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S3 E10 Puzzles
**There is an error in the first puzzle of the episode: the bishop should be on c4 (NOT c5)** Thank you @brianmartin5571 on Youtube for letting me know! Hello, and welcome back to another episode - as per tradition, we will be looking at some puzzles this week. I will give you the location of each of the pieces on the board then I will give you some time to solve it before we walk through the solution. We have 3 puzzles this week - easy, medium and hard. Try your best to solve the puzzle before the solution begins. Let’s dive in! Puzzle number 1: White has a knight on e7, a king on h6, and a rook on g1. Black has a bishop on c5, rook on e5, and a king on h8.Are we ready for puzzle 2?White has a room on a6 and a king on f3Black has a pawn on a2, a rook on a1, and a king on b4Puzzle 3 - this is another important rook and pawn ending that comes up a surprisingly high number of times: White has a king on b8, a pawn on b7, and a rook on c1Black has a rook on a2 and a king on d8.And that is all that we have for this week, tune in next time where we will continue to work on our blindfold skills and look at another game of the Masters. http://cassidynoble.com/
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11:12
S3 E9 J. Schulten v Johannes Zukertort (1869)
Today, we are looking at a sometimes overlooked player in chess history. An individual is rumored to have learned 14 languages, he founded a chess magazine, has an opening named after him, and someone who played in the first World Championship - Johannes Zukertort.In London, members of the St George’s Chess Club heard of Zukertort’s victory and offered money for him to come play against the unofficial world champion Steinitz. Steinitz had been living in London for 10 years by this point dominating everyone. By accepting this invitation, Zukertort had sparked a rivalry with Steinitz that would last for years. 1878 saw success for the rising star. He played in the Paris World Expo - an 11 round double round robin tournament. This was considered the first Intercontinental tournament as there were players from the United States making it 7 countries represented out of 12 players. In early 1879, while in Dublin, Zukertort played a 12 person blindfolded simul (where he plays 12 players at once without looking at the board) finishing with 8 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws. One of the opponents that he defeated was Lord Randolph Churchill, the father of Winston Churchill. The following year - he defeated the English champion - Joseph Blackburne 9.5 to 4.5. After the match against Blackburne - both Zukertort and Steinitz wrote about the games in their respective magazines taking jabs at one another’s analysis. Zukertort represented the Romantic style of chess while Steinitz represented a more ‘scientific’ approach that we would call the positional style. The various articles and analysis written would antagonize each other beyond strategy and morph into personal insult territory. This animosity would later be named “The Ink War”.London, there was a 14-player double round robin (26 total games). A rumored story from the tournament banquet - the Club’s President proposed a toast to the best chess player in the world, to which both Steinitz and Zukertort stood up at the same time. In the first 23 rounds of the tournament, Zukertort scored 22 points, winning the tournament with 3 rounds to go. He finished with 22 out of 26. Steinitz came in 2nd with 19 out of 26. A day after the tournament, Steinitz challenged Zukertort to a one on one match in the United States. The winner would be crowned ‘the champion of the world’. Zukertort started off strong - winning 4 of the first 5 games. They then moved to St Louis where Steinitz picked up 3 ½ out of 4. They then concluded in New Orleans. Zukertort is quoted as saying he was ‘living on his wits’ as he was physically fatigued and approaching a mental breakdown. Meanwhile Steinitz had a ‘bottomless pit of mental stamina’. In New Orleans, Steinitz picked up 6 wins in 11 games to become the World Champion by a score of 10-5. After that loss, Zukertort’s health suffered immensely. While in New Orleans, he caught malaria. He also had heart disease, kidney problems, and arteriosclerosis. On top of that, he was broke from losing the match. For our game this week, we are traveling to the early part of his career - before the World Championship, before the Ink War, and before the training with Anderseen - we are going to 1869. John William Schulten versus Johannes Zukertort. Now, if we’re ready - let’s begin. 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 d5 4. exd5 Qh4+ 5. Kf1 Bd6 6. D4 Ne7 7. Bb3 g5 8. c4 b6 9. Nf3 Qh5 10. Qe1 Bf5 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Ba4 O-O-O 13. Nc6 Nxc6 14. dxc6 Nc5 15. Bd1 Bd3+ 16. Kg1 Rhe8 17. Qd2 Qh4 18. g3 fxg3 19. Kg2 Be4+ 20. Bf3 Bxf3+ 21. Kxf3 Qe4# 0-1https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1337018https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Zukertort http://cassidynoble.com/
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18:56
S3 E8 Maurice Ashley v M. Berman (1991)
Nowadays, we may see this gentleman as a commentator on large scale events such as the US Championship and the World Championship, but he has had a groundbreaking career including participating in the US Chess Championship and becoming the first Black chess Grandmaster. We are of course talking about -the Tiger Woods of Chess - Maurice Ashley. He joined the Black Bear School of Chess - a chess group of African American chess enthusiasts popular in the 1970s and 80s. This group produced some of the strongest Black Masters in history. In that same interview, Ashley said “This group was the most influential on my chess - they taught me how to fight to the bitter end and really study intensely. Not by formal lessons, but by just crushing me mercilessly. Truly the school of hard knocks.”In 1997, he backed off of coaching and commentating to focus on becoming a Grandmaster. He had an epiphany after seeing Tiger Woods clinch the 1997 Golf Masters and said: “I had been dreaming about being a grandmaster for over a decade, but life had seemed to be constantly pulling me in different directions,” Maurice writes on his website, “It was that Sunday in April watching Tiger realize his dream that convinced me that I needed to change my life and go chase mine.”.In 2003:He and Susan Polgar became US Chess Federation’s Grandmasters of the YearHe was the commentator on ESPN’s broadcast of Kasparov’s match against X3D Fritz (a match that ended in a 2-2 tie)He wrote an essay called - ‘The End of the Draw Offer?’ which raised questions about ways to avoid quick draws in chess tournaments. He argued that quick draws were detrimental to the game for the viewer, sponsorships, and players. He insisted on a 30 (or 40) move rule in tournaments. This essay helped inspire the rule changes at the US Championship and the New York Masters that are present todayHe also played in his first US Championship placing - scoring 39th out of 58. After this tournament, he announced he would be retiring from competitive chess instead pivoting to coaching and commentatingHe was the 57th person to be inducted into US Chess Hall of Fame. On his plaque, he is described as: “Not only was he the first African-American player to achieve the title of Grandmaster, but one of the greatest ambassadors and promoters the game has ever known”. Fast forwarding a little to 2024, Ashley released the book ‘Move by Move Life Lessons On and Off the Chess Board’. He also started the Maurice Ashley Foundation. An organization with the mission to help young people who do not typically have access to resources be able to grow - "Too often, kids with immense potential are overlooked simply because they don’t have access to the right environment or support. This fellowship is about giving those kids a chance to rise, to be seen, and to compete on the world stage." “When people asked me at the time, ‘How does it feel to become the first?’ I said, ‘You know, it is cool to be the first. But what excites me is that there is going to be a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and a 10th.’ Here we are 25 years later, I’m still the only one [in the US or in Jamaica]. For me, that is a challenge. That’s unacceptable.”1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4 c6 5. Nc3 Be6 6. cxd5 Bxd5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bd3 Nf6 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 Re8 11. Ne5 Nbd7 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Nf8 15. Bb5 N6d7 16. Bg3 a6 17. Ba4 Rc8 18. Qh5 Nxe5 19. Rxe5 b5 20. Bb3 Bf6 21. Rxd5 Qa5 22. Qxf7+ Kh8 23. Re5 1-0https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2387718https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ashleyhttp://cassidynoble.com/
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20:15
S3 E7 Tatev Abrahamyan v N. Christiansen (2006)
This week, we are looking at a 5-time US Women’s Olympiad participant, a 2-time Women’s World Chess Championship participant, a 21-time US Women’s Championship participant, and a lover of all things penguins - Women’s Grandmaster Tatev Abrahamyan. Born in Armenia, Tatev learned to play chess at the age of 8 when her father took her to the Chess Olympiad of 1996 which took place in her home country. While there, she met Grandmaster Judit Polgar - who at the age of 18 was competing in the Open division of the Olympiad and was the only woman in the Top 10 in the world. Tatev had commented - “I was in complete awe. My first thought was, ‘I want to be just like her’” .The following year, she established her first FIDE rating of 2113. In 2001, her family moved from Armenia to the United States. It did not take long for her to start making waves in the United States. Her first tournament was the 37th Annual American Open. She finished with a score of 4.5 out of 8 but it was good enough for a provisional rating of 2266 which was above the threshold for United States National Master… from 1 tournament. Two years later, she played in the US Junior Championship finishing in the middle of the pack of 10 players, but she was also the only female player in the tournament. In her second round of going to the Olympiad, Team USA placed 5th.That same year, she also picked up her Womens Grandmaster Title - which requires a FIDE rating above 2300 of at least 30 games and 2 norms. If that wasn’t enough, she also had her focus split between chess and studying as she earned a dual degree from California State University Long Beach for Psychology and Political Science. 2012, she was back to the US Women’s Championship in 6th and back to the Olympiad - this time Team USA finished in 10th place. Toward the end of the year, Abrahamyan played in her first Women’s World Chess Championship - a 64 player knockout tournament to see who would become the Women’s World Champion. She was seeded 51st and faced Alexandra Kostenuik the 14th seed where she lost and was eliminated ½ to 1 ½ .2013 - she finished 3rd in the US Women’s Championship. 2014 - she ended in a 3-way tie for first at the US Women’s Championship where Irina Krush ended up the winner after rapid playoff games. Again by finishing in the top 3, Tatev had punched her ticket to the 2015 World Women’s Championship. She also played in the Olympiad - this time Team USA finished in 8th. The next year, she finished 7th at the US Women’s Championship and entered the Women’s World Championship as the 53rd seed. Her round 1 opponent was Dronavalli Harika, the 12th seed. Tatev ended up 0-2 and was eliminated. 2016, she finished 2nd at the US Women’s Championship. To round out her participation at the US Women’s Championship: In 2017 she came in 8th. 2018 - 6th, 2019 - 3rd. 2020 - 5th. 2021 - 4th. 2022 - 5th. 2023 - 4th. 2024 - 9th.For today’s game, we are traveling to the United States Championship back in 2006. Tatev Abrahamyan versus Natasha Christansen. Now, if we’re ready… let’s begin1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nb3 Qd8 10. f4 d6 11. h3 Bd7 12. Qe2 Na5 13. Nxa5 Qxa5 14. Bb3 Bc6 15. Bf2 Rac8 16. Rad1 a6 17. Bh4 Rfe8 18. e5 Nd7 19. e6 fxe6 20. Bxe6+ Kh8 21. f5 Rc7 22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Rf5 Qxf5 24. Bxf5 gxf5 25. Qh5+ 1-0https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1399216https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatev_Abrahamyanhttps://blindfoldchesspodcast.com/
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18:17
S3 E6 Eric Hansen v. A. Kim (2019)
Hello everyone, this week we are looking at the youngest Alberta champion, at one point the highest rated bullet player on Chess.com, the highest rated active Canadian player, and a founder of the Youtube and Twitch channel the “Chessbrahs” - Eric Hansen.A couple of years after he started playing chess, in 2003, he participated in the Alberta Provincial Under 12 Championship where he scored 1st with a score of 5 out of 6 and established his provisional Canadian rating at 1316. Quickly, his Canadian rating started to skyrocket. By the end of that year, his rating was 1400. By the end of 2004, it was 1800. In 2005, he reached 2050. In 2006, he played in the Under 14 Alberta Championship and the Alberta Junior Championship - going undefeated and winning both tournaments. Two years later with his Canadian rating above 2300, Eric won the Under 16 Alberta Championship, he finished 1st at the Alberta Championship, and he finished in a tie for 1st at the Alberta Open to become the youngest Alberta Champion in history at the age of 15. Once that tournament concluded, Hansen attended the University of Texas on a chess scholarship. It was also around this time that he started to use the name ‘Chessbrah’ as one of his usernames on various chess websites like the Internet Chess Club or ChessCube. He also started to do live broadcasts of him playing on a website called livestream which was shutdown in January 2025. Toward the end of the year, he played in the American Continental Championship in Argentina. More than 200 players participated with the top 4 qualifying for the 2013 FIDE World Cup. Hansen finished in a 5-way tie for first. Since there were only 4 spots available, the 5 winners had to play rapid tie-breaks to determine who advanced. Hansen finished in 4th to grab the final World Cup spot.To cap off the year, he also won the Canadian Chess Player of the Year.The next year, he found himself tying for first with Nigel Short at the Canadian Open. He also found himself back at the FIDE World Cup - this time, seeded 98th out of 128. Again, he was eliminated in the 1st round, this time to Vladimir Malakhov who was the 31st seed with a score of ½ to 1 ½ . In 2014, he returned to the Olympiad - this time on board 2 scoring 5 out of 9. 2015, saw Eric back at the top of the Canadian Closed - this time in a 3 way tie for first. As of writing this, Eric is still an active player. He is sitting atop the Canadian rating list of active players by over 100 points and he is rated 150th in the world. The Chessbrah Youtube channel has almost 350,000 subscribers, they’ve amassed 170,000,000 channel views, and their Twitch account has 330,000 followers. For today’s game, we are going back just a couple of years to the World Blitz Championship of 2019 in Moscow. Eric Hansen versus Alexey Kim. Now, if we’re ready… let’s begin. 1. e4 e6 2. d4 b6 3. Bd3 Bb7 4. Nf3 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Ne7 7. a4 a6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. c3 f5 10. b3 Qc8 11. Ba3 Re8 12. exf5 Nxf5 13. h4 Nc6 14. h5 Qd8 15. hxg6 hxg6 16. Ne4 Nce7 17. Qd2 Nd5 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Qh4 20. g3 Qh3 21. Bf1 Qg4 22. Qxd5 Bxd5 23. Nf6+ Kf7 24. Nxg4 Rh8 25. Bg2 1-0https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1987346 Eric Hansen | Chess Celebrities - Chess.comhttps://www.youtube.com/chessbrah https://blindfoldchesspodcast.com/
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19:22