Monday, January 28, 2013

Cecil Rosner's Chess Column January 26, 2013 - Barry Rasmussen

Cecil asked me to post his column here with enhanced game notes. (I may put the game in a play through format in the next few days).

Chess Column for January 26, 2013
By Cecil Rosner

Ten years ago yesterday, Manitoba lost one of its strongest and steadiest master players.

Barry Rasmussen was just 47 when he died suddenly. He was one of the highest-rated players in Manitoba at the time, and his legacy in provincial chess circles endures.

Barry and I played in many junior tournaments in the early 1970s, and while we both pursued very different careers outside of chess, we maintained a lifelong interest in the game. In Barry’s case, that meant keeping current with modern chess developments and continuing to compete at the highest levels in Manitoba.

After earning his Master of Divinity degree in 1983, Barry worked as a pastor in Pass Lake, Ontario and Thompson before moving back to Winnipeg in 1990. Eventually he took a position in Teulon, becoming pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Teulon and Gethsemane in Inwood. 

While working full-time, he managed to earn his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba. And in addition to chess, he avidly pursued golf, curling and hockey.

Barry was a fierce competitor, even in friendly encounters. During an annual get-together with chess friends, he was always full of good humour and spirits, but he never gave an inch in any of the friendly games we played.

Barry’s wife, Karen, has remarried and lives in Stony Mountain. Daughter Amy runs her own counseling business and has two young boys, while Michelle had her first child last year and is finishing her last year of nursing school. “Barry would be very proud of his girls and how they have moved on with their lives, and both in caring professions,” says Karen.

I asked one of Barry’s good friends, Fletcher Baragar, to annotate one of his games:

White: Barry Rasmussen; Black: Jack Yoos (Winnipeg Invitational, Winnipeg 1995). 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.Bh6 Bh6 7.Qh6 Qa5 8.Bd3 c5 9.d5 Nbd7 10.Nf3 b5 11.oo c4 12.Be2 b4 13.Nd1 Qc5  (13… Ne4 is met by 14.Bc4 followed by Re1 and White has the better game.)
 
 14.Ne3 c3 15.bc Qc3 16.Qh4! (An improvement suggested by English Grandmaster Michael Adams. In the game Adams- Van Wely, Debrecen 1992 White played 16.Ng5, but after 16…Ng8! Black had the advantage). 
 
16…Ne5? (A mistake, but Barry`s refutation was not easy to foresee.)
 
 17.Ne5 Qe5 18.Nc4!! (Excellent. The point is that Black cannot reply with 18…Qe4 due to 19.Nd6+!)
 
 18…Qc3 19.e5! (Strong play by White, opening up lines in the center in order to take advantage of White`s big lead in development. It turns out that Black’s failure to castle constitutes a serious liability.)
 
 19…de 20.d6 Qd4 (Seeking relief by exchanging queens.)
 
 21.Qg3 Be6 22.Rad1 (another piece enters the attack.)
 
 22…Qf4 23. Ne5 Qg3 24.fg (Queens are exchanged, but in exchange another line is opened and the second White rook joins the fray.) 
 
24…ed 25.Bb5+ Kf8 
(Other moves lose quickly. For example 25…Ke7 26. Nc6+ and 27.Rf6. Alternatively, 25…Nd7 26.Rd6 Rd8 27.Nd7 Bd7 28.Rd7 Rd7 29.Rd1 and White wins a piece.) 
 
26.Rd6 Kg7 27.Ra6 
 (Black has done well to get to this point. Material is equal and the Black king looks a bit more secure. However, the activity of the White pieces is simply too much for Black. Barry displays excellent technique in realising this advantage.)
 
 27… Rac8 28.Nc6! Nd5 29.Nd4 Rc7 (The bishop has no place to go. 29…Bg4 is met by the simple 30.h3.) 
 
30.Re6 fe 31.Ne6+ Kh6 32.Nc7 Nc7 33.Bc4 (The bishop dominates the knight. Even with the marked reduction in material, the superior activity of the White pieces is telling.)
 
 33…Rc8 34.Rf7 a5 35.g4! (Once again, the Black king is in danger.)
 
 35…Ne8 36.Be6 Rc2 37.h4 Rc7 38.Bd7! (The final point. 39.Be8 threatens to simply win the knight, and the king has to worry about 39.g5  Kh5 40.Rh7 Mate. Black is finished)
 
38…Nf6 39.g5+ Kh5 40.gf Kh4 41.Re7 Black Resigns.         



2013 Kent Oliver Memorial Active Rating Changes


Manitoba Chess Association Active Ratings.                  2013 Kent Oliver Memorial
Name Old Perf. New Change
Baron, Gustav 1390 1654 1462 72
Boron, Anthony 2026 1822 1987 -39
Czarny, Keith 1663 1853 1662 -1
De Groot, Steven 1962 1926 1955 -7
Gannon, Keith 1596 1531 1579 -17
Gilbang, Jhun 1811 1846 1815 4
Greenberg, Harley 1784 1583 1746 -38
Huston-earle, Joshua 1091 1253 1093 2
Iyer, Chandrashekhar 2253 2214 2249 -4
Keer, Keer 1472 1853 1582 110
Klusa, Lawrence 1339 1595 1399 60
Klusa, Mark 1557 1657 1572 15
Li, Shuaihua 1269 1181 1247 -22
Ma, Derek 1740 1414 1677 -63
Melamedoff, Gustavo 2031 2228 2071 40
Moncal, Nilo 2133 2161 2140 7
Platt, Alex 1851 1958 1867 16
Remillard, John 1548 1525 1540 -8
Schulz, Manny 1842 1861 1846 4
Towns, Barry 1720 1690 1709 -11
Trueman, Francis 1537 1415 1515 -22
Valentino, Marcos 2236 2330 2246 10
Wolchock, Theo 1648 1522 1616 -32

Sunday, January 20, 2013

2013 MB Championship Qualifying

2013 Manitoba Championship Qualifying

8 player knockout
Qualifiers -
Qualifiers must play 10 standard rated games (somewhere in the world) during calendar 2012 in order to qualify. In order of preference - if the qualifying player did not want to participate or the qualifier is redundant, we continued down the list until there were 8 willing participants.

     1. Previous Year's Champion (TREVOR VINCENT)
     2. Winner of the Reserve (2012 Albert Boxer Memorial, KEVIN GENTES)
     3. MB Junior Champion (if rated above 1900) either Kevin Li or Leor Wasserman
     4. Top Manitoban in AY Memorial (Fletcher Baragar, but  only 5 games played)
     5,6. Top 2 finishers in the Tournament of Champions (Kevin Gentes, ARVIN DAWA)
     7. Player with the best MTPPS (KEVIN LI)
     8. Player with the 2nd best MTPPS (JEFF BABB)
     9. 2nd Manitoban in the AY Memorial (JEFF BABB, JASON REPA)
    10. Player with the 3rd best MTPPS (Kevin Gentes)
     11. Player with the 4th best MTPPS 
    12. etc.from the MTPPS

Eligible Participants in order:


1. Trevor Vincent
2. Kevin Gentes
3. Arvin Dawa
4. Kevin Li
5. Potentially Leor Wasserman if he wins the Junior playoff
6. Jeff Babb
7. Jason Repa

From the MTPSS

8. Aron Kaptsan
9. Samuel Lipnowski
10. Nilo Moncal
11. Leor Wasserman
12. Sam Cleto
13. Gustavo Melamedoff
14.Myron Kernetsky
15. Anthony Boron

So, the final spot hinges on the 2012 Junior Championship playoff, which is to be scheduled.














































Saturday, January 19, 2013

Cecil' Saturday Puzzle - January 12, 2013

from the Winnipeg Free Press
White to mate in 2 (Shankar Ram)
1. Qa3

Saturday, January 5, 2013

2013 January TNT Chess Tournament starts Tuesday, January 8

2013 January TNT
$ 15 entry fee  -   Prizes will be based on entries.

Location 4CM 42 University of Winnipeg - Rm 4CM42

 4 rounds - January 8, 15, 22, 29 - (This is not a knockout tournament, players will play all 4 rounds)

Please note that we intend to start the first round at 7:00 p.m. sharp.
Tuesday Night Tournaments are held every month of the year, (except for November and December when things are organized a little differently).
There is one game per week.All of the TNTs are Swiss (pairing) style tournaments with a time control of G /110 minutes [Each player has 1 hour 50 minutes  to complete their moves, the game will be be 3 hours and 40 minutes maximum]

The TNTs are typically 4 round events (one game for 4 consecutive Tuesdays in the month).

Start time is 7:00 pm and the TD will confirm costs.
$ 15 entry fee and CFC membership required[$ 20 for a one-tournament membership or $ 49 for 12 months- new members pay only $ 36 for the year for the CFC membership, Juniors $ 34 for the year, $ 24 for first-time members, $10 for a one-tournament membership])

Registration for tournament -Tuesday, January 8 - approximately 6:35 pm to 6:50 pm

Registration will be cut off at 6:50 pm. (If you think you may be late, please send an email tochessmanitoba 'at' gmail.com) before 5 pm (you can try later, but the wireless access at the U may be problematic)

Location: University of Winnipeg - Rm 4CM42

Easiest way to get there is to take the elevator at the north end (Ellice) to the 5th Floor(if that Elevator is operating) Otherwise, there is an elevator just to the west of the old Bookstore location.  Our goal is to start the first round at 7:00 p.m. sharp.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - December 29, 2012

from the Winnipeg Free Press
White to Mate in 2, Tomic
1. Rd8