2022 New York Fall Invitational Draw Tournaments

After being taken to task by a reader from the Carolinas for not publishing short games from tournaments not in Carolina I went to the website of the 2022 New York Fall Invitational only after explaining to the Carolinian the decision had earlier been made to stop watching all so called “Norm” tournaments. After being lambasted for “picking on” the norm tournaments contested at the Charlotte Chess Center this writer reached out to several Chess friends, asking for their thoughts on “Norm” tournaments. The replies were along the lines of, “Why do you waste your time watching those things?” and, “I have absolutely no interest in those things.” The quotes are from two different people. It is ironic both consider a “Norm” tournament to be a “thing.” The reason I have not written about “Norm” tournaments is the decision was made to stop wasting my time watching tournaments in which there appears to be hanky panky. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/09/11/the-charlotte-chess-center-mr-hankey-award/) In the interest of fairness I decided to follow the tournaments held in New York, and this will be the last time I ever waste my time watching Chess not being played.

Some of the “players”, and I use the word loosely, at the 2022 New York Fall Invitational are the same people who were written about in the posts concerning the plethora of short draws at the Charlotte Chess Center, such as IM Nikolai Andrianov, who should have his passport revoked and be sent packing to whatever hole out of which he crawled. Andrianov is no spring chicken, which may be why he has decided to rest on his limited laurels. The most disappointing player who has decided to stop playing Chess to make short draws is GM Titas Stremavicius (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2022/05/09/how-to-draw-a-chess-game-at-the-charlotte-chess-center/), who has obviously become a serial drawer, and who, like Andrianov, has become known for wearing “Maggie’s Drawers” when he “plays.” When Titus first began playing I checked him out, finding he played some of the same openings as I once played. Many of his games were replayed, finding him to be a “vicius” player. What happened Titus? When and why did you decide to embarrass yourself, and Caissa, and become a non-Chess player? Maybe if we Americans are lucky the passports of this serial drawer will be revoked.

Let me be as clear as a sunny day, all these short draws proliferating “norm” tournaments smack of collusion, and give the appearance of cheating. It smacks of selling “norms” to the highest bidder. The practice should have been stopped long ago, but since it was not it should be stopped NOW!

The low-life non-players and organizers accept no blame while saying they are “just following the rules.” This is done while they deposit digits into their bank accounts. It does not take a genius, or Grandmaster Chess player, to see what they do is harmful to Chess in the long run. These kind of people could care less about what happens to the Royal Game in the future as long as they can continue to stuff their bank accounts with inflated digits. Obviously, the rules should be changed. They should consider taking a page out of Rex Sinquefield’s book and institute their own rules, using the rules in play at the American Chess Mecca, the St. Louis Chess Campus as a guideline. The “go along to get along” Chess politicians at the United States Chess Federation need to grow some cojones and institute new rules.

Just sayin’, because someone needs to step up and tell it like it is. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/gm-jacob-aagaard-blasphemes-caissia-at-the-charlotte-chess-center-gm-norm-invitational/)

2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A

Rd 1

Stremavicius, Titas (2527) – Kevlishvili, Robby (2536)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 09.11.2022

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.Qa4+ Nd7 5.Bg2 a6 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qb3 Bb7 8.O-O Ngf6 9.d3 Be7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.a4 1/2-1/2

Rd 2

Kaliksteyn, Alexander (2389) – Stremavicius, Titas (2527)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 10.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 1/2-1/2

Korley, Kassa (2451) – Nagy, Gabor (2482)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 10.11.2022

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O e6 5.c4 c5 6.b3 Be7 7.Bb2 d6 8.Nc3 O-O 9.d4 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Nc6 11.Qf4 Qb8 1/2-1/2

Rd 3

No short games

All those long games must have really taken a toll on the players because they more than made up for all that expended engrgy in the following round.

Rd 4

Siddharth, Jagadeesh (2407) – Kevlishvili, Robby (2536)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 c6 6.e4 dxe4 7.Ng5 Be7 8.Bc4 Nh6 9.Ngxe4 Nf5 10.d5 O-O 11.O-O b5 12.Bb3 b4 13.Na4 cxd5 1/2-1/2

Chasin, Nico (2429) – Stremavicius, Titas (2527)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 1/2-1/2

Nagy, Gabor (2482) – Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr (2371)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Nb6 7.b3 Be6 8.Bb2 f6 9.Nc3 Qd7 10.Rc1 O-O-O 11.Qc2 Kb8 12.Rfd1 Nd4 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Ne4 d3 15.exd3 1/2-1/2

Rd 5

Kaliksteyn, Alexander (2389) – Siddharth, Jagadeesh (2407)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 c5 5.Nbd2 Qb6 6.Rb1 Bd6 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.dxc5 Qxc5 9.c4 1/2-1/2

Rd 6

Jimenez Fraga, Pedro (2477) – Siddharth, Jagadeesh (2407)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nxc3 7.dxc3 Bf5 8.Be2 Be7 9.Qb3 b6 10.Qa4 Qd7 11.O-O O-O 12.Bf4 Nd4 13.Qd1 Nxe2+ 14.Qxe2 Bf6 15.Bg5 Rfe8 16.Qd2 1/2-1/2

Korley, Kassa (2451) – Kevlishvili, Robby (2536)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 Nd7 4.O-O c6 5.d3 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.c4 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 dxc4 9.d4 Ngf6 10.Nd2 Nb6 11.e3 Bb4 12.Qc2 Bxd2 13.Bxd2 O-O 14.Ba5 Re8 15.Rfd1 Nfd7 16.a4 Qg5 17.Bxb6 1/2-1/2

Nagy, Gabor (2482) – Stremavicius, Titas (2527)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 1/2-1/2

I add the following, decisive, game as a prelude to the next round game by Mr. Williams.

Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr (2371) – Williams, Justus (2395)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.Qg4 g6 8.Qe2 d6 9.O-O Nf6 10.Bh6 Nc6 11.h3 Nh5 12.N1d2 Ne5 13.Nc4 Nxc4 14.Bxc4 b5 15.Bd3 Bg5 16.Bxb5+ 1-0

Rd 7

Williams, Justus (2395) – Jimenez Fraga, Pedro (2477)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 1/2-1/2

Stremavicius, Titas (2527) – Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr (2371)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 1/2-1/2

Kevlishvili, Robby (2536) – Nagy, Gabor (2482)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 1/2-1/2

Rd 8

No short games. Makes one wonder…

Rd 9

Kaliksteyn, Alexander (2389) – Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr (2371)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c3 e6 4.Bf4 Bd6 5.e3 O-O 6.Nbd2 c5 1/2-1/2

Siddharth, Jagadeesh (2407) – Nagy, Gabor (2482)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM A (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.h3 Re8 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.Nf3 Nf8 11.O-O Be6 12.Ne5 1/2-1/2

2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B

Rd 1

Mandizha, Farai (2359) – Javakhadze, Zurab (2481)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 09.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.dxc5 Nxc5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 1/2-1/2

Rd 2

All decisive! Proving they can actually FIGHT. Still, it makes me wonder…

Rd 3

Paragua, Mark (2466) – Khamrakulov, Djurabek (2490)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 10.11.2022

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 c6 8.a4 Qc7 9.h3 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7 1/2-1/2

Rd 4

Yudasin, Leonid (2401) – Khamrakulov, Djurabek (2490)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.c3 b6 5.h3 Bb7 6.e3 c5 7.Be2 O-O 8.O-O d6 9.Bh2 Nbd7 10.a4 a6 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Qb1 Rc8 13.Rd1 cxd4 14.exd4 Rc7 15.Ne1 1/2-1/2

Rd 5

Paragua, Mark (2466) – Javakhadze, Zurab (2481)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.Bd2 1/2-1/2

Rd 6

Javakhadze, Zurab (2481) – Khamrakulov, Djurabek (2490)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bxc4 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.O-O 1/2-1/2

Paragua, Mark (2466) – Mandizha, Farai (2359)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 1/2-1/2

Rd 8

Yudasin, Leonid (2401) – Javakhadze, Zurab (2481)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Qc2 Nxc3 10.Qxc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 c5 12.O-O Nc6 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Rac1 Bd7 15.Rfd1 Rfd8 1/2-1/2

Mandizha, Farai (2359) – Khamrakulov, Djurabek (2490)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c3 c6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Qb3 e6 7.O-O O-O 8.Bf4 d6 9.Qa3 Ne8 10.Nbd2 Rf7 11.e4 h6 12.exf5 exf5 13.h4 Be6 1/2-1/2

Rd 9

Believe it or not, four out of the five games ended decisively. Must have been something in the water…

Oberoi, Shelev (2328) – Yudasin, Leonid (2401)
2022 New York Fall Invitational GM B (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 d6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 c4 7.Bc2 Nc6 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.Na3 Qe6+ 10.Kf1 Qd5 11.d4 cxd3 12.Qxd3 Qxd3+ 13.Bxd3 Bg4 14.Be4 O-O-O 15.Be3 Nd5 16.Nb5 Nxe3+ 17.fxe3 f6 18.Nfd4 Nxd4 19.cxd4 Bd7 20.Rc1+ Kb8 21.Nc3 e6 22.Ke2 Be7 23.Bd3 f5 24.Rhf1 g6 25.Bb5 Bxb5+ 26.Nxb5 e5 27.dxe5 1/2-1/2

2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C

Rd 1

Andrianov, Nikolai (2297) – Rama, Tejas (2189)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 09.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.Bb3 h6 16.Qf4 1/2-1/2

Rd 2

Lee, Justin (2113) – Andrianov, Nikolai (2297)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 10.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.O-O O-O 11.e4 e5 12.h3 Qe7 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Nh5 16.Bxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Rac1 Rad8 1/2-1/2

Rd 3

Andrianov, Nikolai (2297) – Akylbekov, Nasyr (2208)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 10.11.2022

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.O-O 1/2-1/2

Rd 4

Andrianov, Nikolai (2297) – Antova, Gabriela (2302)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 11.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 a6 1/2-1/2

Rd 7

Managadze, Nikoloz (2383) – Rama, Tejas (2189)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 12.11.2022

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d3 d5 6.Nbd2 c5 7.e4 Nc6 8.Re1 b6 9.c3 dxe4 10.dxe4 Bb7 11.Qc2 Qc7 12.Nf1 Rad8 13.Bf4 Qc8 14.Rad1 1/2-1/2

Rd 8

Lee, Justin (2113) – Managadze, Nikoloz (2383)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 1/2-1/2

Andrianov, Nikolai (2297) – Berczes, David (2446)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 1/2-1/2

Rd 9

Berczes, David (2446) – Antova, Gabriela (2302)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.h3 Bh5 5.O-O Nd7 6.d4 Ngf6 7.c4 e6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Qe3+ Be7 11.Nh4 Bg6 12.Nc3 Nf8 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Rd1 Ne6 15.Qd3 Rd8 16.h4 O-O 17.Rb1 a5 18.a3 Qa7 19.Bh3 1/2-1/2

Managadze, Nikoloz (2383) – Andrianov, Nikolai (2297)
2022 New York Fall Invitational IM C (Long Island City, NY), 13.11.2022

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.d3 1/2-1/2

Make no mistake, all the players listed above are cheaters. They have cheated Caissa and the spirit of the game. It is long past time for the USCF pooh-bahs to STEP UP and SPEAK UP. Someone, anyone, in power needs to do something, anything, about those who blaspheme against the Royal Game! If the current Fools In Power do not do something immediately their heads should roll so they can be replaced by someone, anyone who cares about CHESS! This “go along to get along” crap ain’t working. It is long past time for someone, anyone, in power to GROW A PAIR and STEP UP TO THE PLATE! If, that is, they are not too busy taking cash to stuff into their pockets…

FM Doug Eckert Versus GM Alonso Zapata in Charlotte, North Carolina

Doug Eckert 2165

https://chess.stream/invitational/Default

vs Alonso Zapata 2378

https://chess.stream/invitational/Default

A88 Dutch, Leningrad, main variation with c6
2022 Charlotte Chess IM (D) Norm Invitational Round 4

1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. d5 Kh8 9. Rb1 e5 10. dxe6 Bxe6 11. b3 Na6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Nd4 Bg8 14. e3 Nc5 15. Qc2 a5 16. Rfd1 Rac8 17. Qd2 Rfd8 18. Nde2 Ra8 19. Qc2 h6 20. Rbc1 Bh7 21. Nd4 Nfe4 22. a3 Re8 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Nxc3 25. Bxc3 Na4 26. Nxc6 bxc6 27. Bxg7+ Qxg7 28. Bxc6 Nb2 29. Rd4 Nxc4 30. Bxe8 Nxe3 31. fxe3 Rxe8 32. Qc3 1-0
   https://live.followchess.com/#!charlotte-spring-im-d-2022/141884326025

1. d4 f5 2. c4 (Stockfish 250022 @depth 54 plays the game move, but SF 14 @depth 52 will play 2 Nf3. Then there is SF 14.1, the latest and greatest…until 14.2, or whatever name will be chosen for the next incarnation, appears, which will play 2 Bg5(!?) Could that be the reason GM Titas Stremavicius, one of todaze leading exponents of the Leningrad, err, strike that… The dude recently essayed e6 in lieu of d6… [https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2022/03/12/the-saint-louis-spring-classic-tournaments/] …has had to face 2 Bg5 in sixteen games in the past few years? (https://www.365chess.com/search_result.php?submit_search=1&eco=A80&bid=211209) 2…Nf6 (SF 14 shows 2…e6 at the ChessBaseDataBase. It has been the most often played move with 5037 games in the CBDB and it has scored 58% for white against a composite player rated 2409. The second most popular move has been 2…Nf6 and in 3786 games it has held a mythical white player rated 2410 to a 56% score. Earlier on this blog I advocated black playing the move d6 in response to the d4 + c4 moves when they are played in the Leningrad Dutch. In only 51 games white has scored 58% against players rated on average 2416) 3. g3 (SF 290112 @depth 50 plays this move, as does Houdini, but SF 14 @depth 35 will play 3 Nc3) 3…g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 ((There are 2026 games in which Black has played the game move and in those games it has scored 56%. In 181 games versus a composite player rated 2419 the move 4…d6 has held White to scoring only 53%. Just sayin’..) 5. Nf3 (Three different SF programs each play 5 Nc3) 5…d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O c6 (SF 14.1 and 250112 each play this move, as does Komodo…) 8. d5 (The CBDB shows this move having been played more than any other move in this position. In addition, 365Chess also shows it as the most played move, but is it best? Stockfish 100221 @depth 47 will play 8 Qb3, a move having been attempted in 137 games, scoring 52% against 2444 opposition. SF 14 @depth 49 will play 8 Bg5. There are only 9 examples of the move contained in the CBDB and White has scored only 39% versus a composite player rated 2387. Then there is SF 14.1, which, given the chance, will play 8 Be3. There are only two examples in the CBDB) 8…Kh8 (This move is a Theoretical Novelty. 8 e5 has been the most often played move, by far, and it is the choice of SF 14 & Houdini)
   The game can be found in annotated form at various locations on the internet. I suggest the free website: (https://lichess.org/broadcast/2022-charlotte-chess-im-d-norm-invitational/round-4/96ZmD4uj)

Grandmaster Zapata recently won the Georgia Senior but no game scores can be found at the GCA website (http://georgiachess.org/), and that includes the “magazine”, and I use the word only because that is the name of the “Georgia Chess News,” (http://georgiachessnews.com/) which for many years has been nothing but a venue for book reviews by Davide Nastasio.

Alonso Zapata has thus far shown poor form in this tournament and one cannot help wonder if his recent battle with Covid has had anything to do with his poor play. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/08/25/gm-alonso-zapatas-battle-with-covid/) Frankly, GM Zapata was unrecognizable in the above game. I write this because the move 25…Na4

Position after 25…Na4?

was what GM Yasser Seirawan

would call a “howler.” One of GM Zapata’s strengths has been his ability to play solid, consistent Chess while staying away from “howler” moves. The move was so bad I thought there had been some kind of transmission problem, as the move 25…Ne4 suggests itself as it moves the steed to the middle of the board. 25…Na4 proves the axiom, “A knight on the rim is grim.” Indeed, the knight placed on a4 sure ’nuff looked grim, and dim.

The Saint Louis Spring Classic Tournaments

A remarkable thing happened in St. Louis the past couple of weeks during the playing of the 2022 Spring Classic at the St. Louis Chess Club.

https://www.hisour.com/world-chess-hall-of-fame-saint-louis-missouri-united-states-5153/

There were two different Chess tournaments, the “A” and the “B”. In the top section there were twenty three (23) decisive games played out of the forty five (45) total games contested, which is over 50%. There were even more decisive games, twenty eight (28) in the “B” tournament! That means 62% of the games ended in a victory for one player! This is unheard of in todaze Chess world what with the plethora of drawn games dominating play. The “A” section saw white score twelve (12) wins, with the general of the black army winning eleven (11) games! In round three there were three (3) black wins to go with two draws. Round five (5) saw three (3) black wins with only one (1) win for the player of the white pieces. In the “second section” there were nineteen (19) victories scored by players of the white pieces, with nine (9) games won by the player in command of the black pieces. These two tournaments were truly “fighting” tournaments. This should not be Big News but is because of the unbelievably large number of drawn games in most tournaments these daze, such as tournaments held at the Charlotte Chess Club, where players go to draw. There is a reason for the great disparity between the two Chess havens. Simply put, if a player comes to St. Louis with a case of “shakeitus” he is not again invited. In Charlotte they “Follow the rules.” In St. Louis they make their own rules, which happen to engender fighting Chess. If a player comes to St. Louis with his hand extended, ready to accept a draw at any time, that player deservedly suffers opprobrium from the community.

The time spent watching the games from St. Louis was time well spent. What with the Russian monster killing machine laying waste to Ukraine time was needed for escapism, and nothing is a better escape outlet than the Royal Game, especially when the players come to the board with their knives unsheathed.

The first featured game involves one of my favorite players, GM Titas Stremavicius.

He must be the only Grandmaster who plays with the f-pawn, both f-pawns. Certainly Titas is the leading exponent of the Bird’s opening (1 f4), and after 1 d4 Sid Vicious, as I think of him, plays 1…f5 with regularity. Sid is an imaginative and interesting player who usually plays to win. Until this tournament Sid, given the chance, usually played the Leningrad Dutch. For some reason Titas decided to play differently in his round six game with GM Robert Hungaski.

ajedrez-riogalleguense.blogspot.com

After, 1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2, Stremavicius played the move 3…e6?! in lieu of 3…d6. Why, Sid, why? Sid tripped and fell all over his blade. Sid must have “booked up” on 3…e6 in order to surprise his opponents in this tournament because he played the same move against GM Elshan Moradiabadi

in round eight. Unfortunately, the vicious one was the player surprised. Sid came out of the opening with a decent position, but in the transition to the middle game Sid Vicious first put one foot in it before putting the other foot in it before falling face first into the slime pit. Those two losses with black were sandwiched between a loss with white to GM Arman Mikaelyan,

Arman Mikaelyan (GM armeno, 23 anni) https://unoscacchista.com/2019/12/13/roma-capitale-degli-scacchi/

making it three losses in a row heading into the last round. Keep this in mind as you read on…

The following game was contested in the last round. GM Christopher Repka

2022 Spring Chess Classic: Chris Repka Interview | Round 4

started the tournament with four (4) straight wins, and after a couple of draws defeated Christopher Woojin Woo

2022 Spring Chess Classic: Christopher Yoo Interview | Round 8

in round seven while General of the white army. At one point I recall Repka being two full points ahead of the player in second place. The youngest human to become a Grandmaster, Abhimanyu Mishra (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/chess-dirty-laundry-begins-to-smell/),

2022 Spring Chess Classic: Abhi Mishra Interview | Round 9

won four (4) games in a row after a second round loss with black versus GM Cemil Can Ali Marandi.

Cemil Can Ali Marandi | ChessStreamers .com

After a draw in the antepenultimate round with GM Elshan Moradiabadi the two players, Mishra and Repka, were tied for first place and were to meet in the penultimate round. It was the game of the event as Mishra, in charge of the black army, handed Repka his first loss. In the last round Stremavicius, who had lost three games in a row, had white versus Repka, who now desperately needed a win…

Titas Stremavicius (2520) vs Christopher Repka (2508)
Saint Louis Spring Classic “B”
A21 English, Kramnik-Shirov counterattack

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Qc2 d6 4. e3 c5 5. g3 Ne7 6. Bg2 Nbc6 7. Nge2 Bf5 8. d3 Qd7 9. h3 O-O 10. Bd2 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Be6 12. Rd1 f5 13. Bc1 Rad8 14. O-O f4 15. exf4 Bxh3 16. d4 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qf5 18. Qxf5 Nxf5 19. g4 Nfe7 20. f5 Na5 21. Bg5 Kf7 22. Rfe1 Rfe8 23. dxe5 dxe5 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Nf4 Nxc4 26. Ne6 Re8 27. Re4 b5 28. Nc7 Rb8 29. a4 Nc6 30. Nxb5 N6a5 31. Nxa7 Rb2 32. Nc6 Ra2 33. Nxa5 Nxa5 34. Bd8 Nc6 35. Bb6 Ne7 36. Bxc5 Nd5 37. Rxe5 Nxc3 38. g5 Nxa4 39. Re7+ Kf8 40. Re2+ Nxc5 41. Rxa2 h6 1-0
   https://live.followchess.com/#!spring-chess-classic-b-2022/-1909464958

Stockfish 14 @depth 47 will take the Knight with 4…Bc3. The only other game with the same move order follows, which makes 5 g3 a Theoretical Novelty. There were several turning points and I suggest you surf on over to Lichess.com (https://lichess.org/broadcast/2022-spring-chess-classic/round-9/TYTT0kRI) and reply the game. The following position captured my attention:

Position after 17 Kxg2 with Black to move

I was expecting 17…Qg4 because there is no way I would trade Queens when my opponent had an ‘open air’ King!

Klaus Bischoff (2504) vs Rene Stern (2521)
Event: Bundesliga 2016-17
Site: Berlin GER Date: 11/19/2016
Round: 3.5 Score: ½-½
ECO: A21 English, Kramnik-Shirov counterattack
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Qc2 d6 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 Nc6 6.a3 Ba5 7.d3 f5 8.Bd2 Nf6 9.g3 O-O 10.Bg2 Bd7 11.O-O Rb8 12.f4 Qe8 13.Nd5 Bxd2 14.Qxd2 Ne7 15.Nxf6+ Rxf6 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Nc3 Be6 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.cxd5 Nc8 20.Qc3 b6 21.b4 cxb4 22.Qxb4 Nd6 23.Rac1 Rd8 24.Rc6 e4 25.dxe4 Nxe4 26.Bxe4 ½-½
https://www.365chess.com/game.php?back=1&gid=4022571&m=9

Abhimanyu Mishra won the “B” section of the tournament with seven (7) points, one more than Christopher Repka, who finished a point and a half ahead of a group of four with 4 1/2.

GM Abhimanyu Mishra (2505) vs GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2514)
Saint Louis Spring Classic “A” Round 9
C03 French, Tarrasch

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O g5 9. Nb1 b6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. a3 c4 12. Bc2 h5 13. Ne1 Qc7 14. f4 gxf4 15. Bxf4 O-O-O 16. Nd2 Rdf8 17. Qe2 f6 18. exf6 Bd6 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Nef3 Rxf6 21. Ng5 Qe7 22. Ndf3 Re8 23. h4 Qd6 24. Nd2 e5 25. Bf5 Rff8 26. Bxd7+ Kxd7 27. Qxh5 Rxf1+ 28. Rxf1 exd4 29. cxd4 b5 30. Ndf3 Qe7 31. Re1 Qxe1+ 32. Nxe1 Rxe1+ 33. Kf2 Re8 34. Qf7+ Re7 35. Qxd5+ Kc8 36. Qf5+ Kc7 37. Qf4+ Kc8 38. Ne4 Nd8 39. Nd6+ Kd7 40. Nf5 Rf7 41. g4 Nc6 42. d5 Ne7 43. Qd6+ Ke8 44. Qb8+ Nc8 45. Kg3 a5 46. Nd6+ 1-0
   https://live.followchess.com/#!spring-chess-classic-b-2022/-289612928

Now that’s a Chess MOVE! Position after 8…g5

9…b6 was a weak move for many reasons, foremost in that it blocked the Queen. 9…Qb6 was best. Mishra hald an advantage even after playing the weak 11 a3. At Lichess the move is given as 11 a3?!, with “Inaccuracy. Ne1 was best.” Then a few moves later Mishra played 13 Ne1? “Mistake. a4 was best.” after that move the game was even…until Yoo took the pawn with 14…gxf4. Stockfish preferred 14…g4. (https://lichess.org/broadcast/2022-spring-chess-classic/round-9/TYTT0kRI) The game was lost after Yoo played 17…f6? What would Ben Finegold say?

In the top section, “A”, GM Samuel Sevian and GM Illya Nyzhnyk tied for first place with each scoring six (6) points. Unfortunately, they were forced to play some kind of quick game that is inherently unfair to decide which player “won” the tournament. It is sad, really, when one thinks about it… Show the players some RESPECT!

GM Ray Robson (2676)

2021 U.S. Chess Championships: Ray Robson Interview | Round 11

vs GM Illya Nyzhnyk

2022 Spring Chess Classic: Illya Nyzhnyk Interview | Round 8

Saint Louis Spring Classic “A”
C43 Petrov, modern attack, Symmetrical variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 Bc5 5. Bc4 Nxf2 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Kg6 8. Qxc5 Nxh1 9. Nc3 h6 10. Qd4 d6 11. Nd5 Nc6 12. Qe4+ Kf7 13. Be3 Re8 14. Bxh6 Rxe5 15. Nxe5+ Nxe5 16. O-O-O Nf2 17. Rf1 Qf6 18. Nxf6 Nxe4 19. Nxe4+ Kg8 20. Bf4 Ng6 21. Ng5 Bd7 22. Be3 b6 23. Bd4 Rf8 24. Rxf8+ Nxf8 25. Kd2 Ne6 26. Nxe6 Bxe6 27. a3 Kf7 28. h4 Bf5 29. c3 c5 30. Be3 Ke6 31. Bf4 Be4 32. g3 Bf3 33. Ke3 Bd1 34. Kd2 Bf3 35. Ke3 Bd1 36. Kd2 Bf3 1/2-1/2
   https://live.followchess.com/#!spring-chess-classic-a-2022/861379315

Position after 9…h6 with White to move

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 (SF 14.1 @depth 55 and SF 250222 @depth 56 will play 4 Bd3. Houdini @depth 27 will play the move made in the game) 4…Bc5 5. Bc4 Nxf2 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Kg6 8. Qxc5 Nxh1 9. Nc3 h6 10. Qd4 (The game is still in “book” theory, but this is not “book.” The only move played until now has been 10 Qc4 and eleven examples can be found here, if’n you’re of a mind to delve deeply into the opening: https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=19&n=3249145&ms=e4.e5.Nf3.Nf6.d4.Nxe4.dxe5.Bc5.Bc4.Nxf2.Bxf7.Kxf7.Qd5.Kg6.Qxc5.Nxh1.Nc3.h6&ns=3.5.5.221.765.909.766.19757.80384.104065.395428.558033.1231410.1527481.1249477.1542437.2519503.3249145)