Canadian Chess - 1653
for release on Nov 25, 2006 or after

100-year old Zoltan Sarosy was guest of honour for the November Active tournament at the Bayview Games Club. Although he doesn't move pieces any more, he does enjoy clicking through databases of games from the current tournaments. Sarosy, still spry and witty, was a three-time Canadian champion at postal play and the gathering was an informal book launch for [italics]The History of Correspondence Chess in Canada[/italics] written by Leonard Zehr and J. Ken MacDonald. A limited edition hardcover, the book is an obvious labour of love. The first postal game in Canada was a King's Gambit contested between the clubs in Kingston and Quebec City in 1841. Correspondence chess in Europe had a much older pedigree. King Henry I of England played King Louis VI of France in 1119. This was undoubtably a factor in chess becoming known as The Royal Game or The Game of Kings. Of course those old feudal monarchs took delight in the rule that Kings could not be captured. International Master Leonid Gerzhoy won the strong 30-minute tournament which followed the socializing. He scored 4.5-.5. Nikolay Noritsyn was second at 4-1, upsetting Canadian Champion Igor Zugic in round three but losing to Gerzhoy in the fourth. The very strong Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow features a (U.S.) $200,000 prize fund divided evenly between classical games and a 5-minute Blitz tournament. Tal, the 1960-1961 World Champion, lived 1936-1992. An exceptionally creative and aggressive player, the Rigan was a fan favourite although various health problems and a wild life-style, fueled by vodka, cigarettes and eight different wives, made for erratic results.

In this first round game the players were inspired to throw the pieces at each other with sacrificial enthusiasm:

White: L. Aronian Black: A. Morozevich

Queen's Gambit Accepted
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 a6 5.a4 Nf6 6.Bxc4 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Qe2
[8.Qc2 was seen in Tal-Spraggett, 1985 Interzonal.]

8..Be7 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.dxc5 0-0 11.b3 e5 12.h3 e4 13.Nd4 Ne5 14.b4!?
[Varying from a 2005 game Milov-Karjakin where 14.Bb2 was played.]

14..b6 15.Nd2 bxc5 16.bxc5 Bxc5 17.Ba3 Bxa3 18.Rxa3 Ng6!?
[Intending to attack.]

19.Nf1 Qc5 20.Rc3 Qg5
[Threatening 21..Bxh3.]

21.Ng3 h5 22.Kh1 Nh4 23.Qc2!?
[Many players would automatically defend with 23.Rg1 or 23.Qf1. Aronian aims instead for counter-attack.]

23..Nxg2!? 24.Kxg2 h4 25.Bxf7+! Kxf7 26.Rc5 Bxh3+ 27.Kxh3 Qg4+ 28.Kg2 hxg3?
[Paradoxically, recapturing the piece is a mistake. 28...Rfc8! looks best.]

29.f3! exf3+ 30.Nxf3 [Another paradox: Black's extra pawn shelters White's King. The immediate threat is 31.Ne5+.] 30..Kg8 31.Qa2+ [31.Rd4 was another, perhaps simpler way to win.]

31..Kh8 32.Rc4 Qf5 33.Rf4 Qh7 34.Rh4 Nh5 35.Rd5 Rf5 36.e4 Nf4+ 37.Kxg3 Rh5 38.Rxf4 Rh3+ 39.Kg4
[Despite appearences the White King is quite safe.]

39..Re8 40.Rdf5 Rg8 41.Qxg8+ Qxg8 42.Rf8 Black resigned.

CHESS PROBLEM # 1653

Black: 7 pieces

White: 7 pieces

White to play and mate in two moves.

Composed by B. Laws, 1880

Solution to 1652: 1.Bc5 Nxc5 2.Nc3X; Bxc5 2.Nc3X; Rxc5 2.Nxb6X; Nb-any
2.Rd4X; Ne-any 2.Bf3X; Bb1 2.Bxb3X.
-30-