Hello readers of the Junction,
Today we’ll be following up on last week’s dissertation with a dissection of the actual chess games from several relatively high-profile chessboxing matches (i.e. the ones which were filmed online with a board.) First up is coverage of the most recent tournament I have video of from the London Chessboxing page: the International Chessboxing Brexit Belt.
Ville “Jukola” Makinen – Guy Cohen, International Chessboxing Brexit Belt 2017
VJM – GC, First Round
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 {By no means an obviously bad move, but generally frowned upon in favor of dxc3, e6, or c6.} 3. cxd5 Nxd5 {The reason? e4, a move White wants to play anyway, then comes with a tempo.} 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Ne5 {Pushing back the bishop, and sticking an uncomfortable knight in Black’s position.} Bf5 6. g3 f6 7. Nf3 {This allows Nb4, forcing a white knight to a depressing square (Na3); for this reason Nc4 (with Nd3 following) is a little better.} Nc6 8. Bg2 {First, I’d prefer Nbd2, which prepares/threatens e4. (There’s no reason for spacially-advantaged White to consider the inferior Nc3 Nxc3 bxc3.} Be4 {Poor. This doesn’t really benefit Black, and worse, it allows Nbd2, and later e4, with tempo.} 9. 0-0 {White misses it, opting to play more cautiously.} e5 {This smacks to me, though, of an obvious mistake: White is castled; Black isn’t. Black shouldn’t be opening up the center like this.} 10. Nc3 {Again, White should have played more aggressively; dxe5 blows open the center, leaving White with a number of attacking options.} Bd6 {This move, however, is the worst yet: a straight-up blunder. Black loses the bishop.} 11. Nxe4 0-0 12. Nxd6 Qxd6 13. e4 {This blocks the h1-a8 diagonal for White’s g2 bishop; it’s not terribly damaging, but Makinen doesn’t need to hem in his own pieces.} Nde7 14. d5 {Altogether, we enter the first round of boxing with the game nearly over; White has, in essence, both an extra piece and the compensation for it (in terms of his space advantage.)}
It’s important to note, in my boxing commentary, that I’m even less qualified to offer it than I am my chess advice. That being said, it’s half the sport, so we’ll plunge in with aplomb. (Aplombge? No. Let’s forget I ever typed that.)
The first round of boxing was fairly energetic.It was clear that these are amateur boxers. They leave a lot of openings that I’m sure more skilled athletes would exploit. A lot of punches do land, however, and it does underscore the importance of both of chessboxing’s components. Being repeatedly hit in the head can’t be good for your ability to play chess immediately afterwards. About two and a half minutes into the three-minute round, Makinen (White) is sent to the ground by a fantastic left hook from Cohen, and it’s several seconds before he recovers and manages to finish the round.
VJM – GC, Second Round
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Nd8 15. Be3 {White doesn’t seem overly shaken up, however; he plays the next few moves quickly and confidently.} c6 {Black strikes back at White’s strong center.} 16. dxc6 Qxc6 {He then wisely avoids the trade of queens, attempting to keep mating potential on the board.} 17. Rc1 Qe8 18. Nh4 Ndc6 19. Nf5 Rd8 {There weren’t really any good options for Black there: 19…Nxf5 removed the unpleasant White knight, but freed White’s bishop.} 20. Qb3+ Kh8 21. Bc5 Nd4 22. Nxd4 exd4 23. Qxb7 Rd7 24. Qb4 Rf7 25. Bxe7 Rfxe7 {With further material traded off, and the balanced nature of both sides’ development and pawn structure, it’s clearer than ever that the game will be won by White’s extra material.} 26. Rfd1 d3 27. Qc3 Qd8 28. Qc8 {However, before White can take more pieces off the board, the third round of boxing begins.}
You’d expect the dynamic to change from here on out: it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Black is lost on the board, so he must be progressively more aggressive in the ring for a chance at victory. The second round, though, is a little more sluggish. Fighting is difficult, especially for repeated rounds with only short intervals of rest. There remain brief exchanges of blows, as Cohen presses the assault, landing a series of rights.
Most notably, though, as the announcers point out, there’s quite a bit of holding, almost entirely initiated by Makinen: “He’s just trying to survive.”
VJM – GC, Third Round
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Re8 {Having been unsuccessful in boxing, however, Cohen takes the same survivor’s mentality into the third round of chess.} 29. Qxd8 Rexd8 30. Rd2 {Black’s singular asset is the passed pawn; therefore, White immediately sets about removing it.} h6 31. Rcd1 Rb7 32. b3 Kh7 33. Rxd3 Re8 34. Rd7 Rxd7 35. Rxd7 {Then, he mops up the Black pawns.} a5 36. Bh3 Kh8 37. Bf5 Rg8 38. Bg6 Rf8 39. a3 Rb8 40. b4 axb4 41. axb4 Rg8 42. b5 {With the threat of Rd8# present, the Black rook is powerless against the pawn’s inexorable march.} Ra8 43. b6 Ra1+ 44. Kg2 Ra8 45. b7 Rb8 46. Rc7 {The checkmate, however, is delayed; as the announcers proclaim “The bell came just in the nick of time for him!”}
That’s only half-true, however; it would also be entirely accurate to say that Black brought about this result. Cohen had nary twenty seconds remaining on his clock; though you can’t overtly stall in chessboxing, he clearly took more time than was strictly to take the game to a third round. Cohen used his time well: almost immediately, Makinen’s nose was bloodied. After substantial holding, though, with each player exhausted, the game reached its conclusion.
VJM – GC, Fourth Round
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Rxb7 {Black had to play something; this ended it quickest.} 47. Rc8#
Likely, the early blunder upset the competitive balance, but it’s interesting that both sides ended up struggling to hold on in their respective areas. I’d imagine the ideal chessboxing player would be more well-rounded. Let’s see if we’ll get a better match in the next game.
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Lars “Lazarus” Bjorknas – Cameron “The Hurt Locker” Little, International Chessboxing Brexit Belt 2017
LLB – CTHLL, First Round
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h5 {A strange waste of time; Nf6, d6, or some other straightforward developing move is both obvious and better.} 5. 0-0 Nf6 6. Nc3 0-0 {Black castles, but we already see the downsides of 4. h5; it’s a weaker position, and it took an extra move.} 7. Be3 Bxe3 8. fxe3 {Doubled pawns, seemingly, but they control important central squares, and the f-file is opened for White’s suddenly-developed rook.} d6 9. a4 {similar to h5, though not as bad: it’s on the queenside. If White was looking for an edge-pawn move, 9. h3, in preparation for 11. d4, is probably the right way to go.} Bg4 10. Nd5 {Not bad, but maybe a little misguided; d4 is clearly the break to be aiming for here, undoubling the pawns and increasing the space advantage.} Nxd5 11. Bxd5
So far, it does look like the match is moving in rational fashion, albeit rather slowly: both players are taking their fair share of time. The trend continues in the first round of boxing, which is rather more cagey and methodical; there are fewer frenzied punches. Little emerges with a nosebleed, and does much of the movement. He’s nearly fifty pounds (21 kilos) lighter– If Bjorknas needs to change tactics and press an assault, it’ll be difficult to cope with Little’s mobility.
LLB – CTHLL, Second Round
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Qd7 12. b3 Rab8 13. Qd2 Ne7 {Noticing White’s dithering, and, worse, the bishop’s lack of escape routes, Black aims for his own pawn break: d5.} 14. Qb4 c6 15. Bxf7+ {As in the last game, one side loses his head. Obviously, 15. Bc4 doesn’t lose material.} Rxf7 {Now, it’s clearly intentional; Lars thinks for several seconds before playing, and does it as a deliberate sacrifice, counting on Kxf7 16. Nxe5+. He’s missed the rook capture, though, and now he’s just lost.} 16. d4 Ng6
Black, though he received first aid during the game, was bleeding on the chessboard. In the second round, though, he continues to have the upper hand. The announcers discuss Bjorknas’ lack of power despite his strength, and the most damaging punches thrown are a series of Little’s jabs. Though he’ll almost certainly have to win boxing, White wasn’t spurred on by his blunder, and he comes out of the round no better than when he started.
LLB – CTHLL, Third Round
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17. dxe5 Bxf3 {Black comes out of the boxing match with a clear plan to benefit from the unexpected material; immediately, he institutes several trades.} 18. Rxf3 Rxf3 19. gxf3 Nxe5 20. Rf1 Qe7 {Black then plays (perhaps too; 20…Qh3 beckoned) cautiously, consolidating his position before assaulting.} 21. f4 Ng4 22. Qc4+ d5 23. exd5 {This blunder should end the game. It allows 23…Qxe3+ and a subsequent invasion of the black pieces. Qe2 was necessary.}
The chessboard is cleared from the ring, and Bjorknas doesn’t really have an answer to Little’s strategy. Instead, he’s reduced to following, and produces very little.
LLB – CTHLL, Fourth Round
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Nxe3 {Worse than 23…Qxe3+, which brings the queen into a growing attack, but this does win the exchange; it’s hard to fault.} 24. dxc6+ Nxc4 25. bxc4 Rd8 26. Kg2 Rd2+ 27. Rf2 Qe4+ 28. Kg3 Rxf2 29. Kxf2 Qxc2+ {White, bu now, only has one hope: extend the game to a fifth round of boxing.} 30. Kf3 Qd3+ 31. Kg4 bxc6 32. h4 g6 33. h5 Qf5+ 34. Kf3 Qxh5+ 35. Ke4 Qf5+ 36. Kf3 Qd3+ 37. Kg4 Kf7 38. Kh4 Kf6 39. Kg4 h5+ 40. Kh4 {And he succeeds, by the skin of his teeth, with thirty seconds on his clock.}
He hadn’t accumulated much success in the previous boxing round, and this is Bjorknas’ last hope, granted to him by Little’s less-than-clinical play. Indeed, he comes out swinging, approaching more aggressively than before, and lands several damaging clusters of hits. Despite that, though, the final bell sounds, and Little concludes the victory with little fanfare.
LLB – CTHLL, Fifth Round
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Qf3 41. f5 Qg4#
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Toby “Slowby” White – Jonathan “The Tactician” Arnott, International Chessboxing Brexit Belt 2017
TSW – JTTA, First Round
1. e4 e6 2. Bc4 {A rather atypical reply; even if Black doesn’t rejoin as he does here, the bishop is blunted by f7-e6.} d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bb3 c6 5. Nf3 {d4 is my preference here, enabling further development and gaining a foothold in the center.} Bd6 {Moreover, there was no possible interceptor along the e-file besides the white queen: 5…Qe7+ would have forced a queen trade, after which the placement of White’s pieces is awkward.} 6. d3 {There’s no special need to cover c4 or e4; thus, d4 is better.} Nf6 7. Bg5 0-0 8. 0-0 Bg4 9. Bxf6 {A poor response, only helping Black pile on the pin, as well as develop.} Qxf6 10. h3 {I prefer Nbd2; it develops, and in both scenarios, the trade occurs, Qxb2 follows.} Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qxb2 12. Nd2 Qe5 {A rather crude threat, but it’s effective: White is forced to weaken his own kingside.} 13. g3 Qe6 {This relocation isn’t urgent, and it’s easily defended against: Nd7 develops more quickly.} 14. Rae1 {Unfortunately, White misses the threat entirely: c4, counterattacking, or, more simply, Qg2, were adequate defenses.} Qxh3 15. Qh1 Qxh1+
Following this exchange, however, White summarily defeated Arnott in the ring; despite his worse position, therefore, 1-0. It’s disappointing for perhaps the best chess player on the day to be taken down in boxing, but it speaks to the balance of the sport: a player must have a minimum level of skill in both disciplines. This baseline does address one of the major criticisms of the sport: that Mike Tyson would be the chessboxing world champion. More realistically, Tyson would be checkmated in the first round of chess.
There are, though, rather low benchmarks a player must meet. The sport isn’t at the level where it can attract the best players, and, more to the point, the best fans. It’s a fact perhaps best exemplified by the announcer’s comment “Queens move diagonally, as well as up-and-down and side-to-side” halfway through the first game. I can’t speak with any great expertise to the boxing, but the chess, at least, doesn’t have a great deal of substance to it.
To what degree is this objectively true, though? Is this empirical, qualitative observation confirmed by what semblance of hard data we can extract from the sport? That’s a question for next time.
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I’ve recently begun an effort to more deeply analyze the games that I play, and I’m starting small but consistent.
Here’s the first, hopefully, of many games. (Don’t worry; I won’t post them all here.)
Firenze153 – GadoCarioca 27–02–2019 (3+0)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 {This diversion forces the issue, eliminating any possibility of Bxc6.} 5. Bb3 Bb7 {I don’t remember having played against this before. It’s interesting, betting that “fianchettoed” is the bishop’s correct placement in exchange for more information from White.} 6. 0-0 Nf6 7. Qe2 {Preparing Rd1, followed by d4. d3, of course, is a little more standard.} Bc5 8. c3 {Contesting a possible incursion on d4.} 0-0 9. Rd1 Ng4 {This is a fairly useless, time-wasting move. It sets the knight on an unappealing square, and the threat that it creates is repulsed laughably easily.} 10. d4 {It’s no surprise, therefore, that White gets the initiative.} exd4 11. cxd4 Bb6 12. Bg5 Nf6 {12…Qe8 is a better response; Nf6 walks into an easy pun.} 13. e5 h6 14. Bh4 a5 15. exf6 g6 {g5, followed by Qxf6, was the way to minimize kingside weakness. Black is a piece down, but removing the troublesome White pawn would prolong, in any case, the loss.} 16. d5 Nb4 17. a3 Na6 18. d6 {This is, perhaps, the first big mistake from me. The pawn on d5 is my best piece: it’s blocking up both Black’s a6-knight and b7-bishop. It doesn’t diminish my advantage much, but it shows a flaw in my thinking: by playing this, I’m needlessly allowing counterplay.} cxd6 {18…Nc5 is more active: Black desperately needs kingside reinforcements, which Nc5-e6 could provide. Similarly, Bxf3 eliminates a White attacker. Taking this pawn, in comparison, is irrelevant.} 19. Qd3 Kh7 {Now, the game is well and truly over. Kh8 was forced.} 20. Ng5+ {If Kh8, Nxf7+ follows. If Kg8, Qxg6+.} hxg5 21. Bxg5 Rh8 22. Bxf7 Qf8 23. Qxg6#
Discussion Thread:
Thread 180437
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I think the next post should be the last one concerning chessboxing, attempting to think about the wider trends in the sport’s chess games. Best wishes until then.
Orion Lehoczky Escobar
Chess MentorA very powerful stuff!!! š