Game Of The Year IX

End Of The Season

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Well, another chess season has come to a close for me.  It is time for me to move on to managing the website 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 at the Colorado Springs Chess News’ Yahoo! group.  You can also join the 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

This chess year has been good expanding-my-horizons-wise.  I became an officer of the club for the first time and started teaching individual lessons.  Also, Tim Brennan finally got me to sign up for Twitter (http://twitter.com/cschessnews), and we decided to spark some controversy by pretending to have a heated debate in the Colorado Chess Informant over when a chess player should resign.  It was the most feedback I have received on an article in a long time.  I wrote a couple of other articles as well.

2012 Colorado Chess Informant Articles:

• Double Trouble (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/04/double-trouble.html)
• How To Improve At Chess (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-to-improve-at-chess-part-i.html & https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-improve-at-chess-part-ii.html)
• Wise Beyone Her Years (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/07/wise-beyond-her-years.html & Tim Brennan's Response (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/07/nothing-is-over.html)

This chess year has been good number-wise.  I had more upsets this year (2) than last year (1).  However, they are getting harder to come by, as my rating has passed up my usual upset victims.  Despite not beating a lot of higher rated players, I still may break or tie a number of personal bests this year.

• 76.64% overall winning percentage (record: 2011 - 75.41%)
• 2067 peak club rating (record: 2011 - 2057)
• 79.55% USCF winning percentage (record: 2009 - 74.29%)
• 2029 peak USCF rating (record: 2009 - 2003)
• 35 most USCF-rated wins (record: 2008 - 32.5)
• 9 fewest USCF-rated losses (record: 2009 - 9)
• 3 sole 1st Place tournament finishes (record: 2010 - 4)

When I passed up my peak rating and we lost NM Josh Bloomer from the Springs to Wikipedia, Florida, I thought that I was the king of the hill.  I had won the city championship; I was an officer of the club; I had the keys to the kingdom of chess in Colorado Springs. I was the greatest!

Of course, DuWayne Langseth was quick to burst my bubble, like the mother hen that he is.  He scolded me for bragging about my chess skills by pointing out that Nia Neilson, who is studying at the university in Colorado Springs, is younger, better looking, and higher rated.

One of my opponents who must be happy that my rating has passed his is Buck Buchanan.  He has always been higher rated than me when we face over the board.  Until this year.  We met in February with the exact same rating.  He won.  While I am sure he enjoyed the win, it does set me up for another upset possibility.  So, when we faced again in May and I won, he was at his highest rating (2021) of any of my previous upsets.

Black to move

Now he was in the unfamiliar position of being the underdog for the first time in our history.  As he was not used to being the underdog, in the next encounter he only managed a draw.  However, I am hoping he will have a lot more upset chances in the future.

Game Of The Year IX

[Event "May Quad"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.08"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Buchanan, Buck"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2021"]
[BlackElo "1989"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. d4 c6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Qc7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bd2 e5 10. Rc1 Nbd7 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 dxe5 13. b3 Rd8 14. Qc2 Bf5 15. e4 Be6 16. Rcd1 Rd7 17. Be3 Rad8 18. Rxd7 Rxd7 19. Qc1 Kh7 20. Rd1 b6 21. c5 b5 22. b4 Qd8 23. Rxd7 Qxd7 24. Qc2 Ne8 25. a4 a6 26. Bf1 Nc7 27. axb5 axb5 28. Qc1 Bh3 29. Be2 Ne6 30. Qd1 Nd4 31. f3 Be6 32. Nb1 Bb3 33. Qd2 Qa7 34. Kf2 Qa1 35. Qc1 Nc2 36. Bd1 Nxb4 37. Kg2 Qa2+ 38. Kh3 Nd3 39. Bxb3 Qxb3 40. Qf1 Qc4 41. Nd2 Qc2 42. Qg2 b4 43. Nf1 b3 44. Qd2 Qxd2 45. Nxd2 b2 46. Nb1 Bf8 47. Bd2 Bxc5 48. Bc3 Bd4 49. Kg2 c5 50. Kf1 c4 51. Ke2 Nc5 52. Kd2 Na4 53. Bb4 f5 54. Kc2 Kg7 55. Ba3 Kf7 56. Nd2 c3 57. Nb1 Ke6 58. Kb3 fxe4 59. fxe4 Kd7 60. Bf8 h5 61. Bb4 Kc6 62. Kc2 Kb5 63. Kb3 Nc5+ 64. Bxc5 Kxc5 65. h3 g5 66. Kc2 Kc4 67. Na3+ Kb4 68. Nb1 Ka4 69. Kd1 Kb3 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=69297

This Week In Chess

On August 14th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quad event.  The participants were split into groups of 4 and played in a Round Robin tournament (RR, G30).  Gunnar Andersen won all his games to take the top quad while Peter Grigg and Daniel Herman tied for theirs.  Jeff Fox won the unrated quad.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

USCF-rated, Quad A

3.0 Gunnar Andersen
1.5 Mark McGough
1.5 Brian Rountree
0.0 Isaac Martinez

USCF-rated, Quad B

2.5 Peter Grigg
2.5 Daniel Herman
1.0 Mike Madsen
0.0 Shirley Herman

Unrated Quad

3.0 Jeff Fox
2.0 William Payne*
1.0 Larry Kledzik
0.0 Michael Young

* Paul Anderson substitution in round 2

400th Victory

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's "Player's Choice" night in July.  Typically, the 1st Tuesday of the month is Speed Chess (G5).  The 2nd Tuesday is USCF-rated Quads (G30).  The 3rd Tuesday is Quick-rated Swiss (G20).  The 4th Tuesday is "Something Different," like simuls, thematic events, bughouse, lectures, etc.  When a month ends with a 5th Tuesday, the club lets the attendees decided what kind of chess they would like to play.

Gunnar Andersen and Isaac Martinez wanted rated Quads.  However, we had an odd number of players, and with myself sitting out, we still did not have enough players for everyone to play in a Quad since it requires a multiple of 4.  So, we created one USCF-rated Quad and an unrated Swiss.

I was going to sit out and work on my newsletter, for which I was struggling to find a game I wanted to publish.  However, Anthea Carson NN decided to withdraw from the USCF-rated Quad after losing to Gunnar and having to face her son and Mark McGough in a bad mood.  So, I replaced her in the Quad and got an idea for a game to publish at the same time.

I got 2 wins in the Quad and realized that I had gone over 400 victories in USCF-rated play (I am counting half victories too).  

It was in 2009 that I joined the 300 club (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/300-club.html) by beating Gary Bagstad when I was rated 1990.  In those 3 years and 100 victories since then, I finally broke the expert barrier (2003) only to quickly fall back under and plummet to 1897 before getting my act together again.

White to move

400th Victory

[Event "July Quad"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.07.31"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Martinez, Isaac"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D40"]
[WhiteElo "2022"]
[BlackElo "1784"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2012.07.31"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Qa4 O-O 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nxd5 Bxd4 12. Bxd7 Bxb2 13. Rb1 Nxd7 14. Rxb2 Ne5 15. Qd1 Qd6 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. Rd2 c4 18. O-O c3 19. Rd4 Rac8 20. Qc2 Rc5 21. Rfd1 Rfc8 22. Re4 Qxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Rd4 Rb5 25. h3 Rb2 26. Qxc3 Rc2 27. Qxc2 Rxc2 28. Rd8# 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=69047

This Week In Chess

On August 7th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Speed event.  The participants played in a double, Round Robin tournament (RR, G5).  Josh Divine and Koji Del Conte racked up the most points.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

8.0 Josh Divine
8.0 Koji Del Conte
6.0 Wesley Smith*
3.0 Daniel Herman
3.0 Shirley Herman
2.0 Bill Malone

* Paul Anderson substitution after round 2

Pikes Peak Open‏

By Buck Buchanan

Here is the crosstable for the Pikes Peak Open, which I directed over the weekend.

5.0 Eric Montany
4.0 Chris Peterson
4.0 Richard Herbst
4.0 Zach Bekkedahll
4.0 Dean Clow
4.0 Brad Lundstrom
3.5 Katie Wise
3.5 Brian Wall
3.5 Jeff Baffo
3.0 Justin Alter
3.0 V. M. Kenkre
3.0 Imre Barlay
3.0 Brady Barkemeyer
3.0 Anthea Carson
3.0 Eric Barkemeyer
3.0 Deanna Alter
3.0 Ron Rossi
3.0 Richard Brown
2.5 Rhett Langseth
2.5 Victor Huang
2.5 Alex Stiger
2.5 David Wise
2.5 Gene Lucas
2.5 Sheena Zeng
2.0 Gunnar Andersen
2.0 Robert Moore
2.0 Phil Brown
2.0 Hongbiao Zeng
2.0 Cory Foster
2.0 Mark Schlagenhauf
2.0 Fred Eric Spell
2.0 Robert Hodge
1.5 Robert Carlson
1.5 Daniel Herman
1.5 Peter Swan
1.5 Robert Hartelt
1.5 Rebecca Herman
1.5 Victor Creazzi
1.5 Davy Williams
1.5 Alex Cacas
1.0 Joseph Haines
1.0 Tom Corbett
1.0 Robert Rountree
0.5 Sara Herman
0.0 Shirley Herman

Going Away Simul II

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the "Going Away" simultaneous exhibition given by NM Josh Bloomer.  Josh had to play 22 players going +16-5=1.  Two of the losses and the draw came from "Murders' Row," which included 7 class A players in a row.  Josh Divine was only able to get his feet in the picture, but did score the first victory, taking home the tournament chess set donated by The Gentlemen's Chess Club (http://www.gentlemenschessclub.com/).

Josh Divine started playing tournament chess in 2005 and climbed up to the class A barrier before plateauing (mostly due to college).  He is like me in that his highest rated played, who he beat, is Josh Bloomer at 2222 in March of 2007.  However, Josh Divine's victory came before he had cracked the class A barrier, as Josh finally made it into the class A world on July 10th, 2012.  Not a bad way to start off your class A career.

Black to move

Going Away Simul II

[Event "Going Away Simul"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.07.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bloomer, Josh"]
[Black "Divine, Josh"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A85"]
[WhiteElo "2226"]
[BlackElo "1807"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2012.07.24"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 c6 6. Nh3 Bb4 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 O-O 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nf4 Qa5 12. Qd3 Nb6 13. f3 Bd7 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. e4 c5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 c4 18. Qxc4 Bb5 19. Qc5 b6 20. Qc7 Rf7 21. Qd6 Bxf1 22. Qc6 Bxg2 23. Qxa8+ Rf8 24. Qc6 Bxf3 25. Qe6+ Kh8 26. Qe7 Rc8 27. Re1 Qxd5 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=68707

This Week In Chess

On July 31st, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quad and a Swiss event.  The USCF-rated players faced off in a Round Robin Tournament (RR, G30) while the unrated players formed a Swiss Tournament (3SS, G20).  Gunnar Anderson went unbeaten in the quad while Josh Divine did the same in the Swiss.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

USCF Quad

2.5 Gunnar Andersen
2.0 Anthea Carson* NN
1.5 Isaac Martinez
0.0 Mark McGough

Unrated Swiss

3.0 Josh Divine
2.0 Alex Torres
2.0 Jeff Fox
1.0 Gerardo Caballero
1.0 Daniel Herman
0.0 Shirley Herman

* Paul Anderson substitution after round 1

Going Away Simul

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the "Going Away" simultaneous exhibition given by NM Josh Bloomer.  Josh had 22 players (and a couple non-players) show up to say goodbye to a 17-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Chess Club.

I first played Josh in 3/10/98 when Josh was rated 1728 and I was rated 1703.  It was frustrating to me that this kid was so hard to beat.  I drew one and lost one that night.  It wasn't until 5/25/99 that I finally beat Josh in some kind of "official game" (Team, G15, Club rated) when he was rated 1895 and I was rated 1728.

However, he was about to take off ratings-wise while I was going to flounder around for a long time.  It wasn't until 3/21/06 that I beat him again.  This time it was a USCF event and Josh had already earned his National Master certificate while I finally had cracked the class A barrier.

My final 2 wins came in 2/19/08 at the CABIN FEVER RELIEVER (USCF, G30) and in 11/15/11 at a club event (G15).  The Cabin Fever Reliever win made Josh the highest rated player I have beaten and the victim of one of my chess video productions.

In my 14 year battle with Josh, I was only able to hang 5 losses on him.  However, it is a bit ironic that in one night, I was able to send him off with 5 more losses by organizing his "Going Away" simul, in which I did not play.  One of his losses came from Dragan Plakalovic, who took home my DVD, Chess Parables, as his prize, which includes the Josh video as bonus material.

Black to move

Going Away Simul

[Event "Going Away Simul"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.07.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bloomer, Josh"]
[Black "Plakalovic, Dragan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2226"]
[BlackElo "1706"]
[Annotator "Plakalovic,Dragan"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a4 Bf5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Qb3 b6 8. Bg5 e6 9. e3 Be7 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Nc6 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Nd7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. f4 Nc5 16. Qa3 Qb7 17. b4 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Rac1 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Rc1 g6 22. Kf2 Rc2 23. Rxc2 Bxc2 24. Qa2 Be4 25. Qb2 Qc6 26. Qd4 a5 27. bxa5 bxa5 28. h3 Qc2 29. Qd1 Kg7 30. Qxc2 Bxc2 31. Bb5 f6 32. exf6+ Kxf6 33. Ke2 e5 34. Kd2 Bb3 35. g4 Ke6 36. h4 Kd6 37. Kc3 Bd1 38. g5 Bg4 39. Be8 Be6 40. h5 gxh5 41. Bxh5 Bf5 42. Bf7 Bg4 43. Be8 Bf5 44. Bb5 Bg6 45. Bd3 Bxd3 46. Kxd3 exf4 47. exf4 Ke6 48. Kd4 Kf5 49. Kxd5 Kxf4 50. Kc5 Kxg5 51. Kb5 h5 52. Kxa5 h4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=68218

This Week In Chess

On July 24th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a "Going Away" simul.  NM Josh Bloomer played white against 22 opponents going +16-5=1.  It was a tough crowd including 7 straight Class A players in row.  Here are the results:

Score, Player, Prize

1.0 Josh Divine, Tournament Chess Set from Gentlemen's Chess Club
1.0 Mark McGough, CSCN Cap
1.0 Rhett Langseth, The Complete Hedgehog from Mongoose Press
1.0 Dragan Plakalovic, Chess Parables DVD
1.0 Alex Torres, A Bike Lock
0.5 Jeff Fox, A Hearty Handshake
0.0 Tara Martinez
0.0 Yuna Pahk
0.0 Gunnar Andersen
0.0 Joe Pahk
0.0 Peter Grigg
0.0 Tom Mullikin
0.0 Anthea Carson
0.0 Mike Madsen
0.0 Daniel Herman
0.0 Eugin Pahk
0.0 Sara Herman
0.0 Shirley Herman
0.0 Gerardo Caballero
0.0 DuWayne Langseth
0.0 Brian Rountree
0.0 Alex Freeman

Wise Beyond Her Years

Game Of The Week

A dangerous heresy is circulating!  I wanted to warn the chess playing public about a malicious doctrine that is infecting the Colorado chess scene.  It is as deadly as the plague, and it has ruined the minds of every chess player who has fallen under its spell.

Be warned!  Do not be lured in by its siren’s song.  It has the appearance of wisdom, but it only serves to retard the strategic planning center of the brain.  And don’t think you are invincible.  It is coming for you.  Its agents are wolves in sheep clothing.  You must stand firm, and you will be rewarded with a crown of rating points!

Tim the Tactician is advocating a “Never Resign” philosophy.  While he is not the first chess player to do so, he has become an internet marketing guru who has grown his Tactics Time website from 3 subscribers to over 7,000 followers in about a year, using high pressure tactics like pop-up ads.  Now, he is using this forum and his endless supply of positive affirmations to turn the adult chess playing population into mindless zombies who refuse to concede defeat no matter how grim the circumstances.  He wants all middle-aged, middle-class, chess players to blindly play on like one of his automated, follower-generating computer programs.

If I had to compare Tim to one of the characters in Monty Python And The Holy Grail, the obvious choice would be Tim The Enchanter.  However, that character has no relevance to the point I am trying to make.  So, I will use the Black Knight instead.  He is the classic example of the Tim Brennan philosophy “Never Resign.”  

When King Arthur cuts off his left arm, he replies, “Tis but a scratch.”  Since the Black Knight still has one arm left to hold his sword, he fights on.  King Arthur quickly removes the Knight’s right arm, to which the Knight responds, “I’ve had worse.”  Undaunted, the Knight begins to kick King Arthur.  After severing one leg, the Knight exclaims, “It's just a flesh wound!”  Finally, King Arthur is forced to remove the final limb, to which the Knight offers, “All right, we'll call it a draw.”

While this humorous example is entertaining to watch in the comfort of your family room, it is far less entertaining to watch played out over the chess board.  Especially if you are King Arthur being forced to fight a long, slow pointless battle with no benefit to you other than maybe learning not to blunder out of boredom.

Resignation is one of the toughest skills to learn as a chess player.  Not only does it require the player to analyze the position, but also the opponent, the time, and yourself.  The player must count the cost for each of these items.  The player must evaluate the material disadvantage and the possibility of overcoming this deficit.

“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.”

Luke 14:31-32 (KJV)

Once the position has been scrutinized, it is time to assess the opponent.  If your plan to play on is to hope for a blunder, then the higher the rating of your opponent the less likely that is going to happen.  Of course, time pressure can effect your opponent.  If your opponent is under one minute on his clock, blunders are far more likely.  In addition, very little time left on the clock means that you won’t be wasting much of the opponent’s time.

However, the hardest part of resigning is admitting failure.  Sometimes chess players would rather flag or get mated than have to admit they lost.  This takes humility, and lots of chess players are not willing to learn the spiritual lessons of chess.  One does not want to resign out of anger, which would be a lack of self-control.  But also, one does not want to play on out of pride, which would be a lack of meekness.

Learn from the example of a wise young maiden.  I was really impressed with Katie after our June Panera game (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/07/nothing-is-over.html).  It was not because of her play, but rather it was because of her resignation.  I have played a lot of scholastic kids who have been taught to “Never Resign” and was expecting a long, slow death for Katie after she fell behind two pawns.  However, she graciously shook my hand and went on to use her time more wisely.

One could argue that Katie has not learned to think but rather that she has just memorized a different mantra:  Two pawns are winning.  If that were the case, then she would resign anytime she got down two pawns.  While I considered that possibility, it only took six months to realize that was not the case.  Here is an example from our next game where she also fell behind two pawns but chose to play on.

Black to move

Again I have gained a two pawn advantage.  However, we are much further into the game and the time is a factor now.  This time she decided to play on.  It was a good decision, despite the fact that I still won the game, as the time pressure caused both of us to miss good moves.

So, the decision to resign was right, and the decision to not resign was right.  The important part is learning how to make that decision.

The “Never Resign” philosophy is quick and easy.  It requires no learning.  Sure, it may work a small percentage of the time.  One may even get an upset over a higher-rated player because of it or finish higher in the standings to take home some prize winnings.

However, all glory is fleeting.  Rating points will be lost again, and prize money will be spent.  Nothing truly valuable has been gained.  Yet it comes with a cost.  It keeps the chess player in a state of suspended development never being able to admit his mistakes and grow from them.

This is why I say, “Tim Brennan must be stopped!” 

He must resign from this current philosophy and concede it is flawed.  He must be stopped from creating an army of Black Knights who cannot and will not ever admit defeat.  While he has been a long time member of Colorado Springs Chess News, it is with a heavy heart that I recommend Tim be dismembered.  Should Tim show true repentance, turn from his ways, and learn how to resign, then he can be remembered as part of Colorado Springs Chess News.

Wise Beyond Her Years

[Event "December Panera"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2011.12.01"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Wise, Katie"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1837"]
[BlackElo "1962"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2011.12.01"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 Bf5 4. Bg2 e6 5. O-O Bc5+ 6. Kh1 Nf6 7. d3 Ng4 8. Qe1 Ne3 9. Bxe3 Bxe3 10. c3 Bc5 11. e4 dxe4 12. dxe4 Bg4 13. Nbd2 Qd3 14. Nb3 Bb6 15. Rd1 Qe3 16. Nbd4 Qxe1 17. Rdxe1 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 O-O-O 19. h3 e5 20. hxg4 exd4 21. cxd4 Rxd4 22. Bf3 Rd2 23. Re2 Rhd8 24. b4 Rxe2 25. Bxe2 Rd2 26. Bc4 f6 27. Rf3 Rd4 28. Bd3 Rxb4 29. e5 h6 30. e6 Kd8 31. g5 Ke7 32. gxh6 gxh6 33. Bf5 Rd4 34. Kg2 Rd2+ 35. Kh3 Bd4 36. Rb3 b6 37. Rb1 Rxa2 38. Rh1 Ra3 39. Rh2 a5 40. Kg4 Re3 41. Rxh6 Bc5 42. Rh7+ Kd6 43. Rd7+ Kc6 44. Rf7 a4 45. Rxf6 Be7 46. Rh6 Re1 47. Kf3 a3 48. Rh2 b5 49. g4 Bd6 50. Be4+ Kc5 51. Rc2+ Kb4 52. f5 Rg1 53. f6 Rg3+ 54. Kf2 Rxg4 55. Bf3 Rh4 56. Re2 Rh2+ 57. Bg2 Rh6 58. e7 Rxf6+ 59. Ke1 Bxe7 60. Rxe7 a2 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=67825

This Week In Chess

On July 17th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Swiss event.  The participants played in a Quick-rated, Swiss tournament (3SS, G20).  Isaac Martinez went unbeaten to claim the top spot.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

3.0 Isaac Martinez
2.0 Paul Anderson
2.0 Mark McGough
2.0 Gunnar Andersen
2.0 Joe Pahk
2.0 Peter Grigg
2.0 William Malone
1.5 Buck Buchanan
1.5 Anthea Carson
1.0 Mike Madsen
1.0 Daniel Herman
1.0 Eugin Pahk
0.0 Sara Herman
0.0 Shirley Herman

Nothing Is Over!

Game Of The Week

by Tim Brennan

[Today I viewed an article that Tim Brennan's website is sending out.  I have to express my deep disappointment that he is continuing to share false and discredited blogs with information that is not true to the chess players of Colorado.  He says one thing in podcasts and then he turns around and does this.  Shame on you, Tim Brennan!]

There is a dangerous “mind virus” being propagated by Paul Anderson, and his ilk, here in the chess community of Colorado Springs.

And I am not referring to 

• the unsolicited “Evolution is a Myth” creationist propaganda that the Anderson clan passes out at tournaments
• how Paul refers to himself as an “Expert” even during the times Anthea Carson NN has slapped his rating back to the 1900s
• the flagrant violations of US Copyright law Title 17 USC § 302 which take place on Paul’s YouTube Channel.

No, this “meme” is much more serious, and dangerous.

It threatens to rob of us of 

• beautiful games
• studies
• tactics
• all of the things that we love about the game of chess

It promises to stunt the minds and growth opportunities of our young and steal the last hopes and dreams of our old.

What is this horrendous seed of poison that Paul is trying to plant into our collective consciousness you ask?

Paul’s warped idea is that you should resign early, which shows respect to your opponent, and chess “maturity.”

Normally I think that Paul, who writes the really interesting Colorado Springs Chess Newsletter, has a lot of great ideas and thoughts.

But this brain child of Paul’s goes against just about everything that I believe in, and rant about in my own chess newsletters.

My own ideas about “when to resign” in a game are based on the teachings of my mentors Paul Grimm, Francisco Baltier, and Rambo – John J Rambo!

Nothing is Over!

Or to quote Bluto from Animal House:

"What? Over? Did you say “over?”  Nothing is over until we decide it is!  Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  Hell no!"

I love this kind of fighting spirit!

In the past year I have looked at thousands of games looking for good examples to use in my chess tactics newsletter, chess column, and chess training database.

The most important thing I have learned is that we all make mistakes, and we are constantly making them.

Just recently I have seen:

• A Grandmaster fall for a stalemate trap at the 2012 National Open, with a totally winning position
• A Grandmaster just leave his bishop unprotected for no reason on move 7 in the US Championship.
• A Grandmaster get his queen trapped in the World Championship match

And these are the types of blunders that are happening to the best players in the world!

Paul likes to publicly praise his opponents who resign down a pawn or 2 against him:

"Learn from the example of a wise young maiden.  I was really impressed with Katie after this game.  It was not because of her play, but rather it was because of her resignation.  I have played a lot of scholastic kids who have been taught to “Never Resign” and was expecting a long, slow death for Katie after she fell behind two pawns.  However, she graciously shook my hand and went on to use her time more wisely." 

Paul Anderson, Colorado Chess Informant, July 2012

White to move

Of course he does!  He wants to reenforce this type of behavior in others, just like Pavlov ringing a bell to make a dog salivate.

When people resign early against him, it just makes his life easier, and basically gives him free rating points!

But when the tables are turned, does Paul himself resign early?

Hell to the no!

Recent stories include drawing Jeff Baffo in a blitz game after blundering a queen, beating Buck Buchanan after a dubious knight sac, and drawing Jeff Fox down a bishop.

See, Paul likes it when people resign against him, not the other way around.

It is kind of like taking the bus and using public transportation instead of driving a car – everyone thinks it is a great idea – FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO DO!

I could easily give hundreds of examples of games where someone was losing, didn’t resign, then came back to win or draw.  That would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Instead, I will just invite you to play my friend Paul Anderson sometime, and do as he does, not as he says!

Nothing Is Over!

[Event "June Panera"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Site "Colorado Springs"]
[Date "2011.06.02"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Wise, Katie"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1815"]
[BlackElo "1938"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "2011.06.02"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Bd3 d6 5. h3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 Na6 8. Re1 Nd7 9. Bg5 c5 10. Bf1 cxd4 11. Nbd2 Qe8 12. Nh2 e5 13. f4 f6 14. Bh4 Ndc5 15. Bg3 Bd7 16. Rb1 Nb4 17. Ndf3 Nxa2 18. Qd2 a5 19. Nh4 Bc6 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=67509

This Week In Chess

On July 10th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quad event.  The participants were split into groups of 4 for a rated, Round Robin tournament (RR, G30) and an unrated, Round Robin tournament (RR, G20).  Joe Pahk and Mike Madsen won the rated quads while Mark McGough and Tyler Ruona won the unrated quads.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

Quad A (rated)

2.5 Joe Pahk
2.0 Josh Divine
1.5 Jeff Fox
0.0 Peter Grigg

Quad B (rated)

3.0 Mike Madsen
2.0 Daniel Herman
1.0 Eugin Pahk
0.0 Sara Herman

Quad C (unrated)

3.0 Mark McGough
2.0 Alex Torres
1.0 David Banney
0.0 Shirley Herman

Quad D (unrated)

3.0 Tyler Ruona
2.0 Jeremy McLinden
0.5 Emily Given
0.5 Mike Kniffin

The Dark Lake

Game Of The Week

by Anthea Carson NN

[Anthea Carson NN is an active Colorado Springs chess player and budding mystery author.  Her chess score sheet kept me in the dark for hours.  She is like the Nancy Drew of Colorado Springs.

And now, without further ado, I introduce to the Colorado Springs Chess News audience, the 82nd best female quick chess player in the USA, Anthea Carson NN.]

I played in a tournament in Albuquerque this weekend.  I decided I might as well, since I had to take the kids there anyway.  I took them to the Hummingbird camp, a music camp in the Jemez mountains near Jemez Springs, NM.  It is traditionally a music camp, but the leader of the camp has a penchant for chess so he runs a chess camp once a week.  Albuquerque is only about 40 minutes from Jemez.

One reason I don't often publish my games is I can't read my score sheets or make sense of them.

Black to move

Whew!  I won.  But seeing how I won will be a victory in itself.

What I can tell you about the game is:

1. I don't like playing tournaments in Albuquerque.  They have giant ugly vermin scurrying in the streets.  Then, plenty of cockroaches running around there, as well as cops everywhere chasing criminals.  Then, there was a Jehovah's Witness convention there the weekend I came so I couldn't get a room anywhere.  My car died before I left so I had to borrow my mom's.  Danger lights began flashing on her dashboard the next day including a white triangle with an exclamation point in it.  What the heck does that mean?  And it's hot there too.
2. I learned I have an awesome chess teacher in Josh Bloomer, whom I advise any who are reading this to take lessons from him before he moves to the great city of Mermaids, Wicky Watchy Florida.  I have no idea if that's spelled right.  It shouldn't be important.  I'm not going to tell you the advice I got from him, but I know it helped.  If you want that advice too, it will cost you only $25.  Facebook him, that's pretty much the only way to get hold of him these days.

The Dark Lake

[Event "Albuquerque Open"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.06.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nowak, Andrew"]
[Black "Carson, Anthea"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1613"]
[BlackElo "1786"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2012.06.23"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. f3 Bf5 5. Bb5+ Nbd7 6. Nc3 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 c6 8. Nc3 cxb5 9. Nxb5 a6 10. Nc3 e6 11. Nge2 Bb4 12. Bf4 g5 13. Bg3 h5 14. Qd2 Nb6 15. O-O-O Rc8 16. h3 Nc4 17. Qe1 Na3 18. bxa3 Bxa3+ 19. Kd2 Bb4 20. Qf2 h4 21. Be5 f6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Qe3 Kf7 24. Kc1 Rc4 25. Ne4 Bxe4 26. fxe4 Qe7 27. Rhf1+ Kg7 28. Rd3 Rhc8 29. c3 Kg6 30. e5 Bxc3 31. Qe4+ Kg7 32. Kd1 Bb2 33. Kd2 Qb4+ 34. Ke3 Bc1+ 35. Nxc1 Rxc1 36. Rxc1 Rxc1 37. Kf3 Rf1+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=67108

This Week In Chess

On July 3rd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Speed event.  The participants played in an unrated, double round robin tournament (2RR, G5).  Here are the results:

Score, Player

19.5 Paul Anderson
17.0 Peter Grigg
17.0 Buck Buchanan
15.0 Alex Torres
13.0 Jeff Fox
12.0 Bill Malone
9.0 Steve O'Hara
8.0 Sara Herman
7.0 Dean Brown
6.0 Becca Herman
5.0 Daniel Herman
0.0 Shirley Herman

Waldo Canyon Fire Variation

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from Mark McGough.  Nero may have fiddled, but Mark and I played chess while Colorado Springs burned.  The Waldo Canyon Fire killed 2 people and destroyed close to 400 homes.  It is the worst wildfire in Colorado history and just happened to fall on the same night as the Colorado Springs Chess Club.  I had considered cancelling club, as the smoke was beginning to look ominous.

Looking back, I am glad that I did not.  It was a great distraction from a disaster we were powerless to stop.  I probably would have been at home glued to the television set worried about friends who I could not help.  It made me realize that what I like most about chess is the friendships.

Mark is one of those friends, and we were talking about the fire the next evening.  We both changed our usual trips home from club because of the fire.  He wanted to see what had happened and drove west, my usual route home.  I wanted to avoid the evacuation and drove east, his usual route home.

Of course, we also talked about chess.  However, the fire left such an impression that it even effected our chess thoughts.  While Mark normally spends his study time trying to solve my Trompowsky, this night he decided to immortalize my discovery of Nd2 with a new moniker:  "The Waldo Canyon Fire Variation."

White to move

The knight starts out quietly enough on move 5.  However, he soon gets out of control and cannot be stopped.  Mark felt powerless against the knight.  He wants to keep the bishop pair and get castled.  However, the knight threatens everything, and Mark could not find the resources to prevent him.

As chess players, we want to be in control.  That is why life is sometimes easier in front of the board than away from it.

Waldo Canyon Fire Variation

[Event "May Quad II"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.29"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "McGough, Mark"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "1991"]
[BlackElo "1839"]
[Annotator "Anderson,Paul"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2012.05.29"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. d4 {Mobility} Nf6 {Mobility} 2. Bg5 {Mobility} c5 {Removal} 3. Bxf6 {Material} gxf6 {Material} 4. dxc5 {Material} e6 {Material} 5. Nd2 {Mobility} Na6 {Mobility} 6. Nc4 {Mobility} Bxc5 {Material} 7. Nd6+ {Mobility} Ke7 {Material} 8. Ne4 {Material} Qb6 {Material} 9. Nxc5 {Material} Qxb2 {Mystery} 10. Ne4 {Material} Nb4 {Overload} 11. Rc1 {Material} Nxa2 {Material} 12. Rb1  {Material} Qe5 {Material} 13. Qd3 {Material} f5 {Material} 14. Qa3+ {Material} 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=66914

This Week In Chess

On June 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a thematic event.  The participants played in an unrated, double Swiss tournament (4SS, G7).  However, each game started from a position chosen by Daniel Herman (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Qc7), which turned out to be the Kan Variation of the Sicilian, and had to play their opponent on both the black and white sides.  The father/daughter team of Peter and Katie Wise seemed to have the most experience with the opening and finished 2nd and 1st respectively.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

6.5 Katie Wise
5.0 Paul Anderson
5.0 Peter Wise
5.0 Mark McGough
5.0 Daniel Herman
4.0 Peter Grigg
4.0 Alex Torres
2.5 Mike Madsen
2.0 Shirley Herman
1.0 Steve O'Hara

Rook To Queen's Pawn Six

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Wednesday June Panera tournament.  It is one game per night for 4 weeks and uses accelerated pairings.  This seems to only throw off the flow of the games.  You get a tough round one game and then a couple of easier games and finally another tough one, at least, as far as the ratings are concerned.  However, you never know when your opponent will be on fire.

This night my opponent, Brian Rountree, felt he was on fire.  We first met in September 2010 at one of these Panera events.  I won the first 3 games we played, and tonight was our 4th meeting.  However, each game he had lasted more moves than the previous time going 24, 25, and 34 moves into the game.

This time he was on fire and was going to lock down that draw.  I thought it was a bad omen that the game was being played on the 6th day of the 6th month at 6pm.  In fact, I was pretty worried when I found out that Brian named his pet rottweiler Damien.  Maybe this was just the time that Brian's secret power was going to be revealed.

As the game played out, I realized it was probably just a coincidence.  Brian's secret power never materialized.  While he was trading down to a draw, I was trading down to a win.  Brian was the one who was falling prey to my secret plan.  I felt like I was Number 2 from the TV Show, The Prisoner, and Brian was Number 6.  He was just a pawn in my game.

From the human chess game, the Rook and Pawn conspired to escape from the village using the secret code, "Rook to Queen's Pawn six."  However, the Pawn failed to realized that the Rook had left the game and betrayed the Pawn.  So, when the Pawn tried to continue the plan without the Rook, he was unknowingly falling into the trap set by Number 2.

Here is an actual position from the game.  Use the secret code from The Prisoner to find the best move.

White to move

If you found the move Rook to Queen's Pawn six, you have a good grasp of the obvious.  Of course, Brian still had a lot play in the game.  However, when he traded off his last rook, he thought the opposite-colored bishops and equal pawns was certainly drawn.  He failed to realize that the Rook was key to his plan.

Rook To Queen's Pawn Six

[Event "June Panera"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.06.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Rountree, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2012.06.06"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bh4 g5 4. f3 gxh4 5. fxe4 c5 6. e3 Bh6 7. Qd3 Qb6 8. b3 Nc6 9. c3 d6 10. Nf3 Bd7 11. Nbd2 h3 12. g3 cxd4 13. exd4 O-O-O 14. Nc4 Qc7 15. d5 Ne5 16. Ncxe5 dxe5 17. Qc4 Qxc4 18. Bxc4 f6 19. Rf1 Be3 20. Ke2 Bb6 21. a4 a6 22. b4 Bg4 23. Kd3 Bxf3 24. Rxf3 h5 25. Raf1 Rh7 26. Kc2 Rg7 27. Rd1 Kd7 28. d6 Ke8 29. Be6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 exd6 31. Rf1 Bd8 32. a5 Ke7 33. Bxh3 b6 34. axb6 Bxb6 35. Bc8 a5 36. Ra1 axb4 37. cxb4 Kd8 38. Be6 Rc7+ 39. Kd3 Ke7 40. Bc4 Bd4 41. Ra8 Ra7 42. Rxa7+ Bxa7 43. Ke2 Bg1 44. Kf3 Bd4 45. Kg2 Kf8 46. Be2 Bc3 47. b5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=66438

This Week In Chess

On June 19th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the conclusion to its June Mating Game.  The participants played in an USCF-rated, Swiss tournament (4SS, G30d5).  Mark McGough and Alex Freeman joined for the final two rounds and scored 3 wins.  However, it was not enough to catch Jeff Fox and myself, as we drew each other and finished a half point ahead of the field.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

3.5 Paul Anderson, 1ST, $23.00
3.5 Jeff Fox, 1ST, $23.00
3.0 Brian Rountree
3.0 Peter Grigg
2.0 Buck Buchanan
2.0 Alex Freeman
2.0 Joe Pahk
1.0 Mark McGough
1.0 Mark Madsen, U1400, $7.00
1.0 Daniel Herman, U1400, $7.00
1.0 Eugin Pahk, U1400, $7.00
0.5 Dean Brown
0.5 Shirley Herman
0.0 Steve O'Hara

How To Improve At Chess, Part II

Game Of The Week

When I first started playing chess, it was by email to stay in touch with my dad and sister.  I won both games, but my dad enjoyed it enough to continue in a 53 game match.  He was a PhD in electrical engineering who had played in the Chicago Industrial Chess League when he worked for Bell Labs.  He even got a win over FM Greg DeFotis.  So, a loss to his son came as a challenge for him to solve.  He refocused himself and won the next four games.  I realized I needed to improve to beat him, but how?

Practice

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Matthew 7:24

I had already started playing chess online at a free chess server during my four-game losing streak.  It was like practice for me.  I would try out different ideas online and see which ones worked for me.  Then I could use the most successful ideas in my real games against my dad.

It seemed to have an impact on my play.  I pulled even in our match.  However, I don’t think practice made me perfect, by any means.  We were just a couple of chess players who had knocked the rust off.  My dad hadn’t played seriously in a decade, as he picked up the hobby of cycling instead.  While I had never played seriously, I did sharpen my claws a bit on Sargon III before going off to college.

Email Match Results During The Online Days

Anderson,Douglas 011110½0 4.5/8 +4/-3/=1 56%
Anderson,Paul 100001½1 3.5/8 +3/-4/=1 44%

Patience

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”

Ecclesiastes 7:8

My next idea was to check out the local chess club.  I met Dean Brown, an officer of the Colorado Springs Chess Club, who started me at a rating of 1500.  I quickly bumped that up to 1700 playing at the club.   It was an improvement over playing online, as the games were much slower.  I had to learn to control my impulsive moves and look for better moves.

I began to pull ahead in the email match but only slightly.  However, learning to slow down only helped so much.  Sure, I could eliminate a lot of blunders, but I wasn’t using that time to come up with a good plan.  Here is an example of a game from the club days where I create for myself some problems in the opening, get back to an even game, but come up with a wild attack that only backfires on me.

Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [B14]

6-5-2 Email, 04/23/1999

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.c5 Be7 7.Nf3

The Caro Kann was my pet opening from my online days.  Here we get 7 moves into book, but I deviate with a strange knight move.  I am not sure where he is going other than to block in the white bishop.

7…Nbd7 8.Bd3 0–0 9.b4 Re8 10.0–0 a6 11.Bc2 Bf8 12.Re1 g6 13.h3 Qc7 14.Be3 Bg715.Qd2 b6 16.a3 Bb7 17.Bf4 Qc8 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.Bxe5 Nd7 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Bb3 Qc7 22.Re2 Nf6 23.Rae1 Rad8 24.Bc2 Bc6 25.Qe3 Nd7 26.Qg5 bxc5 27.dxc5 Nf6 28.Bd3

I have gotten my white bishop out but at the expense of giving him a passed pawn.  However, my dad has wasted some time with his bishop and seems to have let things get pretty even.  Of course, I will quickly turn an even game into a massacre with a lot of short-sighted moves trying to create cheap tactics and push my center pawns too quickly that only end up dropping a ton of material.

28…Nh5 29.g3 f6 30.Qh4 Qf7 31.Bxa6 d4 

White to move

32.Ne4 g5 33.Qg4 Qg6 34.Nd6 Rxd6 35.cxd6 e5 36.d7 Rd8 37.Qe6 Bf3 38.Qe7+ Kh6 39.Qxd8 Nf4 40.Qf8+ Kh5 41.Qe8 1–0

Email Match Results During The Club Days

Anderson,Paul 11½1001½011½0½0½0111½½½00 13.0/25 +9/-8/=8 52%
Anderson,Douglas 00½0110½100½1½1½1000½½½11 12.0/25 +8/-9/=8 48%

After seven years and 33 games, we were dead even.   My dad started out a little better than me, drawing on his years of chess experience.  However, I came up with a couple of ideas to even the playing field.  Playing online for practice was a great way to get caught up on the experience advantage my dad had over me.  And playing at the club was a great way to stretch my patience and learn to take my time looking over a position.

Now, I just needed something to pull my chess game ahead of my dad.  While I was out of ideas about how to improve my chess, a fateful encounter with a chess master would provide the source for my leap in understanding.

After fourteen years and 53 games, I had finally pulled ahead of my dad.  I only lost 3 games in the last 20.  I tried a couple of things on my own to improve, but it turned out that a couple of things I hadn’t planned on made a bigger difference.  So, if you are looking to improve your chess, you are welcome to take a page from my path of Ps:

Practice – play as much as you can.  Online servers can be a great tool.
Patience – find time to use slow games to test your results.  A club or tournaments that keep ratings can help you track improvements.

For the full introduction, Perspective and Pride, see Part I:

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-to-improve-at-chess-part-i.html

How To Improve At Chess, Part II

[Event "6-5-2"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "1999.04.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B14"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1999.02.09"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. c5 Be7 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. b4 Re8 10. O-O a6 11. Bc2 Bf8 12. Re1 g6 13. h3 Qc7 14. Be3 Bg7 15. Qd2 b6 16. a3 Bb7 17. Bf4 Qc8 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Nd7 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Bb3 Qc7 22. Re2 Nf6 23. Rae1 Rad8 24. Bc2 Bc6 25. Qe3 Nd7 26. Qg5 bxc5 27. dxc5 Nf6 28. Bd3 Nh5 29. g3 f6 30. Qh4 Qf7 31. Bxa6 d4 32. Ne4 g5 33. Qg4 Qg6 34. Nd6 Rxd6 35. cxd6 e5 36. d7 Rd8 37. Qe6 Bf3 38. Qe7+ Kh6 39. Qxd8 Nf4 40. Qf8+ Kh5 41. Qe8  1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=66280

This Week In Chess

On June 12th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held its June Mating Game.  The participants played in an USCF-rated, Swiss tournament (4SS, G30d5).  Two rounds were held this night with two more rounds next week.  There is still time to join for $5, play 2 rated games, and have a shot at the prizes.  Here are the standings:

Score, Player

2.0 Paul Anderson
2.0 Jeff Fox
2.0 Brian Rountree
1.0 Buck Buchanan
1.0 Joe Pahk
1.0 Peter Grigg
1.0 Mark Madsen
1.0 Daniel Herman
0.5 Dean Brown
0.5 Shirley Herman
0.0 Eugin Pahk
0.0 Steve O'Hara

Bobby Fischer Challenge

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my Bobby Fischer Challenge.  I had this idea that, since I was not playing in the 2012 US Championship and actually eligible for the $64,000, I would create my own Bobby Fischer Challenge.

In 1963-64, Bobby Fischer went 11-0 in the US Championship.  Not only did he win the title of best chess player in the US for that year, he also did it without losing or drawing a game.  This feat is possibly the greatest achievement in organized sports.

Sure the Miami Dolphins went 17-0 in 1972.  However, avoiding a drawn game in football is far easier than in chess, especially since playoff games in football cannot end in draws.

My Bobby Fischer Challenge included two 5 round events (Wednesday & Thursday Panera) and a 3 round event (club Quad).  Therefore, I would have to win 11 games and take 2 byes.  It would be a record for me to win more than 8 USCF-rated games in a row.  So, 11 was definitely going to be a challenge, but I thought I had a good shot as these one-game-a-week, G90 Panera events have been good for me.  The risky part was going to be the G30 Quads, where upset are a regular occurrence.

My Wins/Games since 2011

25.5/40=63.75% quick (<30min)
51.5/72=71.53% regular (30min-60min)
29.0/35=82.86% 90+min

Well, the difficulties began early.  In round 1 of the Thursday Panera, I found myself in this position with a weak and feeble brain.  I decided not to put any thought into my move and just trust my instincts.  Can you find the tactic?

White to move

If you said Nxf5, you are as crazy as I am.  Yes, the d pawn is pinned by the rook to the black King when the white Knight is moved with discovery.  However, these tactical ideas have no value, as the Knight isn't attacking anything defended by the pinned pawn.  Sure, I removed the defender of the d pawn but trading a higher value piece for a lower value one is generally not a good idea.  Oh wait, that is a tactic:  sacrifice.  That's the ticket.  I was playing a sacrifice.

In any case, the challenge was over.  I am now even more impressed with what Bobby Fischer did.  It is no wonder he is still the icon of American chess.

Bobby Fischer Challenge

[Event "May Panera Thursday"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.03"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Carson, Anthea"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2015"]
[BlackElo "1724"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2012.05.03"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. dxc5 Qa5+ 5. Nc3 Qxc5 6. Qd5 e6 7. Qxc5 Bxc5 8. Ne4 Be7 9. O-O-O d5 10. Nc3 Bd7 11. e3 a6 12. Nf3 Nc6 13. Na4 Bd6 14. Nb6 Rd8 15. Kb1 Ke7 16. Nxd7 Rxd7 17. Nd4 Rc8 18. Be2 Ne5 19. Rd2 Nc4 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. Rhd1 Rdc7 22. f4 f5 23. Rd3 Kd7 24. Rf1 h5 25. Rf3 Be7 26. Rd2 h4 27. Nxf5 exf5 28. Rxd5+ Ke6 29. Re5+ Kf6 30. c3 b5 31. a3 Rd7 32. Kc2 Re4 33. Rxe4 fxe4 34. Rh3 Kf5 35. b3 Kg4 36. a4 f5 37. Kc1 Rd3 38. axb5 axb5 39. Kc2 Bf6 40. c4 bxc4 41. bxc4 Be7 42. Kb2 Rd2+ 43. Kb3 Rxg2 44. Rxh4+ Kxh4 45. Ka4 Rb2 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=65978

This Week In Chess

On June 5th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Speed event.  The participants played in an unrated, Round Robin tournament (RR, G5).  NM Josh Bloomer showed up to lead the field.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

10.0 Josh Bloomer
7.5 Josh Divine
7.5 Peter Grigg
7.0 Nate Winterfield
6.5 Alex Torres
6.0 Jeff Fox
5.0 Mark McGough
5.0 Joe Pahk
4.0 Mike LaCombe*
3.0 Mike Madsen
3.0 Eugin Pahk
1.5 Katrina Eidolon

* Paul Anderson substitution in 5th round

Old Lions

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Wednesday Night Panera Tournament.  I did very well in this event, even achieving my peak rating of 2015.  However, the best part of the tournament was getting to play an old rival, Imre Barlay, in the 4th and decisive round.  After going 4-0, I was far enough ahead of the pack to lock in first with a bye, and considering my month of May had too many chess activities already, I needed the day off.

I first met Imre in 1998 at the Colorado Springs Chess Club at the beginning of my tournament chess career.  He won easily.  He was still playing at the master level at that time.  We met again in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and he continued to win them all.  However, by 2006 our skill levels had grown closer together, and in August, I finally got a draw against him to share 1st place in the Pikes Peak Open (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2006/08/whose-book-is-it-anyway.html).  In 2007, I was able to draw him again, this time in the Colorado Springs City Championship.  But the victory still eluded me.

Imre has been playing top level chess longer than I have been alive, and I am no young pup to begin with.  He appeared in Chess Review in 1959 for winning the CA Intercollegiate Championship.  He would make a great poster child for the idea of chess keeping your mind sharp in your declining years.  He is still in the 90th percentile of chess players into his 80s.  He is older than when my grandfather died of Alzheimer's and is still punishing us whippersnappers over the board.

So, when I heard that Imre had been preparing for me a week before our game, I was fearful that my shot at the win was gone.  Back when I started this newsletter, I was worried that people would see my games, and I would never be able to win a game in Colorado again.  However, that was not the case.  I continued to climb up the ratings ladder until I hit expert.  The expert moniker seemed to change things.  Now I hear about all these chess players studying my games to use against me.  From Dan Avery to Mark McGough, from Imre Barlay to James Powers, these chess players were acting like General Patton, “Paul, you magnificent bastard, *I read your book*!”

I had one shot to topple Imre.  I figured that I would use a piece of advice I ran across in the book of Job:

"The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad."

Job 4:11 (KJV)

The idea was to give Imre no counterplay, make no blunders, and wait for him to starve.  Of course, in chess terms we are both old lions.  So, my plan did not work out like I had hoped.  He found some prey.  Here it looks like black is done for, as white is on the move.

White to move

Black played the tactic Removal (from the DROP Method).  The idea of sacrifice seemed to fit into the DROP method best at Removal because it is often used to eliminate defenders around the king or remove lower value pieces from the board.  In this case, the rook sacrifice [Rxc8] tried to distract the last guard from removing the mate threat (Nf3#).  However, I used the tactic Removal (Rxd2) to keep my winning position.

Old Lions

[Event "May Panera Wednesday"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.23"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Barlay, Imre"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2012.05.02"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. b3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bb2 Bd6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. g3 c6 8. Bg2 Qe7 9. O-O Ba3 10. Bxa3 Qxa3 11. Qc1 Qe7 12. e3 Bf5 13. d4 Nbd7 14. Nh4 Be6 15. f4 Nb6 16. Nf3 Nfd7 17. a4 a5 18. Qa3 Rfe8 19. Qxe7 Rxe7 20. Kf2 f6 21. Rfe1 Bf7 22. Nh4 g6 23. Bh3 Rae8 24. Rab1 Nb8 25. Bf1 Nc8 26. b4 axb4 27. Rxb4 Nd6 28. Bd3 Nd7 29. Nf3 c5 30. Rbb1 Ne4+ 31. Bxe4 dxe4 32. Ng1 cxd4 33. exd4 e3+ 34. Kg2 Nb8 35. Nge2 Rd8 36. Red1 g5 37. Kf3 h5 38. Rb6 g4+ 39. Kg2 Kg7 40. Kf1 Bc4 41. Ke1 Nc6 42. d5 Na5 43. Nd4 Kf7 44. Ne6 Rc8 45. Ne4 Rd7 46. Nd6+ Rxd6 47. Rxd6 Nb3 48. Rd7+ Kg6 49. Rc7 Nd2 50. Rxd2 exd2+ 51. Kxd2 Rxc7 52. Nxc7 Kf7 53. Kc3 Ba2 54. Kd4 Ke7 55. Kc5 Kd7 56. a5 Bb1 57. Nb5 Be4 58. Nd6 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=65523

This Week In Chess

On May 29th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quad event.  The participants split into groups of four players for a Round Robin tournament (RR, G30).  I went unbeaten to win the top quad, and Daniel Herman and Mike Madsen drew their game to tie for 1st in the lower quad.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

Quad A

3.0 Paul Anderson
2.0 Peter Grigg
1.0 Mark McGough
0.0 Dean Brown

Quad B

2.5 Mike Madsen
2.5 Daniel Herman
1.0 Shirley Herman
0.0 Gary Frenzel

Clue To The Mystery Of Chess

Game Of The Week

Since I have finished my discussion of tactics, featuring the DROP method (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/search/label/DROP%20Method), I figured that I would introduce my system on the strategy side of the game.  To make chess a little easier for me to understand, I split the moves into two different kinds:  Tactical Moves and Strategic Moves.

The tactician must know what to do whenever something needs doing; the strategist must know what to do when nothing needs doing.

Savielly Tartakower

Dividing the game into two kinds of moves isn't new, but splitting tactics into four categories and strategy into three categories is my twist on this old idea.  I used the acronym DROP to make it easy to remember the four kinds of tactics.  So, what acronym did I come up with for the three elements of chess strategy?  MMM.

Kind of sounds like someone is thinking.  MMM.  Or maybe someone just ate a cupcake.  Ok, I didn't really come up with an acronym.  I just call it the 3 Ms Of Chess.  The three kinds of strategy are pretty straight forward and easy to guess since they all start with an M and relate to chess.

To illustrate how the 3 Ms Of Chess and the DROP Method can describe any type of chess move, I will annotate every move in a short chess game I recently played.  The 3 Ms Of Chess are Mate, Material, and Mobility.  Since good moves often accomplish all three types of strategic plans, I will only annotate with the higher priority plan.

Mate is a higher priority plan than Material, and Material is a higher priority plan than Mobility.  Of course, I will have to make my best guess at my opponents plans.

I was White, and Koji Del Conte played Black.  Koji is a newcomer to the Colorado Springs Chess Club, but he has been attending long enough to see a lot of my silliness.  This time I got to play the Bishing Pole, which I learned from LM Brian Wall.

1. d4 {Mobility} gains space for the bishop and occupies the center
1...d5 {Mobility} similar idea
2. c4 {Removal} second move is a pawn sacrifice! tactics can happen early and is designed to remove black's pawn from the center.
2...e6 {Material} protects the pawn under attack
3. Nf3 {Mobility} activates a piece
3...Nf6 {Mobility} similar idea
4. Nc3 {Mobility} similar idea
4...Be7 {Mobility} similar idea
5. Bg5 {Mobility} not a pin as the piece behind is of equal value
5...O-O {Mate} gets the king out of the center but unfortunately falls into my mating fantasy too
6. Qc2 {Mobility} allows queenside castle and dreams about mates on h7 but too early to be a reality
6...h6 {Material} attacks a higher value piece
7. h4 {Mate} The Bishing Pole! Now the Queen and Rook rendezvous looks like a possibility
7...Nbd7 {Mobility} perhaps I need more defenders before I take a piece
8. O-O-O {Mate} gets my king out of the center; one more element for a perfect Bishing Pole
8...hxg5 {Material} I have decided that a capture is not a tactic but a strategy (I will win with overwhelming force)
9. hxg5 {Removal} removing the knight guard of h7
9...Ne4 {Material} saving the knight (I will win with overwhelming force)
10. Nxe4 {Overload} I have two attackers to one defender
10...dxe4 {Material} can't lose the knight for nothing
11. Qxe4 {Mate} I can see clearly now to h7
11...Bxg5+ {Material} win a pawn with check; no wonder the king is supposed to be on b1; I never get every element into the Bishing Pole
12. e3 {Mate} have to save the king
12...g6 {Mate} have to guard h7 another way now the knight is gone
13. Qg4 {Overload} the mate is blocked; I can threaten the bishop and get closer to the open h file
13...Nf6?? {Mystery} Brian Wall calls this a RSM (Reserve Section Mystery)

White to move

14. Qxg5 {Material} Free bishop and more due to mating threats
14...Nh5 {Mate} 1-0

I told Alex Freeman my 3 Ms Of Chess, and he loved it.  However, he is such an honest chess player that he came up with a 4th M:  Mystery.  I have heard Brian Wall describe other players' moves as mysteries, but Alex is the first chess player to admit, during the post mortem, that his own move was a mystery.  However, Alex may just be the Sherlock Holmes of chess.  He solved the secret to winning at chess:  It's not Clue; avoid the mysteries!

Clue To The Mystery Of Chess

[Event "May Quad"]
[Site "http://cschess.webs.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.08"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Del Conte, Koji"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D53"]
[Annotator "Anderson,Paul"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. d4 {Mobility} d5 {Mobility} 2. c4 {Removal} e6 {Material} 3. Nf3 {Mobility} Nf6 {Mobility} 4. Nc3 {Mobility} Be7 {Mobility} 5. Bg5 {Mobility} O-O {Mate} 6. Qc2 {Mobility} h6 {Material} 7. h4 {Mate} Nbd7 {Mobility} 8. O-O-O {Mate} hxg5 {Material} 9. hxg5 {Removal} Ne4 {Material} 10. Nxe4 {Overload} dxe4 {Material} 11. Qxe4 {Mate} Bxg5+ {Material} 12. e3 {Mate} g6 {Mate} 13. Qg4 {Overload} Nf6 {Mystery} 14. Qxg5 {Material} Nh5 {Mate} 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=65115

This Week In Chess

On May 22nd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Thematic event.  The participants played a double-Swiss tournament (3SS, G10) with every game starting from the King's Gambit Opening (1. e4 e5 2. f4).  I was hammered by Josh Divine on the white side, but survived the rest to claim the top spot.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

5.0 Paul Anderson
4.0 Josh Divine
4.0 Alex Torres
4.0 Peter Grigg
3.5 Mark McGough
3.0 Mike Madsen
3.0 Marc Coen
3.0 Koji Del Conte
2.5 Devin Morgan
2.0 Dean Brown
1.5 Katrina Eidolon
0.0 Wesley Smith

P Is For Pin

Game Of The Week

Last time on the DROP method of tactics, I talked about Overload (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/04/o-is-for-overload.html).  The DROP method is an acronym for the basic kinds of tactics.  It is meant to remind you not to drop your pieces and help you get your opponent to drop theirs.

The fourth category in the DROP method is Pin.  See, D is for Discovery, R is for Removal, O is for Overload, and P is for Pin.  Together the 4 kinds of tactics spell DROP and should be broad enough to cover all the different tactical ideas out there.  If you have a tactic that you are not sure where it would fit, let me know and I will update the system if necessary.

The Pin is possibly the most common and fundamental chess tactic.  Mark McGough told me that pins comprise close to 80% of all tactics played.  The pin is probably the first tactical idea a chess player learns and often plays it without even knowing it.  Even your opponent will set up pins for you without even knowing it.

The idea of Pin occurs when a higher value piece is caught behind one of his own lower value pieces.  The lower value piece cannot move without the higher value piece being captured with a loss of material.  Therefore the lower value piece is stuck (as if with a pin) and open to attack.

There are three kinds of pins.

The Absolute Pin has the King as the higher value piece and causes the lower value piece to remain absolutely unmovable until the pin is released, due to the rule against allowing a King check.

The Relative Pin involves any other higher value piece besides the King.

The Cross Pin is rare and combins two pins on the same piece.

The key to using Pins is to recognize them when they occur and to find a second threat to capitalize on the piece that cannot move.  It can be as simple as attacking the pinned piece with a pawn.

Here is an example from one of my recent games at the Wednesday Night Panera Tournament.  I have played Richard Brown twice.  Both times were at the Wednesday tournament, and both games revolved around Pins that Richard set up against himself.

White to move

When your opponent sets up the Pin, it is easy to miss it, as I did in this case.  In playing 21...Re7, Richard set up the Pin on his C Rook.  The C Rook becomes the higher vaule piece caught behind the lower value pawn.  If you just remove the C Pawn from the game, white would use his Overload to capture the C Rook or trade Rooks and win the B Bishop.

Of course, you cannot just remove pieces from a game like that.  However, now that you know the Pin is there, can you find a second threat?

If you found Nd6!, you did better than I did in this game.  However, don't worry if you did not find the tactic.  Tactics flow from good positions.   I often miss tactics in games I win.  It is not my strength.  Plus, this Pin is not easily released.   I later took advantage of this same Pin to win a pawn, go up 2 pawns, and push on for the victory.

P Is For Pin

[Event "May Panera Wednesday"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2012.05.09"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Brown, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D53"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2012.05.02"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 b6 8. a3 Bb7 9. Rc1 Na5 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 g6 13. O-O Nc4 14. Bxc4 dxc4 15. Ne4 Bg7 16. Nfd2 Re8 17. Rfe1 Qd5 18. f3 Qe6 19. Qxc4 Qxc4 20. Rxc4 Rac8 21. Rec1 Re7 22. Kf2 Bd5 23. R4c2 a6 24. b4 Rd7 25. Nc4 Bxc4 26. Rxc4 Kf8 27. Rc6 a5 28. Rxb6 cxb6 29. Rxc8+ Ke7 30. bxa5 bxa5 31. Ra8 Rd5 32. Nc5 Rxd4 33. exd4 Bxd4+ 34. Ke2 Bxc5 35. Rxa5 Bd6 36. h4 h5 37. g4 hxg4 38. fxg4 Kf8 39. a4 Bc7 40. Ra8+ Kg7 41. Kf3 Bb6 42. h5 gxh5 43. gxh5 Bd4 44. Rd8 Bc3 45. Rd6 Kf8 46. h6 Ke7 47. Rc6 Bd4 48. a5 Kd7 49. Rc4 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=64709

This Week In Chess

On May15th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Swiss event.  The participants played a Quick-rated, Swiss tournament (3SS, G20).  Peter Grigg and Mark McGough went unbeaten to share 1st place.  Here are the results:

Score, Player

2.5 Peter Grigg
2.5 Mark McGough
2.0 Koji Del Conte
2.0 Paul Anderson
1.5 Josh Divine
1.5 Dean Brown
1.0 Daniel Herman
1.0 Shirley Herman
1.0 Mike Madsen
0.0 Wesley Smith