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Position No. 6078: White to play and win. From the game Enrico Sevillano-Jack Peters, LA Open, Los Angeles 2009.
Solution to Position No. 6077: White wins with 1 Rxh8! Nxe3 2 Raa8 f5 3 Rag8+ Kf7 4 Nh6 mate.
Anna Zatonskih of New York scored an overwhelming 8 1/2 - 1/2 to win the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship in St. Louis. The 10-player round robin was the richest ($64,000 prize fund) and probably strongest (three International masters and seven masters) championship ever.
Zatonskih earned $15,000 for her victory. She also won the 2006 and 2008 championships.
Camilla Baginskaite of South Dakota took the $12,000 second prize, scoring 6 1/2 -2 1/2 . She was the only player to hold Zatonskih to a draw.
Next at 5 1/2 -3 1/2 were Irina Krush (New York) and Alisa Melekhina ( Pennsylvania). Tatev Abrahamyan of Glendale recovered from a poor start to finish fifth with 4-5.
International news
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced that the 12-game world championship match between champion Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria would take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tentative dates are April 5 through 24.
The Bulgarian prime minister, Boiko Borisov, promised that the Bulgarian his government would pay the prize fund of 2 million Euros (about $2.96 million) and organizational costs. He assured that "neutrality would be guaranteed."
Singapore and Turkey also submitted bids to host the match. Surprisingly, FIDE received no bid from India, although Anand is a national hero credited with making the game extremely popular.
Ray Robson of Florida won the Panamerican Youth Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay, and apparently achieved his final norm for the grandmaster title. Robson made two GM norms this year in Norway and Illinois. Today is his 15th birthday. If his third result is confirmed by FIDE, he would become the youngest grandmaster in U.S. history.
Local news
Asatur Dovlatyan and Boris Kitapszyan shared first prize in the AAA Chess Club Fall Scholastic, held Oct. 17 in Glendale. Khachik Minasyan led the grades K-7 section and Peter J. Hyan III won the K-3 section. Newlywed Harut Keshishian directed the 64-player event.
Chess Palace plans a special Halloween scholastic tournament next Sunday at Whittier High School, 12417 Philadelphia St. in Whittier. Call (714) 899-3421 or register at the site before 9 a.m. Wear your costumes!
A "Chess Fest" will be held in the Center Court of Laguna Hills Mall from 1 to 4 p.m. next Sunday. There will be free chess activities for kids. Write to takashi@cox.net for details.
The Exposition Park Chess Club will conduct a free three-round tournament next Sunday in the public library, 3900 S. Western Ave. in Los Angeles. See chess.expoparkla.com for news and photos.
The San Gabriel Valley Championship attracted 56 players, the largest turnout in many years for the venerable Pasadena Chess Club. Konstantin Kavutskiy took first prize with 5 1/2 - 1/2 . Randy Hough and Larry Stevens tied for second at 5-1. The club runs tournaments continuously on Friday evenings in the Boys and Girls Club, 3230 E. Del Mar Ave. in Pasadena. For information, call Neil Hultgren at (818) 243-3809.
Today's games
IM Rusudan Goletiani-IM Anna Zatonskih, U.S. Women's Championship, St. Louis 2009: 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 d4 An ambitious response to the Reti Opening. 3 g3 Some prefer 3 e3 or 3 b4. Nc6 4 Bg2 e5 5 d3 Now it's a Benoni, with colors reversed. Nf6 6 0-0 Nd7 Avoiding 6 . . . Be7 7 b4! Bxb4 8 Nxe5 Nxe5 9 Qa4+. 7 e3 Be7 8 exd4 exd4 9 Re1 0-0 Black has a small but durable advantage, thanks to the cramping pawn at d4. 10 Na3 Nc5 11 Ne5 Nxe5 12 Rxe5 c6 13 Nc2 a5?! Inaccurate. Correct is 13 . . . Be6, not fearing 14 b4 Na4. 14 b3?! White should reply 14 Nxd4! Qxd4 15 Rxe7. Then 15 . . . Nxd3 16 Qe2 and 15 . . . Ne6 16 Qb3 Qd6 17 Qa3 c5 18 Rxe6 Bxe6 19 Bxb7 favor White slightly. Bd6 15 Rh5 Or 15 Re1 Bf5. Ne6 16 Bb2 Be7 17 Re5! Bf6 18 Re1 The Rook returns safely, and White again has only a tiny disadvantage. Qb6 19 Rb1 Bd7 20 h4?! More logical is 20 a3 c5 21 b4, although 21 . . . Bc6 maintains Black's edge. c5 21 Qh5 Bc6 22 Bh3?! An unrealistic attempt to attack. White should hang on with 22 Be4 Bxe4 23 Rxe4 g6 24 Qf3 Bg7 25 Bc1 Qc6 26 Kg2 Rae8 27 Bd2. g6 23 Qg4 Rfe8 24 f4? Irreparably weakening the Kingside. Only 24 Bg2 resists. Ng7! Intending 25 . . . Nf5. 25 Qd1 Nh5 26 Kh2 Qc7! To clobber 27 Qd2, 27 Bc1 and 27 Rf1 by 27 . . . Bxh4! 28 gxh4 Nxf4. 27 Bg4 Nxf4 28 Rf1 Or 28 gxf4 Qxf4+ 29 Kh3 Qf2. Be5 29 gxf4 Bxf4+ 30 Kh3 h5 Foreseeing mate after 31 Bf3 Qd7+ 32 Kg2 Qg4+. 31 Bxh5 gxh5 32 Qxh5 Bd7+ 33 Kg2 Ra6! 34 Rf3 Rg6+ 35 Kf1 If 35 Kf2, quickest is 35 . . . Be3+ 36 Nxe3 Qh2+. Bg4 36 Qd5 Re5, White Resigns.
GM Varuzhan Akobian (U.S.A)-GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway), SPICE Cup, Lubbock 2009: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 The Gruenfeld Defense. 4 Bg5 Ne4 5 Bh4 Not harmless, as Black will get little counterplay. Nxc3 Another line begins 5 . . . c5 6 cxd5 Nxc3. 6 bxc3 dxc4 7 Qa4+ If 7 e3, Black can try to hold the pawn by 7 . . . Be6. Qd7 8 Qxc4 b6 9 Bg3 c5 Hikaru Nakamura introduced 9 . . . c6 10 Be5 f6 11 Bg3 Ba6 12 Qb3 Qd5, but Black failed to equalize. 10 Be5 Ba6 11 Qb3 f6 12 Bxb8 Rxb8 13 Nf3 e6 14 e4 Bxf1 15 Kxf1 cxd4 16 cxd4 An interesting position. White's Knight and center pawns are superior at the moment, but Black will try to create a Queenside passer, and his Bishop should improve. Bd6 The immediate 16 . . . a5!? makes sense too. 17 g3 0-0 18 Kg2 a5 Welcoming 19 a4 b5, as the battle would shift to the Queenside. 19 h4 a4 20 Qd3 b5 21 d5 Be5!? Discouraging Nf3-d4 and limiting White to a small edge. The ambitious plan of sealing the Kingside by 21 . . . e5 22 h5 g5 seems less reliable, as 23 Rac1 Rbc8 24 Rfd1 foresees 24 . . . b4 25 Rc6!, taking control of the c-file, or 24 . . . Rfd8 25 Nh2, hoping to get the Knight to g4 or f5. 22 Rad1 exd5 Black obtains adequate counterplay from 22 . . . b4 23 Nxe5 fxe5 24 d6 b3. 23 h5 Qb7? A wasted move. After 23 . . . g5, White's advantage remains minimal. 24 exd5 g5 25 Rhe1! Every piece contributes. Black must worry about the passed d-pawn, the e-file and the hole at f5. Qf7 White exploits 25 . . . Bb2 by 26 Re2 a3 27 Rde1, invading on the e-file. Nor is 25 . . . Rbe8 26 Qf5 Bc3 27 Rxe8 Rxe8 28 d6 satisfactory for Black. 26 Rd2 Qxh5 Avoiding the light-square disaster of 26 . . . Bd6 27 Re6 Bc5 28 Qf5 Qxh5 29 d6 Bb6 30 d7 Bd8 31 Nd4. 27 Nxe5 fxe5 28 Rxe5 Black has lost control of the center, and 28 . . . Rbe8 29 Rde2 won't regain it. Rbc8 Threatening 29 . . . Rc1. 29 f4! Apparently decisive, although it exposes White's King. Safer is 29 Rd1. h6 30 Re7 Rf7 31 Rxf7 Qxf7 32 Qxb5 The computer claims a White win by 32 fxg5 hxg5 33 Qxb5 Qh5 34 d6 Rc1 35 Qd5+ Kg7 36 Kf2! Qh3 37 d7 Qf1+ 38 Ke3, but few humans would willingly send their King on such a journey. gxf4 33 Qxa4 f3+ Not 33 . . . fxg3?? 34 Qg4+. 34 Kf2 Akobian's idea is to find shelter in front of Black's pawn. Rc3? Clearly insufficient, as is 34 . . . Qh5? 35 Qh4. However, 34 . . . Qf5! 35 d6 Qh3 chases the King and complicates White's victory. 35 Qg4+ Kh7 36 Qe4+ Kg8 37 d6 Qd7 Also hopeless are 37 . . . Qa7+ 38 Qd4 and 37 . . . Qh5 38 Qd5+. 38 Qg6+, Black Resigns.
Solution to Position No. 6077: White wins with 1 Rxh8! Nxe3 2 Raa8 f5 3 Rag8+ Kf7 4 Nh6 mate.
Anna Zatonskih of New York scored an overwhelming 8 1/2 - 1/2 to win the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship in St. Louis. The 10-player round robin was the richest ($64,000 prize fund) and probably strongest (three International masters and seven masters) championship ever.
Zatonskih earned $15,000 for her victory. She also won the 2006 and 2008 championships.
Camilla Baginskaite of South Dakota took the $12,000 second prize, scoring 6 1/2 -2 1/2 . She was the only player to hold Zatonskih to a draw.
Next at 5 1/2 -3 1/2 were Irina Krush (New York) and Alisa Melekhina ( Pennsylvania). Tatev Abrahamyan of Glendale recovered from a poor start to finish fifth with 4-5.
International news
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced that the 12-game world championship match between champion Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria would take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tentative dates are April 5 through 24.
The Bulgarian prime minister, Boiko Borisov, promised that the Bulgarian his government would pay the prize fund of 2 million Euros (about $2.96 million) and organizational costs. He assured that "neutrality would be guaranteed."
Singapore and Turkey also submitted bids to host the match. Surprisingly, FIDE received no bid from India, although Anand is a national hero credited with making the game extremely popular.
Ray Robson of Florida won the Panamerican Youth Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay, and apparently achieved his final norm for the grandmaster title. Robson made two GM norms this year in Norway and Illinois. Today is his 15th birthday. If his third result is confirmed by FIDE, he would become the youngest grandmaster in U.S. history.
Local news
Asatur Dovlatyan and Boris Kitapszyan shared first prize in the AAA Chess Club Fall Scholastic, held Oct. 17 in Glendale. Khachik Minasyan led the grades K-7 section and Peter J. Hyan III won the K-3 section. Newlywed Harut Keshishian directed the 64-player event.
Chess Palace plans a special Halloween scholastic tournament next Sunday at Whittier High School, 12417 Philadelphia St. in Whittier. Call (714) 899-3421 or register at the site before 9 a.m. Wear your costumes!
A "Chess Fest" will be held in the Center Court of Laguna Hills Mall from 1 to 4 p.m. next Sunday. There will be free chess activities for kids. Write to takashi@cox.net for details.
The Exposition Park Chess Club will conduct a free three-round tournament next Sunday in the public library, 3900 S. Western Ave. in Los Angeles. See chess.expoparkla.com for news and photos.
The San Gabriel Valley Championship attracted 56 players, the largest turnout in many years for the venerable Pasadena Chess Club. Konstantin Kavutskiy took first prize with 5 1/2 - 1/2 . Randy Hough and Larry Stevens tied for second at 5-1. The club runs tournaments continuously on Friday evenings in the Boys and Girls Club, 3230 E. Del Mar Ave. in Pasadena. For information, call Neil Hultgren at (818) 243-3809.
Today's games
IM Rusudan Goletiani-IM Anna Zatonskih, U.S. Women's Championship, St. Louis 2009: 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 d4 An ambitious response to the Reti Opening. 3 g3 Some prefer 3 e3 or 3 b4. Nc6 4 Bg2 e5 5 d3 Now it's a Benoni, with colors reversed. Nf6 6 0-0 Nd7 Avoiding 6 . . . Be7 7 b4! Bxb4 8 Nxe5 Nxe5 9 Qa4+. 7 e3 Be7 8 exd4 exd4 9 Re1 0-0 Black has a small but durable advantage, thanks to the cramping pawn at d4. 10 Na3 Nc5 11 Ne5 Nxe5 12 Rxe5 c6 13 Nc2 a5?! Inaccurate. Correct is 13 . . . Be6, not fearing 14 b4 Na4. 14 b3?! White should reply 14 Nxd4! Qxd4 15 Rxe7. Then 15 . . . Nxd3 16 Qe2 and 15 . . . Ne6 16 Qb3 Qd6 17 Qa3 c5 18 Rxe6 Bxe6 19 Bxb7 favor White slightly. Bd6 15 Rh5 Or 15 Re1 Bf5. Ne6 16 Bb2 Be7 17 Re5! Bf6 18 Re1 The Rook returns safely, and White again has only a tiny disadvantage. Qb6 19 Rb1 Bd7 20 h4?! More logical is 20 a3 c5 21 b4, although 21 . . . Bc6 maintains Black's edge. c5 21 Qh5 Bc6 22 Bh3?! An unrealistic attempt to attack. White should hang on with 22 Be4 Bxe4 23 Rxe4 g6 24 Qf3 Bg7 25 Bc1 Qc6 26 Kg2 Rae8 27 Bd2. g6 23 Qg4 Rfe8 24 f4? Irreparably weakening the Kingside. Only 24 Bg2 resists. Ng7! Intending 25 . . . Nf5. 25 Qd1 Nh5 26 Kh2 Qc7! To clobber 27 Qd2, 27 Bc1 and 27 Rf1 by 27 . . . Bxh4! 28 gxh4 Nxf4. 27 Bg4 Nxf4 28 Rf1 Or 28 gxf4 Qxf4+ 29 Kh3 Qf2. Be5 29 gxf4 Bxf4+ 30 Kh3 h5 Foreseeing mate after 31 Bf3 Qd7+ 32 Kg2 Qg4+. 31 Bxh5 gxh5 32 Qxh5 Bd7+ 33 Kg2 Ra6! 34 Rf3 Rg6+ 35 Kf1 If 35 Kf2, quickest is 35 . . . Be3+ 36 Nxe3 Qh2+. Bg4 36 Qd5 Re5, White Resigns.
GM Varuzhan Akobian (U.S.A)-GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway), SPICE Cup, Lubbock 2009: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 The Gruenfeld Defense. 4 Bg5 Ne4 5 Bh4 Not harmless, as Black will get little counterplay. Nxc3 Another line begins 5 . . . c5 6 cxd5 Nxc3. 6 bxc3 dxc4 7 Qa4+ If 7 e3, Black can try to hold the pawn by 7 . . . Be6. Qd7 8 Qxc4 b6 9 Bg3 c5 Hikaru Nakamura introduced 9 . . . c6 10 Be5 f6 11 Bg3 Ba6 12 Qb3 Qd5, but Black failed to equalize. 10 Be5 Ba6 11 Qb3 f6 12 Bxb8 Rxb8 13 Nf3 e6 14 e4 Bxf1 15 Kxf1 cxd4 16 cxd4 An interesting position. White's Knight and center pawns are superior at the moment, but Black will try to create a Queenside passer, and his Bishop should improve. Bd6 The immediate 16 . . . a5!? makes sense too. 17 g3 0-0 18 Kg2 a5 Welcoming 19 a4 b5, as the battle would shift to the Queenside. 19 h4 a4 20 Qd3 b5 21 d5 Be5!? Discouraging Nf3-d4 and limiting White to a small edge. The ambitious plan of sealing the Kingside by 21 . . . e5 22 h5 g5 seems less reliable, as 23 Rac1 Rbc8 24 Rfd1 foresees 24 . . . b4 25 Rc6!, taking control of the c-file, or 24 . . . Rfd8 25 Nh2, hoping to get the Knight to g4 or f5. 22 Rad1 exd5 Black obtains adequate counterplay from 22 . . . b4 23 Nxe5 fxe5 24 d6 b3. 23 h5 Qb7? A wasted move. After 23 . . . g5, White's advantage remains minimal. 24 exd5 g5 25 Rhe1! Every piece contributes. Black must worry about the passed d-pawn, the e-file and the hole at f5. Qf7 White exploits 25 . . . Bb2 by 26 Re2 a3 27 Rde1, invading on the e-file. Nor is 25 . . . Rbe8 26 Qf5 Bc3 27 Rxe8 Rxe8 28 d6 satisfactory for Black. 26 Rd2 Qxh5 Avoiding the light-square disaster of 26 . . . Bd6 27 Re6 Bc5 28 Qf5 Qxh5 29 d6 Bb6 30 d7 Bd8 31 Nd4. 27 Nxe5 fxe5 28 Rxe5 Black has lost control of the center, and 28 . . . Rbe8 29 Rde2 won't regain it. Rbc8 Threatening 29 . . . Rc1. 29 f4! Apparently decisive, although it exposes White's King. Safer is 29 Rd1. h6 30 Re7 Rf7 31 Rxf7 Qxf7 32 Qxb5 The computer claims a White win by 32 fxg5 hxg5 33 Qxb5 Qh5 34 d6 Rc1 35 Qd5+ Kg7 36 Kf2! Qh3 37 d7 Qf1+ 38 Ke3, but few humans would willingly send their King on such a journey. gxf4 33 Qxa4 f3+ Not 33 . . . fxg3?? 34 Qg4+. 34 Kf2 Akobian's idea is to find shelter in front of Black's pawn. Rc3? Clearly insufficient, as is 34 . . . Qh5? 35 Qh4. However, 34 . . . Qf5! 35 d6 Qh3 chases the King and complicates White's victory. 35 Qg4+ Kh7 36 Qe4+ Kg8 37 d6 Qd7 Also hopeless are 37 . . . Qa7+ 38 Qd4 and 37 . . . Qh5 38 Qd5+. 38 Qg6+, Black Resigns.
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