feb2001

Game of the Month - February 2001
by the 10th World Correspondence Champion Dr. Vytas (Victor) Palciauskas

John Knudsen at the chess board

Although John Knudsen is known to many chess enthusiasts for his accomplishments in promoting correspondence chess and the ICCF on the World Wide Web, not as many are familiar with his exploits at the chessboard. This month we feature John’s skillful victory over Andrew Dearnley in the David Lodge Memorial Tournament.

Picture provided by Tim Harding, ChessMail

John Christen Knudsen comes from Iowa, a state in the heart of American. He was born in 1956, has now retired from the military and is currently residing in Germany. He learned the moves of chess by following the game scores of the famous match between Fischer and Spassky in ‘72 in the newspaper. John’s fascination with chess was so complete that he started playing in tournaments the same year.

Eventually, most chessplayers discover correspondence chess (cc) and so did John. He began cc in ‘78 through the Correspondence Chess League of America (CCLA). Several of his notable CC successes include: the United States Armed Forces Correspondence Chess Champion (ASPCC) (10/10) in ‘90, a clear second (12/14!) in the ‘88 Hawver Cup, and first in the 99th (‘97) North American (Expert) Championship of the CCLA (6/8). Recently he has qualified for the World CC Championship Semi-Finals. His latest success is scoring 9/14 in the David Lodge Memorial (Email-Cat. V) organized by England and achieving the IM title!

John started his first correspondence chess web page in ‘96, which has grown into http://correspondencechess.com, a huge domain with numerous sub-sites devoted to correspondence chess. At the ‘99 ICCF Congress in Thun, Switzerland, cc.com was one of the first recipients of the "Friend of ICCF" Award, for service to the correspondence chess community. His involvement with ICCF became even stronger when he was appointed Executive Officer of the ICCF on December 24, 1999.

John also has a keen interest in correspondence chess literature. He is an active contributor to many cc magazines and chess websites such as "King's Korner", "Zugszwang, The Postal Chess Magazine", and the very popular "Chess Mail". His book, Essential Chess Quotations, has recently been published. John’s latest project is a book on the life and chess of IM Sture Nyman of Sweden, a three-time world CC championship finalist who passed away in ‘97. This book, entitled "Nyman", is being serialized in Scottish Correspondence Chess, the magazine of the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association.

John’s win over Andrew Dearnley begins with a sharp opening, that eventually settles down to an end game where White has the hypothetical two bishop advantage. At a critical time, he brings life to his two bishops with the exchange sacrifice 35.Rxc5+, and ultimately acquires a very dangerous passed pawn on a6. The final stage of the endgame is an instructive example of how a bishop and two widely separated passed pawns win against a rook. (Annotations are by John Knudsen; my several comments are denoted with VVP)

Knudsen, John (USA) - Dearnley, Andrew (ENG)
David Lodge Memorial Tournament, ICCF E-mail, 2000
Irregular Queen Pawn D06

This was the second meeting for us. Andrew beat me easily in the first game: Dearnley,A - Knudsen,J [A01] corr, 1994 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.a3 Bd6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.Nf3 Be6 9.Bb5 f6 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.d4 e4 12.Qxe4 Qd7 13.Qc2 Bf5 14.Qc4 Kh8 15.0-0 Rab8 16.Nbd2 Be6 17.Qc2 Rb7 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 Rfb8 20.Rfb1 Bf7 21.e4 Nf4 22.g3 Qg4 23.a4 Bh5 24.Ba3 Rxb1+ 25.Rxb1 Re8 26.Bxd6 cxd6 27.Qxc6 d5 28.a6 dxe4 29.a7 1-0 and I was determined to even the score this time. It is the nature of Invitational Tournaments that you have to choose which games you are going to try and win, in order to have chances for the IM Title Norm. For me, these were two good reasons to expend some extra effort in this game.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5 3.cxd5 Bxb1 4.Rxb1 Qxd5 5.a3 Nc6 6.Nf3 0-0-0 7.Qc2

Another major choice is 7.e3 but I was in the mood for a fight and had no problems sacrificing the pawn. My research had shown me that White usually does okay with this line. A couple of recent examples with 7. e3 included: Yermolinsky,A - Malaniuk,V, USSR, 1992 7...e5 8.Be2 exd4 9.exd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Qc2 Nf6 12.0-0 Qe4 13.Qxe4 Nxe4 14.Re1 Kb8 15.Bc4 f5 16.b4 Be7 17.f3 Bh4 18.fxe4 Bxe1 19.Bb2 Bd2 20.Bxg7 fxe4 21.Bxh8 Rxh8 22.Kf1 a6 23.Ke2 Rd8 24.Rd1 e3 25.Rf1 Rd7 26.Bd3 Ka7 27.Rf6 Bc1 28.a4 Rd4 29.Rf1 Bd2 30.b5 Rxa4 31.bxa6 bxa6 32.Rf7 Kb7 33.Bxh7 Rb4 34.Re7 a5 35.Bc2 Rf4 36.Be4+ Kb6 37.Bf3 a4 38.Re6+ Kb5 39.Re8 a3 40.Ra8 Ba5 41.Rb8+ Bb6 42.Ra8 Kb4 43.Bc6 Rf2+ 44.Ke1 a2 45.Bd5 Ba5 0-1 and Saunders,S - Dammkoehler,G, corr IECG Cup95-PR, 1996 7...e5 8.b4 exd4 9.b5 Ne5 10.Nxd4 Qe4 11.Rb3 Bc5 12.Bb2 Bb6 13.f3 Qg6 14.Qc2 Ba5+ 15.Kf2 Qxc2+ 16.Nxc2 Rd2+ 17.Be2 f6 18.Nd4 Ne7 19.Ra1 Nd3+ 20.Rxd3 Rxb2 21.Ne6 Rxb5 22.Rad1 Nc6 23.Nxg7 Rg8 24.Ne6 Rh5 25.h3 Re5 26.Nf4 Re6 27.Nxe6 1-0; neither of which suited my tastes.

7...Nxd4 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.g3 e6 10.Bg2 Qc5 11.Qa4 Qd4 12.b4 Qd7N

RR 12...Bc5 13.Bxb7+ Kxb7 14.bxc5+ Kc8 15.Qa6+ Kd7 16.Bb2 Qe4 17.0-0 Nf6 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Rb7 Qe5 20.Qxa7 Rc8 21.Rd1+ Ke8 22.e3 Kf8 23.Rd7 Kg7 24.Rbxc7 Rxc7 25.Rxc7 Rf8 26.Rd7 Qe4 27.Qb7 Qa4 28.c6 Qxa3 29.c7 Qc1+ 30.Kg2 Kg6 31.Rd8 Qa3 32.Rxf8 1-0 Servat,R-Bulcourf,C/Buenos Aires 1993/TD (32)

13.Qc2 Nf6 14.0-0 Kb8 15.Be3 h5N

"Normal" is 15...Nd5 16.Rfd1 f5 17.Rbc1 Be7 18.Bf4 Rc8 19.e4 fxe4 20.Qxe4 Rhe8 21.Qxh7 Bf6 22.Qe4 Ka8 23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Bxc7 Qxc7 25.Rxd5 Qc1+ 26.Bf1 Qc6 27.Bb5 exd5 28.Qxe8+ Qxe8 29.Bxe8 Kb8 30.a4 Magerramov-Lutovinov/corr ch-SU 1992/1-0 (43)

16.Rfd1 Bd6 17.b5 Nd5 18.Bd4 f5 19.e4 fxe4 20.Qxe4

Of course, White needs to get something going soon, else he will get slammed on the kingside!

20...h4 21.a4 hxg3 22.hxg3 Qf7 23.a5 Rh5 24.a6 b6 25.Qc2 Qd7?! 26.Qg6!

Regaining the sac'd pawn is essential to White's strategy. The coming trade of Queen's doesn't hurt, either.

26...Rh6 27.Qxg7 Qxg7 28.Bxg7 Rg6 29.Ba1 c6 30.bxc6 Kc7 31.Bf1!

I believe this move is the only hope for a lasting advantage.

31...Kxc6 32.Bb5+ Kc7 33.Rbc1+ Bc5 34.Be5+ Kc8

We have now reached the critical point in the game. White's Bishops are wonderfully posted, but the main problem is, how is he to convert this middlegame position into a favorable (or winning) endgame position? After much study of the position, the answer became quite clear to me - by sacrificing the exchange! Although at first not clear at all, by sac'ing the exchange White can bring about a winning endgame involving a Bishop and three Pawns against the Rook and one pawn. The peculiar nature of the position allows this. The Pawn on a6 will play the decisive role in the coming endgame

35.Rxc5+! bxc5 36.Rc1 Rdg8 37.Rxc5+ Kd8 38.Bd3 Rg4! 39.Rb5 Nb6 40.Bb8!

The game revolves around the Black a-pawn.

40...R8g7

40...Nc8 is met strongly by 41.Rb7!

41.Rh5!

A tough nut to crack. In order to reach the desired endgame position, White must trade a Rook, which, in theory, is the wrong thing to do. [An interesting decision on which endgame White wants to try to win. With 41.Rh5! he will eventually reach a position where he has a bishop and three pawns versus a rook and pawn. With 41.Bxa7 Rxa7 42.Rxb6 he would have reached an endgame where he has a rook, bishop, and three pawns versus two rooks and one pawn. The pawns in both cases would be identically placed,and the process of winning the games fairly similar. 42...Rd4 43.Be2 e5 44.Re6 Re4 45.Bf3 Ra4 (45...Re1+ 46.Kg2 Rc1 47.Bb7) 46.Bb7 etc. (VVP)

41...Nd5 42.Rh8+ Rg8 43.Rxg8+ Rxg8 44.Bxa7

This begins a long series of apparently forced moves which bring about the desired position.

44...Kc7 45.Bd4 Kd6

45...Ra8 46.a7 Nb6 47.Be5+ Kd7 48.Bb8+-

46.Be4!

The Knight must go...

46...e5 47.Bxd5 Kxd5 48.Be3 Ke4 49.Kg2 Rf8 50.a7

White gets his desired position. The fascinating part of this endgame for me was the technique involved in paralyzing Black in the coming play. The Pawn on a7 must be constantly watched. White slowly gets things going on the kingside. If he manages passed pawns on both wings, well, something has to give, because the Black King and Rook cannot be in both places at the same time.

50...Rg8!

Tough move to meet! White can accelerate his progress by playing Bb6, threatening Bc7, forcing the rook to a8. Bb6 can be also played at several other points later.

51.Kh3

White can accelerate his progress by first playing Bb6, threatening Bc7, thus forcing the rook to a8. Bb6 can also be played at several other points later. 51.Bb6 Ra8 (51...Rc8 52.Bc7; 51...Kd5 52.Bc7 Ra8 53.Bb8 Ke4 54.g4 also wins.) 52.Kh3 (52.g4; 52.f3+ All should lead to a win following the strategy in the game. (VVP))

51...Rh8+ 52.Kg4 Rg8+ 53.Kh5 Kd5

53...Kf3 54.g4 Rh8+ 55.Kg5+-

54.g4 Ke6 55.g5 Kf7 56.g6+ Kf6 57.Bg5+ Kg7 58.Bh6+

Nothing else works like this move.

58...Kf6 59.g7 Re8 60.Kg4!

Now it is clear that the g-Pawn is merely a decoy, to draw the King away from the center of the board. White now calmly marches to the center, with intentions to take a devastating walk on the queenside...

60...Ra8 61.Be3 Rg8 62.Kf3 Kxg7 63.Ke4

63.Ke4 Kf6 64.Kd5+- and the Black Rook must give itself for the a-Pawn. After that, a mopping up operation snares the Black e-Pawn and then White queens his f-Pawn. This game was most satisifying to me, both on the creative and technical levels.

1-0

At the http://correspondencechess.com website, you can find a summary of the more recent, as well as some of the oldest and more esoteric news about correspondence chess.

This article originally appeared at the Official ICCF Site

John Knudsen at the chess board
Although John Knudsen is known to many chess enthusiasts for his accomplishments in promoting correspondence chess and the ICCF on the World Wide Web, not as many are familiar with his exploits at the chessboard. This month we feature John’s skillful victory over Andrew Dearnley in the David Lodge Memorial Tournament.
Picture provided by Tim Harding, ChessMail

John Christen Knudsen comes from Iowa, a state in the heart of American. He was born in 1956, has now retired from the military and is currently residing in Germany. He learned the moves of chess by following the game scores of the famous match between Fischer and Spassky in ‘72 in the newspaper. John’s fascination with chess was so complete that he started playing in tournaments the same year. Eventually, most chessplayers discover correspondence chess (cc) and so did John. He began cc in ‘78 through the Correspondence Chess League of America (CCLA). Several of his notable CC successes include: the United States Armed Forces Correspondence Chess Champion (ASPCC) (10/10) in ‘90, a clear second (12/14!) in the ‘88 Hawver Cup, and first in the 99th (‘97) North American (Expert) Championship of the CCLA (6/8). Recently he has qualified for the World CC Championship Semi-Finals. His latest success is scoring 9/14 in the David Lodge Memorial (Email-Cat. V) organized by England and achieving the IM title! John started his first correspondence chess web page in ‘96, which has grown into http://correspondencechess.com, a huge domain with numerous sub-sites devoted to correspondence chess. At the ‘99 ICCF Congress in Thun, Switzerland, cc.com was one of the first recipients of the "Friend of ICCF" Award, for service to the correspondence chess community. His involvement with ICCF became even stronger when he was appointed Executive Officer of the ICCF on December 24, 1999. John also has a keen interest in correspondence chess literature. He is an active contributor to many cc magazines and chess websites such as "King's Korner", "Zugszwang, The Postal Chess Magazine", and the very popular "Chess Mail". His book, Essential Chess Quotations, has recently been published. John’s latest project is a book on the life and chess of IM Sture Nyman of Sweden, a three-time world CC championship finalist who passed away in ‘97. This book, entitled "Nyman", is being serialized in Scottish Correspondence Chess, the magazine of the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association. John’s win over Andrew Dearnley begins with a sharp opening, that eventually settles down to an end game where White has the hypothetical two bishop advantage. At a critical time, he brings life to his two bishops with the exchange sacrifice 35.Rxc5+, and ultimately acquires a very dangerous passed pawn on a6. The final stage of the endgame is an instructive example of how a bishop and two widely separated passed pawns win against a rook. (Annotations are by John Knudsen; my several comments are denoted with VVP)

Knudsen, John (USA) - Dearnley, Andrew (ENG) David Lodge Memorial Tournament, ICCF E-mail, 2000 Irregular Queen Pawn D06
This was the second meeting for us. Andrew beat me easily in the first game: Dearnley,A - Knudsen,J [A01] corr, 1994 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.a3 Bd6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.Nf3 Be6 9.Bb5 f6 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.d4 e4 12.Qxe4 Qd7 13.Qc2 Bf5 14.Qc4 Kh8 15.0-0 Rab8 16.Nbd2 Be6 17.Qc2 Rb7 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 Rfb8 20.Rfb1 Bf7 21.e4 Nf4 22.g3 Qg4 23.a4 Bh5 24.Ba3 Rxb1+ 25.Rxb1 Re8 26.Bxd6 cxd6 27.Qxc6 d5 28.a6 dxe4 29.a7 1-0 and I was determined to even the score this time. It is the nature of Invitational Tournaments that you have to choose which games you are going to try and win, in order to have chances for the IM Title Norm. For me, these were two good reasons to expend some extra effort in this game.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5 3.cxd5 Bxb1 4.Rxb1 Qxd5 5.a3 Nc6 6.Nf3 0-0-0 7.Qc2
Another major choice is 7.e3 but I was in the mood for a fight and had no problems sacrificing the pawn. My research had shown me that White usually does okay with this line. A couple of recent examples with 7. e3 included: Yermolinsky,A - Malaniuk,V, USSR, 1992 7...e5 8.Be2 exd4 9.exd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Qc2 Nf6 12.0-0 Qe4 13.Qxe4 Nxe4 14.Re1 Kb8 15.Bc4 f5 16.b4 Be7 17.f3 Bh4 18.fxe4 Bxe1 19.Bb2 Bd2 20.Bxg7 fxe4 21.Bxh8 Rxh8 22.Kf1 a6 23.Ke2 Rd8 24.Rd1 e3 25.Rf1 Rd7 26.Bd3 Ka7 27.Rf6 Bc1 28.a4 Rd4 29.Rf1 Bd2 30.b5 Rxa4 31.bxa6 bxa6 32.Rf7 Kb7 33.Bxh7 Rb4 34.Re7 a5 35.Bc2 Rf4 36.Be4+ Kb6 37.Bf3 a4 38.Re6+ Kb5 39.Re8 a3 40.Ra8 Ba5 41.Rb8+ Bb6 42.Ra8 Kb4 43.Bc6 Rf2+ 44.Ke1 a2 45.Bd5 Ba5 0-1 and Saunders,S - Dammkoehler,G, corr IECG Cup95-PR, 1996 7...e5 8.b4 exd4 9.b5 Ne5 10.Nxd4 Qe4 11.Rb3 Bc5 12.Bb2 Bb6 13.f3 Qg6 14.Qc2 Ba5+ 15.Kf2 Qxc2+ 16.Nxc2 Rd2+ 17.Be2 f6 18.Nd4 Ne7 19.Ra1 Nd3+ 20.Rxd3 Rxb2 21.Ne6 Rxb5 22.Rad1 Nc6 23.Nxg7 Rg8 24.Ne6 Rh5 25.h3 Re5 26.Nf4 Re6 27.Nxe6 1-0; neither of which suited my tastes.
7...Nxd4 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.g3 e6 10.Bg2 Qc5 11.Qa4 Qd4 12.b4 Qd7N
RR 12...Bc5 13.Bxb7+ Kxb7 14.bxc5+ Kc8 15.Qa6+ Kd7 16.Bb2 Qe4 17.0-0 Nf6 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Rb7 Qe5 20.Qxa7 Rc8 21.Rd1+ Ke8 22.e3 Kf8 23.Rd7 Kg7 24.Rbxc7 Rxc7 25.Rxc7 Rf8 26.Rd7 Qe4 27.Qb7 Qa4 28.c6 Qxa3 29.c7 Qc1+ 30.Kg2 Kg6 31.Rd8 Qa3 32.Rxf8 1-0 Servat,R-Bulcourf,C/Buenos Aires 1993/TD (32)
13.Qc2 Nf6 14.0-0 Kb8 15.Be3 h5N

"Normal" is 15...Nd5 16.Rfd1 f5 17.Rbc1 Be7 18.Bf4 Rc8 19.e4 fxe4 20.Qxe4 Rhe8 21.Qxh7 Bf6 22.Qe4 Ka8 23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Bxc7 Qxc7 25.Rxd5 Qc1+ 26.Bf1 Qc6 27.Bb5 exd5 28.Qxe8+ Qxe8 29.Bxe8 Kb8 30.a4 Magerramov-Lutovinov/corr ch-SU 1992/1-0 (43)
16.Rfd1 Bd6 17.b5 Nd5 18.Bd4 f5 19.e4 fxe4 20.Qxe4
Of course, White needs to get something going soon, else he will get slammed on the kingside!
20...h4 21.a4 hxg3 22.hxg3 Qf7 23.a5 Rh5 24.a6 b6 25.Qc2 Qd7?! 26.Qg6!
Regaining the sac'd pawn is essential to White's strategy. The coming trade of Queen's doesn't hurt, either.
26...Rh6 27.Qxg7 Qxg7 28.Bxg7 Rg6 29.Ba1 c6 30.bxc6 Kc7 31.Bf1!
I believe this move is the only hope for a lasting advantage.
31...Kxc6 32.Bb5+ Kc7 33.Rbc1+ Bc5 34.Be5+ Kc8

We have now reached the critical point in the game. White's Bishops are wonderfully posted, but the main problem is, how is he to convert this middlegame position into a favorable (or winning) endgame position? After much study of the position, the answer became quite clear to me - by sacrificing the exchange! Although at first not clear at all, by sac'ing the exchange White can bring about a winning endgame involving a Bishop and three Pawns against the Rook and one pawn. The peculiar nature of the position allows this. The Pawn on a6 will play the decisive role in the coming endgame
35.Rxc5+! bxc5 36.Rc1 Rdg8 37.Rxc5+ Kd8 38.Bd3 Rg4! 39.Rb5 Nb6 40.Bb8!
The game revolves around the Black a-pawn.
40...R8g7

40...Nc8 is met strongly by 41.Rb7!
41.Rh5!
A tough nut to crack. In order to reach the desired endgame position, White must trade a Rook, which, in theory, is the wrong thing to do. [An interesting decision on which endgame White wants to try to win. With 41.Rh5! he will eventually reach a position where he has a bishop and three pawns versus a rook and pawn. With 41.Bxa7 Rxa7 42.Rxb6 he would have reached an endgame where he has a rook, bishop, and three pawns versus two rooks and one pawn. The pawns in both cases would be identically placed,and the process of winning the games fairly similar. 42...Rd4 43.Be2 e5 44.Re6 Re4 45.Bf3 Ra4 (45...Re1+ 46.Kg2 Rc1 47.Bb7) 46.Bb7 etc. (VVP)
41...Nd5 42.Rh8+ Rg8 43.Rxg8+ Rxg8 44.Bxa7
This begins a long series of apparently forced moves which bring about the desired position.
44...Kc7 45.Bd4 Kd6
45...Ra8 46.a7 Nb6 47.Be5+ Kd7 48.Bb8+-
46.Be4!
The Knight must go...
46...e5 47.Bxd5 Kxd5 48.Be3 Ke4 49.Kg2 Rf8 50.a7
White gets his desired position. The fascinating part of this endgame for me was the technique involved in paralyzing Black in the coming play. The Pawn on a7 must be constantly watched. White slowly gets things going on the kingside. If he manages passed pawns on both wings, well, something has to give, because the Black King and Rook cannot be in both places at the same time.
50...Rg8!

Tough move to meet! White can accelerate his progress by playing Bb6, threatening Bc7, forcing the rook to a8. Bb6 can be also played at several other points later.
51.Kh3
White can accelerate his progress by first playing Bb6, threatening Bc7, thus forcing the rook to a8. Bb6 can also be played at several other points later. 51.Bb6 Ra8 (51...Rc8 52.Bc7; 51...Kd5 52.Bc7 Ra8 53.Bb8 Ke4 54.g4 also wins.) 52.Kh3 (52.g4; 52.f3+ All should lead to a win following the strategy in the game. (VVP))
51...Rh8+ 52.Kg4 Rg8+ 53.Kh5 Kd5
53...Kf3 54.g4 Rh8+ 55.Kg5+-
54.g4 Ke6 55.g5 Kf7 56.g6+ Kf6 57.Bg5+ Kg7 58.Bh6+
Nothing else works like this move.
58...Kf6 59.g7 Re8 60.Kg4!
Now it is clear that the g-Pawn is merely a decoy, to draw the King away from the center of the board. White now calmly marches to the center, with intentions to take a devastating walk on the queenside...
60...Ra8 61.Be3 Rg8 62.Kf3 Kxg7 63.Ke4

63.Ke4 Kf6 64.Kd5+- and the Black Rook must give itself for the a-Pawn. After that, a mopping up operation snares the Black e-Pawn and then White queens his f-Pawn. This game was most satisifying to me, both on the creative and technical levels.
1-0
At the http://correspondencechess.com website, you can find a summary of the more recent, as well as some of the oldest and more esoteric news about correspondence chess. This article originally appeared at the Official ICCF Site