Hard work is a talent
(Part 1)
Last June 22, 2017 Ms. Janelle Mae Frayna graduated from the Far Eastern University (FEU) with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology, cum laude. She was chosen as class valedictorian in recognition of her achievements both inside and outside the classroom.
As you may know Janelle is a Woman’s Grandmaster of Chess ( WGM), the first ever for the Philippines. I will dedicate a few columns to talking about one of our chess heroes, after all we don’t have many of them now. Let us start off the series with some excerpts from her inspirational valedictory message.
“I started from the bottom. I don’t consider myself as extraordinary both in class and in chess. When I was 14, I transferred to FEU Diliman and ventured on my dream. At that time, I was with teammates who are far stronger than me. In the eyes of many, I was nobody. As a matter of fact, when I first applied as a chess varsity, the head coach rejected me. Thankfully with some twist of events, he had a change of heart and I was reconsidered. Some people told me I could never be a Grandmaster because according to them I lacked the talent. Despite these discouraging words I did not waver in pursuing my dream.
“The 13th World Chess Champion, the legendary Garry Kasparov once said, “Don’t you know that hard work is a talent?” His statement has inspired me to work very hard, so I guess that also makes me talented. To improve my performance I dedicated 6-8 hours a day of training. But then my progress in chess caused a decline in my grades. That was a wake-up call because I wanted to be great in chess and be a college graduate at the same time. So I promised to do better both in class and in chess.
“Some people say life is a race, life is a struggle, life is a war. For me, life is a chess game. In chess the main goal is to defend and conquer the King. Nevertheless, no matter how you think you have made the best plans, craftily positioned your pieces, you cannot always win. I have never known a player who in his entire career never lost a game or never made blunders. Just like in real life, nobody’s perfect right? We commit mistakes because we’re just human. Yes, some mistakes may mess up the entire game. These may put us into seemingly hopeless situations and hurt our chances for success. But do not let those mistakes define who you are. As long as you live, as long as you’re breathing, keep on fighting. Give your best moves and never say “I resign.”
“Remember that in every chess game there is a time limit. Just like in real life, we don’t have the luxury to live forever. Every hour, every minute, every second counts, so we must use our time wisely and make the right moves. We may win, lose or draw the game, but never stop learning. The real checkmate is when you give up and accept that you are a loser. As long as we live, there will always be next games, next opportunities and next chances. Seize them! And I hope we all become champions on and off the chessboard.” Wow, a really powerful message! WGM Janelle Mae Frayna is the only woman ever to play in the Men’s Championship — this happened in the 2014 competition where she beat Grandmasters Joey Antonio and Richard Bitoon to finish in 5th place. In 2015, she was back in the national championship and there she beat GM Eugene Torre, a game Janelle considers her “Most Memorable Game.” Here it is, with Janelle’s own notes.
***
This is one of the games that I will treasure for life. I defeated the endgame virtuoso, the legendary GM Eugene Torre in his forte. I learned a great deal in this game.
I decided to test my newly acquired opening repertoire — The Catalan.
GM Boris Avrukh wrote a best-selling book on the Catalan where he advocated 8.Nbd2 as the main line. After 8...b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.e5! (10.
b3 Rc8 11.Bb2 c5 12.exd5 exd5 is equal) 10...Ne8 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Re1 Nc7 13.Nf1 Ne6 14.Ne3 c5 15.Nf5 White is slightly better.
A typical plan in the Catalan is to play the space-gaining e4.
Also a usual counter-approach on the other flank to question the stability of the queenside pawns.
Better is 15.e5 Gaining space and control at the center. 15...Ng4 16.c5 to avoid any counter play at the queenside.
The a4-pawn now becomes a potential target. After 16...Rab8 17.Na4 Ba6 18.Qc2 the game is equal.
After the game 18...a3 was suggested by GM Eugene as an improvement because after 19.Ba1 my bishop may have a difficult time re-routing and improving its scope.
During the game, I was very careful not to spoil my positional advantage. I don’t want to create unnecessary pawn moves, and my main plan is to exchange pieces and prove that the a4pawn is a liability for the Black’s camp.
GM Eugene was playing for a wait and see strategy. As for me, I would like to have the full grip on the position. Therefore, I chose to clamp the center and focus on my main plan, exploiting the weak a4-pawn.
Objectively, playing 22.Nf3 and improving my knight’s scope first was a much stronger move but I want to immediately exchange the major pieces and execute my plan.
[23...Rxb1+ 24.Ndxb1 was the lesser evil. 24... f6 25.f4 Ng7 26.Qxa4 White is definitely better since Black has no counterplay at all! I am playing only for two results: A win or a draw]
Forcing more simplifications.
POSITION AFTER 34.F4
I love how I was able to convert my material advantage to a totally winning position. Endgames really teach us how to be patient!]
Step 1: Improving the King’s Position, ideally His majesty should be placed at the center.
Step 2: Do not hurry! Everything’s under control so I have the luxury to improve my pieces to their optimal squares before launching action!
Protecting potential entry squares. Step 3: Create another weakness! Applying the two weaknesses principle. Since the queenside where my extra passed pawn was located was adequately guarded, I have to look for another “door” or “entry” to confuse my opponent with simultaneous threats.
Preparing the eventual breakthrough in the f5– square.
Since my knight excursion on the queenside has been neutralized, time to jump on the other side of the board!
I believe that Black’s position is in some sort of zugzwang. In every move I happened to improve my piece placement while he lands into much more difficult task of defense. 45...Ke8 46.Be1 Bc4 47.g5 Nd7 48.Nh2 Kf8 49.Ng4 Ke7 50.Kf3 Bc7 51.Bc3 Bd8 52.Nf6 was another plan available to our game.
Diversion. I wanted to force Black to attend on the queenside weaknesses and then I will strike at the other side of the board.
Now my plan to play Bh4 was now very feasible.
The breakthrough — my King now has the option to participate in the future actions at the kingside!
The killer move, erasing all possibilities of any counterplay. The position seems locked but the weakness of the pawn on f7 is the telling factor.
Threatening Bh5.
Black has no counterplay! We will continue this story on Thursday.