35.Rf6 Ke4 36.Kc4 a6 37.Rf8 Re1 38.d5 exd5+ 39.Kc5 f2 40.e6 Kd3 41.Rxf2 Rxe6 42.Kxd5 Re8 43.Rf3+ Kc2 44.c4 Rd8+ 45.Kc5 Rc8+ 46.Kb4 Rb8+ 47.Ka5 Rc8 48.Rf4 Rc6 49.Kb4 Rb6+ 50.Kc5 Rb8 51.Kd6 Kb3 52.c5 Kxa3 53.c6 a5 54.c7 Rc8 55.Kd7 Rh8 56.c8Q Rxc8 57.Kxc8 a4 58.Kb7 Kb3 59.Kb6 a3 60.Kb5 a2 61.Rf1 Kb2 62.Kb4 a1Q 63.Rf2+ Kc1 64.Rf1+ Kb2 65.Rxa1 Kxa1 1/2-1/2

Francisco,Richard (2382) – Maldonado,Oscar (2209) [B30]
USCL Week 10 Internet Chess Club, 28.10.2014

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg4 6.Be3 e5 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nf6 9.Nd2 Nd7 10.Qg3 Qf6 11.0-0 Qg6 12.Qh2 Be7 13.Nc4 Qe6 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 0-0 16.a4 b5 17.Ne3 c4 18.Nf5 Bf6 19.Qg3 Ne5 20.Nd4 Qe7 21.Nf5 Qe6 22.Bg5 Bxg5 23.Qxg5 Ng6 24.h4 Qd7 25.Qg4 Qa7+ 26.d4 f6 27.Kh1 Rad8 28.h5 Kf7 29.c3 Ne7 30.Qxg7+ Ke8 31.axb5 cxb5 32.Rxa6 Qb7 33.Nd6+ Rxd6 34.Rxd6 Qxe4 35.Rd8+ Kxd8 36.Qxf8+ Kd7 37.Qxf6 Qe2 38.Qf3 Qxb2 39.Qb7+ Ke8 40.Re1 Qa3 41.Qxb5+ Kf7 42.Qxc4+ Kg7 43.Qb4 Qxb4 44.cxb4 Nd5 45.b5 Kf6 46.Re5 Nb6 47.Rc5 Ke7 48.Rc6 Nd5 49.b6 Kd7 50.b7 Kxc6 51.b8Q Nb6 52.Qe5 Nd5 53.Qe6+ Kc7 54.Qxd5 Kc8 55.Qf7 Kb8 56.Qxh7 Kc8 57.Qg7 Kb8 58.h6 Ka8 59.h7 1-0

Because of the rating cap it is difficult to take the USCL seriously. Each team must have an average rating of 2400 except when, “3. Any player rated above 2600 will count as only 2600 when determining whether a lineup has a legal average; this is done to reward teams for using the strongest players in the country on their rosters.” Or when, “4. Any player rated below 2000 will count as 2000 when determining whether a lineup has a legal average; this is done to keep lineups reasonably balanced.” (http://uschessleague.com/rules.php)

This makes no sense whatsoever. When the Kings played the St. Louis Arch Bishops GM Wesley So, the number ten player in the world, was rated 2751, yet for USCL purposes his rating was considered to be 2600. Theoretically, a team could field three 2700 players and an 1800 on last board under USCL rules. If the 2700 rated players were actually considered to be 2700, then the last board would have to be manned by a player rated 1500. This obviously greatly favors teams fortunate enough to have players rated over 2600, lessening the chance an underdog team has of making the playoffs. Like the tax laws in this country favoring the wealthy and corporations, now considered “people” under the law (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/how-supreme-court-turned-corporations-people-200-year-saga) & (http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/03/corporations_are_people_and_that_s_why_hobby_lobby_should_lose_at_the_supreme.html), USCL rules favor the teams rich in higher rated players. Unless and until the rules are changed the USCL has little credibility.

The Kings were led this season by NM Richard Francisco, who scored an amazing 7 1/2 out of 9 games. The Frisco Kid played 3 games more than any other player, and scored an astounding 4 1/2 more points than the second highest scoring player, NM Damir Studen. He also had the highest PR. If a team MVP is chosen, Mr. Francisco is the man.

1. GM Alonso Zapata 2555 – 1.0/3 (2518 PR)

2. Deepak Aaron 2446 – 1.5/5 (2309 PR)

​3. IM Carlos Perdomo 2400 – 1.5/3​ (2524 PR)

4. FM Kazim Gulamali 2397 – 0.5/4​ (2172 PR)

​5. FM Daniel Gurevich 2393 – 1.5/3 (2412 PR)

​6. Richard Francisco 2382 – 7.5/9​ (2531 PR)​

​7. Damir Studen 2372 – 3.0/6 (2439 PR)

8. Michael Corallo 2284 – 1.0/2 (2115 PR)

9. Leonardo Martinez 2266 – 2.0/3 (2395 PR)

​10. Sanjay Ghatti 2245 – 0.0/1 (1870 PR)

11. Lawrence White 2179 – 0.5/1 (2074 PR)
(http://www.southeastchess.com/atlanta-kings.html)

Get Smart: Missed it by that much

2014 Georgia Open Live Games on Chess Stream

I noticed this post on the forum of the NCCA:

Chess Stream Live Games: 2014 Georgia Open this weekend

Postby Chacha » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:59 pm
Hi all,
Part of ChessStream going outside aboard, I will be helping Fun Fong to do live games from Georgia Open this weekend:

http://www.georgiachess.org/event-1755372
Live games will be on ChessStream.com as always during the rounds:

http://chessstream.com/livegames/
It is 7 rounds, starting Friday and Saturday options and ended Sunday. Open large group pairing. We have at least 6 players from NC! Watch them playing live! We may have 10+ live games, most from PC Tablets. Anyone wants to join? registration still open onsite before the tournament starts.
regards
Chacha

After firing off an email to the Legendary Georgia Ironman, I checked the website of the GCA (http://www.georgiachess.org/), since the tournament is being held in Georgia, but did not find anything about a live broadcast, so I surfed on over to the other, newer, GCA website, Georgia Chess News (http://georgiachessnews.com/), and again, found absolutely nothing concerning a live broadcast. I find this strange, indeed, and am flummoxed by the lack of any mention of the Chess Stream broadcast. What is the purpose of a broadcast if no one is aware the games are being shown?
In the event any reader wishes to check out the broadcast here are the round times:
Rounds: 3 day: Friday – 7:00pm, 9:00pm. Saturday – 1:00pm, 4:30pm, 8:30pm. Sunday – 9:00am, 1:00pm. 2-day: Saturday: 8:30am, 10:30am, then merges with 3-day.
Keep in mind the the time control varies considerably:
Rounds 1-2 are G-45, rounds 3-5 are G-90, and rounds 6-7 are G-120. (http://www.georgiachess.org/event-1755372)
The website shows there are 81 advance entries, most of whom are quite young. I do see that former Ga Champion, NM Damir Studen, is in the field, as is IM Ronald Burnett, who did battle at the $,$$$,$$$ Open, leaving Lost Wages with $20,000 after losing the last hurry-up match to FM Kazim Gulamali.

Kazim Gulamali Wins Big at Millionaire Open?

The Legendary Georgia Ironman called yesterday wanting to know the result of the match between IM Ron Burnett and FM Kazim Gulamali at the Millionaire Open. I had been unable to find the result anywhere on the internet. “This is hard to believe, Bacon. I thought surely you, of all people, would have learned something.” Upon returning later Tim told me he had heard from the mother of one of his students that Mumtaz Yusef, Kazim’s father, had been to a gathering of ping-pong players (years ago Mumtaz purchased a ping-pong table for the House of Pain), and he said Kazim won $40,000, which could only mean that Kazim bested Ronald. This is how chess news travels in the day and age of the internet, from word of mouth, or if you prefer, “word on the street.” I do not actually know Kazim won because it reaches the AW at least third hand.

From comments on the internet like the one on the USCF forum contained in the thread, “Millionaire Open – Millionaire Monday participants” (http://www.uschess.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=20634&sid=73853e7071d63999c02af00b8c62e928), it is obvious the chess world has been left in the dark as to the results:

by relyea on Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:45 pm #285960

“It is disappointing that I can’t figure out how to find which players went to the final fours, much less who won, on their site.”

Alex Relyea

Maybe the people who promoted the $,$$$,$$$ Open should have considered allocating money for hiring a publicist.

Led Zeppelin – Communication Breakdown

Millionaire Open Downer

Last night I attended what turned out to be a reading at the library by the famous historian James McPherson, who writes about the War Between The States. He is the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at Princeton University, and received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for “Battle Cry of Freedom”, his most famous book. The author is on a book tour touting his new book, “Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief.” During a phone call with the Legendary Georgia Ironman, who decided to take a well-earned, and much needed, day off to visit his ladyfriend, the Princess, I mentioned the author read from the book only, until taking a few questions. I was in hopes the author would explain why he decided to write the book and some of the things he learned while writing.

LM Brian McCarthy, up from Butler for the night and next day, was waiting to return me to the Fortress. The first thing Brian did upon entering was plug in his ‘puter and turn on the $,$$$,$$$ Open. He let me know the next game would begin in about a half hour, then went back to the car to bring his other things. I am of the same mind as another chess blogger, Dana Mackenzie, of “Dana blogs chess,” who wrote in his post, “Millionaire Chess Preview,” of October 3, 2014, “Oh yes, I should mention the quirky format of the tournament. The first seven rounds are a normal Swiss system. But then the top four players will qualify for a two-round knockout tournament on Monday. Each round of the knockout will consist of a pair of 25-minute games; followed by a pair of 15-minute games if they are tied; followed by a pair of 5-minute games if the match is still tied; followed by a single Armageddon game.

Anyone who’s read my blog in the past knows what I think of this idea. I think it stinks. Rapid chess is only somewhat like chess, blitz chess is even less like chess, and Armageddon is a completely different game entirely. This kind of playoff is like breaking a tie for the Pulitzer Prize with a spelling bee. For that reason I don’t care who wins. I only care who finishes in the top four.” (http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=3184)

Because the Big Mac was here I decided to check out the coverage. I had earlier attempted to access the live coverage a couple of times, but every time there was music and a count-down clock informing me the live coverage would begin in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later there was a count-down clock informing me the live coverage would begin in twenty minutes. I gave up. This time it was live and the game was about to begin. And what a game it wasn’t…GM Ray Robson blundered a pawn in the opening, something most every chess player has done. What made this so bad was that $50,000 was on the line. As poor Ray sat there stewing in his juices, not moving minute after long, torturous, minute, the commentators kept up their inane patter. Suddenly there was a shot of IM Ron Burnett playing FM Kazim Gulamali! I burst out of my room to tell the McAroon, who immediately found the live coverage, but there was no longer any Burnett vs Gulamali coverage. At least we knew our friend was playing on “Millionaire Monday.” I mentioned Lawrence Trent, “The New Voice of Chess”, according to his website (http://www.lawrencetrent.com/), said something about $40,000 on the line, with Kazim needing to win to send it to even quicker games, and “with the look on Ron’s face, it looks like that’s just what’s going to happen.” Having known both players since they were youths, and having been on the road with IM Burnett, while knowing Kazim as he cut his teeth at the House of Pain, I told Brian my heart was with Ron, but my head said Kazim. Here it is the next afternoon and I still have no clue who won…And I am not the only one, because Tim asked me what I knew, and Brian searched, even going to ICC, but still no result could be found. Evidently, we are not the only ones, because Dana has written this on his blog today, “I tried to look up the winner of the Millionaire Open in Las Vegas this morning, and it wasn’t as easy as I expected to find out who won. When I went to chessbase.com, usually my first source, there was nothing about the playoffs. Next I went to the tournament page itself — but that page is a navigational disaster. There was no apparent way to find out who won the tournament!

Finally I had to resort to Google, which took me to Susan Polgar’s blog, which took me to the Chess24 website, which had an excellent article on the dramatic playoffs. The bottom line is that Wesley So, the Phillippine grandmaster who was the #1 seed in the tournament, beat Ray Robson. It was a lifetime achievement for both of them. So earns $100,000, the largest payday ever for a chess player in an open tournament. Robson wins $50,000, which is unbelievable, especially when you see how he earned it.” (http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/)

We continued to watch, and listen, in hopes that after Robson’s blunder they would go back to showing Ron vs Kazim, or what looked like another game currently underway. But Noooooooooo…Minute after agonizing minute we had to suffer along with poor Ray. Needless to say, we felt his pain in the way people felt the pain of Joe Thiesman when his leg was broken on Monday Night Maimball, while O.J. Simpson added “color” to the telecast. A better example could be when the catcher, Jason Kendall, broke his ankle running to first base when his foot hit the bag awkardly, while he continued to run with his broken ankle flopping like a fish out of water. As poor Ray continued to flop they would still not move to one of the other games. Brian mentioned something about this being “real bad,” because “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” I said, “This is supposed to be the high point of the tournament but it has become a low ebb.”
“Yeah,” Brian said, “what a downer.”

Lawrence Taylor breaks Joe Theismann’s leg on MNF

What Was Kazim Thinking?

It was a brutal penultimate round for the intrepid players from Georgia. GM Zapata managed to draw his game with Levy Rozman (2287), as did IM Carlos Perdomo, who drew with Alexander Betaneli (2246). Damir Studen also drew his game with IM John Cox (2371) from the United Kingdom.

Damir Studen (2264) vs IM John Cox (2371)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Qd4 f6 12. Rd1 g5 13. Bxe5 fxe5 14. Qe3 Be6 15. Nd2 h6 16. Nde4 Qb6 17. Qd3 O-O-O 18. Bg2 Nc5 19. Qxd8 Qxd8 20. Rxd8 Kxd8 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. Kd2 Bb3 23. Be4 Ke7 24. f3 Rd8 25. Bd3 a5 26. h4 Kd7 27. hxg5 hxg5 28. Rh7 Kc8 29. Rg7 Bf8 30. Rh7 Bb4 31. Rg7 Bxa4 32. Rxg5 e4 33. fxe4 Bb3 34. Kc1 Rh8 35. Bc2 Rh1 36. Kd2 Bf8 37. Rxa5 Bh6 38. Kd3 Be6 39. Ra8 Kd7 40. Rh8 b5 41. b3 Kd6 42. Nd1 Rh3 43. e3 Rh2 44. Nc3 Kc5 45. e5 Bf5 46. Ne4 Kb4 47. Bd1 Rh3 48. Bf3 Be6 49. g4 Rh4 50. Nd2 c5 51. Rh7 1/2-1/2

Unfortunately Michael Corallo lost again, this time to GM Elshan Moradiabad (2598). Michael had been having such a tremendous tournament that after losing back to back games he is still tied at +1, or 4 1/2 points, with those above named players, and will battle another GM, Vladimir Romanenko (2498) in the money round.

Sanjay Ghatti lost to Andrey Gorovets (2478) but still has an even score with 4 points.

Sanjay Ghatti (2024) vs Andrey Gorovets (2478)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Be3 Qc7 8. Be2 Bb4 9. f3 d5 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 dxe4 12. fxe4 Nxe4 13. Qd3 f5 14. Nc5 Nf6 15. Qc4 Nd5 16. Bf4 Nxf4 17. Rxf4 Ne5 18. Qa4 Kf7 19. Ne4 Qb6 20. Qd4 Rd8 21. Ng5 Kg6 22. Qxb6 axb6 23. Nf3 Nxf3 24. Bxf3 Kf6 25. Rb4 Rd6 26. a4 Bd7 27. Bxb7 Ra7 28. Bf3 b5 29. c4 Rxa4 30. Raxa4 bxa4 31. c5 a3 32. Rb1 a2 33. Ra1 Ra6 34. Bb7 Ra7 35. c6 Ke7 36. cxd7 Rxb7 37. Rxa2 Rxd7 38. c4 Kd6 39. Ra6 Ke5 40. Rc6 g5 41. Kf2 Rd2 42. Kf3 h5 43. h3 g4 44. hxg4 hxg4 45. Kg3 f4 46. Kxg4 Rxg2 47. Kf3 Rg3 48. Kf2 Rc3 49. Ke2 Re3 50. Kf2 Kd4 51. Rc8 Rc3 52. Re8 e5 0-1

The Frisco Kid drew with Joshua Colas (2116) and is at -1, with 3 1/2 points, needing a win tonight against Sam Copeland (2153) to finish with an even score.

Kazim Gulamali lost his penultimate round game and also has 3 1/2 points.

Nicolas D Checa (2219) vs FM Kazim Gulamali (2283)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e3 a6 6. a4 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4

The game ended here and this was displayed on the website:
“White won (rated game). Cellphone went off”

It is beyond my comprehension how such a thing could occur. Why any player would even have a cellphone after what happened to GM Nigel Short when he lost a game, even though his gizmo was turned off, because it made a sound to signal its battery was low, disrupting the tournament, and violating the FIDE rule against gizmos making sounds. No players should ever, under any circumstance, have a gizmo with them in or around the tournament hall because of the appearance of having such device gives because of the possibility of cheating by using a gizmo. All chess organizations should have banned gizmos years ago for just this reason. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not, and would never accuse Kazim of cheating. Having known him for at least a decade I would not believe it if he were ever accused of cheating because he is a gentleman. I hate to write this, but his play this tournament could be considered prima-facie evidence that he did not cheat. It is more than a little obvious that Kazim had what is now called a “Dierks” moment.

Reece Thompson lost in the penultimate round and still has 3 points, but will play the last round game trying to finish with a -1 score.

Kapil Chandran (2382) vs Reece Thompson (2087)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 Nbd7 4. Nc3 c6 5. e4 e5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Re8 9. d5 a5 10. h3 Qc7 11. Be3 Nc5 12. Rfd1 Bd7 13. Rac1 cxd5 14. cxd5 Rec8 15. Nd2 Qb8 16. Bxc5 Rxc5 17. a4 Be8 18. Qb1 Nd7 19. Nb3 Rc8 20. Nb5 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Bd8 22. Qc2 Bg5 23. Nc7 Bxc1 24. Nxa8 Be3 25. fxe3 Qxa8 26. Qc7 Qa7 27. Kf2 Nf6 28. Qd8 h6 29. Bb5 Kh7 30. Bxe8 Nxe4 31. Kf3 f5 32. Bd7 1-0
The schedule has been brutal as can be seen by the fact that 30% of the field will not play in the last round. The ones who do play will certainly be staggering at the finish line.

Dierks Bentley – What Was I Thinkin

And Down the Stretch They Come!

The turn has been made at the US Masters and the players have hit the long stretch and are heading for the finish line. Heading into the penultimate round NM Michael Corallo, even with his loss to GM Sergei Azarov on board two in the antepenultimate round, is leading the contingent from the Great State of Georgia. Michael lost in the first round, then scored four wins and one draw, including three wins in a row, including a victory over GM Alex Shabalov. His 4 1/2 points is a half point more than GM Alsonso Zapata, who lost to IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat in round seven. IM Carlos Perdomo has shown his class by coming back after losing his first two games to score four points in the next five rounds with three wins and two draws. Carlos drew with fellow Atlanta Kings member Sanjay Ghatti, who also has four points, last night in the seventh round. Shabba bested another Kings player last night, leaving FM Kazim Gulamali with 3 1/2. The Frisco Kid, NM Richard Francisco and the Denker representative from Georgia, Expert Reese Thompson each have scored 3 points.
As I write this the penultimate round is under way, and four of the games being shown include players from Georgia. Damir, Reese, Kazim and Sanjay are the players being shown. If you are wondering why the top Georgia players are not being shown, I wondered the same thing earlier in the tournament. Most tournaments broadcast the top boards, but they do things differently in NC. Since they did the same thing last year, this year I sent an email to the man in charge, Chacha Nugroho. He replied:
Hi Michael,
Thanks! The lower board we put camera, and I have to find good lighting tables, and those lower live boards are because under the main light of the room. I will post Neal Haris game soon.
regards
Chacha

Yasser Seirawan was taking about the first time he saw the pieces being used at the STLCC&SC when at Rex Sinquefield’s home. Yaz said they are beautiful and were made specially for Rex by Frank Camaratta, who owns the House of Staunton. I have had the pleasure of being in the home of Mr. Camaratta, which looks like a museum with all the wonderful chess sets on display. Yaz said these particular pieces are to be used with the board for broadcast and there only twenty-five such sets. One can do things like that when one has a billion dollars at one’s disposal. Our poor chess cousins in the Great State of North Carolina, my adopted “second state,” are doing the very best they can with their much more limited budget.
Now for some games from our illustrious luminaries carrying the colors:

Michael Corallo (2203) vs Eric Santarius (2329)
USM Rd 4
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 d6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. h3 c5 12. Nf3 Bc6 13. Bf4 Rb8 14. e5 Nh5 15. Bh2 Rxb2 16. g4 Qa8 17. Nd2 dxe5 18. gxh5 Rd8 19. Bxe5 Bf8 20. Nce4 Rb4 21. Qg4 Bd7 22. Qg3 Bc6 23. Bxg7 Bxe4 1-0

Michael Corallo (2203) vs Michael Bodek (2400)
USM Rd 5
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. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Na4 Qa5 15. b3 Qc7 16. Bc4 Rd8 17. Rhe1 Bf5 18. Qe5 Qxe5 19. Rxe5 Bxc2 20. Rd2 Bf5 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22. Rxe7 h5 23. Kb2 Kg7 24. Nc3 Kf6 25. Re1 Be6 26. Red1 Ke5 27. Rd4 g5 28. g3 h4 29. gxh4 gxh4 30. Rxh4 Rh8 31. f4 Kf5 32. Rxh8 Rxh8 33. Nxd5 Rxh2 34. Ka3 Ke4 35. Nc7 Kxf4 36. Rd6 Bf5 37. Nb5 Ke3 38. Rf6 Bb1 39. Nc3 Bg6 40. Ra6 Kd2 41. Nd5 Be4 42. Nf6 Bb1 43. Kb2 Bg6 44. Rxa7 Kd1 45. Kc3 Bb1 46. a4 Ba2 47. Nd5 Kc1 48. Nb4 Rh3 49. Nd3 Kb1 50. Rxf7 Ka1 51. Rd7 Rh1 52. Re7 Rh8 53. Rc7 Bb1 54. Rc4 Rg8 55. Nc5 Ka2 56. Rd4 Ka3 57. b4 Rh8 58. a5 Rh3 59. Kc4 Bg6 60. a6 Bf7 61. Kb5 Be8 62. Ka5 Rh7 63. Rd3 Kb2 64. Rd6 Rh1 65. b5 Kc3 66. a7 Ra1 67. Na4 Kb3 68. Rd3 1-0

Alexander Shabalov (2500) vs Michael Corallo (2203)
USM Rd 6
1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. a3 d6 6. Rb1 Bf5 7. d3 h5 8. Nf3 b6 9. Bg5 Qd7 10. Nd5 Rc8 11. h3 e5 12. b4 Be6 13. Nd2 f6 14. Be3 Nge7 15. Qa4 Nxd5 16. cxd5 Nd4 17. Qd1 Bf7 18. Nc4 O-O 19. Bd2 Rfd8 20. e3 Nb5 21. O-O Nc7 22. e4 Nb5 23. f4 Nd4 24. Be3 Rf8 25. Rb2 f5 26. Rbf2 fxe4 27. Bxe4 b5 28. Na5 Qxh3 29. Bxd4 cxd4 30. f5 Qxg3 31. Rg2 Qe3 32. Kh1 gxf5 33. Re1 Qh6 34. Reg1 fxe4 35. Rxg7 Qxg7 36. Rxg7 Kxg7 37. Nc6 Bxd5 38. Ne7 Bb7 39. Nxc8 Rxc8 40. dxe4 Bxe4 0-1

Michael Corallo (2203) vs Sergei Azerov (2635)
USM Rd 7
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. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Na4 Qc7 15. Bc4 Rd8 16. Bb3 Bf5 17. g4 Nf4 18. Qe3 Be6 19. Bxe6 Nxe6 20. Rde1 Rab8 21. h4 Qa5 22. b3 Rd4 23. Nc3 Rbd8 24. Kb2 Rd2 25. h5 R8d3 26. Qxd3 Rxd3 27. cxd3 Nf4 28. Rxe7 Qd8 29. Re4 Nxd3 30. Kc2 Nf2 31. Rd1 Nxd1 32. Nxd1 gxh5 33. gxh5 Qf6 34. f4 Qf5 35. Kd3 Qd5 36. Rd4 Qf5 37. Re4 Qb5 38. Kc3 Qa5 39. Kc2 Qxh5 0-1

Richard Francisco (2281) vs Peter Giannatos (2140)
USM Rd 3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Nge7 7. b4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. Bb2 Be7 10. Bd3 a5 11. Bxf5 exf5 12. Nc3 Be6 13. b5 a4 14. O-O O-O 15. bxc6 Qxb2 16. Nxa4 Qb5 17. cxb7 Qxb7 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. dxc5 Rfc8 20. Qc2 Qc6 21. Rfc1 Ra4 22. Nd2 d4 23. Nf3 Rc4 24. Qd3 Rxc5 25. Rxc5 Qxc5 26. Qxd4 Qxa3 27. h4 Rc1 28. Rxc1 Qxc1 29. Kh2 h6 30. Kg3 Qc6 31. Qf4 Qc3 32. Qd2 Qc5 33. Qe3 Qxe3 34. fxe3 Kf8 35. Kf4 Ke7 36. Nd4 g6 1/2-1/2

Kazim Gulamali (2283) vs Arthur Guo (1950)
USM Rd 4
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. Rd1 e5 10. Be3 O-O 11. Rac1 Bg4 12. h3 Be6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Qc4 Qd7 15. b4 Rac8 16. Qb3 a6 17. Na4 Nd4 18. Nxd4 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 exd4 20. Nb6 Qe8 21. Qxe6 Qf7 22. Qxf7 Rxf7 23. Bxd4 Nxe4 24. Nd5 Bg5 25. f4 Bh4 26. g4 h6 27. Kg2 Rd7 28. g5 hxg5 29. Kf3 Ng3 30. fxg5 Nf5 31. Bf6 Rf7 32. Kg4 g6 33. Rc8 Rf8 34. Rc7 Rf7 35. Ne7 Nxe7 36. Bxe7 Be1 37. Rc8 Kg7 38. Bf6 Rxf6 39. gxf6 Kxf6 40. a3 a5 41. b5 b6 42. Rc6 Bf2 43. Rxd6 Kg7 44. a4 Bg1 45. Re6 Kf7 46. Rc6 Kg7 47. h4 Kf7 48. Kf4 Kg7 49. Ke5 Kh6 50. Kf6 Kh5 51. Kf7 Kxh4 52. Rxg6 Bd4 53. Ke6 Kh5 54. Rg2 Kh4 55. Kd7 Kh3 56. Rg8 Kh4 57. Kc6 Kh5 58. Rb8 Kg6 59. Rxb6 1-0

Sean Vibbert (2301) vs Alonso Zapata (2481)
USM Rd 4
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. d3 d4 7. Ne4 Nxe4 8. Bxe4 Be7 9. Qf3 Nc6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qxc6 Bd7 12. Qd5 Qc8 13. f3 O-O 14. b3 Re8 15. Kf2 a5 16. Bd2 a4 17. Ne2 Bf6 18. Nf4 Re5 19. Qc4 Qb7 20. bxa4 Rxa4 21. Qb3 Qa8 22. Rae1 c4 23. Qb1 Rb5 24. Qd1 c3 25. Bc1 Rxa2 26. Rhf1 g6 27. Kg1 Rb1 28. Qe2 Ba4 29. Qe4 Bc6 30. Qe2 h5 31. Ne6 Ba4 32. Nc7 Qc6 33. Ne8 Rxc2 34. Nxf6 Qxf6 35. Qe4 Bc6 36. Bg5 Qxg5 37. Qxc6 Rxe1 38. Rxe1 Qd2 39. Qe8 Kg7 40. Qe5 Kh7 0-1

Bartlomiej Macieja (2622) vs Alonso Zapata (2481)
USM Rd 5
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 g6 7. Nf3 Bf5 8. O-O Qc7 9. Na3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 a6 11. Nc2 Bg7 12. Re1 O-O 13. Ne3 h5 14. g3 b5 15. Bd2 Rfc8 16. h4 e6 17. Nf1 Qb6 18. Ng5 b4 19. Nh2 bxc3 20. bxc3 Ne7 21. Nhf3 Qb5 22. Qc2 Nh7 23. Nxh7 Kxh7 24. g4 hxg4 25. Ng5 Kg8 26. h5 Qd7 27. hxg6 Nxg6 28. Nxe6 Nh4 29. Ng5 Qf5 30. Qxf5 Nxf5 31. f3 Nxd4 32. Rac1 Nxf3 33. Nxf3 gxf3 34. Kf2 Rc6 35. Kxf3 Rac8 36. Rg1 Kf8 37. Rg5 Bxc3 38. Rxd5 Bxd2 39. Rxc6 Rxc6 40. Rxd2 Rc4 41. Re2 Ra4 42. Ke3 Ke7 43. Kd3 Kd6 44. Rf2 Ke6 45. Kc3 f5 46. Kb3 Re4 47. Rh2 f4 48. Rh6 Kf5 49. Rxa6 f3 50. Ra8 Rf4 51. Rf8 Kg4 52. Rg8 Kh3 0-1

David Hua (2304) vs Alonso Zapata (2481)
USM Rd 6
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Qc7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Be2 Bb4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe4 10. Bf3 Nc5 11. Nb3 d6 12. Bf4 e5 13. Nxc5 Qxc5 14. Be3 Qc7 15. Qd2 Nd7 16. Rfd1 Ke7 17. Rab1 Rb8 18. Ba7 Ra8 19. Be3 Rb8 20. Ba7 Ra8 21. Be3 1/2-1/2

Brian Tarhon (1963) vs Damir Studen (2264)
USM Rd 7
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nf6 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne2 O-O 11. Bf4 Qd8 12. c4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rad1 Nbd7 16. Nc3 Rac8 17. Qc2 Qc7 18. b3 Rfd8 19. Rd2 Nf8 20. Rfd1 h6 21. g3 Rd7 22. Bg2 Rcd8 23. Kh2 Ng6 24. Ne4 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 Ne7 26. Rd3 Rd6 27. h4 Qd7 28. Qe2 Nf5 29. d5 exd5 30. cxd5 c5 31. Bh3 Qe7 32. Qd2 Nd4 33. Re1 Qf6 34. Bg2 R6d7 35. Rde3 g6 36. b4 Kg7 37. bxc5 bxc5 38. Rc1 Qb6 39. Rec3 Qa5 40. Qb2 Qb4 41. Qa1 Kh7 42. Rxc5 Qd2 43. R1c4 Nf5 44. Rc2 Qb4 45. Qf6 Qd4 46. Qxd4 Nxd4 47. R2c4 Nf5 48. Rc8 Rxc8 49. Rxc8 Ne7 50. Rc5 Kg7 51. a4 Kf6 52. f4 Rd6 53. Ra5 a6 54. Bf1 Kg7 55. Bc4 Rd7 56. Kg2 Kf8 57. Kf3 Rc7 58. Bd3 Rd7 59. Bc4 Rc7 60. Ba2 Rc3 61. Ke4 Nf5 62. Rxa6 Re3 0-1

This song contains the Legendary Georgia Ironman’s all-time favorite lyric. Just thinking about it brings a smile to the Ironman’s face. I will let you figure it out…
The first two are live and I could not decide which to post, so I posted both! The third version is from the album, not disc, and it is the one to which we listened “back in the day.”

Jackson Browne 1977 The Load Out Stay

Jackson Browne – The Load Out and Stay – Live BBC 1978

Jackson Browne – The Load Out / Stay