Where Organized Chess in America Began EMPIRE CHESS Winter 2015 Volume XXXVII, No. 4 $5.00 The tournament hall is everywhere. Empire Chess P.O. Box 340969 Brooklyn, NY 11234 1 NEW YORK STATE CHESS ASSOCIATION, INC. www.nysca.net The New York State Chess Association, Inc., America‘s oldest chess organization, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting chess in New York State at all levels. As the State Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation, its Directors also serve as USCF Voting Members and Delegates. President Bill Goichberg PO Box 249 Salisbury Mills, NY 12577 A time for manners. [email protected] Vice President Contributor Neal Bellon’s article on the Ten Worst Chess Behaviors is Polly Wright certainly timely in the height of the scholastic chess season. I would like to 57 Joyce Road Eastchester, NY 10709 thank Mr. Bellon, a leading Long Island chess organizer, for his [email protected] contributions to NYSCA and Empire Chess. Treasurer Karl Heck Anton Ninno, the main scholastic organizer in Central New York, said on 5426 Wright Street, CR 67 their association facebook page that he doesn’t mind losing to his students East Durham, NY 12423 because he believes it is an opportunity to show his students the right way [email protected] to win and lose. I wholeheartedly agree. Membership Secretary Phyllis Benjamin No adult likes to lose to a child (or lose period), and in some ways such P.O. Box 340511 Brooklyn, NY 11234-0511 losses aren’t the “natural order of things.” Chess is a game of skill, though, [email protected] and the level of skill is not dependent on physical age in the same manner as more athletic competitions. In chess, the eight-year-old can play, and Board of Directors Upstate Downstate beat, the eighty-year old. Both can beat the “prime of life” player. William Townsend Phyllis Benjamin Bill Goichberg Dr. Frank Brady As such, manners and courtesy in the arena are probably more important in Shelby Lohrman Mark Kurtzman Karl Heck Lenny Chipkin chess than in other competitions. It is easier to have misinterpretations Ron Lohrman Ed Frumkin when the “peer group” is as broad as many chess tournaments are. It can be Polly Wright a problem on both sides, as one reason USCF adult membership has Steve Immitt Gata Kamsky dropped in recent years is the difficulty many adults have in playing against Sophia Rohde children. Particularly when those children can beat you over the board Harold Stenzel Carol Jarecki I worked as a tournament director in the National Scholastic highlighted in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer which featured a brawl between two parents over their children’s game. I know first-hand that scene was Tournament Clearinghouses Zip Codes under 12000 (downstate) not a fictional device. While rare in chess, it isn’t the only time blows have Bill Goichberg been struck during an event. [email protected] Mr. Bellon’s Top Ten list cover most of the “sins” of your average chess NYS Zip Codes over 11999 (upstate) Karl Heck tournament. Having all of the players keep them in mind during events [email protected] would definitely help the tournament directors and organizers, most of whom are volunteers, make your chess tournaments better events for Deadlines everyone involved. December 15 for the Winter Issue March 15 for the Spring Issue June 15 for the Summer Issue One item emphasized by Mr. Bellon is that the tournament player should September 15 for the Fall Issue get a rule book and learn the actual tournament rules. Not the rules they think exist. Such a low percentage of tournament players not all the rules Advertising Manager that simply doing that could be a competitive advantage. Think about it. Contact the Editor. Do it. 2 EMPIRE CHESS “The magazine of America’s oldest chess organization” Volume XXXVII, Number 4 – Winter 2015 Cover: One of our youngest players preps for a tournament game at the State Championship. From the Editor................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Table of Contents ….........................................................................................................................................................3 A White Repetoire: e4/Nf3/Bc4 by Richard Moody…………………………………….......………....................................4 NYSCA's Discount Program ....................................................................................................................….............. 6 The Ten Worst Chess Behaviors by Neil Bellon……..................................................................................................7 Fort Drum Captain Excels at NATO Championships by Don Klug……............................................................9 Klug and Kistler Win Jefferson Title: North Country News by Don Klug…................................................10 New Champion at Queens CC by Ed Frumkin………………………………………………...................................................11 The King is a Fighting Piece by Zachary Calderon……………………………………………….............................................12 My Walk With Jose by Karl Heck………………………………………………………………………………………………….................14 News from the Marshall by Frank Romano.............................................................................................................17 Open Lines – tidbits about the chess world by Karl Heck…………………………………………………….................19 Rochester Chess News from staff reports………………………..………………………………................................................23 Capital Region News from staff reports………………………..………………………………..................................................25 New York Tournaments………………………………...................................................................................,,,,,……...28 Editor: Karl Heck, [email protected]. Webmaster: Daniel Heck, www.nysca.net. Empire Chess, the official publication of the New York State Chess Association, Inc., is published quarterly. No liability is assumed with respect to the use of any information contained herein, or for any advertised products. Opinions expressed are solely those of the contributors, and not necessarily those of NYSCA. Empire Chess is COPYRIGHTED, 2015. Empire Chess accepts articles, games, tournament reports, art work and photos. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All material submitted for publication becomes the property of Empire Chess, and will not be returned unless accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Letters received by Empire Chess are accepted & subject to editing. Please send to: Karl Heck, [email protected]. Membership in the NYSCA: $20/year with four printed Empire Chess; $12/year with online Empire Chess (two printed). To join, write to: Phyllis Benjamin, P.O. Box 340969, Brooklyn, NY 11234. NYSCA membership now gets you discounts at Continental Chess Association events in New York State and all New York State Championship tournaments. Please send articles and advertisements in camera-ready format for publication. (TIF file, Adobe Photoshop, 100 lines per inch). Chess games should be in ChessBase, with boards and positions in final form. Articles should be sent via e-mail, in Microsoft Word, Times New Roman font, size 11. Deadline for the Spring issue is March 15, 2015, although earlier submissions are appreciated, and will more easily guarantee a space in the next magazine. 3 A White Repertoire: 1.e4/Nf3/Bc4 by Richard Moody Jr. One of the most difficult things for amateurs to do in Kingside giving Black a serious initiative. The the opening is get into a playable middlegame when drawback to Nxd5 is that cxd5 repairs Black's pawn you don't know “book”. If you wish to avoid the structure, one of his primary trump cards giving latest twist in the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Black another pawn in the center. I recommend you play either 4.Ng5 in the Two Knights' Defense against 3...Nf6 or 4.b4 if Black One variation considered the main line by online plays 3...Bc5, the Evans Gambit. This should please members is 8...Rb8. the tacticians with its emphasis on sharp play from the fourth move onward as opposed to the staid lines My Fritz program is programmed to play an inferior of the Ruy or the Marshall Gambit which has been response. However, before we get into the inferior analyzed to death. response, it should be apparent that Black gets a huge initiative after 9.Bxc6 Nxc6 10.Qxc6+ Nd7. When I In this issue, I will address the 4.Ng5 main line of the checked the data base there is one stretch where Two Knights' Defense, or more specifically, two Black won 10 games in a row! variations of the main line that lead to decent prospects for White. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 If 9.Bd3 h6?! (Bg4? 10.Qg3 +/-) 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 6…Bd7 7.Qe2 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Bxd7 Qxd7 10.Nxe5 Better is the obvious choice 9...Be7 when White has Qxd5 11.Nf3 Rfe8 12.O-O Bc5 13.Qd1 & White has nothing better than 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 g6! 12.b3 an extra pawn but it is very difficult for White to Nd5 13.Nh3 Nb4 14.Ba3 secure a significant plus. I am not sure this is best; simplification may favor 7.dxc6 bxc6 White. 7…Nxc6?? 8.Bc4! +/-) 14…Nxd3 15.Qxd3 Qxd3 16.cxd3 Bxa3 17.Nxa3 8.Qf3!? Bxh3?! 18.gxh3 A popular try today here is 8.Bd3 while 8.Be2 used to This position is deceptive; while it might seem that be considered the main line. (My Houdini 3 tried Black has equalized, second-best moves by Black 8.Qf3 Bb7 here but I got a comfortable plus after will