It’s the biggest, rowdiest team competition in American chess, and an unheralded Virginia team has taken home the blue ribbon.
Without a grandmaster on the roster, the Virginia Assassins — NMs James Schuyler, Daniel Miller and Andrew Samuelson and Class B player Lucas Knoll — captured the 45th Amateur Team-East Tournament over Presidents Day weekend at the mammoth event’s traditional Parsippany, New Jersey, home. By far the biggest of the regional tournaments to set up the final four for the U.S. team championship this spring, this year’s Amateur East attracted some 270 team and over 1,100 players — including nearly a dozen grandmasters — on a bone-chilling February weekend.
The Assassins won five matches and drew their sixth and final pairing to finish at 5½-½, winning the title on tiebreaks over the NYC Legends and New Jersey-based Magnus et Potens. The coveted “best team name” prize went to “Legalized Carajuana,” an inside joke only a true chess fan could understand, let alone find funny.
We’ll have some action from the East event next week.
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Positional masterpieces are like the creamed spinach of the chess smorgasbord — nutritious and beneficial but not the first thing that gets piled on the plate at the Golden Corral buffet.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand has long been known as a tactical wizard, but it was a beautiful positional masterpiece against American GM Hikaru Nakamura that propelled him to a win in the classical portion of the Zurich Chess Challenge last week. (Nakamura would bounce back to win the event’s rapid tournament and claim the overall crown in a one-game playoff with Anand.)
In a classic Queens’ Gambit Declined struggle, Nakamura as Black overlooks a great chance to change the dynamic of the game with 18…axb4! (instead of the game’s 18…g6?!) 19. axb4 Qxa1 21. b5 cxb5 22. Qxb5, when Black has excellent chances after 22…Ra7 23. c6 Nf8 24. Nc1 Rc7 25. Nd3. Instead, White gets a firm grip on the position after 25. Rb6!, when Black would soon be smothered after 25…Rxb6 26. Qxb6 Qa4 (Qa5 27. Rxc6) 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Qb3 Qxb3 29. Rxb3 Bf8 30. Nf4 Be7 31. Nd3 Bd8 32. b7, pinning the rook to the back rank.
A fabulous finesse by White comes after 31. Rb7 Rxa6 32. Qxa6 g5 (see diagram; Black is desperate to gin up some counterplay on the kingside) 33. Qe2!!, forcing 33…g4, closing up the kingside and allowing the White queen to return instantly to offensive operations.
With one more tactical shoal to navigate, it’s over after 37. Nd7 Qh7 (Ra8 37. Ra7! [and not 37. Qxc6? Ra2! 38. Nf6 Be3!!, and Black draws with perpetual check!] 38. Qxa7 Qh7 39. Nf6! Qd3 40. Qb8 Qf3+ 41. Kg1 Qd1+ 42. Kh2, and the coming check on g8 is crushing) 37. Nxf8 Qe4+ 38. Kh2 Kxf8 39. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Qc8 Kg6 41. Qh8, when 41… Qf3 42. Rg8+ Kf5 43. Qh7 is mate. White’s impeccable handling of the queenside pressure — against one of the strongest players in the world — is a joy to watch.
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The game’s great positional players — from Steinitz and Tarrasch to Petrosian and Kramnik — aren’t always crowd-pleasers, but their best games have a subtle beauty and structural logic that can be just as compelling as the flashiest queen sacrifice. Today’s Game 2 features one of the best, former Russian world champ Anatoly Karpov, outgeneraling his archrival GM Viktor Korchnoi in a game from the 1973 Soviet championship. Black offers up — and White greedily grabs — a pawn in exchange for an enduring positional edge, one that Karpov ever so patiently converts into a full point.
The sometimes irascible Korchnoi was reportedly not happy with Black’s cheeky 2…b5, but the position develops normally enough until Black offers up his b-pawn after 13. Bb2 Nc6!? 14. e5 Nd5 15. axb5 axb5 16. Qb1 cxd4 17. cxd4 h6 18. Bb5. It turns out that White’s extra pawn on d4 gets in his own way, while Black enjoys a strong queenside initiative and control of key central squares.
Despite his material deficit, Karpov is perfectly willing to trade pieces, so long as White’s locked-in dark-squared bishop remains on the board. With White on the defensive, virtually from the time he gains the pawn, Korchnoi finally cracks under the pressure, though the end comes with unexpected swiftness.
Thus: 37. Qxa2 Qc4! (the troublesome pin on the knight is just White’s latest headache) 38. Qb1 Qe2 39. Qc1 Bg5 40. Qf1 Qf3!, threatening both 41…Qxb3 and 41…Ne3! 42. fxe3 Bxe3+. White sealed 41. h4, but resigned before resuming facing lines such as 41…Bf4! 42. gxf4 Qxb3, and the unfortunate bishop is hopelessly trapped.
Anand-Nakamura, Zurich Chess Challenge, Zurich, January 2015
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Re1 Bf6 15. Kg2 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Rfb8 17. h4 Qa7 18. Ne2 g6 19. Rab1 axb4 20. axb4 Qa2 21. Rec1 bxc5 22. bxc5 h5 23. Ne5 Nxe5 24. fxe5 Bg7 25. Rb6 Rc8 26. Nc3 Qa7 27. Rcb1 Qd7 28. R1b4 Bh6 29. Na4 Qd8 30. Ra6 Kg7 31. Rb7 Rxa6 32. Qxa6 g5 33. Qe2 g4 34. Qa6 Qg8 35. Nb6 Rf8 36. Nd7 Qh7 37. Nxf8 Qe4+ 38. Kh2 Kxf8 39. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Qc8 Kg6 41. Qh8 Black resigns.
Korchnoi-Karpov, Soviet Championship, Moscow, 1973
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b5 3. c3 Bb7 4. a4 a6 5. e3 Nc6 6. d4 e6 7. b4 Be7 8. Nbd2 Na7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. e4 d6 11. O-O c5 12. bxc5 dxc5 13. Bb2 Nc6 14. e5 Nd5 15. axb5 axb5 16. Qb1 cxd4 17. cxd4 h6 18. Bxb5 Qb6 19. Be2 Rxa1 20. Bxa1 Qa7 21. Nc4 Rb8 22. Bb2 Ba6 23. Qc2 Qb7 24. Ba1 Ncb4 25. Qd2 Rc8 26. Ne3 Nxe3 27. Qxe3 Bxe2 28. Qxe2 Rc2 29. Qd1 Qc6 30. h3 Nd5 31. Qd3 Qa4 32. Nd2 Ra2 33. Nb3 Nb4 34. Qb1 Nd5 35. Rc1 Qa8 36. Rc8+ Qxc8 37. Qxa2 Qc4 38. Qb1 Qe2 39. Qc1 Bg5 40. Qf1 Qf3 41. h4 and White resigns.
• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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