Tao of Chess

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2006 Georgia State Championship

I've decided to play in the 2006 Georgia State Championship from May 5-7 at the scenic Emory University campus. I haven't played tournaments since last year. I'll be playing a completely new opening repertoire for the first time (that as of this post I know maybe half of). And I'll be fighting against the Curse of Emory. So it looks like I have nothing to lose :)

I scored 2.5 out of 5 in last year's championship. It should be fun!

FM Miles Ardaman
2005 Georgia State Champion

FM Todd Andrews
2004 Georgia State Champion

FM Stephen Muhammad
2003 Georgia State Champion

A New Beginning

I have taken a break from chess since the new year. Part of my decision was because I had used up all my vacation time for work on taking Mondays off after weekend tournaments, and was unable to take my customary week off between Christmas and New Years. But mainly it was because I needed a break.

I've made some significant practical decisions about how chess fits into my life.

1) I have completely revamped my opening repertoire. Previously I opened with 1.e4, playing many main lines. With Black I responded to 1.e4 with 1...e5, mostly main lines, and a Nimzo-Queen's Indian system against 1.d4. I'll go into my new repertoire at a later date, once I actually start playing it in tournaments. For now I'll say that 99% of my opponents won't have prepared for the lines, they are minimal in theory, and still very playable.

2) I am going to have fun. I had fun before, but there was also a lot of grind associated with my chess preparation. I did the Tactics Boot Camp. I drilled tactics and opening variations regularly. Weekend tournaments were gruelling affairs where I tapped into my energy reserves by the third day and completely exhausted myself (hence my Mondays off from work). Okay, I'm getting old(er). Vital-physical conditioning is now assuming a top priority in my preparation. I have this crazy idea that the more balanced my entire being is, the better I will play, even without constant drilling. I want to look at a game of chess as something that can't really be prepared for. I want to forget everything I know when I sit down to play, so that I can simply be there. I want to see a position for what it is, with a clear and empty mind, not filled with rules and ideas all competing with one another. A chess game is a sculpture being carved by two players. Each move gives it more shape, removing more and more possibilities.

I have seen many chess games in the A class (and below), where the winner is the player who maintained a clearer focus in the later parts of the game. Four hours go by and both players play some hard chess. Very complicated tactical struggles resolve down to an endgame with a few minor pieces and pawns remaining, and both players are tired. I have noticed that the consistent winners of class sections are not always the flashiest players. Some of these winners I even feel that I can generally outplay them. They are good enough to hold on and survive to the endgame. But by then I am tired, and they maintain their focus. And they beat me almost every time. There's a lot to be said for this. They are the better chess player and competitor, simply because they get the full points. I want to feel fresh in the late middlegames and endgames. I believe so many lost games can be drawn and even won, and many drawn games can be won in these phases of the game. This is the area I want to focus my study on. It's not boring. It's ripe with possibilities.

I'll let you know how this goes. I'm not yet sure when I'll start playing tournaments again, but it will definitely be a new beginning for me.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Since several people are asking, I haven't given up chess. But I am taking a breather from the intense study and playing I had been doing. It had started to become a grind and I needed a break. I still play a weekly online slow game with Fussy Lizard, buy and read new chess books (an addiction all its own), and keep up with the big super-GM tournies, such as Wijk aan Zee. My USCF rating dipped back into the B class from my last couple of tournaments, and I don't want to play in them again until I'm serious about my preparation and play.

My Game With Topalov

The sun had just gone down, and the three chess sets were on a long table outside in front of a train car. An excited crowd murmured in anticipation. At table #2 was Mickey Adams and Vishy Anand. At table #3 was Alexander Morozevich and Judit Polgar. And at table #1 sat Veselin Topalov and an empty chair.

I knew it would be a tough game, but soon I would be able to say that I had played the World Champion. I sat down across from Topalov, when he looked at me and said in his Bulgarian accent, "Do I have White or Black?"

"Um..., I'm not sure," I said.

"Do I have White or Black? We can't play until I know."

I looked around for the pairings sheet and found it. Sure enough it said Topalov and I would play on board #1, but it didn't specify the colors. The other pairings had clear notations for who had what color. At the time it didn't seem unusual to me that colors were specified in this way. I only noticed that my game with the chess great was being held up. I frantically started looking for Scott, the TD, to resolve the issue.

The other players started their games. Topalov sat back impatiently. I asked people where Scott was. Nobody could find him!

Time passed and soon the reporters were interviewing Topalov as I sat on top of the train car, dejected. My game with Topalov was not to happen.

And then I woke up.

2005 Georgia Class Championship

A rough tournament for me after not playing in several months. I scored a sad 1.5 out of 5 in the A section, and 1 of those points was a full-point bye in round 2. The A-section was small, and I had to play Black three times in a row (not that color choice makes a whole lot of difference at this level).

Some highlights:

Kilgore (1826) - Kinsler (1893)
White to move

I saw a way to grab a pawn with 14.exf5! exf5 15.Qd5+ Kh7. But now I began to worry that after 16.Qxd6, Black could trap my queen with 16...Bxc3 17.bxc3 Nhf6. Saving the queen (and the won position) is not that hard once you are willing to let her stay on d6 for awhile. For example, 18.Re1 Re8 19.Bd2 Rc8 20.Rxe8 Qxe8 21.Re1. I didn't see all this during the game, so I played 16.Re1?? because taking on d6 looked too scary. Another psychological factor I've experienced before is that initially my plan on extracting my queen was based on 16.Qxd6 Nhf6 17.Nd5, and 16...Bxc3 ruins that idea. Discovering 16...Bxc3 at the last moment, I began to worry that he could indeed trap my queen and didn't stop to make a detailed practical analysis.

Kostrinsky (1884) - Kilgore (1826)
Black to move

I've gotten myself into a bit of trouble here. White's about to win back his piece and will be a pawn up. Then I found 17...Bxf2+! If 17.Kxf2 then 17...Qc5+ and I can save my light-squared bishop. My opponent played 18.Qxf2 and I got out of the mess with even material. This game should have been a draw, but I misplayed the endgame.

Bedell (1966) - Kilgore (1826)
Black to move

I managed to win a piece after 21...Nxd4 22.Bxd4 Qg6 23.g3 Qd3 24.Re3 (24.Qb2 is better, but allowing my queen to f3 is not an easy thing to do) Qxd4. Confident that I would now beat this 1966 player, I responded to 25.Rae1 with 25...Qxa4?? whereupon he equalized with 26.Qxc8! Ouch. I'll skip the next part where I donated a queen to the cause. One of my worst chess moments ever.

Cano (1866) - Kilgore (1826)
Black to move

Here's a Nimzo-Indian. I played 7...e5, the main line. At the time, having never played this line before, I wondered whether 7...e5 was the right move, or if I was confusing it with another line. I calculated that Black had nice compensation if White takes on e5, and feeling rather reckless from my lackluster tournament performance so far, I decided to go for it and at least go down fighting. The game continued 8.dxe5 Nc6 9.Nf3 Bf5 (the point of 7...e5) 10.Qb3 Na5 11.Qa4+ c6 12.cxd5 Qxd5 13.Be3 Nc4 14.Bd4 b5 15.Qd1.

Cano (1866) - Kilgore (1826)
Black to move after 15.Qd1

Now who wouldn't love this type of play with the Black pieces? Later my opponent offered a draw in a position I probably should have played on, but eager to have some positive score where I actually played, I agreed to the draw.

Gary Southerland

The Georgia chess community lost a long-time chess teacher and tournament director last week. Gary Southerland passed away in his sleep. I did not know Gary very well, but I'd seen him at all the GCA tournaments and spoken with him a few times. The next issue of Georgia Chess magazine will remember Gary. The upcoming Georgia Class Championship is also being named the Rueben Hand, Gary Southerland Memorial. He clearly had a passion for chess, and he will be missed.

Memorial Service Information (to be held August 30)
Newspaper Obituary