Game Of The Week
Last week, I asked for Allan Ufer games, and Tim Fisher sent in an excellent submission. So, I’ll just let him tell you about it:
“Here is a game I played with Allan Ufer in 2003. It was our third meeting and I had won our first two games, having White in them both (as well as in this one!). Like most games between sub-1400 players, this encounter features blunders and missed opportunities by both players but still, it gives a good example of the spirited type of game Allan played and appreciated.”
Fisher,Tim (1398) - Ufer,Allan (1200)
Northwest Colorado Open Craig, CO (4), 17.08.2003
[Fisher,Tim]
1.e4 c5 2.c3 g6
In our previous two encounters Allan had tried 2...e5 and 2...d5 here.
3.d4 cxd4 4.cxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 d6
Our Sicilian had come to resemble a King's Indian Defense.
7.Be2 h5!?
I wondered if he was planning a King-side pawn storm, so was in no hurry to put my king on g1.
8.Be3 Nh6
Ah. So that's it. He played ...h5 in order to develop his knight without blocking the bishop on g7. Looks like he wants to leap into the g4 square, so,
9.h3 Qc7 10.0-0 a6 11.Nd5 Qd8 12.Bg5 Ng8 13.Rc1 Nf6 14.Bxf6 exf6 15.Re1 0-0
Here Deep Junior gives 16.Qb3 as the best way for White to keep his small edge.
16.a3 Re8 17.Bc4 Be6 18.Qd3 Ne7 19.Ne3 [No better was 19.Nc7 Qxc7 20.Bxe6 Qb6 21.Qb3 Qxb3 22.Bxb3 Rac8 with equality.] 19...Bxc4 20.Rxc4 b5 21.Rc2 Rc8 22.Rec1 Qd7 23.Qd2 f5!
Challenging my pawn center and opening the long diagonal for his bishop -- this must be a good move.
24.exf5 Nxf5 25.Nd5 Rxc2 26.Rxc2 Qe6? [26...Qb7! 27.Nb4 Qe4 with strong pressure on d4] 27.Nc7
Now I was confident that the game was in the bag. Allan thought for a long time and then uncorked a move that required a precise response:
27...Bh6!
Already in some time pressure, I was surprised by this move and the resilience shown by my cagey veteran opponent. I spent time analyzing 28.d5 but after 28...Qe7 29.Qd1 Rc8! my advantage evaporates. I also found that 28.Qa5 fails after 28...Qe4! similar to the game. After 14 minutes of thought I finally played the error:
28.Qd3? [Best was 28.Qc3! Rc8 29.Nxe6 Rxc3 30.Rxc3 fxe6 31.Rc6 with a winning endgame for White.]
28...Qe4! finding the one move that solves all his problems.
29.Qxe4 Rxe4 30.Rc6 Nxd4 31.Rxd6 Nxf3+ 32.gxf3 Re1+ 33.Kg2 Bf4 34.Rd8+ Kg7 35.Nxa6 Rb1 36.Nc5?! [better was 36.Rd4 g5 37.Rb4 Bc1 38.Rxb5 Rxb2 39.Rxb2 Bxb2 40.a4 Kf6 41.Nc5 Ke7 ]
36...Bg5 [I think Allan steered clear of 36...Rxb2! because he was worried about 37.Nd3 but now Black is doing just fine after either 37...Rd2! (or 37...Bc7 ) ] 37.Rd5 Bh4 38.Ne4? [38.Nd3 makes more sense.]
38...Rxb2 39.Rd4?! Ra2
My position was disintegrating before my eyes and with about 45 seconds left to make the 40-move time control I played the howler
40.Nc5?? [much better was 40.Rd2 Rxd2 41.Nxd2 ]
40...Rxf2+?! [winning was 40...Bxf2! 41.Rd5 Bxc5+ ]
41.Kg1 Rxf3?
Whew! The break I needed!
42.Rxh4
As I snapped the bishop off the board, Allan smiled slightly and said out loud, "Hmm. I didn't see that."
42...Rxa3 43.Rb4 Rxh3 44.Rxb5 Rc3
And here we agreed to a draw. I don't remember who proposed the draw but I do remember being glad that I wouldn't have to deal with his 3 connected passers. In this game Allan showed the fighting spirit and resourcefulness of a player far above his rating.
1/2-1/2
 |
| Black to move |
Fisher Vs. Ufer
[Event "Northwest Colorado Open"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2003.08.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Fisher, Tim"]
[Black "Ufer, Allan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "1398"]
[BlackElo "1200"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2003.08.16"]
1. e4 c5 2. c3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 Bg7 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nf3 d6 7. Be2 h5 8. Be3
Nh6 9. h3 Qc7 10. O-O a6 11. Nd5 Qd8 12. Bg5 Ng8 13. Rc1 Nf6 14. Bxf6 exf6 15.
Re1 O-O 16. a3 Re8 17. Bc4 Be6 18. Qd3 Ne7 19. Ne3 Bxc4 20. Rxc4 b5 21. Rc2 Rc8
22. Rec1 Qd7 23. Qd2 f5 24. exf5 Nxf5 25. Nd5 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 Qe6 27. Nc7 Bh6 28.
Qd3 Qe4 29. Qxe4 Rxe4 30. Rc6 Nxd4 31. Rxd6 Nxf3+ 32. gxf3 Re1+ 33. Kg2 Bf4 34.
Rd8+ Kg7 35. Nxa6 Rb1 36. Nc5 Bg5 37. Rd5 Bh4 38. Ne4 Rxb2 39. Rd4 Ra2 40. Nc5
Rxf2+ 41. Kg1 Rxf3 42. Rxh4 Rxa3 43. Rb4 Rxh3 44. Rxb5 Rc3 1/2-1/2
This Week In Chess
Monday July 25, 2005
On July 19, the CSCC had 21 members in attendance. In the USCF-rated games (G90), Kathy Schneider schooled Tom Rosado, Mike Davis demoralized Jerry Maier, and Tom Mullikin murdered Joe Pahk.
The rest of the group played in ladder matches (G15). Each member faces an opponent, who is close in rating, in a 2-game match. The members can continue playing matches until the opponents are tired of playing that particular member. Chris McCarty posted the most victories. Here are the results:
Player
Win
Loss
%
Paul Anderson
4.0
0.0
100%
Chris McCarty
5.0
1.0
83%
Bill Whinemiller
1.5
0.5
75%
Virgil McGuire
3.5
1.5
70%
Dave Merritt
4.0
2.0
67%
Jeff Brewer
4.0
2.0
67%
Joe Pahk
2.5
1.5
63%
Pam Doan
2.0
2.0
50%
Chris Nord
2.5
3.5
42%
Paul Christensen
2.0
4.0
33%
John Revere
1.0
3.0
25%
Mike Davis
0.0
1.0
0%
Shaun MacMillan
0.0
2.0
0%
Gary Frenzel
0.0
2.0
0%
Jerry Maier
0.0
2.0
0%
Matthew Brewer
0.0
4.0
0%
Allan Ufer
by Zisa Mogilefsky
Allan Ufer sat at the bar of the STAGECOACH INN eating a shrimp cocktail and sipping a martini. He was wearing a beanie topped off with an American Flag. It was Fall 2001. He chatted with the bartender and I noticed his New York accent. I was happy to hear his East Coast talk because I had recently arrived from New York City. "A fellow New Yorker," I mumbled to myself. Allan was not only a New Yorker. He was also a chess player. As for me, I knew about the game from my father who played postal chess, tournament chess and one-to-one chess. Because my father played chess so much, I thought he earned a living at chess (He was really an attorney). My father talked chess all the time when he returned home from work. Each night at dinnertime, my father talked about the Russian grandmasters he met at tournaments in New York City. Thus, I learned about the game of kings from my father. Sometimes, at the Stagecoach Inn, Allan Ufer and I talked about chess and the Colorado Springs Chess Club where he was a member. How he loved chess! And how he loved the food at his favorite dining spot in Manitou Springs, the Stagecoach Inn. He suffered from diabetes and soon, he took a cane with him when he visited the Stagecoach Inn. As 2001 drifted into 2002 and then, 2003, Allan Ufer's gait slowed as he walked from the Barker House to the Stagecoach Inn. Soon, he was using a walker. But no matter! Allan continued to eat at the Stagecoach Inn even after he left the Barker House to move into housing that would accommodate his diabetes. He continued to play chess and meet with the chessplayers at the Acacia Hotel on Tuesday evenings. Last fall, after the chess club played in Denver, all the members stopped at Rosie's Diner on the way home. I remember sitting opposite Allan as he ate his banana split. Allan joked happily. I can still hear him talk with his New York accent about his chess game. I can still see him enjoying his dessert. It is how so many of us remember Allan Ufer. What a happy spirit he was!
Most Beautiful Chess Player in Colorado
I have recently conducted a scientific study to find the most attractive people in Colorado who play chess. I looked over several images and spent countless minutes conducting the research, but I think I have completed the definitive study on chess and beauty among Colorado residents.
First, I needed an impartial source to gather images of the subjects without any local bias. With that in mind, I chose the HB Foundation’s website, who are out of Minnesota. I figured their web editor would only select the prettiest attendees to put on the web site to put the most appealing spin on the face of chess.
Then I had to sort through the myriad of photos they had on the web page and narrow down the selection to just Colorado folks. Once I eliminated the out-of-towners, I had the tough task of narrowing the field to the final four most beautiful people.
Here are the finalists in order of beauty from least attractive to drop-dead gorgeous. The 3rd runner up is Chris Peterson (mostly because you can’t see his face). The 2nd runner up is Glenn Miller (a smile could have helped). The 1st runner up is Renae Delaware (let’s get the hair out of the face next time). And the winner is…Dean Brown (with 3 times as many photos as the runner up)!
Comments from the Guest Book
Hamilton F., London, UK, July 22nd:
Good site! Great work guys!
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