Professional Documents
Culture Documents
H
E
Battlewise)
S
S pp Edition)
A
D
V
O
C
A
T
E
V
O
L
U
M
E
F
O
U
R
N
U
M
B
E
R
O
N
E
Y
10¢
E
A
R
Inside This Edition:
Article & Annotated Game by Jonathan Beatty,
2
Annotated Games by Clay Polk, Greg Turner
0
& Tyrin Price, Comic by Diego Delgado,
1
Chess Problems Submitted by
9
James Hargrove & Alex King
Isle of Lewis Chess Pieces
$149.95
Chess Advocate is not affiliated with Memphis Chess Club Inc., Mississippi Chess
Association, the United States Chess Federation, CXR (Chess eXpress Ratings) or any
organization mentioned or linked to in this newsletter/magazine. The front cover was
modified from the comic book publication Startling Comics #49, (Better Publications,
1948), in the Public Domain.
The entire comic can be seen at The Digital Comic Museum at this link:
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=18781
Recommended is the Wise Chess Club in Olive Branch, MS on Tuesday nights, which,
2
at the time of this publication, starts at 7pm at Panera Bread, 7501 Goodman Rd.
Wise Chess Club uses Chess eXpress Ratings for their events:
https://www.cxrchess.com/
"e Annota#r’s Chair
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
7. Bb3 O-O
{"Threatening" a Marshall
Counterattack}
9…Nb8
d
M 3
{Breyer variation, redeploying White played Ng5 here because 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6
the knight to d7 to hold e5 after the knight that moved to attack
an expected d4 by White and f7 is no longer putting pressure
allowing the bishop to strike at on e5. This is not a standard
e4 via b7.} Breyer, though, because, in the
standard variation
10. a4 Bb7 11. d3
{The "restrained center" idea.
This solidifies e4 but puts no
pressure on Black's center.}
k e 5
I did not like 31. Bxg7 exf3 [{and}
32.Rxe6 Qxe6 33.Bxh6, 34. g3 Ne2+ 35. Kh2 Qxh6] 31…Nh5 32. Qd1 Nb8
{The idea behind ...Nb8 is good
(going to the outpost d4
after ...Nc6), but the
position is not calling for
maneuvers, it is calling for
tactical blows.}
y 7
41. Qa8 Ne5 42. Ne1 g4? 47. Ngh4+ Kh5 48. Qxf5 Qf6 [50. Kxe2 {stalemate}]
{This is a bad move. In fact it is
real the beginning of the loss.
The idea is to stop f4, but the
cure is worse than the
disease.}
(48... Nh2+
W 8
Scan Left QR Code
for Answer
White to Move
[Event "Library Games"] Scan QR Code
[Site “Baton Rouge”] Below for
Complete Game
[Date “01.05.2019”]
King Height: 3.25" with the base width: 1". These chess pieces are
naturally heavy and made from polyresin (feels like carved stone). The $99.95
chess pieces are meticulously hand painted with felt padded bases to
protect your chess board.
10
(Price subject to change.) http://www.chesscentral.com/
1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 (Robatsch
opening) 4.f4
M
If you are reading this newsletter in PDF,
11
be aware the underlined words have
web links attached. Click one to see.
though 5.Bf4 has a higher 6…Nbd7 (A defensive posture (Transposes to Sicilian defense,
success rate for white.) which hits the e5 square but however it is considered bad for
delays the Queen’s bishop’s white to reach d5 with his d
development.) pawn.)
8. d5 a6 9. h4 (White attacks
and options to not trade off dark
squared bishops on h6.)
5…O-O 6. Qd2
7…c5
B
12
10. e5 (White attacks through 13. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Rhe1 (White develops his
the center. Black does his best to King’s rook to a better square
trade down pieces to try to while black really cannot do so.)
neutralize white’s attack, but
white has a space advantage on
the kingside of the board.)
y
13
16…Qa5 (Threatens b4 and But the white d pawn is weaker [Black is behind on tempo.
Qxa2) than the black c pawn if black Going back to move 18. Ne4,
can play 18…c4 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6
20.Qe4 Bxe5 21.Qxe5 or such,
but then g4 is still coming from
white.)
14
(Even though, 18. Ne4 c4, and leads to the subsequent 24. Rg1 Red8
moves. Playing 21…hxg4
I
24. Rg1 Red8
15
Go to this Blog link to view another game from this event and see more info on this tournament:
http://mid-southchessadvocate.blogspot.com/2019/07/chess-advocate-volume-4-number-1-2019.html
Scan Left QR
Black to Move Code for Answer
Scan QR Code
[Event “NOLA ChessFest"]
Below for
[Date “10.15.2017”]
Complete Game
[Simultaneous]
[Result “0-1"]
https://
www.chesscentral.com/
chess-keychain/
https://www.chesscentral.com/strato-chess-3-d-chess/
https://www.chesscentral.com/chess-king-flash-drive-loaded-with-chess-
engines-and-e-books/
17
The Annotator’s Table
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
x
onto it is not so simple. }
l
18
10. O-O O-O 12... Bg4 13. Rc1 Rb8 14. 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Ng5+ Kg8
Rc3
20. Qxg4
d
possibly d4 if the pawn is
pushed. }
19
19. Nxd4 Qxd4 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Qg6#
{ White has proven that there
is just too much pressure on f7
for black to withstand. Black
should have accepted that the
pawn is dead and moved on,
but fortunately for white, he
gets even more material out of
it. }
20
The above was located in Marvels of Science–Comic
Book–Volume 1, Number 2, April 1946, Page 13–
(Public Domain)
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=10542&page=13
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=27625&page=15
The above was located in Marvels of Science–Comic Book–
Volume 1, Number1, March 1946, Page 33–(Public Domain) 21
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=10541&page=33
Scan Left QR
Code for Answer
White to Move
Scan QR Code
[Event "La State Champ 2016"]
Below for
[Date “04.09.16”]
Complete Game
[Round "3"]
[Result "1-0"]
22
http://mid-southchessadvocate.blogspot.com/2019/07/white-to-move-event-la-state-champ-2016.html
Why Play Chess?
Many parents spend a large amount of money and time on turning their children into strong
chess players. Some small fraction of those parents intend for their children to pursue chess
professionally. A smaller fraction of those children are capable of playing chess at the very
highest level where playing chess professionally is an option, a similar situation to many
families who dream of their sons playing in the NBA. Of the children who have the raw
talent and discipline to turn chess into a career, most of them end up applying those talents
to more stable and prosperous goals.
I was one of the few who chose to turn chess into a career, but not as a player – as
an Expert, I am reasonably competent at chess, but I am not strong enough to survive
on my occasional tournament winnings. In my years coaching Grahamwood Elementary
23
and working with private students, I have had the privilege of working with many children
who possessed enormous talent for the game. Like my father did many years ago, some
parents spend thousands of dollars and dozens of weekends on chess. Some attempt should
be made to account for this decision: it is not obvious that chess is directly related to their
future career path, nor is it obvious that chess is the most enjoyable activity compared to
alternatives like playing video games. On some level, parents understand that the time
and money spent on chess are valuable investments for themselves and for their children.
Drawing from my own experience as a chess player (beginning in kindergarten) and coach,
and from conversations with chess parents and other coaches, I believe that chess, like other
sports, functions as a valuable proxy for various other skills and relationships.
24
instead. I told him he could only get there by losing, and we had a long conversation.
The next week, Sam came up to the table to record the result of his game with his
opponent. I asked how he did.
"I lost." No tears. There was a strange edge of happiness in his voice.
"What happened?"
"I lost my queen."
"Be careful next time."
Wordlessly, he finished signing his name and turned around and headed back to his
group. It felt like weeks before he finally won a game. Two years later, he would go an
entire year at chess club without losing one.
Levels of Complexity
Education must go through phases of increasing accuracy. High school physics teaches
Newtonian physics, which can be understood with simple calculus, even though Newtonian
physics only gives approximately-correct answers (good enough for most, but not all, prob-
lems). It would be uncharitable to accuse my high school physics teacher of having lied to
me; the simpler answer is that Newtonian physics is more appropriate for high schoolers.
Chess players go through a similar process, over and over again. They learn principles
that assist them in finding good moves, but eventually progress demands that they learn the
exceptions to those principles. When the principles conflict, they must make a judgment
call based on experience as to which principle is most appropriate for the position. Some
examples:
Material
• Beginner: Count attackers and defenders. Capture anything that leads to a material
advantage.
• Advanced: "Can I grab these two pawns without overly compromising my position?"
Castling
• Intermediate: It is fine to delay castling to focus on development, but err on the side
of caution.
• Advanced: "After so many trades in the opening, and with a closed center, it is fine
to leave my king in the center and connect my rooks with Ke7."
Development
25
• Advanced: "The world’s best players play this move, so I must understand it and then
play it myself."
It is a necessary part of chess development, then, for players to learn a layered set of
priorities which change as their understanding of the game does. Fundamental principles
eventually are revealed as being just more factors to balance when making a judgment about
future plans. This same principle applies to practical and moral decision-making, where a
mixture of absolute and relative comparisons eventually has to converge on a single chosen
action. Every decision has a cost, but refusing to decide generally has the greatest cost of
all.
Social Dynamics
Chess is a combination of an individual competitive endeavor and, for scholastic players, a
team sport. Players must learn to balance the social dynamics of competition, which can
include intense personal rivalries, pressure to perform for the good of the team, jealousy
towards the stronger players on one’s own team, and personal reputations forged over time
playing in local tournaments.
Many of the friendships I created in my time playing scholastic chess were with people
with whom I would have no other reason to interact. Our cultural spheres did not overlap,
our personal interests outside of the game had very little in common, and I wasn’t exactly
the friendliest kid. I had to learn to get along with them, though, because I saw them so
often. Many of these relationships continue to exist into adulthood. I’m at the age where I
get to watch many of my old teammates finish their graduate degrees or enter their medical
residency.
As a team sport, chess is quite unlike basketball or football. Players are responsible to
their teammates for their scores, but they still must play the game on their own. When
I was in elementary school, I had a teammate who came down with food poisoning at the
team state championship. We had an alternate who could take his place, but it would have
reduced our chances of winning the tournament. He insisted on playing. Watching him
struggle to focus at the board was difficult, but he managed to uphold his responsibility to
the team. We went on to win the event. I would never expect a player to continue under
these conditions – this is the entire point of having alternates, after all – but he was the
real MVP that day, and we probably would not have won without him. That sense of being
responsible to the team is an important character trait.
A properly managed team with good social dynamics can perform above its level in
competition. From 2008-2013, White Station High School won the state championship for
six years in a row not because they had the strongest players but because each player
was responsible for the team’s results. Every game was fought to the end. Many hopeless
positions were rescued into draws or even wins by players who couldn’t bear to let down their
teammates. The hardest part of defending a difficult position is resisting demoralization;
the quality of play can rapidly decline as a player loses control of the game. A player with
the correct mindset can have the opposite trend. A teammate of mine (who would later go
on to be a city champion) was famous for playing better in worse positions, to the degree
that we were happier to see him down a pawn than up one. Many dead lost positions were
26
turned into miraculous wins by force of will alone. Resilience under pressure and dedication
to comrades are useful traits at all points in life.
Much of the result of a chess tournament is determined by what happens off the board. A
player who eats a nice breakfast, goofs off with his friends between rounds, and is emotionally
stabilized by his coach/parents/friends will outperform a player who is only concerned with
the game.
Personal Experience
I did not struggle with academics as a child, but discipline was always difficult for me;
staying motivated and focused is very hard for a child with Attention Deficient Disorder.
Sitting still for extended periods of time was a fight that I did not always win (I was famous
for wandering the playing floor between moves, which I am still guilty of), but chess helped.
Emotional regulation was very difficult: hubris after a victory or sadness after a loss both
were counterproductive in future rounds. Many of the coping strategies I have used for the
rest of my life were rooted in my experience as a chess player.
Playing chess helped me form friendships with diverse people. I learned to handle my
own emotions under pressure. I had an outlet for a highly competitive spirit that could
otherwise be turned to mischief and access to adults who could teach me to temper that
spirit. My family had a good reason to travel for events, which sometimes doubled as family
vacations. Some of my best memories involve sitting in a hotel conference room with my
nerd friends, playing bughouse very late into the night with our state trophy and plaques
27
sitting at the end of the table, burning out the last of our competitive energy before crashing
and giving our parents a quiet ride home in the morning.
Over twenty years later, I still work at the same school whose chess club I joined in
kindergarten. I hope the kids I work with now will be able to look back on that time as
positively as I look back on my time there, and I hope that time benefits them in their
future endeavors.
28
Scan Left QR
White to Move & Win a Pawn Code for Text
Answer
[Event "Memphis City Championship"]
[Date “03.16.2019"]
http://view.chessbase.com/cbreader/2019/7/19/Game636308921.html?fbclid=IwAR3oEaSPc4b25Sx-Far5LPvcP6r2dIJT26sTjjcLm7bn0L6vDGi0iDAp2wA
Avoid Checkmate in One
Move the White King to a Square Escaping Checkmate With Black’s Next Move
#1 #2 #3
#4 #5 #6
30
MemphisChess.Com
Game of the Day,
Nostalgia, History, Cross-tables, Calendar of Events
Annotation Time
(3... d4
4. Bb2 c5 5. cxd5 exd5
{ The engine suggests that this
position is better for Black. I
tend to agree, but I'm quite 6. d4
1.Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6
3. b3 Nf6
p 31
8. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bc3 a5 11. a3 Bxc3+
{ Targeting the d5 pawn first.
This breaks the common rule of
attacking the base of the pawn,
but my plan is to attack the base
of the pawn chain afterwards
and try to force him to push c5,
giving us the typical "hanging
pawns" scenario. }
9. e3 Bd6
(15. Ne2
(9... Bb4+
32
{ This weakens my king slightly, 18. Bb2 h6 19. Rfd1 Bxb2 { Allowing for c5 on Black's next
but I didn't see any specific move is much stronger, avoiding
ideas for Black, and I wanted to the continuation in the game. })
33
but it is a serious mistake to (26... Qxd5 27. Rxd5 cxd5
{ My opponent resigned here
accept a position where you because of the continuation: }
must play perfectly while your 30... Rxd7 31. Re8+ Kh7
26... Rb6
33. Bxg6+ *
34
l
The American Revolution Themed Chess Set Pieces ONLY
If you're a fan of the American Revolution you are sure to be a fan of this set.
ORDER FROM: ChessCentral
$99.95
https://www.chesscentral.com/american- Americans
revolution-themed-chess-set-pieces/
King: Washington
Knight: Calvary
Pawn: Infantry
British
King: 3.25"
Base: 1.125"
Recommended Chess
Board Square Size: 1.5”
http://www.chesscentral.com/
ChessCentral
Pearl Harbor Chess Pieces
These chess pieces pit President Roosevelt against
$99.95
Emperor Hirohito and their navies in this epic clash.
In PDF, click ChessCentral’s HTML below:
https://www.chesscentral.com/pearl-harbor-chess-pieces/
ChessCentral.com
http://memphischessclub.blogspot.com/2011/02/jose-raul-capablancacuban-champion-in.html
36
37
“Capablanca” comic was produced for the 17th Chess Olympiad which took place in Havana, Cuba
in 1966. Originally in Spanish, the English version was translated by Brenda Weaver.
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
http://memphischessclub.blogspot.com/2011/02/jose-raul-capablancacuban-champion-in.html
BLACK PIECE SIDE OF BOARD
problems.
QR5 QN5 QB5 Q5 K5 KB5 KN5 KR5 R=Rook
Pawn to Queen’s
Bishop 4.
Letters
opponent’s
File Square
second move
might be, in
algebraic, 2. Nc3.
Compare:
In English
Descriptive the
move would be
The algebraic
written 2. N-QB3, a1 square in
or 2. Kt-QB3, or English
Knight to Queen’s Descriptive is
Bishop 3.
QR1, or
Queen’s Rook
Notice the dash 1 for White
between the
and QR8, or
piece name and
the square Queen’s Rook
moved to in the 8 for Black.
English
Descriptive
version.
51
Mississippi Chess Events 52
USCF–State of MS:
Events are often hard to find
for some areas of the Mid-
http://
South, but with a good list of
www.uschess.org/tlas/
links you may find something
upcoming.php?
of interest. MS organizers
STATE=MS
often delay announcement
of events. For example, the
SCAN
State Championship usually
takes place on a weekend in
October, but the USCF may
not have an ad until shortly
before the event.
Chari Chess
https://charichess.org/
On this page are my-calendar/
selected links with
information often not
widely shared. SCAN
SCAN SCAN
SCAN SCAN