Wind Of Change
Tuesday February 27, 2007
“The world is closing in. Did you ever think that we could be so close, like brothers? The future is in the air, can feel it everywhere and blowing with the wind of change…”
K. Meine
It is always hard to know how to start another year, but I decided that I would just start things like last year.
I started things last year right after I played in the Cabin Fever Reliever, so I am keeping the tradition alive. Also, the first week back I usually forget to take any notes about what happened at the club, so I can’t write about the beginning of the Cabin Fever tournament. At least, you get to find out how it all turned out.
I also started last year with a format change to the website, and this year is no different. You may remember that, at the end of last season, I ended up removing the guest book feature on the website. It has been replaced by the Colorado Springs Chess News Yahoo! Group.
So, it feels like things have changed quite a bit for the website, but even the club has gone through some changes. When I had returned, they were meeting in the basement of the Acacia Hotel while the cafeteria was being remodeled. Hopefully, we will be back upstairs this week and all these changes will be for the best.
Game Of The Week
Picking the Game Of The Week is the hardest part of the newsletter. It takes a lot of planning and forethought to do a good job, which kind of explains why I rarely do anything well.
Here it is Tuesday morning and I have yet to finish the newsletter I try to send out on Tuesdays. This week I made things even more difficult for myself. I like to decide what game I am going to publish by Saturday night and Fritz it overnight. I figure that gives me several days to get the website updated.
However, this week I couldn’t start Sunday as I mistakenly put the end date on my poll as Monday. I had turned over the responsibility for choosing this week’s game to the members of the Colorado Springs Chess News Yahoo! Group. I gave them the choice of my four games from the Cabin Fever Reliever, and whatever game received the most votes would be the one I published.
With the Oscars coming up that weekend, I thought I would have a little fun with it. I had noticed that the Oscars were on their 79th year and this was going to be my 79th published game. So, I hatched my brilliant plan:
”As a benefit for being apart of the CSCN yahoo group, you have all been inducted into the Academy of Chess Arts and Sciences. Your first task is to select the winner for this year's first Game of the Week from the following 4 nominees. And the nominees are:
- "The Queen" (a round 1 masterpiece filled with high drama as the black queen reigns supreme across the board)
- "Babel" (a round 2, dour, sweeping battle with the never-at-a-loss-for-words opponent who starred in such memorable Games of the Week as Try Blue Bayou Next Time (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2004/07/try-blue-bayou-next-time.html) and Loser's Privilege (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2006/05/losers-privilege.html))
- "Letters From Iwo Jima" (a round 3, grand, gut-wrenching examination of fatal devotion to a lost cause as I try to hold on to my winning position in a monster time scramble and fail)
- "The Departed" (a final round, enormously entertaining, a breathlessly paced epic that's hardly my best work, though the first two-thirds come close before it concludes with a repetitive bloodbath as I departed with $15 for 2nd place).”
What could possibly go wrong? Well, here is how the voting turned out:
CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Babel: Rd 2: Paul Anderson 1 - Bill Whinemiller 0, 1 votes, 25.00%
- Letters From Iwo Jima: Rd 3, Buck Buchanan 1 - Paul Anderson 0, 1 votes,25.00%
- The Departed: Rd 4, Paul Anderson 1 - Joe Pahk 0, 1 votes, 25.00%
- The Queen: Rd 1, Mike Filppu 0 - Paul Anderson 1, 1 votes, 25.00%
So, all my work was for naught. A four-way tie was the same as if I had never created the poll and just picked one myself. I was determined that I was not going to make the choice.
It was now up to the Oscar voters, and I just had to pray that “Little Miss Sunshine” didn’t win. Well, it was a storybook ending that night as the Oscar voters went with the nominee that was also my 400th USCF-rated game. And as soon as I get this newsletter out, I’ll live happily ever after!
400
 |
| White to move |
[Event "Cabin Fever Reliever"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2007.02.20"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Pahk, Joe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "1886"]
[BlackElo "1459"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2007.02.13"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 dxc4 7. e4 h6 8.
Bxf6 Nxf6 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. Rd1 c6 11. O-O Bd7 12. a3 a5 13. Ba2 b5 14. Bb1 g6
15. Nh4 Nh7 16. Nf3 b4 17. Ne2 bxa3 18. bxa3 Bxa3 19. e5 Ng5 20. Nd2 f5 21.
exf6 Qxf6 22. Nc4 Bb4 23. Ne5 Be8 24. f4 Nh7 25. Rf3 Qf5 26. Qc4 Qf6 27. Rdf1
Rc8 28. f5 gxf5 29. Rxf5 Qe7 30. R5f3 Rxf3 31. Rxf3 Ng5 32. Rf1 Bf7 33. h4 Bh5
34. hxg5 hxg5 35. Ng3 Be8 36. Ne4 Kh8 37. Qd3 c5 38. Nf6 cxd4 39. Nxe8 Rxe8 1-0
Nominees For Best Contributor To A Chess Website
In keeping with the spirit of change, I am modifying the past years' pro bowl selections and medal awards for contributions to the Game Of The Week column.
This year I am giving out just a single prize: the Academy Award of Contribution. The prize was designed by myself and includes the image of a knight that bears a striking resemblance to my Uncle Roger.
This award (the Roger) is intended to recognize that contributor who achieved an outstanding contribution in the field of chess-related web publishing contributions. Did I mention that this is about contributing?
Anyway, to be eligible for the Roger, a nominee had to contribute at least one game that was published as the Game Of The Week during the 2006 season. The nominees were Buck Buchanan, Randy Canney, Tim Brennan, Bill Whinemiller, Dean Brown, Jon Fortune, Lee Lahti, and Josh Bloomer.
And the Roger goes to Randy Canney!
Thanks to everyone for your help.
This Week In Chess
On February 20, the CSCC had 16 members in attendance. Most of the group played in the conclusion of the Cabin Fever Reliever (4SS, G30). Buck Buchanan improved his result over last year’s to finish clear first unbeaten. Here are the results:
Player Score Place $
Buck Buchanan 4.0 1st $25.00
Paul Anderson 3.0 2nd $15.00
Bill Whinemiller 2.0
Dean Brown 2.0
Joe Pahk 2.0
Mike Filppu 2.0 U1400 $5.00
Thomas Clarke 2.0 U1400 $5.00
Jerry Maier 1.0
Kathy Schneider 1.0
Tom Mullikin 1.0
Colorado Springs Chess Club Logo
By Renae Delaware
As some of you know at the annual meeting it was decided that CSCC needs an official club logo. The logo currently on the t-shirts is only a t-shirt design. (And it has served it's purpose well. Thank you Paul!). With that in mind, we are once again holding a design contest. This logo will represent the Colorado Springs Chess Club on everything from flyers to polo shirts. Here are the details:
- Who: Logo designs can be submitted by anyone!
- What: CSCC Design - There are no rules to the design itself, however simpler is better. (Well, the obvious restriction that the design must be in good taste. This will be determined by the club officers.)
- When: Deadline for logo submissions is April 3rd (First Tuesday in April)
- Where: Designs can be submitted to any of the club officers (Buck, Dean or myself) or brought to the chess club on April 3rd.
- Other details: Please keep in mind that if your submission is chosen, the owner of the design must be willing to relinquish the copyright to the Colorado Springs Chess Club.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dean at browndw1@mindspring.com, Buck at buckpeace@pcisys.net, or myself...[rdelaware@hotmail.com].
Thank you in advance!
WANTED: Voters!
If you like making choices, and don't mind clicking a circle and pressing submit, then the Colorado Springs Chess News Yahoo! Group needs you. The Yahoo! programmers didn't anticipate "1 votes" per category and failed to adjust the grammar accordingly. However, only four more voters could have avoided this embarrassing problem. So, if you would like to help chose the Game Of The Week, you can join the Yahoo! Group.
Upcoming Events
2/27 Simul, CSCC
3/3-4 Colorado Springs Open, CSCA
3/6 Speed Tournament, CSCC
3/7,14,21,28 Poor Richard's Book Store March Open, CSCC
3/10 CU Rapid IV, BCC
3/10 Durango Spring Adult & Youth, CSCA
Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://www.foxfrenchtranslations.com/cscc/)
Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)
Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)
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