| The current seminars of IECC Chess Academy are the advance guard, so to speak, of what will be a variety of classes for players of all rating levels, most of them up to Category A. Because many new members of IECC are Category 6 and 7, we are concentrating on how to open a chess game. If you are interested in participating in this or any other Chess Academy activity, then please respond via email to me at: tt@wag.caltech.edu Activity 1: Group analysis of chess games to be played within the academy. Idea: Offers members the opportunity to have their playing analyzed by both their peers and a more experienced group leader. Logistics: 1. The player will be paired with his/her peers by the Seminar Director (SD). 2. Two games will be played, one against white, one against black. The player can use ANY openings. 3. After black's fifth move, the games will stop temporarily. The games will be sent to the SD, so that he can edit the games and comments. These edited comments will be sent to the group leader and the participants in the seminar. 4. From that point, the other players will analyse and make comments on the games. NO BASHING ALLOWED!!!!! 5. After the professor finishes his/her analysis and commentary, the game resumes from either where the game left off or where the professor feels there was a fatal blunder. 6. After the next black fifth move, repeat steps 3-6 until the game is over. Activity 2: Group analysis of completed IECC games. Idea: Sometimes we play games, especially against higher rated players, where our game falls apart. Trouble is, we don't exactly know where we went wrong. As a group we will analyze the game to discover better strategies methods to generate effective plans of attack. Object of analysis: 1. In each game, what is the first critical point? 2. What were the viable candidate moves at those points? 3. Evaluate those moves. Logistics: 1. Interesting games will be chosen by instructors or submitted by group members requesting help. 2. One person from the group (the person who played the game), will submit an analysis to the other group members, who will discuss the analysis and add comments. 3. The final results of the group analysis will be sent to the instructor, who will evaluate the plans outlined by the group. Activity #3 How to open a chess game 1. Learn how to get into the middle game with good chances for a win. 2. Learn how to think ahead at least 2 or 3 moves and work with candidate moves. Suggestions for other activities most welcome! *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ ARCHIVAL NOTES By Ken Boys *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ While I'm away on vacation, Bill Martin is managing the IECC Archives. Please send to: Bill Martin tlingit@netcom.com with a copy to: Lisa Powell rpowell@uoguelph.ca Please note! The corrected format of the PGN moves record is: [Site "Quad 10"] [Date "1995.5.7"] [Round "2"] [White "Bitte, Hans"] [Black "Black, Harry"] [Result "1-0"] 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bd3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bg5 c5 8.d5 a6 9.a4 h6 10.Bf4 b6 11.h3 Nh5 12.Bd2 Nhf6 13.Rfe1 Bb7 13.Bf4 Nh4 15.Be3 Qc7 16.Qd2 Kh7 17.Rab1 c4 18.Be2 Rac8 19.Qc1 e5 20.Nd2 Nf4 21.Bxc4 f5 22.exf5 Rxf5 23.Be2 Rf7 24.Qd1 Rcf8 25.Nde4 Nc5 26.Nxc5 bxc5 27.Bg4 h5 28.Be2 Nxe2+ 29.Rxe2 Bc8 30.Ne4 Kg8 31.b4 1-0 Further: we would appreciate help from IECC memebers who have Chess Assistant. *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Chess Trivia and Humorous Happenings Amusing chess-related events and observations. Editor: Bill Wall JULY ALMANAC - PART II by Bill Wall July 15, 1874 American Chess Association transformed into the National Chess Association. July 16, 1870 First use of chess clocks, Baden-Baden, Germany July 17, 1847 CHESS PLAYER'S HANDBOOK by Howard Staunton published. July 18, 1983 Salo Flohr died. In 1937 FIDE designated Flohr to be the official challenger for the world title against Alekhine. July 20, 1879 First German Chess Federation tournament, Leipzig. July 20, 1924 FIDE founded in Paris by delegates from 15 countries. July 21, 1826 Edinburgh wins the first correspondence game against London. July 23, 1976 Judit Polgar born. She became the world's youngest Grandmaster at 15 years, 5 months in 1991. July 24, 1884 The British Chess Association was inaugurated. Lord Churchill (Winston Churchill's father) was its President. July 24, 1975 Nicholas Rossolimo, American chess master, fell down the stairs of his Greenwich Village chess studio and died. July 26, 1916 Henry Charlick, Australia's first chess champion, died. July 26, 1957 Nicholas deFirmian, US Grandmaster, born in Fresno. July 27, 1904 Ludmila Rudenko born in Lubni, Russia. World's women's champion from 1949 to 1953. July 28, 1851 First international all-play-all tournament, London. July 28, 1887 Marcel Duchamp, avant-garde painter and chessplayer, born. July 31, 1965 Forry Laucks, founder of the Log Cabin Chess Club, died. CHESS ODDITIES by Bill Wall Russian astronomers named an asteroid after former world chess champion Alexander Alekhine. Before turning professional chess player, former world champion Tigran Petrosian was a road sweeper. At the 1978 Karpov-Korchnoi match finals in Baguio, Philippines, neither player would accept any of the chess pieces the day prior to the match. Someone had to drive to Manila and back to find a Jacques set, which arrived only 15 minutes prior to the start of the first game. Boris Spassky showed up with eye shades to play Korchnoi in their 1977 match in Belgrade. In 1921 Edward Lasker invented a machine which could get mother's milk for premature babies more efficiently than the hand-operated breast-pump. Nigel Short played in the British championship at the age of 12. When World War I started, five Russians were taken as prisoners of war during a chess tournament at Mannheim, Germany. One of them, Alexander Alekhine, escaped and forged his passports to return to Russia. When Korchnoi defected from the Soviet Union he was stateless. When it came to design a flag for him to play under, he proposed either a white flag saying "stateless," or a Soviet flag with the words "I escaped" written on it. In 1976, two chess olympiads were held. The main olympiad was held in Haifa, Israel. Another olympiad was held in Tripoli, Libya in which most of the Arabic countries took part. The Philippines was the only country that sent a team to both olympiads. The Pepsi-Cola company offered to pay $120,000 for the rights to put the words Pepsi on all the dark squares of the demonstration board used in the 1978 Karpov-Korchnoi match in the Philippines. The organizers refused the offer. In 1978, the deputy head of the Icelandic chess federation tried to enter a women's chess tournament to test the sex discrimination laws. He was declared ineligible and went to court. He argued that separate contests for men and women made no sense in an intellectual game like chess. The 1966 US Open chess tournament was interrupted because of the Beatles. The tournament was held at the Seattle World's Fair Grounds. The Beatles were at the grounds to give a concert. At the Open the tournament director drew the curtains over the playing hall, shielding the spectators outside from the players. Hundreds of Beatle fans, seeing the hall shrouded by drapes, assumed the Beatles were inside. They began pounding on the windows, interrupting the tournament. The tournament director finally opened up the drapes to reveal a chess tournament was taking place. In 1982 the world computer champion BELLE was seized by customs officials at Kennedy airport as it was on its way to be delivered to Russia to participate in a computer chess tournament. The US Customs Service confiscated it to prevent illegal export of high technology items to the Soviets. It took creator Ken Thompson over a month and a $600 fine to retrieve BELLE from customs. In 1943 Humphrey Bogart was visited by the FBI and questioned about his postcards and mail. Bogart was playing postal chess with some of his friends overseas. The FBI thought the chess notation were secret codes to the enemy and forbade him from playing postal chess during the rest of the World War II period. In 1971 an antique dealer in London had to go to court for indecent exhibition of a chess set while on display in his window. Each of the 32 pieces showed couple in sexual positions. The dealer was fined $132. ROLLING STONE magazine named Kasparov and Karpov as one of the world's top 10 glamour couples of 1986. During the American Revolution, there was a strong effort by the colonists to rename the chess pieces to Governor, General, Colonel, Major, Captain, and Pioneer. The leading 17th century patron of chess was Giacomo Buoncompagno, Duke of Sora. He was also the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII. Erasmus High School in the Bronx had Bobby Fischer, Barbra Streisand, and Walter Browne as its students. Barbra attended Erasmus High School at the same time as Bobby and she said she had a crush on him at the time. They used to exchange comic books together. Students remember them because they used to tease Bobby and Barbra for having the same nose. Ratmir Khomov, a Russian Grandmaster, was once suspended for a year from any tournament chess play because of conduct unbecoming a chess master. He had shown up at an international tournament too drunk to play. In 1982 the Ugandan chess tournament flew to the wrong city to participate in the Chess Olympiad. They were supposed to fly to Lucerne, Switzerland to participate but went to Lugano, Switzerland instead (home of the 1968 Olympiad). Louis Statham (1908-1983), American chess patron, sponsored the Lone Pine tournaments in the 70's and early 80's. He built a tournament hall for the town just for the chess players. Before moving to Lone Pine, he owned a mansion in Los Angeles which he later sold to Hugh Hefner and it became the Playboy mansion. - Chess Reviews by Bill Wall Here are some quick reviews of recent chess magazines. APCT NEWS BULLETIN This is the bimonthly American Postal Chess Tournament news bulletin edited by Helen Warren (apctaol.com). The March-April issue contained an article on Simon Alapin by Allan Savage. Alapin was one of the strongest Russian players of the early 20th century (Elo historical rating of 2500). He was best known as an opening analyst and has several varitions of different openings and defenses named after him. Franklin Campbell writes a column for postal players. He touches on subjects such as when your postal opponent oversteps his time, the etiquette of offering a draw, becoming a chess journalist, and his own postal chess methodology. The May-June issue has an article on Abe Yanofsky, one of the top Canadaian players in the 1950s and 1960s. He won the Canadian championship 8 times, won the British Championship in 1953, and played on 11 Olympic teams between 1939 and 1980. Franklin Campbell write an article on all the different chess fonts (Linares, Hastings, Zurich). The July-August issue presents the first APCT Life Master Certificate to George Fawbush. George dominated APCT postal play. He was always playing over 200 games at a time, playing over 1500 APCT games through the years, and winning 6 APCT championships. There's an interview with Viswanathan Anand by Leontxo Garcia after his match with Kamsky and an annotated Anand-Kamsky game. Allan Savage has an article on Weaver Adams, one of the top New England players in the 1940s. John Thomas has an article on Bent Larsen, who is now 60 years old. Franklin Campbell has more advice for postal players, including printing your own personalized chess postcards and sending repeat moves. All the issues have lots of postal games and a problem corner and occasional Evans on Chess column. ATLANTIC CHESS NEWS This is the official publication of the New Jersey State Chess Federation, edited by David Burris. The Feb 95 issue has an article on the legend of William Steinitz by Kurt Landsberger. He covers the 1886 Zukertort-Steinitz world championship match and says not more than 40 people were present at the start of this historical match. The author is a descendant of Steinitz and traced a lot of the Steinitz family. There is a review of MY LIFE IN CHESS by Eduard Gufeld (the Friar Tuck of Chess). James West analyzes the Philidor Counterattack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5). Lots of games and diagrams. AUSTRALIAN CHESS ENTERPRISES (ACE) NEWS This small newsletter is published in New South Wales by Brian Jones (acesydney.dialix.oz.au). The May issue has a review of BOBBY FISCHER TEACHES CHESS CD-ROM, CHESS MASTER...AT ANY AGE by Rolf Wetzell, and BEATING THE FRENCH by Gary Lane. Looks like the big controversy in Australia is the decision to combine the Australian Senior and Junior Championships. CHESS HORIZONS Considered one of best chess magazines in America, this is the official magazine of the Massachusetts Chess Association and edited by Joe Sparks. The March/April issue gives a favorable review of CHESS MASTER... AT ANY AGE by Rolf Wetzell. There are over 30 chess and product reviews in this issue, including one of my 1994 books, 500 ALEKHINE MINIATURES. The main complaint is I didn't give complete names (first and last) and name of event the game was played as well as more analysis to the short games. Dan Edelman writes on the 1994 Pan-Am Intercollegiate, won by Manhattan Community College. Lots and lots of games. The May/June issue starts out with the formation of an Editor Appreciation Society after James Schroeder of Portland, Oregon, gave editor Sparks the "Moron of the Year" award. There is a review of chess software, reviewing pcBase for Windows (not liked), NICBASE 3.0, BOOKUP 8.53 for DOS, ChessBase for Windows, and Chess Assistant. There is a review on the different chess fonts as well. There are 10 book reviews in this issue. Allan Savage writes an article on Alekhine and Paul Keres as postal chess players. Mednis covers a variety of endgames. Lots of annotated games. There is a questionnaire on Grandmaster John Nunn reprinted from Kingpin chess magazine in England. Nunn relaxes with computer games, feels he is lazy but lucky, and pulls off a lot of chess swindling. When asked what book he would take to a desert island, he responded "How to Build a Boat." His most irritating opponenent was a German who ate a sausage at the board. CHESS IN INDIANA This is the official publication of the Indiana State Chess Association, edited by John Crane. In the Jan-Feb 95 issue, there is some trivia on IM Igor Ivanov who postponed a game in the 1989 US Championships because of alcoholic poisoning. During a game, he once poured hot chicken soup into his hand he mistakenly thought was holding a thermos. There is an article on the USCF lifetime achievement titles and win expectancy table. Lots of local news and games. The Mar-Apr issue covers the 1995 US Amateur Team Championship, Midwest in Chicago. John Crane writes on rating calculations and includes a BASIC rating calculation program. EN PASSANT [Also the name of the magazine of the Canadian Chess Federation] This newsletter is a publication of the Pittsburgh Chess Club, edited by Bobby Dudley. The May issue has several new chess books reviews. Edmar Mednis writes on the practical endgame. The July issue contains an article and lots of games from the Western Pennsylvania FIDE Futurity. FLORIDA CHESS Edited by Don Schultz, the March issue had the inside story of the USCF Policy Board meeting in Arizona (not a good meeting). The is a good article on FIDE President Campomanes, the upside covered by Arnold Denker, the downside covered by Eric Schiller. Schultz has the inside story of the FIDE Congress and Olympiad in Moscow. Three members of the US team were robbed and another had his life threatened. Schultz says the FIDE meetings were the most outragious, most despicable meetings he ever attended. In the end, Campo got re-elected. ILLINOIS CHESS BULLETIN This is the official publication of the Illinois Chess Association, edited by Bob Renaut. The July-August 95 issue contains an article on the Black Knights Tango (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6). The 1995 National High School Tournament in Chicago was covered well. This event had over 1,000 players and there are lots of games from this event. There is an article by National Tournament Director Tim Just on the use of chess clocks and what to do when your or your opponent arrives late. Lots of games and local news. KING'S FILE This is a quarterly publication of the Washington, DC Chess League, edited by Sam Bisbey. The Winter, 1995 issue focuses on 85-year-old Oscar Shapiro. He won the D.C. Championship in 1946 and again in 1994. He has been playing chess over 70 years. At age 74 he became the oldest American player to become a master. See, it's never too late. MYERS OPENINGS BULLETIN Published by Hugh Myers of Davenport, Iowa, this publication deals with a variety of chess openings and unusual miscellany. The April, 1995 edition (MOB No. 7) features an article about 18 year-old Alexander Morozevich and the evaluation of performance. He won the 1994 Lloyds Bank tournament in London who had a 2970 rating performance. Myers has an editorial on computers, their speed and quality. There are several pages of readers' contributions on opening theory (1.e4 a6, 1.c4 d5, 1.h4, 1.d4 e5, etc). Myers writes on Norman Whitaker and some of his con jobs and some chess. There are eight book reviews, including one on my DUNST OPENING 1.Nc3, published by Chess Enterprises earlier this year. He doesn't like the name of the opening I gave to 1.Nc3 and tells the reader to refer to one of his older MOBs for the explanation. He doesn't like the criteria I select games for my "500 Miniature" books. Finally, he doesn't think I am a qualified chess writer (I've only been writing cheap chess books for 12 years and have only published 25 books that seem to be best sellers). And, of course I am careless for not including more of his own best games with this opening (he has 4 games included) or include his book, EXPLORING THE CHESS OPENINGS, in the bibliography. OHIO CHESS BULLETIN The official chess publication of the Ohio Chess Association, published by Mark Zabel. The Jan-Feb issue contains a humorous article by Bob Basalla on what if the Beatles wrote songs about chess. He includes the words to Tactic to Hide (sung to the tune of Ticket to Ride), It's a Loser (I'm a Loser), Patzerbook Writer (Paperback Writer), Sacs Man (Taxman), Stalemate (Yesterday), Morphy to You (From Me to You), I'm Reuben Fine (I Feel Fine), Get the B's (Let it Be), and the Long and Winding Line (The Long and Winding Road). Chuck Schulien (2440) annotates several games. Lots of pictures, crosstables and games. THE PENNSWOODPUSHER This is the chess publication of the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation, edited by Dr. Ira Lee Riddle. You have to have good eyes for this one (small print). They May 95 issue interviews Alex Dunne, master and postal player who writes for CHESS LIFE. He has been playing postal chess since 1956. He is presently playing over 135 postal games. Alex believes computers should be legal in postal play. He believes if using a computer improves their play, then fine. Top postal players can beat all the chess computers in postal play. The August 1995 issue has lots of local crosstables and over 80 games. VIRGINIA CHESS This is the bimonthly publication of the Virginia Chess Federation, edited by Macon Shibut. Issue #2 is called the big analysis issues. Lots of annotated games. Shibut includes a few articles on the early history of the Virginia Chess Federation. Issue #3 contains an excerpt from the SOLTIS VARIATION OF THE YUGOSLAV ATTACK by Steve Mayer. Mayer (rated 2300) includes an article on writing an opening book. To him, the most frustrating thing about writing an opening book is finishing it, thus freezing it in time. Jerry Lawson has an article on chess on the information highway. He discusses the Internet Chess Club and the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS). There's an interview with GM Vladimir Epishin. He says top players do not play gambits because they are too risky. Top players prefer safe draws. He says Anand is stronger than Kamsky, but Anand has psychological problems. His opinion on GM Vladimir Kramnik is that he is a hard worker, but his problem is that he enjoys having fun, including a preference to drink. He says one should spend three times as much time studying one's own games than that of others since there are simply too much information around nowadays to study other people's games. He thinks Karpov is quite capable of winning the world title back from Kasparov. The issue has several annotated games by masters. *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ Internet by e-mail and other neat stuff you can do By Mike Power | |
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