Overtime

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday-night, online, rapid tournaments.  This was another event that I wasn't sure if I was going to be able join.  Cal was playing the University of Washington this week.  Go Bears!

My cousin, Daniel Scott, was starting at safety again, but this time we were going to meet his mom and brother at the game.  This was going to be his mother's first game outside of California.  

His father created the nickname "Tre Deuce Squad" for the group of friends and family who are cheering on Daniel.  He even created several gold-letter hoodies for the group.  I am wearing mine in the photo below under the jersey.  The problem is that the gold-lettering has a habit of triggering the security at airports.  The security guard invited me into a private room for my groping.  I declined and decided to keep things as public as possible.  He even swabbed the sweatshirt for explosive residue!  Next time, I will put it on at the game.

Tre Deuce Squad - cousin, great aunt, Daniel, mom, brother

Daniel did well and lead the team in tackles.  The game was very exciting and went into overtime.  However, the overtime was a bust.  I hate the college system of overtime.  It is like you stop playing football and decide the game on a bunch of skill drills.  No special teams, very little defense, and who can pad on the most points decides the winner.

Why even bother?  I think they should have just called it a draw.  I mean, unless it is the playoffs, what does it matter?  Two teams played equally well (or poorly).  Just split the point.

One of the things I like about chess is that you can offer a draw.

Sometimes you don't play better than your opponent.  Sometimes you don't deserve a win.  But neither does your opponent.

My game against Al Gardner this event was like that.  The computer gave me an 88.3% accuracy score and Al an 86.2%.  I had more mistakes (8 vs 6).  Al had more blunders (4 vs 1).  And we both missed wins.

Most of the game, Al was up a Pawn.  I could tell Al was going with the conventional chess wisdom:

When ahead in material, trade Pieces not Pawns

As I realized I should trade off some Pieces to not get further behind, I feared that losing my Queen would spell the end of the game.  Finally, Al caught my Queen and the end was at hand.

Al offered a draw.  Of course, I thought it was a draw.  Even the computer said it was a draw.  However, I was coming off a Cal loss where they missed a last second field goal to send it into overtime and then fumbled on the goal line to lose.  I felt I had to avenge the Tre Deuce Squad and just keep prolonging the game until I got a fumble on the goal line.  

So, I headed for overtime with that one hope.  And the overtime gave me a well-undeserved full point!

Well, if the Queens coming off was the end of the game, this position was the last second field goal.  Fortunately for me, Al missed it.

White to move

Overtime

[Event "Choose Your Weapon Online"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.09.26"]

[Round "2.2"]

[White "Gardner, Albert"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C48"]

[WhiteElo "1471"]

[BlackElo "1836"]

[PlyCount "158"]

[EventDate "2021.09.26"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. O-O a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 Qe7 8.

Nf3 Bg4 9. d4 Ba7 10. e5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. c3 O-O 13. h3 Bh5 14. g4 Bg6 15.

Bg5 f6 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bh4 Qf7 18. Bg3 c6 19. Nh4 Be4 20. f3 Bg6 21. Nxg6

hxg6 22. Re1 Kg7 23. Qd2 Rh8 24. Kg2 Qd7 25. Re2 Rhe8 26. Rae1 Rac8 27. Rxe8

Rxe8 28. Rxe8 Qxe8 29. Kf2 c5 30. Qe3 Qf8 31. Kg2 Kf7 32. Bf2 cxd4 33. cxd4 Bb8

34. Bg3 Ba7 35. Qf4 Qe7 36. Bf2 g5 37. Qe3 Qb4 38. Qc3 Qe7 39. a3 Bb6 40. b4

Qd7 41. h4 gxh4 42. Bxh4 f5 43. gxf5 Qxf5 44. Bg3 Qg6 45. Kf2 Qf6 46. Be5 Qh4+

47. Kg2 Qg5+ 48. Kf2 Qf5 49. Qe3 Qc2+ 50. Kg3 Qg6+ 51. Kf2 Bd8 52. Qf4+ Ke6 53.

Qg4+ Qf5 54. Qxf5+ Kxf5 55. Kg3 Bg5 56. f4 Be7 57. Kf3 Bh4 58. a4 b5 59. axb5

axb5 60. Bd6 Be1 61. Ke2 Bc3 62. Kd3 Be1 63. Ke2 Bh4 64. Kf3 Bf6 65. Be5 Be7

66. Ke3 Bxb4 67. Kd3 Be1 68. Kc2 Ke4 69. Kb3 b4 70. Kc2 Bc3 71. Kb3 Bxd4 72.

Kxb4 Bxe5 73. fxe5 Kxe5 74. Kc3 Ke4 75. Kd2 Kd4 76. Kc2 Ke3 77. Kd1 Kd3 78. Ke1

Kc2 79. Ke2 d4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116943

This Week In Chess

On September 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Choose Your Weapon Rapid Online (3SS, G/10+10).  Paul Anderson just got lucky to win his 8th gold and pull ahead of Jeff Fox in the 2021 medal count.  John Brezina picked up his 2nd silver which he split with Mark "The Money Man" McGough, who just missed out on that elusive gold for the 2021 season.

Place, Choose Your Weapon Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1    cschessnews (1844)" 2.0

2 "#2    Czechmate1972 (1706)" 2.0

3 "#2    msmcgough (1639)" 2.0

4 "#4    Cocomcfrecal (1241)" 1.0

5 "#5    CosmicNovaGalaxy (1634)" 1.0

6 "#6    johnny3sport (1435)" 1.0

7 "#6    albertgardner (1466)" 1.0

8 "-    jfoxhoot (1707)" 0.0

Choose Your Weapon

Game Of The Week

By Tim Brennan

Thank you, Paul, for inviting me back for another installment of “Tim Brennan week!"

Things got back to somewhat “normal” chess wise in the later part of 2021 after over a full year of things being shut down by the pandemic.  I got to be one of the “gaming monks” again this year at the Renaissance Festival, which was fun.  The crowds were especially crazy this summer. 

While at the Ren Fest, I asked Buck, “What happened to Brian Wall’s emails.  Did he stop writing them”?  Buck laughed, and said “Oh heavens no!  Brian sends 20 emails per day!”  I contacted Brian, and it turns out that Yahoo! shutdown their groups service, which is how I was subscribed.  Brian got me signed up again, and my inbox was quickly flooded with people fiercely debating the DCC’s mask and vaccine requirements, which were amusing to read.  Kudos to the DCC for the way they have handled things during these unprecedented times.

The 2021 Colorado Open, played at the Embassy Suites Denver Tech Center North, over Labor Day Weekend, was my first chess tournament since the pandemic began.  It was exciting to play over the board, and to see many people that I had not seen in many months or even years.

Several new members were inducted into the Colorado Chess Hall of Fame, including Brian Wall and Todd Bardwick, which was well deserved!

Unfortunately, the tournament was not very well run.  There was an overwhelming number of new players (60+), computer issues, and not enough help.  The pairings were late, wrong, and in some cases nonexistent.  The open section had to skip a round because they could not get the pairings right.  People were paired in the wrong section, more than one section, and requests for half point byes were ignored, leading to unnecessary forfeit wins. 

For example, I requested a third-round bye because I had a fantasy football draft Saturday evening.  I ended up getting paired against Jeff Baffo, who had to sit around and wait to claim a forfeit win, and then the next day the pairing sheet showed that I had won the game, when I wasn’t even there!

I don’t want to trash the organizers and directors, because they were aware of the problems, and did their best to correct them.  I know they are all going to do an analysis of what happened, to make sure that this does not happen again.  Being a tournament director is a thankless job.  Sometimes everything goes wrong, and the dog really does eat your homework.  Everyone is rusty with different skills after endless months of pandemic.  So, I am giving everyone a “pass” this time.

My games were pretty “hit and miss.”  I won all my games Saturday but drank too much hydroxychloroquine mixed with horse worm pills on Sunday and lost all my games.

Here is my favorite game, played against Ken Doykos.  Ken and I have faced off several times over the years, and I know he knows his openings well.  I tried to take the game into uncharted waters so I wasn’t “bringing a knife to a gun fight."

Hope that everyone is safe and well, and things can continue to get back to normal.  Best of luck to the new CSCA board, congrats to the prize winners of the Colorado Open, and to the new Hall of Fame inductees!

Your friend,

Tim

White to move

Choose Your Weapon

[Event "Colorado Open"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.09.04"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Brennan, Tim"]

[Black "Doykos, Ken"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A00"]

[WhiteElo "1832"]

[BlackElo "1700"]

[PlyCount "69"]

[EventDate "2021.09.04"]

1. b4 d5 2. Bb2 e6 3. a3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. bxc5 Bxc5 6. e3 O-O 7. d3 Nbd7 8.

Nbd2 Qc7 9. Rg1 e5 10. g4 e4 11. g5 Ne8 12. dxe4 Bd6 13. exd5 Bxh2 14. Rh1 Be5

15. Nd4 g6 16. Qg4 f5 17. Qh4 Nb6 18. Nb5 Qe7 19. Bxe5 Rf7 20. Bd4 f4 21. Bd3

Bf5 22. e4 Nxd5 23. Kf1 Ne3+ 24. Kg1 Nd6 25. Nxd6 Qxd6 26. fxe3 fxe3 27. Bxe3

Qe5 28. Rf1 Raf8 29. Bc4 Be6 30. Bxe6 Qxe6 31. Rxf7 Rxf7 32. Qh3 Qe5 33. Nb3

Qxe4 34. Rh2 Qxc2 35. Rxc2 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116923

This Week In Chess

On September 19th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a club match with the Air Force Academy Chess Club.

CSCC vs AFACC:  Colorado Springs Chess Club Won the Match
Finished On: Sep 19, 2021, 7:39 PM
Players per Team: 7
Time Control: 10 minutes|10

Colorado Springs Chess Club

14 vs 0

Air Force Academy Chess Club 

After the club match, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the AFA Overflow Blitz Arena Online (90 min, G/5+0).  John Brezina won his 1st gold in the arena and completed the trifecta (gold, silver & bronze), while Paul Anderson was knocked down to silver by Jeff Fox.  Jeff Baffo tested out the arena for the first time and took home the bronze.

Place, AFA Overflow Blitz Arena, Score

1 "#1 Czechmate1972 (1763)" 33

2 "#2 cschessnews (2131)" 30

3 "#3 phatchess (1668)" 15

4 "#4 CosmicNovaGalaxy (1537)" 11

5 "#5 brokenarrow42069 (1730)" 10

6 "#6 albertgardner (1323)" 10

7 "#7 msmcgough (1437)" 5

8 "#8 bozhenoff (1942)" 5

9 "#9 jfoxhoot (1612)" 5

10 "#10 pretbram (1629)" 0

11 "#11 Cocomcfrecal (1085)" 0

Pick Six

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday-night, online, rapid tournaments.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play in this week's event since I was flying home from the Cal vs TCU football game on Sunday.  My cousin, Daniel Scott, is the starting safety for the University of California at Berkley's Golden Bears.  Go Bears!

Cal vs TCU - Pick Six

Daniel had the game of a lifetime with 5 tackles, 2 assists, and an interception of a 2-point conversion.  In addition, he forced the only turnover of the game in the 2nd quarter.  

With Cal leading 6-0, Bears safety Daniel Scott intercepted a Max Duggan pass at the TCU 9-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to make the score 12-0 with 10:02 left in the first half.

In football jargon, an interception that is returned for a touchdown is known as a pick-six.

Well, that became my mission this week:  To find the chess equivalent of a pick six.

When I was a child, my first post-mortem was not with chess, but rather with football.  Instead of rising early Saturday mornings to watch cartoons, I got up to watch the NFL's tv show, "Week In Review."  My favorite episode was after Super Bowl XX when the Bears clobbered the Patriots 46-10.  It was like watching one of LM Brian Wall's chess emails come to life with music, narration, and football highlights.  The narrator, Harry Kalas, even included humorous, sarcastic remarks like, "The good news for the Patriots was the first half was over.  The bad news was that the 2nd half was yet to come."  The 2nd half included a pick six from Bears' defensive back, Reggie Phillips.

My first thought was that a pick six could be related to the number of times your chess game was selected for the Game Of The Week.  So, I looked at whose games I had chosen this year.  I had already picked more than 6 of my wins and games this year.  So, picking one of my games this week was out.  Things looked hopeless for the pick six tie-in since no one was even close to 6 wins or games. 

Rank, Name, Rating, Score/Games

1 Anderson,Paul 1674 7.5/9

2 McGough,Mark 1515 2.0/3

3 Wolf,Will 1398 2.0/3

4 Beaver,Koen 1109 2.0/2

5 Fox,Jeff 1686 1.5/3

6 Brezina,John 1703 1.0/2

7 Rountree,Brian 1862 1.0/2

8 Llacza,Jose 1962 1.0/1

9 Fischer,Robert James 2785 1.0/1

10 Quant,Kurtis 1648 1.0/1

11 Idol,Lorna 623 1.0/1

12 Weeramantry,Sunil 1.0/1

13 Whitaker,Norman Tweed 1.0/1

14 Vispute,Ayush 1611 0.5/2

15 Gardner,Albert 1497 0.5/2

16 Torres,Alex 1643 0.0/1

17 Maier,Jerry 1254 0.0/1

18 Oragel,Rowen 1094 0.0/1

19 Anderson,Douglas 0.0/1

20 Langseth,Rhett 1939 0.0/1

21 Herman,Shirley 883 0.0/1

22 Hensley,Rick 553 0.0/1

23 Wagner,John 1418 0.0/1

24 Coston,Emory 615 0.0/1

25 Spassky,Boris V 2660 0.0/1

26 Wall,Brian 1881 0.0/1

27 Rjgragg 540 0.0/1

28 Fiaccabrino 0.0/1

29 Showalter,Jackson Whipps 0.0/1

However, I noticed that if I picked the Mark McGough vs Jeff Fox game this week that would bring their combined total of games published to 6.  The fact that it had a pick six tie-in was enough for me to look at the game.  Plus, it was a last round game that determined the silver medal winner, and Mark had just asked me how I beat Jeff Fox.

I told him, "If you can't beat him, join him."

As I looked over the game, it just got better.  I was cracking up when Jeff sacrifices his Queen, already down material, but Mark rejects the Mate-In-2 line.  I am guessing there was a mouse slip and a time-pressure, panic-move involved, but you never know.

However, what clinched this pick as the Game Of The Week was when Mark found the pick-six tactic in this position.  The good news was that Mark found the right moves.  The bad news was that the rest of the game was yet to come.

White to move

Pick Six

[Event "Hall Of Shame Online"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.09.12"]

[Round "4.3"]

[White "McGough, Mark"]

[Black "Fox, Jeff"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B06"]

[WhiteElo "1642"]

[BlackElo "1718"]

[PlyCount "75"]

[EventDate "2021.09.12"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 g6 3. f4 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be2 Bg4 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nc4

Qc7 9. a4 Ngf6 10. Nfd2 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 O-O 12. O-O Rab8 13. c3 b5 14. axb5 cxb5

15. Na5 Rfc8 16. Rfc1 Nb6 17. d5 Nfd7 18. Nc6 Rb7 19. Nxe7+ Kf8 20. Nxc8 Qxc8

21. Bd4 Nc4 22. Nxc4 bxc4 23. Bxg7+ Kxg7 24. Ra4 Nc5 25. Qxc4 Rxb2 26. Rxa7 Qa8

27. Qd4+ Kg8 28. Rca1 Rb1+ 29. Rxb1 Qxa7 30. h3 h5 31. Qb4 Nd3+ 32. Qb6 Qa2 33.

Kh2 Nxf4 34. Rb2 Qc4 35. Qb4 Qc7 36. Qb8+ Qxb8 37. Rxb8+ Kg7 38. Rb6 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116906

This Week In Chess

On September 12th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Hall Of Shame Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  Paul Anderson won his 7th gold and 15th overall medal of the 2021 season, pulling into 1st place in the medal count.  Mark McGough notched his 2nd silver and 5th overall.  Scott Massey joined for the final 3 rounds and earned a bronze medal.

Place, Hall Of Shame Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1 cschessnews (1823)" 4.0

2 "#2 msmcgough (1642)" 3.0

3 "#3 knightmassey (1704)" 2.5

4 "#4 NM BrianWall (1908)" 2.5

5 "#5 johnny3sport (1400)" 2.5

6 "#5 Gosu1000 (1672)" 2.5

7 "#7 agapatos1 (1819)" 2.0

8 "#8 jfoxhoot (1718)" 2.0

9 "#9 albertgardner (1537)" 2.0

10 "#9 Cocomcfrecal (1202)" 2.0

11 "#11 Miteel (1250)" 1.0

12 "#11 e_m_c_o (610)" 1.0

13 "#11 SolyarisZ (1140)" 1.0

14 "- tristancruz (1286)" 0.0

15 "#14 Tsaffold (824)" 0.0

Hall Of Shame

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday-night, online, rapid tournaments. This week we played a club match against the Colorado School of Mines Chess Club instead of our usual Swiss events. I met them while I was playing chess at the Colorado Renaissance Festival as a monk over the summer.

They were some of the better opponents I faced at the Ren Fest.  So, I wanted to put together the best fantasy picks to create my chess team.  I thought I should start with some Hall Of Famers as my first picks, but it turns out they are not easy to get ahold of.  I ran into this Hall of Famer at the Denver International Airport back in April.  To my shame, I rushed the picture and just got this blurry one and forgot to get his number.

Who is that masked man?

Why would I want a football quarterback on my chess team?  

Well, when I gave my retirement speech from football after my one season in college, I mentioned that I wanted to focus on chess.  John Elway did the same thing.

Since Elway was out of the question, I figured I would go after my second Hall Of Fame choice.

LM Brian Wall with CSCA President Brad Lundstrom

On September 3rd, LM Brian Wall was inducted into the Colorado Chess Hall Of Fame at this year's Colorado Open.  So, I asked him, "As your first event as a Hall Of Famer, can you be board one in our club match?"

He replied, "I am playing in the Colorado Open already."  

I asked, "Surely, you can get out of it.  Is there anything you can do?"

He replied, "Ok, I will go over and delete my entry from Buck's computer."

To my shame, my request turned into a nightmare as Brian accidentally deleted all the entries from the Colorado Open, making the pairings impossible to re-create, cancelling multiple rounds, and delaying some rounds by hours.  2021 became the worst Colorado Open ever.

But I got my top board.  So, it was worth it.

Well, not really.  We did win the club match 11-5, and every team member scored a point for the team.  That is, except, my ringer, Brian Wall, who went 0-2.  

To my shame, all my effort to get a Hall Of Famer on board one ended up like John Elway in Super Bowl XXI.  John's opponent won the game, earned the MVP, and only missed 3 passes all game.  Brian's opponent, won both games, scored 98% accuracy in both games, and only missed 3 moves in this game.

The computer had a hard time finding any place for improvement in either game.  It only gave this position as a place to retry a move for Brian to increase his 91.6% accuracy.  I found the right move, but still had no clue how Brian would change the outcome.  What a shame.

White to move

Hall Of Shame

[Event "CSCC vs CSMCC"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.09.05"]

[Round "2.1"]

[White "Wall, Brian"]

[Black "Quant, Kurtis"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C02"]

[WhiteElo "1881"]

[BlackElo "1648"]

[PlyCount "86"]

[EventDate "2021.09.05"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O

Nxd4 9. Nbd2 Nc6 10. Nb3 Nge7 11. Be3 Qc7 12. Bc5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Re1

Qc7 15. Rc1 Nc6 16. Bxf8 Kxf8 17. Nc5 a6 18. Qh5 h6 19. Re3 Re8 20. Rf3 Re7 21.

Bg6 Nd8 22. Bxf7 Nxf7 23. Nxe6+ Bxe6 24. Rxc7 Rxc7 25. h3 Kg8 26. Qg6 Re7 27.

Qc2 Ne5 28. Re3 Nc4 29. Re1 Kf7 30. b3 Nd6 31. Qd3 Rhe8 32. f3 Kg8 33. Qd4 Nf5

34. Qb6 Kh7 35. Kf2 d4 36. g4 Ne3 37. Qxd4 Bg8 38. Rc1 Bd5 39. Rc3 Bc6 40. Kg3

Nf1+ 41. Kg2 Re1 42. Qd3+ Kh8 43. h4 R8e2+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116897

This Week In Chess

On September 5th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a club match with the Colorado School of Mines Chess Club.

CSCC vs CSMCC: Colorado Springs Chess Club Won the Match
Finished On: Sep 5, 2021, 7:10 PM
Players per Team: 8
Time Control: 10 minutes|10

Colorado Springs Chess Club

11 vs 5

Mines Chess Club

After the club match, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Mines Overflow Blitz Arena Online (90 min, G/5+0). Paul Anderson won his 1st gold in the arena, while Tristan Cruz won his 1st silver medal. John Brezina notched a bronze medal.

Place, Mines Overflow Blitz Arena Online, Score

1 "#1 cschessnews (2206)" 30
2 "#2 tristancruz (1414)" 22
3 "#3 Czechmate1972 (1760)" 20
4 "#4 waynehatcher (1786)" 14
5 "#5 bozhenoff (1985)" 5
6 "#6 JJ7X (1728)" 5
7 "#7 albertgardner (1191)" 5
8 "#8 thefox400 (1155)" 5
9 "#9 msmcgough (1428)" 4
10 "#10 Cocomcfrecal (1031)" 2
11 "#11 Zer0R2 (953)" 2

I Chess Alone

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday-night, online, rapid tournaments.  It was played by Koen Beaver and John Wagner.  Koen started with the club online in February and has played in 12 events.  John is new to the club and this was his first event.  He was very patient to wait 9 minutes for Koen's first move.  

The computer will start the rounds immediately after the last game of the previous round ends, and sometimes, you get caught away from the computer.

"Hey mind taking a look at my last game in the tournament.  I was busy when the game started so I ended up starting the game with 1:03.  I got an advantage early with a tricky Caro Kann line.  Then when simplifying I mouse slipped with B4 giving my opponent a large advantage.  However I was able to create a large attack and win back some material.  Eventually I found myself in the Lucena position which I had studied and soon won the game.  Thanks!"

Koen Beaver

I was more than happy to look at the game since I usually have a hard time picking a game to go over and getting a submission makes the choice much easier.  Plus, I wasn't going to have much time this week to look at games with a trip to the state fair and a George Thorogood concert in Pueblo.  

It is also nice to get a submission because it makes me feel like I am not alone.

Pueblo State Fair - 2021

The concert was awesome!  At 71, George Thorogood can still rock.  He is definitely hanging out with his dear Old Grand-Dad nowadays.

At the concert, I realized that George is not only a great musician but also a heck of a prognosticator.  He is the Nostradamus of Rock'N'Roll.  His songs predicted how my pandemic chess-life would go with eerie accuracy.

It started with my 30-minute walks, three times per week, to the closest destination from my house.  15 minutes up the hill to the liquor store and 15 minutes back got my goal done.  The reward for my exercise routine was a dollar shot from their sampler display at the counter.  I soon learned that I preferred 3 kinds of shots.

George saw this coming years ago in his vision: "One Burbon, One Scotch, One Beer."

Well I ain't seen my baby since I don't know when

I've been drinking bourbon, whiskey, scotch and gin

Gonna get high man I'm gonna get loose

Need me a triple shot of that juice

Not only did he foresee my exercise routine, but also, he nailed my two-year, chess routine of sitting at the computer playing in the chess club's online events with another classic vision:

I chess alone, yeah

With nobody else

I chess alone, yeah

With nobody else

Yeah, you know when I chess alone

I prefer to be by myself

Of course, some of his predictions are not nearly as impressive.  You don't have to be a prophet to predict how the marriage routine is going to go like he did in his 1988 gem:  "You Talk Too Much."

A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

Proverbs 27:15 KJV

The game was awesome!  At 1 minute on his clock, Koen realized his game had started and now he had to bullet his moves.  He gained 1 minute by moving fast and missed a Mate-in-1.  The game went back-and-forth, with each player giving up their advantage.  However, John got caught up in the fast pace an also missed a mate.

Black to move. Mate-in-4.

I Chess Alone

[Event "Ten Four Online"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.08.29"]

[Round "4.3"]

[White "Beaver, Koen"]

[Black "Wagner, John"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B18"]

[WhiteElo "1144"]

[BlackElo "1418"]

[PlyCount "127"]

[EventDate "2021.08.29"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h5 7. Nh3 e5 8. dxe5

Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Bc5 10. Nf4 Bh7 11. f3 Nh6 12. Nfxh5 Nf5 13. Nxf5 g6 14. Nf6+ Kf8

15. Ne3 Kg7 16. Nxh7 Kxh7 17. Bd2 Rd8 18. Bd3 Re8 19. Ng4 Nd7 20. Nf6+ Nxf6 21.

exf6 Bd4 22. Bc3 Bxc3 23. b4 Bxa1 24. h5 Bxf6 25. hxg6+ Kg7 26. Rh7+ Kf8 27.

Rxf7+ Kg8 28. Bc4 Rad8+ 29. Bd3 Rxd3+ 30. cxd3 Rf8 31. Rxb7 Bc3 32. Kc2 Bd4 33.

Rc7 Rf6 34. Rd7 Bb6 35. a4 a5 36. Rb7 Bd4 37. bxa5 Rxg6 38. g4 Rf6 39. a6 Rxf3

40. a7 Bxa7 41. Rxa7 Rg3 42. Ra6 Rxg4 43. Rxc6 Rxa4 44. Rf6 Kg7 45. Rf1 Rd4 46.

Kc3 Rd7 47. d4 Rc7+ 48. Kd3 Rd7 49. Kc4 Rc7+ 50. Kd5 Rd7+ 51. Ke5 Re7+ 52. Kd6

Re3 53. d5 Rd3 54. Ke6 Re3+ 55. Kd7 Rd3 56. d6 Rd5 57. Ke6 Rd2 58. Ke7 Re2+ 59.

Kd8 Rd2 60. d7 Rd3 61. Rf5 Rd1 62. Ke7 Re1+ 63. Kd6 Rd1+ 64. Rd5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116888

This Week In Chess

On August 29th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Ten Four Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  Jeff Baffo rebounded from a 1st round loss to win the gold, while Jeff Fox and Andy Rea split the silver spot.

Place, Ten Four Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1 phatchess (2065)" 3.0

2 "#2 jfoxhoot (1721)" 2.5

3 "#2 dzhierkiev64 (1839)" 2.5

4 "#4 cschessnews (1777)" 2.0

5 "#5 Cocomcfrecal (1144)" 2.0

6 "#6 johnny3sport (1425)" 1.0

7 "#7 albertgardner (1519)" 0.0

8 "- linuxguy1 (1912)" 2.0

9 "- JJ7X (1944)" 0.0

10 "- thefox400 (1169)" 0.0

Ten Four

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's 4th Wednesday August Rapid OTB.  After playing in several Blitz tournaments, Will Wolf requested a longer time control of G/10+4.  The increment of 4 seconds seemed strange to me.  From where does that come?  Is Will secretly a trucker?

Actually, the "10-4" lingo comes from Police codes that were created in the 1940s.  Here are the first ten:

10-1 = Poor reception
10-2 = Good reception
10-3 = Stop transmitting
10-4 = Message received, affirmative, OK
10-5 = Relay this information to (name of a person, officer, etc.)
10-6 = Officer is busy
10-7 = Out of service, unavailable
10-8 = In-service
10-9 = Please repeat (please repeat the message)
10-10 = Negative (no)

Since I didn't want to discourage any chess players who didn't own a truck or were not a CB aficionado, I decided to steer away from the 10+4 time control.  I could have chosen a 10+10 time control since we have been playing that online but that seemed too negative.

So, we tried out a Rapid time control of G/10+5 (all chess players).  It seemed to be the most inviting.  Plus, the club clocks already have pre-set time controls with 5 second increment on them and makes for less work for me adjusting clocks at the start of the tournament.  This means that each player gets 10 minutes on their clock and will gain 5 seconds per move.  The games, on average, should last a little bit more than 15 minutes.

In the first round, I got paired with Rowen Oregel.  He is an up-and-coming scholastic player and has taken lessons from LM Lior Lapid, who told me about him.  He has played in a couple of the Colorado Springs Chess Club events, but since we haven't done anything rated since the pandemic hit, our ratings are just from what Swiss Sys calculates.  So, I knew his club rating was not a true reflection of how he was going to play.

10-78 = Need assistance

We both tried to keep score, but the time control is too fast to get all of a close endgame.  So, I tried to get Rowen's assistance after the game to re-create the ending.  We failed.  I can barely think during a Rapid game let alone remember what I was thinking after it is over.  However, we are pretty sure that the first 43 moves are accurate.  The ending is my best guess.  Rowen did remember this position, as he saw my best move.  I played the 10-3 best move, as my brain had turned off and stopped transmitting when I got under a minute on my clock.

Black to move

Ten Four

[Event "4th Wednesday August COATI"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.08.25"]

[Round "1.1"]

[White "Oragel, Rowen"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B06"]

[WhiteElo "1094"]

[BlackElo "1940"]

[PlyCount "142"]

[EventDate "2021.08.25"]

[TimeControl "600+5"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Be3 d5 5. e5 Nh6 6. Nbd2 f6 7. exf6 exf6 8.

Bxh6 Bxh6 9. Qe2+ Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. O-O-O Bg4 12. Kb1 Nd7 13. c4 Nb6 14.

c5 Nd7 15. Re1+ Kf7 16. h3 Be6 17. Bd3 b6 18. Nb3 bxc5 19. dxc5 Nb8 20. Nfd4

Bd7 21. Na5 Re8 22. Nb7 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Bf8 24. Nb3 Bc8 25. N7a5 a6 26. Rc1 Ra7

27. Nd4 Rc7 28. b4 Bh6 29. Re1 Bd2 30. Re2 Bxb4 31. Nab3 a5 32. Nc2 Bc3 33. Re3

a4 34. Nc1 Be5 35. Ne2 Rb7+ 36. Kc1 Re7 37. f4 Bb2+ 38. Kd2 Rxe3 39. Nxe3 Ba6

40. Bxa6 Nxa6 41. Kc2 a3 42. Nd1 Nxc5 43. Nxb2 axb2 44. Kxb2 Ke6 45. Kc3 Ne4+

46. Kd3 Kd6 47. a3 c5 48. Nc3 Nxc3 49. Kxc3 Kc6 50. g4 Kb5 51. h4 f5 52. gxf5

gxf5 53. h5 Ka4 54. Kc2 Kxa3 55. Kc3 Ka2 56. Kc2 d4 57. Kd3 Kb3 58. Kd2 c4 59.

Ke2 Kc2 60. Kf2 d3 61. Kg3 d2 62. Kh4 h6 63. Kg3 d1=Q 64. Kf2 Qd2+ 65. Kg3 Qe3+

66. Kg2 Kd3 67. Kh2 c3 68. Kg2 c2 69. Kh2 c1=R 70. Kg2 Rc2+ 71. Kf1 Qf2# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116879

This Week In Chess

On August 25th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the 4th Wednesday August Rapid OTB (4SS, G/10+5).  Paul Anderson went unbeaten to grab 1st place, with Peter Barlay and Pret Bram tying for 2nd place.

Place, 4th Wednesday August Rapid OTB, Score

1 Paul D Anderson 3.5

2 Peter Barlay 3.0

3 Pret Bram 3.0

4 Koen Beaver 2.5

5 William Leo Wolf 2.0

6 Jose Llacza Magno 2.0

7 Rowen Oregel 2.0

8 Jayne Perry 2.0

9 Grayson Herrera 2.0

10 Erik Dali Svoboda 1.0

11 Forrest Harvin 1.0

12 Ethan Bastian 0.0

Two For The Price Of Third

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday Night Chess events.  It was a bit of an unusual tournament.  I didn't get to play since I was at the Renaissance Festival again.  So, I can only guess about the peculiarities.  

I can tell it started with 3 games and 7 players.  I thought the computer would shorten the event to 3 rounds when less than 8 players joined at the start.  Maybe it only happens when 6 players have joined because the 7th player will prevent the possibility of someone having to play the same opponent twice, which can happen with 6 players in a 4 round Swiss tournament.  

Fortunately, 3 more players joined late which increased the 2nd round to 4 games.  Although, I am not sure when exactly all 3 joined because the number of games shrunk in round 3 to 3 games again.  So, someone could have joined just for the last round, as the 4th round was back up to 4 games.

The features of late entry and withdrawal are nice for players who can't make it right at the start time or stay for the whole event, but they can cause some unusual situations for the tiebreakers and medals.

Brian Rountree was the top rated and didn't lose a game.  This is the formula for a gold medal you would think.  Well, it didn't work out that way.  One of his opponents withdrew after one game and added zero points to Brian's tiebreak score.  Andy Rea, on the other hand, benefited by one of his opponents getting a 1-point bye, which pushed Andy's tiebreak score just past Brian's.

Also, Koen Beaver was only able to play two games.  Yet he was able to score 2.5 points and win the bronze medal!  He got nothing for his late entrance but benefited from a third-round withdrawal, which gave him a 1-point bye and 1.5 points going into round 4.  Now, all he needed was to win his game and hope that Andy Rea could beat Jeff Fox and Brian Rountree could beat Albert Gardner.

Koen is a youngster who started with the club just this year.  He has played in 11 events online and a couple of times when we have met at COATI in downtown Colorado Springs.  He was paired with Emory Coston in the 4th round.  I met Emory at the Renaissance Festival, and he has joined us for several events online.  The club is doing more promotion and finding more new players than pre-pandemic, but we still have our physical location and equipment locked up at the Acacia Apartments.  I am pretty sure this is Dante's First Circle Of Hell.

I am guessing that Emory may have suffered a mouse slip early and was fighting from behind the whole game.  Here he had a shot to pick up some material.  The chess advice on trades when behind in material is, "Trade Pawns not Pieces."  So, Black definitely wants to save his Bishop.  But also, it would be nice capture the White Bishop.  Of course, even if you find the best move, Koen still has those extra Pawns and started implementing the chess advice on trades when ahead in material, "Trade Pieces not Pawns."  And it was a strategy that turned his 2 games this night into third place.

Black to move

Two For The Price Of Third

[Event "40MC Part II Online"]

[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]

[Date "2021.08.22"]

[Round "4.3"]

[White "Beaver, Koen"]

[Black "Coston, Emory"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B06"]

[WhiteElo "1109"]

[BlackElo "615"]

[PlyCount "109"]

[EventDate "2021.08.22"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. e5 Nh5 4. Be2 d5 5. Bxh5 g5 6. Bxg5 Rg8 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.

Qh5+ Rg6 9. Qxh7+ Bg7 10. Nf3 Qh8 11. Qxh8 Bxh8 12. O-O b6 13. Re1 Bxe5 14.

Nxe5+ Kg7 15. Nxg6 Kxg6 16. Bxe7 Nc6 17. Nc3 Nxd4 18. Red1 Nxc2 19. Nxd5 Nxa1

20. Nxc7 Rb8 21. Rxa1 a5 22. Rc1 Rb7 23. Nd5 Be6 24. Rc6 Kf7 25. Nf4 Bxa2 26.

Bd6 Kf6 27. Bc5+ Ke5 28. Nd3+ Ke4 29. Rxb6 Re7 30. Bxe7 Kxd3 31. b3 Kc2 32. Ra6

Bxb3 33. Rxa5 Bc4 34. Rc5 Kc3 35. Rxc4+ Kxc4 36. h4 Kd4 37. h5 Ke5 38. h6 Ke6

39. h7 Kxe7 40. h8=Q Ke6 41. Qf8 Ke5 42. Qf7 Ke4 43. Qf6 Kd3 44. Qf4 Ke2 45.

Qe3+ Kd1 46. Kh2 Kc2 47. Kg3 Kd1 48. Kf3 Kc2 49. Qd4 Kc1 50. Qd3 Kb2 51. Qc4

Kb1 52. Qe2 Kc1 53. Ke4 Kb1 54. Kd3 Kc1 55. Qc2# 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116870

This Week In Chess

On August 22nd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the 40MC Part II Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  Andy Rea went unbeaten and grabbed his 3rd gold medal of the 2021 season.  Brian Rountree also went unbeaten but lost out on the tiebreaks again to Andy.  Koen Beaver earned his first medal with a 3rd place finish.

Place, 40MC Part II Rapid Online,  Score

1 "#1 dzhierkiev64 (1847)" 3.5

2 "#2 linuxguy1 (1883)" 3.5

3 "#3 Cocomcfrecal (1109)" 2.5

4 "#4 jfoxhoot (1703)" 2.0

5 "#5 albertgardner (1519)" 2.0

6 "#6 Upkeep413 (1489)" 1.5

7 "#7 e_m_c_o (600)" 1.0

8 "#8 Earthurs (1452)" 0.0

9 "- KGreenGator (1660)" 0.0

10 "- GLeong (1719)" 0.0