Director's Woes

Yesterday, I ran a small scholastic chess tournament--the fourth annual Black Knights' Joust--with seventy-nine players in three sections (K-3, 4-6, 7-12).

As I was starting to pair the first round, a message popped up in SwissSys 8 telling me that I was running an unregistered copy. I had purchased version eight last May. The license covers one copy on my desktop computer, and one on my notebook. I received the codes from Thad Suits, developer of the software. This message at the start of the tournament revealed my oversight: I had installed SwissSys 8 on both computers, but only entered the codes in my desktop. I ran several test tournaments to familiarize myself with the changes in version 8, including several nifty new features, but failed to run these tests on the machine I use during events.

I've run more than a dozen scholastic tournaments with 70-142 players, one large state championship with over one thousand participants, and I've helped at many others. I've learned from some of the best in my state--Jon Licht, Elliott Neff, Rick Jorgensen. Even so, I always make errors. Most errors are small, insignificant, and easily concealed. I might have hid yesterday's error because I resolved it quickly. But, I answered the phone at a critical moment.


Cascading Errors

A few years ago, I plugged my computer into the wall, turned it on, and then left the TD room to set up tables, chess sets, other aspects of the venue. When I returned to my computer, it was off. The outlet was switch controlled, and dead. On battery power, my notebook was set to shut off after a certain period of idleness. That event had ninety players preregistered, and enough late entries to bring the total to one hundred forty-two. I transferred my computer to a live outlet (per my wife's command), got my assistant TD (who runs most of the area's adult tournaments) to enter the late registrants, and after some delay we were ready to pair round one. Already, we were running late when the pairings were sent to the printer.

The computer failed to find the default printer. The usual printer was connected, but ordinarily was part of a home network, and so the computer was looking for the printer in all the wrong places. It took a few minutes to cancel the print job, and switch to the printer as configured at the tournament site. However, a spooling process continued to run until--panic behind--we deciphered the problem and shut it off (thanks to Dr. John, who has more experience with SwissSys than the rest of us--he and my tremendously experienced "assistant TD" ran the pairings at last year's state tournament). Printing was slow through three rounds, and the tournament ran further behind.

We managed to finish about the time that would be normal if elementary age children used all of their available thirty minutes per game. However, kids play too fast. These scholastic events tend to run ahead of schedule, so "on-time" is considered late. My tournament announcements list start times that once seemed realistic:

Schedule: First round begins at 10:00 a.m. Check in 8:30 to 9:30. Late arrivals will forfeit first round. Rounds 2-5 at 11:15, 12:30, 2:00, 3:30, or ASAP
Winterfest Scholastic Tournament Announcement 2004

ASAP is the key. In Spokane, the children usually finish play before 3:00 pm.

We ran close to the published schedule near the end of the day, and trophies were distributed near 5:00pm. Parents were frustrated. Since that event, I've asked for 100% preregistration (and get 90-98%). I always test my printer on Friday night. I do not repeat the same errors from prior events.

Yesterday, the K-6 awards ceremony ended close to 3:00 pm. The high school/middle school players finished play just before 4:00 pm, and after clean-up I was in my vehicle ready to head home at 4:40 pm.


Courting Disaster

I find new errors to commit with each new event, and seem to be growing more inventive in how I can sabotage myself. Friday evening, my spouse and I ran through the checklist. She no longer attends these events, as she did for my first few. She did help significantly with the state tournament last spring, and complied a list of lessons learned. Our Friday night checklist did not include: "Is the pairing software registered?" It should have.

When the message of doom appeared on my screen yesterday morning, I felt a sense of terror that may have lasted fifteen seconds or three minutes. Of course, I had options: pair by hand (not in a scholastic tournament of this size if that can be avoided), recreate the tournament set-up in an older version of SwissSys (five to ten minutes delay), get the codes before round three.

I called my wife. I told her where to find the email from Thad Suits and the information in it that I would need. She set to work, so I knew two things: I would have the codes in time, and I would be buying flowers on the way home. At 10:11 am, players were seated for round one. I was beginning the meeting for players and parents only a few minutes later than normal, and my phone rang. It was my wife, so I answered.

Don Lester captured the moment and posted the photo to Facebook.



As I talked on the phone in front of more than one hundred players, parents, and coaches, my wife told me she had sent a text message with the necessary codes.

Please add mobile phone to the list of essential tournament director's equipment.

Pawn Wars

In Breaking Through: How the Polgar Sisters Changed the Game of Chess (2005), Susan Polgar mentions a game she played with her father when she was starting to learn chess.

After introducing the chess board and the pieces, for some time we only played "pawn wars". That means games where only the pawns participate without the rest of the army. The goal of the game was whoever queens a pawn first wins. Then later we added the kings and playing all the way to checkmate.
Polgar, 6-7

I had found that young children enjoy what we had been calling the pawn game a few years before this book came out. After reading that passage a few years ago, I've increased my investment in pawn wars as a teaching tool. It is a central element in my private lessons with young students. In classrooms full of seven year old children, I start with pawns.

The game can be modified easily. Last spring, a kindergarten student that had been playing chess one month with his grandfather showed some promise, and his father made arrangements for me to offer some instruction. We played pawn wars with the kings. He started with eight pawns to my six--my rook pawns were missing. It took him perhaps two or three games to learn that he could lure my king to one side of the board by creating a passed pawn there, then create one on the other side that was outside my reach. After several victories, we played eight against seven.

One need not use all the pawns.

The classic Szén Position is a challenge even to strong players that still need work on the endgame. The player to move has a theoretical win, but precision is necessary to keep the win in hand.



According to David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, The Oxford Companion to Chess (1996), the three pawn problem--a king against three connected passed pawns--had been studied for over two hundred years without success until Jószef Szén solved it in 1836.

Another variation of pawn wars that I've been using the past few weeks appears to be a theoretical draw. Remove the kings, and the player on move should win.

Monday Tactics

This position originates in Stocek-Cifka, Pardubice 2008, and was published as Chess Informant 103/302. I played it against Hiarcs 12 beginning with a move given in the annotations. It required twenty-four moves and two take-backs to force the machine's resignation. Then I let the engine run for two hours. It favored the move played by Stocek, but slightly.

White to move

Tactics Training

Here's a dirty little secret: I have not been doing my tactics training the past few months. Summer was busy, and the constant activity has not let up. I attempted six problems on Chess.com's Tactics Trainer this morning, failing three.

Here are two. The first originates from a correspondence game, Hayami-Rittenhouse, 1989. The second from Gheorghiu-Ljubojevic, Manila 1973.

Black to move



Black to move

Transpositions

In round three of the Spokane Chess Club's Fall Championship, I had Black against Nikolay Bulakh. Nikolay is a rapidly improving high school player. He has been coming to chess club since last spring, and he plays on Chess.com. Although we have played a few casual games, and some blitz, this was our first rated game.

I learned after the game that he had done some preparation, looking at perhaps my best game ever--a French I played in the City Championship Match in 2008. He did not prepare for the course our game took. Indeed, I had only a general opening plan before we sat down to play: play something that puts him in unfamiliar terrain.


Bulakh,N (1479) - Stripes,J (1823) [B43]
Spokane, 2009

1.e4 e6

Everyone in Spokane plays the French. At least that's what I've heard some players from Seattle state. Several of Spokane's top players have certainly developed a reputation for playing the French. Our top player, FIDE Master David Sprenkle does not particularly like playing against it. When he came to my board during a club simul this summer, he said, "you play the French," then played 1.c4. I said, "But, I was planning to play the Sicilian." For many years, I always replied 1...c5 to 1.e4. The past few years, 1.e4 e6 has been just as automatic. The past year, I have aimed at flexibility and choice. I favor the French, but hold the Sicilian as a possible surprise weapon.

2.d4 c5

The Franco-Benoni often catches players by surprise. I like it because 1.e4 players are often uncomfortable going into queen pawn openings. I have had some good results with the Benoni, and have been known to play the Benko on occasion, although rarely from the Franco-Benoni.

3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4

Nickolay opts for the Sicilian. I could play the Scheveningen, a solid opening choice.

4...a6

But, the Taimanov is sufficiently offbeat that most club players are not well prepared with a plan.

5.Nc3 Qc7

The Kan, or Paulsen, puts most players on their own.

6.Be2 Nf6 7.0–0



We are still in mainline opening theory, at least it is a mainline if that term applies to any line found in the tables of the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, and not yet relegated to the footnotes. My opponent has used twelve minutes getting to this position; I've used three.

Black's normal move here is 7...Bb4, which generally leads to positions described in the books as unclear. I have played it in online games, but more often have thrown out an offbeat move that first appeared in Chess Informant 63/148 in Perez-Garcia, 1995 from the Cuban Championship. This game is found in the footnotes of ECO.

7...Bc5 8.Nb3

Perez-Garcia continued 8.Be3

8...Ba7

8...Bb4 may be better. I've used four minutes to my opponent's twenty-two. Tucked back on a7, my bishop will force my opponent to think about it for the rest of the game.

9.Kh1 h5



9...Nc6 has been played, but this move does not appear in my database. I spent five minutes considering this risky move, and decided that it gave my opponent more problems to solve than it was likely to generate for me.

10.h3

10.f4! is nearly always a useful move against the Sicilian. Moreover, when a player has delayed castling, the king must be punished.

10...b5 11.Bg5

White wants to take advantage of the difficulty Black will have to castle.

11...b4 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Nb1



13.Na4 loses the knight.

13...Bb7

13...Nc6 also attracted attention. I have used seventeen minutes; Nikolay spent forty-five. We've been at the board a bit over an hour, and I am hapy with my position because I think my pieces are coordinated much better than his.

14.N1d2 Nc6 15.Nc4 Ke7

I did think about 15...O-O-O, but saw no benefits to giving up the exchange. My plan is to create some tactics, possibly with a rook sacrifice, then swing the other rook over for the coup de grace. Before playing 15...Ke7, it was necessary to be certain my opponent could not wrest open the center. It seems, however, that my attack is coming faster, my pieces are better coordinated, and any action in the center can be met with superior force. I spent eight minutes thinking about this move--my longest think of the game.

16.Bxh5??



It is always tempting to be ahead a pawn, but this error helps Black launch an attack against the White king. 16.Qd2 at least threatens to start a fight in the center. My opponent has used half of his allotted two hours.

16... Ne5

This move is not the computer's choice. According to my chess software, my next several moves reveal my failure to press the attack with the most precise and accurate moves.

17.Nxe5

17...Ncd2 makes Black's job more difficult.

17...Qxe5 18.Bg4 Bxe4

18...Qxe4 forces concessions in the pawn structure, and wins a piece.

19.Qd2??



19... f5

Again, Rag8 is superior to my moves.

20.f4??

White's string of blunders testify to the difficulty of the position in which he has found himself, perhaps due to having been lured into an unfamiliar opening. At least, I am tempted to give myself credit for creative transpositions.

20... fxg4!



It took me two or three minutes to realize there was no reason to move the queen.

21.Qxb4+ d6 22.Kh2 g3+ 23.Kxg3 Qg7+ 24.Kh2 Qxg2# 0–1