Houston Chess

My posting has been very light lately. I have also left very few comments on other blogs in the last month or so. My lame excuse is that on April 28 our home was flooded. We have flood insurance and none of us were hurt but dealing with that does tend to eat up a lot of time.

Here are some photos from the event courtesy of the Houston Chronicle: FLOODING IN HOUSTON: APRIL 28, 2009.

We got about a foot of water throughout the first floor; more in the sunken living room. There was about 4 feet of water in the street in front of our house. We live near a bayou (aka stream or creek) but the flooding came from the street. The volume and rate of rainfall was freakishly high (over 4 inches in 1 hour; over 6 inches in 2 hours) and just overwhelmed the storm drainage system. At least, that is the City of Houston version.

The cats are enjoying their ability to take shortcuts from room to room (the drywall is removed for the first couple feet). Carpet is gone and we are still trying to decide what should go in its place. Furniture is in storage to be out of the way for construction and to avoid further damage. It will probably be a few months before things return to normal.

In the meantime, we will be fine "camping out" upstairs with air conditioning, internet and cable TV.

The Top Ten ChessFlash Blogs:

1. Castling Queen Side


2. The Endgame Tactician


3. CHESSTIGER


4. Haunted Knight Chess Blog


5. Blue Devil Knight Chess Confessions


6. Diamondback Chess


7. Chessaholic


8. Katar Blog


9. Chessgasm


10. Chess on the Borderline

ChessFlash was started just about one year ago and it has been an exciting year. Thanks to all of the early adopters that tried ChessFlash in it's infancy. A special thanks to likeforests (The Endgame Tactician in the above list) who was a great help early on as a ChessFlash tester.

The new simplified publishing should make ChessFlash available to even more chess blogs in the coming year.

Labels: chessflash

In this case we are embedding the pgn data within the post itself instead of getting it from a pgn file on the server.

Labels: chessflash

Great examples and descriptions of common tactical motifs can be found at ChessTempo's Tactical Motifs.

Labels: tactics

A test of ChessFlash diagram mode; I just fixed a bug to not display the initial board covering "Click to Play" as there is no PGN to download and no moves to play.

Labels: chessflash

Richard over at ChessTempo has added endgames. There are two modes: Theory and Practice. I prefer the practice. It looks to be a great way to practice your endgame tactics. The number of problems you can tackle per day is limited by your membership level:

Basic members receive an initial 10 problems and are then limited to 2 endgame problems a day. Silver members receive 20 problems a day and Gold members can do an unlimited number of endgame problems each day.

A good deal at any level but it did prompt me to upgrade my silver membership to gold.

Update: Something that I knew but that these problems demonstrate is that I am lousy at Queen vs. Rook endgames. It is not uncommon in practice and four of my misses have been in that category out of, I think, five attempts. Here is a screenshot with my current (but temporary) position atop the new Practice category at ChessTempo.

Labels: tactics

In Planning Exercise (1) BDK shows a position and asks about planning in such a position. There are many useful ideas in the comments.

The position is pretty drawish and White has many moves that leave the position drawish. If White is happy with a draw here there are many simple options.

But how should one approach playing for a win in such an even and simple position? Simple is a relative term. What two GMs consider a simple draw may be very complicated to me. What I think is a simple technical draw may be winnable against a Class D player.

To win a game of chess your opponent must make a mistake (generally believed but not proven). That is true from the beginning position and it is true from any "drawn" or "even" position. So, when playing for a win the goal is to induce a mistake in your opponent without making a fatal error yourself.

Is a simple threat the right way to proceed? If your opponent misses it you win, but what if he or she sees and counters the threat? You have to consider what the position would be if your opponent plays well. As always. You should not play assuming your opponent will make a mistake but you may play in a manner that makes it more likely that they will. In other words, seeking to complicate the position while still maintaining the balance is a reasonable approach but an unsound sacrifice (hoping your opponent misplays it) is not. Creating pressure or long term threats is another way to induce errors.

On the other hand, what if the situation is that you must win the game at any cost? Then there may come a time when the only way to avoid a dead draw is to take greater risk. There may be a point at which they only rational way to continue to play for a win is to play unsoundly.

Although many say that you should play the position and not the opponent when you have a choice of plans then knowledge of your opponent and his or her strengths and weaknesses is very valuable. Knowledge of self is also crucial.

Back to BDK's position, the plan I hit upon involved moving "my" rook off the d-file to keep more material on, to better keep the opportunity to complicate later. I like giving up the d-file to my opponent as it seems non-orthodox and may be a surprising "retreat" but there is little value to the d-file. Some others found different plans to their liking.

What, if anything, do the various plans tell us about their authors and their approach to the game? How would various GMs proceed here (or in a suitably more complicated position to make it of more interest to them)? What does that tell us about their approach to the game? Would a Tal and a Capablanca approach the question the same? Would they arrive at different plans or would they agree on a "best" move / plan? Is there a right way to think about such positions?

I am testing a new ChessFlash option intended to allow web masters to host ChessFlash and the games it displays on their site instead of on the ChessFlash site. This instance of the ChessFlash.swf is on this (glennwilson.com) site as is the game being displayed.

Labels: chessflash

As I just posted at ChessFlash.com I intend to make the source code available for the ChessFlash Viewer available under an open source license. I need to research some different open source licenses and consider a few other issues but I plan to do this fairly soon.

Part of my motivation is a relative lack of time for customization and new features. I wrote ChessFlash while not otherwise employed last year but I have started back working at a "real job." I've had some customization requests that would make the ChessFlash Viewer better and more widely used.

Does anyone have thoughts / advice / words of wisdom on the matter?

Labels: chessflash

I joined the Knight's Errant in August 2007 and became the Secretary Knight in February 2008.

I had been doing circles-like chess exercises for many years before joining the Knights and have continued since becoming a Knight although my blogging about same has been decreasing. I intend to continue on as a Knight Errant (assuming I blog frequently enough to not be kicked out) but I feel the group will benefit from a Secretary who is blogging more frequently and with more enthusiasm from his or her current chess journey and discovery.

It is my privilege to pass the Secretary of the Knight's Errant title on to Likes Forests, The Endgame Tactician.

What are the Knight's Errant, you ask? You can start with the FAQ and Likes Forests recent post Who are the Knight's Errant?

All hail the new Secretary of the Knight's Errant!

Labels: Knights Errant

It's been a while since we've dropped in on recent blogs from other Knight's Errant.
Chessaholic:

So I played in a small tournament this weekend, my first tournament in quite a while. I was afraid I was going to be rusty, but I did OK. It was a four round Swiss (G/60), but I had a bye in the first round so I only got to play three games. In those three games I went +2 =1 which I am happy with, even though I should have won that drawn game as I had a slightly better position in the endgame. I will post that game shortly with some analysis.

Himalayan Knight:

I played good against Daniel, was 2 pawns and then learnt some psychological aspects of the game in the process! how to never stop calculating the situations and fear not the tactical positions. Daniel saw great tactics at the end which I didnt in my clouded euphoric state and engraved my doom with a cute checkmate.. Heres the very interesting game.

Likes Forests:

fter my first coaching session, I spent an evening going through 50 positions in Hertan's Forcing Moves, while focusing on checks - captures - threats. Also I avoided a lay-off, renewed my commitment to fitness and lost four pounds, and started taking DHA supplements to boost my chess concentration. A busy time.

I then turned in this miserable performance:

Sir Banatt

my new reason for studying [$50,000 in cash Scholarships]

Special Bonus Section! Knight's Alumni with Recent Posts:
Blue Devil Knight:

When I first learned what a 'weak square' was, I was so concerned with them that I actually gave away a Bishop rather than capture his attacking piece with a pawn, so as not to create weaknesses in my pawn structure. Needless to say, such play is abysmal and reflects a misunderstanding of the relative importance of evaluation factors in chess.

Temposchlucker:

As preparation I have read a lot about positional play. I intended to do some positional exercises too, but every exercise raised so much questions that I ended up reading in stead of exercising. So I don't feel quite ready, but I am in the best shape to learn something (with a lot of buzzing questions in my head and half-formulated answers).

I skipped the opening preparation totally, which is quite liberating.

J'adoube:

From a real blitz game I played. My opponent was rated 200 points higher, but I guess he hadn't done the Circles of Death. Black just took my Bishop on d3 and to him it looked very bad for me.

BlunderProne:

His most resourceful moment was in round 20 against Jose Capablanca. Yates had the white side of a Ruy Lopez . Capablanca managed to grab a strong central defender in the middle game which caused a lot of problems for Yates as Black’s bishops pinned pieces and limited his mobility. Yates sends off a desperado in this position and manages a draw a few moves later with a perpetual check.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and success in all of your endeavors!

Labels: Knights Errant

HCC Happy New Years Tourney
Friday Night January 3rd 2009
1st $200.00, 2nd $100.00 1st under 1900 $100.00
4 rounds of game 45 starting at 7 p.m.

Houston Chess Club
713-773-2437

Sign Up Sheet at club. Sign up and pay before December 27. Details at club.

Houston Chess Club

Labels: Houston Chess Club

Welcome our newest knight: Himalayan Knight. From email:

I am working on CTART3.0 My strategy is little different from Michales Mazas circles.
I plan to redo each level problems until i achieve 90%. Also I dont plan to do the very tough problems in the end...
So my circles would be of about 850 problems (level 4 or 5 i think)

Please visit and welcome the Himalayan Knight.

Labels: Knights Errant

Morphy against Golmayo in an 1864 Havana simul.

After the 14th move, Morphy has a knight pinned to his opponent's King. The manner in which Morphy adds an attacker to the immobilized knight is very instructive. Enjoy.

Morphy/Morphy-Golmayo-1864.pgn

Labels: combinations, eco-c5x, Morphy, pinning

At the Flash On The Beach (FOTB) conference in Brighton, Sr. Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems Paul Betlem, confirmed that Adobe is indeed developing a Flash Player for the iPhone. However, Apple calls the shots as to when it'll be available.

... He said (not direct quote) "My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it's a closed platform." He noted that Apple makes all the decisions, so in other words, the ball is in Apple's yard at this time. If Apple says yes, Adobe will have the player available in a very short time.

Flash for the iPhone confirmed at FOTB

How far behind can ChessFlash on the iPhone be? But that's not the "Big News." The "Big News", of course, is that now (or soon) I have an excuse to buy an iPhone! I mean invest. Invest in a iPhone.

In the meantime I do need to get back to posting tactics here and working on additional ChessFlash features...

Labels: chessflash

From Mark Dixon:

OPEN FRIDAY 9-19-08 at 6:30 p.m., SATURDAY 9-20-08 10:30 a.m., and SUNDAY 09-21-08 at 11:00 a.m. THANK YOU!!!!! hope to see you there!!!

and

The HCC insanity is set for OCTOBER 24th 2008 starting at 7 p.m.. The first round is at 7 p.m. the second is at 8 p.m. etc., etc., the last round starting at 6 a.m. OCTOBER 25th 2008. I have 10 players signed up. IF FOR SOME REASON YOU STILL CAN'T MAKE THAT DATE (the 10 players signed up already) please contact me. 713-773-2437 or the hotline 832-473-7178. I still need your entry fee money though. Because it was a RESERVED THING. First place is 100.00 and second is 50.00. I have a ANONYMOUS DONOR and the prize fund will increase. I have 1 master, 6 A'S, 1 EXPERT, AND 2 UNDER 1400 PLAYERS SIGNED UP SOO FAR. If you want to get in PLEASE CONTACT ME. I will be contacting the players already signed up individually. The time control is G/30. Let's go!!!! IT should be EXCITING.........Entry fees: $20 HCC member and $25 non-HCC member.............

Labels: Houston Chess Club

Still no power but it is getting close. Some neighbors have power and nearby stores are starting to open. I'll add more when I get power...
Update 9/17 7:20 PM: (on borrowed internet and power) Power company crews were in my neighborhood yesterday assessing and recording locations that needed work (trees removed from power lines, etc). There are here now working on those issues. We expect (hope) power back on tomorrow. This morning I went to our local Kroger and it was operating close to normal. They had fresh baked bread (but no fresh in-store baked tortillas), the Deli counter seemed fully up, the meat section was low on supplies but open, dairy looked complete, lots of fresh produce and non-perishables. I didn't see batteries (but did not look very hard) and they had plenty of charcoal (in big demand right now). Lines were normal. I passed a gas station with lines of about 4 cars deep. Of course, some areas got hit very hard compared to far west Houston where I am...

I intended to pass some time with chess-related reading during the day but the debris cleanup and searching the web for news (now that I have occasional access) has take up a lot of time.

Update 9/19 11:25 AM: We got power back yesterday around noon. The story will continue at my non-chess blog here.

This is an update to the Sept 4 Max Lange post. It turns out that "my" Novelty (based on searching ChessBase 2003 Mega database) is on move 9, not move 7. I'm just relieved that my whole idea has not been played before. :)

Next time I guess I'll check ChessBase sooner. Of course, it could have been played since 2003 and I still would not know as that is my latest mega database.

I have also included White's best 12th move (left as an exercise in the last post) and made that the main line. This is all the result of deep study and research I am undertaking to try to improve my opening play.

Openings/MaxLangeLine2.pgn

Labels: combinations, opening

Here is some original opening research and analysis from yours truly that deals with an early Black deviation in the Max Lange Attack. I left White's best 12th move out of this file. What combination should White play on move 12?

The novelty (so far as I know) on Black's seventh move sets up Black's surprising eleventh move. Even with White's best 12th move this line appears to be playable for Black....what do you think?

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O {Now 5...Bc5 enters the Max Lange Atttack and 5...Nxe4 is the Anti-Max Lange Attack.} Be7 {This is a modest move that appears to give up the fight and give White an easy advantage. But can appearances be deceiving? 5...Be7 is not considered in ECO C Edition 2, 1981 nor MCO 15 2008. There is some coverage for it in the 1916 edition of Handbuch des Schachspie (Bilguer) -- a great resource for some old and out of fashion lines.}

Openings/MaxLangeLine.pgn

Update: Black's seventh move does occur in the ChessBase 2003 Mega database twice but without what I believe is the correct followup (they both feature 10...Re8?! instead of 10...Bf5). They are below with light notes:

[Event "Ivrea WE op-B"]
[Site "Ivrea"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caresana, Alessandro"]
[Black "Vozza, Nicola"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.25"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Nf5 Bf6 8.Qd5 O-O 9. Qxe4 d5 10. Bxd5 Re8 $6 (10... Bxf5) 11. Qc4 $6 (11. Bxc6 Rxe4 12.Bxe4 {+-}) 11... Ne5 12. Bxf7+ Nxf7 13. Ng3 Be6 14. Qb4 Nd6 15. Nc3 a5 16. Qc5 b6 17. Qh5 Bf7 18. Qf3 Nc4 19. Nce4 Be5 20. Ng5 Bg6 21. Rd1 Nd6 22. c3 h6 23.Qd5+ Nf7 24. Nxf7 Bxf7 25. Qf3 Qh4 26. Be3 Rf8 27. Bd4 Bb3 (27... Rae8 28. Bxe5 Rxe5 29. Rd4 Qe7 {+/=}) 28. Qc6 Bxd1 29. Qd5+ Rf7 $4 (29... Kh7 {+/-}) 30.Qxa8+ Kh7 31. Rxd1 1-0

[Event "Leipzig VfB op 5th"]
[Site "Leipzig"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bosse, Volkmar"]
[Black "Goessling, Guido"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C56"]
[BlackElo "2140"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "1998.03.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.10"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Nf5 Bf6 8.Qd5 O-O 9. Qxe4 d5 10. Bxd5 Re8 $6 (10... Bxf5) 11. Bxf7+ $6 (11. Bxc6 Rxe4 12.Bxe4 Bxf5 13. Bxf5 {+- White has a rook and two pieces for the Queen.}) 11...Kxf7 12. Qg4 (12. Qf3 {=}) 12... Re5 13. Qh5+ Kg8 14. g4 Nd4 15. Nc3 g6 16.Nh6+ Kg7 17. Qh3 Bd7 18. Qd3 Bc6 19. f4 Ne2+ 20. Nxe2 Qxd3 21. fxe5 Qxe2 22.exf6+ Kf8 23. Rf2 Qe4 0-1

Labels: combinations, opening

Morphy-de Riviere Paris 1863.

"To this day Morphy is an unsurpassed master of the open games. Just how great was his significance is evident from the fact that after Morphy nothing substantially new has been created in this field. Every player- from beginner to master- should in this praxis return again and again to the games of the American genius." ~ Mikhail Botvinnik

In this game Morphy will twice remove a defender of the g5 square and then twice setup a skewer of the c7 square.

Morphy/Morphy-DeRiviere-1863.pgn

Labels: combinations, eco-c5x, Morphy, removing the guard, skewer

Morphy-Ware, New York simul 1859 at knight odds.

A pawn at at f7 is pinned to the king. Then a rook at f7 is pinned to the king. Later there is a threat of pinning the rook at f7 along the other diagonal to the queen. Finally, Morphy removes the guard at h6 to win material and simplify to a won ending.
Morphy/Morhpy-Ware-1859.pgn

Labels: combinations, Morphy, pinning, removing the guard