Chess: Olympiad nears finish in Siberia

Position No. 6127: White to play and win. From the game Robby Adamson-Yusheng Xia, Southern California Open, Los Angeles 2010.

Solution to Position No. 6126: White wins with 1 Qe4 c6 (as 1…Qd5 2 Qg4+ costs a Bishop) 2 Rf7! Be3+ 3 Kh1 Qd5 4 Rc7+ Kb8 5 Rxc6+ Ka8 6 Rc8+! Rxc8 7 Qxd5+.

The 39th Chess Olympiad is scheduled to conclude Oct. 3 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. More than 1,300 players are competing in the men’s and women’s sections of the World Chess Federation’s premier team event.

The ninth-seeded U.S. men’s team won five of its first seven matches, losing only to top-seeded Russia and drawing with 15th-ranked Poland. Russia suffered a shocking upset to fifth-ranked Hungary. With four rounds remaining, second-seeded Ukraine held a slim lead.

The sixth-seeded U.S. women’s team also had five match wins, a loss (to fourth-ranked Georgia) and a tie (with ninth-ranked Hungary). Top-seeded Russia, with women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk on third board, won its first seven matches.

See the official site, ugra-chess.com, for games, interviews and photos.

Local news

John Hillery, organizer of many local tournaments, died Sept. 20 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 58.

Hillery was the driving force of the Southern California Chess Federation, serving as the organization’s webmaster and treasurer. He also edited the SCCF’s award-winning magazine, “Rank and File.”

Although he enjoyed considerable success as a player, achieving a 2300 rating and the title of Life Master, Hillery seemed most suited to the role of tournament director. As a scholar intimately familiar with the intricacies of the rulebook, Hillery commanded respect for his prompt and authoritative decisions. He even managed to start rounds on time.

Tournament directors, like umpires, attract attention mostly by their errors. Hillery was often overlooked because of the excellence of his work. Typically, he cringed when praised, because he felt that he was merely satisfying the standard for the job. John, you were too modest. Well done!

Hillery had scheduled the Los Angeles Open for Oct. 15 to 17 at the Hilton Hotel, 5711 W. Century Blvd. in Los Angeles. The SCCF has announced that they will step in to run the tournament. Entries should be sent to SCCF, c/o Randy Hough, P.O. Box 205, Monterey Park, CA 91754. For questions, call Hough at (626) 282-7412.

Tianyi He scored 51/2-1/2 to win the 61-player Bob Smith Memorial at the Arcadia Chess Club. Class prizes went to Gregg Fritchle, Matthew Hayes, Terrence Sun, Anthony Hung, Christopher Hung, Joseph Jao and James Marshall.

The club runs tournaments continuously on Monday evenings in the Senior Citizens building, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave. in Arcadia. The six-round Istvanyi Memorial begins Monday.

Srikanth Bangalore and Dr. Harold Valery won the September Quads (four-player sections) at the Santa Monica Bay Chess Club. The club will begin a four-round tournament at 7 p.m. Monday in St. Andrew’s Church, 11555 National Blvd. in Los Angeles. Call Pete Savino at (310) 827-2789 for more information.

Games of the week

Ivars Dahlberg-John Hillery, Star Warriors II Futurity, Hollywood 1982: 1 c4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 Nf6 4 Bg5 An unusual treatment of the Slav Defense. Ne4 5 Nxe4 dxe4 6 Qd2 Bf5 7 e3 h6 8 Bh4 g5 Accepting a weakened Kingside in return for rapid development. 9 Bg3 Bg7 10 0-0-0 Sharpest. Na6 11 f3 Also 11 Ne2 c5 12 a3 Qb6 13 d5 should keep an edge. c5 12 fxe4 Bxe4 13 Bd3 Bxd3 14 Qxd3 Rc8 15 Kb1?! Underestimating Black’s counterattack. Correct is 15 d5 Qb6 16 Qe2. Qb6 16 h4? White can maintain equality only by 16 Nf3 Nb4 17 Qe4! (very dangerous is 17 Qb3? Qg6+ 18 Kc1 b5! 19 a3 cxd4!) cxd4 18 Be5!. cxd4 17 exd4 Nb4 18 Qe4? Losing. Maybe White can survive 18 c5! Qc6 19 Qf5 e6 20 Qf3 Qa4 21 Qb3. Rxc4 19 Nf3 0-0! Castling into the fire, but White gets cooked first. 20 hxg5 Rfc8 21 gxh6 If 21 a3, Black wins the Queen by 21…Na2! 22 Kxa2 Rc2 23 Rb1 R8c3! 24 Ka1 Qb3 (threatening 25…Qxa3+) 25 Qxe7 Bf8. Nxa2! Anticipating 22 Kxa2 Ra4+ 23 Kb1 Qb3, mating. Or, if 22 Qg4, Black stops White’s threat by 22…Nc3+ 23 Kc2 Nxd1+ 24 Kxd1 Qb3+ 25 Ke2 Rc2+ 26 Kf1 Qd3+ 27 Kg1 Qe3+ 28 Kh2 Qxh6+. 22 Be1 Rc1+ 23 Kxa2 Qa6+ 24 Ba5 No better is 24 Kb3 R8c4. Qxa5+ 25 Kb3 Qb5+ 26 Ka3 R8c3+!, White Resigns.

John Hillery-Michael Wierzbicki, Golden Knights Championship, correspondence 1989-1990: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 c5 4 d5 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 The Modern Benoni. 6 Nc3 g6 7 e4 Bg7 8 Bg5 A sideline, but with some venom. h6 9 Bh4 a6 Black has abandoned 9…g5 10 Bg3 Nh5 11 Bb5+ Kf8 because 12 e5! g4 13 0-0! and 12 e5! Nxg3 13 fxg3 dxe5 14 0-0 give White a powerful attack. 10 Nd2 Harmless is 10 a4 g5 11 Bg3 Nh5. b5 11 Be2 0-0 12 0-0 Nbd7 13 Qc2 Re8 Most natural, but 13…c4 14 b4 cxb3 15 axb3 Bb7 is also adequate. 14 a4 b4 15 Nd1 Heading for c4 via e3. Before White can establish a bind, though, Black has two opportunities for strong counterplay. b3!? The other method is 15…g5 16 Bg3 Nxd5 17 Nc4 Nf4, when 18 Nxd6?! Ne5! 19 Nxe8?? loses to 19…b3. 16 Qd3 Black does not fear 16 Qxb3 g5 17 Bg3 Nxe4 18 Nxe4 Rxe4 19 Qc2 Nf6. Rb8 17 f4 Safer are 17 Nc3 and 17 Ne3. Rb4 18 Nc4 Nb6 19 Nde3 Nxc4 20 Nxc4 a5! Nunn’s recommendation. The fight intensifies, and Black’s chances are no worse. 21 Rac1 As 21 e5? Ba6 favors Black. Qc7 The computer likes 21…Qd7 22 e5 dxe5 23 fxe5 Nxd5, but 24 Bg3, preparing 25 Nd6, retakes the initiative. A second alternative, 21…Ba6 22 Qf3 Bxc4 23 Bxc4 Qd7!?, invites the exchange sacrifice 24 Bb5? Rxb5 25 axb5 Nxe4, when Black’s Bishop will emerge at d4. White must find the answer 24 Be1! Nxe4 25 Bxb4 cxb4 26 Bb5 Qa7+ 27 Kh1 Re7 28 f5 to maintain the dynamic balance. 22 e5 Bf5 23 Qd2 Ne4 24 Qd1 dxe5 25 g4 Bd7 26 d6 Qc8 Not bad, but Black seems to obtain an edge by 26…Qb7 27 f5 gxf5 28 gxf5 Bf6. 27 f5! Anyway. gxf5 28 gxf5 Nf6?! The complicated 28…Bxf5 29 Rxf5 Qxf5 30 d7 leads to a draw by 30…Qg6+! 31 Kf1 (not 31 Kh1? Rd8 32 Bxd8? Nf2 mate) Qf5+ 32 Kg2 Qg6+ 33 Kf1, unless White dares to risk 33 Bg4 Ra8 34 d8Q+ Rxd8 35 Qxd8+ Kh7 36 Kh3 h5 37 Bc8. 29 Be1 Rb8 Acquiescing to a small disadvantage. A similar evaluation applies to 29…Rb7 30 Nxa5 Rb8 31 Rc4 Bxf5 32 Nxb3. Black spotted the problem with 29…Bxf5? 30 Bxb4 Bc2?, his original intention. White would win with 31 d7! Nxd7 32 Qd5, refuting 32…Nf6 most elegantly by 33 Rxf6 Bxf6 34 Nd6 Qe6 35 Nxe8! Qxd5 36 Nxf6+. 30 Bxa5 Bxa4 Not 31…Bxf5? 32 Nb6. 31 Bc7 Rb4 32 Nb6 Qb7 33 Nxa4 Rxa4 34 Rc4!? Black gets plenty of compensation from 34 d7?! Rd4! 35 dxe8Q+ Nxe8. Qb5! As 35 d7 Nxd7 36 Rd4 Qxe2 37 Qxe2 Rxd4 should hold the draw. 35 Qc1 e4!? Making White worry about the safety of his King. For example, 36 Rxe4? Qc6 37 Rxe8+ Nxe8 creates the disturbing threat of 38…Bd4+. 36 Rc2 c4 Easiest is 36…Qb4, when 37 Rc4 Qb5 repeats. Instead, 37 Rxc5? Qd4+ 38 Kh1 e3 would return the advantage to Black. 37 Rxc4 Nd5?? Fatal. After 37…e3 38 Rxa4 Qxa4, White could get swindled by 39 Qc5? Nd7! 40 Qb5? Qxb5 41 Bxb5 Bxb2!, but the correct 39 Qc4 Qxc4 40 Bxc4 Re4 41 Be2 Nd7 leads to a well-deserved draw. 38 Rd1! From this point, Hillery foresaw the artistic finish. Nf6 Insufficient are 38…Nxc7 39 dxc7 and 38…Ra7 39 Rxe4. Even the trickier 38…Ra2!? fails, to 39 Qd2! Rxb2 40 Qxd5 Qxd5 41 Rxd5 Rxe2 42 d7 Rf8 43 d8Q b2 44 Qxf8+ Kxf8 45 Rd1. 39 d7 Nxd7 40 Rxe4 Qxe2 41 Rxe2 Rxe2 42 Qc6 Rd4 Too many Black pieces are loose after 42…Bd4+ 43 Kf1 Rf2+ 44 Ke1. If 44…Nc5, easiest is 45 Qe8+ Kg7 46 Be5+. 43 Rxd4 Bxd4+ 44 Kf1 Again, Black cannot coordinate his pieces after 44…Rf2+ 45 Ke1. White refutes 45…Nf8 by 46 Bd6 Rxb2 47 Qe8 Bg7 48 f6. Rxb2 The best chance, as the b-pawn is formidable. 45 Qxd7 Rf2+ 46 Ke1 b2 47 Qe8+ Not 47 Qxd4?? Rc2!, and Black wins. Kg7 If 47…Kh7 48 Qxf7+ Bg7, White maneuvers the Queen into position by 49 Qg6+ Kg8 50 Qe6+ Kh8 51 Qe8+ Kh7 52 Qe4, then finishes with 52…Rg2 53 f6+ Kg8 54 Qe6+ Kh7 55 Qf5+ Kg8 56 f7+ Kh8 57 Be5. 48 Be5+ Bxe5 49 Qxe5+ Kh7 50 Qe4 Rf4 Black cannot reach a “fortress draw” by 50…Rg2 51 f6+ Kh8 52 Kf1 Rg6 because of 53 Qe8+ Rg8 54 Qb5. 51 Qb1! The careless 51 Qb7? Rxf5 52 Qxb2 Kg8 probably draws. Rb4 52 f6+ Kh8 53 Ke2! Threatening 54 Qg1. Less convincing is 53 Kf2? Rb6 54 Kg3 Kg8. Rb6 54 h4!, Black Resigns. White will disrupt Black’s defense by running his King to c5. Because 54…Rxf6? lands in Zugzwang by 55 Qxb2 Kg7 56 h5, Black must resort to 54…h5 55 Ke3 Re6+ (another Zugzwang appears after 55…Rxf6 56 Qxb2 Kg7 57 Qe5!, as 57…Kg6 58 Qg5+ costs Black the Rook) 56 Kd3 Rd6+ 57 Kc4 Rb6 58 Kc5 Rb8. White conquers resistance by 59 Kd6 Rb4 60 Ke7 Kg8 61 Qg1+ Rg4 62 Qh1! Ra4 (or 62…Rb4 63 Qd5) 63 Qg2+ Rg4 64 Qb7! Rxh4 65 Ke8. A grand conception fittingly ends a magnificent game.