A Late Night Movie, Plumbing and Chess

     Yesterday morning consisted of a Chick-fil-A breakfast followed by a ten minute repair job on a toilet that wouldn't stop running. Ten minutes, that is, if you are a plumber or a home handyman. If you're neither, it's an all morning job.

     Maybe it took so long because it was a short night and I was tired...I get up at 6am regardless. It was a short night because we stayed up until midnight watching Pawn Sacrifice on television.

     The movie is rated 7 out of 10 stars and Rotten Tomatoes may have called it "fantastic", but I think real chess players would rate it lower. 

     Spassky called the movie "weak" and said that it had "no intrigue." He added he that the film misrepresented how and why he agreed to continue the match after Fischer failed to show up for the second game. 

     Anatoly Karpov said, “Maybe the film is not bad for the popularization of chess, but its content is terrible. There are many inaccuracies. The chess positions are simply idiotic. The film is quite budgetary, so take a chess consultant, pay him a fee, he will correct your position. And then there the diagonal from left to right is white. You are making a film about world champions, and such bloopers, for me as a professional, are terrible." 

     The New York Times review was probably on point. "Pity any ardent chess fans who go to this movie; they’ll be pounding the walls over the differences between Mr. Zwick’s depiction and reality, and will no doubt be irked that the film doesn’t dwell much on the actual chess playing. But this isn’t a chess movie, it isn’t a biopic, and it isn’t a documentary. (For that, see “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” a very good 2011 treatment from HBO.) It’s a dramatization, one aimed at a general audience." 

     The afternoon was spent napping and then playing a few games on Chess Hotel, the following of which was the pick of the litter. That isn't saying much, but it was a lot of fun. 

 

[Event "Chess Hotel"] [Site "?"] [Date "2022.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Guest"] [Black "Tartajubow"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {Irregular Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 e5 {I often play the Fajarowicz variation of the Budapest (2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4) even though it's not considered very good. When an opponent crosses my plans with this move which has happened several times by those apparently wanting to play the Colle, I have played this dreadful move several times.} 3. c3 (3. dxe5 {This is, of course, the only move worth considering.} Ne4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c3 d5 6. exd6 Bxd6 7. Qc2 Bf5 8. Bd3 Qe7 {Guest-Tartajubow Chess Hotel 2019. Black has no real compensation for the P.}) 3... e4 {Assuring that white is going to be horribly cramped.} 4. f4 { This is awful. He should have played 4.c4 even though it involves a lost tempo. At least he would have had some freedom.} d5 5. Nd2 Bg4 {Stockfish likes 5... Ng4 attacking the e-Pawn and forcing white to misplace his N on b3.} 6. Be2 { I was happy to see this move, voluntarily exchanging his good B.} (6. Qb3 { This is his best chance.} Nc6 7. Qxb7 Bd7 8. Qa6 (8. Bb5 Rb8 9. Qa6 Rxb5 10. Qxb5 Nxd4 {wins for black.}) 8... Rb8 9. Nb3 Ng4 10. Qe2 {Black has sufficient compensation for the P.} (10. h3 Qh4+ {wins})) 6... Bxe2 7. Nxe2 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 c6 10. b3 Nbd7 {In spite of white's rather poor play in the opening black cannot boast of anything more than being slightly better.} 11. a4 Qc7 { I realized this is rather pointless, but couldn't think of anything else to do. } (11... Ng4 {is the engine way.} 12. Nb1 h5 13. h3 Nh6 14. Qe1 g6 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Nxa3 Nf5 {and black is slightly better.}) 12. c5 {White is playing to gain space on the Q-side. Stockfish can't make up its mind between 12.Nb1 and 12.h3. } Nxc5 {[%mdl 8192] White has a decisive advantage says Stockfish. I knew this wasn't good, but it was an 8-minute + 2 seconds per move game and rather than the passive 12...Be7 with near equality I wanted to complicate things.} 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nb1 {Too passive. 14.Nd4 was better. No matter...white still has a huge advantage.} Qb6 {The engine wants me to play 14...Re8. Why, I don't know. At least with the text I am threatening the e-Pawn.} 15. Nd4 a5 {I didn't want my Q driven back.} 16. Ba3 {With the elimination of my B all attacking chances disappear.} Bxd4 {This assures me of at least one advanced passed P...for whatever that might be worth.} 17. exd4 (17. Bxf8 {would actually lose.} Bxa1 18. Bd6 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Re8 {and those center Ps will be decisive.}) (17. Qxd4 {A really swell move as it pretty much forces the exchange of Qs} Qxd4 18. exd4 {and black has two Ps for a piece, but that is not enough compensation in this position.}) 17... Rfe8 18. Bc5 Qc7 19. g4 { While this is not fatal, it creates a weakness on the K-side that allows black plenty of counterplay. Simply 19.Nc3 keeps white's winning position.} b6 { Much better was 19...e3. After the text white is better, but not winning.} ( 19... e3 20. Nc3 Ne4 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 {with a completely equal game.}) 20. Ba3 e3 21. Qe2 {A better way of stopping the advance of the P was 21.Ra2} h5 22. g5 ( 22. gxh5 b5 (22... Nxh5 23. f5 Nf6 24. Nc3 {and white is better.}) 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Bc1 {White must deal with the e-Pawn.} (24. Qxb5 e2 25. Re1 Qxf4 { and black is winning.} 26. Ra2 (26. Nc3 Qxd4+ 27. Kg2 Qxc3) 26... Rab8 27. Qd3 Re3 {etc}) 24... Re4 {with complications and equal chances.}) 22... Ng4 23. Rf3 {Better was 23.Nc3 getting the N and R into play.} Re4 {[%mdl 2048] Attacking the f-Pawn; I thought the attack on the d-Pawn was incidental.} 24. Nc3 {Now this is wrong! He must tend to the defense of his K-side.} (24. h3 Rxd4 (24... Nf2 25. Nc3 Rxf4 26. Rxe3 {favors white.}) 25. hxg4 Re8 26. Rxe3 Rxe3 27. Qxe3 Re4 { Amazing! White is two pieces up, but with the R and N out of play black stands better.} 28. Qc1 Qc8 29. Qd1 Qe6 30. Nd2 Rxf4 {Black threatens mate beginning with ...Qe6+} 31. Qe1 Qxg4+ 32. Kh2 Qxg5 33. Be7 f6 34. Kh3 {to prevent ...Rh4# } Rd4 35. Qe6+ Kh7 36. Nf3 Qg4+ 37. Qxg4 hxg4+ 38. Kg3 gxf3 {and the B might have difficulty coping with all of black's Ps.}) 24... Rxf4 {Wrong P because it allows white to ease his position with exchanges. After 24...Rxd4 white would be pretty much helpless.} 25. Raf1 Rxd4 26. Rxf7 Qxf7 {Relying heavily on my extra pieces seemed like a good decision, but it actually leaves white (according to Stockfish) with a decisive advantage. Keeping the Q with 26... Qe6 would have kept white's advantage at a minimum.} 27. Rxf7 Kxf7 28. Nd1 {This attack on the P is fruitless.} (28. h3 {wins the N.} Nf2 29. Qxh5+ Kg8 30. g6 {and the threst of Qh7# leaves black with no way out.} c5 31. Nxd5 Rd1+ 32. Kg2 e2 33. Qh7+ Kf8 34. Qh8#) 28... Re8 {This threatens to win with ...Rd2 and black is right black in the game.} 29. Bb2 {[%mdl 8192] He should not have allowed the R to go to e2!} (29. h3 Rd2 30. Qe1 Nh2 31. Kh1 Nf3 32. Qf1 Rh2#) ( 29. Bc1 {keeps the chances equal.} Rde4 30. h3 R8e5 31. g6+ (31. hxg4 Rxg4+ 32. Kh2 Rexg5 {wins. For example...} 33. Qf3+ Ke6 34. Bxe3 Rh4+ 35. Qh3+ Rgg4 36. Bxb6 Rxh3+ 37. Kxh3 Rb4) 31... Kxg6 32. Nc3 Rf4 33. Qd3+ Kf6 34. Ne2 Nf2 35. Qc2 Nxh3+ 36. Kh2 c5 37. Bb2 d4 38. Kxh3 {Stockfish evaluates the position at 0.00. It's unclear and anything could happen.}) 29... Rd2 {After this white is lost. After a promising start a combination of passive play and using too much time has been his undoing.} 30. Qf3+ Kg8 {Now there is simply no way to deal with the coming ...e2} 31. h3 e2 {White resigned} (31... e2 32. Ne3 e1=Q+ 33. Nf1 Rf2 34. Qd3 Rxf1+ 35. Qxf1 Qg3+ 36. Qg2 Re1#) 0-1