Aman Hambleton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

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  • Aman Hambleton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

    The Newfoundland Open Chess Championship was held at the spacious and hospitable Murray's Pond Fishing and Country Club from April 19-21. The tournament is annual, normally attracting loyal regulars and the occasional "out-of-town" addition. This year was a particularly special edition, with extra efforts made by Jordan Berson and Anthony Leonard who united their ambitions to put a spotlight on Newfoundland chess and its enthusiastic, although limited community. I agreed to headline the tournament, eager to visit a province I once called home and pit myself against former rivals.



    A view of the playing hall at Murray's Pond.


    The tournament attracted 14 players competing over 5 rounds for the impressive NL Open trophy and its implied prestige. The tournament was well organized and the games were interesting. At the time control of 120 minutes + 30 seconds/move some games went nearly 5 hours. Meanwhile, Murray's Pond ensured nobody went hungry, providing an array of refreshments and snacks before, during, and after the rounds. Also a big thank you to Alick Tsui, who took all the photos during the tournament and simul, including all photos used in this report.



    The Newfoundland Open trophy, awarded to the winner.


    There were a few upsets in the tournament, particularly in the final round. Anthony Leonard (2017) beat 5-time NL Open champion FM Grant Spraggett (2385) to secure himself sole 2nd place with 4/5. This also happened to be Grant's first loss on Newfoundland soil, a streak dating back to 2004 when I used to live there! I, Aman Hambleton, finished in first place with 4.5/5, conceding a long and hard fought draw to Spraggett, who himself earned clear 3rd place at 3.5/5. The U1800 prize went to Jeffrey Dawson with 2.5/5 and the Top Senior prize was won by Ray MacIsaac, also with 2.5/5.



    From L-R: FM Grant Spraggett (3rd), Anthony Leonard (2nd), IM Aman Hambleton (1st)


    After the tournament, I gave a simul to 21 players at the university campus and was delighted to see so many eager, young challengers take part. I scored 20 wins with one draw earned by Justin Drover, a young man who knows his rook endgames! It was great to see such an interest in chess, both at the tournament and during the simultaneous exhibition. It is my opinion that chess in Newfoundland is only beginning to grow, and this professionally run tournament is a taste of things to come.



    A photo of the simultaneous exhibition, with 21 hopefuls.

    Attached you can find the game Cole, Dustin - Hambleton, Aman from round 4 with my annotations.

    [Event "Newfoundland Open"]
    [Site "?"]
    [Date "2013.04.21"]
    [Round "4"]
    [White "Cole, Dustin"]
    [Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
    [Result "0-1"]
    [ECO "E38"]
    [WhiteElo "1907"]
    [BlackElo "2465"]
    [Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
    [PlyCount "76"]
    [SourceDate "2009.08.18"]


    1. d4 e6 {Always giving my opponents the choice to slip back into the French
    Defense...} 2. c4 {... and declined} Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 {We've entered
    the classical variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense, and c5 is a dynamic
    approach which aims to undermine the center before White has time to support
    it.} 5. e3 {If White wants to add immediate support, he has to entomb his
    own
    c1 Bishop for the time being.} (5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6 {is a
    topical
    variation, leading to interesting middlegame play. My opponent chose a safer
    alternative.}) 5... O-O 6. Nf3 b6 7. Be2 Bb7 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 $5
    ({Critical
    is} 9. exd4 d5 10. Bg5 dxc4 $11 {[%cal Ge2c4,Yb7f3] when Black stands
    slightly
    better with good play against the isolated pawn.}) 9... a6 10. b3 (10. Bf3
    Bxf3
    11. Nxf3 Qc7 12. b3 d5 $11 {and the complications surrounding the pinned Nc3
    tend to favour Black.}) 10... Qc7 11. Bb2 Be7 {Black doesn't want his Bishop
    caught outside of the pawn chain before setting up the solid hedgehog
    structure.} (11... d6 $6 12. a3 Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Nbd7 14. b4 $14) 12. Rac1 d6
    13.
    Rfd1 Nbd7 14. Bf3 {White's pieces lack offensive roles, and it makes good
    sense to offer a trade of White's Be2 for Black's powerful Bb7.} Rac8 15.
    Bxb7
    Qxb7 16. Qe2 {Again, White's pieces lack direction and coordination. Qe2
    intends Qf3 to challenge the long diagonal, fearless towards an endgame.
    Black
    needs to be careful not to trade too many pieces due to his vulnerable pawn
    structure.} Nc5 (16... Ne5 17. f4 Nc6 18. g4 $14 {results in an unpleasant
    initiative for White.}) 17. Qf3 Qc7 $1 {Correctly avoiding the exchange of
    Queens.} 18. Nde2 Rfd8 19. Nf4 (19. Ng3 {During the game I thought this move
    was better, preparing Nce4 and offering more trades. Although not an
    ambitious
    strategy, it may be the most difficult to face for Black. e.g.} Qb8 20. Nce4
    Nfxe4 21. Nxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 b5 23. Qg4 g6 24. Qd4 e5 25. Qe4 $11) 19... Qb8
    20. Nce2 {White is re-routing his pieces to more active posts, but
    unfortunately uses a great deal of time to do so. The precarious placement
    of
    White's pieces in the early middlegame is taxing now, but the position is
    still equal.} b5 21. cxb5 axb5 {[%csl Ra2][%cal Rb5b4] Black gets in the
    thematic b5 break and now looks to nurse the small plusses he enjoys.} 22.
    Nh5
    Nxh5 23. Qxh5 {White creates some exchanges, but it is now too late.} Qa8 {
    Effective, as the a-pawn has no sensible way to be defended and there is not
    enough of an attack to let it go for free.} 24. Qg4 (24. Rd4 Qxa2 25. Bc3
    Nxb3
    26. Rg4 g6 27. Qh6 Bf8 $19 {wins easily for Black.}) 24... Bf8 25. Ra1 Ne4
    26.
    a4 f5 27. Qf3 Rc2 {The 2nd rank invasion ties the White Queen to the defense
    of the N, and ties the N to e2 due to the pin on the f2 pawn.} 28. axb5 Qb8
    29.
    Bc1 $2 (29. Ba3 {Being active instead of passive is better. Targeting d6 and
    keeping the rooks connected.} g5 30. Qh5 Bg7 31. Nd4 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 $13 {with
    counterplay}) 29... g5 $6 {This move appears strong but actually has some
    tactical flaws.} 30. h3 (30. Qh5 $1 Bg7 31. Nd4 Bxd4 32. exd4 $16) 30... Bg7
    31. Ra4 Qxb5 {Now Black is winning. There are too many weak pawns and
    uncoordinated pieces in the White camp.} 32. Nd4 Bxd4 33. exd4 Rxf2 34. Qh5
    (
    34. Qd3 Qxd3 35. Rxd3 Rc8 $19) 34... Qxb3 {Playable based on the following
    continuation.} 35. Ra7 Rxg2+ $1 36. Kh1 Rh2+ $1 {Forcing White to capture in
    lieu of Kg1 Qg3+, and thus forcing checkmate.} 37. Kxh2 Qg3+ 38. Kh1 Nf2#
    {An
    example of a typical hedgehog structure, which arose initially from a
    Nimzo-Indian. Black waited for his moment and seized it with 20. ... b5,
    opening up his pieces while White was still disorganized and searching for
    the
    right plan.} 0-1

  • #2
    Re: Aman Hambelton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

    Awesome. More variety. Kudos again to Jordan Berson for playing a big role in making this event happen.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Attn Larry/Aman

      http://canadachessnews.blogspot.hu/

      Hi Larry

      I checked over Aman's analysis and made my own analysis in my blog, put the game in a game viewer and put links back to Chesstalk. Let me know if there's copyright problem.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Attn Larry/Aman

        Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post
        http://canadachessnews.blogspot.hu/

        Hi Larry

        I checked over Aman's analysis and made my own analysis in my blog, put the game in a game viewer and put links back to Chesstalk. Let me know if there's copyright problem.
        Hi Michael,

        I appreciate all the hard work you are doing...and I like it! Wish you would post it here instead of referring folks to your site LOL.

        This is the situation: We pay contributors a very modest fee for giving us new material on recent Canadian events. I can tell you honestly that I have been very happy with what we have received so far. As far as copyright...it belongs to the author and Chess'n Math. Chess'n Math has the right to publish the material on ChessTalk and on the Chess'n Math site. Game scores can not be copyrighted. So if you take a game and put your own comments to it that is fine. Obviously if they resemble those of the author...we have a copyright infringement situation.

        Keep up the good work!

        Larry

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Aman Hambleton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

          Is a PGN viewer possible now here?
          If I posted commented games here, noone(but Hans J and a few others) would be able to follow the analysis.

          I stripped out Aman's comments. My key finding was 29...g6! instead of 29...g5(?!) which was played in the game.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Aman Hambleton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

            Originally posted by Michael Yip View Post
            Is a PGN viewer possible now here?
            If I posted commented games here, noone(but Hans J and a few others) would be able to follow the analysis.

            I stripped out Aman's comments. My key finding was 29...g6! instead of 29...g5(?!) which was played in the game.
            Ahhh...first...Can I post your analysis here? Can we compare what Aman saw and what you saw?...on ChessTalk :)

            We are going to devote energy on all our websites this summer...so that we are up to speed...stay tuned :)

            Larry

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Aman Hambleton game Rd4

              Sure.

              I had originally had the game with a combined analysis with improvements where my opinion differed. But I just stripped out Aman's comments so only mine remain.

              I thought that was your wish. Sorry.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Aman Hambelton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

                Originally posted by Hans Jung View Post
                Awesome. More variety. Kudos again to Jordan Berson for playing a big role in making this event happen.
                Thank you, Hans! It was a lot of fun for me, the players, my co-TD Anthony Leonard, and even the General Manager at Murray's Pond, who then came out to play in the simul the following Tuesday!

                Looking forward to more big events over the coming years :)

                Jordan
                No matter how big and bad you are, when a two-year-old hands you a toy phone, you answer it.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Aman Hambelton annotates a game from the 2013 Newfoundland Open!

                  Originally posted by Jordan S. Berson View Post
                  Thank you, Hans! It was a lot of fun for me, the players, my co-TD Anthony Leonard, and even the General Manager at Murray's Pond, who then came out to play in the simul the following Tuesday!

                  Looking forward to more big events over the coming years :)

                  Jordan
                  Indeed. Chess in Newfoundland is not as active as we would like, but it something we hope to improve and simply the talk of Aman playing brought out some of the old guard as well (even those that could not participate in the tournament).

                  We greatly appreciate everything Aman did for us when he came out, as well as this wonderful write-up on the event. Many kids came out to play in the simul event and I had many positive comments from the kids and parents as well. I don't get to play much outside of our island, and given Grant's recent inactivity I didn't have the opportunity to play against a FM or above until this event.

                  Many laughs were had. In particular, Aman's soul read on me at the start of our game (apparently, I did not put down my pen after writing 1. e4 on my scoresheet, almost as if I was certain what the next moves would be. I had been up late the night before looking at his French...). Spoiler: No French was played.

                  I look forward to future events in NL which will hopefully live up to this one, and I am glad Aman enjoyed his time here!

                  Comment

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