This week, we are looking at a 3 time World Youth Gold Medalist, a 4 time US Women’s Chess Championship participant, and the youngest American to earn the International Master title all before the age of 16 - Alice Lee.

-
Podcast Game

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Bxe7 Qxe7 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.g3 O-O 8.Bg2 Nbd7 9.Rc1 c5 10.O-O Re8 11.Re1 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Nc5 13.Qc2 Ncd7 14.a3 e5 15.Nf5 Qe6 16.cxd5 Nxd5 17.Nc4 N7f6 18.e4 Ne7 19.Red1 g6 20.Rd6 gxf5 21.Rxe6 Bxe6 22.Nd6 Rf8 23.exf5 Bd5 24.Qd2 Kh8 25.Qg5 Neg8 26.Bxd5 Nxd5 27.f6 Ngxf6 28.Qxe5 Rad8 29.Rd1 Kg8 30.Rxd5 Nxd5 31.Qg5+ 1-0

–

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2758799

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Lee_(chess_player)

http://cassidynoble.com/

–

My game against Alice:

[Event "2022 Winter Open"]

[Date "2022.01.22"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Noble, Cassidy"]

[Black "WIM Lee, Alice"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B33"]

[WhiteElo "1970"]

[BlackElo "2299"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Rb8 {This line must be popular in Minnesota. This did not feel like the same line I played in a previous round. I was warned before the game that she is very theoretical, so I tried to 'play normally'.} 13. Be2 Bg5 14. Nce3 Be6 15. O-O Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Ne7 17. a4 Qc7 {I felt a little worse here. I thought she was going to succeed in either d5 or f5 so, I kept trying to prevent that.} 18. Bf3 g6 19. axb5 axb5 20. Ra6 Rb6 21. Qa1 Bc8 22. Ra7 Bb7 23. Rd1 Qb8 24. Qa2 Kh8 {We both had ~30 minutes left. I could not think of a great plan forward. I wanted to increase pressure on d6. My bishop was ready in case of f5. My a7 rook wasn't going to move until Nc8 or Nc6 and my d1 rook was covering the d-file. It felt like my knight could be on either d6, c4, or f6 but I didn't want to give up pressure on d5 and f5. I opted to go for the plan with the knight attacking d6.} 25. c4 Nc8 26. Ra5 f5 27. cxb5 Bxe4 28. Bxe4 fxe4 29. Qc4 Ne7 30. Rda1 Qc8 {I had 8 minutes remaining, she had 6.} 31. Qxe4 Qe6 $16 32. Nc4 $2 {I thought this was the right idea - hit the rook on b6 and put pressure on d6, but I think it tangles my pieces up too much. I also offered a draw here, she declined .} Rbb8 33. g3 $2 {I think I was overly concerned about Rf4. I spent way too long on this move, I dropped to about 1 minute. The rest of the game, I was playing on the 30 second increment.} (33. Ra6 Rf4 34. Rxd6 Qxc4 35. Qxc4 Rxc4) 33... Qf6 34. Qe2 Nf5 35. Ra6 Nd4 36. Qe3 $4 Nc2 37. Qe2 Nxa1 38. Rxd6 Qg7 39. Qd1 Qf7 40. Qe2 Nb3 41. Nxe5 Qf5 42. g4 Qf4 43. Rxg6 Nd4 44. Qc4 $4 Nf3+ 0-1

This week, we are looking at the self-taught chess prodigy, a 4-time British Champion, a World Champion Challenger, someone who sparked the 1990s schism between FIDE and the Professional Chess Association, and someone who has been deeply involved in chess development - traveling to over 150 countries - Nigel Short.

--

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Nb3 a5 7. a4 Be7 8. Bb5 Ncb8 9. h4 h6 10. Rh3 b6 11. Rg3 Bf8 12. h5 c6 13. Bd3 Ba6 14. Rg4 c5 15. Bxa6 Nxa6 16. c4 Nb4 17. Nh4 dxc4 18. Nd2 cxd4 19. Nxc4 Qc7 20. Rxd4 Nxe5 21. Qe2 Bc5 22. Re4 Ned3+ 23. Kf1 Qh2 24. Qg4 Qh1+ 25. Ke2 0-1

--
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2353282

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Short

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at the youngest National Champion in Finnish History, the first Canadian woman to earn the Women’s Grandmaster Title, the first canadian woman to earn a FIDE Master title, and popular streamer and model - Nemo Zhou.

--

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Be2 Rc8 8. O-O a6 9. Kh1 e6 10. Qd2 h6 11. Be3 Ne5 12. f4 Neg4 13. Bg1 h5 14. Bf3 Qc7 15. Rae1 Be7 16. Qe2 Qc4 17. e5 dxe5 18. fxe5 Nd5 19. Qxc4 Rxc4 20. Nxd5 exd5 21. Bxd5 Rc5 22. Bxf7+ Kd8 23. e6 Bc6 24. Nf5 Rxc2 25. Bb6+ 1-0

--

“In the [Finnish] textbook, my life forever stays at the age of five, but I need to live in the real life, because success belongs in the past.”

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1771231

https://qiyuzhou.wordpress.com/in-finland/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_Zhou

https://www.twitch.tv/akaNemsko

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at the first National German Champion, a 2-time Soviet Champion, a 2-time World Championship challenger, and someone who was ensnared in 2 World Wars - Efim Bogoljubov.

--

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 Bf5 5.Bd3 Bg6 6.c4 Nb6 7.Bxg6 hxg6 8.e6 f6 9.Qd3 Qc8 10.Qxg6+ Kd8 11.Qf7 Nxc4 12.Nbd2 Nxd2 13.Bxd2 g5 14.d5 c5 15.Bc3 g4 16.Nh4 Rxh4 17.Qxf8+ Kc7 18.Qxe7+ Kb6 19.Qxd6+ Kb5 20.a4 Kc4 21.Qf4+ Kxd5 22.O-O-O Kc6 23.Qd6# 1-0

--

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1030796

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efim_Bogoljubow

https://www.chess.com/players/efim-bogoljubov

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at the the strongest woman of her time, the winner of the first International Women’s Chess Championship, the first woman accepted to the Bristol chess club, and the first woman to be the player of a simul - Mary Rudge.

--

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bb5 O-O 8.Nxc6 dxc6 9.Bxc5 cxb5 10.Na3 Re8 11.f3 Ng6 12.O-O Qg5 13.Bf2 Be6 14.Nc2 Rad8 15.Nd4 Bc4 16.Re1 Nf4 17.Bg3 c5 18.b3 Ne2+ 19.Rxe2 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 cxd4 21.f4 Qc5 22.Bf2 Qxc3 23.Rd1 d3 24.Qf3 Qc2 25.Bxa7 Ra8 26.Bd4 Rxe4 27.Qxd3 Re1+ 0-1

—

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1284056

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rudge

https://www.chessit.co.uk/Centenary/History/1982%20-%2075th/history/book1.html

https://www.chessit.co.uk/Centenary/History/1982%20-%2075th/history/intro.html#:~:text=He%20writes%20%22All%20creeds%20and,.%2C%20which%20was%20agreed%20to.

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are going to an area of the world we haven’t covered much on this podcast - New Zealand - specifically a 20 year president of his local club, a 20 year Chess column Editor, a 10 time national competitor, and a 2-time national champion spanning 10 years - including the 1st New Zealand National Champion - Henry Hookham.

--

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2 Nc6 8. Nbd2 b6 9. c4 Bb7 10. Re1 Re8 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. exd4 dxc4 14. Ndxc4 Bb4 15. Re3 Qd5 16. Rg3 Red8 17. Ne3 Qd6 18. N5g4 Nh5 19. Nh6+ Kf8 20. Qxh5 gxh6 21. Qxh6+ Ke7 22. d5 Rg8 23. Qf6+ Kd7 24. dxc6+ Bxc6 25. Rxg8 Rxg8 26. Qxf7+ 1-0

—

Hookham’s legacy is known locally in New Zealand and Australia, but outside of that, many may not know him and if you backdate his rating compared to his peers, it places him in the high expert and low Master range - but - he had a profound impact on his local community.

Thats part of the reason why I wanted to make this episode - everyone listening can be impactful in your local community - regardless of your age, regardless of your rating - the people around you are the ones you impact the most and are the ones that will remember you the most.

—

chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1590716

chess-history.org/players/pp-hookham.html

https://old.newzealandchess.co.nz/nzchessmag/pdfs/2012-04.pdf

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at the youngest grandmaster in Philippine history, a man who emigrated to the United States after being left by his family at the age of 16, someone who climbed to the world number 2 rating and is a World Fischer Random Champion - Wesley So.

--

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. c3 c5 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Bxd4 Be7 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Qc2 h6 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Kb1 Rd8 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Qe2 Bc6 16. Rhe1 Bd5 17. c4 Bxg2 18. Bc3 Qb6 19. Rg1 Bc6 20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21. Rxg7+ Kxg7 22. Qxe6 Qxf2 23. Qxe7+ Kg8 24. Bh7+ 1-0

—

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1819775

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_So

https://www.chess.com/article/view/wesley-so-interview-chess-was-a-way-out

http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at a chess author, commentator, 2-time US Women’s Champion, and a strong advocate for women in the chess scene - Jennifer Shahade.

We are traveling back to 1997 to the US Women’s Championship -

Jennifer Shahade versus Anna Hahn.

Now… if we’re ready, lets begin.

—

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. f3 Qa5 11. Qd2 Bd7 12. Kb1 Kh8 13. g4 b5 14. Nxb5 Qxd2 15. Bxd2 Rab8 16. c4 a6 17. Nc3 Bc6 18. Bf4 Rfd8 19. c5 e5 20. cxd6 Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Rxd6 22. Bxe5 Nxe4 23. fxe4 Rd1+ 24. Nxd1 Bxe4+ 25. Bd3 1-0

—

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2476856

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Shahade

https://chessintheschools.org/our-students-interview-wgm-jennifer-shahade/

https://www.nyu.edu/alumni/news-publications/nyu-connect-newsletter/december-2022/jennifer-shahade.html#:~:text=by%20Rachel%20Utain%20Evans,what%20I%20studied%20at%20NYU.

http://cassidynoble.com/