Isolani's Blog page 3

Isolani's Blog
New Mexico Chess Organization's Chess Forum
"The strength of an isolani lies in its lust to expand."-Nimzowitsch

10-25-05
It's not too late to pre-register for the NM Open. You can register in person at the UNM Chess Club meeting tonight (10/25)
or at the Coronado Chess Club on Wednesday (10/26). You save a few bucks and can sleep in a little later on Saturday!

10-16-05
Monte Vista Elementary (located near UNM) has an immediate need for a semi-experienced chess coach
for their Chess Club, which currently has 2nd through 5th graders in it. (Applicants are already being interviewed.)
Numbers in the club would be expected to be 20-30 kids total, of which you'd share coaching duties with one other
chess coach. Applicant would have good child-management skills (general even temperment, patience, ability to manage
a number of kids at one time) as well as have intermediate chess skills and knowledge. Would work once per week
(Mondays: 3:45 - 5:15). Pay would be up to $12 per our, based upon applicant profile and experience. Questions:
please contact: laurablalock@yahoo.com

10-13-05
Hi All, The Georgia O'Keefe Chess Club started our school year two weeks ago. The club is run by myself
and another parent volunteer. We are seeking an experienced chess player volunteer to teach strategy to the kids.
We have missed the deadline to apply for funding to compensate such an individual for their time, however we may
be able to re-apply in January.

We have limited ourselves to a smaller group than in previous years. Our roster is made up of the following grade
levels KG : 3 students, 1st : 2, 2nd : 3, 3rd : 6, 4th : 2, 5th : 1 We meet every Monday, but if your schedule only
allows you to visit us once or twice a month we will still welcome you. No APS background check is required.
We have two parent volunteers to supervise. If you are interested in helping us out, please contact me.
Peter Blemel
296 5445

10-06-05
The NMCO Executive Board for the past few months has been discussing proposed changes to our Constitution.
We've been operating slightly differently in some minor ways from the manner prescribed in our current Constitution,
which hasn't been updated significantly in a number of years. We want our Constitution to reflect current realities of
chess in New Mexico, and to reflect modifications which we believe will make our operations more fair, more flexible,
and simpler.

After a great deal of discussion and compromise, we've come up with a proposed new version. Bylaws, which were
explicitly called out in the previous version, have now been compiled as well. We will shortly be posting the proposed
new Constitution on our web site - I ask all NMCO members in the coming weeks to read it, compare it to the previous
version, and see if they are supportive of the changes. If there
needs to be discussion of significant points, we encourage the use of the NM Chess Forum for such conversations.

We will ask the membership to vote on this new Constitution at the NMCO Annual Business Meeting to be held at
2 PM on the Sunday of the upcoming NM Open.

Dr J
(Jeffrey Neil Burch)
President, NMCO
505-857-0096 (home)
505-307-9069 (cell)
doctor.j@mindspring.com

10-04-05
Let Chucky In! It is well known that New Mexico and Colorado players love the French due to influence of some great
local players/teachers. Therefore could not resist the following piece of chess art. So all you French Lovers: pour a good
glass of wine, sit back and enjoy watching a 2700 turn a 2600 into 'french fries'. Anonymous

Forget having Kramnik play in San Luis and let Vassily Ivanchuk in instead. The Chuckster has his rating up to 2752 and
looks set to add a pile more points. He just scored 6/7 for Polonia Plus in the Euro Cup (admittedly on board 2 behind the
solid Boris Gelfand). As usual, his games were great. I attached his win over Volkov for the Black Belt. What a game. He
gives up a knight right out of the opening for long-term pressure against Black's open king and keeps creating threats and
nabbing pawns for the next 30 moves until Volkov collapses. Don't show this game to any beginner students; they'll never
respect the value of the pieces again. From chessninja.com

Ivanchuk,Vassily (2752) - Volkov,Sergey (2622) [C13]
21st European Club Cup Saint Vincent (6.3), 2005
1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Nf3 f5 8.Nc3 a6 9.g3 b5 10.Bg2 Bb7 11.0-0 c5
12.d5 b4 13.dxe6 bxc3 14.exf7+ Kf8 15.Qe2 cxb2 16.Rad1 Qb6 17.Rfe1 Qf6 18.c3 Be4 19.Nh4 Nc6 20.Bxe4 fxe4
21.Qxe4 Rd8 22.Rb1 Rd2 23.Nf3 Rd6 24.Rxb2 Kxf7 25.Rb6 Ke8 26.Re3 Rf8 27.Qxh7 Rf7 28.Qg8+ Rf8 29.Qc4 a5
30.Kg2 Rf7 31.Qxc5 Kf8 32.Qh5 Kg8 33.Qg4+ Rg7 34.Qc4+ Rf7 35.Qg4+ Rg7 36.Qc8+ Bf8 37.Re8 Rg6 38.h4 Qf7
39.Rb7 Qf6 40.Ng5 Ne5 41.Rf7 1-0

9-29-05
NEW: ADULT BUGHOUSE! New section added for October 15th Monte Vista BugHouse Competition for collegiate and adult players!! Limited to the first 50 players (25 Bughouse Teams)!. Same times and rules apply as for regular BugHouse at Monte Vista Bughouse Competition. Trophy to top 3 adult Bughouse teams. Pre-registration for Adult Section HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Questions? See details for Oct. 15th Monte Vista K-12 Chess Tournament at: www.nmsco.org, Upcoming Events.
Laura Blalock

9-24-05
Come watch Jesse Kraai attempt to complete the 2005 Grand Slam of NMCO chess tournaments at the New Mexico Open. Jesse has won this year's Memorial, Albuquerque Open and Blitz tournaments. The NM Open title would give him the sweep for 2005.
-- It's not too early to send in your registration for the Open! For info look in the Upcoming Events section of this web site.

Jesse did win the 2004 Open; so he now holds all four titles simultaneously. But it doesn't appear that anyone has won all three (Open, Albuquerque Open and Memorial) titles in the same year. Tom Keffer came close in 2003 -- winning the Albuquerque and Memorial tournaments and finishing second in the NM Open.

Does anyone have information of a successful Slam in years prior to the records here on the web site?
Dean Brunton

9-22-05
Hey Everyone,
Just to clarify, the UNM lecture will be this Tuesday the 27th with Mr. Burch.
Sorry for the confusion. If you can, bring in an old chess game you played so that you have a chance to have it analyzed by Mr. Burch. If there are any more questions, keep them coming. Bring your friends and anyone who is interested in sitting in for the lecture. I hope to see you all there!
Sincerely,
Frances Perrault
UNM Chess Club

9-18-05
Please give a look to chesslecture.com. Besides getting to hear an old boar like me, there are other more groovy voices to listen to. I've also covered a NM game in my lecture on the Halloween Gambit!
Jesse

9-17-05
Who won the Foothillls tournament? If someone can send me section winners' names, I'll post them on the website.
Susan

9-7-05
Come join Monte Vista Chess Club for their second annual Chess and Bughouse Tournament on Saturday, October 15th. . Both the Tournament and the BugHouse are for K - 12th grade players. A good time will be had by all (hopefully!). More details? click here. Coaches interested in being Floor TDs: please write to discuss floor TDing in exchange for free bughouse for some of your players.
Laura Blalock

8-31-05
Please pass this information to your clubs or local chess contacts...
New Mexico chess personality Art Glassman will make his television debut (is this correct Art, or have you already appeared before?)
on the ABC Family Channel's Wildfire series. His episode, "The Track", is scheduled to be broadcast as part of
a Wildfire marathon on Monday, September 5 (Labor Day) at 5 PM. Note that Comcast recently changed its channel lineup -
ABC Family Channel used to be channel 35, but they are currently channel 59. You might check the listings as
well - this episode was initially scheduled to be shown at 3 PM but is now listed at 5 PM in our time zone. Art plays a down-and-out former jockey, and will be seen (in a non-speaking role) playing a game of chess against someone at the track...
Dr J
(Jeffrey Neil Burch) President, NMCO

*** Art's appearance ended up in a different episode of Wildfire, shown that day and at other times. We will try to link at least a few seconds of the episode here shortly.

8-26-05
Westside Club's officer elections are tomorrow [Saturday 8/27] at the Westside Club, 2 pm at their usual North Valley Library
meeting site.
Dr J (Jeffrey Neil Burch) President, NMCO
*** There are new volunteers for president, webmaster and other positions. Please come out to vote.

8-25-05
The diagram listed Schwarman vs. Sandager has been frusterating me and my brother Peter for quite some time. We both began analyzing it trying desperately to find the "right" move for white. The problem was, it seems that ANY move leads to an advantage except the
incredibly blatantlt bad ones like Bb4. I mean at this point in the game black's attack is kind of puttering down (I mean what's his
plan??? Wait for white to stop defending g2???) and white has more queenside space and so the endgame is won. Simply Bd2 is winning, as
is g5, Qa3, Qc1 and anything else not losing material (and no move wins substantial material or checkmates but rather gains an awesome
long term endgame advantage which is already there). So finally we looked it up on Fritz 8 and checked the DK... sure enough g5
wins...eventually.... but according to Fritz "Bd2" is slightly better (and any other move is comparable).

I want a dramatic crusher! The position is like: "White's a pawn up... make a move that doesn't lose (more than one solution)"
Schwarman played well but the great move must have been somewhere in getting to this kingside-is-blockaded position, not after this
position was reached.

That's all I really had to say besides thank you, Ryan, for doing the DK...
I know it's a lot of work and it's appreciated.
Luke Calhoun

8-23-05
Here are the results of the 1^st Annual Santa Fe Quads. 21 players, 4 quads and one 6 person swiss. Results have been rated and posted at USCF. Prize money of $20/$10/$5 was distributed to each section.
Best,
Tom Blog

8-03-05
USCF Blitz Rules for the Blitz Championship (Saturday, August 13th in Santa Fe) are at BLITZ . Dean says that we have 10 entries so far (I'll post the list of names in a few days.) The max for this tournament is 40 players due to space and table rentals, so sign up soon.
- Susan

7-28-05
While we were packing up at the July 17 chess picnic, we discovered a couple of items left behind by attendees. One was a purple water bottle (looked very new), and the other was a huge cartoon-decorated blue mug (which looked like it could have held about a gallon of liquid). If either of these items belongs to you, let me know and we'll work out arrangements to get it back to you.

Several of us had dinner last night with Alexey Root (who had a short break from her teaching duties at Hummingbird Camp). She continued to gush about how much she enjoyed the picnic. Next year we might ask her to conduct a brief simul there.

7-19-05
In Albuquerque right now (Tuesday night-Wed. am), and will be again next Tues.-Wed. (26-27th). First, Elliott Higgins of Hummingbird has Tues-Wed. off, so has brought me down to Alb. Sorry I can't be down during the Wed. chess club night. I will visit Alb. again next week. Second, thank you so much for including me in your picnic! As I drove off, I thought about how magical the picnic was: tablecloths with chessboard patterns, a chess cake, chocolate chess pieces, lush green grass and trees, and smiles everywhere. I remarked to my children that we were truly fortunate to be part of such an occasion, and that other state chess federations didn't have such wonderful events. Then, as I contined to drive, it occurred to me: Such magic must be part of the reason that New Mexico is "the Land of Enchantment." NM chess people turned an ordinary day into a magical one.Sincerely, Alexey Root <aroot@utdallas.edu> BUT it turns out I can only check email once a week when I come down to Albuquerque. So call me at Elliott Higgins or at Hummingbird with any timely messages. P.S. Yes, I would love to come to your picnic again next year. I will be back for more music and chess camp next year.

7-18-05
I'd like to thank everybody involved with the picnic. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. In regards to Robert Haines's excellent annotations in the latest Desert Knight, I have some comments to add. The master Sandager kicked me around like a tin can for almost 40 moves during our game of round 2. I felt I knew what a turkey feels like on Thanksgiving eve. My problem was in the opening; 1.e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 5.Ne2 Bg4....during my opening preparation I knew this line led to a slight advantage for white, but I didn't like the doubled pawns, but thought oh well. During the game I spent considerable time considering the alternatives, but obviously came up short. The result was similar to Napoleon's retreat from Russia. Fortunately, I lulled my opponent to sleep with my bad play and after many hours of torture and severe time trouble I snuck one through. I went home and prayed to the Chess Gods about what I should have done...the answer was enlightening. Mr. Haines didn't mention it in his analysis of the game. If any player would like to see it they are invited to play that line against players of Socorro.....Our motto: "You don't mess with the bean, you mess with the whole burrito." Again I'd like to thank Robert Haines for his insight, the game was far too painful for me to look at again.

7-18-05
Wanted to thank all the people who made the recent chess picnic possible - Ramzi and friends for picking up and dropping off the tables/chairs, Susan Koenig for bringing additional food/drinks, all those who helped us set up and tear down, and everyone else who attended. And a big thanks to Alexey for coming by and being so friendly with all our members - if she continues to work at Hummingbird, we may have to make her attendance a regular feature at our picnics. I believe a good time was had by all.

Due to popular demand we will make this a regular event, and may hold more than one each year. While I had hoped to have our next one in spring 2006, there was considerable support for holding one in the fall, so we'll talk about it and see if we can manage to do this. If you have ideas for future picnics, let one of the NMCO officers know and we'll see if it can be arranged.

Dr J
(Jeffrey Neil Burch)
President, NMCO 505-857-0096 (home) 505-307-9069 (cell)
doctor.j@mindspring.com

7-15-05
More on the chess picnic. Last week I obtained a solid-chocolate chess set, and I propose to challenge former US women's champion Alexey Root to a blitz game, with the set as stakes. If I win, the guys at the picnic will get to eat the pieces and board afterwards, if she wins, the gals do. Diane Barnard has graciously agreed to play if Alexey can't make it or has to leave early, but Diane has already warned me how very dangerous it can be for anyone to come between women and chocolate... We've also been informed that Brad Earlewine will have some chess books available for sale at the picnic, so check them out. Local master Chris Candelario, who has just cut a CD of classical/flamenco guitar music, has been invited to bring his guitar and play, and he might be able to come.

See you all at the picnic!

Dr J

*** we have volunteers setting up tables/chairs at Taylor Park (under the shade trees) before 10am this Sunday. All players and friends are welcome!

7-10-05
Match challenge! For 1800+ players visiting Moab, Utah (weekends) and/or Durango, Colorado (weekday evenings). G/15, or G/60 to G/120. Contact Damian Nash, d_nash@krusemer.com.

6-24-05
I will be at the Frontier Restaurant at 6:00 PM or a little after on Friday 6/24/05,and will accept entries for the 2005 Albuquerque Open.------------------ Dale Gibbs
advance entries

6-22-05
It's not too late to pre-register for this weekend's Albuquerque Open. Entries received by 6/24/05 get a $10 discount off the full entry fee. Mail entries to NMCO, P.O. Box 4215, Albuquerque, NM 87196. Also, you can register in person tonight (Wed. 6/22) at the Coronado Chess Club meeting at 7:00 in the Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque.
Ask for Dale Gibbs.
Dean Brunton, (505) 241-2618
dbrunto@pnm.com

6-17-05
Chess Club Leader/Chess Coach Needed for an Albuquerque Elementary. A local elementary located near to UNM is looking for a Chess Club coach to run their chess club for the 05-06 school year. (NOTE: A separate Chess Academy will be held on a separate day, and will be run by a separate Chess Coach.) . The Chess Club will meet one to two afternoons per week for one hour, beginning at 3:55 pm.
The primary role of the Chess Coach/Club Leader will be to organize the students each club, so that students are actively paired each club, with students being rotated for skill and varied opponents on a regular basis. The Coach/Leader will need to provide frequent round-the-room casual assessments to ensure that all students are generally involved in a chess activity. Although chess instruction is a goal, the overall chess club management of all the students and their varying needs is the primary focus and duty of the Club Leader/Club Coach. The instructor will be asked and paid to maintain a chess club ladder, asked to maintain sign-in and out paperwork, and asked to provide intervention and communicate any problems or issues related to Chess Club or students. The Club Leader/Coach will work collaboratively with the Chess Academy Coach regarding placement of students. A parent volunteer will be available to assist at all clubs, with a Student Tutor likely for some of the clubs. Payment is $20 per hour, two times per year, as paid through Albuquerque Public Schools payment system. Questions? Contact: chesscoach2@yahoo.com.

6-15-05 More News On the Chess Picnic - We've spoken to her, and it looks like former US Women's Champion Alexey Root will be coming to our Chess Picnic on Sunday, July 17 at the Taylor Park. She will be registering her kids at the Hummingbird Camp earlier that day, so she may arrive later, but she says she's coming! It will be a great chance to talk to her about her chess exploits, her current work at the University of Texas-Dallas, about women's chess, chess in education, and perhaps even get in a game. We will be renting about a dozen tables for games, but we may need help bringing them to the site, so if you have a small truck or RV which could hold a few (plus the chairs), please let one of the NMCO officers know. There are a couple of blitz variants which I'd like to play at the picnic - team blitz and Las Vegas chess. In team blitz, you have a partner and you alternate moves, with no consulting allowed. In Las Vegas chess, you roll dice to be able to move pieces (1=pawns, 2=knights, etc., with castling allowed if either a rook or king move is rolled). So remember to bring dice as well as sets and clocks! Dr J (Jeffrey Neil Burch) President, NMCO 505-857-0096 (home) 505-307-9069 (cell) doctor.j@mindspring.com

6-9-05
Hummingbird chess camp happens July 24 through July 30 as soon as Hummingbird Music camp castles king side. Ages 8 through 14 may attend the 26th year of Chess camp. It is a residential camp and besides chess lessons, tournaments, and fun games we have campfires, swimming, fishing, camp outs, and recreational time. Our International Master is Alexey Root (featured in the Desert Knight) and other teachers rated around 1800. To sign up online please go to Hummingbirdmusiccamp.org and check the registration for chess camp. Any questions email Elliott Higgins, director.
Ehig@aol.com.

6-6-05
Cherry Hills Chess Camp. I am running a summer chess program each Thursday morning
10am-12noon at the Cherry Hills Library (NE Albuquerque) and have a fair size group of beginners.
Rod Avery

5-31-05
Results ...Called it the Farmington International Quick Chess Tournament, for fun. Not much of a story to tell, aside from my first round upset at the hands of an aspiring 17-year-old. Just a little, fun quick chess tournament in Farmington. There will be others this fall. Next one is in Durango on June 8 -- for info write John Mical at jmical@bresnan.net.
Damian Nash, Moah, Utah

5-27-05
Greetings! My name is Daniel Breen, and I have been studying chess quite intensely for the last six months or so. I am an incoming Junior at Sandia High School, but am not currently a member of USCF or any chess club. I have attended Four Hills Chess Club twice, and I am interested in becoming more involved in the chess community. I enjoy annotating games, and I thought I might post this game that I played three months ago as a trial. I'm sorry I have been unable to provide any diagrams, but if I could be told how to do this greatly needed asset(ha ha) I would appreciate it. I would appreciate feedback on the annotations as well as the game quality at my e-mail address, dnlbreen@yahoo.com. The following game was played between my seventeen-year old brother, David Breen, and me, and is a good example of what can happen when a locked center comes into being for White early on in the Colle System. Thanks.

Daniel Breen (Unrated) - David Breen(Unrated) Colle System 2/05
1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 d5 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6.Nbd2 The Colle System, created by the great attacker Colle. The Colle system can be played in virtually any order until the important pawn break e4 by White. ...Bd7?! Not the best place for the Bishop, and giving White too many options. Best was 6...c5, attacking the White pawn chain and grabbing some space. 7. Re1 White prefers to slowly build up in the spirit of the Colle, but e4 would create more dynamic play. ...Na6!? Apparently Black wants to stir things up a bit, perhaps tempt White to double Black's pawns, which any master would never fall for in this opening. 8. c3 Prevents 8...Nb4 which would force White to give his best attacking piece or slow his development. ...c5 9. e4 The all important pawn break. ...c4?! A strategic error. Black releases the dynamic tension in the center, and he also locks it. 10. Bc2 Bb8?? A waste of time which allows White to lock in the center completely. The game is over. The following attack is impossible to repel. 11. e5! The center is locked, and the attack will come swiftly. ...Ng4 12. Nf1 Bringing his forces to the Kingside. ...f5 Trying to limit the scope of the King's Bishop. It doesn't matter because White has a huge amount of forces to call upon. 13. Ng3 Qb6 14. h3 Nh6 15. Bxh6 Ripping open the defensive structure and exposing the king. ...gxh6 16. Qc1! Such a small move, but it accomplishes a great deal. The Kingside is opened for the Queen and the important pawn on b2 is temporarily protected. Without it the center could be opened and Black might be able to play for a draw. ...Rf7 The coming storm will be violent. 17. Nh5 Nc7 18. Qxh6 Ne8 19. Ng5 Re7 It should be obvious who is winning. The results of locked center and poor defense. 20. Nf6+ Nxf6 21. exf6 e5 22. dxe5 Qc6 23. e6 Bh2+ 24. Kxh2 Qc7+ 25. Kg1 Bxe6 26. Nxe6 Qd7 27. Bxf5 Rf7 28. Re3 Kh8 29. Ng5 Qc7 30. Rae1 Rg8 31. Re8 Rff8 32. Qxf8 Qh2+ 33. Kxh2 Rxf8 34. Rxf8# 1-0

5/17/05
Just wanted to add my thanks to Susan and Eddie for setting up our latest version of the New Mexico Chess Forum. Ryan's post shows that some people want certain features or policies to be enacted on the Forum. This is still a work in progress - let us know what you want! In general NMCO news, the officers are considering several upcoming events:
- a team tournament is being discussed for the September time frame.
- a chess picnic is being planned for mid-July at Taylor Park in Albuquerque.
- we are contemplating holding our state's blitz tournament in Santa Fe.
- an ad for the 2005 New Mexico Open will soon appear on the web page.
- unrated/beginner tournaments may be held to acquaint folks with tournament play.
Dr J (Jeffrey Neil Burch)
President, NMCO
doctor.j@mindspring.com

5-14-05
The New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology chess team has challenged/invited us (UNM) to a rematch. They would like us to come down to Socorro for an evening match. Suggested dates would be May 23 or May 24 (Mon & Tues), but we could pick another date if those don't work out. They would have a 5 or 6 person team and they will be a strong team. As you recall, the match in December was a 2.5-2.5 draw. Tech will treat us to dinner at a local Italian restaurant where we will hold the match. Our biggest issue is finding five players who can commit to making the trip. If you would like to play and can make it, please let me know soon.
Dean Brunton
dbrunto@pnm.com

5-14-05
Here’s what I think we ought to strive for with a new forum. -- Posts go on the forum immediately. Posts should be placed on the forum in real-time. That way there are no frustrating long waits for a post to show up. Discussions can continue in (nearly) real time. However, this also makes things easier for spammers. There are two ways to deal with this. 1. Registration. I feel this is the best option. Only people who create a username and password may post to the forum. The forum at http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/retros/ is an example of one way to implement this in a simpler forum. Users send e-mail to a robot that posts their message automatically. 2. After-the-fact moderation. Simply go through and delete spam as it arises. I am willing to help do this if need be. -- Simple *.html support. This allows users to post their own diagrams, if they are savvy enough. Those that are not comfortable doing this can still send diagrams to the webmaster for posting. These proposals would require more work at startup, but less maintenance (I hope!). I feel that this would provide the best of worlds for both webmasters and posters alike. Let me know if this is feasible. Regards,
Ryan M.
DoubleExclam@comcast.net

5-14-05
Colle system games wanted. If you play the Colle, or have played against it, your games are needed for a new book on the Colle System. Please send or e-mail your games to: Pawn Promotions 146 Oak Street Bridgewater, NJ 08807 e-mail: gambit@pawnpromotions.org. All ratings wanted. Thank you.
www.pawnpromotions.org