IRISH CHAMPIONSHIP, 1999

The 8th Irish Chess Championship for the visually impaired
took place during the October bank holiday weekend, at the
National Council for the Blind in Dublin.  The tournament,
which was controlled by Tim Conlan,  had its smallest
attendance ever and the poor turnout was mainly due to the
unavoidable absence of some of our long-time stalwarts.  With
just six entries, the format was an all-play-all and the
defending Champion, Michael Delaney, proved himself well
capable of retaining his title when he conceded just one draw
to Michael Keating.  Here is the game which clinched the title
for the Phibsboro player.


       EAMONN CASEY - MICHAEL DELANEY, BUDAPEST DEFENCE
             BCAI IRISH CHAMPIONSHIP 1999, ROUND 5

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5 3 d5 Be7 4 Nc3 0-0 5 Nf3 d6 6 Bg5 Bg4 7 e3
Nbd7 8 Be2 b6 9 b4 Nxd5 10 Nxd5 Bxg5 11 Nxc7 (Much better for
white was 11 Nxg5 Bxe2 12 Qxe2 Qxg5 13 Nxc7 Rc8 14 Nb5 a6 15
Nxd6 Rc6 16 0-0-0 Qxg2.) 11 - Bxf3 12 Nxa8 Bxe2
13 Qxe2 Qxa8 14 0-0 Be7 15 Rfd1 Nf6 16 a3 Rc8 17 Rac1 h6 18 f3
Rc6 19 Rd3 Qc8 20 Rdc3 Qf5 21 e4 Qe6 22 Qc2 Qd7 23 Rd1 Qc8 24
Rc1 Nh5 25 Qa4 Qc7 26 Qc2 Nf4 27 a4 Ne6 28 Qa2 Nd4 29 Kf1 Bg5
30 Rd1 Be7 31 a5 ba 32 ba Ra6 33 Ra1 Nc6 34 Ra3 Bd8 35 Ke2
Rxa5 36 Rxa5 Qxa5 37 Qxa5 Bxa5  and black went on to win.


The final standings in the Championship were: 
1. M. Delaney 4.5; 2. S. Loftus 4; 
3. M. Keating 3.5; 4. J. McAloon 2; 
5. E. Casey 1; 6. S. Hall 0.

The top three finishers in the Championship who are willing to
accept, qualify for the Irish Olympic team and These three
select the remaining member or members of the team.  The 11th
Chess Olympiad for the Blind and Visually Impaired
is to take place from 28th August to the 8th September 2000 in
the mountain resort of Zakopane, Poland.


                    OTHER BCAI ACHIEVEMENTS

Congratulations are due to Ernie McElroy on his recent victory
in the BCA correspondence league.  Ernie already holds the BCA
Championship which he won last year and this together with the
double he won earlier in the decade makes him perhaps the
leading correspondence player of the Nineties.

Meanwhile, in the inter-banks Tournament held during the first weekend in Nov., Sean Loftus was Captaining his Bank of Ireland team to victory for the second year in a row.  The venue was the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght  and it was the bank's third consecutive victory in all.

A week later, Sean and myself were in attendance at the Ted Williams Memorial Tournament held in Sheffield, the hometown of a man who was a dedicated member of the BCA for no less than 66 years.  While our achievements failed to put either of us among the prize-winners, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate the life of this great character who contributed so much to the development of Chess among the blind.


                  IRISH OPEN TOURNAMENT, 2000

This event will be held at the National Council for the Blind,
45 Whitworth Road, Dublin, from Friday 27 (day of arrival) to
Monday 30
October.  The five-round Swiss will have a senior and a junior

section and will be open to all visually impaired players
and their guides. The senior will be limited to players graded
over 1400 Elo, while the junior will cater for those 
graded below 1400. Round 1 will commence on Saturday morning
at 10 and the event will conclude on Monday with prize-giving
at about 2.15 PM. 

Accommodation will be at the Maples House Hotel, iowna Road
which is situated a short distance from the tournament venue. 
Space is limited to about forty persons with very few single
rooms available and therefore Priority will be given to
players and guides, while any overflow will be accommodated at
a nearby guesthouse.

The all-in cost for three nights bed and breakfast and for two
evening meals (Saturday and Sunday) is œ120 (Irish) and for
others œ150.  The
closing date for entries and payment of fees is August 31. 
Monies should be made payable to the Braille Chess Association
of Ireland.  Entries are subject to approval by the BCAI.

Contact Larry Currid, 157 Killala Road, Dublin 7.  tel:
+353-1-8681314 (home) or Eamonn Casey at Dublin 8210111
(office) fax 8205078.  


                       Philip Doyle PRO_


Troisdorf open 1999, Round 6.

White: Elena Kouznetsova [2062] Black: Chris Ross [2000]

Sicilian defence

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6  (Not my usual for I knew that she would play 5 c4 against Nc6 or a6. I just couldn't be bothered with the Maroczy bind at this time. But Fritz plays 4 - Nf6 so why not me?!!)  5 Nc3 Bb4  (Is this correct? I'm sure Fritz plays this, but my Fritz is down at the moment and I can't try it out. But it can't be bad, and I'm sure white has to play 6 Bd3 now.)  6 e5  (A shock. Logical in a way, but surely the pin is too strong and can white really ignore it?  I was trying to see if 6 - Qa5 was on here, but how does black reply after 7 Nb5?  Maybe, 6- Nd5 is the best, in reply to white's seventh move.  I'm not convinced though and I feel that black should be able to punish white for playing so loosely in the opening. Surely, my move can't be so bad?)  6 - Ne4 7 Qg4 Nxc3  (Surely, I'm committed now?)  8 Qxg7 Rf8 9 a3  (My opponent was relying on this tactical trap to get out of losing a piece. But it doesn't though. I can still win the piece.  The big question here is, should I win the piece?  I see no reason why not. If I don't and retreat either the bishop to E7 or the Knight to D5, white will take the piece en prise and then play Bh6.  So, with this decision in mind, I excepted the piece, and the loss of the exchange together. This will give me two pieces for the rook, but more important, two pawns too. Well?)  9 - nb5+ 10 axb4 Nxd4 11 Bh6 Qe7 12 Bd3 f5  (maybe, this is where I start to go wrong. I saw that my H pawn was going to fall and I thought that by forcing exchanges, the game should become easier and my two pieces more effective. Well, I suppose they would, if they were developed.  White's game has to revolve around her passed H pawn, after she has won mine. Therefore, this was the quickest way I could get my king across to it and force some exchanges simultaneously. But should I have left the f pawn at home and tried to gang up on the E pawn by other means? If so, how? And I'm worried about Qxh7 leaving the bishop hitting the rook and keeping the queens on, which would not be to my satisfaction.  13 - Nbc6 might run into 14 c3 and the knight has nowhere to go except for f5. Could white then chop the knight leaving my pawns very knackered and surely, maintain the better position.  So, with all this in mind, am I already in a losing position?)  13 exf6 Qxf6 14 Qxf8+ Qxf8 15 Bxf8 Kxf8 16 Bxh7 Kg7 17 Bd3 Nbc6 18 c3 Ne5 19 Be4 Ndc6  (19 - Nf5 might be possible, but I was worried that white would chop it leaving my pawns not very well placed, although the f pawn does stop the advance of the g pawn, but the d pawn looks a bit sickly.)  20 h4 d5 21 Bc2 Bd7 22 h5 Nf7 23 000 Ne7  (I was getting a bit lost for ideas now. I seem to have the slightly better material, although when you think about it, I should be a pawn down. But my pieces, although defending very well, don't seem to be doing anything. If I'm to activate the rook, where does it go?  I played the knight back to keep an eye on the d pawn and come across to these advancing king-side pawns. Ne5 might have done the same job, but I'm worried about the advance of the white f pawn.  Somehow, I thought I was winning this position, but maybe this is my problem at the moment: disillusionment.)  24 g4 e5 25 Rde1 Re8  (Was white threatening to advance the pawn to F4?)  26 f3 Kh6 27 Bd3 a6 28 Bc2  (This playing around with the bishop definitely gave me the impression that my opponent didn't think she had a winning position. She seemed to be happy playing around and to be satisfied with the draw.  Or am I kidding myself again, and she's trying to put me in Zugzwang?  I don't know how to continue in this situation. I had about 6 minutes to reach the time control of 40 moves. She had about the same. But in this position, I'm at a loss what to do.  Can you inform me?  How am I to activate my pieces and keep an eye on these king side pawns?  What is my plan?)  28 -nc6 29 Bg6 Rf8 30 Bxf7 Rxf7  (Exchanged quite happily by my opponent. Perhaps, I shouldn't have allowed this exchange. But aren't my two pieces stronger?)  31 Reg1 Kg5 32 Kd2 Rf6 33 Ke3 Rh6  (I was constantly worried that my opponent had the sacrifice h6 and I would be forced to take it, and after the exchange of rooks, white had g5+ AND THE PAWNS COULD BECOME DANGEROUS.)  34 Rh2 Be6 35 Rd2 Bg8 36 Rf2 Rf6 37 Rh2  (AND MY OPPONENT OFFERED ME THE DRAW.  I WAS ON 3.5 OUT OF 5 IN THIS TOURNAMENT, AND I REALLY NEEDED TO WIN TO BE UP THERE IN THE TOP FLIGHT. The draw wouldn't have done me any good. My opponent didn't seem to be able to do much. Just play around with the rooks. I suppose in this position, I have contained the pawns quite well, and I don't think they can advance without being endangered.  I believed my two pieces were the stronger, and wanted to win. I thought I could gang up on these king side pawns, but how do you do it?  I wanted the win and tried to follow this flimsy reasoning, but went about it in a clumsy way.  I refused the draw.)  37 -Bh7 38 Rf2 Ne7 39 Rh2 d4+  (Opening up the position and giving white another passed pawn on the king side. This was my decisive mistake, I think. But what else? If not this, how else can I push the win? I thought my own passed pawn might come strong, but the open files beckoned the white rooks in.)  40 cxd4 Nd5+ 41 Kf2 exd4  (41 -Nxb4 was extremely tempting here. If 42 Dxe5  (d3+ wins the pawn back, but I lose my passed pawn and white has gained another. I have no compensation except for having won the B pawn.)

............

I am writing this section in the middle of the night after having spent several hours awake in my bed having a hopelessly sleepless night. I've just thought of the spectacular: 41 - e4!! And is this winning for black? The F pawn is pinned and if I win that, then the other pawns can't last much longer, can they? If 42, Rg3, then do I have 42 - E3+! And 43 Ke2 Nf4+ or 43 Ke1 Nf4 in any case and the E pawn advances to E2 and the knight can come into d3. Have I found the winning combination?!!!! Don't you hate that, when you are lying in your bed and think of the winning move?!?!?!?!?!

Back to the game.

42 Kg3!  (Maybe I could put this down as the winning move for White. She clears the second rank for her rook and aids the white pawn's advance. A clever, but logical move. Black's got nothing now, I don't reckon. His game lies in his passed pawn, but it advances to no effect.)  42 - d3 43 Re1 Rd6  (44 Re5+ was too big a threat with G5+ coming in.)  44 Rd2 Nb6  (Wanting to come into C4 and try and push the passed pawn through.  Too slow however, and the white pawns advance unmercilessly.)  45 f4+ Kf6 46 g5+ Kg7 47 b3!  (What's that about the quiet moves always giving the final blow. What a beautiful way to seal black up. What use is the black knight now and how does black continue?)  47 -Bf5 48 Re7+ Kg8?  (48 - Kh8 avoids white's pretty combination to finish me off. Nevertheless, I still reckon black is lost.)  49 g6 Be6  (49 - Bd7 held on a few more moves.)  50 h6 Bd. 51 h7+ Kh8 52 g7+ Kxh7 53 Rh2+ 1-0  (A very pretty finish!  Well done to the girl. Hands up to her. I certainly don't mind losing when I lose like this, unlike last week. This type of chess teaches, and doesn't depress.

Chris "the destroyed" Ross