King's Indian 101: Classical Variation--9.Nd2

This King's Indian comes from the 17th Correspondence World Championship.  White scores with the third of the big three White responses to the Mar Del Plata Variation of the King's Indian: 9.Nd2.  The move may only be inferior to 9.Ne1 and 9.b4 in terms of the times it has been played.  Play is often across the entire board as in this game, and here, Black simply wasn't able to hit hard enough on the kingside.  The novelty in the game is at White's 20th. 

ICCF World Championship, 19th Finals: Sämisch KI

In this game, Whte accepts Blacks offer of a pawn (see 7.dxc5) and is ultimately punished for it.  White's 14th, however, is less than accurate. 

King's Indian: A Sämisch at the 2007 CC World Championship

Black doesn't win so often at the highest levels of CC.  The KI scores one here in the Sämisch Variation, again with White playing 7.Nge2.

Semi-Slav 101: Anti Moscow

Below is a game in the anti-Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav.  The first move to pay attention to is 11...h5.  This move isn't the current fashion; it's rather 11...Nbd7.  I'm not yet convinced, although the new Rybka 4 book by Jiri Dufek recommends it and supports the choice with substantial statistics that didn't come from a human database.  So this is a place to follow up carefully. 

Second, take a close look at 18.Nxb5 versus 18.dxc5.  Again, the Rybka 4 book (J.D.) suggests the latter. 

Semi-Slav 101: Ducking the Botvinnik Variation with 6.e3

If avoiding the Botvinnik variation is important, then it's probably better not to play 5.Bg5.  If you're intent to develop the bishop outside the pawn chain while avoiding the wildness of the Botvinnik, then 6.a4 is probably a better try.

Sveshnikov 101: 6.Nf5 for a little surprise value

In my first experience in the Champion's League, I trot out 6.Nf5 to change it up a bit versus the Svesh and then fight hard to salvage the draw.  I haven't tried it since. 

Sveshnikov 201: Mainline 9.Nd5

The Sveshnikov is one of very few openings that I'm willing to play with either color. One author has tagged the opening The Easiest Sicilian, principally because the theory is relatively narrow, say, compared to the Najdorf.  The Sveshnikov makes up for its lack of breadth, however, by running deep in its theory.  The novelty in this game comes on move 26, and that's not unusal for the Sveshnikov.  Here, White dominates the center of the board, and that, among other things, allows White to save a tempo by keeping his King in the center.  Black's only play is based on the outside passed a pawn, which is too slow.

Walters,Gary (2343) - Mauro,Lucio (2355)

WCCC33PR04 ICCF, 20.04.2009 [Stockfish 1.7.1 JA 64bit (40m)]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 (6.Ndf5 is the only interesting alternative.) d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0–0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5

A position reached in countless games, and it likely appears at least 2,000 times in your largest games database. Now White has a major and a minor option. The minor option is 15.Bb5.

(See, e.g., Kasparov,Garry (2812) - Van Wely,Loek (2636) [B33] Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee (2), 17.01.1999 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0–0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bb5 Bb7 16.Nce3 Bxe3 17.Nxe3 Ne7 18.0–0 Rb8 19.Qd3 Qb6 20.Bc4 Bc6 21.Ra2 Rfd8 22.b3 Qc5 23.Rfa1 Ra8 24.h4 h6 25.h5 Bb7 26.Rd1 Bc6 27.Rda1 Bb7 28.Bd5 Bxd5 29.exd5 Rdc8 30.b4 Qxc3 31.Qxc3 Rxc3 32.Rxa5 Rb8 33.Ra7 Kf8 34.Rd7 Nc8 35.Rd8+ Ke7 36.Rg8 Rxb4 37.Ra8 Kd7 38.Rxg7 Rc1+ 39.Kh2 Rf4 40.Ng4 Ne7 41.Ra7+ Ke8 42.g3 Rf5 43.Rh7 1–0)

Black’s more common response to 15.Bb5 (other than Van Wely’s 15...Bb7) is 15...Ne7.

(See, e.g., Shirov,Alexei (2723) - Van Wely,Loek (2668) [B33] Amber-rapid 12th Monte Carlo (11), 27.03.2003 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 0–0 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bb5 Ne7 16.Nxe7+ Bxe7 17.Ne3 Rb8 18.Qe2 Qb6 19.c4 Be6 20.0–0 Qd4 21.Qc2 Bd8 22.Rd1 Qc5 23.Qd2 Bc7 24.Ra3 Rfd8 25.Rd3 g6 26.Nf5 Bxf5 27.exf5 d5 28.Qg5 d4 29.Rh3 e4 30.Qh6 Qxf5 31.Qxh7+ Kf8 32.Rf3 exf3 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Re1+ Qe6 35.Qh4+ f6 36.Qh7+ Kd6 37.c5+ Kxc5 38.Qxc7+ Kxb5 39.Rxe6 d3 40.Qc6+ Kb4 41.Re4+ Kb3 42.Qc3+ Ka2 43.Qa3+ 1–0)

Much more often played than 15.Bb5, however, is the move in the game, the major option. 15.Bc4 Now the common move, as in the game, is Rb8 15...Kh8 will usually transpose back to the main line after 16.O-O Rb8) 16.b3 (16.Ra2 is to be seriously considered. While the Rook is less actively posted at a2, there are variations ahead where the Rook slides along the 2nd rank to the Kingside. 16...Kh8 The King needs to get out of the Bishop’s line of sight and free the f pawn.

17.Nce3 White more often castles in this position, but there is no absolute need for White to remove the King from the center. White rather plans to play down the h file, and while this game is not decided there, the threats are ever present. Note that White will not castle in this game.) g6 (Black has played 17...Bxe3, but the idea is dubious and has scored poorly. Black should keep the Bishop pair. 18.h4 Bxh4 results in a highly dynamic position. Both Rybka and Stockfish need a substantial amount of time to turn the evaluation away from Black’s advantage and back to balanced.

19.g3 Bg5 White has sac’d a pawn to open the h file. Black has the Bishop pair, but has common Svesh weaknesses in a backward d pawn and weak a pawn. White’s structure is not remarkably better, but the Rook staring down the h file is a constant bother and the Knights are well posted.
20.Ra2 Thematic. White will return the Rook to play along the 2nd rank. 20...Bxe3 White was threatening to take over the game with 21.f4

21.Nxe3 Be6 Obvious and good. 22.Rd2 I think this is objectively best. This game is still in well-known territory, but is unclear. 22...Qe7 23.Rxd6 Still nothing that hasn’t been seen before.

23...Nd4 The Knight cuts off the White Rook, but obviously White had to be prepared for this. 24.Rd5 Nc6 The Rook is off limits. White will recapture with the Knight gaining a tempo on the Queen with the Black Knight still hanging. 25.Rd3 Bxc4 26.bxc4N And we finally arrive at a new position. Previously, the play had been 26.Nxc4 Qb7 27.Qd2 Nb4 28.Re3 Rfd8 29.Qe2 Nc6 30.Nd2 Qd7 31.g4 a4 32.Reh3 h5 33.Qe3 Qxg4 34.Rh4 Qg2 35.R4h2 Qg4 36.Rh4 Qg2 37.Rxh5+ Kg7 38.Rh7+ Kf6 39.R1h3 Qg1+ 40.Ke2 Rb7 Huschenbeth,N (2318)-Aulich,M (1996)/Kelheim 2007/CBM 122 Extra/1–0, but 26.Nxc4 offered little opportunity in my view to play for a win in CC. The point of bxc4 is that while the doubled c pawns are ugly, White is dominating the center of the board. There’s little time for Black to get the a pawn moving in a genuinely threatening manner. 26...Rfd8 27.Rd5 Kg8 28.Kf1 Rb2 29.Kg2 Qg5 [29...h5 30.Qc1 Rdb8 31.c5] 30.Qf3 h5 31.c5 Kg7 32.Nc4 Rb3 33.Rhd1 Re8 [33...Rf8!?] 34.Rd7+- Re7 35.Rxe7 Qxe7 36.Ne3 Rb8 [36...Rb5 37.Nd5 Qd7 38.Qf6+ Kg8 39.Qg5+-] 37.Rd6 Rc8 38.Qd1 Nb8 39.Qd5 a4

[39...h4 40.gxh4 a4 41.Ng4 Qxh4 42.Qxe5+ Kf8 43.Qf4+-] 40.Nc4 h4 [40...Rc7 41.Nxe5 a3 42.Nxf7 Qxf7 43.Qd4+ Kh7 44.Rd8+-] 41.Nxe5 a3 [41...Re8 42.c6 Rc8 43.gxh4+-] 42.Ng4 a2 43.Qd4+ [43.Qxa2?! Qxe4+ 44.f3 Qe1 45.gxh4 Rxc5±] 43...Kh7 44.Nf6+ Kh6 45.Qd2+ [45.Qd2+ Kg7 46.Qxa2+-] 1–0

Sicilian 101: The Kalashnikov II

As mentioned in the earlier Kalashnikov post, Black can decline the transposition to the Sveshnikov by playing 8...Nge7.  The below game provides an example.  The resulting positions in this game, however, aren't about whether Black can generate sufficient counterplay, but rather about whether he can stop the connected queenside passers.  It's not a pleasant basis on which to play a game. 

Classical Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer

Looking for a mainline Sicilian variation to provide a break from the Najdorf, but you don't really want to dive off into the Sveshnikov or a Dragon variation?  There are still a few options remaining, one of which is the Classical Sicilian, marked by 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6.  (Note that the Classical can reached by a number of move orders, including through 2...d6.)  In the basic position after 5...d6, White has tried a lot of moves, but 90% of games will include either 6.Bg5 (Richter-Rauzer), 6.Bc4 (Sozin), or Be2 (the Classical, proper).  In the following game, White plays the Richter-Rauzer, which comprises more than one-half of all Classical Sicilians, making it a good place to start.  The first 12 moves have been played in a number of previous games.  After 12...b4, White has an apparent space advantage, but no easy way to crack the center open.  Black is slightly cramped but has enough queenside play to get himself untangled, and Black has the Bishop pair.  If White is slow, Black will steal away the initiative on the queenside, which is a large part of the appeal of the opening.  Note that Black often doesn't need to rush to castle because of his strong center, and the saved tempo can make a large difference in an unbalanced game like the Richter-Rauzer. White takes the game into new territory with 13.Na4, a move that deserves a closer look.  The game here is not lost on 13.Na4, but likely rather by White's inaccurate play at move 30. 

Budapest 101: A simple lasting advantage for White

The Budapest is an interesting opening over the board...although you won't often see it at the highest levels. Black dictates the opening in ways that are rare for queen pawn openings, and the shock value can be downright fun. The problem is that the Budapest is more boring than the early knight foray would seem to suggest, and for the same reasons that the Budapest isn't seen much at the GM level, it's not particularly fit for CC either. This is true at least if Black is interested in more than barely hanging on for the draw. I think the below is White's best try for a straightforward advantage and all the winning chances. Of course White has to be prepared for other variations, especially at Black's 4th.

Grand Prix 101:1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4

The Grand Prix is a double-edged way to avoid the Sicilian. Note the easy transposition by both players to the Grand Prix. White should play an early Nc3 to avoid the immediate d5 thrust (as in 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5), or simply lead with 1.Nc3. The play following an early Nc3, however, is hardly tame, and the line below after 10.exd5 is nothing short of wild. It requires additional analysis.

Sveshnikov 101: 9.Nd5... 17...Bd7

This game takes Sveshnikov theory deep into the game. The reason to pay attention to this game is due to Black's 17th, Bd7. 17...Bd7 is not a novelty, but it is rarely played compared to 17...g6.

2009 USCF Absolute Correspondence Tournament Concludes

Below are the final results of the 2009 USCF Absolute, which has to be one of the fastest-played Absolutes in history, due in large part to the ICCF server.

ICCF

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TD class=bw>1 USCF/WS/09A01 TD Dunne, Alex Unrated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Score SB R Place 1 USA 511587   Sogin, David 2287 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 8.5 47 0 1 2 USA 514439   Walters, Gary 2158 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 8.5 45 0 2 3 USA 514324   Wilson, Abe L.   ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 8 43.5 0 3 4 IRL 260162   O'Hare, Ciaran 2369 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 7.5 36.5 0 4 5 USA 511061 SM Brandhorst, Wesley T. 2293 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7 38 0 5 6 USA 514476   Ballow, John   ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7 37.75 0 6 7 USA 514434   Van Enk, Steven 2301 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6.5 34.25 0 7 8 USA 512456   Anderson, Laurence A. 2281 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 6 31.5 0 8 9 USA 511025 IM Miettinen, Kristo S. 2291 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 6 30.5 0 9 10 USA 510155   Greene, Sanford I. 2295 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 5.5 28 0 10 11 USA 514553   Rhodes, James   0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 3 13 0 11 12 USA 514679   Poole, Kenneth   ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 2.5 16.25 0 12 13 USA 511601   Shipman, Joseph 2219 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 2 8.25 0 13

North American Invitational Championship: Kristo Miettinen

The following is posted on the ICCF-US website:


Kristo Miettinen Wins 11th NAICCC

IM Kristo Miettinen has clinched first place in the Eleventh North American Invitational Correspondence Chess Championship (NAICCC) with a score of 10½/14 (+7-0=7). All play in this tournament is not yet complete, but his total cannot be equaled. This score in a fifteen player field of category V means that he has exceeded the SIM Norm by ½-point. With the help of this result, Kristo has raised his ICCF rating to 2356, good enough to tie for 55th place on the USA list of active players. By his own admission, this is Kristo’s finest correspondence chess result to date. This major national event included players from the US, Canada, and Mexico. The NAICCC, as in the past, served as a zonal championship, thus Kristo has earned an entry to a World Correspondence Chess Championship Final. This is a most exclusive event, and a great honor for Kristo. The crosstable can be accessed at: 11th NAICCC Crosstable .

On a personal note Kristo is one of a handful of players who contribute greatly to keeping all the ICCF-US wheels attached and rolling. Kristo, thank you, and congratulations!

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

ICCF-US Top 50 List

The below was posted on the ICCF-US site yesterday. Please see the ICCF-US site for additional information about US correspondence play at the international level.

ICCF-US Top 50 Rating List Updated

Using the latest ICCF ELO (player rating) lists [effective 1 January 10], Bob Rizzo ICCF-US Titles Officer has compiled the latest ICCF-US Top 50 Rated Active Players list. A few players have dropped out due to inactivity making some room for a few new names in the top 50. Congratulations and welcome to the top 50!

#46 Grayling V. Hill
#47 Gary Walters
#48 Gilbert P. Drysdale
#49 IM Erik Osbun
#50 Daniel M. Horwitz

Hans Berliner: 5th Correspondence Chess World Champion (1965) and top US player for many years.

One Correspondence Player's Space

Here's a view of one ICCF player's space. Two computers straddle a down-sized tournament set. On the wall is some inspiration: In the photos playing chess are Bob Dylan, John Wayne, Fischer vs. Reshevsky, Fischer, and Gorky vs. Lenin. Two bookshelves are just off to the left containing about 160 books, most published in the past four years. The computers are loaded with ChessBase 10 and a little over 5 million games with Mega 2010 and Correspondence 2009 ChessBase databases. The wall chessboard is a recent addition.

USCF 2010 Absolute Correspondence Chess Tournament

Alex Dunne has announced in the December "The Check is in the Mail" that he is accepting bids for the 2010 USCF Absolute. Click USCF Home, Activties & Interests, Correspondence Chess, CC News & Alex Dunne Columns, or follow this link. See the qualifications below and send Alex an email to let him know ("bid") that you want to play. Alex's message:

"At the end of this month (approximately) the yearly ratings for CC players will come out. At that time, I will be selecting the highest-rated applicants to the 2010 Absolute. There will be a $500 prize fund (Thanks to Keith Rodriguez, Abe Wilson, Robert Rizzo, David Sogin, Corky Schakel, and Joan DuBois!). If your rating is over 2200, send in your bid to be accepted as one of the thirteen Absolute players for 2010. No entry fee!"

Semi-Slav 101: Moscow--Olita Rause

Olita Rause is the strongest woman correspondence chess player in the world. To boot, she's one of the world's top ten correspondence chess players. Her opponent here is the current number two player in the world. This game introduces the Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav, the most staid of the 5.Bg5 lines. Also see Magnus Carlsen's CBM 131 annotation of his game with Topalov from the 2009 MTel Masters.

Rybka 4 and Aquarium 2010

Rybka 4 will not be released with Convetka's "Aquarium 2010" as far as I can tell from a confusing array of ads and posts. For awhile it appeared the new Rybka would be out in early December, but now Vas Rajlich says:

"I've decided after all that we'll stick with KISS for the next set of Rybka releases. Rybka 4 will be released and sold when she is ready. Detailed information will be available at that time. Remote Rybka hosting will begin when that is ready. Further information will be available at that time. We'll follow some sort of soft launch protocol. I'd like to apologize to the guys at Convekta for changing my mind about several major things at the last minute, and to wish them luck with their upcoming Aquarium release...."

Vas [11/22/2009]

The Aquarium 2010 GUI appears to still be available with download releases starting tomorrow (accompanied by Rybka 3 or 2.3.2a, depending on which of the following options you choose). See this link for a brief description of the differences between the two options for purchase. If there are other options for purchase that you know about, please drop a comment.

I recommend both the Chessbase GUI and the Aquarium GUI. There are times when I want to use Aquarium's IDeA, which is a great feature (although it needs additional development for serious analysts, which may have been addressed), but there are other times when I want the clean lines of Chessbase (best seen now in the Fritz 12 GUI) and, as well, there are times when I want to use the Monte Carlo feature offered by Chesbase, which is now available in the Fritz 12 GUI (but only in conjunction with Rybka 3). If you're a Chessbase user, the cartoonish nature of Aquarium will take some getting used to, although I haven't seen Aquarium 2010 yet. If you don't want to go to the expense of both GUIs, then decide which feature means more to you: IDeA or Monte Carlo.

Openings of Interest

In selecting games to take a look at here, I typically explore for games involving openings in which I have a current interest. Here's what the repertoire looks like at the moment.

As Black, against 1.e4, I'm playing the Najdorf and Sveshnikov (as far as White will cooperate), and I obviously have to chase down a bunch of Anti-Sicilians. Those I worry about most are the Rossolimo and Moscow (the 3.Bb5 complex), the c3 Sicilian, and the various versions of the Grand Prix. I see all three of these with some routine even in correspondence chess.

As Black, against 1.d4, I've been one of those die-hard Semi-Slav players. My sense is that the Semi-Slav is less popular in correspndence chess than in OTB, but I'll take a look statistically soon. The general notion is that if you want to unbalance the game, you have to play 1...Nf6. I won't argue. I've played more than a few games in the Meran, the Moscow, the Anti-Moscow, and what I call the Bayonet (the Shabalov-Shirov Gambit). I've even trotted out a Botvinnik variation, although I don't recommend it in correspondence. I will play the Budapest OTB, and I've played the King's Indian, Nimzo, and Gruenfeld.

I usually play 1...e5 against the English.

As White, I play most mainline openings in correspondence, led by the Scotch, Ruy Lopez, all manner of 1.d4, and an occasional 1.c4. I will play the Bishops Opening and Center Game OTB (and once in a great while in correspondence). I have opened several times with 1.Nf3, but usually with an eye toward transposition. I will play the Advance against the Caro-Kann (and I've played more than a few Panov-Botvinnik Attacks), the Open Sicilians, both 3.Nc3 and the Tarrasch against the French (and even an occasional Schlechter (3.Bd3)), classically as far as possible against the Pirc-Modern, and just about anything against the Alekhine's, including the Glek Four Knights, the Scotch Four Knights, the Modern, and the Chase.

So, these are the openings I'll be taking a look at most of the time. I haven't closed the door on much.