Author: Vasik Rajlich
Date: 03:03:20 02/14/05
Go up one level in this thread
On February 13, 2005 at 17:30:24, Anthony Cozzie wrote: >Game Summaries: > >Game 1: Fafis - Zappa (0 - 1) (Forfeit). > >Rafael either slept in or had internet problems. I was a bit disappointed at >not getting to play, but at the same time I was happy not to have to play Fafis, >which by all accounts is quite strong for its seeding. > >Game 2: Zappa - Hossa (1 - 0) > >Hossa played the French defense, and Zappa accumulated what it thought was a >good position before missing something and dropping to a draw score. Hossa >blundered with Kh6 [I have to admit that Zappa expected this move :(] and Zappa >was able to win with a nice combination in the following position: > >[D]8/p2Q3p/1p4pk/4q3/3p1NP1/1P3P2/P6K/8 w - - 0 43 > >Here white wins with the (simple for computers) Qxd4 Qxd4 g5! and white gets the >Queen back by knight fork with an easy ending. > >Game 3: Amateur - Zappa (0 - 1) > >A sicilian. Amateur's mistake was probably a5 instead of h4, and after that >Zappa was never really in any trouble and gradually increased its advantage >until getting the full point. > >Game 4: Zappa - Fruit (1 - 0) > >Zappa foolishly traded its dark squared bishop on move 10 in the Nimzo, but >Fruit recaptured with the g pawn rather than the Queen (=). Zappa then managed >to open the f file and line up ever single major piece against Fruit's King. > >[D]4b2r/3q3k/r3p2p/2p1pp2/p1P1P2Q/P4RR1/1P2B1PP/6K1 w - - 0 34 > >Fruit realized the trouble too late, and was forced to give 2 pawns. The >endgame was still not trivial to win until Fruit dropped into a lost KRPPKR >ending. It was actually quite instructive to watch the tablebases play it out >and grind out the mate in 40. > >Game 5: SOS - Zappa (0 - 1) > >A closed Sicilian, where SOS played passively and Zappa took control of the open >files and won behind its strong heavy pieces. Not much to report here, aside >from the fact that I had serious trouble sleeping after this game due to an >excess of nervous energy:) > >Game 6: Zappa - Pharaon (1 - 0) > >This and the game against Movei were by far my favorite games of the tournament. > Arturo decided to play a sideline here (6. g3) rather than Be2, because after >Be2 Pharaon had scored very well in recent games. Zappa played correctly (g4, >e5) but I think Pharaon blundered with f6 instead of g6+Ng7: > >[D]r3nrk1/1pqbbppp/p3p3/3pP1P1/Pn3P2/1NN1B3/1PP3BP/R2Q1RK1 b - - 0 15 > >This allowed Zappa to open the position with gxf6 and f5! while Pharaon's pieces >were still badly placed. > >[D]r4r1k/1pq1b1np/p7/4pb2/Pn2B3/1NN1B3/1PP4P/R2Q1R1K w - - 0 24 > >Here Zappa sacrificed the exchange with Rxf5!?, but by move 33 it had won back >the exchange with a superior ending due to Pharaon's weak pawnstructure: > >[D]5r1k/6n1/p1pb2p1/4p1B1/P7/1N6/1PP4P/6RK w - - 0 34 > >Pharaon then gave the exchange for 2 pawns leading to the following position, >which I believe is won for white: > >[D]8/8/p1p3pk/4pn2/P7/1Nb2K2/7P/1R6 w - - 0 42 > >But Zappa misplayed it, and came to the following study like position: > >[D]8/8/6R1/pKp5/Pb5k/8/8/8 w - - 0 53 > >Now Zappa was happy due to Black's offside king, but the question is whether or >not White can win here. The straightforward Rg6-c6xc5 fails by one tempo. The >question is whether or not white can win by moving the K to the Kingside, making >mating threats, and winning a pawn, while still not allowing the Black king to >escape. I personally believe it is a draw, but Pharaon blundered and Zappa was >able to win. Despite some errors, I think the game itself was one of the most >entertaining of the tournament. > >Game 7: Movei - Zappa (0 - 1) > >Another Sicilian. Movei blundered with axb4, and then Zappa sacrificed an >exchange with axb5: > >[D]r1b2rk1/2q2ppp/p2bp3/1N1n4/1n3PP1/1N1BBQ2/1PP4P/R4RK1 b - - 0 17 > >Zappa got a lot of pressure against movei's King, and the game was over quickly. > >Game 8: Zappa - Thinker (1/2) > >Zappa's only draw; it again played Bxf6 in the Nimzo and got closed position >where both engines were clueless. A draw after another 70 boring moves or so. > >Game 9: Ikarus - Zappa (1 - 0) > >Scotch Game. Ikarus played well, while Zappa overestimated its counterplay >against the white king. I spent most the time talking to Dan Heisman on the >phone, so I missed most of the game, which is perhaps just as well :) Zappa >tried to slip its way out of the net but Ikarus brought home the full point. I >think it will do quite well in Paderborn; we shall see. The competition there >is a bit tougher :) > >Despite the loss in the final round Zappa managed to win clear first place by a >slender 1/2 point. > > > >Notes: > >I will update the website and the version of Zappa pretty soon. Arturo wants to >create a public book for Zappa, so when that is finished the tournament version >of Zappa (1.0) will be released. I will also compile a version of Zappa with >Cygwin so that it will run on an Athlon. I think a lot of you will be quite >disappointed, as the public version A) won't run on a dual opteron and B) won't >include Arturo's excellent tournament book. > >A number of my predictions turned out pretty well: Chepla, Spike, and DanChess >did much better than a lot of people expected, and I knew Ikarus was going to be >trouble :( > >I was also pretty impressed by the Polish chess engines; Poland is not exactly a >country I associate with high technology, but there you have it :) Matacz and >Gosu both did well, and Mridul also did very well as the sole representative of >India. > >I think I might have also won the "most lines to channel 64" title, although we >would need an actual count to make sure, since Vincent and Enrico gave me stiff >competition there. > >CCC members tend to underestimate the effect of the book, but Arturo's book was >quite important. I did not get a single lost position out of book (or even a >tough position), which is extremely important for a tournament of only 9 rounds. > >It was pretty cool to be interviewed by Chess.fm (what does that stand for >anyway?). I was never the most athletic child and was never in the school paper >for sports, so it was nice to get a bit of the celebrity treatment. Sadly, I >don't think I'll have the same sex appeal of Matt Leinart :) > > >Lastly: > >A big thanks to Peter for organizing the tournament (believe me, I know how much >work it is), and to Schroer and Heisman for their commentary. Both are always >interesting and funny. I am (obviously) extremely happy with Zappa's first >tournament win. I had worried that Zappa used up all of its luck last year, but >it seems to have had just enough left in the tank. > >anthony Congratulations! I'm looking forward to Zappa 1.0 ... Vas
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