D Is For Discovery IX

Game Of The Week

A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics. I called it the DROP Method. 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 opponents 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.

Discovery is a chess move that attacks with two pieces.

The Discovery is played when a player is going to make an attack with the piece that he moves, but also he will make an attack with another piece that was blocked by the piece that he moves. When the Discovery is successful, the opponent can only avoid one of the attacks. This means that the other attack will gain material or mate. The second attack is often a check on the King, which is called a Discovered Check.

"Discovered check is the dive bomber of the Chessboard."

(Reuben Fine)

Here is a position from a game played between Mark McGough and Rhett Langseth in the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Sunday night, online event, Cancel Chess.  There are actually two good moves here.

White to move

Mark discovered one of the moves and was certain that he had blown-up the competition with his 300-point upset in the final round and was sure to be awarded a medal for his valor.  Unfortunately, he was stunned by the discovery that my guns had knocked him out of the sky and taken his place on the medal stand.

Lyrics from Iron Maiden's Aces High

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers

Let off a sharp burst and then turn away

Roll over, spin 'round to come in behind them

Move to their blindsides and firing again

Bandits at eight o'clock move in behind us

Ten ME-109s out of the sun

Ascending and turning our spitfires to face them

Heading straight for them, I press down my guns...

D Is For Discovery IX

[Event "Cancel Chess Online"]

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

[Date "2021.06.06"]

[Round "4.3"]

[White "McGough, Mark"]

[Black "Langseth, Rhett"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B07"]

[WhiteElo "1617"]

[BlackElo "1939"]

[PlyCount "95"]

[EventDate "2021.06.06"]

[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4 e5 5. Nf3 c6 6. Be2 Qc7 7. O-O Be7 8. a4

b6 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Qd2 a6 11. Kh1 Rb8 12. Rad1 b5 13. axb5 axb5 14. d5 Bb7 15.

Bg1 b4 16. dxc6 Bxc6 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Qxc2 19. Bb5 Ngf6 20. Bxd7+ Nxd7 21.

fxe5 Rd8 22. Nd4 O-O 23. Nxc2 dxe5 24. Qb3 h6 25. Qg3 Kh8 26. h3 Bf6 27. Rd5

Rc8 28. Rxd7 Rxc2 29. Qb3 Re2 30. Rxf7 Rg8 31. Qxb4 Bg5 32. Qb7 h5 33. R1f5 Bh6

34. Rxh5 Kh7 35. Rxh6+ Kxh6 36. Qd7 Re1 37. Qf5 g6 38. Qxe5 Ra1 39. Kh2 Raa8

40. Be3+ g5 41. Qf6+ Rg6 42. Qe7 Rh8 43. Qe5 Rhg8 44. Rf5 Kh5 45. Rxg5+ Rxg5

46. Bxg5 Rg7 47. Bf6+ Kg6 48. Bxg7 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116628

This Week In Chess

On June 6th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the Cancel Chess Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10). John Brezina won the gold, Jose Llacza claimed the silver on tiebreaks, and Paul Anderson got the bronze.

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/cancel-chess-2383030

Place, Cancel Chess Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1 Czechmate1972 (1725)" 3.5
2 "#2 JJ7X (1907)" 3.0
3 "#3 cschessnews (1765)" 3.0
4 "#4 msmcgough (1617)" 3.0
5 "#5 pretbram (1500)" 2.0
6 "#5 bazinga2 (1583)" 2.0
7 "#7 jfoxhoot (1675)" 2.0
8 "#8 KingVed (1527)" 1.0
9 "#9 CosmicNovaGalaxy (1486)" 1.0
10 "#9 Termenoil (1939)" 1.0
11 "#11 Cocomcfrecal (1031)" 1.0
12 "#11 grahamjcjg (781)" 1.0
13 "#13 albertgardner (1397)" 0.5

COATI Uprising

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's first over-the-board (OTB) event in more than a year.  It was a rousing success and jumped to the top of the best events I have run for the club since 2015.  

Ren Thorpe at the projector

Of course, it is just one event and the average may come down over time, but it did finish just one shy of the largest event at the club (25, 2019 City Champ).

Event	Total	# of events	Average
COATI Blitz	24	1	24.00
City Champ	84	4	21.00
AFACC vs CSCC	20	1	20.00
November Swiss	87	5	17.40
February Swiss	85	5	17.00
May One Night	16	1	16.00
March Swiss	78	5	15.60
December Swiss	78	5	15.60
June Swiss	62	4	15.50
September Swiss	74	5	14.80
May Swiss	71	5	14.20
August Swiss	71	5	14.20
July Quick Six	53	4	13.25
April Quick Six	53	4	13.25
Annual Meeting	52	4	13.00
Speed Qualifier	74	6	12.33
July Swiss	12	1	12.00
July One Night	23	2	11.50
June Mating Game	11	1	11.00
Feb Flash	11	1	11.00
April Swiss	11	1	11.00
July Mating Game	43	4	10.75
Cabin Fever Reliever	43	4	10.75
June Speed	10	1	10.00
January One Night	29	3	9.67
Jan Speed	20	3	6.67
Speed Championship	36	6	6.00
Speed Consolation	33	6	5.50
Speed Quad	4	1	4.00
Extra Speed	4	1	4.00
Grand Total	1272	92	13.83

I am just guessing, but the main reason the event did so well was because a pandemic locked-up chess players at home for more than a year.  Even chess players like to get out every once in a while.

However, a lot of the reason for the great turnout was that I got a lot more help in putting this event together than usual.  

First, there was the location.  A hearty handshake goes to Ren Thorpe, Experience Coordinator at COATI Uprising, for letting us use their space.  Even though the chess boards were split up between the upstairs bar and the back alley and the COATI equipment was too cutting-edge for my humble netbook, we got 10 blitz games done with limited troubles.  You can see Ren fighting with my netbook just to the right of the screen.  We needed a USB to USB cable (is that a thing?) to connect the netbook.  If anyone has one of those and can bring it next Wednesday, that would keep me from going complete hoarse.

Also, we got split up for a couple of reasons.  One, we had a lot more players than expected.  Two, COATI runs a Nerd Fest once a month on Wednesdays and they had the larger space.  You gotta hate nerds!  Chess players are so much better.

Secondly, some of the success has to be credited to my new marketing team of Diego Arnedo and Adhya Spencer from Jaguart Art Experience.  They were inspired by the "Queen's Gambit" to create chess-themed art for a live event on April 30th.  Many of the exhibits are still on display until the end of June at COATI.  They wanted the Colorado Springs Chess Club to donate some books to be a part of the one of the exhibits.  I had to get up early and run downtown to get into the Acacia Apartment office, when the maintenance staff was there, and agonize over which of the club's books and magazines would be appropriate on Beth Harmon's bed from the orphanage.  What I won't do for my art!

Name all 4 chess items on Beth's bed and win a prize!

Ok, you can kind of see the bed on top of the bar, and if you squint really hard, you can see the club's stuff in the center of the bed.  Many visitors to the art event commented that these items were their favorite part of the exhibit.  I was just glad I could do my part.

Diego and Adhya also wanted me to create a chess puzzle for them to use with the advertising.  Of course, that wasn't hard since I already had one from my last newsletter.  When they got the diagram, they wanted me to translate the algebraic notation into something a beginner could understand and describe my motivation.  Sometimes I forget that not everyone speaks chess, and I just told them my motivation was not to lose to Mark McGough.

Design Art by Diego Arnedo and 

Adhya Spencer - Chess Art by Paul Anderson and Mark McGough

Thirdly, a round of applause goes to John Brezina, who came down from the Parker Chess Club to photograph our event.  I am new to Google Photos, but I think you should be able to view his art with the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J1f5FXzZaZGxgHpj6

And, yes, Virginia, there was chess.

I was hoping the players would be an even number all night, and I would be able to just direct (TD) the event.  However, players did drop out, and I jumped in 4 times.  In the first round, I was on board one and got paired with Erika Strnad.  She was one of our unrated newcomers to the club.  When I told her we were playing, she just sighed, "Oh great, I get to play the guy running this thing."

Erika vs Paul

Of course, it could have been worse.  I had printed out some score sheets, as Adhya wanted the full "Queen's Gambit" feel.  However, I forgot to mention them to the players, and I was the only one to use one.  Fortunately for Erika, I didn't record her game.  Unfortunately for Alex Torres, I did record his game and only his.  Therefore, he gets the game of the week prize, a Corona beer, for helping me create this position.  I immediately thought I had smothered mate!  I was wrong.

White to Move

COATI Uprising

[Event "3rd Wednesday May COATI"]

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

[Date "2021.05.19"]

[Round "2.1"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Torres, Alex"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A40"]

[WhiteElo "1957"]

[BlackElo "1643"]

[PlyCount "37"]

[EventDate "2021.05.19"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 Nf6 5. Bd3 d5 6. e5 Nfd7 7. f4 Be7 8. Nf3

O-O 9. O-O a6 10. Be3 f5 11. Qb3 Nc6 12. cxd5 Na5 13. Qc2 exd5 14. Bxf5 Rxf5

15. Qxf5 Nf8 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. Qf7+ Kh8 18. Qxd5 Bb7 19. Nf7+ 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=116565

This Week In Chess

On May 19th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the 3rd Wednesday May Unrated Blitz OTB.  Will Wolf took home 1st place and the sunglasses and mug donated by COATI.

I wear my sunglasses at night

Place, 3rd Wednesday May Unrated Blitz OTB, Score

1 William Leo Wolf 9.0

2 Peter Barlay 7.0

3 Joseph H Pahk 7.0

4 Jose Llacza Magno 7.0

5 John Jose Brezina 6.0

6 Mark McGough 6.0

7 John Micha McCann 6.0

8 Alejandro Torres 6.0

9 Eugin E Pahk 5.5

10 Drew Tirado 4.5

11 Yuna T Pahk 4.5

12 David Mueller 4.5

13 Paul D Anderson 4.0

14 Ian Taruc 3.0

15 Mason Wilkinson 3.0

16 John Marshall 3.0

17 Erika Strnad 3.0

18 Tim Saffold 2.0

19 Patru Dumitru 2.0

20 Marcus Mazerall 1.0

21 Koen Beaver 1.0

22 Jacob McCloud 1.0

23 Jessica Diosdado 0.0

24 Case Regan 0.0

Colorado Senior Open

By Buck Buchanan

2021 Colorado Senior Open Championship

Open to players over age 50 at tournament date June 5

4 Round Swiss Tournament

Date:  June 5 - 6, 2021

Time Control:  G/90 plus 30 second increment

City:  Manitou Springs

Site:  Art Center 515 Manitou Avenue Manitou Springs

Entry Fee:  $35 if rec'd by 6/4 (mail), $40 at site. 

Prizes:  Cash prizes per entries.

Registration:  8:30 - 9:30 AM.

Round Times:  10 AM, 3 PM Saturday; 10 AM, 3 PM Sunday

Entries:  Make checks payable to CSCA c/o Richard Buchanan

Address:  1 Sutherland Rd., Manitou Springs CO 80829

Phone:  (719) 685 1984

Email:  buckpeace@pcisys.net

Second day Byes must be requested before Round 1.

We will be following the El Paso County CDC guidelines.

Under current guidelines all players will be required to wear a mask 

in the building.

Players completing Covid vaccinations prior to this tournament is 

strongly encouraged.

Honorary Medal

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's event:  CSCC Other Side Rapid Online (3SS, G/10+10).  It was played by Rhett Langseth and Alayne Wilinsky.

Rhett was nice enough to test out the online tournament's re-entry feature.  The question was:  Can players withdraw from the event and then re-enter the event when they are available again?  The answer is:  Maybe.

Perhaps it might work in larger events.  However, the computer limits the number of late entrants an event can have based on the number of players in the first round.  So, our small event may have exceeded our allotment of late entrants.  If the computer considers re-entries the same as late entrants, then it would deny a re-entry because all late entries had been used.  Or it just denies re-entries all together.  Who knows?  At least, it is clear there is no guarantee.

Alayne was nice enough to give Rhett the draw and the bronze.  She survived his tactical shots and had the better endgame.  However, she chose to repeat the position rather than push on for the win.  I can understand her choice since I thought I had a draw against Rhett until I moved into a Knight Fork and hung my Rook.

I felt bad when I beat Alayne in the final round and she lost out on the bronze medal by tie breaks.  I think I saw it was her birthday from my weekly visit to facebook, and after collecting my 6th silver medal, I realized I could have been more generous by not playing my usual, brilliant openings and give her a shot at her first medal in our Corona Chess Olympics.

So, the Game Of The Week's prize goes to Alayne Wilinsky for creating this position.

White to move

Honorary Medal

[Event "CSCC Other Side Online"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2020.09.20"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Langseth, Rhett"]
[Black "Wilinsky, Alayne"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "1888"]
[BlackElo "1356"]
[PlyCount "190"]
[EventDate "2020.09.20"]
[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. Nf3 f5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Nbd2 g6 4. c3 Bg7 5. e4 fxe4 6. dxe4 d6 7. Qb3 e6 8. e5 dxe5 9. Bc4 Nd5 10. Ne4 O-O 11. Bg5 Qd7 12. O-O-O Nc6 13. Bxd5 exd5 14. Rxd5 Qe6 15. Rhd1 Kh8 16. Bd8 Qf5 17. Neg5 h6 18. h4 hxg5 19. hxg5 Qf4+ 20. Kb1 Bf5+ 21. Ka1 Nxd8 22. Rh1+ Bh6 23. Rxh6+ Kg7 24. Qd1 Nf7 25. Rh4 Bg4 26. Qh1 Nxg5 27. Nxg5 Qxg5 28. Rh7+ Kf6 29. Rxc7 Rad8 30. Rcc5 Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Ke6 32. c4 Rxf2 33. Qe1 Qf4 34. Rxe5+ Qxe5 35. Qxf2 Bf5 36. a3 Qe4 37. Ka2 Qb1+ 38. Kb3 Bc2+ 39. Kc3 Bf5 40. b3 a5 41. Qb6+ Ke5 42. Qxa5+ Kf4 43. Qc7+ Kg5 44. Qe7+ Kg4 45. Qe2+ Kg5 46. Qe3+ Kf6 47. Qd4+ Kg5 48. Qd2+ Kf6 49. g3 Qa1+ 50. Kb4 Qe5 51. Qf2 Kg5 52. Qf3 Qd6+ 53. Kc3 Qe5+ 54. Kb4 Qd6+ 55. c5 Qd4+ 56. Kb5 Bd7+ 57. Kb6 Bc6 58. Qf8 Kh5 59. b4 Qd3 60. Qh8+ Kg5 61. Qh4+ Kf5 62. Qf4+ Ke6 63. Qg5 Qb5+ 64. Kc7 Qd3 65. Kb6 Qb5+ 66. Kc7 Qd3 67. Qg4+ Ke7 68. Kb6 Qb5+ 69. Kc7 Qd3 70. Kb8 Qd8+ 71. Ka7 Qd3 72. Qg5+ Kf7 73. Qf4+ Ke7 74. Qe5+ Kf7 75. Qc7+ Kf6 76. Qf4+ Ke7 77. Qg4 Qxa3+ 78. Kb6 Qa6+ 79. Kc7 Qd3 80. Kb6 Qb5+ 81. Kc7 Qd3 82. Qg5+ Kf7 83. Qf4+ Ke7 84. Qe5+ Kf7 85. Qf4+ Ke7 86. Qe5+ Kf7 87. Kb8 Qd8+ 88. Ka7
Qd3 89. Kb6 Qb5+ 90. Kc7 Qxb4 91. Qd6 Qa5+ 92. Kc8 Qa8+ 93. Kc7 Qa5+ 94. Kc8 Qa8+ 95. Kc7 Qa5+ 1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115809

This Week In Chess

On September 20th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held our Sunday Night Online Event.

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/cscc-other-side-rapid-online-1582062

Place, CSCC Other Side Rapid Online, Score

1 "#1 Czechmate1972 (1658)" 3.0
2 "#2 cschessnews (1608)" 2.0
3 "#3 Termenoil (1848)" 1.5
4 "#4 alaynew (1352)" 1.5
5 "#5 jfoxhoot (1590)" 1.0
6 "#6 KingVed (1457)" 0.0
7 "- Wazzat (1967)" 1.0
8 "- bazinga2 (1582)" 0.0
9 "- bestatcheckers7 (1594)" 0.0

Full Commitment

Game Of The Week

By Andy Rea

[editor: This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's event:  CSCC Illegal Landing Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  It was played by Andy Rea and DuWayne Langseth and actually comes from one of the players!]

It is not the best of form to nominate oneself for Game Of The Week, but I think my Round 3 win against DuWayne Langseth was fairly interesting and entertaining.  Not to be confused with sound, but then, I had sound and mundane and ordinary, think boring, in Rounds 1, 2, and 4.  The win in Round 3 also proved vital in winning the Illegal Sunday tournament!

I had White.

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 f5 4.Bf4 Bd6 5.Bxd6 Qxd6 6.Nc3 c6 7.cd ed 8.e3 Nd7 9.Be2 Ngf6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qc2 Ne4

So far so good for Black.  The trend has him hitting Kingside while White is able to spectate and observe.

12.Rac1 Rf6 13.a3 Rh6 14.g3 Qg6

This has gotten serious.  It's as though Black is trying to win!  I spent a fair amount of time, considering its G/10, trying to find something sturdy and steely.  That sometimes works, as happened in Round 4. Here though, Black is able to keep hitting the White King.  So, time to change the subject, even though the price is wrong!

15.Nxd5 cd 16.Qxc8+

Full commitment, for better or worse!

16...Rxc8 17.Rxc8+ Nf8

Black passes the first test, not allowing the annoying forkly pinly.

17...Kf7 18.Rc7. 18.Ne5 Qe6 19.Rd8

The whole idea is that if Black is not allowing himself to get bagged on the back ranks, then Be2 has to do something.  But there is good news:  Black is not attacking!  Sure, Black could play 19...Nd6 20.Rc1, there's still some fun stuff for White.  Albeit probably not ending well, but it would be interesting!  The really nice news is that Black doesn't play 19...f4 20.ef Qh3 21.Nf3 Nd2, reminding White that there is more than one King on the board...

19...Qe7? 20.Rxd5 Rd6

Black saves his King but I could hardly have done a better job of stopping his attack!  True, objectively Black is better, but White has plenty of potshots lurking out there, and for now Kg1 is not completely stressed out.

21.Rb5 a6 22.Rb4 Qc7 23.Bc4+

Turns out Black does not get the c-file after all.  This miscalculation very much keeps White alive if not still fully well.

23...Ne6 24.Rc1 Kf8 25.Nd3 Rc6

This looks bad but turns out to not be awful.

26.d5 Rd6 27.Bxa6 Qd8 28.Bxb7

Here, yes, Black cannot be a fan of Rc8xd8... but, there were other squares for the Queen.  Black is also nervous about an ending where White has 2 connected Queenside passers rendering an extra Black piece fairly harmless.  Anyway, I trust that our readers can find better than Blacks unfortunate choice.  Not that this is so easy when the players are in time pressure right from move 1 on!

28...Qf6? 29.de Rxd3 30.Bxe4 fe 31.Re4

And White's pieces have stumbled into the endzone, shades of The Man From New York Life, as our older readers may recall... In any event, trying to save this as Black with not a lot of time, best wishes.

31...Ke7 32.Rc7+ Ke8 33.e7 Qf5 34.Rf4 Rd1+ 35.Kg2 Qd5+ 36.e4

Some 4-5 moves ago I was down to 17 seconds, but the increment was helpful.  Black also was inside the last minute, and as happens in these time shortages, the mistakes on defense are more brutal, per previous note.  I am not seeing any escape here for Black.

36...Qg8 37.Rc8+ Kxe7 38.Rxg8

And here Black did not see any need to test White's endgame technique. 1-0

DuWayne has been playing well against me previously.  I am glad to finally get a win and to then win the final round to win the tournament, always a good deal, worth more than the price of admission!

Postscript:  It can also be fairly observed DuWayne would have concerns about ...f5-f4 getting hit by Be2-g4.  I might have made it seem like he missed an obvious defense when that is not the case.  The chips were falling well for me that game.

White to move

Full Commitment

[Event "CSCC Illegal Landing Online"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2020.09.06"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Rea, Andy"]
[Black "Langseth, DuWayne"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1644"]
[BlackElo "1591"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2020.09.06"]
[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 f5 4. Bf4 Bd6 5. Bxd6 Qxd6 6. Nc3 c6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 Nd7 9. Be2 Ngf6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 Ne4 12. Rac1 Rf6 13. a3 Rh6 14. g3 Qg6 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Qxc8+ Rxc8 17. Rxc8+ Nf8 18. Ne5 Qe6 19. Rd8 Qe7 20. Rxd5 Rd6 21. Rb5 a6 22. Rb4 Qc7 23. Bc4+ Ne6 24. Rc1 Kf8 25. Nd3 Rc6 26. d5 Rd6 27. Bxa6 Qd8 28. Bxb7 Qf6 29. dxe6 Rxd3 30. Bxe4 fxe4 31. Rxe4 Ke7 32. Rc7+ Ke8 33. e7 Qf5 34. Rf4 Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd5+ 36. e4 Qg8 37. Rc8+ Kd7 38. Rxg8 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115754

This Week In Chess

On September 6th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the CSCC Illegal Landing Rapid Online event (4SS, G/10+10).

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/cscc-illegal-landing-rapid-online-1553866

Place, CSCC Illegal Landing Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10), Score

1 "#1 dzhierkiev64 (1866)" 3.5
2 "#2 msmcgough (1507)" 3.0
3 "#3 DuWayneL (1569)" 2.0
4 "#4 Czechmate1972 (1627)" 2.0
5 "#5 jfoxhoot (1600)" 2.0
6 "#6 Termenoil (1860)" 1.0
7 "#7 SHerman2 (1008)" 1.0
8 "#8 linuxguy1 (1420)" 0.5
9 "- Honeybrook (1350)" 1.0
10 "- cschessnews (1614)" 0.0

Beware The Twelfth

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's event:  CSCC Blind Turtle Rapid Online (4SS, G/10+10).  It was played by Alex Bozhenov and Dean Brown.

I was surprised to see Dean in virtual medal contention and tied with my opponent, Jeff Fox, when the 4th round started.  I figured there had to be an upset in one of his first three games, but I was floored to see it was against Alex Bozhenov.

Alex had played in a couple of the Colorado Springs Chess Club's online events and hadn't lost a game.  In his first 12 games of Rapid chess, he won six, drew five, and lost only one.  He had pushed his Rapid rating to his peak from these tournaments on the twelfth:  Highest 1808 (Jul 12, 2020).

Beware the twelfth, for the streak was going to come to an end.  In fact, the rating was going to drop sharply.  In the last 30 days, Alex's online Rapid rating was going to fall nearly a hundred points, and all from one man:  Dean William Brown (Rating change: White -99, Black +47).

Ironically, the Twelfth Of July is also the day the Orange Order celebrates another victory from a different William.

The Battle of the Boyne was fought in Ireland between William of Orange and James II in July 1690.  It was the last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on the battlefield.  William of Orange won a crushing victory, which secured the Protestant ascendancy in Ireland for generations.

After the battle, William changed his color to Brown while James changed his name and fled the British Isles for Russia.  Their descendants have been waring ever since.

Black to move

Beware The Twelfth

[Event "CSCC Blind Turtle Online"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2020.07.26"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Bozhenov, Alex"]
[Black "Brown, Dean"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "1616"]
[BlackElo "1174"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2020.07.26"]
[TimeControl "600+10"]

1. e4 c5 2. b4 b6 3. b5 a6 4. c4 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Bg7 7. Qf3 Bb7 8. Nge2 f5 9. d3 Nf6 10. Rb1 O-O 11. Bd2 Nbd7 12. Ng3 e5 13. a4 exf4 14. Qxf4 Ne5 15. Nd5 fxe4 16. dxe4 Nxd5 17. cxd5 Rxf4 18. Bxf4 Qf6 19. Be3 Rf8 20. Be2 axb5 21. Rxb5 Ba6 22. Rxb6 Bxe2 23. Kxe2 Nc4 24. Rf1 Qxf1+ 25. Nxf1 Nxb6 26. a5 Nc4 27. Bg5 Nxa5 28. Be7 Re8 29. Bxd6 Rxe4+ 30. Kf3 Rd4 31. Ne3 Nb7 32. Bc7 c4 33. g4 c3 34. g5 c2 35. Nxc2 Rc4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115650

This Week In Chess

On July 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the CSCC Blind Turtle Rapid Online event (4SS, G/10+10).

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/cscc-blind-turtle-rapid-online-1354911

Place, CSCC Blind Turtle (4SS, G/10+10), Score

1 "#1 cschessnews (1696)" 3.0
2 "#2 jfoxhoot (1538)" 2.5
3 "#3 Czechmate1972 (1527)" 2.5
4 "#4 KingVed (1476)" 2.0
5 "#4 msmcgough (1522)" 2.0
6 "#6 bozhenoff (1620)" 2.0
7 "#7 Navajo36us80917 (1166)" 2.0
8 "#8 tristancruz (1002)" 0.0

D Is For Discovery VIII

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.

Discovery is a chess move that attacks with two pieces.

The Discovery is played when a player is going to make an attack with the piece that he moves, but also he will make an attack with another piece that was blocked by the piece that he moves.  When the Discovery is successful, the opponent can only avoid one of the attacks.  This means that the other attack will gain material or mate.  The second attack is often a check on the King, which is called a Discovered Check.

"Discovered check is the dive bomber of the Chessboard."

Reuben Fine

Here is a position from game 50 played between myself and my dad in our email match.  There are actually two good moves here.  I found the immediate Discovery, but see if you can find the delayed Discovery too.

White to move

D Is For Discovery VIII

[Event "20-14-16"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2009.03.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2008.10.15"]
[TimeControl "40/5400:0/0:3600"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 a6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 Bc5 5. e3 h6 6. b4 Ba7 7. Bb2 d6 8. Qc2 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bd3 Nge7 11. Nh4 f6 12. Ng6 Rg8 13. g4 Bxg6 14. Bxg6+ Kf8 15. Be4 Rb8 16. h4 Qd7 17. O-O-O Qxg4 18. h5 Qd7 19. f3 f5 20. Bd3 Kf7 21. Bf1 Rbf8 22. Bh3 Ke8 23. Kb1 Kd8 24. Ne2 Qe8 25. d4 exd4 26. exd4 Qxh5 27. Nf4 Qxf3 28. Ne6+ Ke8 29. Bg2 Qg4 30. c5 Rf7 31. Nxc7+ Kd7 32. cxd6 Kxd6 33. Ne6 Rc8 34. Nc5 Nd8 35. Rdg1 Bxc5 36. dxc5+ Kc7 37. Qd3 Kb8 38. Qd6+ Ka8 39. Bxb7+ 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=115437

This Week In Chess

On May 3rd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the CSCC Requited Queen Rapid Online event (4SS, G/10+10).

https://www.chess.com/tournament/live/cscc-requited-queen-rapid-online-1214278

Place, Player, Score

1 "#1NMBrianWall (1909)" 3.5
2 "#2cschessnews (1706)" 3.0
3 "#3jfoxhoot (1579)" 2.5
4 "#4HermitCrab0 (1463)" 2.0
5 "#5KingVed (1464)" 2.0
6 "#6msmcgough (1433)" 2.0
7 "#6mrpicklez (1959)" 2.0
8 "#8aelvr (1399)" 2.0
9 "#9alaynew (1311)" 1.0
10 "#10Navajo36us80917 (1056)" 1.0
11 "-liencam2 (1247)" 1.0
12 "#10linuxguy1 (1534)" 1.0

D Is For Discovery VII

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.

Discovery is a chess move that attacks with two pieces.

The Discovery is played when a player is going to make an attack with the piece that he moves, but also he will make an attack with another piece that was blocked by the piece that he moves.  When the Discovery is successful, the opponent can only avoid one of the attacks.  This means that the other attack will gain material or mate.  The second attack is often a check on the King, which is called a Discovered Check.

"Discovered check is the dive bomber of the Chessboard."

Reuben Fine

Here is a position from a game played between Chris Motley and Asher MacEnulty in the Cabin Fever Reliever from the Colorado Springs Chess Club's Tuesday night April tournament.

Spectators gather at the final board of the night in the Cabin Fever Reliever.

Black to move

The Discovery is played by capturing the Bishop on h6.  This move is an attack on the White King, the Discovered Check.  White has to move the King.  However, when the Discovery is added into the mix, the attack is even better.  The Bishop capture reveals an attack on the White Queen.

The first attack is a capture and check of the King.  The second attack is a capture of the Queen.  White has to defend the King by the rules of the game.  The Bishop and Queen loss puts Black back in control of the game.

So, by just being observant, a player can find these Discovery opportunities and salvage a bad position.

D Is For Discovery VII

[Event "Cabin Fever Reliever"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2019.04.02"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Motley, Chris"]
[Black "MacEnulty, Asher"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C23"]
[WhiteElo "1582"]
[BlackElo "1118"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2019.04.02"]
[TimeControl "2700"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 c5 3. Qh5 g6 4. Qxe5+ Qe7 5. Qxh8 Qxe4+ 6. Be2 Qxg2 7. Bf3 Qg5 8. Qxg8 h6 9. Nc3 Qe5+ 10. Nge2 d6 11. d4 Qf6 12. Bd5 Be6 13. Bxh6 Nd7 14. Bxb7 Rb8 15. Bc6 Ke7 16. Bxd7 Kxd7 17. O-O-O Bxh6+ 18. Kb1 Rxg8 19. dxc5 Kc6 20. Rxd6+ Kxc5 21. Ne4+ Kb5 22. Nxf6 Kc5 23. Ne4+ Kb5 24. Nd4+ Ka5 25. Nc6+ Kb5 26. Nxa7+ Ka5 27. a3 Bg7 28. b4+ Ka4 29. Ra6# 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=114170

This Week In Chess

On April 2nd, the Colorado Springs Chess Club started the Cabin Fever Reliever event (4SS, G/45; d/10).

Standings. Cabin Fever Reliever

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Aleksand Bozhenov 1980 W4 W5 2.0
2 Mitchell Anderson 1970 W6 W3 2.0
3 Mark McGough 1822 W8 L2 1.0
4 Dean W Brown 1421 L1 W7 1.0
5 Christophe Motley 1582 W9 L1 1.0
6 William Leo Wolf 1303 L2 W10 1.0
7 Grayson Ed Harris 1471 W10 L4 1.0
8 Clinton Eads 1301 L3 W9 1.0
9 Earle Macenulty 1118 L5 L8 0.0
10 Colum Ashlin unr. L7 L6 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

P Is For Pin VII

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 April 10th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2018/04/d-is-for-discovery-vi.html).  The second kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Removal, which I revisited on May 14th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2018/05/r-is-for-removal-vii.html).  The third kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Overload, which I revisited on June 18th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2018/06/o-is-for-overload-vii.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 (or an ungarded 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:  July Mating Game. Erasmus Eskeldson, who is closing in on his 50th standard-rated tournament game, got his Bishop pinned to his Queen.

However, Erasmus realized that a Pin against the Queen is not Absolute.  It is a Relative Pin.  The pinned piece can move, and, in this case, it can create a Discovery to get out of the Pin and win material!

Black to move

P Is For Pin VII

[Event "July Mating Game"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2018.07.24"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Arispe, Joey"]
[Black "Eskeldson, Erasmus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1216"]
[BlackElo "1341"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2018.07.17"]
[TimeControl "2700"]

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. c3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. h3 Nbd7 6. e3 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 b6 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. Rfe1 Nb8 12. b3 Na6 13. Rad1 Rc8 14. Qb1 Nd7 15. e4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Bd6 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Re8 20. Bh2 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 Nf6 22. Qb7 Re7 23. Qa6 Nd5 24. a3 Rd7 25. Ne5 Rdc7 26. Nc4 Re7 27. Bd6 Rd7 28. Bh2 Nc7 29. Qxa7 Bxd4 30. Nd6 Rxd6 31. Bxd6 Qxd6 32. Re4 Bxf2+ 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=112942

This Week In Chess

On July 24th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished the July Mating Game (4SS, G/45;d/10).

Standings. July Mating Game

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

1 Aleksand Bozhenov 1999 W10 W9 W2 W4 4.0 $37.00 1st
2 Mark McGough 1791 W11 W5 L1 W6 3.0 $25.00 2nd
3 Lawrence R Osborn 949 H--- U--- W8 W5 2.5 $16.00 U1300/unr
4 Michael Smith II 1642 L6 W7 W10 L1 2.0
5 Erasmus Eskeldson 1341 W7 L2 W6 L3 2.0 $5.00 GOW
6 Joey Arispe 1216 W4 W11 L5 L2 2.0 $5.00 GOW
7 Ross Inman unr. L5 L4 W11 W10 2.0
8 David Argaez unr. H--- U--- L3 W11 1.5
9 William Leo Wolf 1552 W12 L1 U--- U--- 1.0
10 Nick J Derosier 1312 L1 W12 L4 L7 1.0
11 Scott Ch Williams 1254 L2 L6 L7 L8 0.0
12 Braiden Denny 381 L9 L10 U--- U--- 0.0