Game Of The Year V

End Of The Season

Tuesday August 19, 2008

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 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

At this time, I usually look over the year and see how well I did.  I noticed that the pattern of previous years alternated between an up year and a down year.  2004 was up, 2005 was down, 2006 was up, and 2007 was down.

The nice thing was that 2008 was supposed to be an up year.  Of course, I already knew that it was.  My first event of the year helped me crack the 1900 barrier, and 10 events later I was at my career high (1962).

Also, I recorded my highest rated victory ever, as I pulled off a giant upset over NM Josh Bloomer (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/a-giant-upset.html), and I am poised to break my best year for prize winnings (2002, $514.32), depending on how this Colorado Chess Tour Class A prize turns out.

In addition, I wrote three more articles for the Colorado Chess Informant:

The Lion Tamer (January 2008, https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/02/the-lion-tamer.html)

Two Roads (April 2008, https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/two-roads.html)

A Tale Of Two Grandmasters (July 2008)

The latter was the story of the only two grandmasters I have played against.  Since it took 22 years, after playing GM Arthur Bisguier (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2004/03/cicl-simultaneous.html), to face another GM, I figured I should choose that game as my first Game Of The Year loss.

Black to move

A Tale Of Two Grandmasters

It was the best of games.  It was the worst of games.  I have now played two Grandmasters.  One was at the beginning of my recorded chess career.  One was at the Bobby Fischer Memorial, 22 years later.

It was the notation of wisdom.  It was the notation of foolishness.  By the time I played in the Bobby Fischer Memorial, I had mastered algebraic notation.  I know some people have a great deal of anxiety towards mathematics and just the sound of algebraic notation sends them running from the chessboard.

However, my 5 semesters of engineering and logical mind provided me with enough confidence that I could master 8 letters and 8 numbers to determine the position of a point, line, curve, plane, pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen, or king in a space of a given dimension with respect to a system of lines or other fixed references.  How simple.

Of course, by this time I had experience recording each move in a legible fashion for 453 games.  My main problem is getting the right move in the right box on the score sheet, but in my most recent game against a GM, I must say I was at or near the best recording I have ever done.

However, my first game against a GM was also my first recorded game ever.  The only preparation I did for the game was trying to figure out how to write the moves.  Unfortunately, I picked up my father’s childhood chess books and learned that English notation was the most popular system in the US back in the 50’s.  Who knew it had changed by 1986?

I did fine with the moves, but I have no idea what I was thinking on some of the annotations.  I put an arrow on my move 17, and I assume I did not mean “with attack.”  Hopefully, I confused the GM and made him think there was more there than just a bad move, like the time I had an opponent who thought check was notated with an exclamation point.  I was confused as to why he thought bringing his queen out early was such a good move as it lead to a series of exclamation points for me, ending in a double exclamation point (if you know what I mean)!!

It was the epoch of adjournment.  It was the epoch of time delay.  My first experience playing a GM was un-timed, as it occurred during a simultaneous exhibition.  Of course, there was a limit to the amount of time I had to think about each move, but it varied depending upon how long the GM took to make his way around all the other boards.

In my second experience playing a GM, the time control was game in 2 hours (G/2).  The first day of the tournament, I had adjusted my clock until 1:20 showed in the display.  However, the first game ended so quickly time was never an issue.

The second game lasted almost the entire 4 hours.  Since the GM was late the next day, I set up my clock at the board.  When he finally showed up, he had little trouble making up the time he had lost, and soon I was falling behind.  As I looked at the clock, I realized our game was much further along than anyone else’s game.  How could this be?

I played for 4 hours yesterday, but this game looks like it couldn’t even last 3 hours.  An hour and 20 minutes had just vanished into thin air like an airplane in a David Copperfield trick.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I never used my clock yesterday. I had used my opponent’s clock in both games, and now I just had put a clock on my game with the GM at 1 hour and 20 minutes not 120 minutes.  Both of us were short 40 minutes.

So, I approached the TD about the situation, apologized to the GM, stopped the clocks, and added the additional time.  It turns out I was the one who needed the extra time as my final moves were played in blitz mode with the GM having ample time to methodically mop up the last of my hopes for a draw.

It was the season of White.  It was the season of Blackness.  By the time of the Bobby Fischer Memorial, I was the proud owner of my own tournament chess set.  It came in handy, as my game against the GM was the first round of the final day, and the GM had not shown up.

As I unpacked my canvas, custom-created, chess carrying case and unrolled my vinyl green and buff chessboard, I set up my high-quality, black & ivory, weighted plastic chess pieces including the 4 inch king.

Since I was white, I pushed my pawn to c4 and began fantasizing about the possibility of beating a GM in one move.  I only had an hour to wait.

However, in my first attempt against a GM I did not have the benefit of such fine equipment.  I did not even own my own chess set.  I had to grab the cardboard box with the torn corners that held the slab of cardboard folded in half and the miniscule pieces that tended to fly away if anyone turned on the air conditioning with the ½ inch king as I headed out the door to the simultaneous exhibition.

Of course, as is the custom, all challengers had to play as black against the GM, which wasn’t much of a handicap for me as I was equally bad on both sides of the board at this point in my chess career.

We had everyone around us.  We had no one around us.  My first experience playing a GM was as part of a large group of chess players taking on the GM all at the same time.  I had very little experience playing chess prior to this event as, after learning the moves, I found myself in the wide chasm between being able to beat my older sister and not being able to beat my dad.

However, any invitation to be included in one of my dad’s activities was met with great expectations.  Plus, my lack of experience would certainly be hidden in the crowd of people who had turned out for the event.  I happily chose a seat next to my dad, I tried to survive as long as he did, and we resigned on the same move.

In my second experience playing a GM, it was a tournament game with myself facing the GM head to head.  This time I had no place to hide.  I was alone on an island, called board 1.

To make matters worse, Joe Fromme set up a demonstration board on the stage behind us and played out each move as we made them.  Now, even the laziest of chess players could have seen all my embarrassing blunders without even leaving their seats.

It was the opening of hope.  It was the endgame of despair.  By the time of the Bobby Fischer Memorial, I had a better understanding of the opening moves of chess.  I had gotten twice as far into the book as I did the first time out, and when I departed from the book, it was deliberate.

I can’t say it was the best plan, but I found myself in a common battle of life trying to decide between playing it safe or taking a risk.  Unfortunately, I never really resolved the conflict in my mind and continued to switch between the options on alternating moves.

I thought, “Yes, I will attack and annihilate him, before he does the same to me.”  So I pushed the h pawn.

But then I thought, “No, wait, wasn’t it Rommel who said that?  Didn’t he lose?  I should castle kingside and away from these advancing pawns.”  So I pushed the g pawn.

 

Finally, I thought, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away!”  So, I sent my forces running through the forest silently chanting, “Gunter glieben glauchen globen!”

We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the simultaneous exhibition was so far like the present game, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

So, as I reflect back on these two games against Grandmasters, I realize there are really only two things I can truly say I learned from this experience:

Bisguier is spelled with a “G” not a “Q” like I originally thought, and it is a far, far better game that I played, than I have ever played; it is a far, far better rest I go to until the next time I play a Grandmaster.

Game Of The Year V

[Event "Bobby Fischer Memorial"]

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

[Date "2008.05.04"]

[Round "3.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Sharavdorj, Dashzegve"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A16"]

[WhiteElo "1918"]

[BlackElo "2480"]

[PlyCount "104"]

[EventDate "2008.05.03"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. b3 d6 6. Bb2 Nbd7 7. Qc2 e5 8. Be2

Re8 9. d3 c6 10. h4 a5 11. Ng5 Nc5 12. Nge4 b6 13. g3 Qe7 14. h5 Nxh5 15. Bxh5

gxh5 16. Rxh5 Bg4 17. Rh2 f5 18. Nxc5 dxc5 19. Ne2 Rad8 20. O-O-O Rd6 21. Rd2

Red8 22. Ng1 e4 23. Bxg7 Qxg7 24. Qb2 Qxb2+ 25. Kxb2 Rxd3 26. Rc2 Rd1 27. Nh3

Bxh3 28. Rxh3 Kg7 29. Rh4 Rg1 30. Rf4 Kg6 31. Rh4 Rdd1 32. Rf4 h5 33. Ka3 Rc1

34. Rd2 Rgd1 35. Re2 b5 36. cxb5 cxb5 37. f3 exf3 38. Rxf3 Re1 39. Rd2 Rcd1 40.

Rc2 Rd5 41. Rcf2 Re5 42. Rd2 c4 43. Rd6+ Kg5 44. Ra6 cxb3 45. axb3 b4+ 46. Kb2

Re2+ 47. Kc1 R5xe3 48. Rxe3 Rxe3 49. Kc2 Rc3+ 50. Kb2 Rxg3 51. Rxa5 Rg2+ 52.

Kb1 h4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=57928

This Week In Chess

On August 12th, the CSCC had 9 members in attendance.  The main event for the evening was a thematic, round robin tournament (G10).  The theme for the evening was the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack so all games had to start after 1 e4 c5 with White moves Nc3, Bc4, f4, and d3.  Here are the results:

Score Player

5.0 Paul Anderson

4.0 John Lee

3.0 Buck Buchanan

2.0 Ken Dail

1.0 Renae Delaware *

0.0 Charles Martin

* Substitution after 3rd round: Tikila Nichols

On August 12th, the CSCC held the second round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open.  Here are the current standings:

Score Player

2.0 Anthea J Carson

2.0 Kenneth W Dail

1.5 Bill Whinemiller

1.5 Alejandro Torres

1.5 Daniel S Gonzales

1.0 M Paul Covington

1.0 Dean W Brown

1.0 Gerald J Maier

1.0 Isaac Martinez

0.5 Timothy E Brennan

0.5 Christopher Hanagan

0.5 Fred Eric Spell

0.5 Thomas Mullikin

0.0 Justin Jos Luebbe

Comments From Email

Tim, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 8:01 PM

Hey Paul - if it makes you feel any better I beat Anthea last night in an extra rated game with "The Penguin" - 1. Nf3 2. Rg1!! It pays to play like an animal!

Timothy Brennan - Anthea Carson,1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Rg1 Nc6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Bf5 5.e3 Qd7 6.Bb5 0–0–0 7.Ne5 Qe6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Na4 Nd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.c3 e5 12.Bd2 f6 13.b4 Bd6 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.bxc5 Rhe8 16.Qa4 Kb8 17.Ke2 Ka8 18.Qa6 Rb8 19.Rgc1 e4 20.c4 Rb2 21.Rab1 Reb8 22.Rxb2 Rxb2 23.Qa3 Rb7 24.Qa6 Qe8 25.h3 Bc8 26.Qa4 Qd7 27.Rc3 g5 28.Ra3 g4 29.hxg4 Qxg4+ 30.Kf1 Bd7 31.Rb3 Qd1+ 32.Be1 Rxb3 33.Qxb3 Qd3+ 34.Qxd3 exd3 35.cxd5 cxd5 36.f3 Bb5 37.Bd2 f5 38.Kf2 h5 39.Kg3 Kb7 40.Kh4 Bd7 41.Kxh5 Kc6 42.Kg5 Kb5 43.g4 fxg4 44.fxg4 Ka4 45.Bc1 Kb4 (I didn't get the rest of the score since I was in time trouble) 1–0

Take care,Tim

[Comment is about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/08/shoo-fly-shoo.html]

Damian Nash, Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8:26 AM

Enjoy your newsletter and hope we get to meet in person one day.

Ray Fourzan, El Paso, TX, Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:32 AM

I see that Anthea Carson used the Swiss Gambit to get 4 points in the Pikes Peak Open.  Good job Anthea.

SOCO One-Day Rated Chess Tournament

By Liz Wood

Just thought I'd let everybody know about the next, upcoming tournamet in Pueblo. Liz

September 6,2008

SOCO One-Day Rated Chess Tournament

5SS, G/30, 5s Time Delay, Location: at the Daily Grind, 209 S. Union, Pueblo (take 1st Street exit, three blocks to Union; Union & D Street),Registration 9:00-9:45, Rounds 10, 11:15, 12:30, 2:30, 3:45.Entry fee: $20; Sr, Jr, Unr $15; CSCA & USCF required. Cash prizes based on entry fees will be distributed at the conclusion of the event. Final round byes must be requested before the start of Round 2, and are irrevocable. For further information, contact Liz Wood, chessliz@comcast.net ( 719-566-6929) or Jerry Maier, pmjer77@aim.com (719-268-6970) COLORADO TOUR EVENT

Upcoming Events

8/19 Team tournament 4-SS, G/15. Team members alternate moves in games vs other team, no consulting., CSCC

8/20,27 Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open final rounds, CSCC

8/26 Ladder games (G/30), CSCC

8/27 August 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event - Boulder, BCC

8/30-31 Colorado Open - State Championship, CSCA

9/3,10,17,24 Poor Richard's Bookstore September Open, CSCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Utah Chess Association: UCA (http://www.utahchess.com/)

Shoo, Fly, Shoo!

Game Of The Week

I had sort of made the promise to publish four losses each year back in 2006 when Ted Metro had asked why the Game Of The Week always had me winning (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2006/05/basic-instincts.html).  I have kept that promise in 2006 and 2007, but this year I almost forgot.

I don’t publish a lot of my games from the current year as I usually only choose one game per event.  This year I have only published 8 games of mine from 2008 (4 win, 2 loss, 2 draws).

When I choose a game from the past, it is typically a win since I try not to remember the losses.  So, the published losses have to be current ones that I can still remember enough to, at least, say something about them.  However, this year has been tough for picking a loss as my winning percentage has been near my record (73.27% in 2008 vs. 74.32% in 1997).

In fact, in the past seven USCF-rated games, I have not suffered a loss.  I was even able to announce mate to my opponents in 3 of the past 4 USCF-rated games, which allowed me to brush up on some of Randy’s Rules (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/greener-pastures.html).  I was able to implement rule #1 in the Pike Peak Open’s final round when I announced mate in 3 with mate in 2 on the board.

My opponent asked, “Are you sure?”

With my limited experience announcing mate, I quickly responded, “No.”

In addition, my ratings graph is at its all time high with very few down ticks this year (https://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=12728345).

DuWayne Langseth remarked, “If your rating was a stock, people would be wanting to invest.  Mine maybe, but not so much.”

Of course, the graph did remind me there was one big drop this year.  It was right after the June Mating Game where I lost 3 (out of 4 games) of my 11 possible losses left to choose from this year.  The major culprit in the downturn on my graph was Anthea Carson NN who has been pestering me to publish her win ever since (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/07/deans-crowning-glory.html).  She has been like a horsefly buzzing around my butt all summer long.  Is it any wonder she made a video about the horsefly opening?

Black to move

Shoo, Fly, Shoo!

[Event "June Mating Game"]

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

[Date "2008.06.10"]

[Round "1.2"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Carson, Anthea"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A21"]

[WhiteElo "1945"]

[BlackElo "1713"]

[PlyCount "68"]

[EventDate "2008.06.10"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 c6 3. Nf3 Bd6 4. e3 Bc7 5. Qc2 d6 6. b3 Ne7 7. Bb2 Na6 8. a3

Nc5 9. d4 exd4 10. exd4 Bf5 11. Qd1 Nd7 12. Bd3 O-O 13. O-O d5 14. Bxf5 Nxf5

15. cxd5 Nf6 16. dxc6 bxc6 17. Qd3 Ne7 18. Rad1 Ned5 19. Rfe1 Rb8 20. Nxd5 Qxd5

21. b4 a5 22. Bc3 Bd6 23. Bd2 axb4 24. Bxb4 Bxb4 25. axb4 Rxb4 26. Re5 Qa2 27.

h3 Nd5 28. Rh5 g6 29. Ng5 Nf4 30. Qf3 Nxh5 31. g4 Rb5 32. Ne4 f5 33. Nd6 fxg4

34. Qxc6 Qxf2+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95834

This Week In Chess

On August 5th, the CSCC had scheduled a Speed tournament.  It is quite possible that some people showed up, but I wouldn’t know, as I wasn’t one of them.  The CSCC also had scheduled on August 6th the first round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open, which could have actually happened, but I can’t be sure, as I haven’t heard from my contact there.  But I can give you my results from blitz games I played online this week while in Ohio:

Score Games Player 

34.0 51 Paul Anderson

Pikes Peak Open 2008 Results

By Jerry Maier

Thought you might want a list of the prize breakdowns:

Score Place Prize Player 

4.5 1ST $70.00 Renard Anderson

4.0 2ND $40.00 Brian Wall

4.0 2ND $40.00 Paul Douglas Anderson

4.0 2ND $40.00 Anthea Carson

3.0 U1700 $12.50 Joseph T Fromme

3.0 U1700 $12.50 Alejandro Isaac Torres

3.0 U1700 $12.50 Kenneth Dail

3.0 U1700 $12.50 Jeffrey Serna

3.0 U1500 Craig Lewis

3.0 Derek Austin Fish [NEW]

2.5 Timothy Brennan [Withdrawn]

2.5 Christopher Hanagan

2.5 Timothy Michael Martinson

2.5 Brendon Charles Barela [NEW]

2.5 U1400 Daniel Gonzales

2.0 DuWayne Langseth [Withdrawn]

2.0 Jiri Kovats

2.0 Bongee Boyce

2.0 Jeff Sallade

1.5 Gary L Bagstad [Withdrawn]

1.5 Cory Edward Foster

1.5 Thomas Mullikin

1.5 Isaac Martinez

1.5 Glenn Mullins [Withdrawn]

1.0 David Hufnagel [Withdrawn]

1.0 Michael Wokurka

1.0 Fred Eric Spell

0.5 Robert Rountree [Withdrawn]

Colo Open Announcement

By Buck Buchanan

Tournament Announcement

2008 Colorado Open

State Chess Championship

August 30 - 31

5-round Swiss, 2 Sections: Championship (Open), Reserve (U1700).Rd. 1 G/90; other rounds 40/90 and G/1.Doubletree Hotel, 7801 E. Orchard Rd, Greenwood Villageat I-25 and Orchard in south Denver; Hotel phone (303) 779-6161; room rate for players $99.Entry fee $35 if received by 8/28, $40 at site. $9 EF discount for juniors, seniors, unrated.Cash prizes per entries.Registration 8:00 - 9:00, Rounds schedule Sat. 9:30, 1, 6:30; Sunday Rd 4 at 9:00, CSCA Membership Meeting at 2:30, Rd 5 at 4:00.Entries to Richard Buchanan, 844 B Prospect Place, Manitou Springs CO 80829,Phone (719) 685-1984, e-mail buckpeace@pcisys.net.CSCA membership required, OSA. COLORADO TOUR EVENT

All CSCA members are encouraged to attend the Membership Meeting Sunday at 2:30

Upcoming Events

8/12 Thematic: 4-SS, G/15, not rated. Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. After 1 e4 c5 White develops with Nc3, Bc4, f4, d3, etc., CSCC

8/13,20,27 Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open final rounds, CSCC

8/16 Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8:00 PM, CSCC

8/19 Team tournament 4-SS, G/15. Team members alternate moves in games vs other team, no consulting., CSCC

8/27 August 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event - Boulder, BCC

8/30-31 Colorado Open - State Championship, CSCA

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Utah Chess Association: UCA (http://www.utahchess.com/)

Thunder Seven

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from the Pikes Peak Open.  It was my seventh USCF-rated game against LM Brian Wall since we first faced each other seven years ago in the Northwest Colorado Open and the only one I could count as a “Triumph.”

Usually, I am “Spellbound” by the stature and awe-inspiring presence of the master, but this time I had my mp3 player fully charged so I could “Rock Out, Roll On,” tune out any distractions, and just play the board.

Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to tune out the sweltering heat and “Cool Down” enough to sit for any length of time.  I was very unsure of myself as to what I could try to make the seventh time a different story, but I figured you have to “Follow Your Heart” and stay true to yourself.

So, I went with my most comfortable opening.  You can’t show any fear when playing a master, even when a lot of “Time Goes By” and he still hasn’t made his first move.  Brian has a huge arsenal of weapons to attack you with and he always wants to choose the one that frightens you the most.

He plays chess like it is poker.  He tries to read your eyes.  He tries to find your tells.  And he has this annoying habit of playing with the captured pieces like they are his poker chips.

“Don’t look back in anger, don’t look ahead in fear, you just keep takin’ her as she comes until she comes in clear.”

R. Emmett, M. Levine, G. Moore

So, I just pretended it was all a “Midsummer’s Daydream,” and the game went so fast it was as if I had been shot out of a “Time Canon.”

When Brian offered the draw, I didn’t stand around “Killing Time,” I took it and never looked back.  I was a “Stranger In A Strange Land” as we looked over a game of ours where I hadn’t lost, and I think Brian had “Little Boy Blues” when he realized he fell only a half game short of Andy Rea in the best record against me in our first seven USCF-rated games contest.

In my ten years, less than a dozen people have played me seven times or more.

“There are ten thunders in the wake: The seventh thunder is tribal man again.”

R. Emmett, M. Levine, G. Moore

Score, Draws, Opponent

7.0, 0, Andy Rea

6.5, 1, Brian Wall

6.0, 0, Josh Bloomer

6.0, 2, Buck Buchanan

3.5, 1, Dean Brown

3.5, 3, Virgil McGuire

2.5, 1, Jeff Fox

1.0, 0, Anthea Carson

0.5, 1, Richard Cordovano

0.0, 0, Joe Pahk

0.0, 0, Al Ufer

White to move

Thunder Seven

[Event "Pikes Peak Open"]

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

[Date "2008.08.02"]

[Round "3.2"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Wall, Brian"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "A16"]

[WhiteElo "1950"]

[BlackElo "2207"]

[PlyCount "42"]

[EventDate "2008.08.02"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Qc2 c6 6. b3 d5 7. d4 Na6 8. a3 Bf5

9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 c5 11. O-O cxd4 12. exd4 dxc4 13. bxc4 Qa5 14. Bd2 Qh5 15.

Qe3 Rac8 16. c5 e6 17. Rab1 Nd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Qb3 Qxb3 20. Rxb3 Rfd8 21.

Be3 b6 1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95833

This Week In Chess

On July 29th, the CSCC had 13 members in attendance.  The participants played in the 4 round, Swiss tournament (G15).  Here are the results:

Score Player

3.0 DuWayne Langseth

3.0 Paul Anderson

3.0 David Meliti

2.0 Jeff Fox

2.0 John Lee

1.0 Hector Torres

1.0 Dan St. John

1.0 Charles Martin

Upcoming Events

8/5 Speed tournament, CSCC

8/6,13,20,27 Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open, CSCC

8/12 Thematic: 4-SS, G/15, not rated. Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. After 1 e4 c5 White develops with Nc3, Bc4, f4, d3, etc., CSCC

8/16 Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8:00 PM, CSCC

8/19 Team tournament 4-SS, G/15. Team members alternate moves in games vs other team, no consulting., CSCC

8/27 August 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event - Boulder, BCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Badger-Baiting Bill

Game Of The Week

It is funny where inspiration comes from.  I was reading one of LM Brian Wall’s latest emails when I ran across the proverb:

“But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.”

Proverbs 1:25-26 (KJV)

For some reason I find it comforting that wisdom is personified as laughing at other people’s foolishness.  I guess I can relate.

My son’s current favorite TV show is Wipeout, a reality game show about foolish people trying to complete impossibly hard obstacle courses just to laugh at their wipeouts.

My wife asks us, “How can you watch that stuff? They are just making fun of those people.”

We just look at each other and say, “Because it is funny.”

Of course, the participants are trying to win money and know they will be on television so they are willing participants in the entertainment.  But a lot of comedy seems to come from people making mistakes, whether accidental or intentional.  Slipping on the banana peel is a classic.  It just seems to be part of human nature to be pleased when your enemies fail.

“The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, Saying, 'Truly our adversaries are cut off, And their abundance the fire has consumed.'”

Job 22:19-20 (NASB)

I guess that is why I was pleased to receive the news that Bill Whinemiller had lost to David Meliti.  

Black to move

Of the two, one would think that David would be my adversary as he has 2 wins against me (in 8 tries) this summer, both of which include me dropping my queen in an embarrassing fashion.  He always fights hard and never gives in, even though I have often had a winning position early in the game.

Trying to finish a game against David is like trying to pull a badger out of its den.  That is, of course, if the game of badger-baiting had a clock on it that used delay and the delay countdown showed in the display first and only when it finished the countdown did it display your actual time giving you the false impression that you only had five seconds left if you happened to glance over at an inopportune time.  That is why I have started writing “Lord Brocktree” in the name box on the score sheet when I play David now.

However, despite the fact that I haven’t played Bill Whinemiller since before any of my Meliti games, we have a longer adversarial history together.  I am also 6-2 against Bill, which dates back to July 2004.

It all started when Linda Rondstadt was kicked out of a concert and Whinemiller tried to mock her by singing “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.”  When I corrected him that the song was Crystal Gayle’s, he set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.

In typical Cliff Clavin fashion where Prehensile Isotonic Geometrics has meaning, he fired back with his little known facts about how Linda Rondstadt often covers this song on her albums.  When I asked for the name of just one Rondstadt album that had the song, I enjoyed the sound of crickets chirping as I gave him ample time to make one up.

Our relationship went down hill from there. I was trying to think of what nickname I could give Whinemiller and recalled how Jesus referred to Herod:

“And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected”

Luke 13:32 (KJV)

However, we already have a fox in the Colorado Springs chess scene, so I would have to come up with something original.  I wanted something that would stick so I scoured my past Game Of The Week articles and LM Brian Wall emails to get some ideas.

Here are the top 10 nickname ideas for Bill Whinemiller.  I will leave it up to the Yahoo Group to make the choice and announce the winner at the beginning of next year.

So, if you haven’t joined the Yahoo Group yet, now is the time.  Only members can vote in the secret ballot poll.  One person from my preview audience has already submitted a vote, “LOL! That's great! I think my favorite and most fitting is Whinemiller.”

Try Blue Bayou Next Time:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2004/07/try-blue-bayou-next-time.html

Nickname created: Blue Bayou Bill

Loser's Privilege:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2006/05/losers-privilege.html

Nickname created: Loser

The Most Controversial Game Ever Published!:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/05/the-most-controversial-game-ever.html

Nickname created: Mr. Bill

Close Shave:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/05/close-shave.html

Nickname created: Monty

What Good Luck!:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-good-luck.html

Nickname created: Bad Luck Bill

Miracle Matthew:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/miracle-matthew.html

Nickname created: Miss Rotten-miller

Tim's Response: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/05/luck-of-draw.html

Nickname created: Whinemiller

Focaccia (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/BrianWallChess/message/2251).

Nickname created: Weighmiller

Little Richard's - The Quiet Man (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/BrianWallChess/message/2265).

Nickname created: Tributarymiller

Weihmiller mates Wily Wall with the Weihmiller French (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/BrianWallChess/message/2642).

Nickname created: Why Miller, Biller? (published in How To Play Chess Like An Animal!)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the game.  Here is Whinemiller getting the wrong end of the badger.  I’ll let David Meliti explain how Whinemiller ended up losing this one:

“I just got back from the Kansas Open.  But yes, I do have a game for your newsletter.  As black last Wednesday I played the Scandinavian against Bill Weihmiller. It had a thriller ending.  Both sides got into a time scramble and notation stopped.  I won when white made a bad move with less than 30 sec on his clock.  I still had about a minute.”

Badger-Baiting Bill

[Event "Poor Richard's July"]

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

[Date "2008.07.16"]

[Round "3.2"]

[White "Weihmiller, Bill"]

[Black "Meliti, David"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1820"]

[BlackElo "1884"]

[PlyCount "71"]

[EventDate "2008.07.02"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. h3 Bh5 8.

a3 e6 9. Be3 c6 10. O-O Bd6 11. b4 Qc7 12. Na4 Nd5 13. c4 Nf4 14. Nc5 Nf6 15.

Rc1 Bxc5 16. bxc5 Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 Qa5 18. Bf4 O-O 19. Qe3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Rfd8 21.

Be5 Ne8 22. Rfd1 Rd7 23. Rd3 f6 24. Bf4 Rad8 25. Rcd1 Qa4 26. Qg4 Qxc4 27. d5

f5 28. Qg5 Nf6 29. Rd4 Qxc5 30. Be5 Nxd5 31. Bxg7 Kf7 32. Be5 Ke8 33. Rh4 Qf8

34. Rh6 Qf7 35. Rd4 Nc7 36. Rdh4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95790

This Week In Chess

On July 22nd, the CSCC had 9 members in attendance.  Most of the participants played in the double, 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.

The team of Alice and Ralph Kramden (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2005/03/too-many-cooks.html) reunited to play bughouse and steamrolled the field going undefeated.  Here are the results:

Score Team

6.0 Paul Anderson & Renae Delaware

4.0 Ken Dail & Dean Brown

2.0 Buck Buchanan & Kathy Schneider

0.0 John Lee & Doug Pua

On July 23rd, the CSCC held the fourth round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open.  Here are the current standings:

Score Player

4.0 Brian Wall

3.0 M Paul Covington

3.0 Bill Whinemiller

2.5 David Meliti

2.5 Anthea Carson

2.5 Joseph T Fromme

2.5 Kenneth W Dail

2.0 Timothy Brennan

2.0 Alejandro Isaac Torres

2.0 Dean Brown

2.0 Gerard Sunderland

2.0 Thomas Mullikin

1.5 Michael Joseph Wokurka

1.5 Fred Eric Spell

1.5 Isaac Martinez

1.5 Gary Frenzel

1.5 Kristin Colette Meliti

1.0 Danielle Rice

1.0 Gerald Maier

1.0 Sarah Cantwell

1.0 Tara Martinez

0.5 Reece Cantwell

Results from Pueblo Open

By Liz Wood

The Second Annual Pueblo Open One-Day Rated Chess Tournament 2008 sported 18 participants (including Dean Brown, the House Player), ranging from rating 1859 to 822.  As per most of Pueblo’s tourneys, the weather was designed to play chess.  The Daily Grind bent over backwards, as always, to make the tournament a success.

Igor Melnykov 1859 4.5 1st prize, $80

Scott Massey 1783 4.0 2nd prize, $65

Chris Clevenger 1836 3.5 Tied 3rd prize, $27.50

Shaun Macmillan 1835 3.5 Tied 3rd prize, $27.50

David Meliti 1810 3.0

Scott Nichols 1790 3.0

Joe Fromme 1676 3.0 Tied U1700, $15

Josh Divine 1656 3.0 Tied U1700, $15

Larry Wutt 1849 2.5

Joe Pahk 1584 2.0

Istvan Homyak 1535 2.0

Tom Mullikin 1321 2.0 Tied U1400, $10

Joe Stafford 1226 2.0 Tied U1400, $10

Liz Wood 1087 2.0 Tied U1400, $10

Michael Wokurka 1488 1.5

Gary Frenzel 1096 1.5

Kathy Schneider 822 1.0

Dean Brown 1543 House Player

Winter Springs Open Announcement

By Buck Buchanan

Here is a tournament announcement for the Winter Springs Open.

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

TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

December 6-7, Manitou Springs: Winter Springs Open

4-SS, 40/2 and G/1, Masonic Lodge, 455 El Paso Blvd, Manitou Springs. 3 Sections: June (open to all), July (U1800), August (U1400). Entry fee $30 if rec’d by 12/4, $35 at site. $8 off EF for Juniors, Seniors, Unrated. Cash prizes per entries. Register 8:30 - 9:30, rds schedule 10, 4; 9, 3. Entries to Richard Buchanan, 844 B Prospect Place, Manitou Springs CO 80829. Phone (719) 685-1984 or e-mail buckpeace@pcisys.net . CSCA membership required ($15, 10 for juniors/seniors), OSA. Colorado Tour Event.

Upcoming Events

7/29 G/15 tournament, CSCC

7/30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open Final Round, CSCC

8/2-3 Pikes Peak Open, CSCA

8/5 Speed tournament, CSCC

8/6,13,20,27 Poor Richard's Bookstore August Open, CSCC

8/12 Thematic: 4-SS, G/15, not rated. Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. After 1 e4 c5 White develops with Nc3, Bc4, f4, d3, etc., CSCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Games Are Strange

Game Of The Week

This week was a first for me.  Tim Brennan, one of my most loyal readers, and I played a USCF-rated game for the first time.  When he mentioned it to me at the start of our game, I was in disbelief.

We are both consistent fixtures on the Colorado chess scene.  We both started our USCF careers in February 1998.  He moved to Colorado in 2001 and has played in 160 events since that time.  I have played in 137 events as a Colorado resident, but our paths have never crossed before.

Of course, most of the time Tim was in Denver while I was in Colorado Springs.  However, Tim recently moved to Colorado Springs around the beginning of 2007 increasing our odds of being paired together.

Tim plays a lot more than I do as evidenced by his standing in the 2007-2008 Colorado Chess Tour standings.  Tim is currently in 4th place overall with 33 games while I am in 10th place overall with 20 games (as of the last Informant).  However, that makes him the number two, class B player and myself the number one, class A player in the tour standings.

I guess that puts us in the running for some prize money.  I can’t say for sure, as the Tour has always been somewhat of a mystery to me.  The tour appears to have started in 1982 according to the Colorado State Chess Association’s webpage.  Unfortunately, it only lists the names of the overall winners and not the prizes nor the other categories (activity and class prizes).

I have run across articles in the Informant that mention the tour.  In January 2008, Richard Buchanan wrote about Barry Biggs, owner of PC Brokers, increasing the prize fund for this year, and in October 2007, Randy Reynolds wrote about the people who won each category last year.

However, it seems a lot of people are still in the dark about the tour as Randy mentioned, “Few Tour winners actually showed up to collect their prize.”  I have received a small plaque for finishing in the top ten of my class several times, but I have never won my class before, at least not as far as I know.  I can’t seem to find my little plaque from last year so maybe I was one of those people who didn’t show up for their mystery prize last year.  Well, I am curious enough now to see what I won this year, if I can manage to hold on to first place through the final tour event, the Pikes Peak Open.

Anyway, despite the closer proximity and continued activity of Tim and I, it still took a year and a half to finally meet.  Tim is fond of irregular openings, and this game was no different.  I have only played against 5 irregular openings in my USCF career, but I have won them all (5-0 vs. g3, d3, b4, h4, and g4) even though I can't remember the opponents' names.

"When you're strange- no one remembers your name."

Densmore-Krieger-Manzarek-Morrison

Tim likes the grob (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/tiny-tim.html).  His motto is "Remember, you can't stop the grob.  You can only hope to contain it!"  However, this grob was so irregular that Fritz had no lines to offer until the end of the game.  I thought the analysis was so strange that I ran it again. The second results were still strange but so similar that I figured Fritz was running correctly.  Here is a comparison of the analysis and the game:

First Analysis

3.c4 last book move

4.h3 Covers g4

6.Qb3 c6 Prevents intrusion on d5

13.a3 Controls b4

18.Nf3 The knight blocks f4

25.c5 White gets more space

29.Kf1 [>= 29.Rbc1+/= and White hangs on]

30. nothing

33.Rc1 g5 [33...g5 34.h4 h6-+ ]

Second Analysis

3.c4 last book move

4.h3 Consolidates g4

6.Qb3 c6 Consolidates d5

13.a3 Secures b4

18.Nf3 Blocks the pawn on f4

25.c5 White gains space

29.Kf1 [>=29.Nh4!?= and White is still in the game]

30.Bxf3 [>=30.exf3!? Red7 31.Kg1-/+ ]

33.Rc1 g5 [33...g5 34.h4 h6-+ ]

Black to move

Games Are Strange

[Event "July Quad"]

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

[Date "2008.07.15"]

[Round "3.2"]

[White "Brennan, Tim"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A00"]

[WhiteElo "1687"]

[BlackElo "1931"]

[PlyCount "66"]

[EventDate "2008.07.15"]

1. g4 e5 2. Bg2 d5 3. c4 d4 4. h3 Bc5 5. d3 Ne7 6. Qb3 c6 7. Nd2 Qa5 8. Ngf3

Ng6 9. O-O O-O 10. Ne4 Nd7 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. Qc2 a5 13. a3 a4 14. Kh1 Nf4 15.

Bxf4 exf4 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. Nxd4 Qe5 18. Nf3 Qf6 19. Qc3 Qe7 20. Rae1 Re8 21.

Qd2 Qd6 22. Qb4 Be6 23. d4 Ne4 24. Qxd6 Nxd6 25. c5 Nc4 26. Rb1 Bd5 27. Rfe1

Rad8 28. Kg1 Re7 29. Kf1 Bxf3 30. Bxf3 Nd2+ 31. Kg1 Nxb1 32. Rxb1 Rxd4 33. Rc1

g5 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95780

This Week In Chess

On July 15th, the CSCC had 14 members in attendance.  The event for the evening was quads.  The members were split into groups of four and played each other in a round robin tournament (USCF-rated G30).  Here are the results:

Score Player

Quad A

3.0 Paul Anderson

2.0 David Meliti

1.0 Tim Brennan

0.0 Anthea Carson

Quad B

3.0 Josh Divine

2.0 Alex Torres

1.0 Ken Dail

0.0 Dean Brown

On July 16th, the CSCC held the third round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open.  Here are the current standings:

Score Player

3.0 Brian Wall

2.5 David Meliti

2.5 Joseph T Fromme

2.0 M Paul Covington

2.0 Bill Whinemiller

2.0 Anthea Carson

2.0 Gerard Sunderland

1.5 Timothy Brennan

1.5 Alejandro Isaac Torres

1.5 Kenneth W Dail

1.5 Dean Brown

1.5 Fred Eric Spell

1.0 Thomas Mullikin

1.0 Gerald Maier

1.0 Isaac Martinez

1.0 Kristin Colette Meliti

1.0 Sarah Cantwell

0.5 Michael Joseph Wokurka

0.5 Reece Cantwell

0.5 Gary Frenzel

0.5 Tara Martinez

Comments From Email

DuWayne Langseth, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 9:37 AM

Your game with Tim was intriguing.  It's always annoying when an opponent plays the Spike and actually maintains the white advantage.  I once had someone play it against me in a postal game!  I slowly developed an advantage and won, but to my surprise, it was really tough to make anything out of the kingside weakness.  I would have voted for that one, but in typical Anderson-win style, Tim gave you a free exchange at the end for no apparent reason.

I yawned when, in your game with Anthea, she gave you a piece and you had an easy win until you decided to castle into her attack.  Then you were lucky to survive.  Having second thoughts, I should have voted for this one out of tribute to Anthea's attacking attitude.  If she had offered to sac the rook instead of the bishop near the end, you could have had some real problems.  But she didn't and in fact must have missed the mate.  Maybe she was in time trouble.

I voted for the Meliti game because it was interesting and the mistakes weren't major ones until the endgame.  With your bishop pair vs his rook you offered him a free piece and he declined, resigning a couple moves later.  I was impressed at how often you found "best moves" in that game.

Tim, Sunday, July 20, 2008 11:58 AM

Paul - here is the latest episode of How to Play Chess like an Animal Video on Demand :-) This week Anthea teaches Buddy the hedgehog/(porcupine ?) how to play against the Raccoon opening, which is a neat variation of the Kings Gambit that goes 1. e4 e5 2. f4 h5!?

Upcoming Events

7/22 Bughouse tournament!, CSCC

7/22 July 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event, CSCA

7/23,30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open Final Rounds, CSCC

7/25-27 Boulder Chess Festival: 2008 Boulder Invitational, 2008 Boulder Qualifiers, & 2008 Festival Open, BCC

7/26 US Air Force Academy USCF Open Quads & Non-USCF Community Swiss, CSCA

7/29 G/15 tournament, CSCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Dean's Crowning Glory

Game Of The Week

This week, I had a couple of requests for the game of the week.  Dean Brown wanted to see the game we played in the Junior Vs Senior match.  DuWayne Langseth liked the game against Hector Torres better.  I have to admit I kind of wanted to see the Torres game since I never thought I was going to lose.

I have never played Hector before, and he had the habit of reaching for a piece instantly when I hit his clock, stopping before touching it, slowly withdrawing his hand, and then finding a better move.  I thought for sure his impulses would eventually get the better of him.

Of course, it was me who got impulsive first and needed him to get careless.  We looked at one line after the game was over which favored Hector, but I thought I should have something better than the quick analysis we did in the post mortem.

However, I wouldn’t have had a record of either game if it hadn’t been for Dean.  We were playing in the 2nd round of the 2-game match (G30).  Since it wasn’t USCF-rated, I wasn’t keeping score in either game.  Dean decided to try an opening he didn’t know, so very early on he was putting a lot of time into his moves.  This gave me a lot of time to think about everything but the game we were playing.

I was thinking about what game to publish this week, and it dawned on me I should be recording this as a possibility.  I think I started recording around move 15 and tried to work my way backwards, as well as forwards, as the game progressed.  At the end of the game, Dean and I fixed the order of the early moves, and he asked to see the game Fritzed.

I still had time before the last game finished between David and Lucas, so I tried out LM Brian Wall’s patton-ted Memory Tests for improving your chess ability.  I replayed the Torres game from memory and recorded it.  The endgame is pretty subtle so I wasn’t totally sure where he moved his king, but the final position is correct.

Now I had two games to choose from for this week.  I put it to the Yahoo! Group for a vote, and, as it always does, it ended in a tie.

So, I now had to choose between DuWayne and Dean’s requests.  Of course, with my new entry into the senior set, I figured us gray-haired folks have to stick together.  My gray hair is not as noticeable as Dean’s, but I can’t avoid them as my wife and son point out every one to me.  I don’t think DuWayne even has one yet.

While some people may cringe at the thought of a gray hair and rush out to the pharmacy for some product just for men, I wear mine with pride and look forward to the day I have a crown like Dean’s.

“The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”

Proverbs 16:31, KJV

White to move

Dean's Crowning Glory

[Event "CSCC Jr vs Sr"]

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

[Date "2008.07.08"]

[Round "2.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Brown, Dean"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "E11"]

[WhiteElo "1931"]

[BlackElo "1498"]

[PlyCount "65"]

[EventDate "2008.07.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Nbxd2 Nc6 6. e3 b6 7. Be2 Bb7 8.

O-O O-O 9. Rc1 d5 10. Re1 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Na5 12. b4 Nxc4 13. Rxc4 Bd5 14. Rc2

Ne4 15. Qc1 c6 16. Ne5 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 Qh4 18. f3 f6 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. Rxc6 e5

21. d5 Rfd8 22. e4 Qh5 23. Rec1 Qe8 24. a4 a6 25. Qa2 Kf8 26. Rxb6 Rdb8 27.

Rcc6 Qe7 28. Qc4 Rxb6 29. Rxb6 Qa7 30. Qc5+ Kf7 31. Kf1 a5 32. b5 h5 33. Qc6

1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95779

This Week In Chess

On July 8th, the CSCC had 10 members in attendance.  The participants were divided into 2 groups based on age for the third recorded installment of the battle of the ages:

Juniors vs. Seniors.

The first time (April 13, 2004; https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2004/04/keep-black-alive.html), the Juniors ran circles around the Seniors with a 6-2 victory.

In the rematch, only one member from each team was back from the previous contest, Junior Paul Anderson and Senior Dean Brown.  The Juniors survived the rematch 5.5-4.5 to claim their second victory (April 17, 2007; https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/cat-and-mouse.html).

For the third contest, two regulars, Dean Brown and Paul Anderson, were back again but this time on opposite teams.  Paul Anderson moved onto the Senior roster with Gary Frenzel and David Meliti.  The Junior roster included Hector Torres, Lucas Bundy, and Kristen Meliti.  However, when Hector Torres had to withdraw, Dean Brown was inserted into the Juniors.  The vibrant and youthful Brown failed to rally the Juniors as the old folks ran circles around the youths with a 5-1 victory.  Here are the results:

Score Team

5.0 Seniors

1.0 Juniors

On July 9th, the CSCC held the second round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open.  Here are the current standings:

Score Player

2.0 Brian Wall

2.0 Bill Whinemiller

2.0 Anthea Carson

1.5 David Meliti

1.5 Alejandro Isaac Torres

1.5 Joseph T Fromme

1.0 M Paul Covington

1.0 Timothy Brennan

1.0 Dean Brown

1.0 Gerard Sunderland

1.0 Fred Eric Spell

1.0 Gerald Maier

1.0 Isaac Martinez

1.0 Kristin Colette Meliti

0.5 Kenneth W Dail

0.5 Michael Joseph Wokurka

0.5 Reece Cantwell

0.5 Sarah Cantwell

0.0 Thomas Mullikin

0.0 Gary Frenzel

0.0 Tara Martinez

Comments From Email

DuWayne Langseth, Thursday, July 10, 2008 7:00 PM

I had this one decided half way through the Torres game without even seeing Dean's game.  Your game with Hector was very interesting and according to Rybka, pretty well-played.  What was the deal on move 14, didn't want a free pawn?  It was amusing too that he had you crushed in the endgame and threw it away.  Note to self:  Hector isn't strong in understanding knight travels.  Sorry Hector, if you eventually end up reading this.

Dean offered you a free piece early on and you refused to take it.  Then you beat him up mercilessly thereafter.  He did put up a fight for a while though.

Tim, Monday, July 14, 2008 3:22 PM

Hey paul,Thanks for sending out the link to "The Lion" video.  I posted another video...[about The Hedgehog:]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oB8sl-fGec

Pete Short commented on the video saying:

If you like chess, you adore woodland creatures, and your opponent plays the English....this video is a must...

Upcoming Events

7/15 Quad (USCF rated G/30, otherwise G/20), CSCC

7/16,23,30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open Final Rounds, CSCC

7/18-20 2008 Kansas Open, KCA

7/19 DCC July Fireworks, CSCA

7/22 July 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event, CSCA

7/22 Bughouse tournament!, CSCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Tom's Tribute

Game Of The Week

By Tom Mullikin

It's nice of you to do a tribute to Al (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/07/deans-choice.html).  This was one of the last games (perhaps the last) that I played against him.  Chess wise, it is not a very good game; there are lots of blunders in it, and while I maintained an advantage through most of the beginning, the horrendous blunder at move 39 where I drop a Bishop was absolutely pivotal.  Al then had an easy win, but got sloppy in the last couple of moves and allowed me to get a draw.

Over all, Al and I played something like 15 games.  I won 7 and Al won 7 and I believe this game is our only draw.  I miss him; some time ago when writing a note to Brian Wall's Yahoo Bulletin Board around the time of Al's death, I mentioned the record between us, and that perhaps someday I'll get to play Al again.  That would be nice.

White to move

Tom's Tribute

[Event "Tabor Quick Chess"]

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

[Date "2004.03.27"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Mullikin, Tom"]

[Black "Ufer, Allan"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "B02"]

[WhiteElo "1041"]

[BlackElo "1102"]

[PlyCount "103"]

[EventDate "2004.03.27"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. Bc4 e6 4. Qe2 a6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d4 d5 8. a3 c5

9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. exd5 Ng4 11. Ne4 Ba7 12. h3 Nf6 13. Bg5 O-O 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15.

dxe6 fxg5 16. exf7+ Kg7 17. Qe5+ Qf6 18. Qxf6+ Kxf6 19. O-O-O Nc6 20. Rd6+ Kg7

21. Rxc6 Bxf2 22. Kb1 Bb7 23. Rc7 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Bg3 25. Rd7 h6 26. Rhd1 a5 27.

Rb7 Rfb8 28. Re7 Kf8 29. Rdd7 a4 30. Bd5 Ra6 31. Re6 Rxe6 32. Bxe6 Be1 33. b3

b4 34. Ra7 axb3 35. Bxb3 bxa3 36. Rxa3 Bg3 37. Ra7 Bd6 38. Rd7 Bf4 39. c4 Rxb3+

40. Kc2 Rxf3 41. c5 Bg3 42. c6 Rxf7 43. Rd8+ Ke7 44. Rd7+ Ke8 45. Rb7 Rc7 46.

Rxc7 Bxc7 47. Kd2 Ke7 48. Ke2 h5 49. Kf3 Kd6 50. Ke4 g4 51. hxg4 hxg4 52. Kf4

1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95214

This Week In Chess

On July 1st, the CSCC had 14 members in attendance.  The evening’s event was a double, round robin, blitz tournament (G5).  LM Brian Wall lost one game to Josh Divine to finish in clear first.  Here are the results:

Score Player

19.0 Brian Wall

14.5 Paul Anderson

14.5 DuWayne Langseth

14.0 Jeff Fox

13.0 Josh Divine

11.0 Buck Buchanan

6.0 John Lee

5.0 Anthea Carson

5.0 Lucas Bundy

4.0 Ken Dail

2.0 Isaac Martinez

On July 2nd, the CSCC held the first round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open.  Here are the results:

Score Player

1.0 Brian Wall

1.0 Bill Whinemiller

1.0 Anthea Carson

1.0 Timothy Brennan

1.0 Alejandro Isaac Torres

1.0 Joseph T Fromme

1.0 Dean Brown

1.0 Fred Eric Spell

0.5 Michael Joseph Wokurka

0.5 Gerald Maier

0.0 M Paul Covington

0.0 Gerard Sunderland

0.0 Thomas Mullikin

0.0 Isaac Martinez

0.0 Reece Cantwell

0.0 Kristen Colette Meliti

0.0 Sarah Cantwell

0.0 Tara Martinez

Comments From Email

Glenn Leotaud, Friday, July 04, 2008 12:51 AM

Hello Paul, and happy fourth of July to the CSCC.

Thanks for going back in time and showing me how terrible a game I can play.  I enjoyed reliving the game especially Nxc5. I remember the draw with Brian in round 1 of the same event.  I was a couple of moves from mating him when I panicked with 3 seconds on my clock and offered a draw.  Tell Brian thanks for all the fun speed games.  Give Dean and Buck my regards.  Get Renee Delaware back to the chess board as her name is missing from the latest cross tables.  Her games, I am sure , is missed by all.  Paul, if you are hard pressed for games to print, may I suggest you publish your round one game from the June Mating Game against Anthea Carson.  I would love to see that gem.  Also, round three and four from the same event would be some nice treats.

So long for now, I hope to make an appearance at a Colorado Springs event in 2009.  If only to give you some more memories.  I enjoyed my two months in the Springs and I am looking forward to another visit.

Glenn

[Comment is about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/greener-pastures.html]

Tim, Monday, July 07, 2008 4:26 PM

Hey Paul, How's it going?  Did you have a nice 4th??  Anthea and I made more chess videos yesterday. We incorporated some comments and feedback from people, including yourself - and took it up a notch - with PUPPETS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ftpGMGg90Q

I'm thinking about submitting it to that film festival they hold each year in Telluride!  This one is about "The Lion", and is kind of a neat variation where black can suffer some serious collaterial damage if they are not careful.  This is the first one.  We are going to release about one a week.  Feel free to rate it, and leave comments :-)  If you should share with your group that would be Grrrrrrrrrreat!!! (Said like Tony the Tiger or possibly like the boss in Office Space)

Brian Wall, Monday, July 07, 2008 8:52 PM

David Surrat also gave a tip of the hat to the Colorado Springs Chess Newsletter by Paul Anderson.  Chessville excerpt mentioning CSCC newsletter - Chess Newsletters:

"I subscribe to many, and one of the very best club-level newsletters is put out by the Colorado Springs Chess Club."

Upcoming Events

7/8 Juniors vs seniors match, CSCC

7/9,16,23,30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open Final Rounds, CSCC

7/15 Quad (USCF rated G/30, otherwise G/20), CSCC

7/18-20 2008 Kansas Open, KCA

7/19 DCC July Fireworks, CSCA

7/22 July 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event, CSCA

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Greener Pastures

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from my list of upset victories.  I have 44 wins where I beat someone who was within 25 points of my rating or higher in my 10 years of USCF-rated play.  It has taken me 136 events and 468 games to achieve that number.  That works out to a 32% chance of getting an upset win in any event.

Part of the reason the number is so low, is that most of the time I am paired against someone who is lower rated than me, which works out to a 0% chance of an upset win for me.  Now that I have climbed into the Advanced Class A world by consistently beating those lower rated opponents, I only have about 8% of the USCF population that is higher rated than me.

Here in Colorado that works out to 22 players who are higher rated than me and have played in the past year (8 master level, 11 expert level, and 3 class A level).  However, I rarely have a shot at the experts anymore since they seem to have vanished from the Colorado Springs chess scene.

Last year, I played 4 of the experts and 4 of the masters on the list.  This year the masters have climbed to 5 while the experts have dropped to 2, and in the past couple of events, I have been surprised to find myself as the highest board after any masters in the tournament.

This has made me a little nostalgic for those Advanced Class B days when I had 18% of the USCF population rated higher than me.  One of those players was Glenn Leotaud from California who was only in Colorado for about 2 months in 2003.  I don’t know if he left for greener pastures, but he does have 178 players who are rated higher than himself out there in Northern California (and 129 if he had my rating).

Black to move

Greener Pastures

[Event "December Quad"]

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

[Date "2003.12.09"]

[Round "1.3"]

[White "Leotaud, Glen"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B10"]

[WhiteElo "1755"]

[BlackElo "1738"]

[PlyCount "64"]

[EventDate "2003.12.09"]

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 e5 4. Ngf3 Bd6 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 h6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1

Qc7 9. h3 Be6 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. Nb3 dxe4 12. dxe4 Rad8 13. Be3 b6 14. Nfd2 c5

15. Nc4 Be7 16. f4 b5 17. fxe5 Bxc4 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Bf4 Qxf4 20. gxf4 Bxe2

21. Rxe2 Bxb2 22. Rd1 Nb6 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Nxc5 Bd4+ 25. Kh2 Bxc5 26. e5 Nc4

27. Bc6 b4 28. e6 Rd2 29. exf7+ Kxf7 30. Rg2 Rxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Ne3+ 32. Kf3 Nxc2

0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95211 

This Week In Chess

On June 24th, the CSCC had 17 members in attendance.  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 was repaired for a second round of matches.  Here are the results:

Wins Losses % Player

4 0 100.00% John Lee

3 1 75.00% Paul Anderson

3 1 75.00% Hector Torres

2 2 50.00% Ken Micklich

2 2 50.00% Mike Thomas

2 2 50.00% David Meliti

2 2 50.00% Ken Dail

1 3 25.00% Buck Buchanan

1 3 25.00% Alex Torres

0 4 0.00% Gary Frenzel

On June 25th, the CSCC held the final round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore June Open.  Here are the results:

Score Place $ Player

4.0 1st $50.00 David Meliti

3.0 2nd $35.00 Joseph T Fromme

2.5 Josh Bloomer

2.5 Bill Whinemiller

2.5 U1800 $30.00 Larry Turner

2.0 M Paul Covington

2.0 Anthea Carson

2.0 Alejandro Isaac Torres

2.0 U1600 $23.50 Gerard Sunderland

2.0 U1600 $23.50 Fred Eric Spell

1.5 Joseph H Pahk

1.5 Thomas Mullikin

1.0 Michael Joseph Wokurka

1.0 Kathy Schneider

0.5 Dean Brown

0.5 Gerald Maier

0.5 Isaac Martinez

0.5 Kristen Colette Meliti

Comments From Email

Reynolds, Randy, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 3:05 PM

Actually, section 43 of USCF’s Official Rules of Chess explain the etiquette behind announcing checkmate quite succinctly.  I’ve attached the pertinent section for your reference.

Announcing Mate Etiquette

1. If you’re unsure how many moves the mate is in, choose the larger number.  If you somehow get the mate in the lower number, tell your opponent they didn’t play best defence, even if they clearly did.  Besides, which sounds more impressive: Mate in 2, or mate in 13?

2. Stand up before your move and calmly but firmly announce the mate in X moves.  The volume of the announcement must be such that even the furthest table can hear the announcement.

3. After announcing the mate, the move should be made with the greatest intensity possible.  Your goal is to leave a permanent mark on the board and/or table beneath the board, so do not be shy in your slamming down of the piece.

4. As usual, extra flair points are awarded for any announced mate that includes castling queenside. NEVER move Rd1+ or Rd8+ when a o-o-o+ will do the job just as well!

5. As your opponent looks over the board to determine the validity of your claim, you must remain standing, arms crossed, head up high.  Your analysis is done; you should not be looking at the board any more.  As a good rule of thumb, pretend someone is erecting a statue of you and model appropriately.

6. It is customary to give knowing smirks to anyone that looks your way, with a small nod, acknowledging their amazement at your chess prowess.

7. If, on the odd chance your opponent finds a way out of your mate in X, you must yourself resign on move X and then quickly push all the pieces to the middle of the board so everyone thinks you did the mate in the required number of moves.  Under no circumstances should you meekly say, “Uh, never mind!” and sit back down for another 25 moves.

8. Finally, take care when recording the result to make sure you give yourself only one (1) point for the win.  I know, I know... announcing that mate in 8 might feel like 1.5 or 2 points, but it’s just going to make the TD mad.

[Comment is about this newsletter: https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/mate-in-two-no-three.html]

Martin Deschner, Thursday, June 26, 2008 2:12 PM

Best wishes to 2008 USA Junior Champ Tyler Hughes.  Also, regards to his first teacher, Master Brian Wall.

Regards, Martin Deschner, Chess Expert.

Colorado Springs Chess Club 3rd Quarter Schedule

By Buck Buchanan

Here is the club schedule for July - September.

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

COLORADO SPRINGS CHESS CLUB

July - September 2008

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 building 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.

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.

3rd Saturday of month (7/19, 8/16, 9/20) Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8:00 PM.

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

July

1 Speed tournament

8 Juniors vs seniors match

15 Quad (USCF rated G/30, otherwise G/20)

22 Bughouse tournament!

29 G/15 tournament

August

2-3: Pikes Peak Open, 5-SS, rated, Manitou Springs City Hall. Register with Buck or Jerry Maier.

5 Speed tournament

12 Thematic: 4-SS, G/15, not rated. Sicilian Grand Prix attack. After 1 e4 c5 White develops with Nc3, Bc4, f4, d3, etc.

19 Team tournament 4-SS, G/15. Team members alternate moves in games vs other team, no consulting.

26 Ladder games (G/30)

30 - 31, Denver: Colorado Open - state championship, CSCA annual membership meeting.

Sept

2 Speed tournament

9 G/15 tournament

16 Team tournament (2-player teams, rating sum < 3400, 4-SS, G/15)

23 Quad (see July 15)

30 “Low rated Pick” tournament

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

Club Championship tournament Oct. 14 - Nov. 4.

Upcoming Events

7/1 Speed tournament, CSCC

7/2,9,16,23,30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open, CSCC

7/8 Juniors vs seniors match, CSCC

7/15 Quad (USCF rated G/30, otherwise G/20), CSCC

7/18-20 2008 Kansas Open, KCA

7/19 DCC July Fireworks, CSCA

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)

Mate In Two, No Three

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from the 2008 Southern Colorado Open.  I had written before this tournament how six other tournaments had a higher net total for prize winnings than this one.

Well, that has now changed.  I went into this tournament winning prize money only 13% of the time, but I have come out of it winning prize money 22% of the time.

In addition, the net total prize money for this tournament improved from 7th place to 3rd place (behind the Pikes Peak Open and the Winter Springs Open).  So, I would have to say it was a good tournament for me.  I went unbeaten the first day, I gained 10 rating points, and I took home the U2000 prize.

However, it wasn’t perfect.  Just like my chess games, no matter how well things go, there are always some embarrassing mistakes that I continue to make.  Let me give you an example.

My only win the second day came against Alex Cacas.  It was a nice win, as we had played once before where I lost with more time and a better position because I mistakenly went into a lost endgame with him.  This time I was determined not to give up any advantage I could gain over him.

Again I built a huge lead in time and began to chip away at his position.  I won a pawn, but I realized that I needed to continue going after the king to not fall into the trap I did last time.  So, when I played 39. Qh1, I was really looking at the mating line.

It is one of those positions where enough is going on that it isn’t clear to your opponent what you are trying to do.  Did I just blunder away my win again and drop the A pawn?  Did I just miss the G pawn falling?  Or was I planning a faster attack on the C pawn?

There is a lot there to think about, and Alex was really low in time now.  I was trying to use my hypnotizing skills this time to influence a mate and not just gain a piece like DuWayne always accuses me of doing.  Even after the rooks get traded off, I still needed Alex to take on g6 to get the mate I wanted, but to my surprise, he took it.

White to move

Now, all my planning had come to fruition.  I got exactly what I wanted, and I wanted to end in a flourish.  I wrote out the rest of the moves on the score sheet and decided to announce mate for the first time in my chess career.

Of course, I still had one mistake left in me.  I wasn’t sure what the announcing mate etiquette was, so I debated between announcing mate first then moving and moving first then announcing mate second.

With all this confusion going on in my brain, I ended up sounding like Sir Galahad at the Bridge of Death over the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

KEEPER: “What is your favorite color?”

GALAHAD: “Blue. No yel-- Auuuuuuuugh!”

Mate In Two, No Three

[Event "Southern Colorado Open"]

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

[Date "2008.06.15"]

[Round "5.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Cacas, Alex"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "D80"]

[WhiteElo "1945"]

[BlackElo "1801"]

[PlyCount "89"]

[EventDate "2008.06.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. Bxf6 exf6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Bxc4 O-O 8.

Nge2 Nd7 9. O-O Nb6 10. Bb3 Re8 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Qd3 a6 13. Rfd1 Qe7 14. a3 Rad8

15. Qg3 Bc8 16. Rd3 f5 17. e5 c6 18. Rcd1 Be6 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. b4 Rd7 21. Nc1

Bf8 22. Nb3 Qg7 23. f4 Red8 24. h4 Nc4 25. Na4 b5 26. Nac5 Bxc5 27. Nxc5 Re7

28. Rb1 Ra8 29. Qf3 Rc8 30. Nxa6 Ra7 31. Nc5 Qe7 32. Qg3 Rca8 33. Rbb3 Kg7 34.

h5 Qe8 35. Qf3 Qc8 36. Kf2 Qe8 37. g4 Kf7 38. Qh3 Qh8 39. Qh1 Rxa3 40. Rxa3

Rxa3 41. Rxa3 Nxa3 42. hxg6+ Kxg6 43. Qh5+ Kg7 44. Nxe6+ Kg8 45. Qe8# 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95210

This Week In Chess

On June 17th, the CSCC had 15 members in attendance.  The main event was the conclusion of the two-week, USCF-rated June Mating Game Tournament (4SS, G30).  LM Brian Wall was in clear first and controlled his own destiny by the third round.  However, the top prize was still up for grabs with Brian having to face two more opponents, Paul Anderson and NM Josh Bloomer.  He lost one of those games and tied with David Meliti for the 1st spot.  Here are the final results:

Score Player

3.0 Brian Wall

3.0 David Meliti

2.0 Jeff Fox

2.0 Josh Bloomer

1.0 Paul Anderson

1.0 Anthea Carson

0.0 Dean Brown

On June 18th, the CSCC held the 3rd round of the Poor Richard's Bookstore June Open.  Here are the current standings:

Score Player

3.0 David Meliti

2.5 Josh Bloomer

2.5 Larry Turner

2.0 Bill Whinemiller

2.0 Joseph T Fromme

2.0 Gerard Sunderland

1.5 Joseph H Pahk

1.5 Fred Eric Spell

1.5 Thomas Mullikin

1.0 M Paul Covington

1.0 Anthea Carson

1.0 Alejandro Isaac Torres

1.0 Michael Joseph Wokurka

1.0 Kathy Schneider

0.5 Dean Brown

0.5 Gerald Maier

0.5 Isaac Martinez

0.5 Kristen Colette Meliti

Comments From Email

Padmanand C Menon, Wednesday, June 18, 2008 11:03 PM

Hi, Its really worth being in this group where a great player like Paul Anderson belongs. Thanks for the comments and guidelines posted in this forums and letters. Much appreciated. Can you pls let me know how should i continue. I am a FIDE rated player (1811 rating) and like to play attacking chess but moreover i want something where i can play positional with an attacking touck. Let me know which books to refer or any player whom should i follow. Assistance please.

Cheers.

Padmanand C Menon

[One of the more interesting ideas I've heard of recently is from International Chess Master Igor Khmelnitsky's book Chess Exam & Training Guide.  It has been out a while now, but I just found out about it from a couple of chess players trying to climb out of this class A world, Larry Wutt and Shaun MacMillan, and it rates your chess in 12 different areas including attack and standard positions.  But I will see if the group has any more ideas.  Stay tuned!]

DuWayne Langseth, Monday, June 16, 2008 6:55 PM

I looked at your game with Renard.  Now that was a REAL game until you gave up on move 25.  Rybka calls it completely dead even at that point.  Besides it was downright interesting.  I am amused at your recent strategy of developing your knights to the powerful a6 and h6 squares.  Why Renard didn't focus on that, I don't know.  Anyway, I enjoyed it...

Upcoming Events

6/24 Ladder games, CSCC

6/25 Poor Richard's Bookstore June Open Final Rounds, CSCC

6/28 The Pueblo Open, CSCA

7/1 Speed tournament, CSCC

7/2,9,16,23,30 Poor Richard's Bookstore July Open, CSCC

7/18-20 2008 Kansas Open, KCA

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

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

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)