AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|1

VOLUME 25
Number 1

Garry Kasparov
at St. Louis
p.6 and
V.Saravanan’s
column in
http://www.first
post.com/sports/
saint-louis-rapid-
blitz-all-eyes-on-
garry-kasparov-
President & Bulletin Editor: Dr. A.Chatterjee, 401 Rutuvij Complex, N/r
as-former-
Kabir Complex, Makarpura Road, Vadodra-390009,
champion-
DrAmbar@gmail.com, +91 8141594459, +91 265 2630392
returns-to-chess-
Assistant Editor: Anil Kumar Anand
after-12-years-
Vice President: Dr. P.B.Dhanish, Bhaskar Villa, Ramanattukara P.O.,
3930167.html
Calicut-673633, pbdhanish@gmail.com, +91 9388689963
Secretary-cum-Treasurer: Dr. Alok Saxena, C-102 Mahavir Sadhana
Plot 18-E,F,G Sector 14, n/r Palm Beach Rd, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai
400705, aloks279@gmail.com, +91 22 27815447, +91 9819199597
Member: Sailesh Chandra, #003 Block 3. Jain Prakruti, 63 KR Road
Jayanagar 7th Block, Bangalore 560081, sca@aol.in, +91 80 26932833,
+91 9880612262
Member: Om Prakash, Plot- 554/1961, Gayatri Bhawan Lane – 4B, Shree
Vihar, Opp. Indian Oil State Office, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha 751031
ommprakasshh@gmail.com, +91 9437943954, +91 6742550273
Member: Gautam De, Flat 2a, 2nd Floor, 17a East End Park 3rd Road,
Kalikapur, Kolkata 700099, gautam.de@sbi.co.in, +91 9474306239, +91
8001194409, +91 7890234735
AICCF Champion: Kalapi B. Trivedi, Vadodara
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|2

Contents
Management Matters A.Chatterjee and Alok Saxena . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shams Khan Miniatures #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Income and Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
St. Louis 2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Forgotten Heroes: Vugar Gashimov Anil Kumar Anand . . . . . . . . 8
Shams Khan Miniatures #2,3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
AutoChess-O-Graphy Amit Dutta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Shams Khan Miniatures #4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Extraordinary Content in R vs P Endings Santhosh Matthew Paul 21
Shams Khan Miniatures #5,6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
AICCF Championship 1514 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
AICCF Championship 1515 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Games Section Ambar Chatterjee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
International Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
ICCF Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Top 26 in AICCF Rating List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
AICCF Champions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Shams Khan Miniatures #7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Corchegimmic 48
Contributed by Santhosh Paul

White is to play and draw. Send

your solution to Anil Anand on the
email address:
anilanand_2940@yahoo.com
We will provide the solution in the
next bulletin. However, if you can’t
wait that long, contact Santhosh
Paul earalil@gmail.com.

White to play and draw

AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|3

Management Matters
Dr. Ambar Chatterjee
President, Bulletin Editor
Dr. Alok Saxena
Secretary-cum-Treasurer

Welcome to the 2017 Second games. Vishnu Prasana did not

Issue of the AICCF Bulletin. start any AICCF or ICCF games so
far. AICCF wishes them all the
The next Annual General Meeting best in their current and future
of AICCF will be held at 10am on games.
nd
Sunday, 22 October 2017 at the
residence of the President (Dr Santhosh Paul has returned to
A.Chatterjee, 401 Rutuvij Complex, active play in AICCF and ICCF.
Makarpura Road, Vadodra For this bulletin he contributed
390009). Suggestions may be sent Corchegimmic-48 and an excellent
to us by email, however we article on R+P endings.
welcome any member who would
like to attend the meeting in The online copy of the Bulletin is
person. the primary method of distribution.
We are posting printed copies of
Anil Anand is the Bulletin to active members. If
now established you would like to receive a printed
as Assistant copy of this or any earlier issue,
Bulletin Editor. and did not receive it already, send
He began an email to DrAmbar@gmail.com.
assisting in the Bulletins can be viewed online
preparation of from www.aiccf-chess-com/server
Anil Anand the AICCF
Bulletin from the by clicking
previous issue.
We appointed Umesh Nair as
We welcome players who have
Games Editor, in place of Mohan
joined subsequent to the
Jayaraman. But due to health
publication of the AICCF Bulletin
reasons, Umesh Nair has not been
First Issue: Vikas Sharma (Pune)
able to contribute to the Games
and Vishnu Prasanna (Chennai).
Section this time.
Vikas Sharma is playing in three
tournaments and his performance
PRIZES SENT
so far is: 4601 2 points from 2
games, 4602 1 point from 3
games, 4608: 2 points from 4
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|4

Prize money and certificates for there will be 15 entries. Two

AICCF Championships were sent players may play as donors.
to: Selection will be based on seeding
st
K.V.S.Sastry 1512 1 5,000/- and rating. The previous AICCF
Shalaka Somani 1512 2nd 3,000/- Champion, Kalapi Trivedi is
rd
R.K.Chauhan 1512 3 2,000/- seeded, but unlikely to join.
st
Gautam De 1513 1 5,000/- Accordingly we expect to see more
nd new aspirants this time. At the time
Om Prakash 1513 2 3,000/-
K.V.S.Sastry 1513 3
rd
2,000/- of writing we have received the
Kalapi Trivedi 1514 1
st
5,000/- following entries:
Amit Dutta 1514 2
nd
3,000/- R.K. Chauhan, Amit Dutta,
R.K.Chauhan 1514 3
rd
2,000/- A.Chatterjee, Ranjeet Hegde, Lalit
Kapoor, Anil Anand, Aniruddha
Dutta Gupta, Dilshad Kausar,
Shams Khan, Mamta Bisht,
Rakesh Agrawal T.Chandran and
Kumar Subham.

SHAMS MINI #1
Ng, Willy C - Khan, Shams
ICCF AA/TC01
B01: Scandinavian

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 c6 4.dxc6

We were unable to deliver the
prize to Kalapi Trivedi. He has not
been contactable after his illness.
1516 AICCF CHAMPIONSHIP
2017
The next AICCF Championship
has been announced. As usual
Nxc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bb5 Qb6 7.Nc3
O-O-O 8.Be3 e5 9.d5 Qa5 10.h3
Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nd4 12.Bxd4 exd4
13.Qf5+ Kb8 14.Qe5+ Ka8
15.Qxd4 Bb4 16.Bc4 Nxd5 17.O-
O-O Nxc3 18.Qxg7 Nxd1 19.Rxd1
Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1 Qd8+ 21.Bd3 Re8
0-1
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|5

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE A/c FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31st MARCH, 2017
Expenditure Amt. Amt. Income Amt. Amt.
To Website maintenance 7,602 By Champ. Entry fees 10,500
To bank charges 76 By ICCF Tourn. Fees 10,400
To ICCF Fees 14,490 By Membership Fees ICCF 16,680
To Printing & Stationery 1,020 By Ordinary Membership 900
Fees
To audit fees 5,900 38,480
To postage & courier 1,400 By bank interest 5,157
To repairs and 4,586 By FD interest 17,239
maintenance
35,074 By other Income 13,883
To net profit 39,485
74,559 74,559

BALANCE SHEET AS ON 31st MARCH, 2017

Liabilities Amt. Amt. Assets Amt. Amt.
Capital A/C Investments
Corpus Fund 1,56,780 FD Union Bank 2,00,000 2,00,000
Life mem. fees 37,550 1,94,330 Curent Assets
Current Liabilities TDS AY 17-18 1,724
O/S Audit fees 7,104 Canara Bank 9,466
Last B/L 1,60,059 Union Bank 1,74,259
Profit for year 39,485 1,99,544 Cash in hand 14 1,83,739
FD Accrued Interest 15,515
4,00,978 4,00,978

For T.B.Karnik & Co For All India Correspondence Chess

Chartered Federation
Accountants
T.B.Karnik Dr. Alok Saxena Dr. A.Chatterjee
Proprietor Secretary/Treasurer President
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|6

OTB News
St. Louis 2017

The Sinquefield Cup is one of the strongest invitational tournaments held

every year in the port city of Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. The first event,
The Sinquefield Cup was held from 2-12 August 2017 and was followed
by the Rapid and Blitz from 14-19 August. This year’s Rapid and Blitz
event was significant in seeing an effort of Garry Kasparov trying to make
a comeback to the international chess arena.

The participants of the Sinquefield Cup:

Name Ranking FIDE Age Country
Magnus Carlsen 1 2832 26 Norway
Hikaru Nakamura 2 2785 29 USA
Wesley So 3 2812 23 USA
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 6 2796 26 France
Fabiano Caruana 7 2808 24 USA
Levon Aronian 8 2793 36 Armenia
Sergey Karjakin 10 2781 26 Russia
Viswanathan Anand 12 2786 47 India
Ian Nepomniachtchi 13 2732 26 Russia
Peter Svidler Wildcard 2756 40 Russia

The participants of the Rapid and Blitz:

Name Ranking FIDE Age Country
Hikaru Nakamura 2 2796 29 USA
Fabiano Caruana 7 2752 24 USA
Levon Aronian 8 2797 36 Armenia
Sergy Karjakin 10 2773 26 Russia
Viswanathan Anand 12 2789 47 India
Ian Nepomniachtchi 13 2819 26 Russia
David Navara Wildcard 2737 32 Czech Republic
Le Quang Liem Wildcard 2747 26 Vietnam
Lenier Dominguez Wildcard 2796 33 Cuba
Garry Kasparov Wildcard N/A 54 Russia
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
The following game played by Viswanathan Anand in Round 5 shows that
he is still capable to dazzling the spectators with brilliant combinations:
[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Date "2017.08.06"]
[White "Anand, Vishwanathan"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3
d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O
O-O 8.d3 Bb6 9.Bd2 Bg4 10.Rc1
Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Re8 12.b4 Qd6
13.Nd2 Qh6 14.Nc4 Qh5 15.Rc2
Rad8 16.Nxb6 cxb6 17.f3 Be6
18.Qd2 b5 19.f4 Bg4
(19...exf4 20.Rxf4 f6 =)
20.Bxc6 +
(20.Be4 exf4 21.Qxf4 f6 =)
20...bxc6 21.fxe5 f6 22.exf6
Absolutely correct. White has seen
the consequences of 22...Rxe2
22…Rxe2 23.f7+ Kf8 24.Bxg7+
Kxg7 25.Qc3+ Re5
(Had Caruana seen White's next
move in the game, he would have
preferred to interpose with the
queen, though here too White has
a winning endgame advantage.
25...Qe5 26.Rxe2! Qxc3 27.Re8
Qd4+ 28.Rf2 Qxb4 29.f8=Q+ Qxf8
30.Rfxf8 Rxd3 31.Rg8+ Kf7
32.Ref8+ Ke7 33.Ra8 +)
Page|7
26.Qd4!! Qg5
(26...Bd7 27.Rcf2 Rf8 28.Re1 +-)
27.Rc5 Rxd4 28.f8=Q+ Kg6
29.Qf7+ with mate in 7. 1-0
th
Anand won the 7 round against
Ian Nepomniachtchi in style but
after a draw in the last round,
nd rd
finished 2 /3 jointly with Carlsen,
while Vachier-Lagrave won the
tournament.
The Rapid was won by Levon
Aronian and Blitz was won by
Sergey Karjakin. On the basis of
the combined results, Aronian
emerged winner, followed by
Karjakin and Nakamura. Garry
th
Kasparov finished 8 and Anand
th
was placed 9 .
World’s youngest IM
Pragnanandha is 12 years
old rated 2500 ELO and has
seven months’ time to
obtain three GM norms to
become the world’s
youngest GM ever, beating
Karjakin’s long-held long
record. He is being coached
by AICCF member and GM
R.B. Ramesh.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Forgotten Heroes: Vugar
Gashimov
Anil Kumar Anand
W
hat do you make of a
smiling prodigy who
reaches the top-10 in the
world in his early 20s while having
a debilitating brain tumour and
passes away before he reaches
age 30? Incredibly tragic? Vugar
was one such rarity in chess!
Vugar Gashimov (24 July 1986 –
11 January 2014) was an
Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. At
his peak ranking (2761) which he
achieved in November 2009, he
was ranked #6 in the world.
He was born in Baku, the son of a
retired army colonel who served at
the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan.
In 1996 he finished second in the
World U10, behind India’s winner
Pentala Harikrishna. In the period
2000-10, he won a succession of
strong tournaments to cement his
place among the world's elite.
Notable were winning Athens 2005
(Acropolis International) and tying
for first at the Cappelle-la-Grande
open in 2007, again tying for first
and winning on tie-break in 2008.
He won the strong and traditional
Page|8
invitation tournament at Reggio
Emilia in 2010-11 on tie-break
above Francisco Vallejo Pons.
Gashimov played for Azerbaijan in
the Chess Olympiads of 2002,
2004, 2006 and 2008 with a total
score of 28.5/41 games (+18, =17,
-6). He played in the gold medal-
winning Azerbaijani team at the
European Team Chess
Championship in Novi Sad in 2009,
alongside Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov,
Rauf Mammadov and Gadir
Guseinov, previously winning
bronze medal in 2007. In 2010,
however, he did not represent his
country at the Chess Olympiad in
Khanty-Mansiysk due to a conflict
with the National chess federation
and with former team coach, Zurab
Azmaiparashvili. He had to decline
his participation in the second
Grand Prix Series because he
needed treatment. The 2012 Tata
Steel Chess Tournament was his
last tournament.
Gashimov was known as a
particularly strong blitz chess
player.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|9

At the peak of his playing career, said that he could not find “words
he revived the fortunes of the to explain his deepest sorrow”.
Modern Benoni, an opening that
had become unfashionable at the Nigel Short described Gashimov
top level of chess, and used it to as “a brilliant player and great
get good results against strong guy”.
grandmasters, including even the
leading player of the time, Former world champion Garry
Alexander Grischuk. Kasparov said he was “deeply
saddened”, and found it
He was known to enjoy football, “remarkable considering the
table tennis and pool. He even medical obstacles he faced” that
learnt piano a few months prior to he made it to the top ten in the
his diagnosis. He was an avid fan FIDE rating list.
of Jackie Chan movies.
Doctors diagnosed Gashimov with Magnus Carlsen
epilepsy described Gashimov
when he fell as “one of the most
ill in talented and original
February players I've met. He
2000, and was always friendly
shortly with everyone and
afterwards, always smiling. I
discovered a have many good
brain tumor. memories with him
from tournaments,
While especially in the
receiving Amber tournaments.”
treatment for the brain tumor in a
hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, Tributes also came from famous
Gashimov died in the early hours chess players such as Shakhriyar
of 11 January 2014. He was buried Mamedyarov, Hikaru Nakamura,
at the Alley of Honour in Baku. Levon Aronian, Alexandra
Kosteniuk, Judit Polgár, Sergey
A meteoric career was cut short by Karjakin and many others.
early death. Chess grandmasters
and sports professionals around One minute of silence was held at
the world reacted to Gashimov's the 76
th
Tata Steel Chess
death with sadness and disbelief. Tournament and during all
tournaments held in Baku in
Teimour Radjabov, one of January 2014.
Gashimov's closest teammates, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
said, “Vugar Gashimov's services
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
to the Azerbaijani sports are
unmatched. Vugar Gashimov
made an incomparable contribution
to development of Azerbaijan's
chess school, and glorified the
country with his brilliant victories.”
On 24 July 2014, a monument was
unveiled on his grave in Baku.
His girlfriend, Elisabeth, was with
him till the end. She wrote a
moving tribute at Chessbase site:
http://en.chessbase.com/post/reme
mbering-vugar-gashimov
The Gashimov Memorial
tournaments take place in Shamkir
in April of each year since 2014,
with several elite participants. The
winners of this event so far are:
Magnus Carlsen (2014, 2015) and
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2016,
2017).
Gashimov once explained to Peter
Doggers why he was one of the
few top players who dared to play
the Benoni as Black, and got away
with it. “The computer assesses
many standard positions at 0.30 or
even 0.40 and so many white
players will overestimate their
chances. Computers don't see the
compensation, but I do!”
We end this article with 8
interesting games from Vugar
Gashimov’s career.
Page|10
W: Levon Aronian
B: Vugar Gashimov
rd
EU-ch 3
D27: Queens Gambit Accepted
An equal middle game is reached
where the centre is completely
open. Such positions can be
deceptive because of the open
th
lines. On his 20 move Levon
Aronian begins a kingside attack
and shows that he is prepared to
take risks (23.g4). However,
Gashimov defends nicely, trading
th
knights on the 24 move. The
resulting position, with opposite
coloured bishops does not offer
much chance for White's kingside
attack. Aronian still pushes on,
sacrificing a pawn. The second
pawn falls after 31...Bd4! and
Gashimov handles the 2 pawns up
opposite coloured bishop ending in
a straightforward way.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 d5
5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 a6 7.O-O b5
8.Bb3 Bb7 9.Re1 Nc6 10.d5 exd5
11.e4 dxe4 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Bxf6
Bxf6 14.Nxe4 O-O 15.Nxc5 Na5
16.Nxb7 Nxb7 17.Bd5 Qb6
18.Qe2 Rad8 19.Rad1 Nd6 20.h4
g6 21.h5 Nf5 22.hxg6 hxg6 23.g4
Nd4 24.Qe4 Nxf3+ 25.Qxf3 Kg7
26.Kg2 Bd4 27.Qe4 Bxb2 28.g5
Qc5 29.Rh1 Rfe8 30.Qf4 Re7
31.Qf3
How does Black proceed now?
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
31…Bd4! 32.Bb3 Qxg5+ 33.Kf1
Qe5 34.Kg2 Rd6 35.Rde1 Qg5+
36.Qg3 Qxg3+ 37.fxg3 Be5
38.Re2 Rd3 39.Rh3 Bd6 40.Rxe7
Bxe7 41.g4 Rxh3 42.Kxh3 Bd6
43.Kg2 a5 44.Bd5 f5 45.gxf5 gxf5
46.Kf3 Kf6 47.Bc6 b4 48.Ke3 Ke5
49.Kd3 Kf4 50.Bd7 Be5 51.Ke2
Ke4 52.Bc6+ Kd4 53.Kd2 f4
54.Kc2 Ke3 55.Bb5 f3 56.Kd1 f2
57.Bf1 a4 58.Kc1 b3 59.Kb1
bxa2+ 60.Kxa2 Bd6 61.Bb5 Kd2
0-1
W: Vugar Gashimov
B: Alexander Grischuk
Baku Grand Prix
C72:Ruy Lopez Deferred Steinitz
Gashimov secures an opening
advantage. Black's 20...Kc8 giving
up a Rook leads to disaster. After
the position reaches Queen versus
Rook and Bishop, Gashimov
pushes his passed g-pawn (28.g4)
which is the fastest way to victory.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4
d6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5
A standard move in this Ruy Lopez
Steinitz Deferred opening. If the
Page|11
Bishop is captured, White will have
to give up his Knight to stop mate.
7.d4 b5 8.Bb3 Nxd4 9.hxg4 Nxb3
10.axb3 hxg4 11.Ng5 Qd7
12.Qd3 Rb8
Theory prefers 12...c6
13.Rxa6 f6 14.Nc3 fxg5 15.Bxg5
Be7 16.f4 gxf3 17.Qxf3
All book moves so far. A computer
evaluation at this point is about
+1.02 in White's favour.
17..,Nf6 18.Nd5 Nxd5 19.Qf7+
Kd8 20.Qxg7 Kc8
21.Qxh8+ Kb7 22.Qh7 Qg4
23.exd5 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 Bxg5
24...Kxa6 25.Bxe7 +-
25.Rfa1 Be3 26.Ra7+ Qxa7
27.Rxa7+ Bxa7 28.g4 Rf8 29.g5
Rf2 30.Qe4 Rf1+ 31.Kh2 Rf4
32.Qxf4 exf4 33.c3 1-0
W: Magnus Carlsen
B: Vugar Gashimov
Baku Grand Prix
A31: Symmetrical English
This is a creditable draw with black
pieces against the upcoming World
Champion, Magnus Carlsen. As is
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Magnus' forte he plays from a
placid opening, trying to complicate
during the transition from mid-
game to end-game. With an
exchange sacrifice (38.Bg5)
Magnus tries to catch his opponent
unawares, but Gashimov defends
easily, finishing with a drawn
opposite coloured bishop ending
with equal pawns.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 d6 4.Bg2
Nc6 5.Nc3 g6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4
Bd7 8.Nxc6 Bxc6 9.e4 Bg7 10.O-
O O-O 11.Bg5 h6 12.Be3 Qa5
13.a3 Rfc8 14.b4 Qd8 15.Rc1 b6
16.Qe2 e6 17.Rfd1 Qe7 18.Nb5
Bxb5 19.cxb5 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Rd8
21.Rc6 Kh7 22.h3 Ne8 23.Bd2
Bd4 24.a4 e5 25.h4 Nf6 26.Bf3
Qe6 27.Kg2 Rd7 28.Qc4 Qxc4
29.Rxc4 Kg7 30.Bc1 h5 31.Bg5
Nh7 32.Bd2 Nf6 33.Rc6 Ng4
34.Be1 Nf6 35.a5 d5 36.exd5
Nxd5 37.Bd2 Ne7
38.Bg5 Nxc6 39.bxc6 Rc7 40.Bd8
Rc8 41.c7 e4 42.Bxe4 Be5
43.Bb7 Rxc7 44.Bxc7 Bxc7 45.a6
b5 46.Bc6 Bd6 47.Bxb5 1/2-1/2
Page|12
W: Vugar Gashimov
B: Gata Kamsky
Baku Grand Prix
C88: Ruy Lopez Anti-Marshall
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4
Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3
O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7
11.Nbd2 Rfe8 12.Nf1 Nd8 13.Ng3
Ne6 14.Ba2 c5 15.Bd2 Bf8 16.b4
h6 17.c4 Nf4 18.Re3
Not 18.Bxf4 exf4 19.Ne2 bxc4
20.Nxf4 cxd3 21.Qxd3 Bxe4 -/+
However 18.Bc3, instead of the
text move, looks less awkward.
18...bxc4 19.dxc4 Ne6 20.Bb1 g6
21.Re1 Qc7 22.Bd3 Bg7 23.Rb1
Nd7 24.Ne2 Nd4 25.Nc3 Rec8
26.Rc1 Qd8 27.Nd5 Bc6 28.Bf1
Nf8 29.Nxd4 exd4 30.f4 Nd7
31.Qf3 Rcb8 32.Qg3
Gashimov is gradually improving
his position.
32…cxb4 33.axb4 a5 34.b5 Bxd5
35.cxd5 +/-
The text is better than 35.exd5 Nc5
35...Nc5
36.e5!
A timely break.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|13

36…a4 37.Bb4 a3 32.Bb1 +/- White has a small but

Black's attempt to push his pawns
is a feeble counter. But White is in
a comfortable position in any case.
38.Bxa3 d3 39.Bxc5 d2 40.Bxd6
Rb7
40...dxc1=Q 41.Rxc1 Rc8 42.Rc6
+- with a winning position, similar
to the text.
41.Red1 dxc1=Q 42.Rxc1 Rba7
43.Qb3 Ra1 44.Bc7 Qh4 45.Rxa1
Rxa1 46.Qf3
It is important to protect the
Kingside and the f-pawn in
particular before cashing in on the
passed pawns.
significant advantage.
28.Rxd3 Bf8?
28...dxe5 29.d6 (See variation after
the previous move) is better than
the text move.
29.Nc6 Nxc6 30.dxc6 Rxc6
31.Bd5 R6c7 32.a4 g6 33.Rb1
Rb8 34.b5 axb5 35.Rxb5 Re8
36.Kf1 Bh6 37.Rd1 Bd2 38.g3
Rce7 39.Kg2 Re2 40.Bf3 R2e5
41.Rdb1 R8e7 42.a5 Rxb5
43.Rxb5 Re1?
This hastens the end.

Not 46.b6? Qxf4 47.Qd3 Bxe5

48.Bxe5 Qxe5 49.b7 Qb8 -+
46...Qe1 47.b6 Qb4 48.d6 Qd4+
49.Kh2 Rb1 50.b7 Rxb7 51.Qxb7
Qxf4+ 52.g3 1-0

Vugar Gashimov
Alexander Beliavsky
Gibtelecom
C88: Ruy Lopez Anti-Marshall

Another game with the closed Ruy

43...Ra7 was better but Black
Lopez Anti-Marshal system.
cannot save the game.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4
44.a6 Ra1 45.Be2 Kf8 46.Rb7 d5
Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3
47.Rd7 Bg5 48.a7 1-0
O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Na5
11.Ba2 c5 12.Nc3 Nc6 13.Bg5
W: Alexander Grischuk
Nd7 14.Bd2 Nb6 15.Ne2 Bc8
B: Vugar Gashimov
16.b4 c4 17.Be3 Be6 18.Nc3 Rc8
Amber Tournament (Rapid)
19.Bxb6 Qxb6 20.dxc4 bxc4
A62: Modern Benoni
21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Na7 23.Nd2
c3 24.Nc4 Qb5 25.Qd3 Rc7
Black wins a short game on time in
26.Rad1 Rfc8 27.Nxe5! Qxd3
a rapid tournament, employing the
27...dxe5 28.d6 Qxd3 29.Rxd3
Modern Benoni.
Bxd6 30.Rxd6 Nb5 31.Rxa6 Nd4
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6
5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.g3 Bg7
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
8.Bg2 O-O 9.O-O Re8 10.Bf4 Na6
11.Re1 Bg4 12.Qb3 b5 13.Nxb5
Rb8 14.Qa4 Qd7 15.Qxa6 Rxb5
16.Qxd6 Qxd6 17.Bxd6 Ne4
18.Bc7 Rxb2 19.d6?
Cutting off White's own Bishop is
not a good idea. Further advance
of the pawn is in any case blocked.
19…Bd7 20.Rab1 c4
Instead 20...Rxa2 -/+ was easier.
21.Rxb2 Bxb2 22.e3
White's flag fell. The position on
the board was equal.
0-1
W: Anish Giri
B: Vugar Gashimov
Tata Steel
B94: Sicilian Najdorf
Anish Kumar Giri is a Russian-born
Dutch Grandmaster who attained
the GM title at the age of 14 years
and 7 months. The Indian
sounding name Giri, comes from
his Nepalese father. In a near
equal position, Anish Giri stumbles
into a pin which Gashimov exploits
Page|14
in an endgame win where his pawn
reaches the queening square.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7
7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 e6 9.O-O-O b5
10.Bd5 b4
10...exd5 11.Nc6 Qc7 12.exd5 Ne5
13.Rhe1 +/-
11.Bxa8 bxc3 12.bxc3 Qxa2
12...Nb6 13.Nb3 Qa3+ 14.Kb1
Nxa8 =
13.Qe2 Be7 14.Kd2 Nxe4+
15.Qxe4 Bxg5+ 16.f4 d5 17.Ra1
not so good.
17.Qe3 Bf6 =
17...Qxa1 18.Rxa1 dxe4 19.fxg5
h6 20.g6 f5 21.Nxe6 Ke7 22.Nf4
Rd8 23.Bd5?
In the mouth of a pin.
23…Nb6 24.c4
Forced
24…Nxc4+ 25.Kc3 Ne3 26.Bf7
Rd6 27.Ra5 Bd7 28.Re5+ Kf6
29.Rc5 Kg5 30.g3 Nf1 31.h4+
Kg4 32.Rd5 Rxd5 33.Nxd5 Kxg3
34.Nf6 e3
Of course not 34...gxf6?? 35.g7
35.Bc4 Bb5 36.Nh5+ Kf2 37.Nxg7
Bxc4 38.Kxc4 e2 0-1
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
W: Vugar Gashimov
B: Vassily Ivanchuk
Reggio Emilia
B12: Caro-Kann Advance Variation
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6
5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Nc6
8.O-O Qxb2 9.Qe1 cxd4 10.Bxd4
Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Bb4 12.Rb1 Bxc3
13.Rxb2 Bxe1 14.Rxe1 b6
15.Bb5+ Kf8 16.Nxf5 exf5 17.Rb3
=
All well-known theory so far.
17…Ne7 18.Rc3 a6 19.Bd7 g6
20.Rc7 b5
White has a definite edge in this
position. Gashimov has to be
credited with finding a way to
activate his Rook at e1, exploit
Black's weakened pawn structure
th
and double on the 7 rank.
21.e6! f6
21...fxe6 22.Bxe6 h5 23.f4 h4
24.Bd7 Rh7 25.Re6 +=
22.Re3 Rb8 23.Ra7 Rb6 24.Rc3
h5
Not so good, but the a-pawn
cannot be saved in any case.
24…d4 25.Ra3 Kg7 26.R3xa6 +/-
Page|15
25.Bc8 Rh7 26.Rcc7
th
Doubling on the 7 rank. Rarely
does one get a chance to do that,
that too against Vassily Ivanchuk.
Black is lost.
26…f4 27.Ra8 --
If e.g. 27...a5 28.Bb7+ Kg7
29.Rxe7+
1-0
SHAMS MINI #2,3
(W) Pimenta, David
(B) Khan, Shams
ICCF. AA/TC01
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.dxc6
Nxc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.d3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 e4
8.dxe4 Nxe4 9.a3 Bc5 10.Qe2 O-O
11.Be3 Re8 12.Qd3 Qa5+ 13.Nc3
Nxf2 14.Kxf2 Rxe3 15.Qb1 Re4+
16.Kg3 Qc7+ 0-1
(W) Khan, Shams
(B) Bodas, Neelesh Damodar
AICCF 4602
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5
4.Nf3 Nf6 5.d4 c6 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.b4
Qxb4 8.Bxf5 Qxc3+ 9.Bd2 Qa3
10.Bc8 Nbd7 11.Bxb7 Rb8
12.Bxc6 e6 13.O-O Bd6 14.Ne5 h6
15.Nc4 Qa6 16.Nxd6+ Kf8 17.Qf3
Qb6 18.Rfd1 Rd8 19.Rab1 Qa6
20.Rb7 Nb8 21.d5 exd5 22.Rxf7+
Kg8 23.Bxd5 Qxd6 24.Bc3 Nbd7
25.Rxf6+ Qxd5 26.Qxd5+ 1-0
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|16

AutoChess-O-Graphy
Amit Dutta

Full Name: Amit Dutta

Age: 39 yrs.
Native Place: Jammu
Family details: married
Education: Film and Television Institute of India, Pune
Occupation: Filmmaker/writer
How I started playing Chess: When I found a book on the Kasparov-
Karpov World Championship in my childhood.
Experience in OTB tournaments: played in college, represented my
college (GGM Science College Jammu) in Chess and I was part of the
team which won the Inter-state Chess Championship in 1995-96.
How I joined AICCF: I was looking forward to get in touch with chess
again. I did not have the time to travel and play OTB tournaments. AICCF
was the best way to study chess in detail.
Ambition in AICCF: to study various aspects of chess in great detail.
Ambition in ICCF: to play with top players and study the game in depth.
Favourite Opening: White – English / Queen’s Gambit / Black – Sicilian
Najdorf variation / Slav and Berlin
Favourite AICCF players: Mr Anil Anand
Comments: For me correspondence chess is not so much about
competition, but it’s more like participating in a debate. Computers have
taken away the thrill of winning but it’s a great way to spend time
analysing various positions from different points of view. I greatly enjoy
spending time with several aspects of chess and analysing old games.
Sometimes Computer analysis brings out such hidden lines, which is
quite startling.
Progress in AICCF:
Joined AICCF in Jan 2014. Rating (in the new Glicko system) in August
2017 is 2032.
Summary of results (as on 26-08-2017):
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|17

Type Played Wins Draws Losses Score % Ongoing

Normal 48 22 24 2 34 70.8 12
Rapid 6 4 2 0 5 83.3 0
All 54 26 26 2 39 72.2 12

AICCF Rating Chart with Glicko Ratings:

Editor’s note: AICCF switched over to the Glicko-2 rating system in

January 2017. All server results from 2009 onwards were used and
ratings were recomputed. Full details about the new system were
reported in the previous AICCF Bulletin, 2017 First Issue. In the Glicko
system the uncertainty of a player’s rating (called Rating Deviation, RD) is
also calculated. New players are assigned an initial rating of 1500 and an
RD of 350. As results accumulate, the rating tends to become more stable
and importantly, the Rating Deviation decreases, indicating that the
system better estimates the player’s playing strength. In the figure above,
the grey region surrounding the rating curve indicates the Rating
Deviation,

Progress in ICCF:
rd
Started playing in ICCF from mid-2014. Upto the 3 quarter of 2016 only
8 ICCF games completed. First fixed ICCF rating of 2243 appeared in the
list of 2016/4 with 14 completed games. Thereafter the rating was 2231 in
2017/1 and 2017/2 with only 2 more games played. In 2017/3 with the
inclusion of AICCF Championship games, the rating has jumped to 2397
and the total number of ICCF rated games is 32.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|18

Interesting Games:

Event "1514"
White "Amit Dutta"
Black "Sailesh Chandra"
ECO "E43"

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.Nc3

Bb4 5.e3 Ne4 6.Qc2 f5 7.Bd3 Bb7
8.O-O Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bxf3 10.gxf3
Bd6 11.e4 Qh4 12.e5 Be7 13.Qd2
g5 14.Kh1 Nc6 15.Rg1 Rg8 16.f4
h6 17.d5 Nd8 18.Qd1 Qxf2 19.Rg2
Qh4 20.Be3 Kf7 21.Qf3 Rb8
22.Bf2 Qxf4 23.Qh5+ Kg7 24.Bd4
g4 25.d6 Nf7 26.dxe7 Qg5 49.Bd4+ Kg6 50.c5 dxc5 51.Bxc5
27.Qxg5+ hxg5 28.c5 Rbe8 29.a4 Kh5 52.Bh3 f4 53.Bd7 e3 54.Bxc6
bxc5 30.Bxc5 Nxe5 31.Bb5 c6 1-0
32.Bf1 Kf6 33.a5 Nf3 34.a6 e5
35.Bxa7 Rxe7 36.Bc5 Rh7 37.a7 Event "1514"
Rgh8 38.Raa2 g3 39.a8=Q Rxa8 White "Amit Dutta"
40.Rxa8 Nxh2 41.Rxh2 Rxh2+ Black "Aniruddha Dutta Gupta"
42.Kg1 e4 43.Bd4+ Kf7 44.Ra2 ECO "A43"
Rh7 45.Bg2 Kg6 46.c4 d6 47.Ra7 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Bg5
Rxa7 48.Bxa7 Kf6 Qb6 5.c3 Bb7 6.Bxf6 exf6 7.e4
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Bd6 8.a4 a6 9.axb5 O-O 10.Qb3
Re8 11.Nbd2 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8
13.Bxb5 f5 14.e5 Bxe5 15.O-O
Bc7 16.Bc4 Qxb3 17.Nxb3 Bb6
18.Ra1 Bb7 19.Nbd2 d6 20.Bb5
Re7 21.Nc4 Bc7 22.Ne3 g6 23.g3
Kh8 24.Nd2 Kg7 25.Ndc4 Bc8
26.b4 cxb4 27.cxb4 Kf6 28.Ra7
Bd8 29.Ra8 Bc7 30.Ba4 f4 31.gxf4
Bh3 32.Bc6 Nd7 33.Ra7 Nb6
34.Rxc7! Rxc7 35.Nxb6 Ra7 36.f3
h5 37.Nbc4 Ke7 38.Na5 Bf5
39.Nxf5+ gxf5 40.Kg2 Rc7 41.Kg3
Rc8 42.Nc4 Rg8+ 43.Kh4 Rg2
44.Kxh5 Kf6 45.Kh4 Ke7 46.h3 Rf2
47.Kg3 Rc2 48.Ne3 Rb2 49.b5
Rb1 50.Nxf5+ Kf6 51.Nxd6 Rg1+
52.Kf2 Rb1 53.Ne4+ Ke7 54.d6+
Kf8 55.f5 f6 56.Nxf6 Rb2+ 57.Ke3
Rb3+ 58.Kf4 Rb4+ 59.Ke5 Rb2
60.d7 Ke7 61.Ne4 1-0
Event "4445"
White "Rakesh Agrawal"
Black "Amit Dutta"
ECO "B50i"
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4
Nf6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3
a6 8.d3 e6 9.Bb3 Be7 10.Qg3 O-O
11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Be3 Bh4 13.Qg4
Page|19
Bf6 14.Nd1 Be7 15.Nc3 Nf6
16.Qg3 b5 17.a4 b4 18.Ne2 Kh8
19.Ba2 Qa5 20.Bb3 Qb6 21.f3 Na5
22.Nc1 Nd7 23.Ba2 Bf6 24.Rb1
Qc6 25.Nb3 Nb7 26.d4 Qxa4
27.Ra1 a5 28.c3 Qb5
29.d5? exd5 30.Nd2 bxc3 31.bxc3
Bxc3 32.Rab1 Qd3 33.Qf2 f5
34.exf5 Bb4 35.Rbd1 d4 36.Bg5
Qxf5 37.Be7 Rfe8 38.g4 Qf4
39.Bh4 Nb6 40.Bg3 Qh6 41.h4 d5
42.g5 Qc6 43.h5 d3 44.Qh2 c4
45.h6 Re2 46.hxg7+ Kg8 47.Rf2
Bc5 48.Kg2 Rae8 49.Qh6 R8e6
50.Qh3 Rxf2+ 51.Bxf2 Re2 52.Rf1
Rxd2 53.Bb1 Rb2 54.Bxd3 cxd3
55.Qf5 Nc4 56.Kg1 Rxf2 57.Rxf2
d2 58.Qb1 Qd6 59.Kh1 Bxf2
60.Qd3 Ne3 61.Qxd2 Qg3 0-1
Event "4495"
White "Anil Anand"
Black "Amit Dutta"
ECO "C52"
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4
Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.Qb3 Qe7 7.d4
Nf6 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Qxe5
10.Bxf7+ Ke7 11.O-O Rf8 12.f4
Qxe4 13.Bc4 b5 14.Qa3+ d6
15.Qxa5 Qxc4 16.Re1+ Kd7
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
17.Na3 Qa4 18.Qxb5+ Qxb5
19.Nxb5 Ba6 20.c4 Bxb5 21.cxb5
a6 22.bxa6 Rxa6 23.Bb2 Ra4
24.g3 c5 25.Red1 g6 26.Bxf6 Rxf6
27.Rd2 Kc6 28.Rad1 Ra5 29.Re1
d5 30.Kf2 Rd6 31.Re7 d4 32.Re4
Ra3 33.g4 Kd5 34.Re5+ Kc4 35.f5
Kc3 36.Rd1 Rxa2+ 37.Kg3 c4
38.Rc1+ Kd3 39.Rf1 Raa6 40.f6
Rxf6 41.Rd1+ Kc2 42.Rxd4 c3
43.Re2+ Kb3 44.Rd3 Rfe6 45.Rg2
Rad6 46.Rf3 Re4 47.Kh4 Rd5
48.h3 Red4 49.Rf7 Rd3 50.Rb7+
Kc4 51.Rh2 Rd2 52.Rh1 c2
53.Rc7+ Rc5 54.Rxc5+ Kxc5
55.Rc1 Kb4 56.Kg3 Kc3 0-1
Event "7402"
White "Alok Saxena"
Black "Amit Dutta"
ECO "C67"
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6
4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Be7 6.Qe2 Nd6
7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.dxe5 Nf5 9.Qe4 g6
10.c4 O-O 11.Nc3 Bb7 12.Rd1 d6
13.Bf4 Re8 14.Qc2 c5 15.Nd5 a5
16.h3 a4 17.Rab1 Bxd5 18.Rxd5
Bf8 19.Qd2 h5 20.Bg5 Qc8 21.Bf6
Re6 22.Qc3 Be7 23.Bxe7 Nxe7
24.Rd2 Nf5 25.Re1 Qe8 26.Rd5
Page|20
Qe7 27.Re4 Re8 28.Qa5 c6
29.exd6 cxd5 30.dxe7 dxe4 31.g4
Ng7 32.Ne1 e3 33.Qxc5 exf2+
34.Kxf2 R6xe7 35.Nd3 Re2+
36.Kf1 R2e3 37.Qd5 hxg4 38.hxg4
Ne6 39.Kf2 Re2+ 40.Kf1 a3
41.bxa3 Rxa2 42.Qb5 Ra8 43.c5
R8xa3 44.c6 Rc3 45.Ne1 Rc1
46.Qb8+ Kg7 47.Qe5+ Kh7 48.Qf6
Kg8 49.Qe7 Rd2 50.Qb7 Rdd1
51.Qb8+ Kg7 52.Qe5+ Kf8
53.Qb8+ Ke7 54.Qb4+ Kf6
55.Qb2+ Kg5 56.Qe5+ Kh4
57.Qf6+ Kxg4 58.Qf3+ Kg5
59.Qe3+ Kf6 60.Qf2+ Kg7 0-1
SHAMS MINI #4
Khan, Shams - Rheezu, Tony
T.No. AA/TC01
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6
5.Be2 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.c3 Nge7
8.dxc5 Ng6 9.b4 Ncxe5 10.Nd4
Bxb1 11.Rxb1 Be7 12.f4 Nc6 13.f5
Nxd4 14.cxd4 exf5 15.Bb5+ Kf8
16.Rxf5 a6 17.Ba4 Bf6 18.Bb3 Ne7
19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Bh6+ Ke8
21.Ba4+ Nc6 22.Qf1 Qc7 23.Qxf6
Rg8 24.Re1+ 1-0
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|21

Extraordinary Content in Rook

versus Pawn Endings
Santhosh Matthew Paul

(Editor’s Note: You should try out these

positions yourself before looking at the
Lomanosov table-base)

not wonder: ‘If this is the appetiser,

I
was about to set out on a two
hour bus journey to a friend's what will the main course be like?’
place last year. The prospect of
enjoying the beautiful scenery of 1. Appetiser
rural Kerala from a window seat Endgame Magic (first published in
was appealing, but just in case I 1996) was only the second book in
did not get a window seat, I looked English on endgame studies, the
around for a book to take with me. first being Test Tube Chess by
I would normally have chosen a Roycroft (published in 1972). It is
puzzle book, but just for a change, an excellent introduction to
I decided to take along Endgame endgame studies, and I can
Magic by Beasley and Whitworth. It recommend it to anyone who is
had been lying unread in my curious about the subject. Let me
bookcase for months. As it now present the bus-window study.
happened, I did get a window seat,
and the scenery outside was as
captivating as ever, but when the
bus pulled in for a few minutes at a
bus station, I dipped into the book.
And for the rest of the journey, if I
did look out of the window, it was
with unseeing eyes. Such was the
mesmerizing beauty of the
introductory study in the first
chapter of the book.

It is this bus-window study that I

offer to the reader now in the spirit
of an opening gambit. It is a gambit
that I am certain the reader will
accept, because there is no chess
player with soul so dead who will
White to play and win. Study by
Reti (with Mandler and Rinck),
1921. Source: Endgame Magic by
Beasley and Whitworth.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
This study was primarily the work
of the incomparable Richard Reti,
who was an all-rounder: A player-
theoretician, study composer, and
author. Arthur Mandler and Henri
Rinck (both eminent study
composers) also contributed to the
development of this study.
Obviously, if White is to win, he
has to prevent Black from
queening. He cannot do this
directly, as neither his rook nor
bishop can control the queening
square, e1. However, he can
certainly give a check...
So let's play 1.Bc6+. Now, if the
king moves to the e-file, to e6, e7,
or e8, a rook check on e4 would
pick up the e3 pawn, and
thereafter the e2 pawn, winning.
So the Black king has to stay off
the e-file.
However, if 1...Kd6 or 1...Kd8,
White has 2.Rd4+, forcing the
enemy king to the e-file, after
which he wins as before with
3.Re4+.
So, is that all there is to it? Not at
all; the show is just beginning. If
we play out the moves up to the
queening of the e-pawn on the
board, something unexpected is
revealed when Black parks his king
on d6: After 1.Bc6+ Kd6 2.Rd4+
Ke5 3.Re4+ Kd6! 4.Rxe3 e1=Q!
5.Rxe1 stalemate! Surprise! A
stalemate on an open board.
But White has another bishop
check: 1.Bf5+ Now there will be no
stalemate on d6 because the d5
Page|22
square would be available to the
king. However, Black still has a
trick up his sleeve: 1...Kd8 2.Rd4+
Ke7 3.Re4+ Kd8 and now 4.Rxe3
e1=Q 5.Rxe1 produces another
stalemate!
Surely this is the end of the
matter? Incredibly enough, there is
a final delicious sting in the tail.
After 3...Kd8 as above, instead of
4.Rxe3, White offers the bishop
with 4.Bd7!! Now if the bishop is
captured: 4...Kxd7, there is no
stalemate and 5. Rxe3 wins.
But Black is not compelled to
capture the bishop. Instead, he can
promote with 4...e1=Q, with at
least a draw in hand. Err …did I
say "a final delicious sting in the
tail" above? I spoke too soon.
There is one further secret, the
ultimate secret, buried deep in the
heart of this position. After
4...e1=Q above, White plays
5.Bb5!! and … and … lo and
behold! – there is no defence to
mate on e8!
Two stalemates, a bishop sacrifice
in an attempt to disrupt the
stalemate, a cold-blooded refusal
to accept the gift, and finally the
quiet but lethal withdrawal of the
bishop. All this, in the span of five
moves, with just three pieces and
two pawns. That is the meagre raw
material with which a beautiful
work of art was created.
Every chess player should spend
some time on endgame studies,
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|23

not just for their magical beauty, involves surprising, paradoxical

but also for practical reasons. Let ideas. I am certain that a familiarity
me give one such reason here. If with endgame studies will sharpen
you – like me – are a tactical our eyes and open them to the
player at heart, you probably don't possibilities lurking below the
care much for endings. Our surface in everyday endings.
strengths lie in the middle game,
which is where we try to decide the 2. The Shoulder Block: Stealer
game. If that is not possible and of Wins
the game reaches an ending, our
spirits sink a little. The best
antidote to this jaundiced attitude
to the ending is the endgame
study. Tactics and combinations
abound in the ending, if only we
have the eyes to see them.
Although most endgame studies
are artificial creations, they are
much more closely related to
practical play than the chess
problem. One wonders how many
study-like moves are being missed
in actual games.
Black to play and draw. Source:
The British GM Emms is a prolific
Surviving Rook Endings by Emms.
author. One of his books that I
1.Kb4 2.Kf6 Kb3 3.Ke5 c3 4.Kd4
bought is the excellent Surviving
c2 5.Kd3 and White wins.
Rook Endings, which is a very
readable treatment of the subject.
However, Black has a clever
As I worked my way through the
resource: 1…Kb4 2.Kf6 Kc3!!
book, I came across a few
Paradoxical! The king voluntarily
positions with paradoxical moves,
blocks the pawn whose advance is
and was reminded of the bus-
his only hope. The idea is to fend
window study. It was Reti who
off the enemy king, hence the term
defined endgame studies as
'shoulder block'. Anyone who has
"endgame positions with
been jostled -- and has jostled
extraordinary content." This is an
someone -- in a large crowd will
extremely general, broad-minded
get the idea immediately. Emms
characterization of the endgame
calls this 'shielding'.
study, but it serves my purpose
3.Ke5 Kd3 4.Rh8, c3 5.Rh3+ Kd2
well. I will now present five
6.Kd4 c2 7.Rh2+ Kd1 8.Kd3
endgame positions that are not all
c1=N+! 9.Kc3 Ne2+ with a draw.
studies, but whose solution
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
3. The Shoulder Block Strikes
Again
White to play and win. Source:
Surviving Rook Endings by Emms.
1.Kc6 or 1.Rg8? Does it matter?
Yes, it does. One move wins, but
the other move only draws.
1.Rg8? Kh4 2.Kc6 Kg3! (aiming for
the shoulder block) 3.Kd5 Kf3
Draw.
The right way: 1.Kc6! (the king
must be brought up at once).
1...Kh4 2.Kd5 g3 (it's too late for
the shoulder block: 2...Kg3 3.Ke4
Kf2 4.Kf4 g3 5.Rb2+ and White
wins) 3.Ke4 g2 4.Rg8 Kh3 5.Kf3
and White wins.
4. Prophylaxis!
In the next diagram, White to play
and win. Source: Surviving Rook
Endings by Emms.
The position is from the game
Lerner-Dorfman, Tashkent, 1980.
White to play.
Page|24
White's course of action is obvious:
1.Kb7 Kf6! (this should be clear
after the previous example; Black's
king is going to give his
counterpart the cold shoulder)
2.Kc6 Ke5 3.Rg2 Kf4 4.Kd5 g4
5.Rf2+ Ke3 6.Ra2 g3 7.Ke5 Kf3
8.Ra3+ Kf2 9.Kf4 g2 10.Ra2+ Kg1!
11.Kg3 Kh1 with a draw.
But this article is not about obvious
courses of action; it is about
endings with extraordinary content.
White can win this ending -- if he
can only make the right first move.
And the winning first move is not
the obvious king move. It is:
1.Rf2!! Emms calls this 'a stunning
move'. White invests a tempo to
prevent the Black king from
shouldering off his king. 1…Kh6
2.Kb7 g4 3.Kc6 Kg5 4.Kd5 g3
5.Rf8 Kg4 6.Ke4 and White wins.
The pawn is caught. White wins by
one tempo. All credit to Lerner for
spotting the fantastic 1. Rf2!! over
the board.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|25

5. Richard Reti, the King of There is nothing better for White

Paradox on his third move instead of
3...Rd2. If 3...Ke7 4.Ke5 and if
3…Kc7 4.Kc5. White is unable to
progress. Or 3.Rh1 d3 4.Rg1 Ke4
5.Kc6 d2 6.Kc5 Ke3 7.Kc4 Ke2
draws.
Is a White win possible? Yes, it is.
Richard Reti, the king of paradox,
shows how. The first move is a
stunner:
1.Rd2!! (This is as counter-intuitive
as they come. 1.Rd3 also wins in
the same way as 1.Rd2.) 1...d4
2.Rd1! (Has White gone mad?)
2…Kd5 (2….Ke4 would lose to 3.
Kd6) 3.Kd7! (This is the point!
White to play and win. Reti, 1928.
With his two rook moves, White
Source: Surviving Rook Endings
has lost a move. We have the
by Emms.
same position we encountered
If you have not seen this famous
before -- but with Black to play.
study before, fasten your seatbelts.
White has the opposition, and the
A bonus for practical players is that
Black king must give way. 3.Kf6
the setting is natural and could
instead would only draw after
have arisen in a tournament game.
3...Ke4) 3...Kc4 (3...Ke4 4.Kc6
The rook is attacked and is
wins similarly) 4.Ke6 d3 5.Ke5 Kc3
naturally withdrawn to the greatest
6. Ke4 d2 7.Ke3 and White wins.
vertical distance from the pawn:
'Amazing stuff!' writes Emms, and I
1.Rd1. There follows: 1...d4 2.Kd7
agree.
Ke4 3.Kc6 d3 4.Kc5 Ke3 5.Kc4 d2
6.Kc3 and wins. Simple, right?
6. The Pinnacle
However, Black missed a draw.
Instead of the natural 2...Ke4, he
should play 2...Kd5! Now the king
cannot progress, so White marks
time with a waiting move with the
rook. 3.Rd2. Now, however, the
Black king advances: 3...Kc4
(3...Ke4 also wins similarly) 4.Ke6
d3 5.Ke5 Kc3 (the unfortunate
presence of the rook on d2 costs
White a vital tempo) 6.Rd1 d2
7.Ke4 Kc2 draws.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|26

White to play and draw. Study by
Harold van der Heijden, 2001.
Source: Studies for the Practical
Player by Dvoretsky and Pervakov.
We pick up the action from the
given position. There were a few
initial moves that don’t concern our
theme in this article.
The first White move is obvious.
1.Kb5 Kf3 (Instead, 1...Rxh7 allows
White an easy draw. The king
advance is the acid test.) 2.a4 Ke4
3.a5 Kd5 4.a6 Rb2+ 5.Ka5 (if
5.Ka4 Kc4!) Kc5! 6.Ka4 Rb8 and
wins. Let’s call this line Variation
A.
Let's try 4.Kb6. There follows
4...Kc4! (outflanking, the twin
brother of the shoulder block) 5.a6
Rh6+ 6.Ka5 Rxh7 7.Kb6 Rh6+
8.Kb7 (if 8. Ka5 Kc5; we have met
this position before) Kb5 9.a7
Rh7+ 10.Kb8 Kb6 11.a8=N+ Kc6
wins.
So, is there really a draw? Indeed,
there is, but it is so well hidden as
to be almost invisible. The basic
idea is the same as in the previous
study by Reti. White loses a move
right at the start, on the first move
itself, in order to reach a position
where Black is in zugzwang. We
had reached the same position
above in a previous variation-- but
with White to move. We will now
obtain that same position with
Black to move. That will clinch the
draw.
1.Kb4!! (incredible!) 1...Kf3
(1...Rxh7 2.a4 draws easily) 2.a4
Ke4 3.a5 (after the shoulder-
blocking 3.Kc5, 3… Rh5+!
dislodges the king) 3...Kd5 4.Kb5
Let’s call this line Variation B.

So, can White draw? Let us go

back to the beginning. 1.Kb5 Kf3
2.a4 Ke4. Here, we should
perhaps shoulder-block the enemy
king with 3.Kc5. Unfortunately, it
does not work: 3...Rh5+
(dislodging the king) 4.Kb6 Kd5 5.
a4 Kc4 (outflanking again) 6.a6
This is the same position that was
Rh6+ and wins. We have seen this
reached in Variation A above after
position before.
3...Kd5 -- but with White to move.
Now, it is Black's move. And
How about 3.Kc6 instead of 3.a6?
amazingly enough, Black is in
There follows: 3...Kd4 4. a5 Kc4
zugzwang here. All tries at best
5.a6 Rh6+ 6.Kb7 Kb5 and Black
draw; he can no longer win.
wins again.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
(1) 4...Rb2+ 5.Ka6 Rb8 6. Ka7 Rh8
7.Kb6! (the shoulder block is
necessary here) 7…Kd6 8.a6
Rb8+ 9.Ka7 Kc7 10.h8=Q Rxh8
stalemate This is the main line of
the study.
(2) 4...Kd6 5.Kb6 (in the 1.Kb5 line,
with the White king on b6, Black
had the outflanking Kc4; that's not
possible here) Kd7 6.Kb7 Kd8 7.a6
Rxh7+ 8.Kb8! Rh1 9.a7 Rb1+
10.Ka8 Draw
(3) 4...Rh1 5.a6 Rb1+ 6.Ka5 Now
the resource that worked in the
1.Kb5 line does not work: if
6...Kc5? 7.h8=Q wins because the
new-born queen controls the a1
square.
(4) 4...Rh3 5. a6 Rb3+ 6.Ka4 Rb8
(in the 1.Kb5 line, Black moved the
king to c4; here he cannot do that,
because White would queen the
h-pawn. Unlike earlier, when the
rook was on b2, there is no mating
threat when the king comes to c4)
7.a7 Ra8 8.Kb5 Kd6 9.Kb6 Rh8
10.Kb7 Draw
(5) 4...Rxh7 5.a6 Kd6 6.Kb6 Rh1
7.Kb7 (7.a7? Rb1+ 8.Ka6 Kc7
9.a8=N+ Kc6 10.Ka7 Rb2 and
Black wins) Rb1+ 8.Kc8! (a
necessary shoulder block) Ra1
9.Kb7 Kd7 10.a7 Rb1+ 11.Ka8
Draw
Dvoretsky writes that not even a
world champion will be able to find
the saving line in an actual game.
The Editor adds: Santhosh Paul’s
article on unusual Rook against Pawn
endgames has delighted and
entertained us. We hope for more
Page|27
articles from him. Santhosh is a strong
CC player and he was awarded the IM
title by ICCF in 2001. Subsequently
he became inactive and recently he has
started playing again. Santhosh Paul
also has an interest in computers and
software. In 2009 when we developed
the AICCF web server, he studied the
PHP language and planned to help in
the effort. Unfortunately, due to work
and family preoccupation he could not
devote time to the project.
SHAMS MINI #5,6
(W) Khan, Shams
(B) Deshpande, Jatin Neeraj
AA Server 4035
1.e4 c5 2.f4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bb5
Bg7 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.e5
Ne7 8.Ne4 O-O 9.d3 Nf5 10.c3
Qe7 11.O-O d5 12.exd6 Nxd6
13.Nxc5 Rb8 14.d4 Rd8 15.Ne5
Bxe5 16.fxe5 Nc4 17.Qe2 Na5
18.b4 Nb7 19.Ne4 a5 20.Nf6+ Kh8
21.Rf4 axb4 22.Qf3 bxc3 23.Rh4
h5 24.Rxh5+ Kg7 25.Rh7+ Kf8
26.Bh6# 1-0
(W) Khan, Shams
(B) Pandavakrishna, Yellapu
AICCF 4609
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Ne7 4.Nf3
Nf5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.c3 Be7 7.Nbd2 O-
O 8.g4 Nh4 9.Nxh4 Bxh4 10.Nf3
h6 11.g5 Bxg5 12.Nxg5 hxg5
13.Qh5 g6 14.Bxg6 fxg6 15.Qxg6+
Kh8 16.Bxg5 Qd7 17.Rg1 Qf7
18.Bf6+ 1-0
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|28

Kalapi Trivedi is AICCF Champion !

AICCF Championship 1514
Only one game is still ongoing in this Championship, and its outcome will
not affect the 3 Prize placements:

Player Position Points

st
Kalapi Trivedi 1 10
nd
Amit Dutta 2 9½
rd
R.K.Chauhan 3 9
rd
The 3 place was decided among R.K.Chauhan, Mohan Jayaraman and
Om Prakash applying tie-break rules.

Cross table as on 29-08-2017:

No Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
14 12 13 15 Total
1 Kalapi B. Trivedi ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½
1 1 1 1 10
2 Amit Dutta ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 11 1 ½ 1 9½
3 R.K. Chauhan 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 11 ½ 1 1 9
4 Mohan Jayaraman ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½½ 1 1 1 9
5 Om Prakash ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
1 1 1 1 9
6 Sailesh Chandra ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
1 1 1 1 8
7 Anil Anand ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
1 1 ½ 1 8
8 Arghyadip Das ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½
1 ½ ½ 1 8
9 Gautam De 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
1 0 1 1 8
10 Ramesh ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
1 1 ½ 1 8
11 Ankur Singh ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 6½ (1)
12 Aniruddha Dutta Gupta 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 5
13 Rakesh Agrawal 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 4½(1)
14 T.Chandran 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1½
15 Vibhor Gupta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AICCF Congratulates the prize winners. Kalapi Trivedi fell ill near the end
of the tournament. He asked for adjudication in his last remaining game
against Gautam De and this was agreed because the adjudication date
was crossed. The decision of the adjudicators was a win in favour of
Kalapi Trivedi, making him the clear Champion of 1514.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|29

Umesh Nair highest performance, R.B.Ramesh highest points

AICCF Championship 1515
Cross table as on 10-04-2017:
No Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total %
1 Umesh P. Nair ½ 1 1 1 1 4.5 90.0
2 Pervez Mandviwala ½ 1 1 1 3.5 87.5
3 Satyajit Das ½ ½ 1 1 1 4 80.0
4 R.K. Chauhan ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 7 77.8
5 Ramesh ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 8 72.7
6 Anil Anand ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 5 71.4
7 Lalit Kapoor ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 7 70.0
8 Mohan Turaga ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 7.5 68.2
9 Amit Dutta ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 66.7
10 Devangshu Datta ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6 66.7
11 Rakesh Agrawal 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 3.5 43.8
12 Shams Khan ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 0 5 41.7
13 Kalapi B. Trivedi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 21.4
14 Dr A.Nagaraj 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7.1
15 Ankur Singh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Kalapi Trivedi has not been able to continue this tournament.

Highest performance figure: Umesh Nair 90.0%

Highest Total points: R.B.Ramesh 8

Highest completed games (discounting Kalapi Trivedi, Ankur Singh and

Dr A. Nagaraj) is predictably the super-fast player, Shams Khan

Looking Good: R.K.Chauhan with 5 wins and 4 draws is well placed in

terms of good results and completed games. Debutant Mohan Turaga
with four wins and seven draws is also worth watching.

Worth watching: Umesh Nair (4 wins, 1 draw), Pervez Mandviwala (3

wins, 1 draw), Satyajit Das (3 wins, 2 draws), Lalit Kapoor (4 wins, 6
draws) and Devangshu Datta (3 wins, 6 draws),all playing for the first time
in an AICCF Championship are doing very well and their further progress
will depend on their results against the top contenders.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|30

Games Section
Ambar Chatterjee
We begin with two OTB games of 9.dxe4
GM Sasikiran with his notes. 9.Nf4 Qf7! unclear An ideal square
for the queen as the battle
(W) Shankland, Samuel L becomes a fight for the light
(B) Sasikiran, Krishnan squares.
nd
52 Capablanca Memorial Elite 9...Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 O-O
A25: English Opening 10...fxe4 11.Nxe4 Rf8!? was
Notes by Sasikiran, Krishnan already possible.
11.f4?!
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 11.exf5 Bxf5 12.e4 Bg6 and there
I thought for a minute before are many weaknesses (f2,e4 and
playing this hoping that this could d3). Black's compensation is
be a surprise. obvious. But this was a much
The previous year I had played better continuation than the game.
2...f5 which might have influenced 11...fxe4?!
Sam to go here.
3.Bg2 f5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.e3 e4!?
This sharp move was old
preparation from four years earlier
and Sam began to take his time
over the next few moves.
6.d3 Bb4 7.Nge2 d5!? 8.cxd5
Not the most critical continuation. I
guess he wanted to take the extra
pawn.
8.O-O! dxc4! 9.dxe4 fxe4 (9...Qxd1
10.Rxd1 fxe4 11.Nxe4 Bg4
12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Kf1! +=)
10.Qxd8+ (10.Nxe4 Bg4!?)
10...Nxd8 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 Did not notice the difference
c6!? Although White is a bit better between this move and Rd8+
due to the pawn structure, it looked 11...Rd8+! 12.Ke1 (12.Kc2 Bxc3!
quite defensible at that time. 13.Nxc3 Nb4+ 14.Kb1 fxe4 and the
8...Qxd5! knight lands on d3. 15.h3 h5 16.a3
I was playing rather quickly and Nd3 17.Rg1 Bf5 =+) 12...Nxe4!
had barely spent 3 minutes to This is the key difference. By
reach this position, whereas Sam threatening to break the pawn
began to think over for each of his structure on the queenside Black
moves and eventually ended in gains a vital tempo. 13.a3 Nxc3
time trouble.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
14.Nxc3 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 Be6
16.Rb1 Na5! =+
12.a3!
This he played quickly and the
game begins afresh as now Black
has to give two Bishops in order to
sustain the initiative.
12…Rd8+!?
12...Ba5!? 13.Ke1! (13.Nxe4 Rd8+
-+) (13.b4 Bb6 14.Nxe4 Rd8+
15.Ke1 Ng4 16.Nc5 a5! -/+)
13...Re8 unclear
13.Ke1!
The right way as the King is much
safer on the Kingside.
13.Kc2 Bc5! =+ and e3 is in
trouble.
13...Bxc3+!
I did not want to part with this
piece, but then going back allows
his pieces to come out quickly.
13...Be7 14.Nxe4 Na5!? 15.Rb1
and although Black has some
compensation for the pawn, he is
the one who is fighting for equality.
14.Nxc3 Bf5!
Maintaining the bind as I thought
he still has to get the c1-Bishop out
in the game.
14...Na5 15.b4! Nb3 16.Rb1 Be6
17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Bxe4 a5 Here I
thought at best I could get a draw.
15.Bf1
This took him a long time as he
had to decide whether to include
h3 or not.
15.h3!? h5!? Most probably this
was what I would have chosen in
the game trying to keep the
position closed. When we analysed
afterwards, Sam felt that the
inclusion of h3-h5 is better than the
Page|31
game. But I thought it was roughly
the same.
(15...Na5 16.g4 Nb3 17.Rb1 Be6
18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 Bd5 This
was my intention during the game
as I felt the exchange of light
square Bishops allows easy play
for Black and still Nb3 cripples the
queenside.
(19…Nc5!? Sam thought Black has
more than enough compensation
for the pawn, but the following
exchange sac turns the game into
an open fight. 20.Bc2 Ba2 21.Ke2!
Bxb1 22.Bxb1 Rd7!? unclear
Although the computer claims 0.00
in this position, I prefer White's
chances with two Bishops and e-
passer.) 20.Bxd5+ Rxd5 21.e4 Re8
22.e5 g5! =) 16.Bf1 Be6 =
15.g4? Nxg4 16.Nxe4 Nd4! -/+
15...Be6!
Of course Black cannot concede
the a2-g8 diagonal.
16.b4!?
A rather ambitious double edged
move, with almost half an hour
behind on the clock and I would
certainly think about repeating
moves with Bg2.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
16.Bg2 Na5 17.Nxe4 Nb3 18.Rb1
Bf5 (18...Bc4!?) 19.Nxf6+ gxf6
20.e4 Re8 21.Kf2 Bxe4 22.Bxe4
Rxe4 23.Re1 Rxe1 24.Kxe1 Re8+
25.Kf2 Rd8 26.Be3 f5 =
16...a5!? (16...h5!?)
17.b5 Ne7!
17...Nb8 was also possible but I
did not want to disconnect the
rooks. 18.g4!? leads to sharp play.
18.Bg2 Bf5 19.Ra2!?
19.Bf1 Be6 =
19...Rd3!?
Already envisaging an exchange
sacrifice.
19...Ned5 20.Rc2 Nxc3 21.Rxc3
Rac8 =
20.Rc2
20.Bd2 Rad8 21.Bf1 R3d6 22.Rc2
h5!? 23.h3 Be6 unclear
20...Rc8!
The key idea as Black needs to
retake on c6 with the rook.
20...c6 21.bxc6! Nxc6 22.Bf1 +=
21.Bf1 c6!?
Playing for light square blockade
as I felt the White light coloured
Bishop was worth more than the
rook.
21...c5!? was even stronger.
22.Bd2 (22.Na4 c4 23.Nb6 Rc5!
24.h3 Be6 -/+) 22...Ned5 23.Nxd5
Nxd5 24.Bxd3 exd3 25.Rc4 Nf6!
Black has compensation
22.Bxd3?
I had about 39 minutes on the
clock, whereas my opponent was
approaching time trouble already
(18 minutes to make it to time
control on move 40). But now, play
becomes rather one sided as Black
minor pieces almost dominate the
White rooks.
Page|32
22.bxc6?! Rxc6 23.Bd2 Ned5!
24.Bxd3 exd3 25.Rc1 Nxc3
26.Rxc3 Rb6!? =+
22.Bd2! Keeping the tension was
preferable. cxb5 (22...c5 23.Bxd3!?
exd3 24.Rc1 b6!? unclear)
23.Bxd3 exd3 24.Rb2 Bd7!? 25.e4
Rc4 26.e5 b4 27.axb4 axb4
28.Nd1 Ne4 unclear
22...exd3 23.Rb2 Ned5!
I guess Sam missed this move
when he took on d3. Now the
Black rook joins the fight and game
is almost decided.
23...cxb5 24.Bd2 Ne4 25.Nxb5 +=
23...c5!? 24.Kd2 Ne4+ 25.Nxe4
Bxe4 26.Re1 Nd5 27.Rb3 c4
28.Rc3 Nf6!? 29.Bb2 Bd5 30.e4!
Nxe4+ 31.Rxe4 Bxe4 32.a4 Bg6
33.Rc1 =
24.Nxd5 cxd5 25.Bd2 Ne4!
Stopping h3 as g3 is hanging.
26.Rg1
26.Rb3?? Nxd2 27.Kxd2 Rc2+ -+
26.h4!? Nxg3 27.Rh2 a4! -/+
26...h5!
Stopping all counterplay and Black
only needs to bring the King to the
game.
27.Rg2 a4!
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Stopping any Rb3 ideas.
27...Kf7 28.Rb3 Bh3 29.Rf2 Rc2
30.Rxd3 Ra2 31.Ke2 Bf5! 32.Rd4
a4 -/+
28.Rb4 Rc4!?
Black is still winning but it is not
trivial anymore.
28...Rc2! 29.Rxe4 dxe4 30.Rf2
Bg4 31.Bb4 Be2 -+ Calculated this
line, but did not realize quickly
enough that Black is just winning
here. The King enters through the
light squares.
29.b6 Kf7
29...Rc2! -+
30.Rf2 g6!?
Avoiding f5 break.
31.Rg2
31.g4 Bxg4 32.f5 g5! -+ Stopping
Rf4.
31...Ke6 32.Rf2 Kf6!?
The Black king is needed on the
queenside, but it does not hurt to
take a few moves to get it there as
I was also approaching time
trouble.
33.Rg2 Kf7 34.Rf2 Ke6 35.Rg2
Kd7 36.Rf2 Kc6 37.Rb1 Rc2
38.Rc1 Nxf2
Decided to take the exchange
finally as I thought the endgame
with opposite Bishops is easily
won.
39.Kxf2 Kxb6 40.Ke1 Kc5
40...Kb5!?
41.Rxc2+
41.Rb1 b5 -+
41...dxc2 42.Bb4+ Kc4 43.Kd2
Kb3 44.Kc1 b6
Forcing the entry to the Kingside
as White's Bishop is forced to stay
on the a3-f8 diagonal.
Page|33
45.Be7 Kc3 46.Bd8 b5 47.Be7
Kd3 48.Bc5 Ke2 49.h4 Kf3
50.Kd2 Kxg3 51.Be7 Kg4
51...b4!? 52.axb4 a3 53.b5 a2
54.Bf6 d4 55.Bxd4 Kxh4 56.b6 Be4
was already possible.
52.Bg5 Be4 53.Bf6 Bd3!? 54.Be7
54…b4!
The decisive breakthrough as
White Bishop is overloaded to
protect the many weaknesses.
55.axb4 a3 56.b5 a2 57.Bf6 d4!
57...a1=Q 58.Bxa1 Kxh4 59.b6
Ba6 60.Kxc2 Kg4 61.Bf6 h4 -+
58.Bxd4 Kxh4 59.b6 Be4
with this win I managed to take the
lead in the tournament and
nd
eventually won the 52
Capablanca Memorial with a one
point margin.
0-1
(W) Sasikiran, Krishnan
(B) Robson, Ray
th
11 World Teams 2017
D46: Semi-Slav
Notes by Sasikiran, Krishnan
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3
e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|34

O-O 8.O-O dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 pawns come under pressure.)

10.Be2 Bb7 11.a3 18.Bg5 +=
A comparatively rare move instead 17.Kf1!
of Rd1 or e4. 17.Kh1? Nxg4 18.g3 Bxg3! 19.fxg3
11…a5 Qxg3 20.Qg2 Nf2+ wins
11...a6!? 17...Nxg4 18.g3 forced
12.e4 e5 13.Rd1 Qc7!?
13...Qb8!?
13...exd4!? as seen in a corr. 2016
game and Qb8 are valid
alternatives.
14.dxe5
14.g3!? was played in Nakamura-
Giri, Bilbao 2016
14...Nxe5 15.Nd4 Neg4!?
The first line of the engine and
hence it is hard to miss this move
in preparation.
15...Bc5!? 16.Bf4 Bxd4 17.Rxd4
Nf3+ 18.Bxf3 Qxf4 Otspere-
Narozhny corr.2013. I thought
18…f5!?
White had a small edge here with
A very reasonable move (albeit not
the possibility to advance in the
the best), it cost a lot of time for my
centre and Black's queenside is
opponent. He had about 25
not exactly easy to activate.
minutes (although with 30 seconds
15...Ng6!? 16.g3 +=
increment) to make it to next time
16.Bxg4!
control (at move 40), whereas I
The start of a forced sequence
had spent only 10 minutes to reach
after which the Black Bishop will
this position.
find itself trapped in White's
18...b4 19.Bf4 +/- and the Black
territory and play takes on a
queen does not have a5 square
completely different course.
which is one of the key points of
16…Bxh2+!
including a3 and a5.
After a ten minute think, Ray
18...Nxf2!? 19.Nd5! (19.Qxf2 Bxg3
correctly decides that he has to
20.Qf3 f5! leads to sharp play
take the pawn as the alternative
Where Black is no worse.)
Ng4 leads to somewhat worse
19...Qe5 (19...Qd7 20.Qxf2 cxd5
position without counterplay.
21.Qxh2 dxe4 22.Be3 +=)
16...Nxg4 17.h3 Nf6 (17...Ne5
(19...Qxg3 20.Ne7+ Kh8 21.Qxf2
18.Nf5 Bc5 19.Bf4! Bc8 (19...Nf3+?
+=) 20.Bf4 Qxe4 21.Kxf2 Qxc2+
20.gxf3 Qxf4 21.Ne2 Qg5+ 22.Kh1
22.Nxc2 cxd5 23.Nd4 += and
Bxf2 23.Rg1 +-) 20.Ne2!? += with
White catches the piece on h2.
Ned4 to follow and the queenside
Despite enough material
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
compensation (three pawns for the
piece), White's position is
somewhat preferable as the
Black's queenside pawns come
under attack and the blockade on
d4 is unassailable.
18...Bxg3! The best way to
sacrifice the piece. 19.fxg3 f5
20.Bf4 (20.Nxf5 Qxg3 21.Qg2
Rxf5+ 22.exf5 Nh2+ 23.Kg1 Nf3+
24.Kf1 Nh2+ =) 20...fxe4 21.Qxe4
Qf7 22.Qe6 Qxe6 23.Nxe6 Ne3+
24.Kf2 Nxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rf7
26.Ne4!? Re8 27.N6c5 Bc8
unclear and the game goes on and
each side has their trumps. White's
pieces are more active whereas
Black has more material.
19.Bf4!
Practically the only move although
it took almost 14 minutes to
remember the lines and convince
myself of its correctness.
19…Qf7
19...fxe4 20.Bxc7 Ne3+ 21.Ke2 +-
20.Nxf5!
20…Qh5?
Page|35
Finally time pressure takes its toll
and my opponent commits a fatal
error.
According to my analysis the only
move was 20...g6 21.f3! Bxg3
22.Bxg3 Ne3+ 23.Nxe3 Qxf3+
24.Kg1 Qxg3+ (24...Qxe3+ 25.Kg2
Qf3+ 26.Kh2 Qh5+ 27.Kg1 Rf3
28.Rd3 Raf8 29.Rad1 +/-) 25.Ng2
+= with Rd3 to follow and White is
somewhat better as the attack is
repulsed.
20...Bxg3 21.Bxg3 g6 22.f3
Transposes
21.Rd7!
In a blitz game, I would play this
very quickly hitting g7 and b7 and
making way for the White King, but
over the board I wanted to be sure
and spent almost 15 minutes
calculating the lines.
21…Rxf5
21...Bxg3 22.Bxg3 Rxf5 23.exf5
Qh1+ 24.Ke2 Re8+ 25.Kd2 Qxa1
26.Qb3+! +- clearing c2 for the
King and winning the Bishop on
b7. (26.Rxb7?? Qe1+ 27.Kd3
Rd8+ -+)
21...Qh3+ 22.Ke1 Rae8 23.Rxg7+
Kh8 24.Rxb7 Rxf5 25.Qd2! +-
21...Bc8 22.Rxg7+ Kh8 23.Rxg4
Rxf5 24.Qd1! +-
21…Rf7 22.Qb3! +-
22.exf5
22.Rxb7?? Rxf4 23.gxf4 Bxf4 -+
22...Qh3+ 23.Ke1!?
Although the computer says Ke2 is
possible, I wanted to keep the
option of leaving f2 protected by
queen and avoid any Nf2 tricks.
23.Ke2 Qg2 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Qf7
Qxf2+ 26.Kd3 +-
23...Re8+ 24.Kd2!
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
The King clears the way for the
other rook to join.
24.Ne2 Bc8 25.Qxc6 Bxd7
26.Qxd7 Nf6 =
24...Bc8 25.Qb3+!?
It is hard to criticise this move
where White has no risk at all and
comfortably wins the endgame, but
by sheer brute force the engine
concludes that White had a better
option.
25.Rd6 Qg2 26.Re1 Qxf2+ 27.Re2
Rxe2+ 28.Nxe2 Nf6 29.Rd8+ Kf7
30.Rxc8 +-
25...Kh8 26.Qf7!?
26.Rd6! Qh5 27.Re1! Bxf5
28.Rxe8+ Qxe8 29.Nxb5! +-
26...Bxd7
27.Re1!!
The main point of the piece
sacrifice. Black cannot avoid losing
the piece back and White's pieces
are well placed to deal with the
weak queenside pawns.
27.Qxd7 Nf6 28.Qxc6 Rd8+
29.Ke1 (29.Kc2 Qxf5+ 30.Kb3 Rc8!
-/+) 29...Re8+ 30.Ne2 Qxf5 31.Rd1
+=
27...Rg8
Page|36
27...Rd8 28.Qe7 Rg8 29.Qxd7 +-
27...Nf6 28.Rxe8+ Bxe8 29.Qf8+
Ng8 30.Qxe8 Qxf5 31.Qxc6 b4
32.axb4 axb4 33.Ne4 +-
28.Qxd7 Nxf2
Desperation, but the alternatives
offered no practical chances at all.
28...Nf6 29.Qxc6 Qxf5 30.Qxb5
Rd8+ 31.Kc1 +-
28...Qg2 29.Re8 Qxf2+ 30.Ne2 Nf6
(30...h6 31.Rxg8+ Kxg8 32.Qe8+
Kh7 33.Qg6+ +-) 31.Rxg8+ Nxg8
32.Be5 Nf6 33.Qc8+ Ng8 34.Qf8
Qa7 35.f6 +-
29.Re8!
Exchanging the last defender of
the Black King.
29…h5
29...h6 30.Rxg8+ (30.Be5 Qg4
31.Re6 +-) 30...Kxg8 31.Qe8+ Kh7
32.f6 +-
30.Rxg8+ Kxg8 31.Qe8+ Kh7
32.Qg6+!?
Although I had more than seven
minutes than my opponent to make
it to the time control, I thought an
extra minute on the clock should
be useful to finish the game
efficiently.
32…Kg8 33.Qe8+ Kh7 34.f6!
The only way as White includes
another unit into the attack.
34…Ng4
34…gxf6 35.Qf7+ Kh8 36.Qxf6+
Kh7 37.Qf7+ Kh8 38.Be5#
34...Bxg3 35.Bxg3 Qxg3 36.Qxh5+
Kg8 37.Qe8+ Kh7 38.f7 +-
35.Qe4+!
Stopping Nf6 and ensuring that
White will be a full queen ahead.
35.f7 Nf6 +- is only a piece up.
35...Kg8
35...g6 36.Qe7+ +-
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|37

36.Qe6+ Kh7 37.f7 21.b4 +/- Bd6 22.Qxc7 Bxc7

37.Qf5+! 23.Nc6 Bxg3
37...Bxg3 Better was 23...f6 24.d6 Bxd6
37...Qg2+ 38.Ne2 +- 25.Rxd6 fxg5 26.a3 +/-
38.f8=Q 1-0 24.Ne7+

The remaining games are from

AICCF, AA and ICCF servers with
notes by A.Chatterjee.

(W) Gonzalez Sanchez, Federico

(B) Thakur, Ankur Singh
ICCF XV AEAC/P10 (ESP)
B18: Caro-Kann

Ankur Singh sent us this game

asking if he could have saved this
game after the endgame was
reached. We note that White
reached a winning position in the
White is now in a winning position.
early middle game itself and there
24…Rxe7
was no chance for Black to save
24...Kh7 25.Rd4! f6 26.d6 e5
this game after move 24.
27.Rde4 Bf4 28.Bxf4 Ng4 29.Bxe5!
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 dxe4
25.Bxe7 Bh4 26.d6 Ng4 27.Bxh4
4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7
Rxh4 28.g3 Rh5 29.d7 Nxd7
7.Bd3 e6 8.Bxg6 hxg6 9.O-O
30.Rxd7 a5 31.Rc1 axb4 32.Rc8+
Ngf6 10.c4 Bd6 11.Bg5 Qc7
Kh7 33.Rxf7 Rb5 34.Rf4 Nh6
12.Re1 Kf8
35.Re4 b3 36.axb3 Rxb3 37.Rxe6
12...O-O-O is marginally better.
g5 38.Rc7 g4 39.Re5 Kg6
Since Black's Rh8 is on a semi-
40.Rc6+ Kh7 41.Rg5 Nf7 42.Rxg4
open file, the King need not be
1-0
castled.
13.Qe2 Kg8 14.Rac1 b6 15.b3
(W) Satyajit Das
Re8 16.Rcd1 Ng4 17.d5 cxd5
(B) Umesh P. Nair
18.cxd5 Bc5 19.Nd4 Nxh2
AICCF T007
This did not turn out well.
E11: Bogo-Indian
Better was 19...Ngf6 20.dxe6 Bxd4
21.Rxd4 Rxe6 +=
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+
20.Qc2 Nf8
4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Bxd2 h6
20...Ne5 21.b4 Nef3+ 22.gxf3
7.e3 Bb7 8.b4 O-O 9.Bd3 d6
Nxf3+ 23.Kg2 (23.Nxf3 Qxg3+)
10.O-O Nbd7 11.Bc3 Be4 12.Be2
23...Nxe1+ 24.Rxe1 +/- is better
c6 13.Nd2 Bg6 14.f3 d5 15.Nb3
than the text.
Qe7 16.Qd2 dxc4 17.Bxc4 Nd5
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
18.e4 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Rac8
20.Rac1 Rfd8 21.Rfd1 Nf6 22.Ba6
Rc7 23.Bb5 Rdc8 24.Be2 Nd7
25.Qe3 f5
White has been slowly building up
a space advantage. Now Black
undertakes a confrontation, but
White maintains his advantage.
26.e5 Bh5 27.Re1 b5 28.Qd2 Qf7
29.Bd3 Bg6 30.Bb1 Nb6 31.Nc5
Nd5 32.Ba2 Rd8 33.Bxd5 cxd5
34.Nb3 Rdc8 35.Rc5 +/-
Let us take stock of the situation.
White has a substantial space
advantage. Black's central fixed
pawns are on white squares, so
that his Bishop can be termed
"bad". White is well placed to battle
for the c4-file and if there is an
exchange at c5 he will get a
passed pawn.
35…Qe7 36.Rec1 Be8 37.f4 a6
38.R1c3 Rxc5
Allowing a passed pawn, but Black
cannot avoid capture on c5 as the
following variation illustrates:
38...Bh5 39.Rxc7 Rxc7 40.Rc5
Be8 41.Qc3 Rxc5 42.dxc5
Page|38
39.dxc5 Bc6 40.Nd4 Qe8 41.Qe2
Bd7 42.h3 Qe7 43.Qf3 Kh7 44.c6
Be8 45.Qd3
With the threat of 46.Nxf5 exg5
46.Qxf5+ winning the Rook.
45…Kg8 46.Rc5 Bf7 47.a4 Qh4
48.Qd2 bxa4 49.Ra5 Ra8 50.b5
Qd8 51.Qc3 Qb6 52.Kh2 a3
53.bxa6
The passed pawn counts. If
53...Rxa6 54.c7 Qxa5 55.c8=Q+
etc.
1-0
(W) Aniruddha Dutta Gupta
(B) Om Prakash
AICCF Championship 1514
E66: King’s Indian
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2
Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.d4 d6
The English Opening is transposed
to the King's Indian, Fianchetto
Variation.
8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 e5 10.b3 Bd7
11.Bb2 a6 12.Qc2 b5 13.Rae1
Nh5 14.e3 f5
Both f5 and b5 are thematic thrusts
by Black in the King's Indian.
Usually Black opts for one or the
other, depending on which side
White is playing. Here White is
passive and Om Prakash plays on
both flanks.
15.Rb1 Rb8 16.Nd1 Qe7 17.f3
Nb7 18.a4 b4
Black has closed the queenside
and now switches over to a
kingside attack.
19.Nf2 Nd8 20.Nd3 Nf7 21.Rbe1
Rbe8 22.Kh1 Qg5 23.Kg1 Qh6
24.Nf2 Nf6 25.Qd1 g5 26.Qc2
Qg6 27.h3
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
White seems to be happy to play
passively.
27…h5 28.g4 Nh6 29.Qb1 Kh7
30.Re2 Rd8 31.gxf5 Nxf5 =+
Black has an active position, more
space, play along the f-file and
prospects to attack White's king.
By contrast, White is somewhat
cramped, his pieces are on the first
and second rank, and the king is
beginning to look exposed.
32.Nde4 Nxe4 33.Nxe4 Bh6
34.Kh1 Rg8 35.Kh2 Rdf8 36.Ng3
Kh8 37.Rh1 Rf7 -+
Black is in a comfortable position.
38.Nxf5 Bxf5 39.Qd1 Kg7 40.Kg1
Bd3
Black is in a winning position.
41.Rd2 g4!
Breaking into the position.
42.f4
42.Rxd3 gxf3 43.Rh2 Kh7 wins.
42...Bf5 43.h4 Kh7 44.Re2 Bd3
45.Re1 Rgf8 46.Bc1 Bc2 47.Qe2
Bxb3 48.Rh2 Bxa4
With the diversion of White's forces
to defend his king, two pawns on
the queenside have fallen.
Page|39
49.Bh1 a5 50.Qa2 Bd7 51.Rhe2
Kg8 52.Qxa5 exf4 53.exf4 Qd3
This penetration is the fastest way
to victory.
Also winning easily is 53...Bxf4
54.Bxf4 Rxf4
54.Bg2 Qg3 55.Qa2 Bxf4 56.Bxf4
Rxf4 57.Re3 Rf1+
Mate follows after 58.Rxf1 Qxe3+
59.Kh1 Rxf1+ 60.Bxf1 Bf5 61.Bd3
Qe1+
0-1
(W) Om Prakash
(B) Sailesh Chandra
AICCF Championship 1514
A45: Trompowsky Attack
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5
The Trompowski Attack. A sharp
way to begin the conflict from the
second move itself.
2…c5
The most popular continuation is
2...Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.f3 Qa5+ 5.c3
Nf6
3.d5 Ne4 4.Bf4 Qb6 5.Bc1
This peculiar looking retreat is the
only good move here.
5…e6 6.f3 Qa5+ 7.c3 Nf6 8.e4 d6
9.Bd2 Qb6 10.c4 Qxb2
White gives up the b2 pawn but
has enough compensation for it.
11.Nc3 Qb6 12.Bd3
Another line is 12.f4 e5 13.fxe5
dxe5 14.Nf3 Nbd7 15.Bd3 g6
16.O-O White retains an edge.
12...Be7 13.f4 exd5 14.cxd5 O-O
15.Nf3 Nbd7 16.Rb1 Qc7 17.O-O
a6 18.a4 Bd8
Black has to do something about
the traffic jam on the queenside.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|40

19.Kh1 Re8 20.Re1 Qb8 21.Qc2 35...Nxg6 36.h5 Nf4 (36...Nf8

Ba5 22.Ng5
Seems pointless, as Black could
simply reply 22...h6 followed by
Qc7.
22…c4?
Black needlessly returns the pawn.
23.Bxc4 Qc7 24.Bb3 h6 25.e5
hxg5 26.exf6 Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1
Nxf6 28.fxg5 Nh7
28...Nd7 29.Re8+ Nf8 is the same.
29.Re8+ Nf8 30.Ne4 Qxc2
31.Bxc2 Bxd2 32.Nxd6 g6
33.Nxc8 +/-
Black has a serious back rank
weakness and his Ra8 is difficult to
extricate. White's d5 pawn is only 3
moves away from the queening
square.
33…Kg7 34.h4 Be1
37.h6+ Kh7) 37.d6 Nxh5 38.d7
Ba5 39.Nb6! Bxb6 40.Rxa8 +-
35...Kxg6? 36.Ne7+ Kh5 37.Rxa8
35...fxg6 36.Re7+ Kg8 37.Nb6 Bb4
38.Re4 Rd8 39.Rxb4 +-
36.Bf5 b5 37.d6 bxa4 38.d7 Nxd7
39.Bxd7 Rb8
39...Bxg5 40.Bxa4 +-
40.Bxa4
Now it is a matter of winning with a
piece up, which is not that easy
because White will have only 1
pawn left.
40…Bg3 41.Bc2 a5 42.Bf5 a4
43.Re3 Bf4 44.Rh3 Bxg5 45.Ra3
Kf6 46.g4 Rb4 47.Nd6 Bc1
48.Rc3 Bb2 49.Rc7 Bd4 50.Nc4
Not 50.Rxf7+ Ke5 51.Nc8 Kf4
52.Kg2 Rb2+ 53.Kh3 a3
50...Rb8 51.Rc6+ Kg7 52.Kg2
Rb7 53.Bc2 Rb4 54.Kf3 Kf8
55.Rc7 Kg8 56.g5 a3 57.Nxa3
Rb2 58.Bd1 Rd2 59.Be2 Ba1
60.Nc4 Rd5 61.Kf4 Rd4+ 62.Kg3
Rd5 63.Kh4 Rd8 64.Bh5 Rd4+
65.Kg3
Black resigned rather than
continue with 65...f6 66.Bf7+ Kg7
67.g6
1-0

(W) Mohan Jayaraman

(B) Aniruddha Dutta Gupta
AICCF Championship 1514
35.Bxg6!
E81: King’s Indian, Samisch
This exploits Black's back rank
weakness.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4
35.Rxe1 Rxc8 36.Re2 Rc4 37.g3
d6 5.f3
+- is also sufficient to win because
The distinctive move of the
of the d5 passer.
Samisch variation of the King's
35...Bxh4
Indian Defence. As in the Sicilian
Dragon - Yugoslav Attack, White
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
stabilises the centre, prevents Ng4
to prepare Be3 and aims for a
kingside attack.
5…O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6
8.d5 Ne5 9.Ng3 h5 10.Be2 h4
11.Nf1 e6 12.f4 Nxc4
This sacrifice has been seen in
master play with reasonable
success.
Another main line is 12...Neg4
13.Bxg4 Nxg4 14.Qxg4 exd5 15.f5
d4 16.Nd5
13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bxb5 exd5 15.e5
dxe5 16.fxe5 d4 17.Bg5 Bg4
18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Qxg4 dxc3
20.exf6 cxb2 21.Rb1 =
Although Black is 2 pieces down,
the position is rated as having
equal chances for both sides.
21…Qa5+ 22.Kf2 Qxb5 23.Ne3 c4
One of the pieces is recovered.
Are Black's passed pawns on the
queenside worth a piece?
24.Qxc4 Qg5 25.Rhd1 Rac8
26.Qd5 Qxf6+ 27.Qf3 Qe5 28.Kg1
Rc3 29.Ng4 Qc5+ 30.Qf2 f5
31.Qxc5 Rxc5 32.Ne3 Rb8 33.Kf2
f4 34.Nd5 g5 35.Nf6+ Kg7 36.Ne4
Ra5 +/-
Page|41
White has successfully held Black
on the queenside and activated his
knight.
37.Rd2 Rxa2 38.Nxg5
With the fall of Black's pawns,
White will win on the kingside.
38…a5 39.Ne6+ Kh6 40.Nxf4 a4
41.Ke2 Re8+ 42.Kf3 Rb8 43.Ke4
Rb4+ 44.Ke5 a3 45.Rd6+ Kg7
46.Rdd1 Rc4 47.Rf1 Kh6 48.h3
Rc2 49.Kf5 Rc8 50.Kg4
White completes his task of
mopping up the pawns on the
kingside. As Black has an R stuck
at a2 he has no hope now.
50…Rc4 51.Rfe1 Kg7 52.Kg5 Kf7
53.Rbd1 Rc7 54.Kxh4 Re7 55.Rf1
Kg8 56.g4 Rf7 57.Kg3 Rf8 58.h4
b1=Q 59.Rxb1 Ra8 60.g5 Rc2
61.Rb4 1-0
(W) Kalapi B. Trivedi
(B) Gautam De
AICCF Championship 514
E32: Nimzo-Indian, Classical
1.d4
The game that decided the winner
of the 1514 Championship. Here
Kalapi Trivedi displays his versatile
understanding of positional chess.
1…Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2
Kalapi Trivedi opts for the Classical
Variation of the Nimzo Indian. This
is a safe line where White can get
the bishop pair, without doubled
pawns at the cost of some lost
tempi.
4…O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6
7.Bg5 Bb7 8.e3
8.f3 Is the other major line, wherein
White tries to establish a strong
pawn centre.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|42

8...d6 9.Ne2 Nbd7 10.Qc2 45.Nxf6+ Kg6 46.Ne8 Qe7

Although this move has been the 47.Qb6+ Kh7 48.Nf6+ Kg7
most popular in master play, 49.Nh5+ Kh7 50.Qxa6
10.Qd3 has enjoyed greater
success.
10…c5 11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Nc3 cxd4
13.Rxd4
13.exd4 looks more natural, but is
not recommended.
13...h6
More usual is 13...Rfd8 14.f3 h6
15.Bh4 Ne5 16.Be2 Ng6 17.Bf2 d5
=
14.Bh4 Ne5 15.f3 Rfd8 16.Be2
Rac8
16...Ng6 is more often seen.
17.O-O Nc6 18.Rdd1 Na5 19.Qa4
d5 20.cxd5 exd5 21.Bf2 a6
By tactical play, the positional
22.Qd4 b5 23.Bh4 Re8 24.Bxf6
advantage has been turned into a
gxf6 25.Kf2 Rcd8 26.Rfe1 Nc4
material advantage. But with only 1
27.Bxc4 dxc4
pawn minus and a well-placed
Black has bishop against knight
bishop against knight Black is not
and a queenside pawn majority to
out of resources.
compensate for his shattered
50…Bf3! 51.Qf6
kingside pawns.
51.gxf3 Qe2+ 52.Kg3 Qe1+ with
28.Qb6 Kg7 29.h3 Rb8 30.e4 Qe5
perpetual check.
31.Kg1 Re6 32.Qf2 Rbe8 33.Rd7
51...Qd7 52.Qh4 Bxh5
Bc6 34.Ra7 Ra8 35.Rxa8 Bxa8
Necessary, since the fork Nf6+
36.Rd1 Bc6 37.Ne2 Kh7 38.Rd2
was threatened.
Re7 39.Ng3 Rd7 40.f4 +/-
52...Kg6 53.Qg3+ Kxh5 54.Qxf3+
After a lot of slow positional
Kg6 +/-
manoeuvring, White at last plays a
53.Qxh5 Qe6
move that changes the pawn
A queen and pawn endgame with
structure.
only 1 extra pawn is very difficult to
40…Rxd2 41.Qxd2 Qc7 42.Kh2 f5
win. Here an additional factor is
43.Nh5
that Black's king is somewhat
Stronger than
exposed, while White's king is not.
43.e5 Qd7 44.Qe1 Kg6
54.Qd1 Kg8 55.Qd4 Kf7 56.Qa7+
43...Bxe4 44.Qd4 f6
Kg6 57.Qb8 Qd5 58.Qe8+ Kf6
Only move to avoid mate.
59.Kg3 Qd2 60.Qe5+ Kg6
44...Kg6 45.Qg7+ Kxh5 46.g4+
61.Qe6+ Kg7 62.Qe7+ Kg6 63.h4!
fxg4 47.Qxg4#
Qd3+ 64.Kh2 Kh5 65.Qe8+ Kg4
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Not 65...Kxh4 66.Qg6 sets up a
mating net.
66.Qg6+ Kxf4 67.Qxh6+ Ke5
68.Qh8+ Ke6 69.Qe8+ Kf6
70.Qc6+ Ke7 71.Qxb5
White has steadily exploited
Black's exposed king and is now 2
pawns up.
71…Qd4 72.Qxf5 Qxh4+ 73.Kg1
Qd4+ 74.Qf2 Qd1+ 75.Kh2 Qh5+
76.Kg3 Qe5+ 77.Kg4 Qe6+
78.Kh4 Qh6+ 79.Kg3 Qg6+
80.Kh3 Qd3+ 81.g3
The checks have come to an end.
Ke6 82.Qf4
The adjudication date was
crossed. Kalapi Trivedi, who has
not been well, defaulted in other
games, and requested this position
to be adjudicated. (Editor’s note:
All AICCF games, by default,
continue seamlessly after the
adjudication date and normally
players continue the game.
However, it is permitted for a
player to ask for adjudication with a
claim of win or draw). The position
was adjudicated as a win for
White. Advancing the pawns to the
Page|43
queening square is a long drawn
out process, in view of the many
checks that Black can give, but
White's win is certain.
1-0
(A) Dilshad Kausar
(B) A.Chatterjee
AICCF 4558
D31: QGD Semi-Slav
After the game Dilshad Kausar
wrote, "I am fortunate to draw the
game against a player of your
reputation". Actually Dilshad came
very close to winning this game.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3
dxc4 5.a4 Bb4 6.e3 b5 7.Bd2 a5
8.axb5 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 cxb5 10.b3
Bb7 11.bxc4 b4 12.Bb2 Nf6
13.Bd3 O-O 14.O-O Qc7 15.Re1
Be4 16.Bf1 Nbd7 17.Nd2 Bb7
18.f3 Rfb8 19.Kh1 Nf8 20.e4
N6d7 21.c5 e5 22.Rc1 exd4
23.Nb3 Bc6 24.Nxd4 a4 25.Nf5
Ne6 26.f4 Kh8 27.Bc4 a3 28.Ba1
Ndxc5 29.Nxg7! +/-
There is a formidable pin along the
long diagonal. I had a hard time to
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|44

save the game after this. 58.Ke5 Re1+ 59.Kf5 Rf1+ 60.Ke4
Objectively speaking, Black should Rb1 61.Be3 Rb4+ 62.Kf3 Bd5+
have won from this position. 63.Kg3 Rb7 64.Ra5 Bc4 65.Bxh6
29…Nxg7 30.Qd4 f6 Kf7
30...Nce6 31.Bxe6 fxe6 32.Rxc6! This position still has 8 men, so the
+/- 7-men tablebase is not applicable.
31.Qxc5 b3 But, as a general rule, if the pawns
Black's only hope is to create a can be blockaded on the same
diversion using these two hanging colour squares as the White
passed pawns. bishop, the game will be drawn.
31...Ra5 32.Qe3 Qe7 33.e5! holds 66.g5 Kg6 67.Kf4 Rb5 68.Ra7 Bf7
less hope for Black.
32.Bxf6 b2 33.Rcd1 a2
The last chance to complicate.
33...Qb7 34.Ba2 +-
34.Bxa2 Rxa2 35.Be5 Ra1
36.Rxa1 bxa1=Q 37.Rxa1 Qb6
It is difficult to believe that this
game was eventually drawn. An
engine evaluation at this point is
between 1.4 and 1.9 for different
engines.
38.Bxg7+ Kg8
The bishop cannot be taken.
38...Kxg7 39.Ra7+ King moves
allow mate. Qxa7 40.Qxa7+ wins.
The blockade is achieved. White's
39.Qxb6 Rxb6 40.Be5 Bxe4
rook cannot reach g7.The game is
A ending with bishops of opposite
drawn.
colour. With 2 extra pawns, White
69.Rc7 Rb4+ 1/2-1/2
should win. Engine evaluations are
about 1.6.But not all engines are
(W) Aayush Somani
capable of finding their way in
(B) Aniruddha Dutta Gupta
opposite colour bishop endgames.
AICCF T001
41.Kg1 Rc6 42.Ra8+ Kf7 43.Ra7+
B33: Sicilian Pelikan/Sveshnikov
Ke6 44.g4 Rc2 45.h3 Rg2+ 46.Kf1
Rg3 47.Ra6+ Ke7 48.f5 Rxh3
In this Sicilian Pelikan game,
49.Ra7+ Ke8 50.f6 Bg6 51.Ke2
Aayush Somani (Youngsters
Rh4 52.Kf3 Bf7 53.Ra8+ Kd7
Team) gets the better of veteran
54.Ra1 Rh1 55.Ra7+
Aniruddha Dutta Gupta (seniors
Not 55.Rxh1 Bd5+
Team).
55...Ke8 56.Bd4 Rf1+ 57.Ke4 h6
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4
By keeping the checks alive from
4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6
behind, Black ensures a draw.
7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Sicilian Pelikan/ Sveshnikov
Variation.
9.Nd5 Be7 10.Nxe7 Nxe7 11.Bxf6
gxf6 12.c4 Bb7 13.cxb5 Bxe4
14.bxa6 O-O 15.Bb5 Kh8 16.O-O
Qb6 17.Re1 d5 18.Bf1 Qxb2
19.Nc4 dxc4 20.Rxe4 Rfd8
21.Qc1 Qxc1 22.Rxc1 Rxa6
23.Rexc4
White has a small advantage in
this endgame with B vs. N, outside
passed pawn and better pawn
structure.
23…Ra7
Not 23...Rxa2 24.Rc7 Nd5 25.Rxf7
+/-
24.Rc7 Rd7 25.Rxd7 Rxd7 26.a4
Ra7 27.Bb5 Kg7 28.Kf1 Nf5
29.Ke2 Nd4+ 30.Kd3 Ra8 31.Rc7
Ne6 32.Rc4 Nd4 33.Kc3 Rb8
34.Kb4 +/-
White has successfully brought his
king in support of his passed a-
pawn.
34…Kf8 35.Rc7 h6 36.Kc4 h5
37.h4 Kg7 +-
Black has no useful moves. The
rest of the game is straight
forward.
Page|45
38.Rc5 Ra8 39.Kb4 Ne6 40.Rc3
Nf4 41.Ra3 Rc8 42.a5 Nd5+
43.Kb3 Rb8 44.Ka4 Nc7 45.Rg3+
Kf8 46.Rc3 Rb7 47.a6 Nxa6
48.Bxa6 Rb1 49.Be2 Rb2 50.Re3
Kg7 51.g3 Kh6 52.Ka3 Rc2
53.Kb3 Rd2 54.Kc3 Ra2 55.Kd3
Ra5 56.Ke4 Kg6 57.Rb3 Ra2
58.Kf3 f5 59.Rb6+ Kg7 60.Rb7
Ra4 61.Kg2 Kg6 62.Rb6+ f6
63.Bxh5+ Kxh5 64.Rxf6 f4
65.Rf5+ Kg6 66.Rxe5 fxg3
67.fxg3 1-0
(W) Satyajit Das
(B) Umesh P. Nair
AICCF T007
E11: Bogo-Indian
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3
White prefers to sidestep the
Nimzo-Indian 3.Nc3 Bb4
Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2+
6.Bxd2 h6 7.e3 Bb7 8.b4 O-O
9.Bd3 d6 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Bc3
Be4 12.Be2 c6 13.Nd2 Bg6 14.f3
d5 15.Nb3 Qe7 16.Qd2 dxc4
17.Bxc4 Nd5 18.e4 Nxc3 19.Qxc3
Rac8 20.Rac1 Rfd8 21.Rfd1 Nf6
22.Ba6 Rc7 23.Bb5 Rdc8 24.Be2
Nd7 25.Qe3 +/-
In this quiet position White stands
better. Black's pieces are cramped
and White completely controls the
centre. From here on Satyajit Das
conducts the game in fine style
capitalising on his advantage.
25…f5
Black has to decide between
challenging the centre or remaining
passive. However, this move
allows 26.e5 giving White a space
advantage. The B@g6 is now
looking like a bad bishop.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
26.e5 Bh5 27.Re1 b5 28.Qd2 Qf7
29.Bd3 Bg6 30.Bb1 Nb6 31.Nc5
Nd5
31...Nc4 32.Qe2 Nxa3 33.Ba2 Re8
34.Qd3 Nc4 35.Bxc4 bxc4 36.Rxc4
+/- White's well placed knight is
superior to Black's bishop.
32.Ba2 Rd8 33.Bxd5 cxd5
33...Rxd5 34.Red1 Rc8 35.Rc3
Rcd8 36.Nb3 +/-
Worse is 33...exd5 34.Na6 Rcc8
35.Rc3 +- because of the e5
passer and backward c6 pawn.
34.Nb3
c5 is vacated so that a white R can
occupy it. Exchange of rooks helps
White who has a knight against
bad bishop.
Rdc8 35.Rc5 Qe7 36.Rec1 Be8
37.f4 a6 38.R1c3
Making way for Qc2 which would
force exchange of the heavy
pieces.
Rxc5 39.dxc5
The best way to recapture,
creating a passed pawn.
39…Bc6 40.Nd4 Qe8 41.Qe2 Bd7
42.h3 Qe7 43.Qf3 Kh7
Black had no useful moves.
Page|46
44.c6 +-
44.Rc2 Kh8 45.g4 fxg4 46.hxg4 +-
is an alternative plan which
initiates play on the other flank,
keeping Black tied up on both
wings.
44...Be8 45.Qd3 Kg8 46.Rc5 Bf7?
Allowing the queenside to be
broken apart. But Black was lost in
any case.
47.a4 Qh4 48.Qd2 bxa4 49.Ra5
Ra8 50.b5 Qd8 51.Qc3 Qb6
52.Kh2 a3 53.bxa6
After 53...Rxa6 54.c7 queens.
1-0
(W) Anand, Anil Kumar
(B) Rozanski, Robert
ICCF XV AEAC/P19 (ESP)
E92: King’s Indian Classical
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4
Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5
King's Indian Classical.
7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Na6
10.Nd2 Qe8 11.Rb1 Nxe4
12.Ndxe4 f5 13.Nd2 g5 14.Bg3 f4
15.Bh5 Qe7 16.O-O Bf5 17.Nde4
Nc5 18.Re1 fxg3 19.hxg3 Nxe4
20.Nxe4 Qd7 21.Rc1 a4 22.c5
Rad8 23.cxd6 cxd6 24.Rc4 Qb5
25.Rc2 a3 26.b3 Qd7 27.Qc1 Qb5
28.Qxa3 Qb6 29.Rd2 Rd7 30.Re3
Kh8
White has a small edge in terms of
queenside pawn majority and
better placed pieces. The extra
pawn doesn't count for much.
31.Kh2 Rfd8
After this, White seizes the chance
to apply pressure along the f-file.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|47

In this amusing game played on

the Afro-Asian Server (www.aa-
webchess.com) Shams Khan
dominates over his Indonesian
opponent in a King's Gambit.

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4

Bg7 5.O-O Nc6 6.c3 d6 7.d4 h6
8.Qa4 Bd7 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Bxf7+
Ke7 11.Qa3 Kxf7 12.Qxa5 Ne7
13.g3 Bh3 14.Rf2 Qd7 15.gxf4
Qg4+? 16.Kh1 gxf4 17.Bxf4
32.Qa4 Rc7 33.Rf3 Bh7 34.Bg4
Rc1 35.Bf5 g4
35...Bxf5 36.Rxf5 Qc7 37.g4 +/-
36.Bxg4 Re1 37.Bf5 Bxf5 38.Rxf5
Qc7
Black has given up another pawn
and in return he has control of a1-
h1 rank.
39.g4 Qc1 40.Qa5 b6 41.Qc3
Not 41.Qxb6 Rc8 42.Qxd6 Rxe4
43.Rd3 Rxg4 =+
41...Qxc3
41...Rh1+ 42.Kg3 Qg1 43.Kf3 +-
42.Nxc3 17…Bf6?
White has simplified to a won 17...b6 18.Qb5 Kg8 19.Ng1 Qd1
ending. 20.Qb3+ Qxb3 21.axb3 +=
42…e4 43.Ne2 Be5+ 44.g3 Rc8 18.Nbd2 b6
45.Rf7 Rf1 46.Kg2 e3 47.Rd3 18...Qxf4 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Qxh3 +-
Rxf2+ 48.Rxf2 exf2 49.Kxf2 Kg7 19.Qb5 c6 20.Qe2 Rag8 21.Bxd6
50.a4 Rc2 51.Ke3 Rb2 52.Nd4 Ke8 22.d5 Kd8 23.e5 Bh4
Kg6 53.Ke4 Rb1 54.Nc6 Bf6 24.Nxh4 Qxh4 25.Nf3 Qa4 26.Nd4
55.b4 1-0 cxd5 27.Bxe7+ Kxe7 28.e6 Rg5
29.Qf3 Bg2+ 30.Rxg2 Rf8 31.Qh3
(W) Khan, Shams Qxa2 32.Rxg5 Qxa1+ 33.Rg1
(B) Lambiarro, Alfonso Qxb2 34.Rg7+ Kf6 35.Qxh6+ Ke5
AA Server 4021 36.Qe3+ Kd6 37.Qg3+ 1-0
C38: King’s Gambit Accepted
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
International Section
Dr. Alok Saxena
<aloks279@gmail.com>
his year’s ICCF Congress, is
T
being held in the Hotel
Flamingo Grand in Albena,
rd th
Bulgaria during 3 – 8 Sept,
2017. Probably, by the time you
are reading this report, the
Congress may be over, however
we will present a full report in the
next Bulletin.
The Flamingo Grand Hotel
Although Sailesh Chandra was
expected to attend, he was unable
to go, due to personal difficulties.
We have also decided to cancel
our proposal to host the next
Congress in Banagalore, India.
The Black Sea resort town of
Albena is approximately 30 km
northeast of Varna. This Congress
is organized by the Bulgarian
Correspondence Chess Federation
Page|48
(BCCF). There will be a meeting of
the ICCF Executive Board (EB)
and Management Committee (MC)
on Sunday, September 3, 2017.
The Congress will open at 09.30
on Monday, September 4, 2017.
Excursions and various chess
matches will be offered through the
week, with the Closing Banquet
being held on the evening of
Thursday, September 7, 2017, on
the 17 floor in French restaurant
“Ciel Bleu” at the Dobrudja hotel
(nearly to Flamingo and Ralitsa).
Petyo Marinov of BCCF is
coordinating the organization of the
Congress.
Programme of Events
03 Sept, 2017 (Sunday)
Arrival of delegates, hotel check in.
09:30 - 12:30: Executive Board
Meeting
14.00 – 17.00: Management
Committee Meeting
20.00 - 22:00: Welcome Party in
bar Bailando at Flamingo
04 Sept, 2017 (Monday)
09:00 - 09:30: Gathering of the
delegates
09:30 - 10:30: Opening Ceremony
10:30 - 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30: Title awards
12:30 - 14:00: Lunch break
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
14:00 - 15:30: Congress Day One
15:30 - 16:00: Coffee break
16:00 - 18:00: Congress Day One
Conference hall
Accompanying person's
programme
05 Sept, 2017 (Tuesday)
09:00 - 10:30: Congress Day 2
10:30 - 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 - 11:30: Congress Day 2
12:30 - 14:00: Lunch break
14:00 - 15:30: Congress Day 2
15:30 - 16:00: Coffee break
16:00 - 18:00: Congress Day 2
Accompanying person's prog.
20:00 - 24:00 Blitz tournament
06 Sept, 2017 (Wednesday)
09:00 - 10:30: Congress Day 3
10:30 - 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 - 11:30: Congress Day 3
12:30 - 14:00: Lunch break
14:00 - 15:30: Congress Day 3
15:30 - 16:00: Coffee break
16:00 - 19:00: Congress Day 3
Accompanying person's prog.
20:00 - 24:00 Chess Match ICCF
vs. Local Team
07 Sept, 2017 (Thursday)
Half Day Excursion
Page|49
09:30 - 13:30 Botanical garden in
Balchik, Guided tour
19:00 - 23:00: Closing banquet on
the 17 floor in French restaurant
“Ciel Bleu”
08 Sept, 2017 (Friday)
Departure of Delegates.
Since ICCF no longer has a valid
Congress proposal to host the
2018 Congress, according to ICCF
Statute 30, the President is
empowered to cancel or rearrange
a meeting of Congress. The
President will announce his
decision regarding the 2018
Congress at the 2017 Congress in
Bulgaria.
Yosua Sitorus has submitted an
application for Indonesia to join
ICCF Zone 4.
Nominations were invited from
respective Member Federations for
the position of Marketing Director
on March 20, 2017. The vacancy
arose due to resignation of the
Marketing Director, Andrew
Dearnley, for personal reasons.
ICCF World Champion,
Leonardo Ljubičić, of Croatia took
over the post. Since 2015, he has
served as National Delegate for
Croatia.
The resignation of Mariusz
Wojnar as Qualifications and
Deputy Rating Commissioner, was
also accepted for personal
reasons. Uwe Staroske was
selected by the EB to replace
Mariusz, effectively immediately.
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Bisht, Mamta drew against strong
th
SIM Knol, Everdinand in 18 Africa
Asia Zonal Championship Prelim
P.
[Event "AA/C18/Pr/P"]
[White "Knol, Everdinand"]
[Black "Bisht, Mamta"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3
Be7 5.Bg2 O-O6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2
a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bf4
Nc611.Rd1 Nb4 12.Qc1 Nbd5
13.Nc3 Rc8 14.Nxd5 Bxd5
15.Be3 c616.Ne1 Ng4 17.Bf3
Bxf3 18.Nxf3 Qd5 19.a3 Qe4
20.b4 Ra821.Ne5 Nxe5 22.dxe5
a5 23.Rd7 Rfe8 24.bxa5 Rxa5
25.Bc5 Bxc526.Qxc5 h6 27.e3
Rea8 28.Rc1 R5a6 29.Rd4 Qf3
30.Rc3 Kh731.h4 R8a7 32.Rb3
Qf5 33.Kg2 f6 34.g4 Qxe5
35.Qxe5 fxe536.Rd6 Kg6
37.Rxe6+ Kf7 38.Rd6 Ra4 39.Kg3
Rc4 40.h5 Raa441.Rb4 Raxb4
42.axb4 Ke7 43.Rg6 Kf7 44.Kf3
Rxb4 45.Rxc6 e4+46.Kg3 Rb2
47.Rb6 b4 48.Kf4 Rxf2+ 49.Kxe4
Rb2 50.Kf5 Rf2+51.Ke5 Rb2
52.Rb7+ Kg8 53.e4 b3 54.Rb8+
Kf7 ½ - ½
Kapoor, Lalit won his game
against Devine, Greg A. in 1st
Africa Asia Team Championship
Board 4.
[Event "AA/TC01"]
[White "Kapoor, Lalit"]
[Black "Devine, Greg A."]
[Board "4"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5
Nfd7 5.f4 c56.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7
Page|50
8.Qd2 O-O 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.O-O-
O a611.Kb1 Qb6 12.Bg1 Bxg1
13.Rxg1 Nc5 14.Bd3 Bd7 15.g4
Nb416.f5 Ncxd3 17.f6 Qf2
18.cxd3 Qxd2 19.Rxd2 Rfc8
20.g5 Bb521.Ne1 Be8 22.h4 1-0
In the ICCF international title event
Australian Candidate Masters
2016 our player Ramesh, R. B.
has achieved a norm for CCE with
th
5.5 out of 12, placed 6 . In ICCF
Olympiad 21 Preliminaries -
Section 01 Board 2 he has
achieved a norm for ICCE and
th
CCM with 3.5 out of 9, placed 8 .
Finally, he got the title of ICCF-
Correspondence Chess Expert
on April 20, 2017.
th
The 8 Interzonal Team
Tournament is finished and on
Board 4, Mr. Om Prakash topped
the list.
In the ICCF international title event
2nd Interzonal Individual
Tournament Prelim I our player
Prakash, Om has scored enough
points to achieve a norm for ICCF-
CCM and ICCF-CCE He has
scored 5 out of 8 and has finished
nd
2 in this event. Also, in the event
WS/MN/147 he has scored enough
points to achieve a norm for ICCF-
CCE and CCM. He has scored 5.5
th
out of 10 and is placed 6 at this
moment. He got the enough norms
to get title of ICCF-
correspondence chess expert on
April 30, 2017.
In 2nd Interzonal Individual
Tournament Prelim A our player
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Turaga, Mohan achieved a norm
for ICCF-CCE with 3.5 out of 7
th
placed 4 .
In Georg Österman Memorial our
player Saxena, Alok achieved a
norm for ICCF-CCE with 5 out of 9,
th
placed 4 .
In 2nd Interzonal Individual
Tournament Prelim B our player
Datta, Devangshu achieved a
norm for ICCF-CCE.
Ambar Chatterjee and Alok
Saxena have passed the test for
TD manual review test for postal
events. Dr. Ambar Chatterjee has
also qualified as a Level 2 TD.
Page|51
th
This event started on 15 July,
2015 with very strong team from
Ukraine. India is losing this event
by 16-31 with one game of Mr.
Arghydip Das on board 4
remaining.
India ‘Won’: India-Sweden
Friendly International match
India has practically won this
match with unassailable lead of 29-
25 with only two games of
Mandviwala, Pervez Godrez and
Akkaraju, Sailesh Chandra
remaining. Please refer to
www.iccf.com/event?id=55725 for
more details.
India ‘Won’ convincingly: India-
Venezuela Friendly International
match
India has an unassailable lead in
this friendly match with score of
21-10 with only 3 games remaining
(two games of Alok Saxena and
one of Umesh Nair). Please refer
to www.iccf.com/event?id=57725
for more details.

India ‘lost’: India-Netherland

Friendly International match
th
This event was started on 5 Feb.,
2016. India is trailing by big margin
of 23.5-32.5 with only five games
remaining. India did not win a
single game on first 14 boards. We
could have done much better.

India trailing: India-Cuba

Friendly International match
This event was started on 15th
August, 2016. India is trailing by
India-Ukraine Friendly
margin of 7-12 in this event.
International match
Gupta, Aniruddha Dutta has won
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
both his games. One of his
interesting games with black:
[Event "CUB-IND 2016"]
[White "Borges Medina, Juan R."]
[Black "Gupta, Aniruddha Dutta"]
[Board "9"]
1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6
5.d4 Bd76.Be3 Qb6 7.Qd2 Rc8
8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bxc5 Qxc5 10.Qg5
Qf811.Bd3 f6 12.Qg3 Nh6 13.O-O
fxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Qxe5
Qf616.Qe3 Ng4 17.Qxa7 Qf4
18.g3 Qh6 19.h4 O-O 20.Qd4
e521.Qxd5+ Be6 22.Qe4 Rf7
23.Qe2 g5 24.Nd2 gxh4 25.Bc4
Rcf826.Bxe6 Qxe6 27.Qc4 Qg6
28.Qe4 Qg5 29.f3 Nf6 30.f4
Nxe431.fxg5 Nxd2 32.Rxf7 Kxf7
33.gxh4 Kg6 34.Kg2 e4 0-1
Another India-Australia Friendly
International match started
On 28th July, 2017 we started
another friendly match with
Australia having narrowly lost the
previous one.
Page|52
Interestingly, we already have one
quick result, with Hrishikesh
Chavan winning comfortably in his
maiden ICCF appearance.
[Event "IND-AUS 2017"]
[White "Chavan, Hrishikesh
Pravin"]
[Black "Bubb, David"]
[Board "20"]
Hrishikesh writes: Bayonet Attack
line of Classical King's Indian is my
favourite since college days. I
normally play Catalan, but
whenever Black opts for King's
Indian, I change to Classical Line.
My opponent made some non-
King's Indian moves like Kh8, Bd7
etc. I used Fritz and Analyze-This
App for analysis. (Editor's note: In
future, please use better and more
upto-date engines)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4
d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6
8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.Re1 f5
11.Bf1 f4? + 12.c5 Nf6 13.Qb3
Kh8 14.a4 Bd7 15.Ba3 Nc8 16.h3
Ne8 17.Bb5 Bxb5 18.axb5 a6? +-
19.Bb2 dxc5 $220.bxc5 a5
21.Na4 Qe7 22.b6 cxb6 23.d6 $1
Qf7 24.Qd3 Nexd6 25.cxd6
Rd826.Bxe5 Nxd6 27.Bxd6 Bxa1
28.Rxa1 Kg8 29.Ng5 Qf6 30.Qd5+
Kg7 31.Qxb7+ Kh632.Qxh7+ 1-0
The complete pairings of the match
are given below. We wish
everyone best of luck in their
games!
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|53

AUSTRALIA INDIA
1 IM Dunlop, Gordon 2467 Sengupta, Deep 2515
2 Stephens, Malcolm 2295 Mandviwala, Pervez G. 2306
3 McGinnes, Ben 2273 Santhosh, M. Paul 2269
4 Egelstaff, Richard 2270 Santhosh, M. Paul 2269
5 Gray, Garvin 2251 Ganapathi, Cdr R 2255
6 Jenkinson, Simon 2233 Chatterjee, Ambar 2238
7 Luey, Ryan 2229 Chatterjee, Ambar 2238
8 Willow, Max 2224 Bisht, Mamta 2232
9 Gross, Mike 2202 Saxena, Alok 2204
10 Tanti, Joseph 2193 Saxena, Alok 2204
11 IM Rowley, Les 2189 Anand, Anil Kumar 2198
12 Brown, Kevin 2165 Khan, Shams 2105
13 Thew, Brian 2133 Khan, Shams 2105
14 Staak, Eric 2130 Gupta, Aniruddha D. 2096
15 Booth, Stewart 2031 Desai, Atul 1800p
16 Williams, John 2008 Desai, Atul 1800p
17 Taylor, Kevin 2003 Hedge, Ganesh R. 1800p
18 McNamara, Steve 1991 Hedge, Ganesh R. 1800p
19 Culbert, Joshua 1971 Chavan, Hrishikesh P. 1800p
20 Bubb, David 1969 Chavan, Hrishikesh P. 1800p
21 Freire, Daniel 1926 Hedge, Ranjeet 1800p
22 McGirr, Joe 1850 Sharma, Amit Kumar 1800p
23 Russo, Guy 1800p Sharma, Amit Kumar 1800p
24 Klimczak, Joe 1800p Pandavakrishna, Y. 1691
25 Parker, Trent 1800p Pandavakrishna, Y. 1691
26 Dempsey, Ryan 1800p Dutt, B. S. 1527
27 Christensen, Joshua 1800p Dutt, B. S. 1527
th
Two of our players defaulted last Cup 21 sf05, 16 Africa Asia Zonal
time but still the contest was close. S-Final A, 2017 US Invitational
When we started playing in ICCF Section D, 9th Interzonal Team
Friendly matches we generally lost Tournament Board 2, 50 YEARS
by a wide margin against all NBC TOURNAMENT/B, ICCF
countries, now we are getting Olympiad 21 Preliminaries -
better results. Section 01 Board among others.
He is the busiest Indian player in
Ambar Chatterjee is captain of ICCF. T.Pavan Kumar is perhaps
Indian Team and Garvin Gray is the next busiest player.
the Australian Captain. Kalapi Trivedi defaulted in all his
games in WS/MN/148.
Prakash, Om is playing in
Australian Masters 2017, World
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue
Kalapi Trivedi scored 4 out of 7
rd
and finished 3 18th Africa Asia
Zonal Championship Prelim I.
Arghyadip Das is playing in 50
YEARS NBC TOURNAMENT/A
and has scored 2 out of 4 and is
th
placed 12 at this moment. He has
also scored 2 out of 3 in ICCF
Olympiad 21 Preliminaries -
Section 01 Board 3 and is placed
th
6 at this moment.
K. Sasikiran is playing in Germany
Grandmasters 06-B 2017, USA
th
Invitational Section A, 9
Interzonal Team Tournament
Board B. He is topping the event
ICCF Olympiad 21 Preliminaries -
Section 01 Board 1 with score of 5
out of 9. One of his games from
the Olympiad is given below:
[Event "CCO21/S1"]
[White "Williamson, Harvey D."]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Board "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4
Be7 5.d3 Nf66.Nd2 a6 7.a4 d6
8.Nf1 Bg4 9.f3 Be6 10.Ne3
Nd711.O-O Bg5 12.Ned5 Bxc1
13.Qxc1 O-O 14.Ne3 Kh8 15.Qd2
Rb816.Bd5 Re8 17.Kh1 Nf6 18.f4
exf4 19.Rxf4 Nd7 20.Rf2 Nde5
21.Ne2 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Nf4
ICCF Ratings, July 2017
ICCF ID Title Name
280319 Agrawal, Rakesh
280187 Akkaraju, Sailesh Chandra
280234 Aleemuddin, Mohammed
Page|54
Ra8 24.Rb1 Bxd5 25.Nfxd5
Ne726.b4 Nxd5 27.Nxd5 f6
28.Rff1 Qb8 29.h3 c4 30.Ra1
Rxa131.Rxa1 Qb7 32.d4 Nc6
33.Re1 Ne7 34.Nc3 Nc6 35.Rb1
Qa636.Kh2 h6 37.Nd5 Qc8
38.Re1 Kh7 39.Nf4 Qc7 40.d5
Nd841.Nh5 Qe7 42.Qf4 Nf7
43.Qf5+ Kh8
44.Ng3 Ra8 45.Qe6 Qxe646.dxe6
Ng5 47.e7 Re8 48.Nf5 Nf7 49.Rd1
g6 50.Nd4 Rxe751.Nxb5 Rxe4
52.Nxd6 Nxd6 53.Rxd6 Re2 54.c3
Rc2 55.Rxf6 Rxc356.Rxg6 Kh7
57.Rg4 ½ - ½
Mohan Turaga has scored 6 out of
10 in XV Jubilee AEAC - Pre.06
th
and is placed 4 .
Satyajit Das has scored 3 out of 6
in ICCF Olympiad 21 Preliminaries
- Section 01 Board 6 and is placed
th
6 at this moment.
Games Rating
92 1844
241 2250
33 1787
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|55

280172 Anand, Anil Kumar 172 2198

280782 Bisht, Mamta 35 2232
280086 Chandran, T. 87 1919
280068 Chatterjee, Ambar 247 2238
280087 Chauhan, Rakesh Kumar 302 2275
280664 Das, Arghyadip 32 2366
280577 Das, Satyajit 51 2241
280273 Das, Saurabh 44 2088
280130 Datta, Devangshu 86 2320
280088 De, Gautam 191 2275
280176 GM Dhanish, P. B. 141 2587
280209 Dutt, Bulusu Someswara 110 1527
280465 Dutta, Amit 32 2397
280179 Gupta, Aniruddha Dutta 138 2096
280082 Gupta, Anuj 66 2101
280276 Gupta, Vibhor 142 1793
280169 Jayaraman, Mohan 153 2287
280180 Khan, Shams 261 2105
280143 Krishnamurthy, Prabhandan 149 2209
280138 Kumar, Pavan Tumuluri 173 2352
280104 Mandviwala, Pervez Godrez 211 2306
280219 Mohanakrishnan, B. 108 2001
280205 Nagaraj, A. 85 1887
280171 Nair, Umesh 65 2055
280243 CCE Prakash, Om 163 2394
280726 CCE Ramesh, R. B. 81 2323
280118 IM Santhosh, Matthew Paul 160 2269
280330 SIM Sasikiran, Krishnan 53 2552
280286 Sastry, KVS 42 2443
280168 Saxena, Alok 305 2204
280484 Sethuraman, S. P. 40 2307
280133 Shivdasani, Vijay A. 157 2140
280699 Shyam, Challapally 33 1857
280107 Somani, Sunil K. 192 2222
280701 Thakur, Ankur Singh 58 2088
280174 Trivedi, Kalapi B. 184 2176
280224 Turaga, Mohan 96 2280
280095 Valsan, K. 77 2142
280256 Vijayan, Dhanesh 37 1705
AICCF Bulletin 2017 Second Issue Page|56

Top 26 players in the

AICCF Rating List of August 2017
No Player Rating RD No Player Rating RD
1 P.B.Dhanish 2289 208 14 Mohan Jayaraman 2009 65
2 Sasikiran 2280 180 15 Arghyadip Das 1991 83
3 T.Pavan Kumar 2109 91 16 Ramesh 1970 87
4 Om Prakash 2085 57 17 A.Chatterjee 1963 61
5 Vaibhav Saxena 2085 93 18 Sunil K. Somani 1963 85
6 K.V.S.Sastry 2071 71 19 Rashmi Somani 1955 107
7 K.Prabhanandan 2041 91 20 Ranjeet Hegde 1937 85
8 Gautam De 2036 63 21 Sailesh Chandra 1922 63
9 R.K. Chauhan 2035 58 22 Alok Saxena 1922 48
10 Shalaka Somani 2024 93 23 Aayush Somani 1918 81
11 Amit Dutta 2023 70 24 Lalit Kapoor 1910 98
12 Deep Sengupta 2020 103 25 Mohan Turaga 1910 67
13 Kalapi B. Trivedi 2019 56 26 Anil Anand 1885 51
Rating Deviation (RD) indicates the uncertainty in Rating. Players with RD
more than 250 are considered inactive and not shown in the above list.

AICCF Champions
1501 A.G.Nagradjane 1508 P.B.Dhanish
1502 K.Lhouvum 1509 T.Pavan Kumar
1503 N.R. Anil Kumar 1510 T.Pavan Kumar
1504 N.R. Anil Kumar 1511 Om Prakash
1505 Sunil K. Somani 1512 K.V.S.Sastry
1506 P.B.Dhanish 1513 Gautam De
1507 P.B.Dhanish 1513 Kalapi Trivedi

SHAMS MINI #7
Udin, Fajar - Khan, Shams
AA Server 4035
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 c6 6.dxc6 Nxc6 7.Nf3
e5 8.O-O e4 9.Re1 O-O-O 10.Ng5 Bc5 11.Nc3 Bxf2+ 12.Kxf2 Ng4+
13.Kf1 Qf5+ 14.Nf3 exf3 15.gxf3 Nxh2+ 16.Kg2 Qg5+ 17.Kh1 Qh4
18.Re2 Nxf3+ 19.Kg2 Qh2+ 20.Kxf3 Rd3+ 21.Re3 Ne5+ 22.Ke4 Qh4+
23.Kf5 g6+ 24.Kxe5 Qd4# 0-1

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