Winter 2013

What is White’s best move?

Email the editor the answer and one of your games! editor@alabamachess.com

2

Letter from the Editor There has been a tremendous undertaking in state scholastic chess in: “The state Board of

Education will be actively preparing a chess in schools pilot program for the 2014-2015 school year. In

August USCF and ACF representatives met with Alabama Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Tommy Bice.

The ACF sponsored a special Chess Coaches’ Workshop for chess coaches and those interested in

scholastic chess. Including USCF National Education Consultant Jerry Nash speaking on Keys to a

Successful Chess in Schools Program. I am very enthusiastic about the future of Alabama scholastic

chess.

Wanted: I still need games, thanks to all of the individuals who contributed after the meeting at the

state championship, now all we need is more scholastic and reserve players sending me games!

(Thank you Stephen Adams! You are, in my tenure as editor, the only scholastic player to send in

scholastic games, maybe there is a link to being a champion and sending in games.)

Chessfully,

Bryan Tillis

editor@alabamachess.com

_______________________________________________________________________________

Contents Birthday Boys! by Doug Strout pages 3-4

First Master by Jonathan Rasberry page 4

Accuracy by Bryan Tillis page 5

Trying Too Hard by Ken Goodman page 6

Tribute to the Legend 3 by Bryan Tillis pages 6-7

Denker Tournament of High School Champions by Stephen Adams page 8

Top 100 (2002 vs. 2013) by Bryan Tillis pages 9-10

Upcoming Events

See www.alabamachess.com calendar for details!

Dec 7 Huntsville Open, Huntsville, Alabama

Dec 7 Alabama Dual Rated Championship, Montgomery, Alabama

Dec 14 Dothan Open, Dothan, Alabama

Dec 28 Magic City Classic, Birmingham, Alabama

January 18 MLK Scholastic Chess Tournament, Montgomery, Alabama

February 8–9 Queen of Hearts, Montgomery, Alabama

March 15–16 Alabama State Scholastic Championship, Montevallo, Alabama

Birthday Boys!

Annotations by Doug Strout

J. Laning (1796) - D.L. Strout (1674) Alabama State Championship 2013, September 8, 2013 This is round five of the 2013 Alabama State Chess Championship, and the opponent is John Laning of Pensacola, Florida. This is something I believe to be truly unique: a USCF-rated tournament game between two players on their mutual birthday. That's right; both John and I are September 8 babies. While the result is ultimately a draw, this game is definitely NOT two nice guys having a birthday party. 1.d4 1.d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 An unusual opening, so I am just trying to play good moves rather than working from preparation. 3...Bf5 4.Nf3 h6

In case he plays Nh4, I can back up the bishop to h7. 5.0-0 e6 6.c4 c6 7.cxd5 exd5 [7...cxd5 Editor: I feel like taking back this way would yield better prospects for Black as there will be no minority attack as seen in the game later. We have a colors reversed London System.] 8.Nc3 Bd6 9.e3 The d4 pawn is in no real danger, and now the c1 bishop is boxed in. What is this move about? [9.Bf4 Editor: I am inclined to agree, e3 is strange. More interesting would have been: 9...Bxf4 10.gxf4 0-0 11.Kh1 Nbd7 12.Ne5 Re8 13.f3 where White has chances to use the open g-file for his rook and will be opening up the position soon with an e4 break.] 9...0-0? 10.Qe2 Nbd7 11.Bd2 Ne4 12.Rfc1 Nb6 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Ba5 Qe7 15.Nd2 Bxg2? [15...Bg6 Editor: Doug has the want—excuse me—the NEED to trade pieces. In this situation, a comparison of the bishops need to be made, Black's light-squared bishop is far stronger and controls valuable squares on the queenside, White’s Bishop bites on d5...] 16.Kxg2 Bb4 17.Bxb4 Qxb4 18.b3 Qe7 19.a3 Rfe8 This double prepares the threat of Qe4+ later. 20.b4 a6 Trying to slow down his pawn

attack on the queenside. 21.Rcb1 Na4 An obvious shot at ...Nc3, but why not, right? 22.Qd3 Nb6 23.a4

…Nd7 24.b5 cxb5 25.axb5 a5 His pawn attack was aimed at destabilizing my queenside, but I don't think he was expecting this. 26.b6 He prevents me from anchoring a5 with ...b6. 26...Ra6 27.Qb5 [27.Rb5 a4 28.Rxd5 Nxb6 29.Rb5 Editor: The Black queenside pawns will be more of a target than a strength in this ending.] 27...Nxb6 Prelude to a nice tactic. 28.Rxa5? [28.Nb3] 28...Rxa5 29.Qxa5 Nc4!

The choice: Either NxN, which drops the exchange to ...Qe4+, or QxP, which drops the knight. 30.Qxd5 Nxd2 31.Rxb7 Unfortunately, he gets a lot of compensation for the knight. 31...Qe4+ 32.Qxe4 Nxe4 Into the endgame with knight for two pawns, but all his pawns are connected into a single formidable pawn island. 33.f3 Nd6 34.Rb3 Rc8 [34...f5 Editor: Securing the majority is important, breaking up pawns creates targets. Two pieces attack a pawn target better than one can defend.] 35.e4 g6 36.d5 Kg7 37.Kh3 Rc2 38.e5 His center pawns keep rolling. I need a defense against that, or a quick, powerful attack. 38...Nc4 39.f4

4

Nd2 [39...g5 Editor: undermining the pawns 40.e6 fxe6 41.dxe6 Kf6 42.fxg5+ hxg5 43.e7 Kxe7 44.Kg4 Kf6 45.h3 Kg6 46.Rb5 Ne3+ 47.Kf3 Rc3 48.Rb6+ Kf5 49.Rb5+ Nd5+ 50.Ke2 Ke4 Black holds on to his kingside pawn and with good technique will win the White pawns and easily win a queen up.] 40.Rd3 Nf1 41.d6 h5 ...Rxh2 is now mate-in-one, but John sees it. 42.Kh4 Now the choice for me: Snap the pawn at h2, or ...Rc8 to play defense. Computer analysis shows I can snap the pawn with my rook, but the line requires very accurate play. One miss on my part and the d-pawn promotes. I fail to make the calculation and go for defense instead. 42...Rc8 [42...Rxh2+ Editor: this is a good judgment call by Doug, very accurate play is required. 43.Kg5 Nd2 44.f5 Rf2 45.f6+ Kh7 46.d7 Ne4+ 47.Kh4 Rh2#] 43.d7 Rd8 44.Kh3 Oh, and by the way, my knight is now toast. 44...Kf8 45.Kg2 Nxh2 46.Kxh2 Ke7 47.Kh3 Rxd7 I get two pawns for a knight, just as he did. Material balance is restored. 48.Rxd7+ Kxd7 I offer a draw here, and John declines. In hindsight, I agree with his rejection of my draw offer, since it allows him time to try to sucker me into losing king opposition. 49.Kh4 Ke6 50.Kg5 Ke7 51.Kh6 Ke6 52.Kg7 Ke7 53.Kg8 Ke8 54.Kg7 Ke7 55.Kh6 Kd7 56.Kg5 Ke6 57.Kh6 Kd7 58.Kg7 Ke7 This is the third occurrence of the position, and the game is drawn. ½-½

First Master

Annotations by Editor

Jonathan Rasberry (1636) - Rex Blalock (2178) Chris Bond Memorial, August 10, 2013 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 As a rule: any knight move other than Ndb5 in this position does very poorly for White.

6.Nf5? [6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 either Bxf6 or Nd5 being the mainlines; 6.Nb3 Bb4 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Bd2 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7; 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Bd2 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7] 6...d5 7.Nxd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Bxf5 9.dxc6 Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 bxc6 11.Be3

Be7 [11...0-0-0+ in the game Black misplaced his king on the kingside. Black can play against White’s queenside majority with this move. 12.Kc1 Kb7 13.Bc4 f6] 12.Bc4 0-0 13.Bb3 Be4 14.f3 Bd5 15.Ke2 a5 16.Ba4 Rab8 17.b3 Rfc8 18.c4 Be6 19.Rad1 f5 20.Rhf1 f4 21.Bd2 Bb4 22.Bxb4 Rxb4 23.Rc1 Kf7 24.Rfd1 Ke7 25.Kf2 g5 26.Re1 Kf6 27.Re2 Bf5? [27...g4] 28.Rd1 Rb7 29.Rd6+ Be6 30.Rxc6 Rxc6 31.Bxc6 Rc7 32.Bb5 +/- 32...h5 33.Rd2 Ke7 34.a3 g4 35.g3 fxg3+ 36.hxg3 gxf3 37.Kxf3 Rc8 38.Ke4 Rg8 39.Rd3 Rg5 40.Re3 Kf6 41.Bc6 Rg4+ 42.Kd3 Rd4+ 43.Kc3 Rg4 44.Be4 h4 45.gxh4 Rxh4 46.b4 axb4+ 47.axb4 Ke7 48.b5 Kd7 49.Kb4 Kc7 50.Kc5 Rh2 51.Bd5 Bxd5 52.Kxd5 Kb7 53.Rxe5 1-0

5

Accuracy

Annotations by Bryan Tillis

Bryan Tillis (2009) - Stephen Smith (1800) Alabama State Championship, September 2, 2007 Around the time this game was played I was studying Tal. I envied the tactical chaos that he created on the board. Lately I have seen too many Berlins, the Alpin, Exchange Variations, London Systems, and 3.Bb5+ in the Sicilian. What happened to the Benoni, Benko, and Dragon? 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Qc2

[4.Nc3 Has better chances for a violent outcome due to the Botvinnik and Moscow variations. 4...e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 (5...h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Ne5 h5 12.0-0; 5...Nbd7 Players always play this continuation to my infinite frustration! 6.e3 Be7 7.Qc2 0-0 8.Rd1 White wins 75 percent of the games in the database from this position.) 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.g3 c5 13.d5 Qb6 14.Bg2 0-0-0 15.0-0 b4 16.Rb1 With a true chess game!] 4...g6 5.Bf4 Na6 [5...Bf5 6.Qb3 Qb6 7.c5 Qxb3 8.axb3 Bxb1 9.Rxb1 Nbd7 10.b4 a6 11.h3 Bg7 12.e3 the mainline] 6.a3? A wasted move, Nb4 is not a threat. [6.e3 Bf5 7.Qb3 Nb4 8.Qxb4 e5 9.Qxb7 Rb8 10.Qxc6+ Bd7 11.Qxf6 Qxf6 12.Bxe5 Qb6 13.b3 Bb4+ 14.Nbd2 Ionescu-Morozevich, 98, 1/2-1/2, Always look to Morozevich on both sides of the board to find promising and aggressive continuations!] 6...Bg7 7.e3 Nc7 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Rc1? [9.Be5 A more principled move counteracting Black's good bishop with my bad bishop. 9...Be6 10.c5 b6 11.Bd3 bxc5 12.dxc5 Bc8 13.0-0 Qd7 14.h3 Ne6 15.b4 Bb7 16.Rfd1 Nh5 17.Bxg7 Nhxg7 18.e4 dxe4 19.Bc4 Qc7 20.Nxe4] 9...dxc4 10.Bxc4 Ncd5 11.Bg3 [11.Be5 with the same idea above] 11...Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qa5 13.0-0 b5 [13...Bf5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Nh5 16.Nd2 Nxg3 17.hxg3 e5=] 14.Bd3 Rd8 15.Ne5 Bb7 16.Qb3 e6 17.c4 a6 Thus far I have been required to play in a

positional manner due to my opponent’s play. I remember taking a long time in this position trying to come up with a tactical line. 18.cxb5!? [18.c5 Today to my infinite disgust this would be my first choice in the position. This is a nightmare for Black as his bishop is entombed. 18...Nh5 19.Bh4 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.Rfd1 Qc7 22.Qc2 a5 23.Rb1 Bc8 24.Be2 Nd5 25.e4 Nf6 26.Bf3] 18...cxb5 19.Bc4

Setting up for many tricks and possible sacrifices. 19...Ne4? [19...bxc4 20.Qxb7 Rf8 21.Nxc4+-; 19...Re8 This ruins all the fun and stops the attack cold leading to an = position. Alas, my opponent is not a computer and going for the tactical continuation will sometimes win on the spot.] 20.Bxe6 Nd2 [20...fxe6 21.Qxe6+ Kh8 22.Nf7+ Kg8 23.Nh6+ Kh8 24.Qg8+ Rxg8 25.Nf7#] 21.Qa2 [21.Bxf7+ Kh8 22.Qe6 Bd5 (22...Be4 23.Qh3 h6 24.Bxg6 Bd5 25.Nf7+ Bxf7 26.Bxf7 Ra7 27.Qe6 Rf8 28.Bg6 Nxf1 29.Rxf1 Qd8 30.Bd3 Qe8 31.Qb6 Re7 32.d5 Rd7 33.e4 with a completely winning position for White as the central pawns will continue to march) 23.Nxg6+ hxg6 24.Qh3+ Bh6 25.Qxh6#]

21...Bxe5 [21...Nxf1 22.Nxf7 Nxg3 (22...Kf8 23.Nxd8 Nxg3 24.Nxb7 Ne4 25.Qd5+-) 23.Nxd8+ Kf8 24.Bg8!] 22.Bxf7+ Kf8 23.Bxe5 Nxf1 24.Qe6 Qxa3 [24...Bd5 25.Bd6+ Rxd6 (25...Kg7 26.Qxd5 Rxd6 27.Qxd6 Kxf7 28.Rc7+ Kg8 29.Qe6+ Kh8 30.Qf6+ Kg8 31.Qg7#) 26.Qxd6+ Kxf7 27.Qxd5+ Kg7 28.Qxa8 Nd2+-] 25.Qf6 Mate in 3 1-0

6

Trying Too Hard

Annotations by Ken Goodman

Ken Goodman - Ray Downs Montgomery Championship, March 22,1981 Here's an old game from the last round of the 1981 Montgomery Championship. There are plenty of mistakes in this game, but I like it because it reminds me of Ray's fighting spirit. 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.e3

Bg7 [Editor: This scheme of development was chosen by Avrukh, the first author of the immensely popular GM Repertoire series. In these systems (traditionally) White will be required to waste a tempo to play e4 to gain space. Black seeks control over the e4 square as quickly as possible while having the potential to undermine the center. 3...c5 4.c3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Nbd2 d5] 4.Bd3 0-0 5.Nbd2 d6 6.b3 e5 7.dxe5 Ng4 8.Bb2 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 dxe5 10.e4 Nd7 [10...Nc6 11.Nf3 Qe7 12.0-0 Rd8 seems to place Black’s pieces more effectively.] 11.c4? exacerbates the threat [11.0-0 Nc5 12.Bc4=] 11...Nc5 12.Bc2 c6 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.0-0 Ne6 15.Nf3 Nf4 16.Qe3 Bh6 17.Kh1 Bg7 18.Rad1 Bg4 19.Rd2 h5 20.g3 Nh3 21.Ng1 Kh7 22.Nxh3 Bxh3 23.Rfd1 Bh6 24.f4 Bg4 25.Rf1 Rad8 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Qc3 f6 28.fxe5 Bd2 29.exf6 Qc5 30.Qe5 After the game, another player asked Ray why he didn't swap queens here, which he felt was at least a draw. Ray's reply: "I wanted to win."

30...Qe3?? 31.Qe7+ Kh6 32.Qg7+ Kg5 33.h4# ... which Ray missed in focusing on his own attack.

Tribute to the Legend 3

Annotations by The Editor

This is the third edition of our Tribute to the Legend series. Our candidate this time is five-time Alabama State Champion, NM Charles Meidinger. Charles Meidinger (2155) - Andy Reeder (2103) Puckett Invitational, October 20, 2001

1.d4 1.d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 [4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 More topical is to play the exchange variation at this juncture. It gives White optimum flexibility from the non-development of the g1 knight. ] 4...Nbd7 A tricky move order by Black who still wants to defend an exchange variation. More usual is playing: [4...c6 Where, if White doesn’t play e3, he can very well find himself in one of the fun variations of the Slav (See Spring Antics for more info). 5.Nf3 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7] 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5

Cambridge Springs! 7.cxd5 [7.Nd2 Bb4 8.Qc2 0-0

7

9.Be2 e5 10.0-0 exd4 11.Nb3 Qb6 Following Carlsen-Kasparov 2004, 1-2/1-2 that was discussed in the 2011 60 Minutes interview with Magnus Carlsen.] 7...exd5 [7...Nxd5 is the more common variation 8.Qd2 Bb4 9.Rc1 h6 10.Bh4 c5 11.a3 Bxc3 12.bxc3 b6 13.Bd3 Ba6 14.c4 Qxd2+ 15.Nxd2 cxd4 16.exd4 Nf4 Following Mamedyarov - Ivanchuk 2010, 1/2-1/2.] 8.Bxf6 Meidinger shows the nature of his style of play with this move. Much like a Karpov or his predecessor Petrosian, he characterizes the position in a solid and cautious manner. [8.Bd3 Ne4 9.0-0 A more aggressive option used by Grischuk where White has offered a pawn to keep his bishop pair and rapid development, or his dark squared bishop with speedy development.] 8...Nxf6 9.Be2 Bd6 [9...Ne4 10.Qb3 Bb4 11.Rc1 0-0 12.0-0 Bg4 with slight pressure for black] 10.0-0 0-0 11.Ne5 Bxe5?

[11...Nd7 12.f4 f6 13.Nf3 Re8 Seems more natural to me keeping complications and the bishop pair. Taking on e5 eliminates a positive imbalance for Black.] 12.dxe5 Ne4 13.Qd4 Re8 14.f4 Nxc3 15.bxc3 c5?!

[15...Bf5 Black has the better pawn structure why compromise it?] 16.Qd3 [16.Qxd5 Qxc3 17.Qb3 Qxb3 18.axb3 Be6 19.Bf3=] 16...Rd8 17.h3 a6 18.Bf3 Qb5 19.Rfd1 Be6 20.c4 [20.g4 g6 21.Qc2 d4 (21...Qe8 22.f5) 22.cxd4 cxd4 23.exd4 Bd5+-] 20...Qxc4 21.Qxc4 dxc4 22.Bxb7 Rab8 23.Bxa6 [23.Rxd8+ Rxd8 24.Rc1 a5 25.Ba6 Rd2 26.Bxc4 Bxc4 27.Rxc4 Rxa2 28.Rxc5 Kf8 29.f5 h6 30.Rc8+ Ke7 31.Rc7+ Ke8 32.Ra7] 23...Kf8? [23...Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 c3

25.Rc1 Ra8 26.Bd3 Ra3 27.f5 Bd5 28.e4 Bc6 29.Rb1 Kf8 30.f6 Be8 31.Rc1 Bd7 32.Kf1 h5 33.Bc4 Be6 34.Bxe6 fxe6 35.g3 gxf6 36.exf6 Kf7 37.e5 c4 38.Kg1 Rxa2 39.Rxc3 Re2 40.Rxc4 Rxe5 41.Rf4 Rf5 42.Rxf5 exf5 43.h4 Kxf6=] 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Bb7 c3 26.Rc1 Rd3 27.Kf2 Bxa2 28.Be4 Rd2+ 29.Kf3 Bb3 30.Rxc3 c4 31.Bc6 Bd1+ 32.Kg3 Rd3 33.Rxc4 Rxe3+ 34.Kf2 Re2+ 35.Kf1 Rc2 36.Rxc2 Bxc2 37.Ke2 h5 38.h4 g6 39.Ke3 Ke7 40.Be4 Ba4 41.f5 Be8

[41...gxf5 42.Bxf5 f6 43.Kf4 Bb5 44.Bc2 Bf1 45.g3 Be2 46.Be4 Bg4 47.Bd3 Ke6 48.Bc4+ Ke7 49.Ke4 Bd1 50.Bd5 Bc2+ 51.Kd4 Bd1 52.Bc4 Bf3 53.Ke3 Bg4 54.Ke4 Bd1 55.Ba2 Bc2+ 56.Kd4 Bf5 57.Bd5 Bg4 (57...fxe5+ 58.Kxe5 Bg4 59.Bc4 Bf3 60.Kf4 Bd1 61.Kg5 Kf8 62.Bb5 Bg4 63.Bd3 Kg7 64.Bg6+-) 58.Bc4= if Black ever takes his h-pawn is indefensible; if White ever takes, Black can defend the h-pawn with a draw.(58.exf6+ Kxf6 59.Ke3 Ke5 60.Bf7 Bd1=) ] 42.Kf4 gxf5 43.Kxf5 Bd7+ 44.Kg5 Bg4 45.Bf3 Ke6 46.Bxg4+ hxg4 47.Kxg4 Kxe5 48.Kg5 Ke6 49.h5 Ke7 50.h6 Kf8 51.Kf6 Kg8 52.g4 Kh7 53.g5 Kg8 54.Ke7 Kh7 55.Kxf7 Kh8 56.Kf6 Kg8 57.Ke7 Kh7 58.Kf8 Kh8 59.Kf7 Kh7 60.g6+ Never in any real danger and always willing to press on in the equal position. 1-0

Image and Game from logicalchess.com

8

Denker Tournament of Champions

Annotations by Stephen Adams

Upon winning the Alabama Scholastic State

Championship held in March, I received the opportunity to represent Alabama in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. Held in Madison, Wisconsin, July 27 through July 30, the tournament featured forty-eight of the nation’s strongest scholastic players. It was certainly as brutal as advertised. Of my six opponents, one was a master, two were candidate masters, and the other three were experts. Although I fell short of my goal, I still garnered a respectable score of three points and placed #23. The following is my fourth round game against the representative from Texas, Vincent Zhang. Stephen Adams (1871) - Vincent Zhang (2175) Denker Tournament, July 2013 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 f5 4. Bb5 d6 5. f4 exf4 6. Qh5+!? [Simply recapturing or even the gambit 6. Nf3 might be better, but I want complications early.] 6... g6

7. Qf3 Nf6 [The point of Qh5+. By forcing g6, I now have a double attack on both the rook on h8 and the knight on c6] 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Bxf6 [Giving up the bishop pair for activity.] 9... Qxf6 10. Qxc6+ Kd8 11. Nc3 [I develop a piece while blocking his attack on a1.]11... fxe3 [He wants to counterattack. Other options seem worse. 11... Rb8 12. exf4!? 12... Bb7 13. Qb5 and I have compensation for the bishop pair because of the pawn and his potentially unsafe king. All other options lose to 12. Qxa8]12. Nf3 [Quick development looks best. 12. Qxa8 loses quickly to 12... exd2+ 13. Kxd2 (all other options lose to Qxc3) 13... Qd4+ and my king is about to be smashed to bits while my queen is out of play. 12. dxe3 is possible but I didn’t want to tie my queen down to the pawn. For example, 12... Rb8 13. Nf3 13... Bb7 14. Qc4 and Black has a multitude of options to hurt me, such as 14... Ba6, 14... Bg7, or 14... Bh6.]12... exd2+ [Uncovering my king even more. 12... Rb8 is another

option, but he wants to expose my king before he evicts my queen.] 13. Kxd2 [The computer likes 13. Kf2 here. Now after 13... Rb8 14. Nd5 14... Qg7, White has the stunning 15. Rhe1!!. After 15... dxe1=Q+ 16. Rxe1 16... Qd7 (the only way to defend Re8# without allowing Qxc7+, with mate to follow), White can play the surreal 17. Ng5!!. If 17... Qxc6, then there is mate in two with 18. Nf7+, 18... Kd7, 19. Nf6#. Other options come up short too: 17... Bb7 loses to 18. Nf7+! 18... Qxf7 19. Re8+ 19... Qxe8 20. Qxc7#. 17... Rb7 loses to 18. Nf6.] 13... Bh6+ He develops a piece with tempo, which is usually the best option.] 14. Kd3! [Retreating to the back rank is no good as it would pin both my knight and my queen down. 14. Ke2 allows 14... Re8+ and I am busted.]14... Rb8 [The natural move. He stops the attack on his rook and prepares to remove my queen from her threatening post.] 15. Nb5 [15. Nd5 comes up short as he can defend with 15... Qf7 16. Nd4 16... Bb7 and after 17. Ne6+, he has the sidestep 17...Kc8!. His position is much better after the queen trade with 18. Qxc7+ due to his two bishops in an open position.] 15... Qf7 16. Nfd4 Rb6 Unlike in my previous note, 16... Bb7 17. Ne6+ 17... Kc8 now loses to Nxa7#.]17. Rae1

1/2 - 1/2 [Draw agreed due to the perpetual after 17... Rxc6 18. Nxc6+ 18... Kd7 19. Nb8+ 19... Kd8 20. Nc6+] After this game, I found myself in a difficult struggle that night against Pennsylvania’s Kevin Mo (2337) in which he methodically earned a win against me. The next day in the final round, I drew Northern California’s Hunter Klotz-Burwell (2090). Overall, it was an enriching experience, and it helped me grow much stronger as a player. I would like to thank the Alabama Chess Federation for their financial support. I give special thanks to Bradley Denton for coaching me, Scott Varagona for helping me practice, and Gerald Larson and Charles Smith for analyzing the games between rounds.

Top 100: 2002 vs. 2013

by Bryan Tillis

I have been going through old issues of the Antics to get fresh ideas for the upcoming issues. In the Spring Issue of 2003 this list was presented stating: “The following is a list of Alabama’s top chess players at the end of the year. Perhaps this could be published once a year to serve as a measuring stick, marking your progress against your friends!” I thought it would be interesting to revisit to see how the face of Alabama chess has changed over the past decade. The top 100 may even be included in next year’s Winter issue. These lists are the December 2002 top 100 supplement list and the October 2013 upcoming ratings of players who have a current USCF membership generated through: http://main.uschess.org/datapage/top-players.php.

1 *FRANK A CAMARATTA 2320 *IM STUART RACHELS 2605 2 *JOHN F MORASH 2210 BRADLEY J DENTON 2369 3 BILL MELVIN 2200 *IM EMORY TATE 2354 4 KYLE ALLEN THERRELL 2198 *FRANK A CAMARATTA 2320 5 STEPHEN B DOWD 2195 SCOTT VARAGONA 2217 6 * DANIEL H THOMAS 2189 *JOHN F MORASH 2210 7 *MATHEW V PUCKETT 2186 BRYAN TILLIS 2210 8 CHARLES L MEIDINGER 2154 GERALD A LARSON 2208 9 BRIAN JAMES LANKEY 2137 BILL MELVIN 2200 10 *BRENT H INMAN 2125 *KYLE ALLEN THERRELL 2198 11 GERALD A LARSON 2112 *STEVEN B DOWD 2194 12 ANDY REEDER 2100 JOSEPH H JURJEVICH 2152 13 *RICHARD G PRICE 2087 ANDY P MAY 2146 14 *MARK W GLENN 2043 * JAMES LEE RICHARDSON 2140 15 *CRAIG PRESSON 2020 REX E BLALOCK 2126 16 *BEN L SIDES 2016 BRENT H INMAN 2110 17 DAVID A HATER 2008 *RICHARD G PRICE 2097 18 *LEE C MARING 2001 *JOSEPH C MC CARTY 2092 19 SCOTT VARAGONA 1998 *DR ALBERT E FRANKLIN 2076 20 GARY L BAILEY 1979 CHARLES L MEIDINGER 2063 21 *RANIL D GUNERATNE 1976 WILL THOMAS STEVENSON 2046 22 *NUWAN SURIYAGODA 1962 JOSHUA THOMAS MCCLELLAN 2042 23 *ROBERT F PRUITT 1959 *THOMAS A NARD 2031 24 JOSEPH N MARCRUM 1950 *CRAIG PRESSON 2020 25 *JERE E ROLAND 1945 *WILLIAM M FOWLER 2009 26 OZGUR AKTUNC 1937 STEPHEN W ADAMS 2005 27 JAMES LEE RICHARDSON 1930 *PETER A LEUTHOLD 1996 28 MARK L LIATTI 1923 TERRENCE W EDINBURGH 1982 29 *SVEN-PETER MANNSFELD 1919 *EVAN NICHOLAS GILBERT 1970 30 JAMES R LINHOLM 1915 GORDON JAMALL RANDALL 1970 31 KIETH R JAKEMAN 1913 ROGER D JOHNSON 1969 32 TIM BOND 1912 JAMES LINHOLM 1957 33 JEFFEREY M MC ALEER 1902 *ROBERT LUBIN 1949 34 KIRK D PETTY 1900 *ROGER COUPLAND 1939 35 GILES D’SOUZA 1892 ANTONIO GELLINEAU 1918 36 JOHN G SCHWEINSBERG 1887 * JEFFREY S WIEN 1911 37 *ALAN TODD 1885 MILES MELVIN 1904 38 KENNETH W GOODMAN 1875 KIRK D PETTY 1904 39 *JAMES D DREADING 1873 *DR SVEN-PETER MANNSFELD 1903 40 *JOHN MORCOS 1864 *RAY DOWNS 1894 41 * CHARLES A SMITH 1863 *RABBI MARK A PEILEN 1887 42 JEFFEREY S WEIN 1856 * JAMES P SCHEUERMANN 1886 43 VIRGIL ADUMITROAIE 1854 * BRIAN C WIGGIN 1862 44 *PHIL DILLARD 1852 *ALAN TODD 1861 45 *BARRON M WEGMAN 1850 ROBERT HENRY DURRETT 1860 46 ZACHARY Z KINNEY 1837 * JOHN G SCHWEINSBERG 1853 47 THOMAS H LAWRY 1830 * CORBIN HOLLAND 1851 48 WILLIAM C BOMAR 1826 KENNETH JIAO 1851 49 HARRY W JONES 1825 THOMAS H LAWRY 1847 50 * MICHAEL K CHENAULT 1823 CHARLES A SMITH 1845 51 CAESAR W LAWRENCE 1820 KENNETH SLOAN 1842

10

52 * MICHAEL D LAWSON 1814 CODY HEATH WEETER 1831 53 *JACK C MALLORY 1800 ARDEN QUINLAN MARKIN 1823 54 *DAVID HAYES 1797 CAESAR W LAWRENCE 1823 55 BIJAN KHALEGI 1794 KEVIN WANG 1823 56 ROSS OWEN SMITH 1794 *TIMOTHY T EUM 1822 57 * JAMES R GIPSON 1786 * FRANCIS G GREINER 1810 58 SCOTT HELTON 1785 *JAMES DANIEL DREADING 1805 59 *CLYDE K DUNAGAN 1779 * STEPHEN B SMITH 1804 60 RHODES PEELE 1778 STEPHEN JAMES GRAVELING 1801 61 GREG V FUNARO 1775 JOHN DAUGHERTY 1800 62 JAMES P SCHEUERMANN 1772 TIM BOND 1800 63 STEVEN A TRAMELL 1772 BRIAN MCCORMICK 1799 64 RALPH Z LEVENE 1763 KENNETH W GOODMAN 1788 65 *DAVID L MURPHY 1760 ANDREW DAVID MORRIS 1787 66 WILLIAM R SAVOIE 1757 WFM UYEN LE 1785 67 JERALD A MC GOWIN 1745 *LUIS ALVARO HARNES 1785 68 GERALD A WHEELER 1739 ADRIAN J MAJERLE 1785 69 CHARLES D CLEVELAND 1736 *ANDREW A KOCHIS JR 1780 70 *RUSSELL FREEMAN 1730 *CLYDE K DUNAGAN 1779 71 *JOHN E BETANCOURT 1729 RHODES PEELE 1768 72 *KENNETH SLOAN 1728 *DAVID L MURPHY 1760 73 *JACK GWIN 1727 JAMES R GIPSON 1753 74 *LAWRENCE D FISK 1717 STEVE MENGXI CHEN 1751 75 *WALTER J SCHAETZLE 1700 *DAVID HAYES 1727 76 *ALBERT E GOWER 1695 MATTHEW THOMAS 1727 77 WELDON K CHAFIN 1694 *KEN KIRBY 1720 78 EDWARD T DEAN 1694 *WILLIE JEROME SANDIFER 1718 79 * GARY A ASH 1693 *LOUIS S DE FIORE 1717 80 * WILLIAM T HENDRY 1692 *LAWRENCE D FISK 1717 81 ERIC M NAGER 1687 GARY DISSETTE 1703 82 ROGER K MC INTYER 1685 *CHUCK E SINGLETON 1700 83 MIKE J BEGALA 1677 * RUSSELL FREEMAN 1699 84 *CORBIN W HOLLAND 1676 LANDON B ANGLIN 1696 85 PATRICK R ALFORD 1673 CHRISTOPHER J LASKY 1696 86 *JAMES F JOHNSON 1671 *ERIC M NAGER 1690 87 *WALTER V HIGGINBOTHAM 1663 MICHAEL DAVID LAWSON 1687 88 GREGORY M WILDER 1648 *WILLIAM R SAVOIE 1684 89 TODD C REYNOLDS 1628 * JAMES BROOKS 1678 90 CORENEL M MUELLER 1626 *WALTER F MALMBORG JR 1672 91 SHANNON ISRAEL 1623 JONATHAN RASBERRY 1670 92 *ROY F STANTON 1623 *J C SUDDETH JR 1665 93 JAMES R BOWEN 1622 *EDWARD R MC KEE JR 1654 94 CHRISTOPHER J LASKY 1619 *STEPHEN O'SHEA 1653 95 MARK P STRIBLING 1619 KEYVAN AMOUIE 1649 96 *ALFORD J BROWN 1617 KELLY CHEN 1643 97 HORST K RUPERT 1608 *ROY KEELEY JR 1641 98 *ROBERT BRONAR 1601 * HENRY G CADENHEAD 1638 99 *W P COLLINS 1600 MARIA ARMANDA BLALOCK 1638 100 *FRANCIS GREINER 1591 DOUGLAS STROUT 1637

I placed an asterisk by every player who has not competed in a standard rated event in Alabama the year the list was created. (For instance: John F Morash 2210 has not competed in a Standard USCF event since 1997 so he gets an asterisk for not competing in Alabama in 2002. Whereas Richard Price 2097 has not played in an event since the State Championship 2005, so he gets an asterisk for not competing in Alabama 2013.)

In the introduction it was presented how we are working towards improving scholastic chess and our overall state numbers. I would like to understand why the above players are current USCF members and not competing, and would like to see a push to get back many of our adult players who have faded into inactivity. In some cases the answer is clear, IM Stuart Rachels retired from chess and IM Emory Tate has been living in California for the past year and simply hasn’t updated his state on the USCF website. You can see when you exclude the players with the asterisk; our top 100 list is hurting (50 of the 100 have an asterisk). With the same check in 2002 (45 inactive) it is clear we have had a statistical problem in the state for over a decade that hasn’t been addressed. I would go so far as to offer a free entry fee to an individual who hasn’t played in Alabama in over five years. Or implement a tournament with classical chess time controls of 40 moves in two hours, SD one hour. A number of these players I have spoken with say our modern controls are too fast. As a state we do not have one tournament with classical time controls left in Alabama.