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I have been intrigued by GM Adorjan’s 10…Nf5! line in the B96 Najdorf Sicilian ever since I saw it in New In Chess Yearbook about 10 years ago.

Earlier today, a friend gave me a chance to play the line. Previously (1999) a CCLA correspondence opponent responded with 11. g3 and I won easily after 11…Nxh4 12. gxh4 Qxf6. This time I faced 11.Bxg7.

J.Peterson vs. F.Niro, Boise Idaho, November 28, 2008

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nc6 8. e5 h6 9. Bh4 Nxd4 10. exf6 (more popular is 10.Qxd4) 10…Nf5! (Adorjan’s line) 11. fxg7 Qxh4+ 12. g3 Nxg3 13. gxh8(Q) Ne4+! (this is as far as I remembered from earlier study) 14. Ke2 Qf2+ 15. Kd3 Nc5+ 16. Kc4 b5+ 17. Nxb5 axb5+ 18. Kc3 b4+ 19. Kc4 d5+ 20. Kxb4 Ra4+ 21. Kb5 Bd7+ 22. Kb6 Nd3+ 23. Kc7 Qa7# (0-1)

Can you see where White might have improved his play after Adorjan’s 10…Nf5! ?

Here is the solution to the Gulko-Schneider endgame posted here 11/22/08:

The game continued 1. Ke3 Kc4 2. Ke4 f6 (if 2…Kxb5 3. Kd5 Ka4 4. Ke5 Kb4 5. Kd6 Kc4 6. d5 b5 7. Kc6 b4 8. d6 b3 9. d7 b2 10. d8(Q) b1(Q) 11. Qd5+ Kc3 12. Qa5+! Qb4 13. Qxb4+ Kxb4 14. Kd6 +-) 3. Kf5 Kxd4 4. Kxf6 Kc5 5. Kg5 Kxb5 6. Kxh5 Kc4 7. Kxg4 b5 8. h4 b4 9. h5 b3 10. h6 b2 11. h7 b1(Q) 12. h8(Q) Qe4+ 13. f4 Qg6+ 14. Kh4 Kd3 15. g4 Ke4 16. Kg3 Qb6 17. Qe5+ Kd3 18. f5 Qg1+ 19. Kh4 (1-0)

According to the search engine Fritz, 1. Kc3 also wins as follows: 1…Ke4 2. Kc4 f5 3. Kc3 f4 4. Kc4 f3 5. Kc3 Kd5 6. Kd3 Ke6 7. Ke4 Kd6 8. d5 Kc5 9. Ke5 Kxb5 10. d6 Kc6 11. Ke6 b5 12. d7 Kc7 13. Ke7 b4 14. d8(Q)+ Kb7 15. Kd7 b3 and White mates in 2 moves.

1. f3? Gives Black a draw after: 1…gxf3 2. Ke3 f2 3. Kxf2 Kxd4 4. Kf3 Kc5 5. h4 f5 6. Kf4 Kb5 7. Kg5 Kc4 8. Kg5 Kc4 9. Kxh5 b5 10. Kg5 b4 11. h6 b2 12. h7 b1(Q) 13. h8(Q) Qd3 14. Qe5 Kb3 15. Qxf5 Qxg3+ (1/2-1/2)

This endgame is worth spending some time studying. I will give a free chess book to anyone who finds an improvement for Black.

The U.S. Women’s Team, Bronze medal winners at the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresdan.

Both U.S. Chess teams finshed strong to win bronze medals at the 38th Chess Olympiad completed yesterday in Germany.

In the Open Olympiad, Armenia defended its 2006 title to win the gold with 19 points. Israel was second with 18. The United States won their last round match against Ukraine, despite being outrated on every board, to take bronze on tiebreak over the Ukraine. Both teams finished with 17 points out of 22 in the 11-round tournament.

In the Women’s Olympiad, Georgia and Ukraine, both countries from the former Soviet Union, tied for first with 18 points. The team from Georgia took the gold medals on tiebreak (411.5 to 406.5). The U.S. won the tiebreak over Russia and Poland for the bronze. All three teams finished a point back of the leaders with 17 points.

The scoring system this year was based on two points for each match win and one point for a tie. The U.S. Open (Men’s) Team was ranked 10th going into the event and the Women’s team was ranked 7th.

Members of the U.S. Open Team (8 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses) were Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Onischuk, Yuri Shulman and Varuzhan Akobian. All five players finished with a winning record. The top three boards each scored 6 1/2 points out of ten games played. Complete results are here.

The U.S. Women’s Team consisted of Irina Krush, Anna Zatonskih, Rusa Goletiani, Katerina Rohonyan and Tatev Abrahamyan. Complete results for the U.S. Women’s team are here.

Anna Zatonskih won the individual gold medal for her 8/10 performance on Board 2. Rusa Goletiana played all 11 rounds and finished with a 9-2 record to take the silver medal for Board 3.

Thank you to Susan Polgar and Rob Huntington (AP) for their fast updates on the tournament. Please go to Susan Polgar’s blog for detailed results and many, many photos of the 38th Chess Olympiad.

This is a follow-up to my earlier blog  (11/23) concerning the US and Canadian health care systems.

Click here to see the original blog entry.

Barbara from South Carolina responded:

“Boy, that’s the truth. I’m currently in nursing school and the numbers we were told were (1) 1/3 of total US healthcare costs are spent on people who are dead within a month, and (2) 1/2 of total US healthcare costs are spent on people who are dead within six months.

(Regarding quality), we should also mention that life expectancy is longer in Canada than in the US. Canada ranks 8th in average life expectancy (81.16 years) while the US ranks 46th (78.14).

Source

My response:

Good point about the life expectancy, Barbara, but the difference has to do with life style rather than the health care systems.

US citizens drive too fast for the traffic, have more stress, smoke more, drink more, exercise less and eat more junk food. In other words, Canadians generally take better care of their bodies.

Both U.S. Chess teams remain in the hunt for medals at the 38th chess Olympiad currently underway in Dresden, Germany. Each has 15 points out of 20 after ten of eleven scheduled rounds. The final matches will be contested on Tuesday, November 25th.

The Men’s (Open) team trails Armenia and Ukraine by two points while the Women’s team is behind Poland by the same margin. A total of 156 teams are competing and 152 countries are represented in the Open event. 119 teams are entered in the Women’s tournament.

Here are the standings in the Open Olympiad:
1st (tie) – Armenia (8W, 1D, 1L) and Ukraine (7W, 3D, 0L), 17 points
3rd (tie) — China and Israel, 16 points
5th (tie) — United States, Netherlands, Russia and Spain, 15 points

The U.S. Men’s team entered the bi-annual tournament ranked 10th on the basis of average FIDE rating. All five of the players have plus scores for the event:
Gata Kamsky (2729) 5.5/9
Hikaru Nakamura (2704) 6/9
Alexander Onischuk (2644) 5.5/9
Yuri Shulman (2616) 4.5/7
Varuzhan Akobian (2606) 4/6

The key loss was an eighth round defeat 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 at the hands of the team from Russia. The Americans will have their work cut out in the final match against Ukraine, where they will be outrated on all four boards:

USA vs. Ukraine, Round 11
Bd. 1 Kamsky vs. Vassily Ivanchuk (2786)
Bd. 2 Nakamura vs. Sergey Karjakin (2730)
Bd. 3 Onischuk vs. Pavel Eljanov (2720)
Bd. 4 Shulman vs. Zagar Efimenko (2680)

In other final round matches, China will play Armenia, Israel is matched up against Netherlands, and Russia takes on Spain.

Here is a link to the round by round results of the U.S. Men’s (Open) Olympiad Team.

Here are the standings in the Women’s Olympiad:
1st – Poland (8W, 1D, 1L), 17 points
2nd (tie) – Ukraine, Georgia and Serbia, 16 points
5th (tie) – United States (7W, 1D, 2L) and Russia, 15 points

The U.S. Women’s team entered the tournament ranked 7th. Like the men, all of the players have plus scores for the event:
Irina Krush 2452 6.5/9
Anna Zatonskih 2440 7.5/9
Rusudan Goletiani 2359 8/10
Katerina Rohonyan 2334 5/9
Tatev Abrahamyan 2286 1/3

The U.S. women lost their key match to Poland 3-1 in Round 9. They will play France in the final round:
USA vs. France, Round 11
Bd. 1 Krush vs. Marie Sebag (2533)
Bd. 2 Zatonskih vs. Almira Skripchenko (2455)
Bd. 3 Goletiani vs. Sylvia Collas (2352)
Bd. 4 Rohonyan vs. Sophie Milliet (2366)

In the other final round matches, Poland will take on Ukraine, Georgia is slated to play Serbia, and Netherlands goes against Russia.

Here is a link to the round by round results of the U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team.

Click here to visit my private blog.

I said in my opening blog that I would occasionally vary from chess and poker to chase a few rabbits. Today is a good example.

It’s been a while since the last time someone asked me a health care question. This one came today from a Canadian author on AbsoluteWrite.com. I’ll share my answer:

Q. As an expert, what do you think about the differences in health care between the two countries, United States and Canada?

A. Loaded question.

Here’s a loaded answer:

The problem with Americans is they think death is an option. In other words, way too much money is spent on heroic measures during the final months, weeks, and days of life (as compared to Canada). Americans are more litiginous, meaning that the lawsuits and malpractice insurance expenses drive up the costs significantly. Same for demographics (our baby boomers are aging), and for drugs, technology, et. al.

On the other hand Canada (like UK), where there is national health insurance, translates to rationing. People die waiting for procedures that are readily available in the US. The latest technological innovations are not available in every city, like the US.

Quality, measured objectively, is better in the US, which is why so many Candians who can afford it come to the US for their care.

It’s a much more complicated subject than what I just described above, but those are the highlights in general terms. Even in the US, there is great variability in regions of the country and based on socio-economic factors.

To summarize, using the five canons of health care as a basis for comparison:

Availabiliy -More health care resources per capita are available in the US.
Accessibility - Waiting times are less in the US.
Continuity - The system is more coordinated in Canada.
Quality - For most procedures, outcomes are better in the US.
Cost - Health care services are more affordable in Canada, and I’m not talking just about the patient share; the overall cost is lower for the reasons mentioned above.

I have been studying this topic for more than 40 years, have written about it, have been on radio talk shows answering questions about it, and have taught about it at the university level.

Hope this answers your question. I can give a longer version if you want.

Best wishes,
Frank

Note: I was so excited to write about health care again, that I included this in my private blog, This Week’s Chess Safari.

I will give an update on the Dresden Olympiad in tomorrow’s blog.

What’s the best move? It is Grandmaster Boris Gulko’s turn to move (he is playing with the white pieces against Dmitry Schneider). Can you determine the winning move(s) from this position? I’ll add the details next week.

Here are your choices:

a. Kc3

b. Ke3

c. f3

Hint: Sometimes there is more than one “correct” move in a position. The important thing is to choose a PLAN that will lead to your GOAL. In this particular case, you are a pawn ahead. So the goal is to reach a WINNING POSITION. If you can envision a position that is clearly winning for you, and identify a series of moves that will lead you to that position, then go ahead and choose the move that initiates the series. Remember as the implementation of your plan proceeds to take the time to update your evaluation each time your opponent moves.

I will give the answer and some analysis in my Thanksgiving Day blog.

Okay, this is not original, and I admit it. Problem is…there are so many variations of the story on the Internet (just Google it and see), most of which are not credited to an original author, that I don’t know who to give credit to. Anyway, this is my version adapted to online poker (in that sense, it IS original), and I give credit to my landlord, Larry Stone, who first sent me an e-mail on the subject.

For those who need a good laugh today, here is a multi-step process which should be performed in the correct sequence. A simplified version of How to Give a Dog a Pill while playing online poker is given at the end:

Step 1. First of all, make sure you are not in a hand while initiating this process. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

Step 2. Click ‘Fold’ for next hand before retrieving pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. Be sure to push mouse out of cat’s reach.

Step 3. At this point it may be best to go on ‘Post & Fold’, unless it is your big blind. In that case, just press ‘Call Any’ and retrieve cat from bedroom. Throw soggy pill away.

Step 4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. If first to act, press ‘Bet Pot’ (sorry Hazy) and force cat’s jaws open. Push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut until it is your action. At this point you should be able to play hand normally, assuming that you would normally fold here after your opponent either called or raised your pot bet. If you have a good hand, screw the cat and call your spouse to give him the damn pill.

Step 5. Otherwise, retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of
wardrobe. Call friend for help if spouse or significant other is unavailable. It might be best to go on ‘Post & Fold’ now until the bleeding in your forearm stops. You will obviously need both hands free to proceed.

Step 6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees. Hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse or friend to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.

Step 7. At this point you are obviously on TiLT. Resume tournament and press ‘Bet All-in’. Better to take your anger out on your opponents than the friggin house pet. Retrieve cat from curtain rail and get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler & computer printer and to repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

Step 8. After moving all-in again (if you still have chips), wrap cat in large towel and get friend to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

Step 9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to friend’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap. Place computer monitor right side up on the table and log out of the playing site.

Step 10. Retrieve cat from neighbor’s shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

Step 11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw torn and bloody tee-shirt away and get new one from bedroom.

Step 12. Call fire department to retrieve the little monster from the sixty-foot tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

Step 13. Tie the ignorant feline’s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy-duty pruning gloves. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

Step 14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get friend to drive you to the emergency room. Sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and arm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

Step 15. Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters. Log back on to the site and sign up for the next tourney.

How To Give A Dog A Pill while playing online poker

Step 1. Raise three times the big blind first to act. Wrap the pill in bacon.

Step 2. Toss it in the air. Resume play.

Two-time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion Jennifer Shahade cashed in the World Series of Poker Ladies Event #15 for the second year in a row. She won $4,765 for her 33rd place finish in the tournament held on June 8 & 9 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. In 2007 Jennifer finished 17th and was awarded $8,426.

The 2008 Ladies event brought celebrities and poker pros together to determine the best female poker player in the world. With a tough blind structure moving the action at a brisk pace, the field of 1,190 was narrowed to 62 by the end of the first day. Jennifer Shahade had 22,000 chips going into day two, well behind the chip leader Shavonne Mitchell (94,000). She played well and lasted far into the second day, but ran out of luck with just 4 tables remaining. 

The chip leader going into the final table was Svetlana Gromenkova, who finished second to well known actrees Jennifer Tilley in the Ladies event at the 2005 WSOP. Gromenkova defeated Anh Le with pocket kings against Le’s ace-six in the final pot of the tournament. Svetlana took home the gold bracelet, $224,702 in cash, and earned the title of Ladies World Champion of Poker. 

Jennifer Shahade showed, once again, that the skills required to become a successful chess master are transferrable to tournament poker. USCF masters Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Tom Brownscombe, Boris Kreiman, Steve Stoyko, Ben Johnson, John Murphy, Walter Browne, Ylon Schwartz and Ken “Top Hat” Smith, among others, have succeeded in big money poker tournaments.

Jennifer’s brother, International Chess Master Greg Shahade, has been an accomplished poker tournament player since 2003, when he finished 8th in the United States Poker Championship. In the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, Greg placed in the money in a field of 2,596 players ($9,350).

Her dad, Michael, has also had success at the poker table. His best result was in the 2008 World Poker Tour event at the Borgata in Atlantic City (held in January) when he placed 23rd in the $300 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event and won $2,226. 

Jennifer Shahade recently published her memoir, Chess Bitch (Siles Press 2005), in which she shares fascinating stories of women in the ultimate intellectual sport.

Note: This story originally appeared on Frank Niro’s blog, This Week’s Chess Safari, October 13, 2008.

The photo of Jennifer Shahade at the 2008 WSOP is from her web site: http://jennifershahade.com/

Yes, I know. This is a (mostly) chess and poker blog. But the news that the Boston Red Sox traded Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals reminded me of Coco’s great quote in my last April Fool’s blog (see below). So here’s one for the chess playing baseball lovers out there. Happy belated April Fools Day. The info about FM John Curdo is “mostly” true.

Those who know me understand that Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, is my favorite place in the whole world. For a sports fan, what better place to be…dead or alive?

Fenway Park is perhaps most famous for the left field wall called the Green Monster. Constructed in 1934, the 37-foot, two-inch high wall is 240 feet long, has a 22-foot deep foundation, and was constructed from 30,000 pounds of Toncan iron. The wall measures 310 feet from home plate down the left field line (although some players and media members have claimed that it is closer to home plate, more like 298 feet, 7 inches!).

The wall houses one of two remaining original manual scoreboards in the major leagues (the other at Wrigley Field). Running vertically down the scoreboard, between the columns of out-of-town scores, are the initials “TAY” and “JRY” displayed in Morse code; a memorial to former Red Sox owners Thomas A. Yawkey and Jean R. Yawkey.

In 1947, advertisements covering the left field wall were painted over using green paint, which gave rise to the Green Monster moniker. In 1975, the wall was remodeled and an electronic scoreboard installed, while the manual scoreboard changed to only show out-of-town scores from other American League games (NL scores returned in 2003).

In 1976, the railroad tin and slate panels in the wall were replaced by a Formica-type panel which resulted in more consistent caroms and less noise when balls hit the wall.

Previously, a 23-½-foot tall screen protected cars and pedestrians on Lansdowne Street. However, the screen was replaced after the 2002 season with the Green Monster seats. Advertisements have also returned to the Green Monster in recent years.

So it came as a shock to me and other Red Sox and Fenway Park fans when the Boston Globe reported recently that the Red Sox say they’ve gotten so many requests to sprinkle deceased fans’ ashes at Fenway Park that they can no longer allow it!

“Oh, ferndocks!” exclaimed Chess Master John Curdo. Born up the road in the seaside town of Lynn, Mr. Curdo has been waiting 77 years to get to his final resting place. “Now I will have to change my plans and notify my family and friends that my final wishes can’t be fulfilled. How could they do such a thing to those of us who patiently waited for them to break their 86-year drought?”

“It’s a good thing I’m a chessplayer,” he added. “I’m accustomed to continually searching for new plans. It doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, though.”

As for the players, reaction was mixed. “It’s not sacriligeous, by any means,” reliever Mike Timlin told the newspaper. “Doesn’t bother me a bit, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Countered center fielder Coco Crisp: “It’s kind of freaky knowing you’re diving into somebody’s grandpa.”