Round 4

[Duncan Smith]

The women play England, the men Scotland. Very interesting matches the games should be competitive.

[Larry Bevand]

Round 4 - the line-up for today

OPEN DIVISION

Bo. 48 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 46 Scotland (SCO) Rtg 0 : 0

22.1 GM Bluvshtein Mark 2557 - GM Rowson Jonathan 2596
22.2 GM Charbonneau Pascal 2499 - GM Aagaard Jacob 2528
22.3 IM Zugic Igor 2457 - GM Shaw John 2469
22.4 IM Roussel-Roozmon Thomas 2486 - IM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2448



WOMEN

Bo. 53 Canada (CAN) Rtg - 31 England (ENG) Rtg 0 : 0

17.1 WIM Khoudgarian Natalia 2149 - IM Houska Jovanka 2399
17.2 WFM Yuan Yuanling 2157 - IM Ciuksyte Dagne 2339
17.3 WFM Smith Hazel 2057 - WIM Lauterbach Ingrid 2178
17.4 Barron Irina 2071 - WFM Grigoryan-Lyell Meri 2076

[Bob Armstrong]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

Posted on CFC Chess Forum ( http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/ ) today:

( 9:45 AM ) Canadian Women's team ( # 53 ) is playing England ( # 31 ) in Rd. 4 on Bd. 17.

On the second board, WFM Yuanling Yuan of Canada faces IM Dagne Ciuiksyte.

I ( read Fritz ) am analyzing this game live on the chess website, Chess5 ( www.chess5.com ) [ Yuanling is a member of my chess club, Scarborough CC ]. Go to the homepage, and click on " Public Games " to get the November games list. Find the game and click on " View " . You will get a board and the score to follow the game ( it takes a few seconds to load ). The updating is not entirely continuous , but from time to time.

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

Two hours into the round, and ... in the Open, Canada continues to play well with Black.

In the Women's a red rectangle came up over Irina's game, stating something like "Illegal PGN game". Then disappeared. I'm not sure that Natalia will be happy about her pawn sacrifice. But the game is far from over. Likewise, "anything could still happen" in the other three games against the higher-ranked England team.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

Hi Bob,

I've cast off the shackles of Fritz and whatchamacallit that Tom uses. Oh yeah, Rybka, Schmybka or whatever. People have to learn to talk funny to play chess these days. :)

Anyhow, I just got up and started looking at the games. An early riser, I'm not.

In Mark's game, I noticed his opponent has turned the game into a kind of Dutch Defence. I never thought 4. f3 against the Nimzo-Indian was that scary for black and continued with the more normal d5. Rowson chose to castle and play f5 after a few moves.

Pascal's opponent is playing what's called the Snyder Sicilian. I never considered it a good choice for white but we'll see what happens. Usually in the Snyder b3 is played by white on move 2 but this move order serves the same purpose. Maybe white likes to play it against e6 and waited the extra move until that move was played.

Now I'll look at the other games of the National Team.

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

Since Robert Snyder is unfortunately in the (non-chess) news a lot, and since we had a Canadian player use b3 against the Sicilian decades before he did, why don't we call it the Lebel Sicilian? Quebec A-player - Expert Robert Lebel (not to be confused with Master Jacques Labelle) played it incessantly. I played him in it around 1970, and he was already not a young man.

Mark's position was horrible, and went downhill quickly. As somebody who has lost more than his share of short and bloody games, Mark "I feel your pain."

But Pascal won. Let's hope Igor can draw. That leaves Thomas having sac'd the Exchange for a pawn against Ketevan. Those using engines probably have a better idea of the objective correct result of that game. She only has 8 minutes left, which is reason for optimism!

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

In Mark's game, I noticed his opponent has turned the game into a kind of Dutch Defence. I never thought 4. f3 against the Nimzo-Indian was that scary for black and continued with the more normal d5. Rowson chose to castle and play f5 after a few moves.

Now I see why Rowson played 4. O-O and then transposed to a kind of Dutch against Mark. He knows it well. A miniature, no less. At least it went to 22 moves. 21 moves is called a BlackJack. I never let anyone blackjack me. Blackjack like the casino game.

[Gordon Taylor]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

It is rather strange to see the same Black pawn structure e6, f5, e4 on both boards one and two, originating from 1.d4 in Mark's case and from 1.e4 in Pascal's. Both games were catastrophic for White. Must be a moral in there somewhere. As at about 11:30 EST Zugic is a pawn down but with good chances to draw and Roussel-Roozmon has given an exchange (he hardly had a choice) for a promising K-side attack. The match could swing either way I guess.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Round 4 - Women's - Bd. 2

Since Robert Snyder is unfortunately in the (non-chess) news a lot, and since we had a Canadian player use b3 against the Sicilian decades before he did, why don't we call it the Lebel Sicilian? Quebec A-player - Expert Robert Lebel (not to be confused with Master Jacques Labelle) played it incessantly. I played him in it around 1970, and he was already not a young man.

Robert Snyder wrote a book on the Opening and dubbed it the Snyder Sicilian. He used the lofty title of USCF Master preceding his name on the booklet. Snyder wrote the booklet in the late 70's so presumably played it much earlier than that.

I haven't seen anything on Snyder in many years and nothing non chess but have to admit to not keeping up.

I also feel for Mark but when you loosen up the pawns in front of your king sometimes these things happen.

[Larry Bevand]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

It is rather strange to see the same Black pawn structure e6, f5, e4 on both boards one and two, originating from 1.d4 in Mark's case and from 1.e4 in Pascal's. Both games were catastrophic for White. Must be a moral in there somewhere. As at about 11:30 EST Zugic is a pawn down but with good chances to draw and Roussel-Roozmon has given an exchange (he hardly had a choice) for a promising K-side attack. The match could swing either way I guess.

Hi Gordon,

I was looking at the Thomas game...how does Black pursue the attack?

Thanks,

Larry

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

My interpretation would be different. Black has R+2B versus 2R+N, which supposedly according to Tarrasch (though I've never read him) is material equality. With Black's extra pawn, that makes him a pawn up! I had a similar material imbalance against Brian Hartman in the '84 Closed and couldn't make anything of it, and I'm feeling Thomas's pain here too as he struggles to cover his wings.

Later ... his wings may be weak but mygawd he has a mass of stuff in the centre.

[Hugh Brodie]

Re: Round 4

England's first board (ladies) - Jovanka Houska - has played in Montreal before. Her husband (Jiri) I believe is studying at university in Montreal, and plays regularly in Montreal events.

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

Natalia drew. With bishops off, Black with the passed f-pawn would be clearly better, but with bishops on, I was entertaining the thought that somehow White, with her safer king, and chances to creep on the queenside, might be better. It's a kind of loony approach, the sort of thing you tell yourself if you really need that win.

Yuanling's game has been blasted open by her opponent's sacrifice with both sides having less than 8 minutes. I'd say her opponent's game is easier to play: just advance the c- and d- pawns, but Yuanling probably needs to time (i.e., think about) a counter-sacrifice.

I don't like Hazel's position. She has been outflanked.

Irina has made the best of what appeared to me to be an ugly position. Any result is possible!

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

Later ... his wings may be weak but mygawd he has a mass of stuff in the centre.

Yes. Those pawns will be hard for his opponent to stop. Maybe I should write they "should be hard to stop" rather than "they will be hard to stop".

[Jonathan Berry]

Re: Round 4 - the line-up for today

Hugh,

I played Houska's brother in London ... in the same tournament, I played Aagaard, so that was two of today's opponents' surnames in one event!