Seven stalwarts turned up for the final night of the year. A five + oh blitz of seven rounds.
The club is in recess now for the Summer, we will resume again on February 5 at 7pm in room G1.
| 1= | Graham | 6.5 | +B5 | =W2 | +B3 | +W4 | +W6 | +B7 | +BYE |
| Stefan | 6.5 | +B6 | =B1 | +W4 | +W5 | +B3 | +BYE | +W7 | |
| 3= | William | 4.5 | +BYE | =B4 | -W1 | +B7 | -W2 | +B6 | +W5 |
| James | 4.5 | +B7 | =W3 | -B2 | -B1 | +BYE | +W5 | +W6 | |
| 5 | Murray | 3.0 | -W1 | +BYE | +W6 | -B2 | +W7 | -B4 | -B3 |
| 6 | Ian | 2.0 | -W2 | +W7 | -B5 | +BYE | -B1 | -W3 | -B4 |
| 7 | Craig | 1.0 | -W4 | -B6 | +BYE | -W3 | -B5 | -W1 | -B2 |
Next week will be the last club night of the year. We will finish with a 5 + 0 blitz of six or seven rounds so dont miss out. The first club night for 2013 will be February 5.
Round 10 was the Benko Gambit
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3 d6 7. e4 Bxf1
The original name of the opening was the Volga Gambit, named after the Volga River because of an article about 3…b5!? published in the USSR in 1946. The term is still widely used in Russian literature. Beginning in the late 1960s, this opening idea was also promoted by Pal Benko, a Hungarian-American Grandmaster, who provided many new suggestions and published his book The Benko Gambit in 1974. The name Benko Gambit stuck and is particularly used in English-speaking countries. Though “Volga Gambit” originally referred solely to the move 3…b5 (sometimes followed by an early …e6), while Benko himself analyzed in his Batsford treatise solely what is now the main line, 3…b5 4.cxb5 a6, both the terms Benko Gambit and Volga Gambit are now used interchangeably or concurrently (for example, Volga–Benko Gambit).
Final results for the A Division are updated here, and for the B division here. Peter took out the A division with a score of 7.5 out of a possible 8, dropping a half point to Stefan as white with the Urusov gambit. Ian Managed 7 out of 10 in the B division, while Daniel Davis was rewarded with “50 Chess Lessons” as a book prize for being the best Club Junior on 6.5.
The main line of the Urusov Gambit is reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3. Documented by Ponziani in the 18th century, the gambit was first analyzed in 1857 by Prince Sergei Urusov, friend of Tolstoy and one of the best Russian players of the mid-nineteenth century after Petrov.
The Urusov has been popular among attacking players for nearly 150 years. Adopted by, Schlechter, Tartakower, Caro, and Mieses, the opening claimed victims among the best defenders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Steinitz and Lasker. By 1924 there was enough interest in the line that a thematic tournament was organized in New York featuring Marshall, Torre, and Santasiere known as the Dimock Theme Tournament. With that the opening fell into disfavor at the highest levels of master competition, and today it is mostly seen in club play, where it racks up quick scores against inexperienced or unprepared opponents.
The line for round nine’s game was taken from Schlechter v Neustadtl & Tietz, consultation game, Carlsbad 1901
1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 Qxd4 Nf6 6 Nc3 Be7 7 Bg5 c6
Hamilton Chess Club 