If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Policy / Politique
The fee for tournament organizers advertising on ChessTalk is $20/event or $100/yearly unlimited for the year.
Les frais d'inscription des organisateurs de tournoi sur ChessTalk sont de 20 $/événement ou de 100 $/année illimitée.
You can etransfer to Henry Lam at chesstalkforum at gmail dot com
Transfér à Henry Lam à chesstalkforum@gmail.com
Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
General Guidelines
---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
Some Basics
1. Under Board "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) there are 3 sections dealing with General Forum Usage, User Profile Features, and Reading and Posting Messages. These deal with everything from Avatars to Your Notifications. Most general technical questions are covered there. Here is a link to the FAQs. https://forum.chesstalk.com/help
2. Consider using the SEARCH button if you are looking for information. You may find your question has already been answered in a previous thread.
3. If you've looked for an answer to a question, and not found one, then you should consider asking your question in a new thread. For example, there have already been questions and discussion regarding: how to do chess diagrams (FENs); crosstables that line up properly; and the numerous little “glitches” that every new site will have.
4. Read pinned or sticky threads, like this one, if they look important. This applies especially to newcomers.
5. Read the thread you're posting in before you post. There are a variety of ways to look at a thread. These are covered under “Display Modes”.
6. Thread titles: please provide some details in your thread title. This is useful for a number of reasons. It helps ChessTalk members to quickly skim the threads. It prevents duplication of threads. And so on.
7. Unnecessary thread proliferation (e.g., deliberately creating a new thread that duplicates existing discussion) is discouraged. Look to see if a thread on your topic may have already been started and, if so, consider adding your contribution to the pre-existing thread. However, starting new threads to explore side-issues that are not relevant to the original subject is strongly encouraged. A single thread on the Canadian Open, with hundreds of posts on multiple sub-topics, is no better than a dozen threads on the Open covering only a few topics. Use your good judgment when starting a new thread.
8. If and/or when sub-forums are created, please make sure to create threads in the proper place.
Debate
9. Give an opinion and back it up with a reason. Throwaway comments such as "Game X pwnz because my friend and I think so!" could be considered pointless at best, and inflammatory at worst.
10. Try to give your own opinions, not simply those copied and pasted from reviews or opinions of your friends.
Unacceptable behavior and warnings
11. In registering here at ChessTalk please note that the same or similar rules apply here as applied at the previous Boardhost message board. In particular, the following content is not permitted to appear in any messages:
* Racism
* Hatred
* Harassment
* Adult content
* Obscene material
* Nudity or pornography
* Material that infringes intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any party
* Material the posting of which is tortious or violates a contractual or fiduciary obligation you or we owe to another party
* Piracy, hacking, viruses, worms, or warez
* Spam
* Any illegal content
* unapproved Commercial banner advertisements or revenue-generating links
* Any link to or any images from a site containing any material outlined in these restrictions
* Any material deemed offensive or inappropriate by the Board staff
12. Users are welcome to challenge other points of view and opinions, but should do so respectfully. Personal attacks on others will not be tolerated. Posts and threads with unacceptable content can be closed or deleted altogether. Furthermore, a range of sanctions are possible - from a simple warning to a temporary or even a permanent banning from ChessTalk.
Helping to Moderate
13. 'Report' links (an exclamation mark inside a triangle) can be found in many places throughout the board. These links allow users to alert the board staff to anything which is offensive, objectionable or illegal. Please consider using this feature if the need arises.
Advice for free
14. You should exercise the same caution with Private Messages as you would with any public posting.
A reliable Facebook source (Brian Karen) reports the passing of IM Danny Kopec at the age of 62. He had been in poor health lately, and I suspect cancer.
Before coming to Montreal in the 1980's (he taught at McGill briefly), he had lived in Scotland - winning the Scottish Championship in 1980. Somehow - he managed to play in the 1984 Canadian Closed (was he a Canadian citizen?) losing only to Brian Hartman and Kevin Spraggett. He returned to the US for various academic posts and summer chess camps. He most recently played in the 2015 Quebec Open - scoring 4/5 after taking four byes.
I remember when he first came to Montreal - we talked a bit, and he wanted to hire me as his manager (for simuls and such). I told him that without French, and the fact that most people in Quebec had never heard of him - it was not a good plan, and he quickly gave up on that idea.
Danny lived in Ottawa for a time in the early to mid-nineties. He played in some local events, showed up regularly at the RA Chess Club, gave private lessons and was a regular visitor to the CFC office where I was working at the time. I remember him coming by almost daily when Fischer played his return match against Spassky. Danny loved chess dearly and was willing to play and or analyze with anyone regardless of their playing strength. He was a jovial sort, always with a smile on his face. I am sorry to hear of his early passing.
Daniel (Danny) Kopec (February 28, 1954 – June 12, 2016), born in Kfar Saba, Israel.
Danny Kopec is one of the most talented home-bred players in the US. Dr. Kopec was New York High School Champion at 14, National Master at 17, Scottish Champion in 1980, 2nd-equal in the Canadian Closed in 1984, and International Master in 1985. He is an active player, journalist, writer, chess educator and scholar. His competitive results with top-flight chess professionals have always been remarkable. He has also delivered many chess courses, lectures, published seven highly recognized chess books, and has developed nine highly regarded instructional videos (23 hours). Over the past 21 years Kopec’s Chess Camp, has become world renowned.
In parallel with his chess career, Dr. Kopec has pursued an academic career in computer science with research in artificial intelligence, software methodology, and computer science education. For more than 20 years Kopec has been testing and evaluating hundreds of human and machine chess players in the UK, Canada, and US in order to quantify their overall chess strength, their specific deficiencies and definite abilities. In bridging his chess and academic interests, Kopec has developed a reputation as perhaps the world’s greatest exponent of chess knowledge.
June 24, 2009 Interview by Erik Murrah
1) During your many years of involvement in chess was there a time when you considered giving it up?
Well, in order to answer this question I feel that it is important to give a little background about my involvement and past, leading to the present, with the game of chess.
First of all, I have always believed that the game of chess is a great game – there is nothing wrong with the game of chess. There may be problems with chessplayers and with the way chess tournaments are run, but the game itself remain unassailable.
I learned the game at age of 8 from my cousin Joseph Donath, an expert, who lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Joe taught me an aggressive but sound style of play that I hope I have stayed true to.
At 12 I entered my first tournament, The Greater New York Elementary School Championships, run by Bill Goichberg at the Henry Hudson Hotel on 57th Street in Manhattan and scored 6 – 2 to tie for 5th – 9th. This was very encouraging and I went on to place highly in a number of other tournaments. I officially attained the title of International Master in 1985.
Once, at age 15, I lost a game to a person I beat in my first tournament, Roy Greenberg, and in a temper tantrum I threw all my chess sets and magazines down the incinerator. This was somewhat regretful (and disrespectful to my father who paid for everything – (a lot less than parents pay today for lessons, equipment, etc) – a week later I was back to studying chess.
I really used to enjoy playing over chess games (at the expert level to GM level) from Chess Life while I was watching New York Yankees Games on TV. The pace of baseball goes very well with chess study.
Otherwise, the answer to your question is NO. I have always loved the game of chess., just for its own sake, and whether my own game may have seemed to have hit a standstill or not, has not affected my appreciation and love of the game. Furthermore , lest you not think that ratings represent everything. My rating is lower now than it’s been in many years, but this has nothing to do with my understanding of the game – as you get older you realize that other factors (LIFE) affect outcomes in chess play more than you might realize.
2) What was the strangest thing that ever happened to you over the board in a tournament game?
Of course during the course of a career spanning over more than 40 years, one will have a number of unusual experiences. In 1978 I was playing Juan Bellon, as Grandmaster, in the first round of the Lloyd’s Bank Masters in London. I played an exchange sacrifice, which didn’t really work in the middlegame to avoid immediate disaster. Suddenly the director came to me and stopped play because Mr. Bellon’s health did not allow him to continue. In order to reach an equitable solution, I agreed to a draw.
On another occasion when I was about 13 and rated about 1600, I was playing Steve Barry, then about 20, a friend of mine and rated about 2000. Being a character, Steve asked me before the game, “Kopec, does smoking bother you? I said “yes, a little.” Then he took out two cigarettes and put them in his mouth, threatening to light them. We both smiled a little. I remembered the expression of Nimzovitsch: “The threat is stronger than the execution.” Ah, but then I happened to win the game, remembering “He who laughs last, laughs best.”
Once around 1974, I went to a US Open Tennis Championship in Forest Hills with my dad, as was our routine during those years – we could literally walk a mile to get there from our apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York. Roscoe Tanner was playing Illie Nastase, the Roumanian magician. As Nastase easily won the first set, my dad chuckled, that this was going to be a one-sided exhibition match. However, Nastase has consumed so much energy producing the brilliance and antics which typically accompanied his play that in the second and third set there was indeed no match – as Tanner, with his powerful serve, quickly rolled over Nastase in the second and third sets.
This reminded of my two games with the affable Argentinian GM Miguel Quinteros in the summer of 1983. I played him in the New York Summer International in 1983 (as Black) and then as White at the Lloyd’s Bank Master’s in London later that same summer. Both games occurred around Round 6 or 7 in the nine round events where it was critical for me to win to attempt to achieve an IM norm. In both cases Quinteros completely outplayed me in the opening. But then he disappeared for long periods of time. Where was he? He was on the phone? On the phone with whom? His good friend Bobby Fischer? I doubt it. It was probably his wife who I heard was a beauty Queen. In both games I found sacrifices in the middlegame which suddenly demanded more and more of Quinteros’ attention. In the first game it was a very speculative Rook sacrifice. The second game, in London, was a more sound sacrifice. So yes, akin to the tennis example, what seemed like a one-sided affair at the beginning, turned into a fiasco where the tables were quickly turned and the underdog won in spectacular fashion.
3) At what point in your career did you realize you wanted to be a master?
That was a natural goal – to get one’s rating over 2200, as soon as I saw steady improvement. My improvements came in quantum leaps.
I went from 1031 at age 12, to well over 1300, then 1600, 1800 (age 14) over 2000 (age 15) and over 2220. all at sudden intervals. I was blessed to have been naturally motivated. Even though I had my cousin Joe to answer questions whenever I had to, I did not need to be pushed. I enjoyed playing over chess games. I already had Bobby Fischer as our chess idol (even though he went into long periods of absence from tournament play in the 1960’s). I enjoyed spending quiet evening and weekend hours playing over chess games, analyzing my own games, or with other chess friends while I watched baseball or other sports. Yes, you could say, “A Little Nerdy” but as I said in my video Pawn Structures and How to Play Them: “No pain, no gain.” Still, I feel I was pretty well rounded, playing team sports such as baseball, basketball, and touch football almost every day at the park or schoolyard.
4) Who are some of your most memorable opponents?
In 1977 at the World Student Team Olympiad, I played Alexander Belyavsky, (known as Big Al) and then number 6 in the world. I had a pretty nice game with him, and learned lessons never to be forgotten. Likewise, in losing to Kevin Spraggett with a score of 4.5 out of 5 I learned to respect his abilities as a full-time professional player. I learned that strong players are able to change their style according to the circumstances of a game or tournament.
In 1976 at the Canadian Open in Toronto, then a game a day 10-Round, Swiss System Tournament, I met Walter Browne in the middle rounds of the tournament. I played my system and Browne kept exchanging pieces down until we ended up in a very slightly favorable (to him) Knight Ending. Browne displayed very fine technique and after that we went out to dinner and we’ve been good friends ever since.
You would think that I would best remember the opponents (particularly strong ones) that I crushed or played spectacular games against. Those I can list separately, but by most memorable, I trust you mean over the board, pre-game and post game experiences, and to those are the people who I consider to have behaved best as opponents overall – to have kept proper chess etiquette, win or lose. To me probably most memorable in this regard is GM Alexander Ivanov. My pretty good score against Alex is probably because I really like him and his no nonsense serious attitude for every chess game that he plays. Chess is truly his passion. Another player who has this attitude is John Curdo.
I would see Danny at least twice a year after he left Montreal. I believe his wife had family here and he would come up with her to visit. Always in good spirits and always bringing interesting stories with him :). He dabbled in everything from writing books, producing a revolutionary scorebook, teaching chess at camps etc. Always a passionate innovator and an incredibly bright fellow. The last time he paid me a visit was during the Quebec Open last summer. I will miss him.
IM Dr. Danny Kopec was an exceptionally bright scientist, as well as a terrific chessplayer and writer.
I met him in the late 1980s in Toronto, where he played a simul of about 25 boards. I was fortunate to draw the endgame, after being in a difficult position for much of the game. I've got the game score somewhere; I do remember that I had the Black side of a King's Indian Defence. He took some time afterwards to introduce himself, we discussed some key moments in the game, with him making several suggestions on how I could have played better, and then he asked me about myself. When I mentioned I am a geophysicist, he said, 'Hey, what are you doing for dinner?"
We headed to the posh Royal York (I had a bit more dough in those days!) and found a quiet spot in their elegant restaurant. The three hours over our late dinner were among the most memorable of my life, as we discussed chess, computer science (he had a PhD), mathematics, physics, philosophy, politics, travel, and everyday life. I noticed that my chess results improved right away for my next few events!
Danny, you will be missed in the chess world, but your strong contributions will live on. Rest In Peace, my friend. :)
A really unexpected and sad news at such a young age. I talked quite a bit with Danny when he was living in Montreal.
He always had interesting plans and stories.
Once or twice he invited me to teach at his summer chess camps later when when he returned to the US.
Quite a pleasant guy to be around. Certainly a loss to the chess world and a bigger loss for his family.
In the early 1980s I attended the University of Alberta where I got my degree in Molecular Biology. At the time i befriended Dr Jonathan Schaeffer who was the creator of the strongest computer chess program at the time (Phoenix). Danny was visiting with Jonathan at the University of Alberta and was doing fascinating research into the then relatively new field of parallel processing in the computational world.
He was assembling small groups of club chess players to solve chess problems and comparing this to one strong chess player solving the same problem. His hypothesis was that "two heads are better then one" and that this theory could be extended into the world of computing. He was way ahead of his time and today parallel processing is ubiquitous.
I remember at the time we played in a blitz tournament and Danny used what he called the Kopec system against me with 1e4 c5 2 c3 n-f6 3 b-d3 and then later b-c2. He was a better player then me and did not have any trouble winning.
I found him to be a fascinating character and kept track of him over the years. I am saddened that he is gone.
Danny lived in Ottawa for a time in the early to mid-nineties. He played in some local events, showed up regularly at the RA Chess Club, gave private lessons and was a regular visitor to the CFC office where I was working at the time. I remember him coming by almost daily when Fischer played his return match against Spassky. Danny loved chess dearly and was willing to play and or analyze with anyone regardless of their playing strength. He was a jovial sort, always with a smile on his face. I am sorry to hear of his early passing.
A few random memories of mine, of Danny at the RA club in Ottawa... I once lost a blitz game to him in a Catalan, due to an inactive Black bishop, but on another occasion it took Danny a minute to realize that in a game I had just finished, my bad B meant nothing since the opponents good B couldn't force an entry into my camp. Once Danny asked if NM Peter Ferguson and I ever tired of playing each other again and again at our local club... I didn't want to say it, but Peter always played the sort of dicey attacking chess I didn't mind defending against, and we played lots of different openings in our games :). Danny once gave me a drive home on a stormy winter's night, which I much appreciated. A kind and brilliant man that I am sad to hear passed away too young.
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy's law, by Edward A. Murphy Jr., USAF, Aerospace Engineer
In the latest New In Chess (2016#4), there is a letter to the editor from the late Danny Kopec.
Entitled Fabiano Caruana it begins:
“As a very little boy of about 9 Fabiano attended the Nassau Chess Club in Mineola, New York, which Harold Stenzl has been effectively running for nearly 40 years. Meeting in a cold church basement, it still gets about 40 attendees every Monday night. It is not far from my home and as an expert it was obvious that Fabiano was a prodigy of some kind. It was also clear to me that he didn’t receive the special attention that he deserved, but that could be the subject of another letter/article.”
He then goes on to discuss Fabiano’s notes in New in Chess 2016/2 to his game vs. van Wely, from move 24.Bxe7?!
Tata Steel 2016
Round 12, January 30, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – van Wely, Loek
B80 Sicilian, Scheveningen, English Variation
That's sad. I first met Danny in 1969 at a National Science Foundation Summer Math Institute. We were roommates. Although Danny was a few months younger than me and therefore probably the youngest in the group, he was more serious and more mature. I'm saying that now, having been given 47 years to reflect. What he told me was not easy to accept. I bridled at it. But in the end, he was right more often than I was.
We planned to meet more often, but nothing happened. For example, in 1969, he told me that I was walking incorrectly and that if I continued to do so, I'd be crippled by the time I was 50. A few years ago I reminded him of that and told him that I still walked goofy. His reply was that he wanted to talk about it, but to get in touch with him via a different internet means.
In tournament chess, he won two or three games with a couple of draws. Finally, almost in this millenium, we played in the London International, second group. We were approaching the time control and he had to move his king. Both of us knew that the correct spot was h6. By playing the king to h6, near the head of his forces, and with rational moves thereafter, he would win the game. But he retreated the king to g8 or h8 and quickly lost. Afterwards he said: "I knew that h6 was the right square, but I thought that if I played to h6 and then got checkmated, what would my students say?" I think that event was the last time I saw Danny, in Hampstead. He was riding a bicycle.
In 2004 (with edits to 2011) I wrote up the 1969 adventure here: http://members.shaw.ca/berry5868/smi.htm
If you're interested in "chess" or "Kopec" you might wish to search for those terms in the article. Otherwise, you will encounter a high noise-to-signal ratio.
Thanks for the always-kind words, Danny, and rest in peace.
Last edited by Jonathan Berry; Saturday, 16th July, 2016, 12:34 PM.
I met Danny Kopec at the 1976 Canadian Open in Toronto, and hung out with him quite a bit. He was carrying around a battered copy of Bobby Fischer's Chess Games (Batsford 1973) that had long ago lost its dust jacket, and was playing through the games one after another. When he liked a particular game he would draw a rectangle around it in pencil. He said, "Fischer is the greatest player in the history of chess. I really should know all of his games." He told me that he really enjoyed Toronto, describing it as "New York without the stress," and said that anything you could find there, you could find here. This while we were enjoying huge charbroiled burgers at Bubbles, which I believe was on Yonge Street. Later I met Danny again at the U.S. Open and noticed that he was on good speaking terms with all of the American grandmasters. RIP to a very intelligent, very cultured man.
Tweet
Comment