Game Of The Year IV

End Of The Season

Wednesday August 22, 2007

Well, another chess season has come to a close for me.  It is time for me to move on to managing the websites for my other hobby (https://spamfootball.blogspot.com/), but I will return after the football season ends.

Before I go, I wanted to clean up some loose ends.  Of course, you can still send in news items or articles during the off-season, and I will email them along to the subscribers.  Any games I receive will be stored in my stockpile until next year.  You can also join the Colorado Springs Chess News’ yahoo group (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cs_chess/) to keep receiving chess games all year round.

So, before I finish typing my chess thoughts for another year, I want to thank all the people who sent in games and articles, all the people who took the time to tell me something nice about the newsletter, and all the people who take the time to read this.

Game Of The Year

As I was looking over the past year, I realized things were not as good as the year before.  My rating peaked at 1897 before slipping to 1875.  My victories over stronger opponents were down and so were the number of prizes I won.  But despite the off numbers, I still found myself enjoying the year.  Part of the reason was that, over the course of the past year, I began my entry into the world of Colorado Chess Informant contributor.  The first time I wrote anything for the Informant was for an interview by Paul Grimm in January 2005.  However, I would count that article as more of Paul Grimm’s submission than mine.  My first blurb (October 2006) was inspired by Brian Wall’s infamous chess jokes.  But it got the ball rolling, as I revised the jokes and added to them in January 2007.  My first game-related article appeared in the next issue (April 2007) with the story of my son’s first victory over his dad.  I added it to the website as well (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/redemption.html).  So, it seemed appropriate to publish my last submission to the Informant (July 2007) as my game of the year since it was about one of my few upsets this year:

Lee's Plea (part 3)

White to move

As I was reading the last edition of the Informant (April 2007), I ran across the article “Lee’s Plea (part 2).”  I thought to myself, “Ooh, the exciting conclusion to Lee’s Plea (part 1) is finally here!”  Of course, I couldn’t remember what part 1 was about or if there was a perilous cliffhanger yet to be resolved.  So, I went back through my old Informants looking for the original “Lee’s Plea.”

I couldn’t find it in the January 2007 edition but did find something in the October 2006 issue.  In the mailbag section, Lee asked the question, “Is there no one who can topple the great Fort Collins Chess Club in match play?”  It is hard to believe they decided to make a sequel out of that comment, but I guess that is the trend these days.

Actually, the trend seems to be to make a couple of sequels and call it a trilogy.  In fact, I think every movie coming out this summer is the third in a series.

So, why should “Lee’s Plea” be any different?  They seem to be getting better too.  The second version was better than the first one as it even contained a cliffhanger this time.  At the end of the story, our heroes have suffered their first setback like Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back.  The Fort Collins Chess Club rushed off to face the dark side unprepared and got their hands cut off.

But that is not the end of the story.  The story concludes with a hint of the ongoing saga to come: “Gauntlets have been thrown down for a match on March 24th against Colorado Springs at the neutral Tabor Center.  Stay tuned next issue for a report on that match!”  Of course, without any hands they didn’t have much use for the gauntlets anyway.

And now, another thrilling chapter in the adventures of the Fort Collins Chess Club in team matches.

Typically, in the final installment of a trilogy, the heroes redeem themselves and wrap things up for a happily-ever-after ending.  Of course, in real life not everyone is reading from the same script.

Who knew the Fort Collins Chess Club would transform from Luke Skywalker into the Black Knight of Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

In the Mountain States Chess Club Championship Match, the Fort Collins Chess Club started hot with 2 wins on the top two boards, but they could only manage a couple of draws on the lower six boards and fell behind 3-5 at the break.

The good news was that the Fort Collins Chess Club was only two points behind.  The bad news was that Fort Collins was luring Colorado Springs into a genuine sense of security with the second round yet to come.  The Colorado Springs Chess Club turned the tide on the top boards that round with 3 wins, and they held off any losses with three draws on the bottom five boards and pulled away 11.5-4.5 to claim the Mountain States Chess Club Match Champions trophy!

I was not one of the Colorado Springs team members with a great deal of security in the second round.  I had already lost in the first round facing an opponent who was higher rated than myself.  I had used up a lot of time trying to get a slight edge in material in the opening and felt the pressure of trying to defend an attack against his queen and rooks with the clock in single digits.

So, I wanted to avoid repeating that kind of scenario in the second round.  I was aiming to trade off the powerful pieces and shoot for a draw putting the pressure to win on him.  However, I felt things had gone awry when I had to trade off my bishop for his knight leaving him the bishop pair and me with a knight on the edge of the board.

But it suddenly dawned on me that there are three ways to guarantee a victory over a higher rated opponent, and I will reveal one of those secrets to you now.  As I thought, “How do you beat a higher rated player?”

I realized you just had to get a winning position and wait for him to resign.

When I had read “Lee’s Plea” originally, like most people, I completely dismissed it as the insane ramblings of a chess nut.  However, I now appreciate the effort it took to get the ball rolling on these team matches.  With four matches under their belt, the Fort Collins Chess Club has shown themselves to be a force that cannot be easily dismissed.  Of course, the insane ramblings part is still up for debate, as the “great Fort Collins Chess Club” seems to topple more often than a game of Jenga.

Game Of The Year IV

[Event "CSCC vs FCCC Club Match"]

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

[Date "2007.03.24"]

[Round "2.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Petters, Markus"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "E70"]

[WhiteElo "1895"]

[BlackElo "2028"]

[PlyCount "63"]

[EventDate "2007.03.24"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. e5 Ne8 6. f4 d6 7. Be3 c5 8. dxc5

Qa5 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Qa4 Qxa4 11. Nxa4 dxe5 12. fxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. O-O-O

Bg4 15. Rd2 Ng7 16. Bd3 Nf5 17. Bxf5 Bxf5 18. b3 Rfd8 19. Rhd1 Rxd2 20. Rxd2

Kf8 21. g3 Ke8 22. Bd4 Bc7 23. Nc3 Rd8 24. Nb5 Ba5 25. Bc3 Bxc3 26. Nc7+ Kf8

27. Rxd8+ Kg7 28. Nd5 Ba5 29. Rb8 e6 30. b4 exd5 31. bxa5 dxc4 32. Rxb7 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=57929

This Week In Chess

On August 14th, the CSCC had 14 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G60), Buck Buchanan butchered Josh Bloomer.

Most of the participants played in the club-rated ladder games (G15).  Each player faced an opponent similar in rating in a 2 game match and then chose other willing opponents for additional matches.  Here are the results:

Player Win Loss %

Jeff Fox 4.5 1.5 75.00%

Renae Delaware 3.0 1.0 75.00%

Mike Filppu 2.0 2.0 50.00%

Bill Whinemiller 1.0 1.0 50.00%

Paul Anderson 1.5 2.5 37.50%

Dean Brown 1.0 3.0 25.00%

Lucas Bundy 1.0 3.0 25.00%

New Photos From The Pikes Peak Open 2007!

By Fred Eric Spell

10 new photos on the Yahoo! Group by Fred Eric Spell at:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cs_chess/

Comments From Email

DuWayne Langseth, Monday, August 13, 2007 7:37 AM

It was good to see you at the tournament.  Since I played Doykos and he was about the same rating as me, maybe there is hope that we'll eventually get to play.

I hope you do an email of your game with Shaun.  I love endgames, so it was real interesting.  Here is a web site that you may like that uses tablebases.

http://www.lokasoft.nl/uk/tbweb.htm

You can set up any endgame position with 5 pieces or less and it will tell you who wins or draws and the number of moves to checkmate.  Just add or remove pieces on the board and click submit.  You can follow different lines of perfect play.  It's great for mastering the basic endings.

If you happen to have Shaun's email address, please forward this to him too along with my congratulations for a great tournament.

DuWayne

[I don't know about an email of Shaun's game.  I stopped thinking about that one somewhere in the middle of it.  But I will post it to the Yahoo! Group (along with my other rook ending nightmare).]

Lost Sunglasses

By Renae Delaware

If you left a pair of sunglasses on the bench at the Acacia Apartments August 7th, please contact the club.

Thank you!

Renae

Upcoming Events

8/25 CU Rapid V, BCC

8/29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open Final Round, CSCC

9/1-3 Colorado Open, CSCA

9/5,12,19,26 Poor Richard's Book Store September Open, CSCC

9/11 Fort Collins 2nd Tuesday September, CSCA

9/15 2nd Annual Regis Jesuit Grand Prix #1, CSCA

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

What Good Luck!

Game Of The Week

This weekend I played in the Pikes Peak Open.  There were some good things about it, and there were some bad things about it.  I was reminded of a book I enjoyed as a child called, “What good luck! What bad luck!”

Each page of the story alternates between the good and bad things that happen to the protagonist.  At one point, the main character is falling from the sky because his parachute didn’t open (bad luck).  Then the next page starts, “What good luck, he is falling right towards a haystack.”   Of course, the next page is the bad news, “What bad luck, there is a pitchfork in the haystack.”

My tournament was like that.  What good luck, I get a forfeit win in the first round.

What bad luck, I decided not to bring anything to do if I had a break and had to wait an hour before getting the win.

What good luck, the music headphones ban is lifted and I have my mp3 player with me.

What bad luck, I didn’t charge it the night before.

What good luck, Andy Rea fails to capitalize on a huge attack on my king.

What bad luck, I lose a drawn rook ending to him over the course of 5 hours.

What good luck, Shaun MacMillan rushes a b4 move giving my knight and rook killer positions.

What bad luck, I decided to trade both the knight and rook for a drawn rook ending, which I lose over the course of 6 hours.

However, my game with Bill Whinemiller was different.  I got everything I wanted in the opening, sacrificed a piece to keep my attack alive, and finished the game on an exclamation point!  There wasn’t any down side, unless you consider getting paired with Bill the bad luck.

White to move

What Good Luck!

[Event "Pikes Peak Open"]

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

[Date "2007.08.11"]

[Round "2.4"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Weihmiller, Bill"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A16"]

[WhiteElo "1884"]

[BlackElo "1757"]

[PlyCount "53"]

[EventDate "2007.08.11"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. d4 d6 6. Bd3 c6 7. Qc2 Na6 8. a3

Nc7 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 d5 11. Ne5 Ng4 12. Nxg4 Bxg4 13. h3 Be6 14. g4 Qd7 15. f4

Qd6 16. c5 Qd8 17. O-O-O b5 18. Ne2 a5 19. Rdg1 Bc8 20. h4 f6 21. h5 e5 22.

Bxg6 hxg6 23. Qxg6 Qe7 24. h6 Ne6 25. hxg7 Nxg7 26. Rh7 exf4 27. Rxg7+ 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94594 

This Week In Chess

Tuesday August 14, 2007

On August 7th, the CSCC had 14 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder games (G60), Josh Bloomer blanked Mike Filppu and Kale Duncan dunked Tom Mullikin.

The rest of the participants played in a double round robin, blitz tournament (G5).  Here are the results:

Player Score

Paul Anderson 6.0

Mike Makinney 3.5

Jerry Maier 2.5

Ashley Swendsen 0.0

Correction

Last week I reported "In the USCF-rated ladder game (G60), Jerry Maier might have gotten the win over Tom Mullikin."  However, the truth of the matter is that Tom Mullikin managed to come back and get the win over Jerry Maier.  My apologies to Tom for assuming he was out of that Mullikin magic.

[Comment was from this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-to-gain-200-points-in-9-days.html]

Pikes Peak Open Standings

By Buck Buchanan

Below is the standings crosstable of the Pikes Peak Open, played in Manitou Springs last weekend.  I will try to get a games selection out by September 1.

Player Score Place $

Renard Anderson 4.0 1st $73.00

Brian Wall 4.0 1st $73.00

Jim Hamblin 4.0 1st $73.00

Shaun MacMillan 4.0 U2000 $80.00

Andy Rea 3.5

Larry Wutt 3.5

DuWayne Langseth 3.5

Josh Divine 3.5 U1800 $70.00

Alex Cacas 3.0

Bill Whinemiller 3.0

Scott Massey 3.0

Mike Filppu 3.0

Paul Anderson 2.5

Kenneth Doykos 2.5

Tim Brennan 2.5

Gordon Randall 2.5

Ted Doykos 2.5

Gary Bagstad 2.0

Anthea Carson 2.0

Joe Fromme 2.0

Darin Lunderman 2.0 U1600 $20.00

Fred Eric Spell 2.0 U1600 $20.00

Rhett Langseth 2.0 U1600 $20.00

Tom Mullikin 2.0 U1300 $20.00

Cynthia Langseth 2.0 U1300 $20.00

Matthew Dinsdale 1.5

Bryan Castle 1.5

Ryan McCardell 1.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

Gary Frenzel 1.0

Casual Chess Night

By Renae Delaware

Hello Everyone,

Hope to see you there!

When: Saturday, August 18th at 8pm

Where: Agia Sofia Coffee Shop & Bookstore, 2902 W. Colorado Ave 80904.

Located on the NW corner of Colorado & 29th (directly west of the firestation) 719-632-3322

Who: Anyone! Just be sure to bring your own sets & clocks!

Please remember to support them if you're able to! Thank you!

Renae

Upcoming Events

8/14 Ladder games, CSCC

8/14 Fort Collins 2nd Tuesday August, CSCC

8/15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open Final Rounds, CSCC

8/18 Casual Chess, Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8 PM, CSCC

8/21 Quads: 3-RR, G/30 for USCF rated sections, others G/20, CSCC

8/25 CU Rapid V, BCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

How To Gain 200 Points In 9 Days

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from Dean Brown, who has been away from Colorado for a couple of weeks now.  He has spent part of that time playing in the 108th Annual US Open.  It was a nine round, Swiss tournament that was played over the course of a week.

I have never played in one of these long tournaments myself, but their format of one game each day seems to cater to Dean’s style of play.  He starts strong, scoring most of his upsets in the first round, but fades quickly as the rounds progress.

I called him the anti-Energizer Bunny in an earlier email (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2005/04/quick-draw-mcgraw.html). However, if you give him a day to recharge his batteries between each game, then he can play 500 points above his rating.  Last week, Dean sent me an email with the results of his first four games.

He wrote, “I figured I'd share my results after 4 rounds of the US Open since I temporarily have a plus score?!

Rd1: White vs Mike Morris (1937) of Athens Ohio....a boring positional loss.  I resigned.  An ugly positional game where I was continuously adrift without a plan.  This game set the tone for the next three round where I set out with dubious aggressive plans rather than lose boring games.  My higher rated opponents should be able to handle my simple plans but so far they have been very good to me!

Rd2: Black vs. Ernest Schlich (1715), New England acquaintance of Brian Wall...a generous 19-move win!  Since I gave up the Dragon for the Accelerated Dragon my results have been a lot better...the Accelerated Dragon seems to be more forgiving of my dubious moves.

Rd3: White vs Ethan Peake (1859), Oregon Denker participant...an exciting premature 49-move draw! My most exciting game so far, thoroughly enjoyable game that probably ended too soon.  I was seeking the draw and got it.

Rd4: Black vs Sylvia Yang (1854), a Texas middle-schooler...receives a second generous mini 21-move win!!  With 2 1/2 out of 4 I expect a strong A-player or expert next round (I hope the generosity continues?!).

I'll keep you informed with future results sooner or later (probably sooner if the news is positive).  I'll let you know how the rest of the Colorado gang are doing once I peruse the standings sheets.

Best from Cherry Hill! Dean Wm (the lucky patzer) Brown.”

I chose the 4th round game to publish mainly because it was the only one that I could cut and paste into Fritz without losing any moves.  However, it turned out to be Dean’s best win.  I checked the US Open’s website to see how Dean’s final five rounds faired.  He only scored 2 more points, but he finished the tournament with a performance rating of 1855 and looks to gain 200 rating points!

Black to move

How To Gain 200 Points In 9 Days

[Event "108th Annual US Open"]

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

[Date "2007.07.31"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Yang, Sylvia"]

[Black "Brown, Dean"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B27"]

[WhiteElo "1854"]

[BlackElo "1322"]

[PlyCount "42"]

[EventDate "2007.07.28"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Be3 b6 7. h3 O-O 8. O-O

d6 9. Qd2 Qd7 10. Bh6 Ne5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qg5 Qd4 14. Rab1 h6

15. Qd2 Rd8 16. Rfe1 Qxc4 17. Qe3 Qd4 18. Qe2 Be6 19. a4 Nh5 20. Nb5 Qd7 21.

Qf3 Nf4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94400

This Week In Chess

Tuesday August 7, 2007

On July 31st, the CSCC had 17 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G60), Jerry Maier might have gotten the win over Tom Mullikin.

Most of the participants played in the round robin, bughouse tournament (G5).  Bughouse is a chess variant where a two-man team, playing opposite colors on two separate boards, challenges another two-man team, and one partner can use the other’s captured pieces.  Therefore, once one partner captures a piece, the other partner can now drop that piece onto any vacant square (as long as it is not a pawn onto the eighth rank) of his board in lieu of making a regular move.  The partners can advise each other regarding moves or captures, and either partner can win to gain the point for the team.  Here are the results:

Team Score

Brian Wall & Renae Delaware 6.0

Buck Buchanan & Charles Martin 3.0

Joe Pahk & Mike Filppu 3.0

Paul Anderson & Matthew Anderson 0.0

Upcoming Events

8/7 Speed tournament, CSCC

8/8,15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open Final Rounds, CSCC

8/11-12 Pikes Peak Open, CSCA

8/14 Fort Collins 2nd Tuesday August, CSCA

8/14 Ladder games, CSCC

8/18 Casual Chess, Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8 PM, CSCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

Writing On The Wall

Game Of The Week

Back in April (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/breaking-glass-barrier.html), I had a couple requests for the game of the week.  I was only able to honor one of those requests that week.  But I never forgot about the other one.  It was a loss of mine to Renard Anderson in the Colorado Springs Open.

I have published 4 of my losses each of the past 3 years (not counting team games), and this year I have published 3 so far.  So, I figured I would keep the 4-loss tradition going and finally get to Martin Deschner’s request.

Of course, the game is five months old now, but I still remember it.  It was one of those long games that make it past the first time control and almost to the end of the second.  I was so focused on trying to find a way out of the mess I had gotten myself into that I didn’t realize it was almost midnight and the only people left in the building for the past couple of hours were Renard, myself, and Buck Buchanan, the tournament director.

I never really had a chance to win, but I just couldn’t give up fighting for a draw.  I could see the writing on the wall, but I just couldn’t make any sense of it.  Maybe if Daniel had been there, we all could have gone home much earlier.

“This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”

Daniel 5:12

However, I played on for 76 moves before the time and position had deteriorated so badly the writing on the wall was clear to me.  I have had 12 USCF-rated games go past 75 moves.  As I looked at the 12 games, I noticed something interesting.  Before this game, I had 4 losses, 4 wins, and 3 draws in these long games.  All 4 losses occurred before 2003 and when I was under 1800.  All 4 wins occurred after 2004 and when I was over 1800.

I also noticed, while playing Renaissance chess this year, that if I had an opponent who seemed to know what they were doing, I would avoid the complicated middle game stuff and head for a drawn endgame. Then I would win the game on some endgame blunder.  It failed just once, as I had one draw in about 200 games.  I did have one loss this year, but that was an opening blunder on my part.  Otherwise, this was the best performance I’ve had in my 10 years of Renaissance chess.

Perhaps a better understanding of the end game is what pushed me into the A class.  Now if only I can figure out what will push me over the 1900 barrier?

White to move

Writing On The Wall

[Event "Colorado Springs Open"]

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

[Date "2007.03.03"]

[Round "3.1"]

[White "Anderson, Renard"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B12"]

[WhiteElo "2224"]

[BlackElo "1888"]

[PlyCount "151"]

[EventDate "2007.03.03"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. a3 a5 7. Nc3 Be7 8. cxd5 exd5

9. Be2 g6 10. Nf3 Na6 11. g3 Nc7 12. Be3 Ne6 13. Qd2 b5 14. Ng5 Nxg5 15. hxg5

b4 16. Na4 Bd7 17. g4 h4 18. f3 Rb8 19. Bd1 bxa3 20. bxa3 Rb5 21. O-O Kf8 22.

Kh2 Kg7 23. Qc1 Qb8 24. Kh1 Bf8 25. Bf4 Qe8 26. Rf2 Qe6 27. Rc2 Be7 28. Be2 Rb3

29. Rc3 Rb8 30. Rb1 Rxb1 31. Qxb1 Kh7 32. Bd3 c5 33. Nxc5 Bxc5 34. Rxc5 Ne7 35.

Rxa5 Nc6 36. Ra6 Rb8 37. Rb6 Ra8 38. Qb2 Qe7 39. Bc1 Qd8 40. Rb5 Nxe5 41. dxe5

Bxb5 42. Bxb5 d4 43. Qb3 Qe7 44. a4 Kg7 45. Bf4 Rd8 46. Bd3 Qc5 47. e6 Qa5 48.

Qd1 fxe6 49. Qe2 Qd5 50. Be5+ Kf7 51. Bf6 Rc8 52. Bxg6+ Kf8 53. Bd3 Kf7 54. Kg2

Rc3 55. Qe4 Qxe4 56. Bxe4 Rc4 57. a5 Ra4 58. Be5 Ra2+ 59. Kh3 Rd2 60. g6+ Kg8

61. a6 Ra2 62. Bxd4 Rxa6 63. Kxh4 Ra5 64. Bf6 Rc5 65. Kg3 Rb5 66. Kf4 Ra5 67.

Bd4 Rb5 68. Bd3 Rd5 69. Ke3 Kf8 70. Bc4 Rg5 71. Bxe6 Rxg6 72. Bf5 Rh6 73. g5

Rh1 74. g6 Rg1 75. g7+ Kg8 76. Be4 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94399 

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 31, 2007

On July 24th, the CSCC had 20 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Jerry Maier made the right moves against Tom Mullikin and Judah Mauger manhandled Mike Filppu.

Most of the participants played in the club-rated ladder games (G15).  Each player faced an opponent similar in rating in a 2 game match.  Here are the results:

Player Score

Paul Anderson 2.0

Karl Nathaniel 2.0

Mike Makinney 2.0

Virgil McGuire 1.5

Renae Delaware 0.5

Jeff Fox 0.0

Kale Duncan 0.0

Joe Pahk 0.0

Comments From Email

Reynolds, Randy, Tuesday, July 24, 2007 4:11 PM

Sniff… your newsletter is just so patriotic, it makes me want to emancipate my opponent’s attack every game now…. We need something else patriotic to bookend your Chessysburg Address.

Give me your isolated, your weak, Your doubled masses yearning to breathe free, The backwards refuse of your wrecked structure.  Send these, the aimless, gambit-tossed to me.  I lift my queen beside the golden eighth rank.

Hm… Uh… yeah… Yours is still better.  Have a good one, and congrats on the milestone!

[Comment is about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/07/five-score.html]

Upcoming Events

7/31 Bughouse tournament, CSCC

8/1,8,15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open, CSCC

8/7 Speed tournament, CSCC

8/11-12 Pikes Peak Open, CSCA

8/14 Fort Collins 2nd Tuesday August, CSCA

8/14 Ladder games, CSCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

Five Score

Game Of The Week

Five score or one hundred games ago my father helped bring forth on this server a new website, conceived in Victory, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created to play chess.

Now we are engaged in yet another great newsletter, testing whether that website, or any website, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  We are met at a great game of that newsletter.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that game, as a memorial for those who here gave their losses that this newsletter might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.  But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this game.  The brave men, victors and defeated, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.  It is for us the active-players, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored defeated we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these defeated shall not have lost in vain — that this website, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that chess over the board, between two players, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

White to move

Five Score

[Event "June Mating Game"]

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

[Date "2007.06.19"]

[Round "4.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Caldwell, Jason"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A22"]

[WhiteElo "1861"]

[BlackElo "2002"]

[PlyCount "61"]

[EventDate "2007.06.12"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. a3 a5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Qc2 d6 6. b3 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. Bb2 Nd7

9. Be4 Nc5 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Nge2 e4 12. Nc1 O-O 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Rxa1 15.

Bxa1 Na6 16. N1a2 d5 17. O-O Qg5 18. f4 exf3 19. Rxf3 Bg4 20. Rf4 Be5 21. Ne4

dxe4 22. Bxe5 Bf3 23. d4 exd3 24. Qb2 d2 25. Qxd2 Bxg2 26. Bf6 Qh5 27. Kxg2 c5

28. b5 Nb4 29. Nxb4 cxb4 30. Qd4 Ra8 31. Rf2 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94365

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 24, 2007

On July 17th, the CSCC had 16 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Jerry Maier monster-mashed Tom Mullikin.

Most of the participants played in the low-rated challenge tournament (G30).  In this type of tournament, the lowest rated participant chooses an opponent for each round until all the players are paired together.  Here are the results:

Player Rd 1 Rd 2 Score

1 Paul Anderson W6 W7 2.0

2 Kale Duncan W5 W6 2.0

3 Buck Buchanan W7 W9 2.0

4 Joe Pahk W8 U 1.0

5 Mike Filppu L2 W8 1.0

6 Virgil McGuire L1 L2 0.0

7 Jason Caldwell L3 L1 0.0

8 Mark Stratton L4 L5 0.0

9 Dean Brown U L3 0.0

Upcoming Events

7/24 Josh Bloomer Lecture / Simul, CSCC

7/25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open Final Rounds, CSCC

7/31 Bughouse tournament, CSCC

8/1,8,15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open, CSCC

8/11-12 Pikes Peak Open, CSCA

8/14 Fort Collins 2nd Tuesday August, CSCA

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

This One's For Larry!

Game Of The Week

I was reading over some of LM Brian Wall’s emails this past week.  I usually don’t read them as they come in, but rather I read through them like I am eating grapes.  Who eats just one grape at a time?  You have to eat a whole bunch at once or else there is not enough nutritional value to make it worthwhile.

Now, if I could only get my beloved wife to feed me the emails one by one as I recline in a pile of pillows, I would surely become master strength.

“Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples…”

Song of Songs 2:5

But, until that happens, I will have to endure the pain of being one of Brian’s preordained victories.  In the last bunch of emails, Brian had mentioned that Larry Wutt was 0-8 against him despite having winning and drawing positions.

Well, I noticed that I wasn’t doing much better.  I am 0-7 against Brian in rated games.  That is my worst performance against any opponent (Andy Rea is second with 0-6).

On the other hand, I have a couple of opponents to whom I have never lost or drawn in multiple rated games.  I went 12-0 against Al Ufer and am 10-0 against Joe Pahk.  Josh Smith mentioned that his best preordained opponent was Paul Grimm (10-0), but he seemed to imply that Paul was the only one.  I find that hard to believe.

I checked my statistics and I have 17 opponents who are 0-4 or worse against me.  In any case, these numbers only count rated games (USCF or club) over the board.  These numbers don’t include blitz, simul, or any other victories that go unrated and often unrecorded.

However, sometimes your opponent is nice enough to replay the game and let you record it so that you have a permanent record of your free will and a constant reminder to choose your moves wisely.

Black to move

This One's For Larry!

[Event "CSCC Speed"]

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

[Date "2007.07.03"]

[Round "3.1"]

[White "Wall, Brian"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B12"]

[WhiteElo "2223"]

[BlackElo "1884"]

[PlyCount "84"]

[EventDate "2007.07.03"]

1. d4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. Ngf3 Nh6 5. Bd3 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Bg4 8. c3

e6 9. e5 Nd7 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nf5 12. g4 Ne7 13. Qg3 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15.

Bc2 Nc6 16. Nb3 Ne4 17. Qh2 Bxe5 18. f4 Bc7 19. Be3 Bb6 20. Rad1 Bxe3+ 21. Rxe3

Qb6 22. Qe2 Nd6 23. Bb1 Nc4 24. Nd4 Nxe3 25. Qxe3 Nxd4 26. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 27. Rxd4

Rac8 28. Bd3 a6 29. Kf2 Rc5 30. Ke3 Rfc8 31. g5 Kg7 32. h4 h6 33. Rb4 b5 34. a4

bxa4 35. Bxa6 Ra8 36. Bd3 a3 37. bxa3 Rxa3 38. Kd4 Rcxc3 39. Be2 Re3 40. Rb2

hxg5 41. hxg5 Re4+ 42. Kc5 Rxf4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94364

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 17, 2007

On July 10th, the CSCC had 16 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Josh Bloomer blistered Bill Whinemiller.

Most of the participants played in the USCF-rated, quick Swiss tournament (G15).  The tournament was the debut of the club’s newest tournament director, Jerry Maier, and was won by Josh Divine.  Here are the results:

Player Score

Josh Divine 4.0

Kale Duncan 3.0

Virgil McGuire 2.0

Paul Anderson 2.0

Dean Brown 1.5

Mike Filppu 1.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

Lucas Bundy 0.5

Upcoming Events

7/17 Josh Bloomer Lecture / Simul, CSCC

7/18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open Final Rounds, CSCC

7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, Boulder Qualifiers, and Open, BCC

7/21 DCC Red Hot Quick Tournament, DCC

7/31 Bughouse tournament, CSCC

8/1,8,15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open, CSCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

Dean's Choice

Game Of The Week

It is two years ago today since Allan Ufer passed away.  I still have games people sent me back in 2005 to remember him.  So, I decided to keep publishing them until I run out of games.  But I wasn’t sure which one to choose.  I thought I would turn the responsibility over to Dean Brown, the tournament director of the Al Ufer Memorial.

I was scheduled to play chess at the Renaissance Festival with Dean this past weekend.  Of course, if you have Dean, you get Kathy Schneider as well.  They are like a combo meal.  You just can’t have one without the other.

With the three of us thinking about Al, it was like a reunion of the 2001 Northwest Colorado Open’s famous The Fantastic Four picture.

It was the first time I played Renaissance chess with Dean, and it went well considering our different playing styles.  Dean is a deliberate, single-board monk while I play two boards as fast as I can.  Dean even keeps track of every outcome with his tree-mounted abacus.  He said he would track my games too, as long as I let him know each result.

I would call out, “Huzzah! Give me another bean on the bean counter.”  The customers seemed to enjoy it as they often asked how many wins I had now.  Dean also seemed to enjoy it as I suffered my first loss of the year early on in the day to the gentleman with the 2 rooks tattoo and had to tell everyone I had 1 loss while Dean gleefully added, “I’m still unbeaten!”   However, Kathy was a little confused.  She wanted to know why I kept calling Dean “Huzzah.”

By the end of the day, my style finally vindicated me as Dean finished with a winning percentage of 87% (13 wins out of 15 games) while I scored a winning percentage of 98% (44 wins out of 45 games).

The only thing left to do was select the Al Ufer game for this week.  Dean went with a game from one of Al’s most competitive rivals, Tom Mullikin.  Here is what Tom said, “In going through my games with Alan, I found I had 15 games with him.  We split 7-7-1.”

Black to move

Dean's Choice

[Event "CSCC G/90"]

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

[Date "2004.11.02"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Mullikin, Tom"]

[Black "Ufer, Allan"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1080"]

[BlackElo "1096"]

[PlyCount "100"]

[EventDate "2004.11.02"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 c6 3. g3 cxd5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d4 Bf5 6. Nf3 Qa5+ 7. Bd2 Qb5 8.

b3 Nbd7 9. Bf1 Qc6 10. c4 Qe6+ 11. Qe2 dxc4 12. Qxe6 Bxe6 13. Bxc4 Bg4 14. Ne5

Nxe5 15. dxe5 Ne4 16. Bb5+ Bd7 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. O-O Nxd2 19. Rd1 Ke6 20. Nxd2

g6 21. f4 Bg7 22. Nc4 b5 23. Ne3 f6 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Rac1 Rad8 26. Rc6+ Kf7

27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Ng4 Bd4+ 29. Kg2 Ke8 30. Kf3 Bb6 31. h4 Rd2 32. Rc8+ Kf7 33.

Ne5+ Kg7 34. a4 bxa4 35. bxa4 Ra2 36. Re8 Bc5 37. Rc8 Ra3+ 38. Kg4 Bd6 39. Rc4

Kf6 40. Re4 h5+ 41. Kh3 a5 42. Nc4 Rxa4 43. Nxd6 Rxe4 44. Nxe4+ Kf5 45. Nf2 e5

46. fxe5 Kxe5 47. g4 a4 48. Nd3+ Kd4 49. gxh5 gxh5 50. Nb2 a3 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94363 

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 10, 2007

On July 3, the CSCC had 11 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Anthea Carson couldn’t claim a victory or a defeat against Tim Brennan as they agreed to a draw after deliberating the possibility of the club’s first adjourned game.

The rest of the participants played in the double-round robin, speed tournament (G5).  LM Brian Wall outpaced the field, but suffered a couple scrapes with a draw against Mike Filppu and a loss to me.  Here are the results:

Player Score

Brian Wall 8.5

Paul Anderson 7.0

Shaun MacMillan 7.0

Mike Filppu 4.5

Renae Delaware 2.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

New Photos From The Renaissance Festival!

By Matthew Anderson

See Brother Dean beat the 2 rook tattooed gentlemen in "Three Boards."  See the abacus in action in "Games Of Skille."  The new photos by Matthew Anderson are on the website on the Photos page.

Upcoming Events

7/10 G/15 Tournament, CSCC

7/11,18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open, CSCC

7/13-15 2007 Kansas Open, KCA

7/14 Delta Swiss Chess Tournament, CSCA

7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, BCC

7/21 DCC Red Hot Quick Tournament, DCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

Divine Wind

Game Of The Week

The nice thing about the thematic tournaments is that you often get to play an opening that is unfamiliar to you.  I have played in 574 club-rated games to date with a winning percentage of 67.51%.  I have played in 424 USCF-rated games to date with a winning percentage of 60.14%.  I have also played in countless non-rated games at the club, but never have I run across the Evans Gambit.

I think I have seen it a couple times online, but never have I played it as white.  So, when I got paired as white 3 times in this week’s event, I was entering uncharted territory.  My first match-up was against Tom Mullikin, who declined the gambit.  That was helpful as far as getting a win, but didn’t help as far as understanding the value of the gambit.

My next round game was against Josh Bloomer and was a good chance for me to see how a master plays white when the gambit is accepted.  It was a close game, and I offered a draw when I thought neither of us could make any more progress without taking a losing position.  However, Josh declined. Later, he told me that he figured the risk of advancing his king was worth a try since there was so little time left.  I guess he has seen enough of my notorious time pressure blunders that he figured the odds were actually in his favor.

But I had gained enough from seeing him play white to get at least 7 moves into book.  In the next two games, I got to the same position and didn’t know where I was going.  Both times I went for the kamikaze approach and sacrificed the bishop just to keep the attack going.  Well, there must be something to that divine wind as both games ended as miniatures.

I even got a couple exclamation points from Fritz 8 in my last game.  Not a bad way to end my first 3 attempts with the Evans Gambit.

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3:8

White to move

Divine Wind

[Event "CSCC Thematic"]

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

[Date "2007.06.26"]

[Round "4.2"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Filppu, Mike"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C52"]

[WhiteElo "1861"]

[BlackElo "1534"]

[PlyCount "40"]

[EventDate "2007.06.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 Nxe4 8.

Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. d5 Re8 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 Bxc3 12. Nxc3 Nxc3 13. Qc4+ Nd5 14.

Bg5 Re7 15. Nxe5+ Kg8 16. Rfe1 Qf8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nxc6 Qxe1+ 19. Rxe1 dxc6

20. Qxc6 Bb7 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94340

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 3, 2007

On June 26, the CSCC had 13 members in attendance.  The main event for the evening was a thematic, Swiss tournament (4SS, G15).  The theme for the evening was the Evans Gambit so all games had to start after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4.  Here are the results:

Player Score

Josh Bloomer 4.0

Paul Anderson 3.0

Tom Mullikin 2.0

Mike Filppu 2.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

Mike Dimeo 0.0

Club Quarterly Schedule

By Buck Buchanan

Here is the schedule for the next quarter...

******************************************************

COLORADO SPRINGS CHESS CLUB

July - September 2007

The Colorado Springs Chess Club meets Tuesday evenings in the downstairs Game Room of the Acacia Apartments Building at 104 E. Platte, just north of Acacia Park. The playing site opens about 6:30 PM. Most activities begin registration about 7:00, with play starting at 8:00. On most evenings, club ladder games are also available, including USCF-rated G/90 games. For more information call Buck at 685-1984 or e-mail buckpeace@pcisys.net. Players should arrive no later than 8:00 to get into the building.

Please note: In addition to Tuesday evenings, club members are gathering for chess at these times:

Wednesdays: Poor Richard’s, 320 N Tejon, 6:30 - 10 PM - Rated tourney, G/90, 1 game a night

Saturdays: 3rd Sat. of month (7/21, 8 /18, 9/15), Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8 PM

****************************************************

July

3 Speed Tournament

10 G/15 Tournament

17 4-SS, G/15, Low rated players select opponents

24 Josh Bloomer Lecture / Simul

31 Bughouse tournament

August

7 Speed tournament

August 11-12, Manitou Spgs City Hall: Pikes Peak Open Register with Buck

14 Ladder games

21 Quads: 3-RR, G/30 for USCF rated sections, others G/20

28 Team tournament, 4-SS, G/15. 2 player teams, sum of club ratings < 3400

Sept. 1-3, Denver: Colorado Open - State Championship tournament. Membership meeting Saturday.

Sept.

4 Speed tournament

11 Eccentric pairings tournament: 4-SS, G/15

18 Guest TDs tournament: 4-SS, G/15

25 Thematic tournament (4-SS, G/15, not rated): Dracula-Frankenstein variation of Vienna Game: 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4, Nxe4 4 Qh5, Nd6 5 Bb3, Nc6 6 Nb5, g6 7 Qf3 f5 8 Qd5 Qe7 9 Nxc7+ Kd8 10 Nxa8 b6.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT OCTOBER 9 - 30

Upcoming Events

7/3 Speed Tournament, CSCC

7/7-8 "The Alison Hannah Greiner Memorial for Cancer Research" Denver Open, DCC

7/10 G/15 Tournament, CSCC

7/11,18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open, CSCC

7/13-15 2007 Kansas Open, KCA

7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, BCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

The Fridge

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from the June Mating Game tournament.  It was the biggest upset of the tournament and a bigger upset than anything I have ever achieved.

A couple weeks ago, I published Tom Mullikin’s 662-point upset and there was some debate about whether this win would beat that one.  It was close, but Jerry Maier posted a 639-point upset.

My personal best is 393.  How do I remember the exact number?  Well, some of you may be thinking it is my massive brain capacity.  But in reality, Josh Smith has revealed the source of my impressive statistics.  I use a couple of databases.

The first one I started was the Works Database to track wins and losses along with entry fees and prizes to make sure my hobby wasn’t getting too far out of control.  Then I got the Fritz 8 software and started using that to record the moves of each game.  The combination works well for me.  I can find almost any trivial fact about my chess career that I can imagine adding to my newsletter.

Anyway, what makes these wins more impressive for me is to think about what I would have to do top them.

First, I would have to leave Colorado.  I think New Mexico would be my closest opportunity (25 Kraai, Jesse NM USA 2575).  But then I would have to beat the 25th best player in the USA.  Even if I were willing to travel, I would still have to face someone in the top 50 (49 Annakov, Babakuli, Gm TX USA 2510).

So, I guess these guys will always have this over me.  But the nice thing about this upset is that it was a benefit to me as well as Jerry.

I have played Jeff Fox twice in the June Mating Game tournaments and both were losses.  Jerry’s win meant that I didn’t have to face Jeff myself and still had a chance to score some money.

It was as if I was Walter Payton running behind William “The Refrigerator” Perry.  The Green Bay Packers were looking to tackle me in the third round and lay a little more punishment on me.  When “the Fridge” comes out of nowhere and knocks the linebacker 5 yards back into the end zone, clearing a huge whole for me to waltz through for the score!

White to move

The Fridge

[Event "June Mating Game"]

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

[Date "2007.06.12"]

[Round "2.2"]

[White "Fox, Jeff"]

[Black "Maier, Jerry"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A04"]

[WhiteElo "1893"]

[BlackElo "1254"]

[PlyCount "68"]

[EventDate "2007.06.12"]

1. Nf3 Nc6 2. d4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 b5 7. Nbd2 Bb7 8. e4

a6 9. Bb2 Nb4 10. a3 Nc6 11. Re1 d5 12. e5 Ng4 13. h3 Nh6 14. g4 f5 15. exf6

Rxf6 16. Qe2 Bd6 17. Ng5 Bc8 18. c4 Rg6 19. cxd5 Qxg5 20. dxc6 Qf4 21. Nf3 Nxg4

22. hxg4 Qxg4 23. Nh4 Qxh4 24. Kf1 Qh2 25. Qe4 a5 26. Rac1 b4 27. a4 Ba6+ 28.

Rc4 Rf8 29. Bc1 Qg3 30. Be3 Rgf6 31. Re2 Bxc4 32. bxc4 b3 33. Ke1 Qh2 34. Kd1

Ba3 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94276

This Week In Chess

Tuesday June 26, 2007

On June 19, the CSCC had 19 members in attendance.  The main event was the conclusion of the two-week, USCF-rated June Mating Game Tournament (4SS, G30).  Jerry Maier and I were tied for the lead and destined to face in the third round.  However, the top prize was still up for grabs with 4 new entries into the tournament.  I survived my final 2 games to take home the 1st spot, but Mike Filppu duplicated my performance this night to finish in 2nd place.  Here are the final results:

Player Score Place $

Paul Anderson 4.0 1st $30.00

Mike Filppu 3.0 2nd $15.00

Jerry Maier 2.0 U1600 $5.00

Dean Brown 2.0 U1600 $5.00

Jeff Fox 2.0

Jason Caldwell 2.0

Lucas Bundy 2.0

Renae Delaware 1.5

Tom Mullikin 1.0

Joe Pahk 1.0

Gerry Sunderland 0.5

Paul Christensen 0.0

Comments From Email

Ray Fourzan, El Paso, TX, Wednesday, June 20, 2007 9:53 AM

Thanks I'll be there.  And I challenge everyone in Colorado to show up and beat this old boy from Texas!  Ps.  Just one more question, Pueblo West and Pueblo are pretty much the same city aren't they?

Josh "JD" Smith, Tuesday, June 19, 2007 6:00 PM

Sir Paul (my fellow chess monk), You often talk about being a statistics freak… I’m curious to see how you organize your collection of games.  Do you have all your games in Chessbase?  All details in a spreadsheet?  I’d love to use a template of what you do to organize my games and tournaments.

[Comments are about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/lessons-from-dad-part-iii.html]

Upcoming Events

6/26 Thematic tournament 4-SS, G/15. Evans Gambit: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4, CSCC

6/30 PUEBLO OPEN, CSCA

7/7-8 "The Alison Hannah Greiner Memorial for Cancer Research" Denver Open, DCC

7/11,18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open, CSCC

7/13-15 2007 Kansas Open, KCA

7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, BCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)

Lessons From Dad, Part III

Game Of The Week

The past couple of years, I have published a loss of mine to my Dad as part of my Father’s Day celebration.  The first year, I chose the game, and he didn’t like the choice very well.  So, I asked him how he got better and to choose his favorite game.

He chose two games.  I published one of them last year and saved the other one for this year.  So, now my Father’s Day tradition has turned into a trilogy, which is nice, as it makes for less work on my part.  I guess I can see why every movie coming out this summer is the third in a series.  All you have to do is write a new intro, copy what you did last time, add in some new stuff at the end, and Ta Da! Part III:

"I got better by taking more time on my moves and playing better defense, which means I look more carefully at what attacks you may have and try to defend against them early before you have 2 attacks and I only have 1 move to defend.  I also try to keep my pieces well defended to prevent any surprises.  I used to be able to get away with taking chances and being more aggressive and count on you making a weak move if I got into trouble.  But now if I get into trouble it seems you are very good at maintaining your advantage to a win.  Only after I feel a defensive move is not necessary and I have a free move, do I look for a good offensive move.  That seems to get me at least a draw instead of a loss.  Even if I feel I have a slight advantage, I try to make sure I hang on to the draw rather than trying something risky for a win.  There are 2 wins I remember better than others.  One was an end game position where we both had pawns racing to Queen and Kings in position to stop the race or capture other material and I forced your King in a position where I would Queen with check and give me an extra move tempo. Another was when you got your Queen bottled upon the Queen-side and I pushed my King-side pawns on your King resulting in a very strong attack on your King that couldn't be defended very well with your Queen misplaced.”

White to move

Lessons From Dad, Part III

[Event "9-9-5"]

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

[Date "2001.04.04"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Anderson, Douglas"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B12"]

[PlyCount "73"]

[EventDate "2001.03.06"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Qc7 6. Nf3 Bxc5 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8.

Nc3 Ne7 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxd7+ Nxd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Rac8 13. Rc1 Qb4 14. Rb1

Rc7 15. a3 Qa5 16. Ne2 Rfc8 17. c3 Ng6 18. Ned4 b5 19. h4 h6 20. g4 a6 21. Kg2

Qb6 22. h5 Ne7 23. g5 Nc5 24. Qd2 Ne4 25. Qf4 Kh7 26. gxh6 gxh6 27. Qxf7+ Kh8

28. Nh4 Ng5 29. Qf6+ Kh7 30. f4 Ne4 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Rg1 Rg8+ 33. Kh2 Qb8 34.

Nxe6 Ra7 35. Rg7 Ng5 36. Qf6 Nf7 37. Rxf7+ 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94275

This Week In Chess

Tuesday June 19, 2007

On June 12th, the CSCC had 15 members in attendance.  The main event for the evening was the first round of the June Mating Game.  This USCF-rated event (G30) is a 4 round, Swiss tournament played over 2 weeks.  Here are the results after the first 2 rounds:

Player Score

Paul Anderson 2.0

Jerry Maier 2.0

Dean Brown 1.0

Jeff Fox 1.0

Mike Filppu 1.0

Joe Pahk 1.0

Paul Christensen 0.0

Tom Mullikin 0.0

Comments From Email

CARL BERG, Tuesday, June 12, 2007 7:05 PM

Hang in there, Paul! Going 0-0-0 can be good for the juices!

R.F. from El Paso, TX, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 1:44 PM

To anyone in Pueblo West.  Please organize a tournament out there.  It doesn't matter how big it is.  The first one is always the hardest, but once you get started it becomes easier.  Make it USCF rated and advertise it in the Chess Life magazine and I am sure you will get a nice turn out.  Go easy on the prize money and give some nice trophies, even if they are small.  That will get you started.  Good Luck!

Randy & Teyana Reynolds, Saturday, June 16, 2007 8:15 PM

“Flabbergasted”… LOL… Just when I think you’re running out of verbs… J

[Comments are about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/if-it-werent-for-bad-luck-id-have-no.html]

Pueblo Open

"For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Matthew 7:8

I don't know about the Chess Life listing or the trophies, but there is a tournament planned for Pueblo! Here are the details:

PUEBLO OPEN, June 30, 2007

4 round Swiss system tournament.

Time Control: G/30 with 5sec delay

Site: Daily Grind, 209 S. Union, Pueblo

Directions: Union is three blocks west of I-25 from the 1st Street Exit (Exit 98B).

Entry fee: $20; $7 less for Jrs, Srs, and unrateds

Prizes: Based on Entries

Registration: June 30 from 11:00 - 11:45 AM., Rounds: 12:00, 1:15, 2:30, 3:45.

Entries: Dean Brown 4225 Hedge Lane, Colorado Springs, CO, 80917

Phone: (719)573-5176

E-mail: browndw1@mindspring.com

USCF & CSCA Membership Required.  May be acquired at tournament registration.

Preregistration accepted through 27 June to Dean Brown.

For further information, contact Liz Wood, 556-6929, chessliz@comcast.net.

A Pueblo Chess Club event.

COLORADO TOUR EVENT

Upcoming Events

6/19 June Mating Game continues, CSCC

6/20,27 Poor Richard's Book Store June Final Rounds, CSCC

6/23 DCC Summer Fun Tournament, DCC

6/26 Thematic tournament 4-SS, G/15. Evans Gambit: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4, CSCC

6/30 PUEBLO OPEN, CSCA

7/7-8 "The Alison Hannah Greiner Memorial for Cancer Research" Denver Open, DCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

If It Weren't For Bad Luck, I'd Have No Luck At All

Game Of The Week

This weekend I played in the Southern Colorado Open, and it could just be my worst tournament ever.  I finished with more points from byes than from actual victories.

It all started after I beat Anthea Carson NN in the first round.  I moved up to the first board and had nowhere to go but down, and man, did I go down!  I lost my next three games with two of them being big upsets.

It is not my worst losing steak but it is close.  From March 13, 2004 to March 23, 2004 I failed to win one game in six tries over the board in rated play (my best "no loss" streak is 26 games, 10/27/11-2/8/12).

After I lost my second game, I requested a half-point bye to take a break and recharge my chess batteries.  It didn’t work.  I lost my third game in a row.  When I was finally determined to right the ship, I was given my first 1-point bye ever.  There were an odd number of players in the section, and I was the lowest man on the totem pole.  Since I didn’t get a pairing in the final round, I went home with 1 point from my victory over Anthea NN and 1.5 points from byes.

Now that I think about it, I blame Anthea NN.  I think she is a mutant whose special ability is to cure other mutants who get too close to her like that bald-headed kid in the movie “X-men, The Last Stand.”

She had just suffered through three losses as well, and I got too close to her and was cured of my chess playing abilities.  I heard about her streak because everyone who beat her wanted their game published.

On Tuesday, Anthea NN called out Mike Filppu for a grudge match.  Of course, you have to be careful about what you ask for, as you just may get it.  She lost in 23 moves, and he gave me the game.

The next night, she played Tom Mullikin.  When it rains, it pours.  She lost again, and he gave me the game.

Then on Saturday, I beat her and gave myself the game.

With three Anthea NN losses to choose from, I turned the responsibility of picking the Game Of The Week over to the Yahoo! Group.  They chose the 662-point upset by Tom Mullikin.  Tom said, “This was fun (for me).  Don't know if Anthea NN would want it published or not, (probably NOT), but this is my biggest upset to date.”

Of course, Tom could be the source of the bad luck mutant virus, as he has lost 200 rating points in the past year.  I guess it just took him a while to figure out to whom to pass it along.  I don’t plan to keep it that long.

So, watch out!  And if you think you’re immune, just remember what Solomon said:

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Black to move

If It Weren't For Bad Luck, I'd Have No Luck At All

[Event "Poor Richards June"]

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

[Date "2007.06.06"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Carson, Anthea"]

[Black "Mullikin, Tom"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C54"]

[WhiteElo "1665"]

[BlackElo "1003"]

[PlyCount "116"]

[EventDate "2007.06.06"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 Na5 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.

b4 Bxf2+ 9. Kxf2 Ng4+ 10. Ke2 Nc6 11. Rf1 Rf8 12. Ng5+ Kg8 13. Qb3+ d5 14. Ndf3

h6 15. exd5 hxg5 16. Bxg5 Qd6 17. c4 e4 18. dxe4 Nxh2 19. c5 Nxf3 20. Rxf3 Rxf3

21. gxf3 Nd4+ 22. Kd3 Nxb3 23. cxd6 Nxa1 24. dxc7 Kf7 25. Kc3 a5 26. b5 b6 27.

Kb2 Ra7 28. d6 Ke6 29. Be7 Kd7 30. Bf8 g6 31. a4 Ra8 32. Kxa1 Bb7 33. Be7 Re8

34. Kb2 Rxe7 35. dxe7 Kxe7 36. Kc3 Kd7 37. Kd4 Kd6 38. f4 Bc8 39. e5+ Kxc7 40.Kd5 Kd7 41. e6+ Kc7 42. Ke5 Kd8 43. Kf6 Ke8 44. Ke5 Ke7 45. Kd5 Bxe6+ 46. Kc6Bb3 47. Kxb6 Bxa4 48. Kxa5 Bxb5 49. Kxb5 Kf6 50. Kc4 Kf5 51. Kd3 Kxf4 52. Ke2Kg3 53. Kf1 Kh2 54. Kf2 g5 55. Kf3 Kh3 56. Kf2 g4 57. Kg1 Kg3 58. Kh1 Kf2 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94233

This Week In Chess

Tuesday June 12, 2007

On June 5, the CSCC had 15 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Mike Filppu flabbergasted Anthea Carson NN and Brian Wall wiped out Tom Mullikin.

Most of the participants played in the double round robin, speed tournament (G5).  Here are the results:

Player Score

Paul Anderson 9.0

Buck Buchanan 8.0

Ray Allen 4.5

Jerry Maier 3.0

Reggie McKoy 3.0

Dean Brown 0.5

New Photos From S Colorado Open 2007!

By Fred Eric Spell

New photos on the Yahoo! Group by Fred Eric Spell at:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cs_chess/

Upcoming Events

6/12 June Mating Game: 4-SS, G/30, USCF rated, ef $5, CSCC

6/13,20,27 Poor Richard's Book Store June Final Rounds, CSCC

6/16 Rocky Mountain Quads, BCC

6/19 June Mating Game continues, CSCC

6/23 DCC Summer Fun Tournament, DCC

6/26 Thematic tournament 4-SS, G/15. Evans Gambit: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4, CSCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Public Enemy Number Four

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from the club’s Swiss tournament played this past Tuesday.  I was paired against Dean Brown in the first round.  Dean was happy to play me as he just rocketed his way into the 4th spot on my chess enemies list at the beginning of this year.

At the end of every year, I go through my chess database and update a list of my top ten chess enemies and chess benefactors.  Those are the chess opponents who have taken the most net rating points from me and who have given the most net rating points to me.

I originally came up with the “list of enemies” idea back in January of 2005 when I was interviewed by Paul Grimm for the Colorado Chess Informant.  He asked, “Do you have an archrival?”

Without an actual archrival, I though it would be humorous to combine Richard Nixon’s list of enemies with my obsession for statistics and create my “10 Most Wanted” list.  I guess other people enjoyed it as well, as I still get comments about it today.

In fact, at the start of our game, Dean says to me, “Let’s see if I can improve my spot on your enemies list.”  He did not.

However, he has figured out a way to keep his spot.  Several people have attempted to lock in their spot on my list by moving away or quitting chess, but they can always be passed by some up-and-comer who has my number.

Dean has taken a different approach.  After making the list, he has stopped updating the ratings for the club.  Now the main source of rating change has come to a grinding halt.  My opponents will have to wait for the few USCF-rated opportunities to overtake Dean on the list.

Of course, I could always throw my next game against Dean to unclog the ratings pipeline, but I just couldn’t do it this game.  It is not often I find the opportunity to sacrifice a piece for the knockout blow!

White to move

Public Enemy Number Four

[Event "CSCC Swiss"]

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

[Date "2007.05.29"]

[Round "1.2"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Brown, Dean"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A57"]

[WhiteElo "1889"]

[BlackElo "1339"]

[PlyCount "83"]

[EventDate "2007.05.29"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6 Bb7 6. Nc3 d6 7. e4 g6 8. f3 Bg7

9. Bc4 Qxb6 10. Nh3 O-O 11. O-O Qb4 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. axb3 a5 14. Bd2 Nbd7 15.

Ra2 Ba6 16. Rfa1 Bxc4 17. bxc4 Nb6 18. b3 Nfd7 19. Rxa5 Rxa5 20. Rxa5 Ra8 21.

Rxa8+ Nxa8 22. Na4 Ndb6 23. Nxb6 Nxb6 24. Ba5 Bd4+ 25. Kf1 Nd7 26. Ke2 Ne5 27.

Nf4 Kg7 28. Nd3 Kf6 29. Bd8 h5 30. Ne1 h4 31. h3 g5 32. Nc2 Bb2 33. Ne3 Ng6 34.

Nf5 Nf4+ 35. Kf1 Ng6 36. Nxd6 Ke5 37. Nxf7+ Kd4 38. e5 Kc3 39. Bxe7 Nxe7 40. d6

Nc6 41. e6 Kd3 42. e7 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94126

This Week In Chess

Tuesday June 5, 2007

On May 29, the CSCC had 19 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Joe Pahk played to a draw against Anthea Carson.

The rest of the participants played in the 4 round, Swiss tournament (G15).  Here are the results:

Player Score

Josh Bloomer 4.0

Paul Anderson 3.0

Bill Whinemiller 3.0

John McCollum 2.0

Mike Filppu 2.0

Sean Cabrera 2.0

Buck Buchanan 2.0

Tom Mullikin 2.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

Mike Dimeo 1.0

Dean Brown 1.0

Jenna Bloomer 0.0

Upcoming Events

6/5 Speed tournament, CSCC

6/6,13,20,27 Poor Richard's Book Store June Open, CSCC

6/9-10 Southern Colorado Open, CSCA

6/12 June Mating Game: 4-SS, G/30, USCF rated, ef $5, CSCC

6/16 Rocky Mountain Quads, BCC

6/19 June Mating Game continues, CSCC

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Close Shave

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from the club event.  After the controversy from last week, I don’t think either my opponent or myself were eager to play each other this week.  But in a round robin tournament, there is little hope that you won’t be paired together.

Now we had to go through the formalities of meeting face to face in the public arena with one of us as the clear victor and the other as the vanquished.

It reminded me of the scene from Patton where the diminutive Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery leads his measly band of bagpipers into the town of Messina only to find General George S. Patton Jr. and the entire US Army’s marching band had beaten him.

Stunned by the overwhelming defeat, Monty offers the obligatory salute to Patton with the words, “Don’t smirk Patton, I shan’t kiss you.”  Patton returns the salute and replies, “Pity, ‘cause I shaved very close this morning in preparation for getting smacked by you.”

Of course, the whole encounter would have been perfect if only I had recorded the game.  There was still the chance I could recreate it, but I would need to find a board quickly.  With the club sets unavailable that evening, I told Anthea NN my dilemma, and she seemed eager to see if I could replay the game from memory and in reverse.  She let me use one of Renae’s sets, and I went to work.

I was surprised to find that my endeavor was a source of interest for many people, especially the girls.  I felt like a young Elvis as ALL the girls at the club (except one) hovered over the board until the very last move.

However, I guess the attraction had more to do with my mental prowess than my clean-shaven, good looks as they both left immediately after the board was packed up.

Black to move

Close Shave

[Event "CSCC Round Robin"]

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

[Date "2007.05.22"]

[Round "4.2"]

[White "Whinemiller, Bill"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A06"]

[WhiteElo "1738"]

[BlackElo "1889"]

[PlyCount "34"]

[EventDate "2007.05.22"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c6 5. c3 Nh6 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 Nd7 8. Bf4

Re8 9. Qd2 Nf5 10. g4 Nd6 11. Bxd6 exd6 12. Re1 Nf6 13. Qf4 Bxg4 14. Nbd2 Qd7

15. a4 Nh5 16. Qg5 h6 17. Qh4 Bf6 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94125 

This Week In Chess

Tuesday May 29, 2007

On May 22, the CSCC had 16 members in attendance.  In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Josh Bloomer bludgeoned Anthea Carson and Tom Mullikin massacred Jerry Maier.

The rest of the participants played in a single, round robin tournament (G15).  Here are the results:

Player Score

Jason Caldwell 5.0

Paul Anderson 4.0

Joe Pahk 3.0

Gerry Sunderland 2.0

Bill Whinemiller 1.0

Dave 0.0

Durango's Big Chess Tournament!

By Damian Nash

Hey Colorado Springs Players!  Durango's big chess tournament of the year is happening the weekend of June 2nd and 3rd.  Quick chess Friday evening at the Recreation Center, followed by a Saturday tournament for young people and a Saturday/Sunday tournament for experienced players.  USCF Rated with big prizes.  A beautiful venue.  If you want to get to Durango this year for chess, this is the best season and your big opportunity.   

Hope to see you here!

New Photos From Territory Days!

By Fred Eric Spell

New photos on the Yahoo! Group by Fred Eric Spell at:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/cs_chess/

Upcoming Events

5/29 G/15 tournament: 4-SS, CSCC

5/30 Poor Richard's Book Store May Open Final Round, CSCC

6/2-3 David Reynolds Memorial, CSCA

6/5 Speed tournament, CSCC

6/6,13,20,27 Poor Richard's Book Store June Open, CSCC

6/9-10 Southern Colorado Open, CSCA

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)