Here I Go Again
Tuesday February 28, 2006
“I don’t know where I am going, but I sure know where I’ve been. Hanging on the promises in the songs of yesterday. And I’ve made up my mind. I ain’t wasting no more time, here I go again…”
D. Coverdale
It is time for another season of chess news.
I started things last year right after I played in the Cabin Fever Reliever, so I decided to make it a tradition and start this year on the same schedule. Of course, I was hounded by many in the Colorado chess scene to get things going sooner, but it isn’t that easy. I am like a bear coming out of hibernation; it takes me a while to get going (as you will see in the Game Of The Week). But I think I am ready now.
I decided to change the website a bit for the new year to make it easier for me to update things each week, so you will have to check it out and make sure it makes sense or is not missing anything important. Otherwise, there is nothing else you need to do but enjoy all the stuff I have collected over the football break.
Game Of The Week
I was watching some of the winter Olympics this past month as my first Game Of The Week article was inspired by the “Miracle On Ice,” and I was hoping lightning might strike twice. Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it inspiration this time. It was more like amazement.
First, I heard that the most popular winter sport is curling, which my wife thought was a type of weightlifting on ice. Second, I saw the Chinese ice skating pair fall and win silver.
Now, I don’t really know that much about chess, but I know even less about figure skating. The one thing I thought I knew was that falling was bad. I thought that, in the Olympics, any slight hesitation, any stumble, any minor imperfection and you could kiss the medals goodbye.
But then the Chinese make the only ice skating error I am sophisticated enough to pick up on, and they still get second. I thought, “What a stupid sport where you can fall and still get a prize, I’m going to stick with chess.”
Fortunately, I didn’t mention this rash thought to anyone because I was about to get a big mouthful of humble pie.
“He who hardens his heart falls into trouble”
Proverbs 28:14
My fall was about to come in the first round of the Cabin Fever Reliever.
I was paired against Dean Brown. Dean is about 325 rating points below me, a statistical guaranteed-win for me. But as I picked up my bishop, I caught a toe in the ice and fell flat on my face like a pair of Chinese skaters. I stumbled again against Joe Pahk in the next round, but before I lost total control, I reached down deep inside and found my inner Sasha Cohen.
I skated cleanly through the third and fourth rounds knocking off former Olympic hopeful, Dan St. John, and the hometown, Italian favorite, Richard Cordovano to claim a piece of first place. Luckily for me, Buck Buchanan was hot-dogging it a bit on the top board in his first round game against Virgil McGuire and had his own spill. But, he wasn’t about to stay down for long. He climbed back to the top board and finished strong showing everyone it isn’t just the skaters who can medal after a fall.
 |
| Black to move |
Help, I've Fallen And Got Silver
[Event "Cabin Fever Reliever"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2006.02.21"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Buchanan, Buck"]
[Black "Bloomer, Josh"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2006"]
[BlackElo "2183"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2006.02.21"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bh4 c5 4. Nc3 Qa5 5. Qd3 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nxc3 7. Qxc3
Qxc3+ 8. bxc3 g6 9. e4 Bg7 10. Ne2 Nc6 11. Rd1 d6 12. Nd4 Bd7 13. Be2 Rc8 14.
O-O Nxd4 15. cxd4 Rxc2 16. Bf3 Rxa2 17. Rfe1 Ra4 18. e5 dxe5 19. Bxb7 O-O 20.
dxe5 Bc8 21. Bxc8 Rxh4 22. g3 Rh5 23. Bg4 Rxe5 24. Rxe5 Bxe5 25. Rd7 a5 26.
Rxe7 Bd4 27. Rd7 Bc3 28. Bd1 Rb8 29. Kg2 Rb2 30. Rc7 Bd4 31. Rc2 Rb1 32. Rd2
Bb6 33. Bf3 a4 34. Ra2 a3 35. Bd5 Rb2 36. Rxa3 Rxf2+ 1/2-1/2
CS Chess Pro Bowl Selection
Last year, for some unknown reason, I combined my pro bowl selections for contributions to the Game Of The Week column with gold, silver, and bronze medals. I don’t remember what I was thinking last year, but it makes more sense this year having just completed the winter Olympics.
So, I am giving out the medals again. My gold medal contributor was Renae Delaware (again) who gave me 2 games and appeared in 2 more. My silver medal contributor was Brian Wall (again) who gave me 2 games and appeared in 1 more. The bronze medal will have to be split between Dean Brown, Mike Davis, Nathaniel Ola, Randy Reynolds, and Tim Fisher. Thanks for your help!
This Week In Chess
On February 21, the CSCC had 20 members in attendance. Most of the group played in the conclusion of the Cabin Fever Reliever (4SS, G30). Buck Buchanan and I survived a rocky first week to finish tied for first. Here are the results:
Player
Score
Place
$
Buck Buchanan
3.0
1st
$14
Paul Anderson
3.0
1st
$14
Josh Bloomer
2.5
Virgil McGuire
2.5
U1600
$8
Richard Cordovano
2.0
Dan St. John
2.0
Dean Brown
1.5
Renae Delaware
1.5
Michael Filppu
1.5
U1400
$3
Joe Pahk
1.5
U1400
$3
Tom Mullikin
1.0
Gerry Maier
0.0
2006 Pikes Peak Open TLA
By Buck Buchanan
TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
August 5 - 6, Manitou Springs CO: PIKES PEAK OPEN
5-SS, 40/90 and G/1 for rds 1-3, 40/2 and G/1 for rds 4-5. Manitou Springs City Hall, 606 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs. One open section. EF $30 if rec'd by 8/3, $35 at site. $8 discount for juniors, seniors, unrated. Cash prizes per entries. Register 8:30 - 9:30, rds 10, 2:30, 7; 9, 3. CSCA required, OSA. Entries to Richard Buchanan, 844 B Prospect Place, Manitou Springs CO 80829. E-mail buckpeace@pcisys.net (No e-mail entries, please.) or phone (719) 685-1984. . COLORADO TOUR EVENT.
Selected Games from Winter Springs Open
By Buck Buchanan
The Winter Springs Open TD, Buck Buchanan, has selected 19 games for publication. You can view the games at http://colorado-chess.com/games/2005WinterSpringsOpenGames.shtml.
Denver Chess Club Website
By Corey Kesler
The DCC's new site is www.denverchessclub.org. Thanks!
Chess For Girls
You might remember my newsletter that was inspired by the Saturday Night Live commercial parody called "Chess For Girls." After I wrote it, Glenn Miller sent me the video clip (avi file) which was too large for my website. However, over the break a reader from Pittsburgh offered to convert the file to the WMV format. I was finally able to view and hear it (still cracks me up)...
[Update] Now you can see the video version: Chess For Girls
Upcoming Events
2/28 Bloomer/Wall Simul, CSCC
3/4-5 Colorado Springs Open, CSCA
3/7 Speed Tournament, CSCC
3/11 DCC March Quick, DCC
3/25-4/2 Colorado Chess Festival, CSCA
4/8 DCC Daylight Savings Special, DCC
Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC
Denver Chess Club: DCC
Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA
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