Feb 2004

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The First Move

The Official Newsletter of McHenry Area Chess

Volume 1 Number 1 www.McHenryAreaChess.org February 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 1

- Purposes of the Organization

- First Tournament!

Page 2

- McHenry Area Chess Officially Formed

- Announcements

Pages 3-4

- Games of the Month

Purposes of the Organization

McHenry Area Chess is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a venue for players in the county to play chess competitively and for recreation.

Any and all profits from McHenry Area Chess (M.A.C.) events will be used for club operations or donated charitably.

We hope you enjoy receiving our monthly newsletter. If you wish to receive this newsletter via e-mail, please contact us at www.McHenryAreaChess.org, or speak to Bob, Andrew or Jeff in person.

First McHenry Area Chess Tournament

One of the most important functions of McHenry Area Chess is to run tournaments. These are officially rated USCF tournaments. They are one day events, typically lasting three or four rounds. They are held on the third Saturday of the month at the Crystal Lake Park District headquarters building at 1 Crystal Lake Avenue, at the corner of Walkup Avenue. Doors open for registration by 8 AM, with round 1 starting at 9 AM.

Our first tournament is scheduled for Feb 21, 2004. Players do not have to be members of the McHenry Area Chess group to play. For this event, the entry fee is $10. Cash prizes will be based on the number of entries.

Because this is a rated tournament, USCF membership is required. People who aren't currently USCF can join at the tournament. If you have recently joined, you must provide proof of your membership at the tournament! Thank you for your cooperation.

The first round begins at 9:00 AM, with four rounds of play that should end no later than 6 PM. Time limits for each game are Sudden Death, Game in 45. Please bring your set, board and clock.

E-mail Andrew@McHenryAreaChess.org to pre-register. You must already be a USCF member. Then pay on site – please don’t be late! We cannot pair you for the first round if you do not arrive by 8:55.

McHenry Area Chess officially formed

McHenry Area Chess is an organization of chess enthusiasts in the McHenry county area of northern Illinois. The group has been formed as an outgrowth of the Borders and Caribou Coffee groups, in response to the loss of the Center Street Chess Club. When Jeff Buchman, who managed the CSCC, relocated to Ohio, the opportunity for rated tournament play in this area went with him. Wishing to fill the void, a few people from the Borders club started talking, and as these things happen, one thing led to another, which ended up here.

The mission of McHenry Area Chess is to promote chess as an educational and enjoyable activity for the people of McHenry County, Illinois, and the surrounding area. To do this we continue to play at our regularly scheduled meetings at Borders (every Tuesday evening from 7 to 10 PM). And we are continuing the tournament schedule established by the CSCC, holding one day events of the third Saturday of the month at the Crystal Lake Park District headquarters building.

As McHenry Area Chess grows, we will continue to explore new ways to improve the access to chess events in our area.

Announcements

Congratulations to Bryce Kille, for finishing 8^th at the National Championships, and for making it onto the USCF (unofficial) Top 100 List. Look for his name to make the official list in April, after the USCF learns that he is 8 years old, not 28! We hope to see more McHenry County residents represented on the Top 100 Lists soon.

Our new website, McHenry Area Chess, is located at www.McHenryAreaChess.org. At this site, you can find the complete newsletter, as well as some exciting features. Please check out the games collections. You can play through the games on the website, making them easy to follow!

Our executive board consists of Bob Cairone, Andrew Wang and Jeff Colwell. We can usually be found at Borders of Crystal Lake every Tuesday night. We hope to see you there!

Our next tournament will be a USCF rated Quad tournament on March 20, 2004. The time control will be Game in 75 minutes. More details will be posted on the website by February 21.

We would like to thank Quizno’s subs for donating a free lunch as a prize for our tournaments.

J.P. Stanley vs Billy Ford

Here is a crazy attacking game. White is aggressive the whole game, and it pays off!

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Nc3 Bb4?!

4. Bc4 Nf6

5. Ng5 0-0

6. Nd5? Nxd5

7. c3 Bd6

8. d4 Nf4?

..Qxg5 would win a piece.

9. Qg4 Be7

10. h4

Black to play. Can he win a piece?

…d6?

…d5 would win a piece by combining a discovered attack on the queen with a threat to the bishop.

11. Qg3 h6

12. Qh2 Bxg5?

13. hxg5 Qxg5

Can White win a piece here?

14. g3!

Excellent! White attacks the pinned piece, winning material.

… Nd3+

15. Bxd3 Qf6

16. Be2 exd4

17. g4 g5

18. f4!? gxf4

White is opening up the position by Black’s king. But he has to watch out for his own king!

19. Bxf4 Re8

20. Bxh6 Rxe4

21. Bg5

What?! Can’t Black just take the bishop?

… Qg7!

The bishop is poisoned! If Black takes the bishop, Qh8 is mate!

22. 0-0-0? Bxg4?

But here, Qxg5+ is a good move. White can’t play Qh8 because his own king is in check.

23. Rdg1! Rxe2

24. Qh4 Bf3??

A big mistake! Does J.P. see it?

25. Bf6!!

Excellent! The queen is pinned and Black can’t avoid checkmate. A bishop on f6 (or f3) can often lead to checkmate.

… Bxh1

26. Rxg7+ Kf8

27. Qh8# 1-0

Tyler Peterson vs Austin Walker

There are some great ideas in this game. The second puzzle is very difficult. Can you figure it out?

1. d4 e5?!

The Englund Gambit. A good way to play for White is 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Nc3! Nxe5 5.e4.

2. e3 d6

3. Nd2 Nf6

4. c3 Nc6

5. Bd3 Be7

6. Ngf3 Be6

7. Bb5 Qd7?

What is the best move for White?

8. dxe5! dxe5

9. Nxe5 Qd5!

Black couldn’t take back on e5 because his knight was pinned! So White won a pawn. But now his knight and bishop are forked, and the Queen also threatens g2.

10. Nxc6 bxc6

How can White rescue both his Bishop and the g2 pawn?

11. Bc4?!

11. Bf1!? looks like the only good move. White moves the hanging bishop and protects the hanging pawn. A double defense. However, there is a better move.

11. Be2!! This is the kind of move that great players see. After..Qxg2 White plays 12.Bf3! Play this out on your board. Black can’t prevent the fork Bxc6 without losing his queen. This is an excellent example of active defense. White doesn’t defend the g2 pawn, but creates a threat so powerful that Black can’t afford to take the pawn.

… Qxg2

12. Rf1 Bxc4

13. Nxc4 0—0

14. Nxe5 Rad8

15. Bd2 Bd6

16. Nxc6? Rfe8?

It’s easy to miss long backward moves. …Qxc6 wins the knight.

17. Nxa7 Bxh2

18. Qc2 Re6

19. 0-0-0 Qa8

20. Qa4 Qb7

21. Nb5 Ne4

22. Be1 Nc5

23. Qc2 Qxb5

24. Rh1!?

Black’s Bishop is pinned because, if it moves, Qxh7 is checkmate. Does Black have any way to save the bishop?

… Be5??

Black could have saved his bishop with … Rh6!! If White tries to trap the bishop with 25.f4?!, Black plays Bxf4! Instead, Black allows …

25. Qxh7# 1-0