Congratulations to the District’s Alex Barrasso, who tied Texan Jeff Siebrandt for first in last week’s 2005 U.S. blind chess championship. Siebrandt took the title on tie-breaks.
The tournament, held at the Hampton Inn in Elkins, W.Va., attracted 11 players. Siebrandt and Barrasso drew their individual game and finished at 3-, a half-point ahead of Agan Hajric. Finishing at 2-2 and sweeping up all the class prizes were Michael Davis, Albert Pietrolungo, Henry Olynik, Richard McStraw, James Hart and Virginia Alverson.
The event was organized by Rich Varchetto and the Elkins Lions Club, with Tim Just and Ira Lee Riddle serving as tournament directors.
Siebrandt used a nice one-two combination to deal Hajric his only loss in the event, in Round 3. What starts as a Center Game evolves into a Scotch Opening, with White enjoying a small developmental edge after Black’s queen gets knocked around a bit in the center.
But Black appears to get a little impatient with his slightly cramped position, and his premature attempt to break free proves his undoing after 15. Nd4 Qd7 16. Rad1 Ng4?! (Black would do better with a simple developing move as the knight quickly becomes a target) 17. Bc1, threatening already 18. Qh3 Nh6 19. Nxe6.
Now 17…Bf6, preparing to trade bishop for knight, would give Black a playable if inferior game, but Hajric instead goes for the gusto and pays the price on 17…e5? 18. Nf5 Qe6 (see diagram; 18…Bf6 is already too late now because of 19. Qh3 Nh6 20. Nxh6+ gxh6 21. Qxd7) 19. Qd5!, winning material by force.
The pin on the queen means Black’s bishop at e7 is hanging, and 19…Kf7 20. Qxb7 Qxc4 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Nd6+ forks king and queen. But the game’s 19…Qxd5 20. Nxe7+! Kh8 21. Nxd5 puts White a full piece ahead, and 21…Rac8 22. h3 Nf6 23. Nxf6 gxf6 24. fxe5 fxe5 25. Rxf8+ Rxf8 26. Rf1 Rc8 27. Rf7 leaves Black without even a hope of counterplay. Hajric plays it out to the time control and then resigns.
• • •
If it had only been a boxing match, the referee could have stepped in and stopped the mismatch early.
As it was, English GM Michael Adams hit the canvas five times in his six-game match with the ballyhooed new Hydra chess program, which concluded this week at the Wembley Center in London. Adams, long Britain’s best player and ranked No. 6 in the world, managed one measly draw against the program in the 5- blowout.
Hydra, financed by the Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based PAL Group and programmed by a team including German GM Christopher Lutz, boasts the processing power of 200 standard PCs and is billed as even stronger than IBM’s Deep Blue, conqueror of world champ Garry Kasparov in their storied 1997 match.
Adams has already received a good bit of post-match criticism for his approach. He seems to have done no real preparation for the computer and to have made no attempt to alter his style or opening repertoire to probe the computer’s strategic weaknesses.
In Game 5, a Ruy Lopez, Hydra’s 10. Qxf3 Bg5 11. Bxc6!? is a bit of a surprise, doubling up Black’s pawns but surrendering a productive bishop and ceding Black the half-open b-file in the bargain. It’s a measure of Adams’ shaky play in the entire match that the b-file ultimately will prove decisive in the computer’s own winning attack.
Black proceeds to spend an eternity getting his queen’s rook from a8 to f6, a maneuver that does nothing to challenge White’s play on the f-file. Hydra simply builds up its position and pounces when Black weakens his position even further.
Thus: 27. Nf5 h5?! (a radical way to slow White’s king-side game, but this move only creates another target in the Black camp) 28. b4 Kh7 29. Ng3 c5 (passive defense with 29…Kh6 30. Qe3+ Kh7 31. Rf5 is no better) 30. d5 Nd8 31. Rb1! (Adams is virtually unrecognizable in this game, allowing the b-file to fall into his opponent’s clutches) Nf7 32. bxc5 dxc5 33. Rb7, with a dominating position.
Hydra’s tactical accuracy now shines as it puts away its demoralized adversary: 36. Rc6! Nxe4 37. Qxh5+ Qxh5 38. Nxh5 Kh6 39. Re6!, a brutal simplifying shot whose point is seen in the line 39…Rxe6 40. dxe6 Kxh5 41. e7 Nd6 42. a5!, and Black cannot hold back both pawns.
It’s over anyway on 39…Rd8 40. Rxe4 Kxh5 41. a5, and Black resigns as he will soon run out of moves on 41…Rxd5 42. Ra4 Rd8 43. a6 Ra8 44. Ra7 c4 45. g3.
2005 U.S. Blind Chess Championship, Elkins, W.Va., June 2005
SiebrandtHajric
1. e4e521. Nxd5Rac8
2. d4exd422. h3Nf6
3. Nf3Nc623. Nxf6gxf6
4. Bc4Qe724. fxe5fxe5
5. 0-0d625. Rxf8+Rxf8
6. Nxd4Nxd426. Rf1Rc8
7. Qxd4Qe527. Rf7a6
8. Qd3Be628. Bg5Kg8
9. Bxe6fxe629. Rd7b5
10. f4Qc5+30. cxb5axb5
11. Be3Qc631. Rd8+Rxd8
12. c4Nf632. Bxd8c6
13. Nc3Be733. Bc7d5
14. Nb50-034. exd5cxd5
15. Nd4Qd735. Bxe5Kf7
16. Rad1Ng436. Kf2Ke6
17. Bc1e537. Bd4Kf5
18. Nf5Qe638. Kf3Kg5
19. Qd5Qxd539. a3Kf5
20. Ne7+Kh840. b3Black
resigns
Man vs. Machine Championship, Game 5, London, June 2005
HydraAdams
1. e4e522. Rf3Rxf3
2. Nf3Nc623. Qxf3Qg5
3. Bb5a624. Nc4Qg6
4. Ba4Nf625. h4f6
5. 0-0Be726. Ne3Re8
6. Re1d627. Nf5h5
7. c3Bg428. b4Kh7
8. d3Nd729. Ng3c5
9. Be3Bxf330. d5Nd8
10. Qxf3Bg531. Rb1Nf7
11. Bxc6bxc632. bxc5dxc5
12. Nd20-033. Rb7Rc8
13. Qg4Bxe334. Ra7Nd6
14. Rxe3Rb835. Rxa6Re8
15. b3Nc536. Rc6Nxe4
16. f4exf437. Qxh5+Qxh5
17. Qxf4Ne638. Nxh5Kh6
18. Qf2Rb539. Re6Rd8
19. Rf1Rg540. Rxe4Kxh5
20. d4Rg641. a5Black
21. a4Rf6resigns
David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by e-mail at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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