Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong -Anonymous.
An unassuming newcomer to chess, quiet Wendell Meusa has set a torrid pace in the invitational National Championships. With four belligerent victories against three of the country’s strongest players in the opening rounds of the competition, Meusa seems to have embarked upon a premeditated plan to annihilate his opponents and dethrone the existing national champion.
His victories have been convincing. Therefore, I can only draw the conclusion that Meusa has been studying chess theory intensely. Perhaps the old masters also. He gives the impression that he is better equipped than his opponents. Watching him play, you see the confidence in his moves. In the openings, it is evident Meusa understands the ideas behind the opening moves. He knows in a flash which pieces should go where and why this should be so. It’s all book. Half the job of winning a game is done as homework before the actual game begins. I observed him recently hugging a copy of The Best Games of Viswanathan Anand.
I subscribe to the popular view that Kriskal Persaud will play better chess this weekend. And I hope so. That Greenidge and Webster will also play well. But can “ better “ and “well” decelerate the pace that has already been set by Meusa? Who will beat Meusa? Anybody could be beaten, I concede. But perhaps Meusa has gone too far ahead. The trouble with Kriskal, Greenidge and Webster is that they are all rusty. They have not been participating regularly in tournaments. In their games you see the sharpness of play is lacking. Of the three, I pick Webster to give Meusa the most trouble. His unorthodox attacking play can upset a seasoned opponent.
To beat Meusa, you have to come out of the opening in an equal position with him. Greenidge is very strong in this department. As you reach the middle game, this is where Kriskal and Webster are at their best. They can both excel tactically. One slip against either of the two in the middle, can lead to defeat for their opponent. Meusa is strong also in the middle, but the three can at least match him. If the games go into the endgame, it would be extremely difficult to stop Meusa. He plays the ending well.
Writing for the New York Times, this is what Dylan Mc Clain had to say about endgames: “Serious players must master basic endgames. These are the positions where there are few pieces on the board and it is necessary to know beforehand the proper sequence of moves to achieve a win or draw. Figuring them out during a game is difficult, if not impossible.“
Meusa will experience the most trouble from Greenidge during this special phase of the game. Both players know exactly where their Kings should be, how a passed pawn should be promoted, where the Rooks should be, and so on. In juxtaposition to this however, I believe it is by instinct that Kriskal and Webster determine the correct squares for their Kings, Rooks, Bishops, Knights and Pawns in the endgame. But this is not enough. To play accurately in the endgame, you have to study, and know the principles of the endgame.
Capablanca, Fischer, Alekhine, Karpov and Kasparov and now Anand, are the acknowledged masters of the endgame. We have to learn from them.
The most significant moment of the National Championships thus far has been Kriskal’s heavy loss to Meusa. The die has been cast. There will be some valiant attempts this weekend to steal a point or two from Meusa, thereby bringing things back into balance. If this will happen, I cannot say. But what I have come to realize is that Meusa is no fluke. He puts a lot of effort and time into studying the game, and practices everyday like a professional. His victories are realistic, not accidental.
Tournament Director of the Federation Irshad Mohamed told me that the Surinamese chess players know Meusa well. Apparently, he competed with a few of their finest internationally, and defeated them.
Among the juniors, Richard Ishmael’s student Saeed Ali leads the tournament with three points from four games. Saeed recently scored Guyana’s first official chess win in about two decades at the Inter-Guiana Games in Paramaribo when he defeated his opponent from French Guiana.
Harrison Ford starred in a movie, The Mosquito Coast in which he sought a paradise for his family far away from civilization. He took them to the Mosquito Coast. He went too far. Someone might be able to take a game from Meusa and diminish his 1.5 point lead. But he may still be gone too far. Meusa, perhaps, may already be on the Mosquito Coast.
Persaud vs Meusa
The following game is perhaps the most important one of the National Championships. Meusa has been winning tournament after tournament. National champion Kriskal Persaud has not been active in tournaments . Kriskal plays White and Meusa answers with the famed Sicilian Defence. The current national champion resigns in a hopeless position.
(1) Persaud, Kriskal – Meusa, Wendell [B22]
National Chess Championship 2009, 25.10.2009
[Annotated by Mohamed, Irshad]
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Nc3 Qh5 8.Be2 Rd8 9.Be3 e5 10.Qa4 Bb4 11.dxe5 Nge7 12.0–0 0–0 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Qxe5 15.Ne2 Bd2 16.Bxd2 Rxd2 17.b3 Rxe2 18.Bxe2 Qxe2 19.b4 b5 20.Qb3 Nd4 21.Qc3 Qe5 22.Qc5 Qxc5 23.bxc5 Rc8 24.Rac1 Nec6 25.Rfe1 Kf8 26.Re4 Rd8 27.Rce1 f5 28.Rh4 h6 29.f4 Rd5 30.Rf1 Rxc5 31.g4 Rc2 32.Rf2 Ne2+ 33.Kf1 Ncd4 34.Rxe2 Nxe2 35.gxf5 Ng3+ 36.Ke1 Nxf5 37.Rg4 Rxa2 38.Rg6 b4 39.Kd1 b3 40.Kc1 a5 41.Rb6 a4 42.Kb1 Ke7 43.h4 Nxh4 44.Rb7+ Kf6 45.Rb6+ Kf5 46.Rb7 g5 47.fxg5 hxg5 White Resign 0–1