Game Of The Year XIII

End Of The Season

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

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

Usually at this time, I look over the past year's statistics to see if it was a good or bad year for me.  Looking over the statistics helps me get past the bad feelings that linger from my losses.  They bring me back into balance and force me to look at what I did right and what I did wrong.  While 2015 sets some records, this year looks to be an off year:

• 2053 peak USCF rating (record: 2015 - 2102)
• 2055 peak BLITZ rating (record: 2015 - 2055)
• 2054 peak CLUB rating (record: 2013 - 2127)
• 71.43% USCF winning percentage (record: 2012 - 79.31%)
• 74.14% CLUB winning percentage (record: 2013 - 87.86%)
• 18 projected prizes won (record: 2014 - 20)
• 23 projected USCF-rated wins (record: 2013 - 75.5)
• 1 upset (record: 2001 - 6)

However, I found a new report on the USCF website that can quickly give you an idea of how the year went.  The nice thing is that I still have to the end of the year to make this a positive year.

Year, Peak Rating, Gain

1998 1680 +
1999 1580 -
2000 1567 -
2001 1695 +
2002 1757 +
2003 1772 +
2004 1805 +
2005 1864 +
2006 1882 +
2007 1897 +
2008 1962 +
2009 2003 +
2010 1977 -
2011 2000 +
2012 2043 +
2013 2058 +
2014 2098 +
2015 2102 +
2016 2053 ?

Total: 15 positive years and 3 negative years

So, as far as my favorite game of the year goes, the obvious choice would be the one upset I had this year.  The problem is that I have already published that game when I was trying to help promote the chess movie:  The Dark Horse (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-dark-horse.html).  It was supposed to be re-released in some select cities this year.

However, the movie was like my chess upsets; never to be seen again.

Without any other good wins from which to choose, I decided it was time to pick a draw for the Game Of The Year.  This will be the first time I have chosen one of my draws for the game of the year.  However, it was not without excitement, as I missed my best shot at a win.

White to move

I was playing Alex Bozhenov on board one at the Colorado Springs Chess Club's monthly event.  I thought he played well and felt that I had messed up the ending when he caught me by surprise getting a Passed Pawn on move 42.  I tried not to panic and use my time advantage to solve the problem he had given me.

I thought I had figured out a way to salvage a draw.  He was very low in time and had a naked King.  So, I am sure he was happy with a draw.  I, however, was not convinced I had given up the victory, but I was very nervous that I would push for a win and blunder the draw.  I have done this before.  Typically, this happens when I use up my time advantage and fall below my opponent on the clock.

I decided to keep pressing for the win despite falling behind in time and allowing his Pawn to get one square away from Promotion because I had a 30 second increment.  My clock would get under 1 minute, but I would make a move and jump back over a minute.  It was giving me a false sense of security.  I thought I could go on like this forever.

I gained a 2 Pawn Advantage and thought I had to have a win somehow.  But I tried to remind myself to hold the draw.  I found myself in the position below with seconds clicking off the clock.

I was tortured by being up 2 Pawns.  I had always thought somebody said, "Two Paws are winning." How could I offer a draw?

Finally, I decided this position was above my pay grade.  I was going to have to leave it in the hands of the long-drawn-out-endgame masters, DuWayne Langseth and LM Brian Wall.

I wasn't going to figure this out with just 30 seconds to think or by making random moves.  So, I tried to remember the rules about making a draw offer.  In my case, it was a little more difficult because I have to take off my headphones and my opponent doesn't speak English.

After offering the draw, I almost forgot to hit my clock.  When I finally pressed the button, I realized I was at 1 second.

Game Of The Year XIII

[Event "August Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.08.09"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Bozhenov, Alex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2036"]
[BlackElo "1955"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2016.08.02"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c6 4. c3 d5 5. Nd2 Nxd2 6. Qxd2 Bf5 7. Nf3 h6 8. e3 e6 9. Be2 Be7 10. O-O Nd7 11. Rfc1 O-O 12. c4 Nf6 13. h3 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. b4 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Rad8 17. Qb2 Nd5 18. a3 a6 19. Ne5 f6 20. Nd3 b6 21. Ne1 Kh8 22. Nf3 b5 23. Bxd5 cxd5 24. Rc5 Bd3 25. Qc3 Bc4 26. Nh4 Rf7 27. Nf3 Re8 28. a4 bxa4 29. Rxa4 e5 30. Raa5 e4 31. Nd2 Bb5 32. Nb1 Rb7 33. Na3 Reb8 34. Nxb5 Rxb5 35. Raxb5 Rxb5 36. Rxb5 axb5 37. Qc5 Qd7 38. Kh2 Kh7 39. f3 f5 40. Kg3 g5 41. Qb6 f4+ 42. exf4 e3 43. fxg5 hxg5 44. Qf6 Qc7+ 45. f4 gxf4+ 46. Kf3 Qc2 47. Qf7+ Kh8 48. Qh5+ Kg7 49. Qe5+ Kh7 50. Qh5+ Kg7 51. Qg4+ Kh7 52. Kxf4 e2 53. Qh5+ Kg8 54. Qxd5+ Kh7 55. Qh5+ Kg8 56. Qe8+ Kh7 57. Qf7+ Kh6 58. Qf6+ Kh7 59. Qe7+ Kg8 60. Qe6+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=108045

This Week In Chess

On September 6th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club hosted the September Swiss 90 (4SS, G/90+30, $10 entry).  12 players joined the event.

Standings. September

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Tot Prize

1 Josh S Bloomer 12626102 2276 W7 1.0
2 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2036 W8 1.0
3 Mitchell Anderson 12788878 1991 W9 1.0
4 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1955 W10 1.0
5 Peter Barlay 14700831 1890 W11 1.0
6 Mark McGough 11366481 1809 W12 1.0
7 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1801 L1 0.0
8 Dean W Brown 10224098 1400 L2 0.0
9 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 921 L3 0.0
10 Douglas N Clark 15941617 379 L4 0.0
11 Ken Ahlstrom unr. L5 0.0
12 Rob Lorenzen 16065265 unr. L6 0.0

When It Rains, It Pours

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event:  August Swiss 90.  It was the 3rd round, and I was facing Mark McGough as Black on board one.  Mark and I have played so much chess together since 2010 that he has become the player I have beaten the most in rated chess (see https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/whipping-boy.html).

However, I have run out of good ideas to throw him off his game.  Now, all I am left with is my bad ideas.  This time I tried the Owens Defence.  I have never played it before and had no idea what I was doing.  I survived the opening, but then I got stuck and dropped a Pawn.

I gave up hopes of winning and focused on trying to hold the draw.  Soon, it seemed like I had secured the draw, and he was not going to risk pushing for a win.  I decided to try one more idea that I thought might give him a chance to make a mistake.

Well, when it rains, it pours; and I am wrong as rain.

I was not done with my bad ideas.  Instead of giving Mark a chance for a mistake, I just gave myself a chance for more mistakes.  Just when I had a shot at to get the draw back, I realized I had missed a tactic.

Black to move

When It Rains, It Pours

[Event "August Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.08.16"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "McGough, Mark"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1809"]
[BlackElo "2036"]
[PlyCount "161"]
[EventDate "2016.08.02"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 Nc6 4. c3 e5 5. d5 Nb8 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nd2 Be7 8. Nh3 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. f4 exf4 11. Nxf4 Nbd7 12. Nh5 Nxh5 13. Qxh5 Ne5 14. Be2 Bc8 15. h3 Bf6 16. Nf3 g6 17. Qh6 Bg7 18. Qg5 f6 19. Qg3 Nxf3+ 20. Rxf3 Qe7 21. Bd3 Bd7 22. Raf1 Rae8 23. Qh4 Rf7 24. Bd4 Ref8 25. Kh1 Bc8 26. R3f2 a6 27. a4 a5 28. Rf3 Bd7 29. b3 Bc8 30. R3f2 Bb7 31. Rf3 f5 32. Qxe7 Rxe7 33. Bxg7 Kxg7 34. exf5 Ref7 35. c4 Bc8 36. g4 gxf5 37. Bxf5 Bxf5 38. gxf5 Rf6 39. Kg2 Re8 40. Kg3 Re5 41. Kg4 Re4+ 42. Rf4 Re3 43. R1f3 Re1 44. Rg3 Kf7 45. Kg5 Re5 46. Rgf3 Re8 47. Rg4 Re5 48. Rgf4 h6+ 49. Kh4 Ke7 50. Kh5 Kd7 51. h4 c6 52. dxc6+ Kxc6 53. Kg4 Kc5 54. Rd3 Kc6 55. Rfd4 Kc7 56. Rd5 Re4+ 57. Kh5 Rf4 58. Rg3 Kc6 59. Rg6 R6xf5+ 60. Rxf5 Rxf5+ 61. Kxh6 Rf3 62. h5 Rxb3 63. Kg7 Re3 64. Rg5 Kd7 65. h6 Re7+ 66. Kf6 Re6+ 67. Kg7 Re7+ 68. Kg6 Re6+ 69. Kh5 Re1 70. h7 Kc6 71. Kg6 Re8 72. Kf7 Kd7 73. Rh5 Re7+ 74. Kf6 Re6+ 75. Kf5 Re5+ 76. Kg4 Re8 77. h8=Q Rxh8 78. Rxh8 Kc6 79. Rh5 d5 80. Rxd5 b5 81. Rxb5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107907

This Week In Chess

On August 16th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF event (6SS, G/90+30).  12 players joined.

Standings. August Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot Prize

1 Mark McGough 11366481 1809 W10 W5 W4 3.0
2 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1929 W12 D4 W7 2.5
3 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1698 D5 W11 H--- 2.0
4 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2036 W9 D2 L1 1.5
5 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1829 D3 L1 W9 1.5
6 Peter Barlay 14700831 1873 H--- U--- W11 1.5
7 Imre Barlay 11024190 1911 H--- H--- L2 1.0
8 Dean W Brown 10224098 1435 U--- U--- W10 1.0
9 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1775 L4 D12 L5 0.5
10 Douglas N Clark 15941617 379 L1 H--- L8 0.5
11 Derek Eskeldson 16087814 unr. H--- L3 L6 0.5
12 Anthea Jan Carson 12614322 1739 L2 D9 U--- 0.5

Bridle Shower

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from 2015.  It was my first year as TD (tournament director), and the first year we had moved the G/90+30 time control to Tuesday nights.  It was not easy adjusting to both of those changes.

I used to play G/90;d/5, which is 90 minutes for your entire game plus a 5 second delay for each move.  I would try to move quickly in the opening and save at least 10 minutes for the endgame.  Also, once you or your opponent got under 5 minutes on the clock, you could stop score keeping.  Therefore, there was a point where you could just focus on making good moves in the endgame.

So, my panic mode kicked in at 5 minutes.  It was like the 2 minute warning in football.

Now, with the 30 second increment, you have to keep score the entire game, and you can gain time on your clock.  The 5 minute panic mode was obsolete.  You could get under 5 minutes on move 10, gain more time by moving fast, go back under 5 minutes on move 20, gain more time by moving fast, and never go under 5 minutes again.

However, my old habit of panicking at 5 minutes was not going to die out quickly.  But now, I could not calm myself by setting aside the score sheet and putting down the pen.  I could not get into the 2 minute offense.

I was like a baseball pitcher who had great stuff for 8 innings but then lost his stuff.  If I had been the coach, I would have given myself an early shower in this game and put in the relief endgamer.

The first sign that I was losing my stuff was in this position. See if you can hit the strike zone.

Black to move

Bridle Shower

[Event "December Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2015.12.29"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Bridle, Sam"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "1854"]
[BlackElo "2090"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2015.12.01"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Be2 e6 5. g4 Be4 6. f3 Nxg4 7. h4 Be7 8. Nh3 Bxh4+ 9. Kf1 Qd6 10. f4 Nxe3+ 11. dxe3 Bxh1 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Nf2 Bxf2 14. Kxf2 Be4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Qh1 O-O-O 17. Bxg7 Rhg8 18. Bf6 Rdf8 19. Rd1 Qc5 20. Qxe4 Rg6 21. Bg5 Rfg8 22. Bf3 Rxg5 23. fxg5 Qxg5 24. Qxh7 Qg3+ 25. Ke2 Ne5 26. Qe4 Nxf3 27. Qxf3 Qh2+ 28. Kd3 Rd8+ 29. Kc3 Qe5+ 30. Kb4 Rxd1 31. Qxd1 Qxe3 32. Qh5 Qf4+ 33. Ka3 b6 34. Qh8+ Kb7 35. Qh1+ c6 36. Qd1 a5 37. Qd7+ Qc7 38. Qe8 e5 39. Kb2 f5 40. Kc3 Qg7 41. Kd2 f4 42. a4 Kc7 43. Ke2 Qg2+ 44. Ke1 Qd5 45. Qe7+ Kc8 46. Qe8+ Kb7 47. Qe7+ Ka6 48. Qf8 b5 49. axb5+ Qxb5 50. Qa8+ Kb6 51. Qb8+ Kc5 52. Qxe5+ Kb4 53. Qxf4+ Kc3 54. Qd2+ Kb2 55. c4+ Kxb3 56. cxb5 cxb5 57. Qxa5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107782

This Week In Chess

On August 9th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF event (6SS, G/90+30).  9 players joined.

Standings. August Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Mark McGough 11366481 1809 W8 W5 2.0
2 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2036 W6 D3 1.5
3 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1929 W7 D2 1.5
4 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1698 D5 W9 1.5
5 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1829 D4 L1 0.5
6 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1775 L2 D7 0.5
7 Anthea Jan Carson 12614322 1739 L3 D6 0.5
8 Douglas N Clark 15941617 379 L1 H--- 0.5
9 Derek Eskeldson 16087814 unr. H--- L4 0.5

Pikes Peak Open Standings

By Buck Buchanan

Standings. 2016 Pikes Peak Open

1 Dean Clow 4.5
2 Josh Bloomer 4.5
3 Gunnar Andersen 4.0
4 Ted Doykos 4.0
5 Aleksand Bozhenov 4.0
6 Daniel Herman 3.5
7 Ron Farrar 3.5
8 Brad Lundstrom 3.5
9 Earle Wikle 3.5
10 Isaac Martinez 3.5
11 Sheena Zeng 3.5
12 Rhett Langseth 3.0
13 Joshua Williams 3.0
14 Sara Herman 3.0
15 Aidan Marco 3.0
16 Sulliva McConnell 3.0
17 Neil Bhavikatti 3.0
18 Alex Cacas 3.0
19 Brian Rountree 3.0
20 Joseph Pahk 3.0
21 Sami Al-Adsani 2.5
22 Ronald Rossi 2.5
23 Jeffrey Baffo 2.5
24 Alexander Freeman 2.5
25 Anthea Carson 2.5
26 Griffin McConnell 2.5
27 Warren Williamson 2.5
28 David Green 2.5
29 Robert Carlson 2.5
30 Scott Williams 2.5
31 Daoud Zupa 2.0
32 Alexander Marsh 2.0
33 Calvin Dejong 2.0
34 David Logan 2.0
35 Gary Bagstad 2.0
36 Doyle Lobaugh 2.0
37 Jesse Williams 2.0
38 Gerald Mena 2.0
39 William Wolf 1.5
40 Teah Williams 1.5
41 Eugin Pahk 1.5
42 Felix Yu 1.5
43 Mark Krowczyk 1.0
44 Selah Williams 1.0
45 Lawrence Pelo 1.0
46 Betty Baffo 1.0
47 Shirley Herman 1.0
48 Yuna Pahk 1.0
49 Steven Butcher 0.5
50 Jack Woehr 0.5
51 Tara Martinez 0.5
52 Joseph Aragon 0.5

Russian Gold

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Tuesday night event at the Colorado Springs Chess Club:  August Swiss 90.  We had 8 players join the tournament.  So, as TD (tournament director), I had 4 games to choose from for the Game Of The Week.

Of course, one of the games was mine.  While Alex Freeman played a great game, I ended up winning after dropping a Pawn in the middle game.  So, I didn't want to publish another win of mine, as I have had plenty of my victories already published this year.  In fact, I am 2 games behind on my goal of published losses of mine.  Maybe next week I will get one of those out of the way.

I decided I liked the game from Alex Bozhenov the best.  He is a Russian that visited Colorado Springs last year when his daughter got married and became an American citizen.

Alex Bozhenov receives a shirt

The Russians have been getting a lot of negative press about doping and cheating recently.  I thought that they could use some good press.  While the International Olympic Committee left it up to me to allow Alex to play in Tuesday's event, I have no reason to believe that he has been using performance enhancing drugs and allowed him to compete.

After my game with Alex Freeman, he would be the one I would most suspect.

Anyway, the toughest part of picking the Game Of The Week is reading the score sheets.  As I was entering Alex's game, I put in the wrong fourth move.  My instinct was different than what Alex played.  Soon I realized my choice couldn't work with the rest of the moves.  So, I had to go back and fix it.  However, I was curious if my choice was better.

So, I let the computer run on this golden position.  What is your instinct?

White to move

Russian Gold

[Event "August Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.08.02"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Bozhenov, Alex"]
[Black "Carson, Anthea"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C29"]
[WhiteElo "1929"]
[BlackElo "1739"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.08.02"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 Bb4 4. fxe5 Bxc3 5. bxc3 Nxe4 6. Nf3 Ng5 7. d4 Nxf3+ 8. Qxf3 O-O 9. Bc4 Nc6 10. O-O Qe7 11. Qg3 Kh8 12. Bg5 Qe8 13. Rf6 Ne7 14. Raf1 d5 15. exd6 Nf5 16. R6xf5 Bxf5 17. Rxf5 cxd6 18. h3 Rc8 19. Bd3 f6 20. Bd2 g6 21. Rd5 Rd8 22. Rxd6 Rxd6 23. Qxd6 Qd8 24. Qxd8 Rxd8 25. a4 a6 26. Be4 Rd7 27. Kf2 Kg7 28. Ke3 f5 29. Bf3 Kf6 30. c4 g5 31. c5 f4+ 32. Kd3 h6 33. c4 Rc7 34. Ba5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107707

This Week In Chess

On August 2nd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF event (6SS, G/90+30).  8 players joined.

Standings. August Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2036 W6 1.0
2 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1929 W7 1.0
3 Mark McGough 11366481 1809 W8 1.0
4 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1829 D5 0.5
5 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1698 D4 0.5
6 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1775 L1 0.0
7 Anthea Jan Carson 12614322 1739 L2 0.0
8 Douglas N Clark 15941617 379 L3 0.0

Missed Mates

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my extra games database.  Every so often, I will play a game I like enough to want to look at later.  This one was a Quick game and not something I usually record.  However, it tied my record for largest Mate Announcement.  So, I had to check to see if it was a correct announcement.

The Mate Announcement came about partly because I knew my opponent and partly because he had build a big time advantage and then left the table.

My opponent was Atharva Vispute, one of the top scholastic players in Colorado.  He is currently tied for #85 on the list of Top Age 13 chess players in the US.

He has a habit of playing very fast when he falls behind in position.  Therefore, he had built a large lead in time.  However, this strategy was probably a good idea because he kept me moving quickly and not getting any time to think on his clock.  He caught me missing a mate in 4 on move 34 (34...Bxf3+ 35. Kh3 Bh1+ 36. f3 Rxf3+ 37. Kh4 Bh6+).

Finally, he left the board, and I made a quick move, trying to set up a Discovery and win a Rook.  However, as I had to wait for him to return, I realized I had mate.  I calculated it out and decided to make the announcement.  What would you announce?

Black to move

Missed Mates

[Event "Denny's Quick May"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.05.06"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Vispute, Atharva"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "1661"]
[BlackElo "1994"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.05.06"]
[TimeControl "1440"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. c4 e6 6. Be2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Be3 a6 11. a3 b5 12. Bd3 Bb7 13. Bc2 Bf6 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Neg5 Nxe3 16. Qd3 Nf5 17. Nxh7 Ncxd4 18. Nxf8 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Qxd3 20. Bxd3 Kxf8 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Kg2 Rd8 23. Rac1 Bf6 24. Rc7 Bd5 25. Ra7 Rd6 26. Rc1 g6 27. Rc2 Kg7 28. Kg3 Bb3 29. Rc8 Bxb2 30. Rac7 Be5+ 31. Kg2 Be6 32. Ra8 Rd3 33. Rca7 Bd5 34. Re8 Bd4 35. Rxa6 Rxf3 36. Kg1 Rxf2 37. h4 Rf4+ 38. Kh2 Rxh4+ 39. Kg3 Rg4+ 40. Kh3 Bf2 41. Rg8+ Kxg8 42. Rxg6+ fxg6 43. a4 Rh4# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107646

This Week In Chess

On July 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quick event (6SS, G/24;d/5).  8 players joined.

Standings. July Quick

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Tot Prize

1 Mark McGough 11366481 1714 W7 L5 W6 D3 W2 W4 4.5 $21.00 1st
2 Jeffrey R Fox 12641996 1851 W6 L4 W3 W5 L1 W8 4.0 $14.00 2nd
3 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1634 L4 W6 L2 D1 W5 W7 3.5
4 Paul D Anderson 12728345 1984 W3 W2 D5 U--- W6 L1 3.5
5 Earle P Wikle 12126030 1896 H--- W1 D4 L2 L3 W6 3.0
6 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 960 L2 L3 L1 W7 L4 L5 1.0
7 Douglas N Clark 15941617 567 L1 B--- U--- L6 L8 L3 1.0
8 Peter Barlay 14700831 1592 U--- U--- U--- U--- W7 L2 1.0

It's Not Dyslexic Being Easy

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my list of upsets.  I was not sure if I should have it on the list due to the time control.  The list of upsets started with dual-rated and standard-rated games only.  My quick-rated games were typically rated as another type of game.  Either they were USCF games that were dual-rated or CLUB games that were shorter than 20 minutes (G/20).  We used to have club ratings a long time ago.

However, Earle Wikle started a quick-rated tournament outside of the club site, and it was a purely quick event.  I noticed it was not being filtered out of my upset list.  Also, I thought that Earle's choice of time control (G/24;d/5) was actually longer than the G/30 wins that dominate my upset list.  Since both players can add 10 seconds to the game on each move, they can lengthen the game 10 minutes with a 60 move endgame.  So, 24 minutes became the fastest time for the list.

In addition to being a unique time control, I have had a hard time looking up this game in my database using the name search.  How hard is it to spell Anderson correctly.  If I can't find the game, how can I publish it?  I have always been rather poor in remembering people's names.  Plus, I have a friend on facebook named Arnar Gunnarsson from Iceland who only adds to the confusion.

However, I was able to shake off the confusion in this position and find the game-ending move.

White to move

It's Not Dyslexic Being Easy

[Event "IHOP Quick"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2015.04.17"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Andersen, Gunnar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A26"]
[WhiteElo "1926"]
[BlackElo "2040"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2015.04.17"]
[TimeControl "1440"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 f5 6. d3 d6 7. O-O Nf6 8. e4 fxe4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. dxe4 O-O 11. Ne1 Be6 12. b3 Qd7 13. Nc2 a5 14. Be3 Bh3 15. Qd2 Rf7 16. Rad1 Raf8 17. f3 a4 18. c5 axb3 19. axb3 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Qe6 21. Qd5 Qxd5 22. Rxd5 Rd8 23. cxd6 cxd6 24. Rfd1 Bf8 25. b4 Rfd7 26. Bb6 Rc8 27. R1d2 Ne7 28. R5d3 Rc6 29. Bf2 Rc4 30. b5 Nc8 31. Ne3 Rb4 32. Nd5 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107563

This Week In Chess

On July 19th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Quick event (6SS, G/24;d/5).  7 players joined.

Standings. July Quick

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 12728345 1984 W5 W3 D2 2.5
2 Earle P Wikle 12126030 1896 H--- W4 D1 2.0
3 Jeffrey R Fox 12641996 1851 W7 L1 W5 2.0
4 Mark McGough 11366481 1714 W6 L2 W7 2.0
5 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1634 L1 W7 L3 1.0
6 Douglas N Clark 15941617 567 L4 B--- U--- 1.0
7 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 960 L3 L5 L4 0.0

Unsigned, Unsealed, Undelivered

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event:  the July Mating Game.  This is a 2-week event, and this year, rounds 3 and 4 fell on the same night as the Pikes Peak Or Bust Rodeo Parade.  This parade travels right next to the chess club and makes parking much more difficult.  However, no one had to forfeit a game, and none of the late players even suffered a loss.

I thought the parade was going to be my toughest problem to deal with as a TD (tournament director) that night.  Of course, I had forgot about the fact that I had Shirley Herman in the event.

One of my jobs as TD is to get the prize winners signed.  This is typically one of the easiest parts of the job.  Prize winners are happy, joyful players who eagerly sign the prize sheet, shake your hand, and collect their money with a hearty "Thank You!"

However, Shirley is not normal.  She thinks she is the Von Miller of the Colorado Chess scene.  She refused to sign, holding out for more prize money.

She has made it her mission to fight for better conditions and higher prizes for the Class E chess player.  I belive she will sit out of another Millionare Open until GM Maurice Ashley and Amy Lee get $1,000,000 in the U1200 section.

I was going to call John Elway and ask him just how he got Von Miller signed.  However, I don't think John Elway ever had to deal with someone like Shirley.  I was talking to Cam Newton and Tom Brady who said, "Shirley Herman scares us."

I began to see what Cam and Tom were talking about after Shirley burst out into a profanity-laced tantrum when I told her she won a prize and asked her to sign.  I was stunned.  I have heard some bad stuff in my days but nothing like this.  It was worse than setting off Alex Torres;  it was more offensive than reading a Brian Wall email;  it was more shocking than a Redd Foxx record.  If Tipper Gore had heard it, she would have slapped a Parental-Advisory sticker over her mouth.

I figured that I would need some help with the negotiations:  alcohol. 

So, a handful of us walked over to the Old Chicago's on Tejon for its closing after 34 years in downtown.  I don't know what drink Shirley ordered, but I wanted to stay sober and clear-minded to remain focused on my goal of getting all the prize winners signed.  Unfortunately, when I tried to order a Shirley Temple, I misspoke saying, "I will have the Shirley Herman," and got a glass of straight vinegar.

Well, I realized that you can't always get every prize winner signed.  So, I focused on the prize winners the club really wants back.  I got Daniel Herman signed.  I got Jeff Fox signed.  I got Brian Rountree signed.  I got Alex Freeman signed.  I just have Scott Williams and Shirley Herman left to sign.  I don't think I can afford Shirley Herman.  So, I will throw the little extra money I have left towards Scott and hope for the Chess Executive Of The Year award.

After all, Scott did create this week's Game Of The Week and this position.

Black to move

Unsigned, Unsealed, Undelivered

[Event "July Mating Game"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.07.12"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Rupp, Dan"]
[Black "Williams, Scott"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "1023"]
[BlackElo "1163"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2016.07.05"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. e5 Bc5 5. Bc4 d5 6. Bg5 Nge7 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. gxf3 Nxe5 10. Bb5+ c6 11. Be2 h6 12. Bh4 Qb6 13. f4 Nc4 14. b3 Bb4+ 15. Kf1 Nb2 16. Qc1 Bc3 17. Nxc3 dxc3 18. Qe1 d4 19. Bc4 O-O 20. Bxf7+ Rxf7 21. Bxe7 Re8 22. Qe6 Rexe7 23. Qc8+ Rf8 24. Qg4 Qb5+ 25. Kg2 d3 26. cxd3 Qd5+ 27. Kh2 Nxd3 28. Rad1 c2 29. Rd2 Rxf4 30. Rxd3 Rxf2+ 31. Kg3 Qxd3+ 32. Kh4 Kh7 33. Rg1 g5+ 34. Qxg5 hxg5+ 35. Rxg5 Rf4+ 36. Kh5 Qxh3# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107487

This Week In Chess

On July 12th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished its annual tradition:  the July Mating Game (4SS, G/30;d/10).  13 players joined.

Standings. July Mating Game

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot Prize

1 Daniel Herman 14345456 2045 W4 W3 W5 W6 4.0 $20.00 1st
2 Jeffrey R Fox 12641996 1976 L11 W7 W12 W5 3.0 $13.00 2nd
3 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1877 W13 L1 D10 W9 2.5 $4.50 U1900
4 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1706 L1 W13 D9 W10 2.5 $9.50 U1900 + GOW
5 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1947 W8 W11 L1 L2 2.0
6 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2020 W10 W9 U--- L1 2.0
7 Shirley Herman 14812654 1096 L9 L2 W13 W11 2.0 [REFUSED TO SIGN FOR PRIZE]
8 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1163 L5 L10 W11 W13 2.0 $8.00 U1600 + GOW
9 Mark McGough 11366481 1881 W7 L6 D4 L3 1.5
10 Sara Herman 14345441 1787 L6 W8 D3 L4 1.5
11 Dean W Brown 10224098 1507 W2 L5 L8 L7 1.0
12 Anthea Jan Carson 12614322 1632 H--- H--- L2 U--- 1.0
13 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 1023 L3 L4 L7 L8 0.0

July Mating Game

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event:  the July Mating Game.  This is the 1st year the event has been played in July.  Previously, the event was named the June Mating Game, by Virgil McGuire back in 2002, and held in, you guessed it, June.

Prior to 2002, the event was named the June Borborgyms and was created in 1993.  The event didn't start recurring annually until 1996.  So, this year will be the 22nd edition.

The year for the best participation was in 2001 when 22 players joined the event.  However, a couple of times the event shrunk as small as a Quad (4 players) in 2010 and 2011.

The time control for the event has been 30 minutes, which is the fastest Standard-rated tournament possible.  It also makes this event both Quick-rated and Standard-rated and allows for a higher possibility of upsets, as players often have to move quicker at key points in the game or risk losing on time.

In this game, the underdog, Dan Rupp, has a shot at an upset over Alex Freeman.  Dan had been behind in material most of the game but has a chance to turn the tables.  However, time is often the key element.  Perhaps Dan's position improved as Alex got down in time.  Then Dan has to decide whether to use that time to find the best move or save that time to keep pressure on Alex and risk missing a killer move.  This positon might have benefited from a slower time control.

White to move

July Mating Game

[Event "July Mating Game"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.07.05"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Rupp, Dan"]
[Black "Freeman, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1023"]
[BlackElo "1706"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2016.07.05"]
[TimeControl "1800"]

1. e4 d5 2. d3 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 Bg4 5. f3 exf3 6. gxf3 Bh5 7. Qe2 e6 8. O-O-O c6 9. d4 Bb4 10. Qe5 Bxc3 11. bxc3 O-O 12. d5 exd5 13. Bd3 Qa5 14. Bg5 Nbd7 15. Qd4 Qxa2 16. Nh3 Qa3+ 17. Kd2 Kh8 18. Rhe1 Bg6 19. Nf4 c5 20. Nxg6+ fxg6 21. Qh4 Kg8 22. Ra1 Ne5 23. Qh3 Qb2 24. Rab1 Nxd3 25. Rxb2 Nxb2 26. Rb1 Nc4+ 27. Kd3 Ne5+ 28. Ke2 Rae8 29. Rxb7 Nh5 30. f4 Nxf4+ 31. Kd2 Nxh3 32. Bh6 Rf7 33. Rb3 Nf3+ 34. Kc1 Nhg5 35. c4 dxc4 36. Rc3 Rb7 37. Bxg5 Re1# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107426

This Week In Chess

On July 5th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held its annual tradition: the July Mating Game (4SS, G/30;d/10).  12 players joined.

Standings. July Mating Game

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Daniel Herman 14345456 2045 W8 W6 2.0
2 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2020 W7 W5 2.0
3 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1947 W10 W4 2.0
4 Dean W Brown 10224098 1507 W9 L3 1.0
5 Mark McGough 11366481 1881 W11 L2 1.0
6 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1877 W12 L1 1.0
7 Sara Herman 14345441 1787 L2 W10 1.0
8 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1706 L1 W12 1.0
9 Jeffrey R Fox 12641996 1976 L4 W11 1.0
10 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1163 L3 L7 0.0
11 Shirley Herman 14812654 1096 L5 L9 0.0
12 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 1023 L6 L8 0.0

I Can't Drive 55

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my list of upsets.  I have a report in my chess database called "Best Wins" which weeds out all my games except those where I score a 16 point rating gain or higher in a USCF-rated game.  So far, I have published 54 of the 57 upset games in that report.  This will be number 55.

My opponent was Rhett Langseth in 2014.  Rhett had just passed up my rating for the first time and had a shot to get added to the list as the highest rated 16-point upset.  A 16-point upset means that you are very close in rating (within 25 points) and possibly slightly lower.

Rhett has gotten to where he is in chess by being very cautious.  He is so cautious that he has refused to get his driver's license until they have perfected the self-driving car.  Instead, he just rolls himself in bubble-wrap and has his slightly less cautious dad drive him to chess events in their '43 Sherman Tank.

He takes his time making moves until he has seconds on his clock, and then he will flip the switch and blitz out his last ditch attack.  Because of this mastery over the clock, he rarely makes blunders and often catches me, in a better position, trying to run him out of time.

I think that he will blunder because he is the one low in time.  However, I end up moving just as quick and not taking advantage of my time lead.  So, it just becomes a battle of who has the better blitz skills, and he does.

However, I don't always throw away my wins.  We have split our 18 games.  I tend to mess up the quicker games (G/30 or less) where he has scored 6 of his nine wins.

This time I caught him in a rare blunder.  Rhett tries to take advantage of the Pin on the Queen.  The c Pawn cannot move without the loss of the Queen.  However, I found a decent move and went on to get upset number 55 from the guy who can't drive.

Black to move

I Can't Drive 55

[Event "October Panera Wednesday"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2014.10.22"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Langseth, Rhett"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2012"]
[BlackElo "2022"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2014.10.01"]
[TimeControl "5400"]

1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Be2 e5 6. d5 Nc5 7. Nd2 Be7 8. Bf3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 Qc7 11. Nf1 a6 12. Be3 cxd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 Be6 15. Qd2 Rac8 16. Rec1 b5 17. Ng3 Red8 18. Ne2 Na4 19. c3 Nb6 20. Bxb6 Qxb6 21. Rd1 Rd7 22. Ng3 g6 23. Nf1 Rcd8 24. Ne3 Bg5 25. Nd5 Bxd5 26. Qxd5 Rc7 27. Qb3 Be7 28. Rd5 Rb8 29. a3 Rc4 30. Qc2 b4 31. Qe2 Rc5 32. axb4 Rxd5 33. exd5 Ra8 34. Qc4 Bd8 35. Qc6 Qxc6 36. dxc6 Ra7 37. Bd5 Kf8 38. Kf1 Ke7 39. Ke2 f6 40. Kd3 Bb6 41. f3 a5 42. bxa5 Rxa5 43. Rxa5 Bxa5 44. Kc4 Kd8 45. Kb5 Bc7 46. Ka6 f5 47. Kb7 g5 48. b4 e4 49. fxe4 fxe4 50. Bxe4 d5 51. Bxh7 g4 52. b5 g3 53. hxg3 d4 54. cxd4 Ba5 55. b6 Bxb6 56. Kxb6 Kc8 57. Bf5+ Kd8 58. c7+ 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107374

This Week In Chess

On June 28th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  14 players joined.

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 W3 H--- W2 W4 3.5 $24.00 1st
2 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1756 W11 W7 L1 W5 3.0 $16.00 2nd
3 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1791 L1 W8 D10 W7 2.5
4 Larry Turner 10303931 1812 W8 H--- D5 L1 2.0 $5.00 GOW
5 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1705 H--- X13 D4 L2 2.0 $11.00 Under 1750
6 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 L7 X14 W9 U--- 2.0
7 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 W6 L2 D8 L3 1.5
8 Gerald Mena 12430450 1356 L4 L3 D7 W9 1.5
9 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 H--- X12 L6 L8 1.5
10 Shawn Micha Irish 12615700 1820 H--- H--- D3 U--- 1.5
11 Peter Barlay 14700831 1887 L2 H--- U--- U--- 0.5
12 Pranav Maddali 15093864 1261 H--- F9 U--- U--- 0.5
13 Srinivas Maddali 15469577 1225 H--- F5 U--- U--- 0.5
14 Prajit Maddali 15490583 650 H--- F6 U--- U--- 0.5

Grimm's Lost Game

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my past.  I have recorded and saved every USCF tournament game that I have played (at standard time control).  In fact, it turns out that I have recorded more.

How is this possible?  Well, the USCF can and has lost games during the process of transmission from TD to the rating facility.

I noticed this when I was looking at my statistics on the USCF website.

Since I started playing after the database began collecting a permanent record of every rated game, all my games should have been saved for posterity.  Well, at least, the results.  However, I noticed that my personal database of regular rated games had a couple more games than the USCF total.

I realized that I had saved a couple of games in my database that were forfeits.  The USCF may save a record of forfeitted games, but they do not count those games in the statistics.  However, I still had one more game in my database that the USCF had in theirs.

For a stat-guy like myself, this is like having a piece of fuzz on your face.  It is annoying until you fix it.

I was able to use the "Record by Year" search feature to narrow my search.  Fortunately, the tournament listed first was the one with the missing game.  I looked at the event, and I found that it have been rated without the 4th round.  So, everyone in the event lost their 4th round game.

Well, the fuzz was gone.  Now, I had to decide if I was going to delete the game like the USCF did?

It is hard for me to remove any game I have taken the time to enter into my chess database.  So, I decided to move it to my published games database and share it with the world.  Enjoy!

Black to move

Grimm's Lost Game

[Event "Winter Springs Open"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2001.12.02"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Grimm, Paul"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B18"]
[WhiteElo "1580"]
[BlackElo "1691"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2001.12.01"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:20/3600"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Nh4 e6 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. Be2 Bd6 10. Qd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. Kb1 Bf4 14. c4 Nc5 15. Bxf4 Qxf4 16. Qf3 Rxd4 17. Rxd4 Qxd4 18. Rd1 Qe5 19. h3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Kc2 Kc7 22. b4 Nce4 23. Qe3 Qg5 24. Qf3 Nxg3 25. fxg3 Qf5+ 26. Bd3 Qxf3 27. gxf3 Nh5 28. g4 Nf4 29. Bf1 Kd6 30. Kd2 Ke5 31. Ke3 g5 32. a3 b6 33. a4 b5 34. a5 a6 35. Bd3 bxc4 36. Bxc4 Nd5+ 37. Kd2 Nxb4 38. Kc3 c5 39. Kd2 Kd4 40. Be2 e5 41. Bd1 c4 42. Ba4 c3+ 43. Kc1 Ke3 44. Be8 f6 45. Bg6 Kxf3 46. Bf5 e4 47. Be6 e3 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107292

This Week In Chess

On June 21st, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  14 players joined.

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 W6 H--- W2 2.5
2 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1756 W11 W7 L1 2.0
3 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 L7 X14 W9 2.0
4 Larry Turner 10303931 1812 W10 H--- D5 2.0 $5 GOW
5 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1705 H--- X13 D4 2.0
6 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1791 L1 W10 D8 1.5
7 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 W3 L2 D10 1.5
8 Shawn Micha Irish 12615700 1820 H--- H--- D6 1.5
9 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 H--- X12 L3 1.5
10 Gerald Mena 12430450 1356 L4 L6 D7 0.5
11 Peter Barlay 14700831 1887 L2 H--- U--- 0.5
12 Pranav Maddali 15093864 1261 H--- F9 U--- 0.5
13 Srinivas Maddali 15469577 1225 H--- F5 U--- 0.5
14 Prajit Maddali 15490583 650 H--- F3 U--- 0.5

Projected Prizes: 1st $24, 2nd $16, U1750 $11, GOW $5

Twice Bitten, Twice Shy

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my email match with my Dad.  It has been my Father's Day tradition to publish one of his wins.  This will be the 12th edition.  Happy Belated Father's Day to all the chess dads out there!

In addition to honoring my father, I also get to publish one of my losses.  I have another tradition of publishing 4 losses each year.  So, I have published 49 of my losses to date.  22 of the losses have been as White, and 27 of the losses have been as Black.

Some players think I never choose one of my losses for the Game Of The Week.  Usually, it is the players who have had a loss published by me who think that.

This year that player was Earle Wikle.  I checked my statistics and found out that Earle had gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the Game Of The Week.  Twice he made the Game Of The Week, and twice it was his loss.  In fact, he had more losses than I did this year.

1 Anderson,Paul 2050 6.0/7
2 McGough,Mark 1854 1.5/2
3 Brown,Dean 1400 1.0/2
4 Friedman,Joe 2221 1.0/1
5 Bloomer,Josh 2241 1.0/1
6 Turner,Larry 1812 1.0/1
7 Brennan,Tim 1800 1.0/1
8 Mekonnen,Alex 1547 1.0/1
9 Rupp,Dan 962 1.0/1
10 Rountree,Brian 1778 0.5/2
11 Wikle,Earle 1950 0.0/2
12 Langseth,DuWayne 1749 0.0/1
13 Fox,Jeff 1706 0.0/1
14 Herman,Sara 1653 0.0/1
15 Williams,Jesse 1317 0.0/1
16 Anderson,Douglas 0.0/1
17 Barlay,Peter 1902 0.0/1
18 Kaye,Dylan 1534 0.0/1
19 Mena,Jerry 1356 0.0/1
20 Kilpatrick,John 592 0.0/1

So, it is no surprise, when Earle and I faced in the Denny's Quick June II and I won, that Earle was a little shy about letting me see his score sheet.  He said I had to have as many losses in the Game Of The Week before I could see it.

Well, here is my 2nd published loss of 2016 and my 50th overall.

Stay tuned next week for my brilliancy against Earle!

Black to move

Twice Bitten, Twice Shy

[Event "12-11-9"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2003.08.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A38"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2003.05.12"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. O-O O-O 7. a3 d6 8. d3 e5 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bd2 a6 11. b3 Bd7 12. Rb1 Rb8 13. b4 b6 14. Qc1 Kh7 15. Qc2 Nd4 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Qe7 19. e3 dxe3 20. fxe3 f5 21. Bc3 h5 22. Bb2 Bh6 23. Qe2 Qg5 24. Rbe1 Rbe8 25. Kh1 f4 26. gxf4 exf4 27. e4 f3 28. Rxf3 Bg4 29. Ref1 Bxf3+ 30. Rxf3 Rxf3 31. Qxf3 Rf8 32. Qg3 Qe3 33. Qxe3 Bxe3 34. Bc3 Rf1+ 35. Kg2 Rf2+ 36. Kg3 Ra2 37. Kf3 Rxa3 38. Kxe3 Rxc3 39. Kd4 Rb3 40. Bb7 a5 41. bxa5 bxa5 42. Bc6 Kg7 43. h3 Kf6 44. Be8 h4 45. Bc6 g5 46. Bd7 Rb7 47. Bc6 Ra7 48. Ba4 g4 49. hxg4 h3 50. Kc3 h2 51. Bc6 a4 52. e5+ Kxe5 53. Kb2 Kd4 54. Be4 Rh7 55. Bxh7 h1=Q 56. Bf5 Qg2+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107244

This Week In Chess

On June 14th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  13 players joined.

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1756 W9 W6 2.0
2 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 W7 H--- 1.5
3 Larry Turner 10303931 1812 W13 H--- 1.5
4 Calvin P Dejong 15617641 1705 H--- X11 1.5
5 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 H--- X10 1.5
6 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 W8 L1 1.0
7 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1791 L2 W13 1.0
8 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 L6 X12 1.0
9 Peter Barlay 14700831 1887 L1 H--- 0.5
10 Pranav Maddali 15093864 1261 H--- F5 0.5
11 Srinivas Maddali 15469577 1225 H--- F4 0.5
12 Prajit Maddali 15490583 650 H--- F8 0.5
13 Gerald Mena 12430450 1356 L3 L7 0.0

P Is For Pin V

Game Of The Week

A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics.  I called it the DROP Method (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/drop-method.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.

I said that the DROP Method was a work in progress, and it was.  So, I thought I would revisit each of the four kinds of chess tactics to provide more examples.

• The first kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Discovery, which I revisited on May 3rd (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/d-is-for-discovery-iv.html).
• The second kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Removal, which I revisited on May 8th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/r-is-for-removal-v.html).
• The third kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Overload, which I revisited on May 17th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/o-is-for-overload-v.html).
• The fourth kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Pin.

Pin is a chess move that immobilizes an opponent's piece.

The Pin is different from the other kinds of tactics in that it does not create multiple threats.  Its main function is to prevent a piece from moving.  A Pin on a target allows that target to be attacked by a lower value piece.  A Pin on a support allows the capture of the piece the support is guarding.

"The defensive power of a pinned piece is only imaginary."

Aaron Nimzovich

The Pin works by threatening a low value piece that has a higher value piece behind it.  The low value piece is stuck (as if with a pin) to the higher value piece due to the loss of material should the low value piece move and allow the capture of the higher value piece.

If the higher value piece is the King, the low value piece is absolutely immobilized, as the rules of Chess do not allow moves where the King could be captured.  Otherwise the Pin is relative, as the opponent can actually move the low value piece if he is willing to accept the loss of material.  The other types of Pins are rare:

• Absolute (Pins a target to the King)
• Relative (Pins a low value target to a higher value piece)
• Cross (Multiple Pins on one piece)
• Cross-check (blocks check and counter-checks)

Here is an example from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event:  June Swiss 90.  Larry Turner has played chess in Colorado off and on since 1991, getting his rating as high as 1850.  Jerry Mena was playing chess out west in the late nineties before restarting in Colorado in 2013 and racking up 162 USCF-rated games.

Larry caught Jerry in a position that was getting rough for Black.  Jerry missed the Pin, and Larry pounced on it.

White to move

White found the hole in Black's defense with 21. Be6.  Now the Rook on f7 is Pinned to the King and can be captured anytime with the loss of an exchange.

P Is For Pin V

[Event "CSCC June Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.06.07"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Turner, Larry"]
[Black "Mena, Jerry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E71"]
[WhiteElo "1812"]
[BlackElo "1356"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2016.06.07"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. h3 O-O 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Be2 a6 9. a4 Qc7 10. O-O e5 11. dxe6 fxe6 12. Ng5 Ne5 13. f4 Nf7 14. Nxf7 Rxf7 15. Be3 Nd7 16. Qd2 b6 17. Rad1 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 e5 19. Qd2 Bb7 20. Bg4 Nf6 21. Be6 Nxe4 22. Qe1 Raf8 23. fxe5 Kg7 24. Bxf7 Rxf7 25. Rxf7+ Qxf7 26. exd6 Qd7 27. Qh4 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107200

This Week In Chess

On June 7th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  8 players joined.

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 W7 1.0
2 Larry Turner 10303931 1812 W8 1.0
3 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1756 W5 1.0
4 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 W6 1.0
5 Peter Barlay 14700831 1887 L3 0.0
6 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 L4 0.0
7 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1791 L1 0.0
8 Gerald Mena 12430450 1356 L2 0.0

Avoid All Losses

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event, a Simultaneous Chess Exhibition by FM Joe Friedman.  This is a special event where a very strong chess player will take on multiple opponents at the same time.  The stronger player will still win most of the games.  However, it gives casual players their best shot at beating a chess Master.

This night, eight players took on the Master.  Each challenger had to play as Black and could use any number of passes.  The moves are played without a time limit.  However, the challengers are supposed to make a move when the Master returns to the board.  If they need more time they can request a pass and the Master will skip that board and move on to the other boards.

Since the games are not rated, there is no requirement to keep score.  However, one player did keep score.  So, we can see that the Master doesn't always find the best moves, just the winning ones.  Or, at least, the ones that don't lose.

White to move

Avoid All Losses

[Event "FM Joe Friedman Simul"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.05.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Friedman, Joe"]
[Black "Brown, Dean"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E00"]
[WhiteElo "2221"]
[BlackElo "1509"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2016.05.31"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 Bb7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Rfe1 d5 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. cxd5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 exd5 14. Rad1 c6 15. e4 Qc7 16. exd5 cxd5 17. Qd4 a6 18. Rc1 Nf5 19. Qd3 Qd7 20. Bxd5 Rfd8 21. Rcd1 Bxd5 22. Nxd5 Qe6 23. Qxf5 Rxd5 24. Qxe6 Rxd1 25. Qxf7+ Kxf7 26. Rxd1 Ke7 27. f4 Rd8 28. Rxd8 Kxd8 29. Kf2 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107142

This Week In Chess

On May 31st, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a Simultaneous Chess Exhibition with FM Joe Friedman.  Joe played White on 8 boards, winning 7, drawing 1, and losing 0 (+7,=1,-0).  First place went to the best result from Dario Guerrero, who took home a wooden chess board.  Second place went to the player who lasted the longest, Brian Rountree.

Results. FM Joe Friedman Simul

0-1 8th place Matthew Hansen
0-1 7th place John Kilpatrick
0-1 6th place Doug Clark
0-1 5th place Dean Brown
0-1 4th place Kathy Schneider
0-1 3rd place Alex Torres
0-1 2nd place Brian Rountree $25 Old Chicago gift card
.5-.5 1st place Dario Guerrero Wooden chess board

Looking For Draws In All The Wrong Positions

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the final round of the May Swiss 90.  It was down to Mark McGough and Brian Rountree for 1st place.  Mark needed a win to jump past Brian.  Brian just needed a draw to lock out Mark.

I kind of expected the game to go deep into the night.  Both Mark and Brian are known to maximize their clocks.  It doesn't matter how long the game goes.  They will use up all of their time control.  The real question was, "Would they get an endgame and maximize their increment as well?"

Of course, this is one of those games where both players had great positions to win the game but failed to find the best move.  So, in the end, the game played out into a drawn endgame, which is what Brian had wanted all along.

Here is the position where Brian could have shortened the game if only he had been looking for wins.

Black to move

Looking For Draws In All The Wrong Positions

[Event "CSCC May Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.05.24"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "McGough, Mark"]
[Black "Rountree, Brian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1854"]
[BlackElo "1824"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2016.05.03"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bf4 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. e3 Ne4 7. a3 Nxd2 8. Nxd2 Bd6 9. Qf3 Bxf4 10. Qxf4 Nd7 11. Bd3 Nf6 12. O-O Qd6 13. Qh4 e5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 15. Nf3 Qxb2 16. cxd5 h6 17. Qc4 Qb6 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. e4 Ng4 20. Nf3 Qd6 21. h3 Ne5 22. Nxe5 Qxe5 23. f4 Qd6 24. e5 Qb6+ 25. Kh2 Qe3 26. Rae1 Qd2 27. Re2 Qa5 28. Qe4 g6 29. e6 f5 30. Qe5 Rae8 31. Bc4 Kh7 32. Qb2 Bc8 33. Rfe1 Re7 34. Re3 Qc5 35. Ba2 Qd6 36. Re5 Rfe8 37. R1e3 c6 38. dxc6 bxc6 39. Qe2 Qd4 40. Qf3 Rd8 41. h4 Ba6 42. Kg3 c5 43. Qc6 Bb7 44. Qb5 Qd2 45. Re2 Qd3+ 46. Qxd3 Rxd3+ 47. R5e3 Rxe3+ 48. Rxe3 Bc8 49. Kf2 Kg7 50. Re5 Kf6 51. Rxc5 Bxe6 52. Rc6 Kf7 53. Bxe6+ Rxe6 54. Rc7+ Re7 55. Rxe7+ Kxe7 56. Ke3 Kd6 57. Kd4 a6 58. Kc4 Kc6 59. Kb4 Kb6 60. Kc4 Kc6 61. Kb4 Kb6 62. a4 a5+ 63. Kc4 1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107080

This Week In Chess

On May 24th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  11 players joined.

Standings. May Swiss 90: Open

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot Prize

1 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1824 W8 W5 W3 D2 3.5 $22.00 1st
2 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 W7 D3 W9 D1 3.0 $15.00 2nd + $5 GOW
3 Richard Buchanan 10273030 2000 W6 D2 L1 W4 2.5
4 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 U--- W11 W6 L3 2.0 $10.00 Under 1600/UNR
5 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1776 D9 L1 L7 W6 1.5
6 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1189 L3 W8 L4 L5 1.0
7 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 962 L2 L10 W5 U--- 1.0
8 John Mark Kilpatrick 16043600 unr. L1 L6 U--- W11 1.0
9 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 D5 H--- L2 U--- 1.0
10 Peter Barlay 14700831 1902 U--- W7 U--- U--- 1.0
11 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 U--- L4 U--- L8 0.0

Whipping Boy

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event, the May Swiss 90.  I was paired against a familiar opponent, Mark McGough.  Mark is a regular on Tuesday night and my most common opponent since 2010.  It has been a good match-up for me, and Mark was about to break a milestone in the annuals of my chess database.

I have a report in my database that I run to tell me what is my record against all my different opponents over the years.  For a long time, Dean Brown was the player who I had beaten the most often.  It seemed like a record that could not be broken, as I have been playing Dean since 1997 until present.  However, Mark was on the verge of over-taking Dean.

PLAYER, SCORE, RATING CHANGE, AVE RATING, YEARS

DEAN, 65.0 - 10.0, -34, 1479, 1997-2016
MARK, 64.5 - 11.5, +137, 1764, 2010-2016

However, Mark was not willing to take his beating like usual.  He took his time and tried to play very precise without taking any unnecessary risks.  He caught me in an impulsive touch move to gain a Pawn, and got me into a worse position.  I tried to create some tactics to get a mistake out of him, and I had a chance to get back into the game.

White to move

Unfortunately, I did not find the best move and went on to lose the game.  I had another shot at Mark on Friday, but he pulled out another win.  I guess he is just not willing to take his place at the whipping post.

Whipping Boy

[Event "CSCC May Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.05.17"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "McGough, Mark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "2047"]
[BlackElo "1854"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2016.05.03"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 Nbd7 5. Bd3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nbd2 b6 8. Rc1 Bb7 9. c4 dxc4 10. Nxc4 c5 11. Qe2 Nd5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Nce5 cxd4 14. Rc4 dxe3 15. fxe3 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Qg5 17. Ng4 f5 18. h4 Qh5 19. Rc7 Bc8 20. Qf3 Qxg4 21. Rc6 Qxf3 22. Rxf3 Nb4 23. Rc3 Nxd3 24. Rxd3 Bb7 25. Rf2 Rfd8 26. Ra3 Be4 27. Ra4 Rd1+ 28. Kh2 Rd3 29. Re2 a5 30. g4 b5 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. exd4 Rd8 33. gxf5 exf5 34. Rd2 Rc8 35. Kg3 Rc2 36. Rxc2 Bxc2 37. Kf4 Kf7 38. Ke5 Ke7 39. d5 Kd7 40. a3 a4 41. d6 Be4 42. h5 g5 43. hxg6 hxg6 44. Kf6 Kxd6 45. Kxg6 f4+ 46. Kg5 f3 47. Kf4 f2 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=107014

This Week In Chess

On May 17th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  11 players joined.

Standings. May Swiss 90: Open

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot Prize

1 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1824 W10 W9 W4 3.0
2 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 W5 D4 W7 2.5 $5.00 GOW
3 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 U--- W11 W6 2.0
4 Richard Buchanan 10273030 2000 W6 D2 L1 1.5
5 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 962 L2 L8 W9 1.0 $5.00 GOW
6 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1189 L4 W10 L3 1.0
7 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 D9 H--- L2 1.0
8 Peter Barlay 14700831 1902 U--- W5 U--- 1.0
9 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1776 D7 L1 L5 0.5
10 John Mark Kilpatrick 16043600 unr. L1 L6 U--- 0.0
11 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 U--- L3 U--- 0.0

Projected Prizes: 1st $22.00 2nd $15.00 U1600/UNR $10.00 GOW $5.00

O Is For Overload V

Game Of The Week

A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics.  I called it the DROP Method (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/drop-method.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.

I said that the DROP Method was a work in progress, and it was.  So, I thought I would revisit each of the four kinds of chess tactics to provide more examples.  The first kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Discovery, which I revisited on May 3rd (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/d-is-for-discovery-iv.html).  The second kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Removal, which I revisited on May 8th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/r-is-for-removal-v.html).  The third kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Overload.

Overload is a chess move that attacks a target.

The Overload is played when the player creates a threat on a target that cannot be defended.  The classic example is choosing a target and piling more attackers on it than supports the defender can muster.  When the number of attackers are greater than the number of supports, material can be won through a series of captures.  Each capture creates a new target until the final support is exhausted and an unguarded target appears.

However, the Overload is, perhaps, the most broad kind of tactic.  Not only does it use multiple attackers on one target, but also it uses a single attacker on multiple targets.  The idea is the same:  to gain a target than cannot be defended.  So, most players will become familiar with the different types of Overload:

• Battery (Overload with multiple attackers on a file or diagonal)
• Fork (Overload with multiple targets by the Knight)
• Double Attack (Overload with multiple targets by the other pieces)
• Over-Worked Piece (Overload with multiple targets)
• Skewer (Overload with multiple targets where a high value piece is in front)

Here is an example from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night event, the May Swiss 90.  This position was created by a couple of newcomers to the club.

Black to move

I found this position interesting because it is not your typical tactic.  Tactics are attacking moves that gain material in most cases.  However, here is an exception to the rule.  The best move is Ne5.

The common tactic played by the Knight is the fork.  The fork occurs when the Knight attacks two pieces at the same time, usually of higher value.  Since the Knight captures (and moves) in an unusual way, it cannot be captured by any other piece that it threatens (as long as it is not another Knight).  The fork gains material because only one piece can be saved from the double threat of capture.

However, this example is not a double threat of capture by the Knight.  Rather the Knight attacks the Queen and defends the mate threat on f7.  The Knight does do 2 things with one move, but only one of those things threatens to win material.  Clearly, White should save the Queen from capture and the Knight gains nothing.

Unfortunately, White had offered a sacrifice of a Knight on the previous move in the hopes of getting a mate.  This turned out to be a bad plan.

When a player is not forced into checkmate but rather plays a move that allows his opponent to checkmate it is called a Helpmate.  A common example is the 2 Knights and King vs King endgame.  The 2 Knights cannot force a checkmate, but the defender can move to the wrong square and help with the mate.

Well, this is the same idea.  White's plan to offer the sacrifice of the Knight gave Black the opportunity to play what one might call a Helptactic.

"Help your pieces so they can help you."

Paul Morphy

With a piece under attack already, Black can find a move that attacks and defends to win material.  Ne5 is one move that accomplishes this goal.  There is another move that does the same idea.

O Is For Overload V

[Event "CSCC May Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2016.05.10"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Kilpatrick, John"]
[Black "Rupp, Dan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[BlackElo "962"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2016.05.03"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Ng5 e5 6. e4 exd4 7. Qf3 Nf6 8. Nxd5 O-O 9. Bc4 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Bg5 exd5 12. Bxd5+ Kh8 13. O-O Nb4 14. Qh3 Nbxd5 15. e5 a5 16. Qb3 b6 17. c4 Nb4 18. a3 Nc6 19. Qb5 Qd7 20. Rfe1 Rae8 21. exf6 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Bxf6 23. Qa6 Bxg5 24. h3 Qf5 25. Rf1 Be3 26. Qb7 Bxf2+ 27. Rxf2 Qxf2+ 28. Kh2 d3 29. Qxc6 d2 30. Qf3 Rxf3 31. a4 d1=Q 32. b4 Qfg1# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=106938

This Week In Chess

On May 10th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  11 players joined.

Standings. May Swiss 90: Open

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1824 W10 W8 2.0
2 Richard Buchanan 10273030 2000 W4 D3 1.5
3 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 W9 D2 1.5
4 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1189 L2 W10 1.0
5 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 D8 H--- 1.0
6 Dean W Brown 10224098 1513 U--- W11 1.0
7 Peter Barlay 14700831 1902 U--- W9 1.0
8 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1776 D5 L1 0.5
9 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 962 L3 L7 0.0
10 John Mark Kilpatrick 16043600 unr. L1 L4 0.0
11 Douglas N Clark 15941617 578 U--- L6 0.0

R Is For Removal V

Game Of The Week

A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics. I called it the DROP Method (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/drop-method.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.

I said that the DROP Method was a work in progress, and it was.  So, I thought I would revisit each of the four kinds of chess tactics to provide more examples.  The first kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Discovery, which I revisited on May 3rd (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/d-is-for-discovery-iv.html).  The second kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Removal.

Removal is a chess move that attacks a support.

The Removal is played when the player stops an opponent's piece from supporting the actual target.  The supporting piece will typically be of an equal or lesser value than the attacking piece.  However, the Removal can give up material, as the protection on the real target is now gone and creates a second attack that cannot be defended.

The target can be the King (Mate threat), a valuable piece (Material threat), or even a square (Mobility threat).

Different types of Removals are referred to by different names, but the idea is the same:  The support of the target is removed.  Here are some names for the different types of Removal:

• Clearance (Removal by passing support)
• Deflection (Removal by forcing support to move)
• Interference (Removal by interposition; Interception)
• Undermining (Removal by capturing support; trade)
• Sacrifice (Removal by capturing support; Exchange; Greek Gift, Desperado)

Here is an example from an email match I played with my Dad.  He has just played a Removal.  By moving the Rook to b1, he has appeared to drop the piece.  However, the Knight is a support for a key square: b5.  If the Knight goes to take the Rook, then the Bishop can play Bb5+ and regain the Rook. What should Black do?

Black to move

With Black ahead by a Pawn already, there are a couple of good choices.  Just trading Rooks is good for Black.  However, I realized I was going to lose my Rook anyway.  So, I decided he should go out in a blaze of glory:  a Desperado!

A Desperado is the name given to a piece that sacrifices itself to gain a small amount of material since it was going to be captured anyway.  It is a type of Removal.

I played 34...Rxf4+ to gain a Pawn before winning the White Rook.  However, it might be better to not play the Desperado and just quickly round up White Passed Pawn on a3 first.

"The passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient."

Aaron Nimzovich

R Is For Removal V

[Event "21-14-16"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2009.08.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B10"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2009.03.11"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 c6 2. f4 d6 3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Bd2 Bg4 6. Bc3 Nf6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Bd3 Qc7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nbd7 11. O-O-O a5 12. Nb3 b5 13. g4 b4 14. Bd2 a4 15. Na1 Rfb8 16. c3 c5 17. dxc5 bxc3 18. Bxc3 Nxc5 19. Nc2 a3 20. bxa3 Nb3+ 21. axb3 Qxc3 22. Be2 Nxe4 23. Qxc3 Nxc3 24. Rde1 Rxb3 25. Bc4 Rb1+ 26. Kd2 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 e6 28. Ke3 Kf8 29. h4 Ke7 30. g5 h5 31. Kf3 Kd7 32. Ra1 d5 33. Bd3 Ra4 34. Rb1 Rxf4+ 35. Kxf4 e5+ 36. Kg3 Nxb1 37. Bb5+ Kd8 38. a4 Nc3 39. Bc6 Bf8 40. a5 Bc5 41. a6 d4 42. Nb4 e4 43. Bxe4 Nxe4+ 44. Kf4 Nc3 45. Ke5 Nb5 46. Nd3 Bb6 47. Kd5 Kc7 48. Kc4 Nd6+ 49. Kd5 Nf5 50. Ne5 Nxh4 51. Ke4 Nf5 52. Nxf7 Nd6+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=106863

This Week In Chess

On May 3rd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held a USCF-rated event (4SS, G/90+30).  8 players joined.

Standings. May Swiss 90

# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Tot Prize

1 Richard Buchanan 10273030 2000 W6 1.0
2 Mark McGough 11366481 1854 W7 1.0
3 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1824 W8 1.0
4 Paul D Anderson 12728345 2047 D5 0.5
5 Alexander Freeman 14201087 1776 D4 0.5
6 Scott Ch Williams 15755696 1189 L1 0.0
7 Daniel J Rupp 15768473 962 L2 0.0
8 John Mark Kilpatrick 16043600 unr. L3 0.0