A TN in the Grunfeld? Well...

A few months ago I was trying to find something to play as White against the Grunfeld. I thought the Bf4 line was pretty solid, and since I'm a greedy little guy, I decided to take a look at a line where Black gambits a couple of pawns for activity. Take a look at this position, after Black's eleventh move:



White's up two pawns a pawn, has sidelined one of the Black knights, and even has the move. Come on, he must be better, right? Well, no -- Black seems to have enough compensation for the material here, because his pieces are all active and White's queenside is extremely vulnerable. Castling queenside doesn't help White: from the diagram position, 12.0-0-0 is met with 12..e6 13.Nc7+ (or 13.Nc3 Bxc3 and Black will have good play against the c-pawns) 13..Nxc7 14.Bxc7 b5! with a strong initiative. The best move is actually the lame-looking 12.Rb1, after which Black has to play carefully. A game between Novikov and Sutovsky continued 12.Rb1 e6 13.Nc7+ Nxc7 14.Bxc7 Na4 15.Bd6 Nxb2 (not 15..Bxb2?? 16.Rxb2 Nxb2 17.Be5) 16.Ba3 Na4 17.Rxb7 Bf8, giving this position:



Black's last move prepares to trade off White's only active minor piece, after which the Black pieces will flow into White's queenside. As the game proved, Black is fine here.

When studying the game, I wondered if there was a more direct way for White to play. After 12.Rb1 e6 13.Nc7+ Nxc7 14.Bxc7 Na4, I began looking at 15.e4, with the obvious idea of playing e5 and closing the long diagonal. The next few moves seemed to be forced: 15..Rc8 16.Bd6 Nxb2 (if 16..Bd4, trying to stay on the diagonal, then 17.Ne2 develops with tempo) 16.e5 Nxc4 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Rxb7, reaching the following position:



This is a fun position to investigate, since both sides have concrete problems with king position and development. At first I was enthusiastic about White's chances. The threat to the a-pawn carries some importance in lines like 19..f6 20.Ne2 fe 21.Rxa7, with advantage to White, while a line like 19..a6? 20.Ne2 f6 21.Kf2 fe 22.Rd1 shows what happens if White can get his kingside pieces into play -- the dark-squared monster on d6 cuts Black's position in half. Moreover, after the obvious 19..Rc1+ 20.Kf2, White actually threatens to sac an exchange with 21.Ne2, for example 20..a6 21.Ne2! Rxh1 22.Rb8+ Bc8 23.Rxc8+ Kd7 24.Rc7+ with the initiative.

For a moment it looked as though I had finally produced a decent novelty. Sadly, I soon realized that the 19..Rc1+ 20.Kf2 f6! spoils all the fun. White can grab on a7, but his kingside is bottled up for the foreseeable future. The deeper you play this position, the less your computer will like it for White.

I then looked at the finesse 19..Rc1+ 20.Kd2!? Bh6+, but suffice to say that 21.Kd3 Bc6(!) 22.Rb8+ Kd7 23.Rxh8 leads by force to a perpetual check (The reader can work out the details as an exercise).


(Black to move and draw)

Meanwhile, 21.Ke2 is untrustworthy after something like 21..Kd8 22.Rxa7 Rc2+ 23.Kd3 Rd2+ 24.Kc3 Rd1, locking White's kingside pieces in.


(White to move and suffer)

Shattered, I steeled myself to play the Bg5 & Qa4+ line instead, despite the fact that it's almost as wussy as the London system. And yeah, I've started playing that too. Sometimes searching for 'truth' just takes too much energy...

[p.s. for those who are interested, the opening moves in this Bf4 Grunfeld line are 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dc Qa5 7.Qa4+ Qxa4 8.Nxa4 Bd7!? 9.Nc3 Ne4! 10.Nxd5 Na6 11.f3 Nexc5. One of the reasons this "novelty" was never going to be very good is that there are many fine alternatives for Black: on move five there is 5..c6, on move eight 8..Be6, and on move nine 9..Bc6!?.]

Found Object

I'm a Philistine when it comes to art, but I love this collection of photographs. It's amazing how mysterious and alien animals can look when taken out of a 'normal' setting. (Found via andrewsullivan.com.)

Zealand Falls, 03/28 - 03/29

My friends and I spent the weekend hiking at beautiful Zealand Falls, in New Hampshire's White Mountains. It was a fantastic trip: the weather was pleasant, and the scenery was gorgeous. However, I was a little unprepared for all the snow. It completely covered the trails and was quite treacherous -- I found myself constantly sinking into snowy 'potholes,' some of which were a good 2-3 feet deep. Fortunately, AMC volunteers at Crawford Notch lent us hiking poles and gaiters, which helped a lot. To add to the excitement, we were warned that there was an aggressive bull moose frequenting the trail. Though we didn't see him, his tracks were everywhere (along with other signs of his presence: the big guy seemed to be going through some sort of digestive crisis).



Our hike took us to the Zealand Falls hut, around seven miles from the highway. We were among the first people to arrive at the hut, but as the hours passed, more and more hikers filed in. The atmosphere was very communal: everyone crowded into the small common area and kitchen to cook or share stories about their exploits. Soon after arriving, we decided to head up to Zeacliff, roughly 1.5 miles away and 1000 feet up. It was a challenging hike due to the snow, but the view of the surrounding area (below) was certainly worth it.



After spending the night at the hut, we set out for home, only to find that much of the trail had completely frozen overnight. The resulting hike down the icy path was tedious, and the skies threatened to open up while we were sliding around on the trail. Fortunately, we got back to our car before the rain started, safe and relatively dry.

Music Monday

"The Comedians," from Roy Orbison's last album, Mystery Girl. The song was written for Orbison by Elvis Costello. This performance is from Orbison's "Black and White Night" concert, a star-studded tribute/comeback special: Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, K.D. Lang, and Bonnie Raitt, among others, played in the backing band.



Historical Footnote: At the time of this performance, Orbison was experiencing a career resurgence, sparked when his song "In Dreams" was used in the David Lynch movie Blue Velvet. Twenty years later, Lynch used a cover of Orbison's "Crying" as the centerpiece of his movie Mulholland Drive, resulting in one of the strangest, most powerful scenes I've ever watched. I won't post it here, because it's not nearly as effective on its own, but I highly recommend watching the whole movie (if only because it's Lynch's best, and if you don't like it you can safely avoid the rest of his stuff).

Movin' On Up

My parents have decided to move back to Boston from San Diego, starting in July. I think they're crazy, of course. (Hi Mom, hi Dad. Love ya!) But it will be great to see them again! I am a little worried that our dog will oust me from the pack now that I'm constantly covered in cat hair, but hey, she'll probably be cool with it.


The probable reaction (yes, this is a dog)

"Free room service, free cable -- ooh, Free Willy!"

I recently came across this article in the New York Times, describing how jurors are using Blackberries, Cell Phones, and other portable internet browsers to research cases they are sitting for. At the risk of sounding cynical, I'm not sure that this is such a horrifying development. Many civil litigation cases, and certainly most of the large ones, are highly complex. Without background knowledge and research, a juror will find it extremely difficult to evaluate the arguments each side is making. This means that jury verdicts in these complex civil cases will contain a large element of randomness. It's no accident that a larger and larger percentage of these cases are being settled out of court each year -- when the stakes are high, most parties become risk-averse, and relying on a jury verdict is an inherently risky proposition. Jurors who surreptitiously conduct online research certainly breach the legal principle of impartiality (at least in a practical sense, since it is impossible to know the biases of their sources), and I'm not ready to set aside that principle just yet. But the system we have now is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and it's time to confront that fact. Perhaps this story will help bring the issue to the fore.

Your Daily Dose of Pessimism

This is a truly scary article. It's also the most concise explanation I've read of the CDO/CDS derivatives that magnified the financial crisis. Worth reading in full.

IM Fluffy Cares Naught for Your Opening Surveys

I needed to get good and drunk after this one. Enjoy!

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Poor Concept, Poor Execution

The Pre-Taped Call In Show. The ending to this is priceless (apparently David Cross was a big Monty Python fan, and you can definitely see their influence here).

Amateur Team East, Round 2

Sorry for the lack of posting recently: a combination of illness and laziness. Here is another game from this year's Amateur Team East tournament.

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My Contribution to the Page of History

CRR's immutable law of human nature: Songs with the word "human" in the title shall never rock. Examples include "Human" by the Killers, "The Human Song" by The Human League, and... um... look, I'm sure there are some more. The point is, musicians should not write songs about humans. And that's what I'll be remembered for prophesying.

(ed. -- "Only Human," by "K". Get a last name, pal!)

Amateur Team East, Round 1

As usual, annotation will appear in the text box beneath the board as you play through the game.

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Eastern Amateur Team Championships

Many congratulations to Paul MacIntyre, Brian Hulse, Libardo Rueda, and Alan Price, the winners of this year's Amateur Team East tournament! Out of the 250+ teams participating, theirs was the only team with a perfect 6-0 score, sealed by MacIntyre's clutch win (the game was actually agreed drawn in order to seal the match) over GM Kaufman in the last round. The Boston-based squad will play for the national championship in March, and we wish them well.

Your humble scribe also participated in the tournament, and over the next few days I will try to post some of my games, with analysis. In the meantime, I have to put down an insurrection from my cat, who apparently took my absence as a sign that she is the true master of the house, and is now stealth-biting me at every opportunity.

A Restaurant Review (?!)

I should really leave this sort of thing to G (who, unlike me, actually knows food), but I do have one recommendation: If you're ever at Tartufo in Newton Center, order the signature dessert. It's a scoop of coffee gelato in a thin shell of walnut shavings, with fruit and whipped cream. Delicious, and definitely the highlight of my evening there.

What not to do with a Drunken Sailor

This story is a bit old, but worth mentioning. Last year, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts heard an interesting case that tests the limits of employer liability and civic duty. The facts were these: six men hired a limousine to go clubhopping, got roaring drunk in full view of the driver, and asked to be dropped off at a bar close to where their cars were parked. The driver did so, and one of the men promptly drove his car into an intersection, causing an accident that killed an off-duty police officer. The officer's family, along with others injured in the accident, sued the livery company on grounds of negligence.

The trial court dismissed the claim, asserting that the limo driver did not have a duty to the victims once his passengers left his vehicle. However, the SJC disagreed, holding that the limo driver "owed a duty" to the plaintiffs, since he could have known that his passengers were drunk and could thus have concluded that they would soon be driving while intoxicated.

The first thing to note is this: Contrary to the lead paragraph of the Globe article, the SJC did not rule that the livery company was liable in this case; they merely held that it could be liable, and that the case should be decided by a jury. Small consolation to the company -- I'm sure they'll settle so as not to risk a painfully expensive verdict -- but important nonetheless. From a theoretical perspective, there are really two issues involved here: first, the delineation of the driver's duty to the victims (how much would he have had to know in order to be liable -- would he actually have to see the passengers drink alcohol inside the limousine? What if he suspected they were going to drive home, but wasn't 100% sure? Would it make a difference if only some of the passengers were drunk?); second, the practical question of the driver's options in this situation. Should he have called the police? Driven around until the passengers sobered up? If he had done so, and the passengers attempted to leave (a likely scenario), would he have had a duty to restrain them?

For me, this second question is really the sticking point. I can understand wanting service drivers to keep an eye on their passengers (in the same way that we want bartenders to cut off a drunk patron), but I'm not sure that the real-life benefits would be that great -- sooner or later, you're either going to have to let your passenger go, unless you take draconian measures to detain him. The costs, by contrast, are readily apparent: it would be a lot harder for a limousines, cabs, etc. to do business in Massachusetts, because they would always have to err on the side of caution when dropping off someone who has visited a restaurant or bar. In addition, there's a little demon perched on my shoulder, whispering about the implicit abrogation of personal responsibility involved in this decision (and in all decisions that extend the scope of "civic duty," e.g. misprison of felony cases). That guy has some serious social issues, though, so I'm not sure whether to trust his judgment.

What do you think of the decision?

Frustration in the English

I've been thinking of switching to the English opening from 1.d4, but one of the peculiar things about it is how difficult it is to get an advantage against the reversed Sicilian. Take the position after 1.c4 Nf6 (a sneaky way to force 2.Nc3, as 2.g3 c6! is harmless IMO) 2.Nc3 e5:



From here, White can try a few different moves, but each one has a drawback.

a) 3.g3 -- here, I think that Black's most accurate move is 3..c6! Now 4.d4 ed 5.Qxd4 d5 has been tried in many games and seems fine for Black (Kosten's excellent book on the English recommends delaying Nc3 in part because of this line). If White tries 4.Nf3, then Black can play 4..e4 5.Nd4 d5 6.cd Qb6!?



This is never played with colors reversed (1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.d4 cd 6.Qb3), presumably because ..e6 would be a good response. From the diagram, if White plays 7.e3, it is clear that the extra move g3 is actually detrimental. If instead 7.Nb3, then Black can gain the initiative with 7..a5!, threatening to trap the knight. This was recently played by Bacrot, and looks pretty strong. Therefore, instead of 3.g3, most people play 3.Nf3 Nc6, with another split:

a) 4.g3 Bb4 (4..d5 is also surprisingly hard to get an advantage against). White would love to play 5.Nd5, but Black responds with 5..e4, and the extra move Nf3 is suddenly a drawback. So most games continue with 5.Bg2 0-0, reaching a well-known position. I can't begin to do this line justice in the space I have here, but it does score well for black and I'm not particularly inclined to play it as White.

b) 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3!? 6.Qxc3 Qe7!.



I'm astounded at how annoying this move is -- my computer actually thinks that Black has a slight advantage here, and while I'm not sure about that, I think it is fair to see that equality has been achieved. Basically, Black will play ..d5, White's queen will get kicked around, and Black's lead in space and development will be enough to counter the bishop pair. So why can't White players try the same thing in reverse, as an anti-Taimanov line? Essentially, because the Black knight is still on g8, and thus 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 can be met with either 4..Nge7 or the immediate 4..Nd4. If an enterprising White player tries to waste a tempo with something like 4.a3, then Black can simply respond with 4..a6, which is part of his plan in the Taimanov anyway. Speaking of a-pawn pushes:

c) 4.a3 d5 (4..g6 is also playable and roughly equal, because the a3 move becomes useless) 5.cd Nxd5, and we reach our final split:



i) 6.Qc2 Nxc3!? 7.bc Bd6 8.g3 Qe7(!) 9.d3 b6 has done pretty well for Black. White probably wishes the a-pawn was back on a2.

ii) 6.e3 Nxc3 7.bc Bd6 is similar. I always enjoyed playing White in these positions with colors reversed, and I would rather play Black here, although it's a matter of taste.

iii) 6.e4 Nf4!? 7.d4 ed 8.Bxf4 dc



Now 9.Qxd8+ Nxd8 10.bc Ne6 is not what we want as White. With colors reversed, Black usually takes the pawn back immediately, but here, 9.bc gives Black the extra option of 9..Qxd1+, and all of a sudden recapturing with the rook leaves the a3 pawn en prise. Curse you, extra move! To be fair, White can recapture on c7, but the position isn't very inspiring.

So there you have it, a peripheral look at what everyone knows already: the reversed Sicilian seems fine for Black.

Invasion of the Pinniped People

An interesting story is developing on a small beach in La Jolla, California. The city has slated the beach for use as a children's pool. But recently, a vicious pod of harbor seals decided to claim it as their own, in clear violation of state and international law.


Avast, maties! The shore is ours!
(Photo by Marcel Burkhard)

The seals now lie on the beach all day with their layabout kids, thinking that their cuteness will save them from legal repercussions. For now, it looks like their daring raid will pay off: a federal judge has given the order to put a rope barrier around the beach for protection during pupping season.

My friends, such appeasement will only serve to embolden the seal horde! It is now only a matter of time before they make their way the East Coast. How can we defend ourselves?

UPDATE: Few people know that in addition to piracy, seals excel at running telemarketing scams. Sadly, the little fellow below forgot to use an untraceable number.