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.

Greetings from sunny San Diego!

Where the weather is fine, the people are friendly, and I get passed on my morning "run" by octogenarians. It may be time to get in better shape.
My health resolutions aside, I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I've found that copious amounts of alcohol combined with a Six Feet Under DVD box set makes for a pretty good time. Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and a Bountiful Solstice to all.

Perplexed

Re: The $50 billion lost in the Madoff hedge fund fraud -- where on earth did all that money go? Originally I had just assumed it was lost in bad stock investments, but I have been told by someone who used to prosecute these cases regularly that the people who run Ponzi schemes don't typically invest the proceeds, since they want to keep a pool of capital available to pay their "investors." Is this correct? There's no way Madoff could have spent $50 billion on just his own lifestyle, right? If anyone can demystify this situation for me, please do leave a comment.

Exams over, posting can resume

Just as soon as I have something to say...

So Close, And Yet So Far

Well, the US Chess League Championship match did indeed go to a tiebreak, and just like last year, Dallas emerged victorious over Boston. Congratulations to the Dallas Destiny, and to the winning lineup of IM Zivanic, IM Kuljasevic, FM Schneider, and WFM Zorigt! Congratulations also to team manager John Bartholomew, who has put together what is clearly the premiere organization in the USCL.

The match itself got off to a good start, with GM Christiansen offering a dangerous gambit in the Taimanov Sicilian. I'm not sure if this is something he prepared specifically for IM Zivanic, but he quickly proved that White's initiative and pressure against f7 was worth more than Black's two bishops. NM Esserman was the next to finish, with a nice victory over FM Schneider from a Marshall Gambit declined. I have played Schneider myself and know from experience how good he is at defending tough positions, so it was impressive to see Esserman play so precisely to convert his opening advantage. Unfortunately, NM Krasik was already in difficulties against WFM Zorigt, and couldn't save a tough position out of the King's Indian Defense. This left it up to Board 2 and IM Kuljasevic, who was the hero of the night. First he showed nice technique in creating queenside pressure against SM Sammour-Hasbun's Semi-Slav, and then he eliminated all three Boston players he faced in the blitz tiebreaks, sealing the match for Dallas.

So once again we came up just short at the finish line. This would be a proper time to find something inspirational to say, but I can't think of anything at the moment besides tired Red Sox analogies, and those won't do anyone any good. So instead, here's some Vera Lynn.

US Chess League predictions

Ah, the USCL finals are upon us once again. Last year, your Boston Blitz were defeated by the Dallas Destiny, in what was surely the most exciting USCL match ever -- or would have been, had the match not lasted until 2:00 am. This year, the two teams have marched inexorably towards a rematch, and the commissioner has wisely moved the starting time to 3:00 on Saturday, December 6th. My prediction: another drawn match, but this time Boston will prevail on tiebreaks. In Esserman (and his 3000 ICC blitz rating) we trust.

Update: I just remembered that Boston hasn't had a drawn match all year. I'm downgrading myself from a Kreskin to a Criswell.