World Championship Match in 3-move 2017 (Checkers): Borghetti vs. Scarpetta

[ingo_zachos]

Games 9 and 10 of the World Championship in Checkers 2017 saw two draws.
The balloted opening 1.11-15 22-17, 2.9-13 is reknown as one of the tamest opening choices, and indeed at no point the balance was disturbed.

Score after 10 games:
--------------------------
GM Scarpetta (ITA) 3
GM Borghetti (ITA) 0
Drawn 7
30 games to go!


[Event "WCM 2017 - round-1 - game-9"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1. 11-15 22-17 2. 9-13 17-14 3. 10x17 21x14 4. 8-11 25-21 5. 4-8 24-19 6. 15x24 28x19 7.
11-16 26-22 8. 6-9 29-25 9. 9x18 22x15 10. 7-11 31-26 11. 11x18 23x14 12. 16x23 26x19 13.
8-11 25-22 14. 2-6 22-18 15. 13-17 19-15 16. 11-16 15-11 17. 17-22 27-24 18. 22-25 21-17
19. 6-9 30x21 20. 9-13 11-7 21. 13x22 21-17 22. 3x10 14x7 23. 16-20 17-14 24. 20x27 32x23
25. 22-26 14-9 26. 5x14 18x9 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - round-1 - game-10"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1. 11-15 22-17 2. 9-13 24-20 3. 13x22 25x11 4. 8x15 29-25 5. 4-8 25-22 6. 8-11 23-18 7.
10-14 18x9 8. 5x14 27-23 9. 15-19 23x16 10. 12x19 32-27 11. 3-8 27-23 12. 8-12 23x16 13.
12x19 31-27 14. 6-10 27-23 15. 11-16 20x11 16. 7x16 22-18 17. 1-5 18x9 18. 5x14 26-22 19.
19x26 30x23 20. 10-15 22-17 21. 15-19 1/2-1/2

[ingo_zachos]

The 11th game of the World Championship Match was a Ryan's Cross (1.11-15 23-18, 2.12-16), an opening regarded as very bad for the first player. However, World Champion Michele Borghetti showed that he knows how to draw it with ease. Now he has a chance to pressurize his opponent with it in game 12 by playing the stronger side.

Score after game 11:
----------------------------
GM Scarpetta (ITA) 3
GM Borghetti 0
Drawn 8
29 games to go!


[Event "WCM 2017 - round-1 - game-11"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red"BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result"1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-15 23-18 2. 12-16 18x11 3. 8x15 24-20 4. 7-11 26-23 5. 4-8 30-26
6. 10-14 22-18 7. 15x22 26x10 8. 6x15 27-24 9. 8-12 25-22 10. 3-7 24-19 11. 15x24 28x19 12. 7-10 22-18 13. 2-6 18-15 14. 11x27 20x11 15. 10-15 19x10 16. 6x15 32x23 17. 9-13 11-7 18. 1-6 29-25 19. 6-9 7-2 20. 13-17 21x14 21. 9x27 31x24 22. 15-18 2-6 23. 18-23 24-20 24. 23-26 25-22 25. 26-30 {Draw} 1/2-1/2

[ingo_zachos]

Borghetti missing opportunity!
---------------------------------------

As was expected after game 11, World Champion Michele Borghetti took the initiative in game 12. And challenger Sergio Scarpetta trusted an old recommendation from a standard opening book that is however, refuted.
Scarpetta, not knowing about the improvement on published play, had no choice but to go into a database loss that had already been shown by George Miller in a 2001 correspondence game against Al Lyman.

After he found the winning moves, Michele however faltered in converting his advantage when he played 18. ... 23-19 ?! instead of the winning 18. ...28-24.

Sergio Scarpetta thus maintains his lead by three games. Will this missed golden opportunity affect the play of the champion ? Is challenger Scarpetta not as versed in published play as it seemed?

Stay tuned!

Games 13 and 14 will be played tomorrow morning at 9:00 CEST.
Games 15 ad 16 will be played tomorrow afternoon at 15:30 CEST.

livesteam:

https://www.facebook.com/campionatomond ... ?ref=br_tf


[Event "WCM 2017 - round-6 - game-12"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-15 23-18 2. 12-16 18x11 3. 8x15 24-20 4. 9-14 20x11 5. 7x16 22-17 6. 4-8 26-23 7. 15-19 31-26 8. 6-9 17-13 9. 10-15 13x6 10. 2x9 25-22 11. 14-18 23x14 12. 9x25 29x22 13. 8-12 27-24 14. 16-20 21-17 15. 20x27 32x16 16. 12x19 26-23 17. 19x26 30x23 18. 3-8 23-19 (A) 19. 15x24 28x19 20. 1-6 22-18 21. 6-9 17-13 {Draw} 1/2-1/2

(A) 18. ... 28-24! wins for White.

Score after day three (12 games):
------------------------------------------
GM Scarpetta 3
GM Borghetti 0
Drawn 9
28 games to go!

[ingo_zachos]

Scarpetta missing a chance!
-----------------------------------

The fourth day of the World Championship Match in Checkers finally ended in four more draws, but all the games were not boring at all or without fight. Actually, in game 14, World Champion Michele Borghetti, trying hard to stir things up, gave a chance to score to Sergio Scarpetta, but like Miki missed his chance yesterday today Sergio missed the winnning move and allowed the Champion to escape.

After the tragic events in Livorno and four tough days, both players now finally deserve a rest day on Friday.

The live stream will be back on Saturday at 9:00 CEST

Score after four days (16 games)
-----------------------------------------
GM Scarpetta 3
GM Borghetti 0
Drawn 13
24 games to go!

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 13"]
[Year"2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-13 23-18 2. 12-16 18-14 3. 10x17 21x14 4. 6-10 27-23 5. 10x17 24-19 6. 17-21 19x12 7. 11-16 22-17 8. 13x22 25x18 9. 8-11 18-14 10. 16-19 23x16 11. 11x20 29-25 12. 1-6 25-22 13. 4-8 22-17 14. 8-11 26-23 15. 6-10 31-26 16. 2-6 26-22 17. 6-9 23-18 18. 11-16 32-27 19. 16-19 17-13
20. 10x26 30x16 21. 9-14 18x9 22. 5x14 27-23 23. 21-25 23-19 24. 25-30
13-9 25. 30-26 9-6 26. 26-23 6-2 27. 7-11 16x7 28. 23x16 2-6 29. 3x10 6x15 30. 14-17 15-10 31. 16-11 10-14 32. 17-22 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 14"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]


1. 9-13 23-18 2. 12-16 27-23 3. 16-20 32-27 4. 10-15 18-14 5. 15-18 22x15 6. 11x18 26-22 7. 7-11 22x15 8. 11x18 25-22 9. 18x25 29x22 10. 6-9 23-18 11. 8-11 24-19 12. 4-8 31-26 13. 8-12 19-15 14. 11-16 15-10 15. 16-19 21-17 16. 3-8 (A) 10-6 17. 1x10 14x7 18. 2x11 26-23 19. 19x26 30x23 20. 11-16 28-24 21. 8-11 24-19 22. 11-15 18x11 23. 9-14 17x10 24. 5-9 11-7 25. 9-14 7-3 26. 14-17 22-18 27. 17-22 3-7 28. 22-26 7-11 29. 26-31 27-24 30. 20x27 11x20 31. 27-32 19-15 32. 32-27 10-6 33. 13-17 23-19 34. 27-24 20x27 35. 31x24 6-2 36. 17-22 2-7 37. 22-26 7-11 38. 26-31 18-14 39. 31-27 14-10 40. 24-20 10-6 1/2-1/2

Note:
-------
(A) 16.12-16! wins. The text move also looked strong, but with his brilliant rejonder 16. ... 10-6!, Miki actually forces Sergio to play highly accurately to secure the draw.

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 15"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-14 23-19 2. 14-18 22x15 3. 11x18 19-15 4. 9-14 24-19 5. 7-10 26-23
6. 2-7 31-26 7. 8-11 15x8 8. 4x11 21-17 9. 14x21 23x14 10. 10x17 25-22
11. 11-16 22x13 12. 16x23 27x18 13. 3-8 29-25 14. 8-11 25-22 15. 7-10
28-24 16. 12-16 24-20 17. 5-9 26-23 18. 10-15 32-27 19. 21-25 30x21
20. 15-19 22-17 21. 19x26 27-24 22. 26-31 17-14 23. 1-5 18-15 24. 11x18
20x11 25. 31-27 24-20 26. 18-22 14-10 27. 6x15 13x6 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 16"]
[Year"2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-14 23-19 2. 14-18 22x15 3. 11x18 19-15 4. 12-16 21-17 5. 7-11 17-14 6. 16-19 27-23 7. 18x27 32x7 8. 9x18 24-19 9. 3x10 19-16 10. 10x19 16-12 11. 5-9 12x3 12. 19-24 28x19 13. 2-7 3x10 14. 6x24 25-22 15. 18x25 29x22 16. 4-8 22-18 17. 8-11 26-22 18. 24-28 22-17 19. 28-32 17-14 20. 11-15 18x11 21. 9x18 11-7 22. 32-28 31-26 23. 28-24 26-22 24. 18x25 30x21 25. 24-19 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[ingo_zachos]

A hard fight in the morning.
------------------------------------

The morning session of the 5th day saw both players in fighting spirit. Especially the first game was tough, and Sergio Scrpetta escaped to a narrow draw in a very critical ending after he excahnged into what seemed to be a comfortable position. But , in making a brilliant positional sacrifice of a piece, Michele Borghetti not only regained the sacrificed man, but also reach en ending that promised nothing but hard toil to reach avery narrow draw for the challenger... . However, he did not falter and played a perfect defense, forcing a draw after almsot four hours.

In the second game, Miki tried a very rare deviation from the famous Souter opening, but it seems Sergio knew this line and how to keep it balanced. Another draw was agreed after some complications. The drawing streak is now 12 games.

Score after 18 games:
----------------------------
GM Scarpetta 3
GM Borghetti 0
Drawn 15
22 games to go!


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 17"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-14 22-17 2. 11-15 25-22 3. 8-11 17-13 4. 11-16 29-25 5. 16-20 24-19 6. 15x24 28x19 7. 4-8 22-18 8. 8-11 18x9 9. 5x14 25-22 10. 11-16 22-18 11. 1-5 18x9 12. 5x14 23-18 13. 14x23 27x18 14. 16x23 26x19 15. 7-11 21-17 16. 3-7 18-14 17. 11-15 14-9 18. 15x24 9-5 19. 10-15 5-1 20. 6-10 1-6 21. 2x9 13x6 22. 7-11 6-2 23. 15-19 2-7 24. 19-23 7x14 25. 24-27 31x24 26. 20x27 14-10 27. 27-31 10-7 28. 11-16 7-11 29. 16-20 17-14 30. 31-27 14-10 31. 27-24 10-7 32. 24-28 7-3 33. 20-24 3-7 34. 24-27 7-10 35. 27-31 10-14 36. 28-24 14-17 37. 31-26 11-15 38. 24-20 17-14 { Drawn } 1-1




[Event "WCM 2017 - game 18"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-14 22-17 2. 11-15 25-22 3. 8-11 23-19 4. 6-9 17-13 5. 2-6 29-25
6. 4-8 24-20 7. 15x24 28x19 8. 11-15 27-24 9. 14-17 21x14 10. 9x18 26-23 11. 18x27 32x23 12. 5-9 23-18 13. 8-11 20-16 14. 11x27 18x2 15. 27-32 2-7 16. 10-14 7-11 17. 32-28 19-15 18. 14-18 22-17 19. 28-24 30-26
20. 24-28 26-22 21. 28-24 17-14 22. 24-19 14x5 23. 19x10 22x15 24. 10x19
31-27 25. 12-16 11x20 26. 3-7 25-22 27. 7-11 22-17 28. 11-15 27-24
29. 19x28 20-16 30. 28-24 16-11 31. 15-19 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[ingo_zachos]

Scarpetta expands lead to 4-0 at half time
----------------------------------------------------

In a match of 40 games, the moment when the match reaches game 20, can be termed as "half time".
Sergio Scarpetta took the chance to prove his determination to win the World Champioship title by beating current World Champion Michele Borghetti with the stronger side of the not so easy opening 1. 9-13 24-19 2. 5-9. He then showed perfect defense to draw the weak side of that opening, thus confirming his lead by 4 games.

When we look at the chances both players got, we see that Borghetti was in a loss in five games, while Scarpetta only went into a loss once, following an old, but faulty analysis of the great Marian Tinsely.

So far, Sergio Scarpetta was both much more efficient in taking his chances and more successful in creating chances. His lead, there can be no doubt, is very well deserved.

Michele Borghetti may be affected by the tragedy that hit his home town, and he certainly could have avoided a loss of both sides of the same opening in games 5 and 6, but even with bis best play he would still face an opponent that made no mistake so far, except one that even the great Tinsley fell for, in fact he only fell into it, because the great Tinsley also fell for it.

The match is not over yet, but if Sergio Scarpetta manages to keep his level, only walking into one loss in 20 games, we could see a new World Champion crowned this year.

Score after 5 days (20 games):
------------------------------------
GM Sergio Scarpetta (ITA) 4 wins,
GM Michele Borghetti (ITA) 0 wins,
16 games drawn,
20 games to go!


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 19"]
[Year"2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. 9-13 24-19 2. 5-9 28-24 3. 10-14 22-18 4. 6-10 25-22 5. 11-15 18x11
6. 8x15 22-17 7. 13x22 26x17 8. 9-13 30-25 9. 13x22 25x9 10. 1-5 9-6
11. 2x9 29-25 12. 4-8 21-17 13. 15-18 23x14 14. 9x18 17-13 15. 8-11
27-23 16. 18x27 32x23 17. 11-16 25-22 18. 16-20 23-18 19. 20x27 31x24
20. 7-11 24-20 {White Wins} 0-1

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 20"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-13 24-19 2. 5-9 28-24 3. 10-14 22-17 4. 13x22 26x10 5. 7x14 25-22
6. 6-10 22-17 7. 9-13 30-25 8. 13x22 25x9 9. 1-5 29-25 10. 5x14 25-22
11. 3-7 22-17 12. 11-15 17-13 13. 15-18 31-26 14. 8-11 32-28 15. 11-16
19-15 16. 10x19 24x15 17. 7-11 15x8 18. 4x11 13-9 19. 11-15 9-5
20. 15-19 5-1 21. 16-20 23x16 22. 12x19 1-5 23. 2-6 5-1 24. 6-9 1-6
25. 18-23 6x13 26. 23x30 13-17 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

Games 21 and 22 will be played tomorrow at 9:00 CEST.
Games 23 and 24 will be played tomorrow at 15:30 CEST.

live coverage:

https://www.facebook.com/campionatomond ... glese2017/

[ingo_zachos]

Scarpetta on the surge!
-----------------------------

The draw streak of the last days has ended yesterday and in the morning session, challenger Sergio Scarpetta improved his already impressive score by beating Champion Michele Borghetti with a special line against a critical opening. Miki seemed to be unaware that Sergio used this line before to beat the American Grandmaster Jim Morrison in Lille 2011, and found no adequate defense.
In the second game of the morning session, Sergio showed how to draw it with the weak side, conforming again his win with he stronger side.

Score after 22 games:
---------------------------
GM Scarpetta 5 games
GM Borghetti 0 games
Drawn 17 games
18 games to go!


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 21"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. 10-14 23-19 2. 11-15 19x10 3. 6x15 27-23 (A) 4. 8-11 32-27 5. 11-16(B) 24-20 6. 7-11 22-18 7. 15x22 26x10 8. 2-6 10-7 9. 3x10 25-22 10. 10-15 30-26 11. 6-10 27-24 12. 1-6 23-18 13. 4-8 29-25 14. 9-13 31-27 15. 5-9 21-17 16. 16-19 25-21 {White Wins} 0-1

Notes:
--------------
(A) A rare move, but a speciality by Sergio Scarpetta. He used this line to beat GM Jim Morrison (USA) at the WMSG 2011 in Lille.
(B) Here, Jim Morrison played the more natural 5.7-10 , but lost later in the game. The text move looks suspicious, as it weakens his single corner structure. Note that 16-19 now loses a piece due to 27-23 after the exchange, 5.11-16 may be already a losing move, and most certainly is not an improvement on 5.7-10, but in fact a much weaker move.

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 22"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-14 23-19 2. 11-15 19x10 3. 6x15 22-17 4. 14-18 24-19 5. 15x24 28x19 6. 8-11 26-22 7. 4-8 22x15 8. 11x18 30-26 9. 8-11 19-15 10. 11-16 26-22 11. 18-23 27x18 12. 16-19 17-14 13. 9-13 31-27 14. 12-16 15-11 15. 16-20 18-15 16. 7x16 32-28 17. 19-23 27x18 18. 16-19 15-11 19. 19-23 14-10 20. 23-26 18-15 21. 26-30 22-18 22. 13-17 21x14 23. 30x21 11-8 24. 3x12 10-7 25. 2x11 15x8 26. 1-6 18-15 27. 6-9 14-10 28. 9-13 10-6 29. 5-9 6-2 30. 9-14 2-6 31. 14-18 6-9 32. 18-22 9-14 33. 12-16 8-3 34. 16-19 3-7 35. 19-23 7-11 36. 23-26 11-16 37. 26-31 16-19 38. 31-26 15-10 39. 21-25 14-17 40. 26-30 17x26 41. 30x16 29x22 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[ingo_zachos]

A Game with mind-boggling complications!
-----------------------------------------------------

After the morning session produced a very complicated struggle on the uneven 1. 10-14 23-19, 2. 11-15 opening, the opening balloted for the afternoon session was 11-16 23-19, 2.16x23.
This opening is one of the twelve "new"openings that were only approved at the beginning of this century. The opening carries the name "Black Widow" for a very apparent reason...

In game 23 Sergio Scarpetta choose a tame approach with black and Miki managed to equalize and after a hard fought ending a draw was the logical result.
The climax of the day however was game 24, in which Miki with the stronger side applied much pressure on his challenger, but in a mind-boggling game that is full of sacrifices and complications, he may have missed the win.

With that result, Sergio Scarpetta moves another step closer to his object to become the new World Champion.

Score after 6 days (24 games):
--------------------------------------
GM Scarpetta (ITA) 5
GM Borghetti (ITA) 0
Drawn 19
16 games to go!


[Event"WCM 2017 - game 23"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-16 23-19 2. 16x23 26x19 3. 8-11 27-23 4. 11-15 22-18 5. 15x22 25x18 6. 9-13 29-25 7. 13-17 21x14 8. 10x17 18-15 9. 6-9 19-16 10. 12x26 31x6 11. 1x19 24x15 12. 5-9 25-22 13. 2-6 28-24 14. 9-14 32-27 15. 14-18 24-19 16. 18x25 30x21 17. 4-8 27-23 18. 6-9 23-18 19. 9-13 18-14 20. 7-11 15-10 21. 8-12 10-6 22. 13-17 6-2 23. 17-22 21-17 24. 22-26 2-7 25. 3x10 14x7 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 24"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-16 23-19 2. 16x23 26x19 3. 8-11 27-23 4. 9-13 22-18 5. 13-17 21x14 6. 10x17 25-21 7. 17-22 18-14 8. 6-9 23-18 9. 9-13 19-15 10. 4-8 (A)21-17 11. 11-16 24-20 12. 16-19 30-26 13. 7-11 14-10 14. 12-16 28-24 15. 19x28 18-14 16. 11x18 20x4 17. 2-7 4-8 18. 3x12 10x3 19. 1-6 3-8 20. 12-16 14-10(B) 21. 6x15 29-25 22. 22x29 8-12 23. 13x22 12x10 24. 5-9 26x17 25. 9-13 10-14 26. 13x22 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

Notes:
-------------
(A) Maybe 10.12-16 is better approach and a win.
(B) With little time on his clock, Sergio chooses a save draw instead of further complications including a positional sacrifice by 20. ... 8-11, 21. 16-19 and only now 21. ... 14-10!, after which it might be very hard for red,tough a man up temporarily, to achive the save haven of a draw.

Games 25 and 26 will be played tomorrow in the morning session, starting at 9:00 CEST.
Games 27 and 28 will be played in the afternoon session, starting at 15:30 CEST.

The livestream can be followed here:

https://www.facebook.com/campionatomond ... glese2017/

[ingo_zachos]

Four steps closer for Sergio Scarpetta!
-------------------------------------------------

The 7th day of the World Championship Match in Chekers brought Sergio Scarpetta four steps closer to his goal of winning the World Championship title.
With every draw he gets closer to the magical number of 41 points that he needs to secure the match win and time runs out for Michele Borghetti to strike back and win back five games. After todays four draws, Scarpetta now has scored 23 draws for one point and 5 wins for two points. He is now at 33 points and would "only" need 8 draws in the 12 possible remaining games.

Games 25 and 26 in the morning session were played with the opening 1. 11-16 23-18, 2. 16-20, one of the oldest openings that actually exist. Today it is called the Bristol Cross, but examples of it can be found in sources actually older then the first book on the game of Checkers by William Payne (1756).
It was no surprise that both players knew this historic opening very well and that at no time the equilibrium of the position was disturbed. Miki tried hard to avoid the draws, but at some point all efforts are in vain....

In the afternoon session another opening was balloted, 1. 9-13 24-20 2.10-14 , which is indeed critical for black. Miki showed that he could defend it and tried hard to keep the advantage he has in game 28, but it was impossible to convert it to a full point against another flawless defense effort by Sergio Scarpetta.

Score after seven days (28 games):
-----------------------------------------
GM Sergio Scarpetta (ITA) 5
GM Michele Borghetti (ITA) 0
Drawn 23

12 games to go!

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 25"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-16 23-18 2. 16-20 22-17 3. 9-14 18x9 4. 5x14 25-22 5. 8-11 29-25
6. 11-15 26-23 7. 7-11 17-13 8. 4-8 30-26 9. 1-5 24-19 10. 15x24 28x19
11. 11-15 32-28 12. 15x24 28x19 13. 8-11 19-16 14. 12x19 23x7 15. 2x11
26-23 16. 11-15 22-17 17. 3-8 27-24 18. 20x27 31x24 19. 8-12 25-22
20. 5-9 23-19 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 26"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-16 23-18 2. 16-20 24-19 3. 10-14 26-23 4. 8-11 22-17 5. 7-10 30-26 6. 11-16 28-24 7. 9-13 18x9 8. 13x22 25x18 9. 5x14 18x9 10. 6x13 32-28 11. 4-8 19-15 12. 10x19 24x15 13. 16-19 23x16 14. 12x19 29-25 15. 1-6 25-22 16. 3-7 22-18 17. 7-11 27-23 18. 11-16 21-17 19. 13x22 26x17
20. 19x26 31x22 21. 6-9 17-14 22. 9-13 15-11 23. 8x15 18x11 {Drawn}
1/2-1/2


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 27"]
[Year "2017"]
[Nero "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-13 24-20 2. 10-14 22-18 3. 5-9 25-22 4. 6-10 28-24 5. 10-15 22-17
6. 13x22 26x10 7. 7x14 30-26 8. 15x22 26x10 9. 2-7 29-25 10. 7x14 25-22 11. 9-13 23-18 12. 14x23 27x18 13. 3-7 31-26 14. 1-5 18-14 15. 11-15 26-23 16. 7-11 14-10 17. 12-16 24-19 18. 15x24 10-7 19. 24-27 7-3
20. 8-12 23-18 21. 27-31 3-8 22. 11-15 18x11 23. 16-19 8-3 24. 19-23
3-7 25. 31-27 7-10 26. 27-31 10-15 27. 23-26 15-19 28. 26-30 19-15
29. 5-9 22-18 30. 30-26 32-27 31. 31x24 18-14 32. 9x18 15x31 33. 12-16
31-26 34. 16-19 20-16 35. 24-20 16-12 36. 20-16 11-7 37. 19-23 26x19
38. 16x23 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 28"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 9-13 24-20 2. 10-14 28-24 3. 5-9 32-28 4. 6-10 24-19 5. 1-5 19-16
6. 12x19 23x16 7. 10-15 22-17 8. 13x22 26x10 9. 7x14 16x7 10. 2x11 25-22 11. 15-18 22x15 12. 11x18 30-26 13. 8-11 28-24 14. 3-7 29-25 15. 7-10 26-23 16. 9-13 24-19 17. 11-15 19-16 18. 13-17 16-11 19. 17-22 20-16
20. 22x29 21-17 21. 14x21 23x7 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

As there will be a rest day on Tuesday,

games 29 and 30 will be played on Wednesday at 9:00 CEST
games 31 and 32 will be played on Wednesday at 15:30 CEST.

live streaming at:

https://www.facebook.com/campionatomond ... glese2017/

[ingo_zachos]

Internet Resources
-------------------------

At a rest day it may be time to look at some checker related resources on the net.

For those, who are now curious about the anglo-american style of draughts we would recommend a neat book to introduce the rules, the notation, a few basis shots, openings and end games:

http://www.bobnewell.net/filez/reinfeld2ndedition.pdf

Those, who want to learn a bit about advanced tactics and end games we can recommend the following website with animated examples:

http://icheckers.net/h4ns/

If you seek literature for advanced players we can recommend the free books by GM Richard Pask:

http://www.bobnewell.net/checkers/paskpdf.html

For those who want to play over all the games of this World Championship Match we want to recommend the site of Giovanni Paolo Manghisi :

http://www.manghisi.it//Export/HTM/ingl ... h_2017.htm

He also has the games animated as videos:

http://www.manghisi.it/index3.htm

the animated games are also available at facebook by this barbadian site:
https://www.facebook.com/draughtsnews/

Of course the match is closely followed by the FID, the Italian Draughts Federation:
http://www.federdama.it/

If you are looking for master games there are the games of the World Championship Matches and the Qualification Tournaments:
http://www.wcdf.net/forum.htm

and a huge database is available at:

http://icheckers.net/home/games.htm
If you seek literature for advanced players we can recommend the free books by GM Richard Pask:

http://www.bobnewell.net/checkers/paskpdf.html

For those who want to play over all the games of this World Championship Match we want to recommernd the site of Giovanni Paolo Manghisi :

http://www.manghisi.it//Export/HTM/ingl ... h_2017.htm

He also has the games aimated as videos:

http://www.manghisi.it/index3.htm

the animated games are also available at facebook by this barbadian site:
https://www.facebook.com/draughtsnews/

Of course the match is clsoely followed by the FID, the Italian Draughts Federation:
http://www.federdama.it/

If you are looking for master games there are the games of the Wolrd Championship Matches and the Qualification Tournaments:
http://www.wcdf.net/forum.htm

and a huge databse is available at:

http://icheckers.net/home/games.htm

[Casper van der Tak]

Ingo, many thanks, much appreciation for your posts here!

[ingo_zachos]

The World Champion strikes back!
-------------------------------------------

Day eight of the World Championship in Checkers started well for the leading challenger Sergio Scarpetta. In the morning session the opening
1. 11-15 21-17 2. 9-14 was balloted, that usallly transposes into well-know theoretical lines. And indeed, World Champion Michele Borghetti could not find a way to secure not even the tiniest advantage and had to concede two draws.

The action started in the afternoon session, when the difficult opening 1. 9-13 24-19, 2.10-14 was balloted. Sergio Scarpetta could pressurize Michele Borghetti in game 31 and secured a fine victory.

But just when a Champiopn is hurt, he is most dangerous.
World Champion Michele Borghetti showed that the match is not over yet and that his fighting spirits are not exhausted. In the style of the great Champions he took the opportunity to play a perfect game and when the challenger made a mistake by playing 13.5-9? instead of the only drawing move 13.10-14, he took his opportunity and performed flawlessly until a fine victory was his!

Score after Day eight/ 32 games:
----------------------------------------
GM Sergio Scarpetta (ITA) 6
GM Michele Borghetti (ITA) 1
Drawn 25
8 games to go!

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 29"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-15 21-17 2. 9-14 25-21 3. 8-11 17-13 4. 11-16 29-25 5. 16-20 24-19 6. 15x24 28x19 7. 4-8 22-18 8. 8-11 18x9 9. 5x14 25-22 10. 11-16 22-18 11. 1-5 18x9 12. 5x14 23-18 13. 14x23 27x18 14. 16x23 26x19 15. 7-11 21-17 16. 11-16 31-26 17. 16x23 26x19 18. 20-24 30-25 19. 6-9 13x6 20. 2x9 25-21 21. 9-13 17-14 22. 10x17 21x14 23. 13-17 14-10 24. 17-22 18-15 25. 22-26 10-7 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 30"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 11-15 21-17 2. 9-14 25-21 3. 8-11 23-19 4. 6-9 17-13 5. 2-6 29-25 6. 4-8 24-20 7. 15x24
28x19 8. 11-15 27-24 9. 14-17 21x14 10. 9x18 26-23 11. 18x27 32x23 12. 10-14 19x10 13.
6x15 13-9 14. 14-18 23x14 15. 7-10 14x7 16. 3x10 30-26 17. 5x14 25-21 18. 8-11 26-23 19. 1-5 22-17 20. 15-18 24-19 21. 18x27 31x24 22. 14-18 17-14 23. 10x17 21x14 24. 18-23 14-10 25. 11-15 10-6 26. 15-18 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 31"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. 9-13 24-19 2. 10-14 22-18 3. 5-9 25-22 4. 6-10 27-24 5. 1-5 29-25
6. 11-15 18x11 7. 8x15 24-20 8. 15x24 28x19 9. 14-17 21x14 10. 9x27 32x23 11. 4-8 23-18 12. 10-14 18x9 13. 5x14 19-15 14. 2-6 26-23 15. 14-18 23x14 16. 7-10 14x7 17. 3x19 22-18 18. 19-24 18-14 19. 13-17 25-21 20. 24-28 31-26 21. 28-32 30-25 22. 32-27 26-23 23. 27x9 21x5 24. 6-10 5-1 25. 10-15 1-6 26. 15-18 6-10 27. 18-23 25-22 {White Wins} 0-1


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 32"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. 9-13 24-19 2. 10-14 22-18 3. 5-9 25-22 4. 6-10 27-24 5. 1-5 29-25
6. 11-15 18x11 7. 8x15 24-20 8. 15x24 28x19 9. 14-17 21x14 10. 9x27 32x23 11. 4-8 22-18 12. 8-11 25-22 13. 5-9 30-25 14. 10-14 25-21 15. 7-10 20-16 16. 11x20 18-15 17. 2-6 15-11 18. 20-24 19-15 {White Wins} 0-1


play commences today at 9: 00 (games 33 and 34) and 15: 30 (games 35 and 36)

Live stream:

https://www.facebook.com/campionatomond ... glese2017/

[ingo_zachos]

A New World Champion !
-------------------------------

The 9th day of the World Championship Match in Checkers between defending Champion GM Michele Borghetti of Livorno, Italy and his challenger GM Sergio Scarpetta from Foggia, Italy,finally saw a changing of the guard at the top of the Checker World.

Going into this day, Scarpetta lead the match by the great score of 6-1 and it took no one by surprise that by securing four draws Sergio thus ended the match in bis favor in game 36.

Final Score after Day 9/36 Games:
-----------------------------------------
GM Sergio Scarpetta (ITA) 6 wins,
GM Michele Borghetti (ITA) 1 win,
29 drawn games

We wish to congratulate the new World Champion Sergio Scarpetta for his constant play on the highest level and his final victory.
GM Scarpetta was World Champion in GAYP from 2014-2016, won the Silver Medal at the WMSG in Lille 2012 and will certainly add more laurels to his fame in the future.


Highest tribute must be paid to the dethroned Champion, Michele Borghetti, who showed great sportsmanship and tough this time he lost still hold he GAYP title in his hands, for which he defeated his fellow World Champion in the title match last year.
GM Borghetti was World Champion in 3-move from 2013-2017, is World Champion in GAYP since 2016, won the Gold Medal at the WMSG in Lille 2012 and has won numerous tournaments in Italian Dama, where he is regarded as the greatest player of all times. He is also a very strong player in Draughts 100, having won the Italian title numerous times, and apart from being a great practitioner of the game is also a connoisseur of Draughts Literature in all styles.

We like to thank the referee Alan Millhone (USA) for his good work and the Dama Club of Livorno (especially Gianfranco Borghetti, who happens to be not only the proud father of Michele Borghetti, but also a great organizers and promoter for all kind of draughts) and the FID for hosting this great event.

And finally we may again remind our readers that the start of this match was overshadowed by a tragical storm and flooding of Livorno which cost at least seven lives. Our thoughts are still with them and the surviving people of Livorno.



[Event "WCM 2017 - game 33"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]


1. 10-15 21-17 2. 15-18 22x15 3. 11x18 23x14 4. 9x18 25-21 5. 8-11 29-25 6. 5-9 17-14 7. 1-5 24-19 8. 11-16 28-24 9. 16x23 26x19 10. 9-13 30-26 11. 13-17 26-22 12. 17x26 31x15 13. 6-10 15x6 14. 2x18 21-17 15. 5-9 17-14 16. 9-13 14-9 17. 13-17 9-6 18. 17-21 6-2 19. 21x30 2x11 20. 18-22 19-15 21. 30-26 24-19 22. 22-25 15-10 23. 25-30 10-6 24. 30-25 27-24 25. 26-23 11-16 26. 23-18 16-11 27. 18-23 11-16 28. 23-18 16-11 1/2-1/2


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 34"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-15 21-17 2. 15-18 22x15 3. 11x18 23x14 4. 9x18 24-19 5. 8-11 17-13 6. 7-10 25-21 7. 11-16 26-23 8. 10-14 29-25 9. 4-8 28-24 10. 16-20 30-26 11. 2-7 32-28 12. 5-9 26-22 13. 7-10 22x15 14. 12-16 19x12 15. 10x26 31x22 16. 6-10 13x6 17. 14-18 22x15 18. 10x19 24x15 19. 1x19 1/2-1/2

[Event "WCM 2017 - game 35"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[White "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-14 24-19 2. 7-10 28-24 3. 11-16 32-28 4. 16-20 22-17 5. 9-13 25-22
6. 5-9 19-15 7. 10x19 24x15 8. 6-10 15x6 9. 1x10 23-19 10. 8-11 30-25
11. 11-15 27-23 12. 15x24 28x19 13. 4-8 19-15 14. 10x19 23x16 15. 12x19
17x10 16. 19-24 10-6 17. 24-27 31x24 18. 20x27 6-1 19. 27-31 1-5 20. 3-7
5x14 21. 7-10 14x7 22. 2x11 26-23 23. 8-12 23-19 24. 31-26 19-15
25. 11x18 22x15 26. 26-23 15-10 27. 12-16 10-6 28. 16-20 6-1 29. 20-24
25-22 30. 24-27 1-6 31. 27-31 6-10 32. 31-27 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2


[Event "WCM 2017 - game 36"]
[Year "2017"]
[Red "SCARPETTA Sergio"]
[White "BORGHETTI Michele"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. 10-14 24-19 2. 7-10 22-18 3. 11-16 26-22 4. 8-11 22-17 5. 16-20 28-24 6. 4-8 30-26 7. 9-13 18x9 8. 13x22 25x18 9. 5x14 18x9 10. 6x13 32-28 11. 11-16 19-15 12. 10x19 24x15 13. 16-19 23x16 14. 12x19 29-25 15. 1-6 25-22 16. 3-7 22-18 17. 7-11 27-23 18. 11-16 21-17 {Drawn} 1/2-1/2

[Casper van der Tak]

Congrats Sergio! And once again many thanks Ingo.