Blunders Are The Way

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from LM Brian Wall's email list.  One of the things that the pandemic interrupted, besides Over-The-Board chess, was the reading of my Wallmails.  I had formed a habit of stopping by the library to get online and check emails several times a week.  However, with the library shuttered, I fell behind and created a backlog of Wallmails that go back to April of 2020.  I have a new habit of checking the current ones and just started going back through the old ones I missed.

You can sign up for his emails and to get into the archives here:

http://www.taom.com/mailman/listinfo/brianwall-chesslist

I have backtracked to April 2021 (only a year's worth of emails to go!), and, to my surprise, Brian sent out the 2021 Jim Burden Award winner on the customary award date of April Fool's Day.  Well, sort of.  The game was actually played on April 2nd, but that is pretty darn close for a guy who can forget his annual award for years at a time.

The Jim Burden Award is for a chess player who drops their Queen but comes back to win.  It is one of my favorite email themes that Brian does, and I have made it my mission to keep the award alive.  However, it looks like the pandemic may have interrupted the annual tradition of this award.  Of course, the 2020 winner could still be somewhere in my backlog of Wallmails.

Jim Burden Award Winners:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1089372

2025 Sam Stansel - game

2024 Nick Petersen - game

2022 Paul Anderson - game

2021 Lorna Idol - game

2020 LM Brian Wall - game
2019 Chris Motley - game
2018 Larry Osborn - game
2017 LM Brian Wall - game
2016 Paul Anderson - game & game
2015 Daniel Herman
2014 Tim Brennan - game
2013 Scott Massey - game
2012 Tom Mullikin - game
2011 Devon Wall - game
2010 Paul Anderson - game
2009 Francisco Baltier
2008 Tim Fisher - game
2007 Chris Peterson - game
2006 Tobias Lingaard - game
2005 Josh Smith - game

 

One of the reason I like this award so much is because of my stoic nature.  I realized that I have a high degree of stoicism when my son had me read a book called The Obstacle Is The Way.  This philosophy dates back to ancient Greeks and tries to create a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.  Instead of trying to avoid obstacles, the stoic embraces the obstacle as a means to improve his character.

“The impediment to action advances action.  What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Marcus Aurelius

Blunders happen.  If you are going to play chess, you are going to drop pieces.  And there is no bigger obstacle to winning at chess than to blunder your Queen.  It is such a major mistake that most chess player will resign immediately.  Usually, it will occur with an outburst of emotion and a myriad of complaints directed towards their opponents.  

But in reality, blundering your Queen is a blessing.

If you can sow the pain of playing down a Queen, you will reap a harvest of joy and freedom from materialism.  You will be a better chess player and better equipped for life.  In fact, the hardship of dropping a Queen is the best preparation for the drudgery of life, like marriage and kids.

A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

Proverbs 19:13 KJV

But I digress.

The game that Brian Wall chose for the 2021 Burden Award was a classic.  Lorna blunders her Queen early on, and I was riveted to my chair to see how she would salvage this game.  Does she take the Fork and get the Queen back?  No!  Does she Skewer the Queen to the King and pull into the lead?  No!  How many more opportunities could she possibly have left?  Finally, she found the right move in this position, but that still wasn't the end of the hardship.  There was plenty of drama to come.

Black to move

Blunders Are The Way

[Event "2021 Jim Burden Award"]

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

[Date "2021.04.02"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Rjgragg"]

[Black "Idol, Lorna"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C50"]

[WhiteElo "540"]

[BlackElo "623"]

[PlyCount "146"]

[EventDate "2021.04.02"]

[TimeControl "2700+45"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nge7 4. d3 d5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Ng6 7. Bxd8 Nxd8 8.

Bxd5 f6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. O-O Nf4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qd2 Ng6 13. Nb5 c6 14. Nc7+ Kd7

15. Bc4 Kxc7 16. Qa5+ b6 17. Qc3 Nb7 18. g4 Nf4 19. gxh5 Nxh3+ 20. Kh1 Rd8 21.

Kh2 Nf4 22. d4 Nxh5 23. dxe5 Nc5 24. exf6 Nxf6 25. Qe5+ Kb7 26. Ba6+ Nxa6 27.

Rfd1 Ng4+ 28. Kg3 Nxe5 29. Nxe5 Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Rh7 31. Rd8 Be7 32. Rd7+ Nc7 33.

Rxe7 Rh8 34. Rxg7 Re8 35. Nf7 Rxe4 36. f3 Re2 37. Nd8+ Kc8 38. Nxc6 Rxc2 39.

Nxa7+ Kb7 40. Nc6 Kxc6 41. Rg6+ Kb7 42. Rxh6 Rxb2 43. f4 Rxa2 44. f5 Ra3+ 45.

Kg4 b5 46. f6 Re3 47. f7 Re4+ 48. Kg5 Ne6+ 49. Rxe6 Rxe6 50. f8=Q Re5+ 51. Kg6

b4 52. Qf7+ Kb6 53. Qf6+ Ka5 54. Qxe5+ Ka4 55. Kf5 b3 56. Qe4+ Ka3 57. Ke5 Ka2

58. Kd4 b2 59. Kc3 b1=Q 60. Qe2+ Ka1 61. Qb2+ Qxb2+ 62. Kc4 Qd2 63. Kc5 Ka2 64.

Kb5 Qc2 65. Kb6 Ka3 66. Ka5 Qc3+ 67. Kb5 Qb4+ 68. Kc6 Qd4 69. Kc7 Kb4 70. Kc6

Qc5+ 71. Kb7 Kb5 72. Kb8 Kb6 73. Ka8 Qc8# 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116775

This Week In Chess

On July 11th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the How It Started Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  The newcomer took home gold, I won the silver, and Jose Llacza got the bronze.

Place, How It Started Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1 BigBoyShaq12 (1710)" 3.5

2 "#2 cschessnews (1779)" 3.0

3 "#3 JJ7X (1956)" 2.5

4 "#4 linuxguy1 (1820)" 2.0

5 "#5 chitownjosh (1805)" 2.0

6 "#6 jfoxhoot (1694)" 2.0

7 "#6 AluminumHD (1429)" 2.0

8 "#8 msmcgough (1612)" 2.0

9 "#9 pktiger90 (1251)" 1.0

10 "#10 albertgardner (1479)" 0.0

White Pieces' Burden

Speed King III

Monday, March 4th, 2019

I am back for another season of chess news and games.  Last year, I suffered another down year rating-wise.  This makes three down years in a row.  Ouch!  I have never had three bad years in a row before.

However, while the rating is on the skids, the championships are still cruising along.  I defended my title and am the Speed King again.  Long live the King!

I picked up my third Colorado Springs City Speed Chess Championship in January.  It is the first time I have won it in back-to-back years, moving into the category with LM Josh Bloomer (2005 & 2006) and Dan Avery (2000 & 2001; 2011 & 2012).  Also, it moved me into third place for the total number of crowns behind Josh (7) and Dan (6).

Here is the music that inspired me:

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the January One Night Quick.  It is a one-night event.  All the games in the tournament are completed in one evening.  Players enter the event, play all their games, collect their prizes, and get their ratings updated in less than 24 hours.

This kind of event works well to fill an extra Tuesday, like the 5th Tuesday of a month.  They occur a couple times each year and are the source of the main controversy at the Colorado Springs Chess Club's annual meeting.  Every year, attendees meet to take care of club business and fight over who gets control of the 5th Tuesday: the Turtles or the Hares.

This year the Turtles won.  However, it was a hollow victory, as the 5th Tuesdays don't fall on any of the months we have our month-long, slow tournaments (G/90+30).

So, we still need some kind of quick events to fill the 5th Tuesdays in April and July.

I don't mind the quick events, as they make for some crazy games.  In fact, the past couple of quicker tournaments have provided games that qualify for the Jim Burden Award.

You can view the winners here:

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2010/06/for-such-time-as-this.html

The Jim Burden Award can be earned by submitting a game to LM Brian Wall where you drop your Queen, refuse to resign, and get the win.

It has become my burden to keep this award going when Brian drops the ball and forgets to pick a winner.  Typically, I send him every blitz game I win, where I make a colossal mistake with my Queen.  I am more likely to resign when I drop a Rook than a Queen.  However, every now and then I suggest someone else's game.

I suggested the winners in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2018.  Now, I am shooting for the 2019 winner.  The award is supposed to be announced April 1st, and this year, Brian should be able to make the announcement on time, thanks to this gem.

It was the classic battle of tortoise versus hare during our 5th Tuesday event:  the January One Night Quick.  Clint Eads decided to play in our quick tournament (G/20; d/5) since our Supporting Members get a free entry to these kinds of events.

Clint knew his chances to get a win were slim, as he typically takes 20 minutes for his first couple of moves.  However, he took his time and took advantage of some opening mistakes to get the lead.

Then he found himself in this position with his clock rapidly dwindling down.  Could he handle the burden of having the superior force but limited time?  Could any white player manage this burden?

Sometimes good fortune is too much to handle.

White to move

White Pieces' Burden

[Event "January One Night Quick"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2019.01.29"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Eads, Clint"]
[Black "Motley, Chris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1027"]
[BlackElo "1528"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2019.01.29"]
[TimeControl "1200"]

1. e4 g5 2. d4 b5 3. Nc3 b4 4. Nce2 h6 5. Ng3 d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. f3 Nc6 9. Bb5 Bb7 10. d5 a6 11. dxc6 axb5 12. cxb7 Rb8 13. Nf5 Bf8 14. Bd2 e6 15. Ne3 c5 16. c3 d5 17. Qe2 Rxb7 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Qxd5 20. a4 Qb3 21. axb5 Qxb2 22. Ra8+ Ke7 23. Bxg5+ hxg5 24. Qxb2 Bg7 25. Rxh8 Bxh8 26. Ne2 Rxb5 27. O-O c4 28. Ra1 b3 29. Nd4 Bxd4+ 30. cxd4 Rb7 31. Ra6 Rc7 32. Ra5 c3 33. Qxb3 c2 34. Ra1 c1=R+ 35. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 36. Kh2 Rc7 37. Qb4+ Kf6 38. g4 Kg6 39. Qb5 Re7 40. h4 f6 41. f4 gxh4 42. Qh5+ Kg7 43. Qxh4 Rf7 44. g5 Kg8 45. Qg4 f5 46. Kg3 fxg4 47. Kxg4 Rf5 48. Kh5 Kg7 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=113980

This Week In Chess

On February 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished its February Swiss 90 (4SS, G90+30).

Standings. February Swiss 90

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

1 Brian Jo Rountree 1833 W5 H--- W6 W3 3.5 $40.00 1st
2 Gerald Mena 1362 L4 W18 W10 W9 3.0 $27.00 2nd
3 Paul D Anderson 1985 W9 D6 W7 L1 2.5
4 Mark McGough 1876 W2 L7 W14 D6 2.5
5 Ayush Vispute 1319 L1 W19 D9 W14 2.5 $18.00 U1700
6 Jesse Williams 1729 W15 D3 L1 D4 2.0
7 Ross Inman 1481 W10 W4 L3 U--- 2.0
8 Peter Barlay 1903 W14 U--- U--- W15 2.0
9 Dean W Brown 1469 L3 W16 D5 L2 1.5
10 Richard Buchanan 2000 L7 H--- L2 W21 1.5
11 Daniel J Rupp 986 L12 H--- W20 U--- 1.5 $12.00 U1300
12 Christophe Motley 1605 W11 H--- U--- U--- 1.5
13 Michael Smith II 1724 W17 H--- U--- U--- 1.5
14 Grayson Ed Harris 1406 L8 W15 L4 L5 1.0
15 Clinton D Eads 1268 L6 L14 W17 L8 1.0
16 Jonathan Reinhard 836 H--- L9 U--- U--- 0.5
17 Darren Walker 1167 L13 U--- L15 U--- 0.0
18 Donald Hillman 1005 U--- L2 U--- U--- 0.0
19 Joseph Griffin 725 U--- L5 U--- U--- 0.0
20 Kenneth Macrae 1306 U--- U--- L11 U--- 0.0
21 William Leo Wolf 1300 U--- U--- U--- L10 0.0

Game Of The Year XV

End Of The Season

Thursday, September 20, 2018

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 the past couple of years have been off and 2018 isn't looking much better, I still have time to improve 2018.  Here is how it is going so far:

• 2045 peak USCF rating (record: 2015 - 2102)
• 2067 peak BLITZ rating (record: 2017 - 2067)
• 2055 peak CLUB rating (record: 2013 - 2127)
• 77.08% USCF winning percentage (record: 2012 - 79.31%)
• 79.07% CLUB winning percentage (record: 2013 - 87.86%)
• 12 projected prizes won (record: 2014 - 20)
• 25 projected USCF-rated wins (record: 2013 - 75.5)
• 0 upsets (record: 2001 - 6)

Peak Rating Report

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 -
2017 2048 -
2018 2039 ?

Total: 15 positive years and 5 negative years

So, what happened in 2015 when my rating started to tumble back down from my peak?

I started directing tournaments for the Colorado Springs Chess Club in 2015.  It is not easy to direct and play well.  I still haven't figured out how to find the balance between focusing on my game and taking care of the event duties.

However, directing hasn't been all bad.

Directing tournaments for the Colorado Springs Chess Club is a nice way to give back to the club I have enjoyed for 20 years.  My largest pay day for chess was while I was a tournament director.  I get a lot of material for my newsletter.  And every once in a while, I get to see a game that just makes my year.

Larry Osborn provided me with the most enjoyable game of the year.  Since I play and direct, I didn't get any time to watch his game.  However, my Vice President, Peter Barlay saw the ending and told me, "You are going to love this!"  I went over the score sheet at IHOB, as I was uploading the ratings report to USCF at 2:00 am in the morning.

I burst into laugher when I saw 14. Qh5+!!!

It was not because of the blunder.  It was because I knew Larry had won.  It was not just an upset of a higher rated player.  It was a comeback against a higher rated player after hanging his Queen!

It was the chess equivalent of a hail mary pass.  Instead of the "Minnesota Miracle," it was the Colorado Springs Miracle!

I go over hundreds of games each year just hoping to find a game like this so that I can send LM Brian Wall a legitimate contender for the Jim Burden Award rather than my crappy, blitz blunders (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2010/06/for-such-time-as-this.html).

Here is my nomination for the 2018 Jim Burden Award.

White to move

Game Of The Year XV

[Event "July Mating Game"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2018.07.24"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Osborn, Larry"]
[Black "Eskeldson, Derek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "949"]
[BlackElo "1341"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2018.07.17"]
[TimeControl "2700"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. a3 Nf6 4. e3 c6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Nbd2 b6 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Bb7 12. Bxh7+ Kxh7 13. Ng5+ Kg6 14. Qh5+ Kxh5 15. f4 Be7 16. d5 cxd5 17. h3 dxc4 18. g4+ Kh4 19. Kh2 Bd6 20. Be3 Bc5 21. Rf3 Ne5 22. b4 Nxf3+ 23. Nxf3+ Bxf3 24. bxc5 Qd3 25. Bf2# 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=113145

This Week In Chess

On September 19th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club continued the September Swiss 90 (4SS, G/90+30).

Standings. September Swiss 90

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot Prize

1 Laurence Rob Wutt 1948 W14 W7 W2 3.0
2 Paul D Anderson 1989 W4 W9 L1 2.0
3 Brian Jo Rountree 1885 H--- H--- W11 2.0
4 Ross Inman 1367 L2 W15 W9 2.0
5 Clinton D Eads 1268 L8 W14 W13 2.0
6 Scott J Walsh 1642 H--- H--- D7 1.5
7 Grayson Ed Harris 1111 W13 L1 D6 1.5
8 Peter Barlay 1936 W5 U--- U--- 1.0
9 Mark McGough 1849 W15 L2 L4 1.0
10 William Leo Wolf 1425 W16 U--- U--- 1.0
11 Dean W Brown 1400 U--- W12 L3 1.0
12 Michael Smith II 1610 H--- L11 U--- 0.5
13 Christophe Motley 1584 L7 H--- L5 0.5
14 Scott Ch Williams 1293 L1 L5 U--- 0.0
15 Joey Arispe 1231 L9 L4 U--- 0.0
16 Sam Hays unr. L10 U--- U--- 0.0

Projected Prizes: 1st $34.00; 2nd $23.00; U1400 $15.00

The Defibrillator

Game Of The Week

This week's game is my attempt to resurrect the Jim Burden Award for 2017.  LM Brian Wall created this award back in 2005 and promised us, "I will post all entries and announce the winner every April 1."  While Brian is one of the most creative chess authors and organizers, he is not the most discipline fellow.

His creativity has finally helped him get the recognition he deserves.  You can see him in the 2017 Spring issue of American Chess Magazine.

However, as I was playing my typical April Fools joke on Matthew Hansen about a fortnight ago, I realized I had missed the 2017 Jim Burden Award winner.  As I looked through my spam folder to find my Brian Walls emails, I could not find any information on the current winner.

Did Brian forget again?

In 2010, I was still trying to win this award and had to select the winners for 2007 and 2008 just to get this thing back on track.  Now, it appears that the award has gone back into cardiac arrest.

So, here is a game from Dean Brown and Alex Bozhenov that I like to call "The Defibrillator!"

I am counting on Brian's other promise that the winning game is "chosen mostly for humorous content."  This game had Peter Barlay cracking up at the board and Kathy Schneider biting her fingernails.

It all started in this position.  Dean found the shocking move and awoke Alex from his coma.

White to move

While Dean didn't actually get the Queen, he should have.  Saving the Queen is actually worse, and Dean continued to build on his lead until he was close to +15.  However, by that time both players got in time pressure and the score sheet went flatline.

However, I could see that the game was not the peaceful transition into the loss column for Alex.  I was sitting across the tournament hall, but it was clear from Dean's reactions that Alex's position was coming back to life.

Peter Barlay does impresssions of different Colorado chess players as they are losing.  He showed me his Dean Brown mannerism, where Dean picks up a piece, does not place it down, but rather brings it closer for inspection with a look on his face that says, "Why, on earth, did I pick up this piece?"

Now, Dean was living it out, with a Bishop in his hand, tapping it against his head, trying to find a square for it.  Soon a Rook was gone, as well as several Pawns.  Finally, the stone was rolled away and Alex came out with the win.

The Defibrillator

[Event "Cabin Fever Reliever"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2017.04.11"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Brown, Dean"]
[Black "Bozhenov, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "1517"]
[BlackElo "1914"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2017.04.04"]
[TimeControl "2700"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Na5 4. Nf3 a6 5. Be2 b5 6. b3 Bb7 7. d3 e6 8. O-O Qc7 9. g3 f6 10. Bb2 h5 11. Nh4 O-O-O 12. Bxh5 g5 13. Ng6 Rh6 14. Nxf8 Rxf8 15. Bf3 Ne7 16. Ne2 e5 17. Kg2 f5 18. h3 Rfh8 19. Rh1 g4 20. hxg4 Rxh1 21. Qxh1 Rxh1 22. Rxh1 Qd6 23. gxf5 Qf6 24. g4 Nac6 25. c3 b4 26. c4 Nd8 27. Bc1 Nf7 28. Rh5 Qd6 29. Be3 Kc7 30. Nc1 Nc6 31. g5 Ne7 32. Bg4 Nd8 33. Rh6 Ne6 34. fxe6 dxe6 35. Rxe6 Qd8 36. Bxc5 Nc6 37. Rf6 Qg8 38. g6 Nd8 39. Bd6+ Kb6 40. Bxe5+ Bc6 41. Bd4+ Kb7 42. c5 a5 43. Rd6 a4 44. g7 Nf7 45. Re6 Ng5 46. Re7+ Ka8 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=110131

This Week In Chess

On April 11th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished its Cabin Fever Reliever (4SS, G/45;d10).

Standings. CFR

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

1 Richard Buchanan 2000 W6 W2 W3 W8 4.0 $24.00 1st
2 Brian Jo Rountree 1832 W5 L1 W6 W7 3.0 $16.00 2nd
3 Aleksand Bozhenov 1914 W7 L4 L1 W6 2.0
4 Mark McGough 1848 W9 W3 U--- U--- 2.0
5 Clinton D Eads 1168 L2 D9 L8 W10 1.5 $10.00 U1800
6 Dean W Brown 1517 L1 W7 L2 L3 1.0
7 Michael Smith II 1332 L3 L6 W10 L2 1.0
8 Alemayeh Mekonnen 1507 U--- U--- W5 L1 1.0
9 Scott Ch Williams 1273 L4 D5 U--- U--- 0.5
10 Daniel J Rupp 1013 U--- U--- L7 L5 0.0

For Such A Time As This

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my latest chess achievement:  2010 Jim Burden Award winner!  It is quite an honor for me to be mentioned with such chess greats:

Jim Burden Award Winners:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1089372

2025 Sam Stansel - game

2024 Nick Petersen - game

2022 Paul Anderson - game

2021 Lorna Idol - game

2020 LM Brian Wall - game
2019 Chris Motley - game
2018 Larry Osborn - game
2017 LM Brian Wall - game
2016 Paul Anderson - game & game
2015 Daniel Herman
2014 Tim Brennan - game
2013 Scott Massey - game
2012 Tom Mullikin - game
2011 Devon Wall - game
2010 Paul Anderson - game
2009 Francisco Baltier
2008 Tim Fisher - game
2007 Chris Peterson - game
2006 Tobias Lingaard - game
2005 Josh Smith - game

As I add this new feather in my chess cap, I would like to thank LM Brian Wall for creating this award and giving it to me.  He wrote in his Yahoo group:

"I am awarding the 2010...Jim Burden give-up-a-Queen-for-nothing-and-still-win award this year to Paul Anderson for sheer desire, persistence and multiple entries.  I believe people should get what they want before they die even if it lets them down.  If this was a movie, Paul would gently die in his sleep like a big bear now.  Getting what you need is the kiss of death in a movie script."

Black to move

I certainly hope there is not a curse attached with this award, as I haven't heard about the recent whereabouts of the previous winners.  In fact, my hope is that this award will be a great blessing to my chess career and that this day will go down in the annuls of chess as a day of feasting and gift giving like Purim in the time of Queen Esther.

You see, the game reminded me a lot of the story of Esther whose rise to prominence was precipitated by the actions of the foolish Queen Vashti.  King Xerxes, the ruler of Persia and Media, had been telling the Queen, "Do not go out too early. You must remain with the King."

However, she did not obey.  The King burned with anger like Ralph Kramden towards his rebellious wife.  However, being King has its benefits.  He punished the Queen for her departure by removing her from the game and sending out an edict to all the land:

"He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people's tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household."

Esther 1:22 NIV

Not much has changed today; guys still want to keep the Queen at home and will banish anyone who violates this rule.

Of course, thanks to LM Brian Wall's award, I have learned an important lesson in chess.  Just like the removal of Queen Vashti was only the beginning of the story for Esther, the loss of a Queen does not mean the loss of the game.

The game of chess is more than position and material.  It is also a battle of time and will.  God had removed Queen Vashti for a reason:  to allow Queen Esther to fulfill her role in bringing about triumph for the Jews.

So, when I blundered away my Queen, I wasn't about to give up.  There could be another Queen just waiting in the wings.

I had a facebook friend challenge me to describe myself using only song titles from my favorite band.  I chose the Triumph song “Never Surrender” as my motto because it served me well in life and chess.  I don’t know if I would have actually won this game, as I had only evened the position when my opponent resigned.

“…And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Esther 4:14 NIV

For Such A Time As This

[Event "2010 Jim Burden Award Contest"]

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

[Date "2010.02.19"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Tonèek 1"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B06"]

[WhiteElo "1621"]

[PlyCount "50"]

[EventDate "2010.04.01"]

1. d4 c6 2. e4 g6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 Bxd4 7. c3 Bg7 8. O-O e5 9. Be3 Nd7 10. Qb3 Qb6 $4 11. Bxb6 Nxb6 12. a4 Be6 13. Qc2 Ne7 14. b4 O-O 15. c4 Rad8 16. a5 Nbc8 17. Ng5 Bd7 18. Rad1 h6 19. Nh3 Kh7 20. Nf3 f5 21. c5 fxe4 22. Bxe4 d5 23. Bxg6+ Nxg6 24. Rfe1 Bxh3 25. Nxe5 Bf5 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=71240

This Week In Chess

On June 8th, the CSCC had 7 members in attendance.  Most players joined the first round of the USCF-rated June Mating Game tournament (3RR, G30).  This is a 2 week tournament.  So, there is still time to join and possibly even get a piece of 1st place:

Score, Player:

2.0 Paul Anderson

1.0 Jeff Fox

1.0 Buck Buchanan

0.0 Dean Brown

June Panera Bread Thursday

By Dean Brown

Round 2 Results:

Kurt Kondracki over Kumar Tedla

Dean Brown over Jerry Maier

Gene Lucas over Sai Tedla

Paul Sample over Justin Leo.

BALANCE OF 2010 NEW MEXICO CHESS SCHEDULE

By Art Byers, NMCO Tournament Organizer

THE NEW MEXICO CHESS ORGANIZATION (The official state affiliate of the United States Chess Federation.)

June 26/27 The Albuquerque/Rio Rancho Open at the Rio Rancho Meadowlark Senior Center

September 25/26 The Santa Fe Open at the Santa Fe Cimmunity College

November 6/7 The New Mexico Open and State Chess Championship at the Rio Rancho Meadowlark Senior Center

THE WIRED KINGS CHESS CLUB

2010 State Quick Chess Championship (Jul 3)

3 Musketeers Team Tournament (Aug 7)

2010 State Blitz Chess Championship (Sep 4)

The Great Pumpkin Octagons (Oct 2)

Check Low, Mate High Action (Dec 11)

THE VALENCIA COUNTY CHESS CLUB

July 17: The second annual Hub City Open

Casual chess this Saturday!‏

by Renae Delaware

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their summer! Happy Father's Day to all the fathers on this list!

Here are details:

When: Saturday, June 19th at 8pm

Where: Agia Sofia Coffee Shop & Bookstore, 2902 W. Colorado Ave 80904. Located on the NW corner of Colorado & 29th (directly west of the firestation) 719-632-3322

Who: Anyone! Just be sure to bring your own sets & clocks! (Though this is not a requirement.) 

Please remember to support them if you're able to! (Even if it's not at our casual nights!)

Thank you!

Right Move Public Chess Club

by David Meliti

Club newcomer Brian Rountree has followed up his recent win in round 1 of the USCF Thursday Night June 2010 Swiss with another victory in round 2 defeating Mark McGough with a solid French Defense playing the black side of the board.  Let it be known however that Brian is certainly not new to rated tournament play and has competed in 90+ rated events.  Following close behind Brian ( who has a perfect 2.0 score by the way ) are Jason Loving and David Meliti tied for 2nd place with 1.5 points.

The black side of the board dominated this past Thursday June 10th in round 2 of 4 in both the USCF rated and informal club tourneys.  USCF player Jason Loving was the lone exception with a win with the white pieces over Peter Swan and club player Paul Covington had a victory with the white pieces over David Flaks in the informal tourney.

Round 2 results for all players this past Thursday are as follows:

Mark McGough.................0-1 ................Brian Rountree (USCF)

Mr Jay Shuler...................0-1 ................David Meliti (USCF)

Jason Loving ...................1-0 ................Peter Swan (USCF)

Paul Covington................ 1-0 ................David Flaks (Informal Club)

Gil Garrison......................0-1 ................Henry Blandon (Informal Club)

Melody Kirkwood............. 0-1 ................Justin Zeek (Informal Club

Byes: Travis Bradley & Isaac Martinez (Informal Club Tourney)

Small Group Chess Lessons Off-Site(Mondays)

This past Monday night June 14th the club had a lengthy adult class session beginning at 6:30pm since the next childrens class doesn't begin for a few more weeks.  Tactical items taught included deflection, windmill, pawn chains, bishop sacrifice, piece mobility & scope, removing the guard, weak squares, open vs closed games and related topics.  Paul will continue with tactics next class on June 21st although end game topics are on the agenda for the evening as well.  The very last class will be a chess simul.....more info to follow on this !!!

June 21, 2010:::: Small Group Adults Class: 6:30 -8:00pm (Lesson #11)

Lesson Topic: Tactics Part 3 + End Game Study

Small Group Childrens Class Graduated June 7th - Next Class Begins Soon !!!

Tentatively planned start date will be sometime in July 2010.

Club Calendar (Thursdays at First United Methodist Church Dowtown)

June 17, 2010:: Casual Play: 6:00 - 9:30pm

Tournament Style Play: 7:00 - 9:30pm

USCF RATED Tournament: 4-SS G/75 June 2010 Swiss Rd 3 of 4

Informal Club-Rated Event: 4-SS G/75 June 2010 Swiss Rd 3 of 4

June 24, 2010:: Casual Play: 6:00 - 9:30pm

Tournament Style Play: 7:00 - 9:30pm

USCF RATED Tournament: 4-SS G/75 June 2010 Swiss Rd 4 of 4

Informal Club-Rated Event: 4-SS G/75 June 2010 Swiss Rd 4 of 4

Other Club Announcements

It is time once again to raise the profile of the club in our local community.  For the second time this year we will be having a visible presence in the Colorado Springs area doing another chess promotion at the Sunflower Market.  Saturday July 10th and Sunday July 11th representatives of the club will set up a chess display at the Sunflower Market.  We will hand out club flyers, give on-site chess lessons, play casual chess and just introduce the shoppers to the game of chess and it's many benefits.  Club members are encouraged to come out and play chess while promoting the club.

The club would like to thank Tim Kirkwood (father of Melody Kirkwood playing in this month's informal G/75 tourney) for producing high quality score sheets for club members to record their chess moves.  The new club score sheets feature the club's logo, name and are in color just to name of few of the impressive features.  Tim, after developing the layout for the score sheets connected with a local quality printing company to produce 1000 Right Move Public Chess Club score sheets.  Way to go Tim and thank you !!!  This is just one example of the way that many of our players and members have stepped up and served this club in one way or another.  As many of you know, we are a "quality-minded" Colorado Springs chess club endeavoring to provide only the best chess playing experience for all chess players in the area.  The new club score sheets will be put out on the tables for the first time beginning Thursday June 13th just prior to the start of the 3rd round of the G/75 June 2010 Swiss.

Paul Covington is also making a major contribution to the Thursday night club meetings.  Between the hours of 6pm and 7pm (before the tournaments begin), players can now watch chess lecture and training videos on a variety of chess topics.  Club members now have a choice of either playing casual chess during the first hour of club, or if they choose, they can watch one or more videos that Paul has in his archives.  Thank You Paul for providing the technology and your services in this way.

In other news, the club is happy to report that pre-registrations have begun for our first Saturday Summer Quad Tournament to take place on July 3rd.  We have already had players register from out-of-state.  Wisconsin and Arizona will be represented along with some of the usual locals.  All information pertaining to the weekend Saturday tournaments this summer can be found on the "weekend tournaments" link on the club's website.

Have a great week and happy chess playing !!!

2008 Jim Burden Award Winner?

Game Of The Week

The Jim Burden Award began back on February 25, 2005 in LM Brian Wall's Yahoo! Group:

"Announcing the annual Jim Burden...award April 1, 2005.

This award goes to anyone who drops their Queen for no reason, gets so mad they don't resign and goes on to win anyway.

Let me be clear. Jerry Hanken style "Parting with the Lady" games where the Queen is pseudo-sacrificed for full compensation are unwelcome here.

These games have to be full farces where one side starts out playing like a complete idiot, hangs their Queen for almost nothing ( the less the better! ) and still wins by a miracle.

Blitz games are worth less than rated games.  A postal game would be priceless.

Annotations should stress the psychological component since real analysis would be mostly pointless.

I will post all entries and announce the winner every April 1.

Games between 3 digit players are welcome although the higher rated the opponent the better.

Games chosen mostly for humorous content.

The name of the award is in reaction to two events.  Jim Burden lost a famous game to Grandmaster Larry Christiansen over 10 yaers ago after trapping his Queen.  The key moment is reprised by Bardwick ( one of only 15 active Masters in the Country, I mean County ) in this month's Chess Life..."

Anyway, this award is one of my favorite emails Brian has done!  Certainly, I enjoy the fact that I got 2 games into the 2009 finals with all the nice things the master wrote about my games:

"Actually giving his oppnent a takeback in order to take his Queen takes my breath away, similar to the infinite mercy of the Lord.  The Chess equivalent of Jesus at the Last Supper telling everyone he knows Judas has betrayed him but going ahead with the crucifixion anyway.  The value for this act approaches infinity.  A first."

These comments are even more humbling now that I finally got to see the masterpiece of noted Polish artist Jan Styka on my recent trip to California.  He painted The Crucifixion, which is the largest framed mounted to canvas painting in the world, standing 195' long by 45' high.

But also, I have always liked the humor and spirit behind this award.  You just cannot play chess without making a lot of mistakes.  Sometimes those mistakes can really get to you, but this award reminds me that there are more things at stake than just losing a chess game.  It is a metaphor for life.  Are you just going to quit when you make a mistake or are you going to fight to overcome it?

The only complaint I would have about the award is the lack of consistency in awarding the prize.  The first 2 awards came out annually, and then there was a gap of 2 years, and now another winner.

However, I think that problem can be easily remedied.  We just need to lobby Brian for three winners this year one for 2009, one for 2008, and one for 2007.  Of course, I would hate to lose my sacrificial reputation so I will lay down my games so as to raise up the games of others.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13 King James Version

I would recommend Chris Peterson's game for the 2007 winner as it was played in 2007 and finished 2nd in this year's contest.

For 2008, I would recommend Tim Fisher's game.  It was submitted in 2008 to me, but I held off on making it the Game Of The Week in case that would disqualify it from receiving this award.  I forwarded it to Brian and he put it in his top 4:

"Tim Fisher gets very high marks for getting in the spirit of the award with his own Rambo annotations, saving Paul Anderson and I the trouble of writing them.  Double extra credit bonus points for making correct pgn annotations that can be popped right into Fritz or Chessbase with notes intact.  Chris Peterson has been begging me to learn that simple trick for months."

In addition, it is now the 50th contributed game I have published.

"Spirited Rambo annotations in the spirit of Baltier deserves something."

B. Wall

White to move

2008 Jim Burden Award Winner?

[Event "ICC 2 10"]

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

[Date "2008.01.30"]

[Round "?"]

[White "PegLeg"]

[Black "Fisher, Tim"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B01"]

[BlackElo "1601"]

[Annotator "Fisher,Tim"]

[PlyCount "88"]

[EventDate "2008.01.30"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Ne5 e6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. Bf4 Be7 {!?} 9. Qd2 {but now that the bishop is guarded, the knight must be taken.} ({I wasn't afraid of} 9. Nxf7 {because Black has decent compensation after} Qxf4 10. Nxh8 Kf8) 9... b5 {?? is one cute move too many.} 10. Nc4 ({of course now the simple} 10. Nxf7 {should also win easily.}) 10... Qb4 11. a3 {Ever get that feeling that the walls are closing in on you?} Ne4 12. Qe3 Nxc3 13. axb4 {Here, any sane person would have resigned. But I dug down deep and those immortal words came to me: "It's not over! Nothing is over! Nothing!! You can't just switch it off!"} Nd5 {! Attacking his queen and two minor pieces.} 14. Qd2 bxc4 {! So long, little stallion!} 15. Bxc4 N7f6 16. Be5 Nxb4 {! Ha! Another warrior falls, surely momentum must be swinging in my favor!} 17. Bxc7 {I didn't need him anyway.} Bb7 {! Developing the mighty bishop to its best diagonal with tempo!} 18. O-O {Yes, castling CAN be a blunder!} (18. Ba5 {was preferred.}) 18... Rc8 {! Challenging him to defend them both.} 19. b3 Rxc7 {! Another enemy soldier pays the ultimate price!} 20. c3 Nc6 21. Bxa6 {Flank pawns merely limit the scope of my pieces. Good riddance!} Nd5 {! The knight centralizes and dominates the position!} 22. Bxb7 Rxb7 {! And now my forces are practically invulnerable on the light squares!} 23.Ra8+ Rb8 24. Rxb8+ {? The enemy has traded off his most active piece!} Nxb8 25. Ra1 O-O {My king enters his fortress while the rook is now ready to decimate anyone who stands in his way!} 26. c4 Nf6 {A charge to the rear!} 27. b4 Rd8 28. c5 {It's going to take more than a few puny foot soldiers to conquer my troops!} Nc6 {The evil twin knight enters the fray with a devastating double attack!} 29. Qc3 {? Never send a woman to do a MAN's job!} Nxd4 30. Rd1 {?? Is that supposed to scare me?} Ne2+ {!! --the inevitable death blow from a highly motivated fighting force!} 31. Kf1 Nxc3 {! Goodnight Saigon!} 32. Rxd8+ Bxd8 33. c6 Bb6 34. Ke1 Nfd5 35. Kd2 Ne4+ 36. Kd3 Nxf2+ 37. Kc4 Kf8 38. Kb5 Ke7 39. Ka6 Kd8 40. Kb7 Be3 41. b5 Ne4 42. c7+ Nxc7 43. b6 Bxb6 {Have one for the road!} 44. Kxb6 Kd7 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=96600

This Week In Chess

On March 31st, the CSCC had 12 members in attendance.  The night's event was Player's Choice.  Most players opted for pick-up games and no record was kept despite quite a bit of discussion about score keeping.  There are no results.

Spring Is Sprung Open III

By Jerry Maier

Results of the Spring Is Sprung Open III, April 4, 2009.

Score Place Prize Player

4.5 1st $50.00 Anthea J Carson

4.0 U1600 $35.00 Robert Rountree

3.0 Ted K Doykos

3.0 Michael C Davis

3.0 Dean W Brown

2.5 U1400 $14.00 Gerald J Maier

2.5 U1400 $14.00 Russel J Stark

2.5 U1200 $25.00 Liz Wood

2.0 Thomas Mullikin

2.0 Isaac Martinez

1.0 Kathy A Schneider

Upcoming Events

4/7 Speed Tournament, CSCC

4/8 Boulder April Blitz Tournament, BCC

4/10-12 2009 Boulder Open, BCC

4/14 Team Tournament, 4SS, G/15. 2 player teams, alternate moves without consulting, rating sum <3200, CSCC

4/16 April 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event, CSCA

4/18 casual chess at Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8:00 PM., CSCC

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

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

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

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

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

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