Bold Experiment YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: OVERCOME CHESS HOARDING! Maurice JANUARY 2015 & Ashley Amy Lee’s Bold Experiment FineLine Technologies JN Index 80% 1.5 BWR PU JANUARY A USCF Publication $5.95 01 GM Wesley So and a friendly spectator hold up his winner’s check. 7 25274 64631 9 IFC_Layout 1 12/10/2014 11:28 AM Page 1 SLCC_Layout 1 12/10/2014 11:50 AM Page 1 The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is preparing for another fantastic year! 2015 U.S. Championship 2015 U.S. Women’s Championship 2015 U.S. Junior Closed $10K Saint Louis Open GM/IM Title Norm Invitational 2015 Sinquefi eld Cup $10K Thanksgiving Open www.saintlouischessclub.org 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361–CHESS (2437) | [email protected] NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY: The CCSCSL admits students of any race, color, nationality, or ethnic origin. THE UNEXPECTED COLLISION OF CHESS AND HIP HOP CULTURE 2&72%(5r$35,/2015 4652 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 (314) 367-WCHF (9243) | worldchesshof.org Photo © Patrick Lanham Financial assistance for this project With support from the has been provided by the Missouri Regional Arts Commission Arts Council, a state agency. 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BD:08/03 Other inquiries: [email protected], (931) 787-1234, fax (931) 787-1200 2 January 2015 | Chess Life ED UYING GUIDE ENCLOS USCF SALESSALES SPRING BUYINGB GUIDE ENCLOSED PLAYPLAY IN THE U.S.U.S. OPENOPEN IN ORLANDO!ORLANDO! SeeSee TLA on pages 53/54. MAY 2014 APRIL 2014 A USCF Public ation A USCF Publication $5.95 $5.95 CL_01-2015_TOC_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 12/12/2014 22:49 Page 4 Chess Life JANUARY COLUMNS 14 LOOKS AT BOOKS / FOR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES Unwrapping the Enigma It was an all-Webster University final at the Millionaire Chess Open as GM By John Hartmann Ray Robson (bottom of page, left) played eventual champion GM Wesley So. 16 CHESS TO ENJOY / ENTERTAINMENT “Time Trieth Truth”~English Proverb By GM Andy Soltis 18 BACK TO BASICS / READER ANNOTATIONS 22 Cover Story / Millionaire Chess My Most Instructive Draw By GM Lev Alburt ONE MILLION DOLLARS. ANY QUESTIONS? 44 SOLITAIRE CHESS / INSTRUCTION BY GM DANIEL NARODITSKY The Greatest Player of All Time? Many give their lives over to chess with little to show financially for By Bruce Pandolfini their efforts. GM Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee want to change that. 46 THE PRACTICAL ENDGAME / INSTRUCTION Rook versus Bishop 30 USCF National Events / U.S. Masters By GM Daniel Naroditskyi THE 2014 U.S. MASTERS BY GM ALEKSANDR LENDERMAN 1 GM Bartlomiej Macieja wins clear first with a dominating 7 ⁄2/9 DEPARTMENTS performance in an event that is increasing in prestige each year. 6 JANUARY PREVIEW / THIS MONTH IN CHESS LIFE AND CLO 34 Senior Chess / GM Jim Tarjan 8 COUNTERPLAY / READERS RESPOND RECONNECTING WITH CAISSA BY GM JIM TARJAN FIRST MOVES / 10 One of the strongest American GMs of the late 1970s returns to CHESS NEWS FROM AROUND THE U.S. competitive play 30 years after his last tournament game. 11 FACES ACROSS THE BOARD / BY AL LAWRENCE 40 News You Can Use / Chess Hoarding 12 USCF AFFAIRS / NEWS FOR OUR MEMBERS IT ONLY FEELS LIKE ZUGZWANG BY DR. ALEXEY ROOT, WIM 50 KNIGHT’S TOUR / JANUARY Ask any chess player and you’ll likely find they have piles of books, score sheets, and random pawns from random sets. Why do we 51 TOURNAMENT LIFE / JANUARY become CHESS HOARDERS and what can be done about it? 71 CLASSIFIEDS / JANUARY 71 SOLUTIONS / JANUARY 72 MY BEST MOVE / PERSONALITIES This Month: Dr. Frank Brady ON THE COVER GM Wesley So, who recently changed his affiliation from the Phillipines to the U.S., wins the inaugural Millionaire Chess Open. We report on GM Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee’s attempt to shake up and improve the U.S. Swiss chess scene beginning on page 22. COVER PHOTO AND THIS PAGE BY BILLY JOHNSON 4 January 2015 | Chess Life ICC_09-14_Layout 1 12/10/2014 1:31 PM Page 1 CL_01-2015_CLO_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 12/12/2014 13:47 Page 6 January Preview / This month in Chess Life and CLO CHESS LIFE ONLINE PREVIEW: JANUARY Get a free session today! COLLEGE CHESS The Pan-American Championships, which concluded a couple days before the New Year, Promo code: CHESSLIFE feature a parade of leading grandmasters from all over the world. This year’s event takes place at the University of Texas at Brownsville from December 27-30. Many grandmasters, international masters and woman grandmasters are currently studying in U.S. universities supported by chess scholarships. Look for several CLO pieces by one such young chess scholar, IM Priyadharshan Kannappan. Kannappan will write about his Pan-Am experience, his last few years at Lindenwood University in St. Louis, and his MBA/Masters plan in the future. NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS Tutors Apply Now! What are your New Year’s chess resolutions? GM Ben Finegold writes about some of his own for CLO, including one that should appeal to many readers: “I will not get into time Set your own rate trouble!” Make your own schedule MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY Look for coverage of major tournaments held over Martin Luther King Day weekend, including the Liberty Bell Open in Philadelphia and the Golden State Open in California. U.S. JUNIOR CONGRESS www.tutorhorizons.com The first national event of the scholastic chess calendar is the U.S. Junior Chess Congress, in Santa Clara, California from January 24-25.