Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #33

"Chess is a form of intellectual productiveness, therein lies its peculiar charm. Intellectual productiveness is one of the greatest joys - if not the greatest - of human existence. It is not everyone who can write a play, or build a bridge, or even make a good joke. But in chess everyone can, indeed must, be intellectually productive and so can share in this select delight. Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy'.

Siegbert Tarrasch

1) Chapman-Kasparov Charity Odds Match:

English amateur player Terry Chapman came very close to beating Garry Kasparov in a charity match held at Simpson's-in-the-Strand in London this past week. Each game Kasparov had to start two pawns down, but not the same pawns were removed each time. With the match precariously balanced at 1.5-1.5, the starting position Kasparov feared most against Chapman came in the final game. Fortunately for the world number one, it all became too much for a tiring Chapman who tragically blundered badly to allow Kasparov to triumph 2.5-1.5 in this fascinating contest.

T Chapman - G Kasparov 
Charity Odds Match (3) 
(black plays without a and b pawn) 
1 e4 Bb7 2 d3 e6 3 Nf3 d6 4 g3 g6 5 Bg2 Bg7 6 0-0 Ne7 7 Nc3 0-0 8 Be3 h6 9 
h4 Nd7 10 Qd2 Kh7 11 Rfe1 Qc8 12 a4 f5 13 Nd4 Nf6 14 exf5 Bxg2 15 fxg6+ 
Nxg6 16 Kxg2 c5 17 Nde2! d5 18 h5! Ne5 19 d4! Neg4 20 Qd3+ Kg8 21 Qg6 e5 
22 Bxh6!! Nxh6 23 dxe5 Nd7 24 Nf4 Rxf4 25 gxf4 Nf8 26 Qg3 Nf5 27 Qh3 Qe6 
28 Nb5 Rd8 29 a5 Qf7 30 a6 Ne6 31 Kg1 Nxf4 32 Qg4 Nh6 33 Qh4 Kh7 34 a7 
Rg8 35 a8Q Bxe5+ 36 Kf1 Rg4 37 Qxg4 1-0

G Kasparov - T Chapman 
Charity Odds Match (4) 
(White plays without the e- and a-pawn) 
1 f4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 g3 b6 4 Bg2 Bb7 5 0-0 Be7 6 d3 0-0 7 Nbd2 d6 8 h3 c5 9 
g4 Qd7 10 Qe2 Nc6 11 c3 Rae8 12 Nc4 Qc7 (12 ..Nd5!?) 13 Nfd2 b5 14 Ne3 Bd8 15 
g5 Nd5 16 Ne4 Nxe3 17 Bxe3 a5 18 Rf2 Kh8 (18 ..Qd7!?) 19 Qh5 Nb8? 20 Nxd6 
Qxd6 21 Bxb7 Nc6? 22 g6! fxg6 23Qxc5 Qxd3?? 24 Bxc6 1-0

Thanks to John Henderson for this information.

2) The Luzhin Defence

The movie adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel about a chessmaster enjoyed an excellent reception at the San Francisco Film Festival selling out both shows. It will start a regular run at the Embarcadero Theatre this Friday.

3) Open Letter to the Global Chess Community

FIDE officials continue to press for faster time controls but several of the world's top players recently voiced their opposition to this trend. Just in case you wondering the letter K would easily field the top team in an Olympiad organized by family name. Add Khalifman, Kamsky, Kaidanov, Kharitonov and Kholmov to name but a few GMs to back up Kasparov, Kramnik and Karpov.

"As the 12th, 13th, and 14th World Chess Champions, we are writing jointly to voice our disagreement with recent statements and unilateral decisions made by FIDE, the international chess federation. In particular, we are very concerned about FIDE's policy changes regarding the official time controls, their treatment of the history of the World Championship, and their open hostility toward the organizers of traditional events.

The world's chessplayers have been denied a voice in these matters, and we who represent these conventions at the highest level see the need to set aside our differences and speak out publicly in defense of the game that has brought us so much joy. Many players and European chess federations are critical of FIDE's recent actions and we hope to lend a powerful and unequivocal voice to this protest.

The time honored traditions and rules of classical chess are not to be toyed with and any changes should be made only after such plans are studied and debated in an open forum. Drastically shortening the amount of time available during a game is an attack on both the players and on the artistic and scientific elements of the game of chess itself. To implement these rules without an adequate period for reflection, discussion, and review is foolhardy and cavalier.

Of greater concern is the behavior of FIDE in regard to the prestige and tradition of the World Chess Championship. FIDE's declaration in Tehran laid claim to a title that existed long before FIDE was created and, we might say, will exist long after it is gone. A century of tradition cannot be wiped away simply by saying that it is so. The true tradition lives on in us and in the minds and memories of millions of chess enthusiasts around the globe. It is unacceptable for FIDE to claim rights to the World Chess Championship while at the same time working to destroy the structures upon which the tradition was built.

Nor are the traditional tournaments that have given so much to chess safe from FIDE. Their threat to schedule FIDE events in competition with traditional ones is nothing less than a direct attack on the organizers, players, and fans of events such as Linares, Dortmund, and Wijk aan Zee.

Chess is not FIDE's property to toss around like a bauble. The game belongs to the global chess community.

Based on FIDE's accompanying statements, these ill-advised measures have been taken in an attempt to popularize the sport of chess. This is an admirable goal, but it is impossible to achieve it by assaulting the very things that elevate the game most of all: beautiful games of chess, traditional top tournaments, and the quest for the World Championship.

The chess world is depending on its leaders to provide a suitable and democratic solution to this unsatisfactory state of affairs. We propose an open dialogue on these matters between FIDE, the national federations of which it is composed, and the players "professional and amateur alike" it was created to represent. In this dialogue we will depend on the participation of the fans, organizers, and sponsors to whom chess owes a great deal. We, who have both given to and received so much from chess, look forward to being on the front lines in this battle to protect the status and legacy of the game we love.

Anatoly Karpov Garry Kasparov Vladimir Kramnik

4) Jessie Jeans III

National Master Paul Gallegos won the third Jessie Jeans Open held April 20-22 in Santa Rosa with a score of 4-1. IM John Donaldson took first in the one day event with a 4-0 score. Jerry Weikel of Reno organized and directed both tournaments. We hope to have a full report in next week's newsletter.

5) Bay Area Players Prominent on USCF Top 50 Lists

New Jersey Grandmaster Boris Gulko is the top-rated player in the United States in the April rating list produced by the United States Chess Federation. Five Bay Area players are rated in the top fifty headed by MI Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky who is rated number nine at 2644.

Other Bay Area Players in the top fifty are:

28. John Donaldson 2524
31. Walter Browne 2509
35. Vince McCambridge and Vinay Bhat 2495

Many MI junior players are rated in the top 50 for their age group including Matthew Ho who is number two for players ages 11-12. A complete list will be presented in the next newsletter.

6) Chess Camps

The Mechanics' Institute will be hosting three chess camps this summer. The first, on the weekend of June 16-17, is part of the Kolti Seminar series held to honor the late George Koltanowski. This event, which is being sponsored by the U.S. Chess Trust, is open to players under 21 who are rated over 1600 and appear in either in the April or June USCF Top 50 list for their age. The instructor for this camp is GM Yermolinsky and tuition is free.

A camp for intermediate and advanced youngsters will be held July 30-August 3 and a camp for beginners and novices from August 6-August 10. Information about these camps is available at the Chess Room website under programs for children. The MI website can be found at http://www.chessclub.org

7) MI Chess Room Volunteers and Donations

Volunteers and donations are always welcome in the Chess Room. We would like to thank Jim Clark for repairing some of the MI's chess clocks and John Heymann for keeping the Chess Room computers in good working order. Thanks also to Frank Berry for donating two historical photographs of Bobby Fischer. Remember the MI is a 501 (c) (3) charity so your donations are tax deductible. Chess books, magazines and computers can all be put to good use.

8) Upcoming MI Events

The MI will be hosting its annual Senior Open for players 50 and over this weekend. It looks to be a strong field with International Master Walter Shipman and National Masters David Blohm and Keith Vickers are already entered.

April 28-29
Walter Lovegrove Senior Open (players 50 and over)

May 13
Charles Powell Memorial (G/60)

June 2
William Addison Open (5 rounds G/45 at ½ K)

June 8-10
Arthur Stamer Memorial

July 21
Charles Bagby Memorial (G/29- QC)

August 18
Vladimir Pafnutieff Memorial (5 rounds G/45 at ½ K)

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