NEW JERSEY’S PREMIER CHESS MAGAZINE
N O V E M B E R
Krush Wins Championship PAGE 4
2 0 10
Chess Players and Poker PAGE 8
The Art Of Attacking PAGE 15
400 Year Old Attack PAGE 18
The 26-year-old changing her sTyle while focusing on becoming a grandmasTer
KRUSH WINS CHAMPIONSHIP Krush wins her third us women’s championship Title by ben masur Irina Krush was born in the former Soviet Union and learned to play chess at the age of five when she immigrated with her parents to Brooklyn, NY in 1989. Nine years later, Krush, just 14 years old, stormed the American chess community when she swept the US Women’s Chess Championship with an 8.5/9 to become the youngest ever US champion.
one against WFM Abby Marshall to clinch the title with a score of 8/9. Krush earned $16,000 for her victory, her biggest payday ever and the largest prize in the tournament’s history. Despite struggling a little bit in her final game, Krush was able to convert the full point to clinch the win, one she wanted very badly.
“Last year was very disappointing,” Krush said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning the title so much in the beginning, but after a few rounds and I won some games, I wanted it a lot. After Rounds 3 and 4, I really got focused on the goal. Three years later, she I tried to be aggressive won the Mayor’s Cup, with Black and kind of an International round principled with White. robin held in New York, irina Krush So no one was just despite being the lowest-rated player invited to participate. She going to get any easy points.” then won the 2007 US Championship for the second time before losing the 2008 Krush’s hard work paid off. She had title match in a controversial Armageddon worked over the last 18 months with her playoff against Anna Zatonskih, who then coach, Giorgi Kacheishvili, and a group of dominated the field in 2009 with an 8.5/9 other chess players including IM Dean Ipwhile Krush finished tied for third with a polito to improve her calculating ability and playing more dynamic positions. She felt score of 5.5/9. the latter really helped her capture the But in July of 2010, Krush, got her re- 2010 US Women’s Chess title. venge. “I think actually in that tournament I was Two rounds before the finish in the 2010 a more dynamic player than I’ve ever been US Women’s Championship, held in St. before,” Krush said. “I played dynamic Louis, Krush trailed her rival, Zatonskih. openings I’ve never played before. I more Krush won in Round 8 while Zatonskih was ready to try these openings with white, but held to a draw and then after a Zatonskih preparation is so important.” draw again in Round 9, Krush won a wild 4
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Her preparation before tournaments are usually the same; getting in a lot of opening work. Before big tournaments, she’ll make a list of the openings she wants to cover. And while ideally, she would want to take a few days off before the tournament, usually she crams as much as she can. Krush works about four-to-five hours a day a day so she feels she can keep
going over things up until the tournament. Before the US Women’s Championship, however, Krush did less opening work and focused more on dynamic play. She spent a lot of her time looking at games with strong attacking positions and combinations.
It was a gamble that paid off as Krush is in the process of focusing on playing a different kind of chess. “I’m changing my style and I keep wanting to go in that direction,” she said. “It’s done a big service to me so far but they are still just baby steps.” While some may be worried that a change in style could lead to speed bumps in the road and blunders, Krush isn’t too worried that it will affect her play. She says that if ones chess game is in line with ones personality, then it’s never a problem. It’s when people try to make their chess games into something they are not, they struggle. And now Krush, currently an International Master, is hoping her newly-styled chess game will help her complete her central goal to becoming a Grandmaster. To become a Grandmaster, Krush has to achieve a 2500 rating -- her current rating is 2490, her highest ever -- and she already has one of the three norms needed for the title. “It’s a big goal for me, number 1 right now,
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and I think I can do it,” Krush said. “It’s the highest title in chess.” And that’s the highest title in chess, male or female. Krush already owns the title of Women’s Grandmaster but prefers not to use it. In fact, Krush doesn’t see the point in having women’s titles as men and women are playing chess at the same level. And when she does become a Grandmaster, she will be the first American woman to do so. Krush hopes to be a positive example for women and thinks it would be a good thing for the development of chess in America for women and girls. It’s not just about Krush and what it will do for her, but how it will affect others and the game that she loves and cherishes.
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While chess is Krush’s focus and is her life, she has other interests. She takes hip hop dancing lessons and is a big fan of rap, she likes to read, write and do amateur photography. Recently, she has been doing a lot of yoga as well to help her when she is stressed and admitted it helps her sleep at night. “It’s a creative thing for me,” she said. “I definitely make the time to develop myself in more directions than just chess.” While Krush’s chess career catapulted after she won her first US Women’s championship in 1998, she gained a lot of fame both inside and outside chess circles during the well-publicized “Kasparov vesus teh World” chess competition in 1999. Kasparov played the white pieces and the Internet public, via a Microsoft host website, voted on moves for the black pieces, guided by the recommendations of Krush and three of her contemporaries, Étienne Bacrot, Elisabeth Pähtz and Florin Felecan. On the tenth move of the match, Krush suggested a novelty, 10. ... Qe6 for which the World Team voted. Kasparov said later that he lost control of the game at that point, and wasn't sure whether he was winning or losing.
“At the time, I didn’t even think I realized how many people were following that,” Krush said. “Years later, people still come up to me telling me they remember the match. It was a joint effort.” Krush was just 15 at the time and 11 years later, she is on top of her game. She will take the game to Moscow in the middle of September for the Women’s World Blitz Championship, her first time in that event. She will then travel the following week to Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia where she will play Board 1 for the US Women’s team at the Olympiad. Then a month later, she will play in the Spice Cup in Texas and then will hopefully finish out the year in December at the Marshall Chess Club Championship in New York. No matter where she goes and who she plays, Krush will be focusing on playing her newly discovered style of chess. A style that emulates who she is. “I want my game to harmonize with my personality,” she said. “I want the style in chess that I have in life; dynamic and exciting.”
ToP chess Players conTinue To succeed in PoKer
CHESS PLAYERS AND POKER by ben masur
But when Jeff returned on the national Every summer, anyone who decides to scene, it wasn’t with chess pieces in front pony up the $10,000 dollars has a chance of him. It was with cards and chips. Jeff to compete in the World Series of Poker cashed in his first ever live poker event in 2008 at the Euro(WSOP). Players pean Poker Tour are not ranked. in Prague. A year You can be a total later in an EPT novice sitting next event in Poland, to one of the he took 10th world’s best. The place out of 203 same isn’t true in players for a $30, chess. A player 943 cash prize. who is playing his And less than a first chess tournamonth later in ment won’t be sitPortugal, Jeff got ting across from third place out of Magnus Carlsson. 322 players, good Many people who for $224,028. look at chess and almira sKriPchenKo Then in March of poker think the two are totally different, but in fact, they 2010, Jeff took home second place in a have never been more alike with players High Roller Event in Germany for from the chess world increasingly enter the $149,207. And at this summer’s WSOP, he cashed in three events; his best was a world of poker...and succeeding. 32nd place in a limit hold ‘em shootout While chess is still working itself into the event for $5,620. mainstream of America, poker has already done so thanks to ESPN. The sports net- “I’m aware of human beings and our tenwork broadcasts the WSOP every week dencies and patterns,” Sarwer said in his and replays episodes on a consistent feature on ESPN. “People hide their intenbases. In one of the recent shows, former tions and fears in life, but in poker, you get to see a glimpse into their soul a little bit. chess prodigy, Jeff Sarwer, was featured. In chess, you can choose a route which is Sarwer, who the character Jonathan Poe (a uncomfortable for your opponent. In poker, foil of Josh Waitzkin) in Searching for you can do the same thing.” Bobby Fisher is based off of, won the Under 10 section of the World Youth Champi- Sarwer isn’t the only chess name who is onship in 1986. And his sister, Julia, won succeeding in the poker world. the Girls Under 10 section in the same tournament. However, Jeff’ s chess career Danish Grandmaster Sune Berg Hansen, came to a stop when he and his sister were winner of the 2010 Thailand Open Chess sent to a foster home as the two spent the Championship, is spending most of his time and energy on poker. A professional rest of their childhoods on the run.
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be found on the www.coinflip.com.
poker
website
“I only play online,” he said in an interview with the Bangkok Chess Club. “I came to realize that there’s a lot more money in poker than there is in chess.” As far as how is chess background has translated to the virtual felt, Hansen said that he was able to improve fast because of his chess training. And as it turns out, his poker game has helped him think about new ideas in chess. He changed his chess style after starting to play poker as Hansen no longer plays any openings on a regular bases but chooses the opening according to his opponent to make them feel uncomfortable, echoing Sarwer’s point.
dan harringTon
poker player since 2005, he writes a daily chess column for the danish newspaper Politiken and has a blog which can
Popular and successful chess players all over the world are trying their hand in poker. Names such as International Chess master and organizer of the US Chess League Greg Shahade, rated chess expert Ricky Grijalva (a 4th place finisher in the 2004 WPT Championship), International Master Ivo Donev, International Master Almira Skripchenko and Grandmaster Josef Klinger have all made smooth transitions from the board to the felt.
But two of the biggest names in the poker world, Dan Harrington and Howard Lederer, were two of the first to complete the crossover successfully. In fact, the two are now known more for their poker playing ability than chess skills. Harrington, a US Chess Master who won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship, is one of only five people to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. As of 2009, Harrington’s live tournament winnings exceeded $6.6 million dollars. And his book, Harrington on Hold’em, is one of the most popular poker books on the market today.
founders, co-owners and CEOs of “Tiltware Inc,” the owners and creators of Full Tilt Poker, one of the most popular online poker sites in the world. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $5.5 million dollars, including 41 cashes at the WSOP.
Legendary grandmaster Gary Kasparov attributes part of the lure of poker to the fact that unlike chess, it has yet to be beaten by computers and perhaps never will be. “While chess is a 100 percent information game -- both players are aware of all the date all the time -- and therefore directly susceptible to computing power, poker has hidden cards and variable stakes, creating critical Lederer was a young roles for chance, bluffchess talent and after ing and risk managehigh school, he moved ylon schwarTZ ment,” he said in an to New York City where he attended Columbia University and interview with the New York Times. “These honed his chess skills at the Marshall Chess might seem to be aspects of poker based Club and Manhattan Chess Club. While at entirely on human psychology and therethe chess clubs, Lederer learned about fore invulnerable to computer incursion.” poker and began turning all of his focus to the game. Now, Lederer is one of the Ylon Schwartz, a FIDE Master, who reached 10
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a peak rating of 2409 USCF and as of 2008, his rankings stood at 2304 from the USCF and 2259 from FIDE, finished fourth in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Schwartz, who earned $3,774,974 for his finish, said that some of the skills he used to succeed at chess were also helpful in poker.
which will finish in November, is $9.1 million dollars.
“All the patience I got in chess really helped me out,” he said in an interview with the New York Times. “Chess players are trained to have excellent memories and in poker, you need to remember betting patterns.”
For top chess players, tournaments don’t come as often as poker tournaments and it’s harder for a top chess player to play in money games. A 1200 rated chess player would never play for $5,000 dollars a game against a 2200 player. Chess is a skill game and the masters are going to win against a weaker opponent almost 10 times out of 10. But in poker, luck plays a major factor. Phil Ivey, for example, whom many consider to be the best in the world, has losing days. Sometimes the cards just don’t go one’s way. There are things you don’t have control over.
Schwartz also echoed the sentiments of Kasparov in that poker players do not know what cards their opponents are holding and is thus a game of incomplete information. One piece of information that is true is that poker is a more lucrative game. At the 2010 London Chess Classic, which will take place in December, eight players (four of them in the world top 20), will compete for a first place of 50,000 euros ($63,400 dollars). First place at the 2010 WSOP Main Event,
"To be profitable in chess though, you need to be top five or six players in the world and I wasn't good enough,” Harrington said in an interview with ESPN.
With poker now in the mainstream and much more opportunities to play and earn extra income, highly rated chess players all across the world are trying their hand in poker. And they aren’t just playing, they are succeeding.
DIAMOND NATION, FLEMINGTON, N J
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not first place, something most top chess players are accustomed to taking home. There are no draws in poker though as there are in chess, so part of the transition is chess players learning to deal with losses. “As a chess player, it’s almost a philosophical question, because defeat becomes very seldom,” Skripchenko said. “Poker teaches you philosophically how to accept it and how to go on.” Top chess players will continue to make the move from the chess world to the poker world. Chess players are naturally skilled to become poker players because there is a lot of strategic thinking, and once the other poker skills are learned, there is no doubt that there will plenty more chess champions turned poker champions. hansen
The transition from chess to poker is usually a smooth one and in fact, many chess players have been so successful that they end up as professional poker players and leave the chess world behind.
It’s not only good for poker, but good for chess. The chess community is hoping that the influx of chess players being featured in the mainstream media thanks to poker will be positive for garnering interest in chess, especially in the United States.
Skripchenko, a French FIDE International Master, has turned most of her attention to poker. “I have stopped training for chess for almost three years,” she said in an interview with Chessbase.com. “I am definitely more concentrating on poker.” And she is finding the payoff rewarding as Skripchenko finished seventh in the 2009 WSOP Event No. 36 for a payday of $78,664 dollars. While the payday is nice, it’s Jeffrey sarwer
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from The award winning series ThaT originally aPPeared in chess life for Kids
THE ART OF
ATTACKING
attacking the f2/f7 square by Pete Tamburro There are three ways to win a game of chess: checkmate your opponent before he castles, checkmate him after he castles or capture more material and win in the endgame. We are going to look at the first way because it happens so often in beginner’s chess that it’s worth knowing what to look out for when the opportunity comes to you. It’s also a good idea to know what not to do! We will be talking about either the f2 or the f7 square, because it is the same for both sides. That square is a very weak point for the king until it castles. For example, the first f7 attack most people run into is 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5? Nc6! 3.Bc4 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7 mate. Black can avoid this by playing 3…g6 4.Qf3 (still threatening mate!) Nf6! and then play moves like Bg7, 0-0 and Be6 or Bg4.
7.bf7+ Ke7 8.nd5+ Kd6 9.nc4+ Kc6 10.nb4+ Kb5 11.a4+ Kxb4 12.c3+ Kb3 13.Qd1 checkmate. Wasn’t that fun! One of the things you learn early is that you get to chase that king. The successful players will keep forcing the king forward as one of the key strategies to know. Here’s a game from 1870 that should give you the most exaggerated idea of just how powerful it is to get that king in the open. In this game, White didn’t even play with his queen on the board at the start of the game! Potter-amateur london, 1870 (white without his Queen) 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 nc6 3.bc4 nf6 4.nc3 na5? [4...nxe4! 5.nxe4 d5] 5.nxe5 nxe4? 6.d3 nc5
In the early days of modern chess, back in the 1800s, the average player was frequently the victim of attacks on f7. Here are some early games: Taylor-amateur london, 1862 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 nf6 3.bc4 nxe4 4.nc3 nc5? 5.nxe5 f6? 6.Qh5+ g6
7.bxf7+ Ke7 8.bg5+ Kd6 9.nb5+ Kxe5 10.f4+ Kf5 11.nd4+ Kg4 12.h3+ Kg3 13.ne2+ Kxg2 14.bd5+ ne4 15.bxe4 checkmate. Black played very badly in those games. Let’s give White some credit, though. Both players had to understand how to attack the king by making sure it didn’t go back and hide behind its pawns and other pieces. For aDVErTisinG CaLL: 908.391.6635 . on LinE: WWW.ChEsspLaYErmaGaZinE.Com
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In that last game, White started without his queen. This next game shows how to give one up! It’s one of the oldest and most famous opening traps in chess and named after the winner of this game. legal-st. brie Paris, 1750 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 d6 3.bc4 bg4 4.nc3 g6 5.nxe5! bxd1
Black carefully avoids losing his queen after both 6...Kf8 7.Ne6+; 6...Ke8 7.Ne6 , but, oops,.... 7.Qf3 checkmate! OK, so this was still a long time ago. We know better now. Or do we? Let’s have some fun with grandmasters, who may not get mated, but manage to forget that f7 business: GM Predrag Ostojic was a Yugoslavian champion. Not only that, but oldtimers will remember the same trap from Reshevsky’s disaster against Fischer a half-century ago. It shows that not only can anybody fall into this, but that castling is not a guarantee against an attack on f7. Palac-ostojic belgrade, 1988
6.bxf7+Ke7 7.nd5 checkmate.
1.e4 c5 2.nf3 g6 3.d4 bg7 4.nc3 cxd4 5.nxd4 nc6 6.be3 nf6 7.bc4 0–0 8.bb3 na5 9.e5 ne8 [9...Nxb3 10.exf6 Nxa1 11.fxg7 Nxc2+ 12.Nxc2 Kxg7 13.Bxa7 Rxa7?? 14.Qd4+]
You would think that by the 20th century, the average player would be looking out for this sort of thing. Think again! ed. hamlisch-amateur Vienna, 1902 1.e4 d6 2.d4 nd7 3.bc4 g6 4.nf3 bg7??
10.bxf7+ Kxf7 [10...Rxf7 11.Ne6 was Fischer-Reshevsky, US Championship, 195859.] 11.ne6! Kxe6 12.Qd5+ Kf5 13.g4+ Kxg4 14.rg1+ Kh5 15.Qg2 1-0. Mate is next move.
5.bxf7+! Kxf7 6.ng5+ Kf6
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Even though Black got to castle just before the roof fell in, it is often very important to get your man before he escapes into the corner. In this game from 1998 (!) we see White wait until the very last second before launching his attack on f7:
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Krakops-meijers riga, 1998: 1.e4 e5 2.bc4 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 dxc3 5.nxc3 nd7 6.nf3 nb6 7.bb3 be7 8.a4 nf6 9.a5 nbd7
For those students who really want to see other examples we leave you with games without names and few annotations, but with lots of excitement. The more games you play over, the better you get. a. 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 nc6 3.bc4 bc5 4.c3 nf6 5.d4 bb6? 6.dxe5 nxe4 7.Qd5 nxf2 8.Qxf7# b. 1.e4 e5 2.bc4 nf6 3.d4 nxe4 4.dxe5 c6 5.ne2 nxf2 6.0–0 [6.Kxf2 Qh4+ 7.Kf1 Qxc4] 6...nxd1? [Greedy. Better was: 6...d5 7.Rxf2 dxc4 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Rxf7 Be6] 7.bxf7+! Ke7 8.bg5# c. 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 nc6 3.bc4 be7 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 dxc3 6.Qd5 d6 [Better is6...Nh6 7.Bxh6 0–0 8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.Nxc3 though White's better.] 7.Qxf7+ Kd7 8.be6#
10.bxf7+!! Kxf7 11.ng5+ Kg6 [11...Kf8 12.Ne6+; 11...Ke8 12.Ne6; 11...Kg8 12.Qb3+] 12.f4! ne5 13.f5+ bxf5 14.exf5+ Kxf5 15.Qc2+ black resigned. Black clearly saw the end. White could have had a cute mate with 15.g4+ Nfxg4 16.Qc2+ Nd3+ 17.Qxd3+ Kf6 18.Nd5+ Ke5 19.Bf4 checkmate. What have we learned from all this? The f7 square (or f2) is very weak and open to attack if Black wastes time getting castled. The culprits here are moving pieces a second time (or third) without getting the other pieces out and also those unnecessary pawn moves.
and, yes, black can do it, too! d. 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 nf6 3.c4 c6 4.dxc6 [4.d4] 4....nxc6 5.d3 e5 6.nc3 bc5 7.bg5 0–0 8.ne4 nxe4 9.bxd8 bxf2+ 10.Ke2 nd4# Take a look at the “legal” mate above. e. 1.d4 nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 ne4 4.a3 d6 5.exd6 bxd6 6.g3 nxf2! 7.Kxf2 bxg3+ wins the queen! f. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.e3 bb4+ 5.bd2 dxe3 6.bxb4 exf2+ 7.Ke2 [7.Kxf2 Qxd1] 7...fxg1n+! 8.rxg1 bg4+ wins the queen anyhow!
If you’re on the attacking side, you can see how powerful the bishop on the a2-g8 can be. Also, we’ve learned that once you get the king out in the open, you should use all your pieces and pawns to make him go forward, farther away from the protection of his own men. Playing over chess games like these helps make you a better player because the ideas will stay with you. The positions may be a little different but the same types of moves still work. Go back and compare the Krakops game from 1998 and the Hamlisch game from 1902: completely different openings, yet the same Bxf7+ sacrifice.
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from The award winning series ThaT originally aPPeared in chess life for Kids
400 YEAR OLD
ATTACK
a 400 year-old attack! by Pete Tamburro
15.Qg3+ Kf8 16.rh8+ Ke7 17.Qg7+ rf7 18.bg5+ nf6 19.bxf6#
We all know chess is an ancient game. One interesting aspect is that there is an attacking system we still use today that was introduced by Gioacchino Greco of Calabria in Italy almost 400 years ago.
So, what did Greco show us? He demonstrated that if certain conditions are present, you have a pretty good mating attack chance: 1. There are no defending pieces in front of the castled king position. 2. The attacker (we use White) should have a bishop on the b1-h7 diagonal, a knight on f3 and a queen capable of going to h5. 3. The attacker is generally helped if there is a pawn on h4 and/or e5. 4. The most important defender to get rid of is the king knight, so often White will either chase it with e5 or use a bishop to capture it on f6 in order to take away a key defense of h7. Generally, White will want a pawn on h4 if he’s doing that.
Every good chess player knows what to do when that “Greco” moment arises; however, it is worth looking deeply into as there are little byways and highways that are critical to know. That first game that Greco mentioned started out like this: greco-"anonymous" 1619: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 nf6? 3.bd3 nc6? 4.nf3 be7 5.h4 0–0 6.e5 nd5
As a matter of fact, games with h4 have appeared over the centuries: dyckhoff-Trimborn, munich, 1900: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.nc3 nf6 4.bg5 be7 5.e3 0–0 6.bd3 dxc4 7.bxc4 b6 8.Qf3 c6 9.bxf6 bxf6 10.h4 Qe7 11.bd3 na6 12.nh3 nb4
Of course, we hope Black might play better today! The above position introduced the famed Greco sacrifice of BxP+. What follows here is a guide to some of the lines that can happen: 7.bxh7+ Kxh7 8.ng5+ Kg6 [8...Bxg5 9.hxg5+ Kg6 10.Qh5+ Kf5 11.Qh3+ Kg6 12.Qh7#; 8...Kg8 9.Qh5 Bxg5 10.hxg5 f5 11.g6] 9.h5+ Kh6 [9...Kf5 10.g4#] 10.nxf7+ Kh7 11.Qd3+ Kg8 12.nxd8 bxd8 13.h6 rf5 14.hxg7 Kxg7
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13.bxh7+ Kxh7 [13...Kh8 14.Qh5 Rd8 15.Bg6+ Kg8 16.Qh7+ Kf8 17.Qh8#]
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14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.ng5 bxg5 16.hxg5 f5 17.g6 Black Resigns. It’s not necessary to have a pawn on h4 before you start this BxP+ business: gundersen-faul, melbourne, 1929: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 cxd4 5.cxd4 bb4+ 6.nc3 nc6 7.nf3 nge7 8.bd3 0–0
and thought that by playing f6 he would stop the Ng5+; however, he was wrong, all because that pawn is on h4 and a rook is lurking behind it! 9.bxh7+ Kxh7 10.ng5+ fxg5 [10...Kg8 11.Nxe6 Qe8 12.Nxc7 Qd8 13.Nxa8 Bb7 14.e6 Bxa8 15.exd7] 11.hxg5+ Kg8 [11...Kg6 12.Qh5+ Kf5 13.g4#] 12.rh8+!! Kxh8 13.Qh5+ Kg8 14.g6 Black Resigns. The discovered check with the rook was key as was the ability for White to use the pawn to prevent the king from escaping to f7. Before we think only White can do this, play through this imaginative game: Valdes-hernandez, cuba, 1992: 1.e4 e5 2.nf3 nc6 3.bb5 f5 4.bxc6 dxc6 5.0–0 fxe4 6.nxe5 nf6 7.d3 bd6 8.nc4
9.bxh7+ Kxh7 10.ng5+ Kg6 11.h4 nxd4 12.Qg4 f5 13.h5+ Kh6 14.nxe6+ g5 15.hxg6# As you can see, the h4 move can come in pretty handy later, just as it does in this imaginative game: bueno-subiza, larache, 1943: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.nc3 nf6 4.e5 nfd7 5.nf3 b6 [5...c5 6.dxc5 Nc6 7.Bf4 Bxc5 8.Bd3 0–0 9.Bxh7+ Kxh7 10.Ng5+ Kg6 11.Qd3+ f5 12.Nxe6 Ndxe5 13.Qg3+ Ng4 14.Nxd8 Bxf2+ 15.Qxf2 Nxf2 16.Kxf2 Rxd8 17.Rad1 d4 18.Nb5 a6 19.Nd6] 6.bd3 be7 7.be3 0–0 8.h4 f6
Here, it’s a little tougher, but you learn an important lesson. You can’t be sure everything is going to work just because the position looks the same. Black plays the very alert 10…0-0!! because if he plays 10…Qh4 right away, White gets to defend with 11.Bf4. In this attacking pattern it is very important to check everything to make sure some little detail doesn’t spoil your attack:
Here, Black anticipated the bishop sacrifice
8...bxh2+ 9.Kxh2 ng4+ 10.Kg1 0–0!! 11.g3 [11.Ne3 Qh4 12.Nxg4 Bxg4 13.Qd2 Rf5 14.dxe4 Rh5 15.f4 (15.f3 Rf8 16.f4 Rd8) 15...Rd8 16.Qe1 Qh2+ 17.Kf2 Rh3] 11...Qd5 12.Kg2 [12.Qe2 Qh5 13.f3 exf3
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14.Rxf3 Rxf3 15.Qxf3 Qh2+ 16.Kf1 Qxc2 17.Nc3 Nh2+ 18.Ke1 Nxf3+ 19.Kf1 Bh3#] 12...Qh5 White Resigns To make a point about this, two all-time great grandmasters, Frank Marshall and Amos Burn both assumed the BxP+ idea would work.
forzan-Kemp, albuquerque, 1982: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.nc3 bb4 4.e5 ne7 5.nf3 0–0 6.bd3 c5 7.bxh7+ Kxh7 8.ng5+ Kg6 [8...Kg8 9.Qh5 Re8 10.Qh7+ Kf8 11.Qh8+ Ng8 12.Nh7+ Ke7 13.Bg5+ f6 14.Qxg7#]
Marshall was so sure it worked that he sacrificed the exchange to get the position! marshall-burn, ostend, 1907: 1.d4 nf6 2.nf3 d6 3.bf4 nbd7 4.e3 g6 5.bd3 bg7 6.nbd2 0–0 7.h4 re8 8.h5 nxh5
9.h4 Qa5 10.Qd3+ nf5 11.h5+ Kh6 12.nxe6+ Kh7 13.Qxf5+! Kg8 14.h6 bxc3+ [14...Bxe6 15.Qg5] 15.Kd1! Qd8 16.hxg7 fxe6 17.rh8+ Kxg7 18.Qh7# All of the above games have used h4 in some way. If conditions are right, you don’t need the pawn there: 9.rxh5 gxh5 10.bxh7+ Kxh7 11.ng5+ Kg6 12.ndf3 e5 13.nh4+ Kf6 14.nh7+ Ke7 15.nf5+ Ke6 16.nxg7+ Ke7 17.nf5+ Ke6 18.d5+ Could have done this on move 16...probably trying to pick up some time while checking everything out. 18...Kxf5 19.Qxh5+ Ke4 20.0– 0–0 Black Resigns.
yates-marin, hamburg, 1930: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.nc3 nf6 4.bg5 be7 5.e5 ne4 6.bxe7 Qxe7 7.bd3 nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.Qg4 0–0 10.nf3 c4??
What the two masters discovered after the game was that Black could have defended by playing:10...Kf8! 11.Ne4 (11.Ng5 Nf6) 11...Nf6 12.Nxf6 Bxf6 13.Qd3 (13.Ng5 Bg4!) 13...e5 14.Bh6+ Bg7 15.Bxg7+ Kxg7 16.0–0–0 exd4 17.Nxd4 Qf6]. Sometimes defenders get really brave and bring the king out to g6 in order not to be trapped on the back row. If you’re going to learn this attack, you have to know how to win no matter which way your opponent chooses:
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11.bxh7+ Black Resigns. As after 11…Kxh7 (11…Kh8 12.Qh5 g6 13.Bxg6+) 12.Ng5+ Black is doomed whether Kg8, Kg6 or Kh6. See if you can figure it out yourself.
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There is one little trick you should be shown about now:
Quiz diagram one: white to Play
Pestalozzi-duhm, bern, 1908: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.nc3 nf6 4.bg5 be7 5.bxf6 bxf6 6.e5 be7 7.bd3 c5 8.dxc5 bxc5 9.Qg4 0–0 10.nf3 nc6 11.bxh7+ Kxh7 12.Qh5+ Kg8 13.ng5 re8
Quiz diagram Two: white to Play
14.Qxf7+! You must do this first! After 14.Qh7+ Black escapes: [14.Qh7+ Kf8 15.Qh8+ Ke7 16.Qxg7 Rf8] 14...Kh8 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qh7+ Kf8 17.Qh8+ Ke7 18.Qxg7# You now know the basic pattern of the oldest attack in chess. Remember the Greco rules at the beginning of this article. You should also make sure that you familiarize yourself with the different roads this sacrifice can go down. Playing over these games on a chess board will be of immense help to your becoming a better chess player. And, if you skipped the chess movie in this issue, you shouldn’t! It’s probably the most famous game with Bxh7+ there is! For the really hard working students that want to get better, take out a board, a chess clock and a notepad and pencil. Set up the two following positions (the first is the easier one). Set your clock on twenty minutes and take notes on what you think you would do. At least you know the first move!
Quiz diagram one solution: Hort-Radulov, Albania, 1974: 1.bxh7+ Kxh7 [1...Kh8 2.Bd3 g6 3.h4 Kg7 4.h5! Qc5 5.Qe1 Rh8 6.Qg3 b4 7.hxg6 bxc3 8.Rh7+ Kf8 9.g7+] 2.ng5+ Kg6 [2...Kg8 3.Qh3] 3.Qh3 ndxe5 4.Qh7+ Black Resigns. Because: 4...Kf6 5.nce4+ dxe4 6.nxe4# Quiz diagram Two solution: Pirc-Porreca; Yugoslavia-Italy, 1953: 1.bxh7+ Kxh7 [1...Kh8 2.Be4 Be7 3.Bd2 Bd7 4.Bg5 Bd8 5.Be3 b6 6.Ng5 g6 7.Qf3 Kg7 8.Bxc6] 2.ng5+ Kg6 [2...Kh6 3.Qg4 Rh8 4.Qh4+; 2...Kg8 3.Qh5 Rd8 4.Qxf7+ Kh8 5.Qh5+ Kg8 6.Qh7+ Kf8 7.Qh8+ Ke7 8.Qxg7+ Ke8 9.Qf7#] 3.Qg4 f5 4.Qh4 nxe5 [4...f4 5.Qh7+ Kxg5 6.h4+ Kg4 7.f3+ Kg3 8.Be1#] 5.dxe5 b5 6.Qh7+ Kxg5 7.bd2+ Black Resigns.
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chess, baseball, and Performance:
FINDINGtheLINK by chris michaels, Ph.d. & nick molinaro, ed.d. If you read this title and found yourself wondering how these three entities could be combined in an article – we’ve met our initial goal. You’re reading this column. But in fact, there is a perfect connection among these topics and it’s an important connection. How you might ask? After all, one is played on a diamond – the other on a board, one is a team competition– the other an individual competition, and one is arguably the most popular sport in the country – the other one could argue is not a sport. So where is the connection? The connection lies in the essence of performance. Both games require skill acquisition, both require strong mental focus, both games require competitive mindsets, and each requires a mental toughness. But because all that we do in life begins with the brain – we will start there. The brain game You must be thinking this section is going to address chess. Yes, but not exclusively. Baseball and chess are very similar in skill acquisition. Everything we do, everything we think, and everything we feel is governed by our mind. As we repeat these actions, thoughts, and feelings the increased likelihood of their reoccurrence is made possible through a concept known as neuorplasticity. Neuorplasticity basically means that each time we perform an action; we increase the signal strength, speed, and accuracy of our neural connections from the brain and throughout our body. This occurs by way of increased myelination around our nerve fibers. This works the same for the action in an opening move in chess and a shortstop’s pivot on second base to complete a double play. These skills are progressively built through this myelination process as a result of continued practice. Practice does not make perfect but it does make permanent. How much practice?
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The 10,000 – hour rule Don’t be frightened by this number. Skill acquisition and this myelination are a process, not an all or nothing concept. The 10,000 hours comes from a Swedish psychologist, Anders Ericsson, who as it turns out was much better at chess than he was at likes of soccer and basketball. Daniel Coyle, in his book The Talent Code writes of Ericsson’s studies of short-term memory and how he began to understand talent and skill as a process of deliberate practice rather than innate ability. Deliberate practice does not mean playing the game but practicing the skills associated with success in the game. This is the same for an all-star pitcher or a world-class chess player who would practice a particular pitch or a particular strategy respectively. Coyle cites that even a prodigy like Bobby Fischer dedicated nine years of practice before becoming a grandmaster at the age of 17 years. The importance of this information, which has been cited in multiple other sources (Gladwell, Outliers, 2008; Colvin, Talent is Overrated, 2008), is that many people in baseball, chess, and other performance endeavors give up their goals because they believe that others have reached their positions by luck of genetics or special circumstance as opposed to dedicated effort. imagery and Visualization The use of imagery and visualization has long been a mental skill practice utilized in sport. A baseball player, when off the field, may train off the field by imagining numerous situations that could present themselves in a game. When a player uses visualization, it has been shown that areas of the brain that are activated during the physical execution of the skill are activated in the mental rehearsal. In Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself, he discusses the concept of mental practice or mental rehearsing as it pertains to chess. He notes that one of the most advanced forms of mental practice is called “mental chess”, played without a board and without pieces.
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attention The chess player, like the baseball player requires the ability to attend to appropriate events, avoid distraction, and make changes in their broad and narrow attention as required by circumstances of the game. The chess player, like the catcher in a baseball game must be able to see and command the field. In both endeavors, there is a combination of staying in the moment with composure as well as strategizing possible circumstances that will arise with the next pitch or next move. The Tough-minded Player There is perhaps no better corollary between the baseball and chess player than tough-mindedness. Tough-mindedness is a mindset that involves a mission (goal), a plan to execute, and a perseverance and resilience to continue to strive toward the goal in the face of adversity or setbacks. Virtually all of the great successes in civilization have come after setbacks and failures. Coming back from an error in the field or an error on the board require the same skill-sets, the ability to re-establish belief, confidence, composure, and drive. The tough-minded player is able to execute
when it matters in the game – be it the last inning in a close game or closing out a game of chess. Eliminating your opponent’s pieces makes little difference if you are not able to put the game away. Players who excel at this do so by practicing simulation drills in practice, game situations that place you under pressure. This specific rehearsal will feel more familiar in actual game situations. Chess may not be as physical a game as baseball but it is certainly as taxing. Speaking of which, ask someone which is more tiresome – working four hours on yard work or four hours on their taxes. Checkmate! chris michaels, Ph.d. and nick molinaro, ed.d. are licensed psychologists and sport psychologists. They are the official sport Psychologists of diamond nation. Please contact dr. michaels (973-984-7510) or dr. molinaro (973-543-0808) for further information about the use of Performance Psychology for chess or baseball and softball.