40 Move Challenge, Part II

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my database of 1,030 standard-rated, USCF games.  The database came to an abrupt halt on March 10, 2020 after my 42nd win over Mark "The Money-Man" McGough.  Then the club was shut down.

Black to move

Mark is the Treasurer of the Colorado Springs Chess Club and my most frequent opponent since 2010.  We have been working to get the Acacia Ballroom back open, but the Housing Authority controls the space and does not seem to be in any hurry to re-open.  I guess they don't need our pittance of rent.  So, we are looking into going back to off-site venues like the club did in the past.

One site where we played was Dean Brown's events on the Air Force Academy.  Mark and I first faced each other at those events (USAFA NoEF Quads #2  2010).  He got the first win and jumped out to a +3-2 game lead.  However, I have caught up since then.

1   Anderson,Paul (1934)  43.5/58

0110011011111½1011111111111½1011111½1101001101001110111111

2   McGough,Mark (1821)  14.5/58

1001100100000½0100000000000½0100000½0010110010110001000000 

Anyway, the reason I was looking at my database was to see if I had ever played the Polish (1. b4).

I am doing another season of my take on LM Brian Wall's 40 Move Challenge.  The idea is to win with every legal opening move.  Initially, I thought I could get it done in a couple of months.  However, it was much harder than I thought.  You don't always get 4 rounds each week if turnout is light.  Also, the Renaissance Festival re-opened this year, and I missed a bunch of events to play chess as a Monk.

The last move I had to complete was 1. b4 since I had drawn it against Vedant Margle in March.  Finally, this week, I won my first-round game with the Polish and finished my second season of the #40MC!

Now, I could look at the numbers and see how I did.  A perfect score would be 40 attempts and 100%.  However, I have a lot more room for improvement on Openings to hit that milestone.  I am just glad to see I improved over last year by finishing in 10 less attempts.  My Achilles heel was with the Black King Pawns this year.

Year	Category	Attempts	Score	Win %
2021	WQP	11	8.5	77.27%
	WKP	10	8.5	85.00%
	N	14	9.0	64.29%
	BQP	9	8.0	88.89%
	BKP	16	9.5	59.38%
2021 Total		60	43.5	72.50%
2020	WQP	15	9.5	63.33%
	WKP	15	8.5	56.67%
	N	15	9.0	60.00%
	BQP	12	8.5	70.83%
	BKP	13	9.0	69.23%
2020 Total		70	44.5	63.57%
Grand Total		130	88.0	67.69%

One of the nice things about these Irregular Openings is that they can throw your opponent off his habitual pattern recognition and create early mistakes, especially in Rapid time control.  My game this week went that way:

1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 Bxb4 3. Bxe5 Nc6 4. Bxg7

Of course, I knew I was playing something unfamiliar to myself and had drawn it the last time.  Also, I wanted to get this year's challenge completed.  So, I was taking my time and posted a 98.5% accuracy score and the game was never in question, which is nice for getting past the challenge but not nice for having a tactic for the blog.

However, the database revealed that I had played one game that started 1. b4.  Jerry Maier used to direct tournaments for the club and threw the Polish at me.  I avoided any early blunders from the shock factor but missed a tactic in this position.

40 Move Challenge, Part II

[Event "June Mating Game"]

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

[Date "2007.06.19"]

[Round "3.1"]

[White "Maier, Jerry"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A00"]

[WhiteElo "1254"]

[BlackElo "1861"]

[PlyCount "90"]

[EventDate "2007.06.12"]

[TimeControl "1800"]

1. b4 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nbd7 4. d4 e6 5. b5 a6 6.

e3 axb5 7. a4 bxa4 8. Bb5 c6 9. Rxa4 Rxa4 10. Bxa4 Qa5+ 11. c3 Bd6 12. O-O O-O

13. Bc2 h6 14. Qd3 Qa6 15. Qd1 b6 16. Bd3 Qa2 17. Qc2 Ba6 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. Bxa6

Bxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qxa6 21. Rh1 Ra8 22. f3 Qa4 23. Qc1 Qc4 24. Qc2 Ra2 25. Na3 Qa6

26. Qb3 Rxa3 27. Bxa3 Qd3 28. Bc1 b5 29. Qb2 Nb6 30. Qa3 Na4 31. Qd6 Qxc3 32.

Qd8+ Kh7 33. Qf8 Kg6 34. e4 dxe4 35. Bxh6 gxh6 36. Kg3 h5 37. Qh8 Qxd4 38. Rh4

Qe5+ 39. Rf4 Qg5+ 40. Kf2 Qxf4 41. Qe8 Ng4+ 42. Ke2 Qe3+ 43. Kd1 Nf2+ 44. Kc2

Qc3+ 45. Kb1 Qb2# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116858

This Week In Chess

On August 15th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Bad Habits Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  The top five players went unbeaten.  LM Brian Wall and Alex Bozenoff sat out a round to take themselves out of medal contention.  So, the top three went to tiebreaks to decide who got which medal.  Andy Rea played the toughest competition to win gold, Paul Anderson took an easier path to the silver, and Brian Rountree had to settle for the bronze.

Place, Bad Habits Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1    dzhierkiev64 (1824)" 3.0

2 "#2    cschessnews (1800)" 3.0

3 "#3    linuxguy1 (1898)" 3.0

4 "#4    NM   BrianWall (1990)" 2.5

5 "#5    bozhenoff (1731)" 2.5

6 "#6    jfoxhoot (1709)" 2.5

7 "#7    agapatos1 (1848)" 2.5

8 "#8    msmcgough (1631)" 2.0

9 "#9    BigBoyShaq12 (1644)" 2.0

10 "#9    thefox400 (1169)" 2.0

11 "#11    e_m_c_o (617)" 1.5

12 "#12    DuWayneL (1654)" 1.0

13 "#13    Cocomcfrecal (1101)" 1.0

14 "#13    AluminumHD (1382)" 1.0

15 "#15    grahamjcjg (787)" 1.0

16 "#16    pktiger90 (1268)" 0.0

17 "#16    Patches67 (692)" 0.0

18 "-    reflex11mase (1114)" 0.5

40 Move Challenge

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's event:  CSCC Honorary Medal Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  It was played by Jose Llacza and Paul Anderson.

I picked this game to publish because it was the end of my 40 move challenge.  Sort of.

The 40 Move Challenge is a LM Brian Wall creation.  He may have written about the history and rules in his emails.  However, since Yahoo! killed their archive of his emails, it is hard to find any details about things he has written online.  I did run across his book, How To Play Chess Like An Animal, on Amazon, which has increased in value dramatically.  I may have to start an account and sell my copy as the paperback is currently listed for: 2 Used from $902.81, and 1 New from $809.67!

Without the actual rules for the 40 Move Challenge, I just did my own thing in the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday Night Corona Olympics.

We meet every Sunday Night at 7pm Mountain on Chess.com for a couple hours since the Coronavirus has shuttered the physical location.  I never thought we'd be closed this long and needed something to amuse myself.  The 40 Move Challenge seemed just like the remedy for my quarantine hangover.

My goal was to play all 40 possible opening moves for White and Black before my chess blogging season ended.  I failed.

My 40 Move Challenge

Move Result

A3 0.5
A4 1.0
B3 1.0
B4 0.5
C3 1.0
C4 0.5
D3 0.0
D3 1.0
D4 1.0
D4 0.0
E3 1.0
E4 0.0
F3 1.0
F4 0.0
G3 1.0
G4 1.0
H3 0.0
H4 1.0
Na3 0.0
Nc3 0.5
Nf3 0.0
Nh3 0.0
A6 1.0
A5 0.0
B6 0.0
B5 1.0
C6 1.0
C5 0.5
D6 1.0
D5 0.0
E6 1.0
E5 1.0
F6 0.0
F5 1.0
G6 1.0
G5 1.0
H6 0.0
H5 1.0
Na6 DNP
Nc6 DNP
Nf6 DNP
Nh6 DNP

I just made a list of all the moves and tried to play them in order.  This is difficult when you are on the b5 opening and your opponent plays 1. e4.  So, I skipped a couple moves here and there, and came back to them when I could.

Another problem was we didn't always get 4 rounds for our events, and I came up 2 games short of my goal.  I also got paired as White 22 times versus 16 times as Black.  So, I replayed 2 White openings I lost (winning the second time) and didn't play any Black Knight openings.

I scored 22.5 points out of 38 games for a winning percentage of 59.21%.  However, I was surprised to see where the wins came from.  I did the best with Black's King Pawns (75%) and worst with the Knight openings (12.50%).

The challenge made the online events more interesting, as I had to focus from move one, and it was thrilling to finally get to play b5 and g5 without being down a Pawn (and winning too).

Black to move

40 Move Challenge

[Event "CSCC Honorary Medal Online"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2020.09.27"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Llacza, Jose"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "1686"]
[BlackElo "1647"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2020.09.27"]
[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. c4 g5 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 h6 4. e4 d6 5. Be3 Nd7 6. Bd3 Ngf6 7. h3 b6 8. Nge2 Bb7 9. Qc2 e5 10. d5 Nc5 11. Bxc5 bxc5 12. Qa4+ Qd7 13. Qb3 Rb8 14. Qc2 a5 15. O-O O-O 16. a3 Nh5 17. Qd2 Nf4 18. Nxf4 exf4 19. f3 Bd4+ 20. Kh2 Qe7 21. Nb5 Be5 22. Rab1 Ra8 23. a4 Rfb8 24. b3 Ba6 25. Nc3 Qf6 26. Nb5 Bxb5 27. cxb5 Bc3 28. Qe2 Qe5 29. Kh1 Kg7 30. Qc2 Bb4 31. Bc4 Rf8 32. Rfd1 f5 33. exf5 Rxf5 34. Bd3 Rf6 35. Be4 Re8 36. Qd3 h5 37. Qe2 Rh6 38. Kg1 Kf6 39. Qb2 g4 40. Qxe5+ Rxe5 41. hxg4 hxg4 42. Kf2 g3+ 43. Ke2 Rh2 44. Rh1 Reh5 45. Rxh2 Rxh2 46. Rg1 Bc3 47. Rb1 Rxg2+ 48. Kd3 Bb4 49. Rh1 Rd2+ 50. Kc4 Rd4# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115844

This Week In Chess

On October 4th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held our Sunday Night Online Event.

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/arena/cscc-second-time-blitz-arena-516132

Place, CSCC Second Time Blitz Arena, Score

1 "#1 Termenoil (2353)" 31
2 "#2 bozhenoff (1916)" 11
3 "#3 jfoxhoot (1567)" 7
4 "#4 msmcgough (1433)" 6

Of Mice And Chess

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the March Swiss 90.  It was a time before the plague had struck when dreams of the new chess season were fresh and bright.  The long and burdensome winter gave way to the sweet smells of springs and the soft caress of sunlight on one's face.  It was going to be a year of new expectations.

This year, I decided to make more specific goals to improve my productivity and bust out of some long, plowed ruts.  One of the ideas was to accept LM Brian Wall's 40-move challenge:  I would play every legal first move possible for white and black in a standard-rated, USCF game.

I got 3 games under my belt when my plan came to an abrupt halt.  My chess house was torn asunder with no way to build a new one.

To relieve my melancholy, I took a walk along the path behind my house.  I stumbled across a mouse just sitting by the way.  He looked to be on his last legs.  I asked him if he had any advice, but he just sat in silence.

But Mouse, you are not alone,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best-laid schemes of mice and chess

Go often askew,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain

I may never know if the mouse ever made any new plans, but I haven't given up on mine.  I will seek another's counsel.  I will try the Borg.

Black to move

Of Mice And Chess

[Event "March Swiss 90"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2020.03.03"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Frank, Gabriel"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1350"]
[BlackElo "1957"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2020.03.03"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. e4 g5 2. d4 h6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Be3 d6 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. h3 Nc6 7. Qd2 e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. f3 Ng6 10. Nb5 a6 11. Nc3 Nf4 12. g4 Bd7 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. Nge2 Qe7 15. O-O-O Qe5 16. Qd4 Ng8 17. Rhe1 Ne7 18. a3 Ng6 19. Rd3 Qxd4 20. Nxd4 Ne5 21. Rdd1 Nxc4 22. Nf5 Be5 23. Rh1 O-O-O 24. h4 Nxa3 25. bxa3 Bxc3 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Nh6 Rdf8 28. Rh5 Bg7 29. Rdh1 Bxh6 30. Rxh6 Rxh6 31. Rxh6 Kd8 32. Kb2 Ke7 33. c4 Ba4 34. Kc3 Bd1 35. Rh3 Kf6 36. Kd4 b6 37. Rh6+ Kg7 38. Rh3 f6 39. Kc3 Rh8 40. Rxh8 Kxh8 41. Kd2 Bxf3 42. Kd3 Bxg4 43. Kd2 Bf3 44. Kd3 g4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115342

This Week In Chess

On April 15th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held an online blitz event.  It was an hour-long, Arena style tournament with a time control of G/5+0.

Place, Player, Score

1 "#1SmyslovFan (2038)" 18
2 "#2bozhenoff (1969)" 15
3 "#3cschessnews (1932)" 11
4 "#3johnbrezina (1839)" 11
5 "#3Termenoil (2380)" 11
6 "#4GriffinMac (1961)" 8
7 "#5linuxguy1 (1765)" 7
8 "#5DuWayneL (1647)" 7
9 "#6CosmicNovaGalaxy (1601)" 7
10 "#7Alf8892 (1736)" 5
11 "#8MoxRuby (1534)" 5
11 "#9KingVed (1547)" 4
13 "#10valmiki113 (1390)" 0