Final Nail

Game Of The Week

All good things come to an end.

My Father's Day tradition for the Colorado Springs Chess News website has been to publish a win from my dad during our email match together.  We started playing in 1996, before I ever went to the Colorado Springs Chess Club.  We finished the match after 53 games in 2010.

The match was even (+12-12=9) after this game in 2003.  However, it was also the final nail in the coffin for my dad.  He had purchased Fritz 8 for me as a Christmas gift.  Now, I had a tool to go over my games.  After this point, I won ten of the last twenty games (+10-3=7) to pull ahead in the match.

Going over your own chess games is key to improvement at chess.

I was reminded of this fact recently when I stopped by the Denver Open in April.  One of the invited masters was IM Danny Rensch, who was doing a lecture and simul the night I was there.  I caught part of his lecture where he talked about how to go over your games.  He stressed turning off the computer and finding three key moments on your own.

Of course, I didn't catch the lesson perfectly, as it is never easy to retain 100% when you are not taking notes or expecting to stay for the whole lecture.  I was only in Denver to meet with family and unprepared to catch some pearls of chess wisdom.

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

Luke 6:40 (KJV)

However, here is what I gleaned from IM Daniel Rensch's 3 Point System for analyzing games without a computer.  You are to find the moves where these main elements occurred:

• Out of Book
• Turning Point
• Final Nail

Since this game is also the final nail in the coffin of publishing wins for my dad and doesn't have a good tactical moment, I thought I would apply the 3 Point System to this game.

First, finding the point I got out of book was pretty easy.  I had just discovered LM Brian Wall's emails and the Fishing Pole was all the rage.  Of course, some might say the Fishing Pole move was also the final nail in the coffin of winning this game.

Second, the turning point was harder to choose.  I clearly missed the explanation of this item during the lecture.

Third, the final nail is that moment when the final result is set in stone.  If you play on, you are just hoping for a miracle.  It is that time when the masters say, "The rest is technique."  Here is the position I chose for this game.  Black has given up all hope for a win, but might have one last shot at a draw.  I didn't play the move.  You just have to find a better move than 34...Rf8.

I will let you be the judge on how well I found the 3 points.

Black to move

Final Nail

[Event "12-12-9"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2003.10.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2003.08.16"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Ng4 5. h3 h5 6. d3 Bc5 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 h4 10. Bxh4 gxh4 11. hxg4 Qe7 12. Nc3 a6 13. Ba4 Qg7 14. Nd5 Kd8 15. Nh2 d6 16. Kh1 h3 17. g3 b5 18. Bb3 Na5 19. f3 Nxb3 20. axb3 Bb7 21. b4 Bd4 22. c3 Bxd5 23. cxd4 Bb7 24. d5 f5 25. Qe2 fxg4 26. fxg4 Ke7 27. Rac1 Kd7 28. Rf5 Raf8 29. Qe3 Rhg8 30. Rcf1 Rxf5 31. Rxf5 Kd8 32. Rh5 Kc8 33. Rxh3 Kb8 34. Kg2 Rf8 35. g5 Rf7 36. Rh6 Rf8 37. Ng4 Rg8 38. Nf6 Qxg5 39. Qxg5 Rxg5 40. Kh3 Rg7 41. Kh4 Ka7 42. g4 Bc8 43. g5 Kb6 44. Rh8 Bh3 45. Ne8 Rxg5 46. Kxg5 Bf1 47. Rh7 Bxd3 48. Nxc7 a5 49. Na8+ Ka6 50. Kf5 a4 51. Rd7 a3 52. Rxd6+ Kb7 53. bxa3 Kxa8 54. Rc6 Kb7 55. Rc5 Kb6 56. d6 Bf1 57. Kxe5 Bh3 58. Kf6 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=114430

This Week In Chess

On June 11th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club continued the June Swiss 90 event (4SS, G/90+30).

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 1950 W11 W4 2.0
2 Christophe Motley 1679 W5 W11 2.0
3 Joey Arispe 1259 W10 H--- 1.5
4 Mark McGough 1857 W9 L1 1.0
5 Richard Buchanan 2000 L2 W13 1.0
6 Peter Barlay 1906 W8 U--- 1.0
7 William Leo Wolf 1300 U--- W12 1.0
8 Dean W Brown 1460 L6 D9 0.5
9 Kenneth Macrae 1264 L4 D8 0.5
10 Michael Smith II 1713 L3 H--- 0.5
11 Grayson Ed Harris 1534 L1 L2 0.0
12 Joy Sato unr. U--- L7 0.0
13 Joseph Griffin 761 U--- L5 0.0

O Is For Overload 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.

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)

It is my Father's Day tradition to publish a win (over me) from my dad.  This game occurred early in our email match when my dad had the upper hand.  However, neither of us was good enough to catch the mistake in this position.

Black to move

O Is For Overload VII

[Event "1-3"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "1997.01.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "1996.10.04"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bh4 d5 4. f3 Nd6 5. Nc3 c6 6. e4 Qa5 7. Qd2 h6 8. Bd3 e6 9. e5 Nc4 10. Bxc4 dxc4 11. a3 b5 12. Nge2 Qc7 13. Qf4 Be7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Qe4 Bb7 16. Qe3 O-O 17. O-O Nd7 18. Ne4 Nb6 19. Nd6 a5 20. c3 Ba6 21. f4 f5 22. Ng3 Nc8 23. Nxc8 Rfxc8 24. Nh5 Qh4 25. Qf3 Bb7 26. g3 Qh3 27. Rad1 Rc7 28. g4 Qxg4+ 29. Qxg4 fxg4 30. Kf2 Rd8 31. Rg1 Kf8 32. Rxg4 c5 33. Rg3 cxd4 34. cxd4 b4 35. axb4 axb4 36. Rg6 c3 37. bxc3 bxc3 38. Ke3 c2 39. Rc1 Bd5 40. Rg3 Bb3 41. Rg2 Rc3+ 42. Kd2 Rc4 43. Nxg7 Rdxd4+ 44. Ke3 Rd1 45. Rcxc2 Rxc2 46. Nxe6+ Kf7 47. Rxc2 Bxc2 48. Nd4 Bb1 49. Nf3 Rh1 50. Kf2 Be4 51. Nd4 Rxh2+ 52. Ke3 Bh7 53. f5 Rh5 54. Ke4 Rh4+ 55. Ke3 Rxd4 56. Kxd4 Bxf5 57. Ke3 Kg6 58. Kf4 h5 59. Kf3 Kg5 60. Kg3 h4+ 61. Kf3 h3 62. Kg3 Bg4 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=112776

This Week In Chess

On June 12th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club continued the June Swiss 90 event (4SS, G/90+30).

Standings. June Swiss 90

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Josh S Bloomer 2324 W11 W7 2.0
2 Sara Herman 1971 W18 W8 2.0
3 Peter Barlay 1927 W19 W10 2.0
4 Mark McGough 1779 W14 W6 2.0
5 Paul D Anderson 2032 D12 W16 1.5
6 Daniel Herman 2051 W17 L4 1.0
7 Brian Jo Rountree 1822 W13 L1 1.0
8 Michael Smith II 1635 W20 L2 1.0
9 William Leo Wolf 1580 W21 U--- 1.0
10 Dean W Brown 1571 W15 L3 1.0
11 Clinton D Eads 1310 L1 W20 1.0
12 Ayush Vispute 1207 D5 D17 1.0
13 Grayson Ed Harris 1009 L7 W21 1.0
14 Daniel J Rupp 973 L4 W18 1.0
15 Joel Hicks unr. L10 W19 1.0
16 Scott Ch Williams 1243 H--- L5 0.5
17 Gerardo Cruz 1214 L6 D12 0.5
18 Joey Arispe 1192 L2 L14 0.0
19 Shirley Herman 1105 L3 L15 0.0
20 Lawrence R Osborn 898 L8 L11 0.0
21 Tristan Cruz 745 L9 L13 0.0

It's Not Late If It's Still Trending

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my email match against my dad.  It started in 1996 and lasted until 2010.  We played 53 games, and the score was even until 2003 (+12-12=9).  The final 20 games went in my favor and showed a marked improvement in my game (+10-3=7).  The match was the reason I started going to the Colorado Springs Chess Club and started playing in the USCF.

When I started writing about chess in 2004, I made it a tradition to publish my dad's wins on Father's Day.  Sometimes I would not get the newsletter out on time since it can be busy for me as well.  This year I went to see Wonder Woman on Father's Day (since Wonder Dad does not exist) and did not get the newsletter out.

However, I noticed that the hashtag FathersDay is still trending.  I guess a lot of children didn't get their act together.  So, here is a game for all those chess Dads out there!

White to move

It's Not Late If It's Still Trending

[Event "9-8-4"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2001.01.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2000.11.01"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. c3 Ne7 12. g3 Nxd5 13. exd5 Be7 14. Bg2 O-O 15. O-O Bb7 16. Nc2 Rc8 17. Ne3 Qb6 18. Re1 a5 19. Rc1 Rc7 20. Bf1 Bc8 21. Bd3 Ba6 22. Qe2 Rfc8 23. h4 g6 24. Kg2 f5 25. f3 Bf6 26. Rcd1 Bg7 27. Nc2 Rc5 28. Na3 Rxd5 29. Bc4 bxc4 30. Rxd5 Rc5 31. Qf2 Rc6 32. Qxb6 Rxb6 33. Re2 Bb7 34. Rxa5 d5 35. Rb5 Rxb5 36. Nxb5 Kf8 37. Kf2 Ke7 38. f4 e4 39. Re1 h5 40. Nd4 Kd6 41. a4 Bf6 42. a5 Bd8 43. Ra1 Ba6 44. Nc2 Kc6 45. Nb4+ Kb5 46. Nxa6 Kxa6 47. Rd1 Bxa5 48. Rxd5 Bb6+ 49. Ke2 Bg1 50. Rd6+ Kb5 51. Rxg6 Ka4 52. Rg5 Kb3 53. Rxf5 Kxb2 54. Rxh5 Kxc3 55. Rb5 Kd4 56. f5 Be3 57. f6 c3 58. Kd1 Bh6 59. g4 Bf8 60. g5 e3 61. g6 Bh6 62. g7 c2+ 63. Kxc2 e2 64. Rb1
1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=110617

This Week In Chess

On June 13th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club continued the June Swiss 90 (4SS, G/90+30).

Standings. JuneSwiss90

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize

1 Paul D Anderson 2008 W10 W5 2.0
2 Mark McGough 1859 W11 W10 2.0
3 Aleksand Bozhenov 1914 W7 H--- 1.5
4 Calvin P Dejong 1900 W6 H--- 1.5
5 Brian Jo Rountree 1767 W12 L1 1.0
6 Scott Ch Williams 1282 L4 W13 1.0
7 Alemayeh Mekonnen 1478 L3 W12 1.0
8 Dean W Brown 1469 L9 W11 1.0
9 Peter Barlay 1957 W8 U--- 1.0
10 Michael Smith II 1545 L1 L2 0.0
11 Clinton D Eads 1180 L2 L8 0.0
12 Daniel J Rupp 993 L5 L7 0.0
13 Cass Raymon Melin unr. U--- L6 0.0

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

Gift From Dad

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my email match (1996-2010) with my dad.  To honor my father, I publish one of his wins over me each year around Father's Day.

He is the reason I started playing chess as an adult.  He also encouraged me to play chess as a child.  He taught me the rules and was my first opponent.  He let me study his chess books to get better, he bought me a chess program (Sargon 3) to train, and he even took me to play a Grandmaster in a simultaneous exhibition (1986, https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2004/03/cicl-simultaneous.html).

Who knew that it would take 22 years to meet another Grandmaster?

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2008/08/game-of-year-v.html

One would think, that as an active chess expert who has been playing in rated events for 18 years, I would have run into many Grandmasters.  However, such is not the case.

I remind you that I live in Colorado and rarely travel to chess events outside the state.  None of the current 88 American Grandmasters live in Colorado.  So, my contact with Grandmasters was limited to 2 in 22 years.

Fortunately, a New York Grandmaster was traveling to a chess tournament in California by car and had to cross through Colorado.  The chess club in Denver quickly laid a trap for him and refused to let him go unless he did a simul and played in the Denver Open.

So, I had a chance to meet my 3rd Grandmaster in 30 years:

• GM Arthur Bisguier (1986 Simul)
• GM Dashzegve Sharavdorj (2008 Bobby Fischer Memorial)
• GM Gata Kamsky (2015 see below)

While my dad gave me a lot of gifts to get my chess career started, the best one was his time.  Here is a position from one of our earliest email games.

White to move

Gift From Dad

[Event "1-2"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "1996.10.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B14"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "1996.08.01"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. a3 Ba5 10. b4 Bb6 11. c5 Bc7 12. Bg5 a6 13. Qc2 h6 14. Bh4 Qe7 15. Rfe1 Qd8 16. Ne2 Bd7 17. Qc3 b6 18. Ne5 Be8 19. Bc2 bxc5 20. bxc5 Ba5 21. Qd3 g5 22. Bg3 Bxe1 23. Rxe1 Kg7 24. f3 Rh8 25. h3 Nd7 26. Nxc6 Qc8 27. Ne5 Nxe5 28. Bxe5+ f6 29. Bd6 Bf7 30. f4 Qe8 31. Ng3 Qd7 32. f5 Qb5 33. Qf3 Qb2 34. fxe6 Qxd4+ 35. Kh2 Qb2 36. exf7 Qxc2 37. Nh5+ Kg6 38. Re6 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=102358

This Week In Chess

On June 16th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished the June Mating Game (4SS, G/30; d/10, $5 entry).  10 players battled on 5 boards this evening.

Here are the results:

Standings. 2015 June Mating Game: Open

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

1 Daniel Herman 14345456 1866 W8 W2 W5 D4 3.5 $20.00 1st
2 Aleksand Bozhenov 15525004 1893 W11 L1 W8 W6 3.0 $13.00 2nd
3 Paul Dou Anderson 12728345 2062 W6 W5 U--- U--- 2.0
4 Richard Buchanan 10273030 2000 H--- U--- W11 D1 2.0
5 Mark McGough 11366481 1865 W10 L3 L1 W8 2.0
6 Brian Jo Rountree 12477167 1841 L3 D11 W7 L2 1.5 $2.50 GOW
7 Sara Herman 14345441 1602 H--- U--- L6 W10 1.5 $9.00 U1800
8 Dean W Brown 10224098 1500 L1 W10 L2 L5 1.0
9 Clark T Stroh 12761284 unr. U--- U--- L10 W11 1.0
10 Scott Williams 15755696 unr. L5 L8 W9 L7 1.0
11 Shirley Herman 14812654 1088 L2 D6 L4 L9 0.5 $2.50 GOW

The King

Game Of The Week

Name: King

The King is a fighting piece. Use it! 

Wilhelm Steinitz

• Alias: General, Governor, Lord, Shah (Persian for King and origin of the word Check. “Shah mat” is Persian for “The King is helpless” and the origin of the word Checkmate.)
• Number: 1
• Starting Square: 1st rank, E file
• Motto: “I am Eternal!”
• Move: One square, any direction
• Capture: One square, any direction
• Speed: Slow
• Special Ability: Castling
• Material Value: Infinite
• Mobility Preference: Endgame
• Spiritual Value: Peace
• Song: Peace Of Mind, Boston
• Verse: Luke 14:31-32 (KJV)

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

In the beginning was the King, and the King was with a King, and the King was a King.  He was with a King in the beginning.

Chess is a story of 2 Kings, who are eternal.  They cannot be harmed and are never captured.  While every other piece may leave the board, the Kings never will.

Since he cannot be hurt, he has no fear.  He will capture any enemy piece who dares to threaten him, but he never runs.  He deliberately moves only one square at a time in any direction he chooses.  However, he is wise.  He will not move into harm’s way and will get out of any trouble immediately.  Since the King shows proper respect to the other King, he will give way when they meet.  When the trouble gets too great he will lay down his kingdom to insure peace.

The King can be triumphant when he receives the surrender, or he can be humbled when he lays down his kingdom.  But sometimes the Kings just agree to a mutual peace.  Which King will you be?  You will have to play to find out!

Here is an example where my King lays down his kindom:

Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [C96]

9–10–6 Email,15.09.2001

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Ba6 17.Rc1 Rc8

This was the twenty-fifth email game I played with my dad.  I had about 3 years of tournament experience by now.  However, I didn’t realize what I was up against.  My dad had been caught up in the Fischer boom and was a regular on the Bell Labs chess team in the Chicago Industrial Chess League during the 1970s.

Bell Labs Dragons - 1970s

I think I was still experimenting with black openings, as this is not an opening I play now.  It is the Closed Ruy Lopez: Chigorin Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4).  In my database of 763 tournament games, this opening appears zero times, and in my 53-game match with my dad this was the only time I played it.

Sometimes, a beating leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

18.d5 Nb4 19.Bb1 f5 20.a3 f4 21.axb4 fxe3 22.Rxe3 Qb6 23.Rec3 Kh8 24.Bd3 Ra8 25.Qe2 Ra7 26.Nb1 Rb7 27.Na3 Nb8 28.Rc8 Bd8 29.Ng5 Re7 30.Ne6 Rxe6 31.dxe6 Bxc8 32.Rxc8 Nc6 33.Bxb5 Nd4 34.Qe3 Qb7 35.Bd7 h6 36.b5 Be7 37.Rxf8+ Bxf8 38.Kf1 d5 39.f3 Bb4 40.Qd3 dxe4

Allowing my dad control of the c file was a poor choice but trading off the Queens in an endgame where he could activate his King and mine was helpless had to be the final nail in the coffin.

"After a bad opening, there is hope for the middle game.  After a bad middle game, there is hope for the endgame.  But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived.” 

Edmar Mednis

41.Qxe4 Qxe4 42.fxe4 Kg8 43.Nc4 Kf8 44.Ne3 a3 45.bxa3 Bxa3 46.Nd5 Nb3 47.b6 Na5 48.Ke2 g6 49.Kf3 Bc5 50.Kg4 Ba3 51.h4

Black to move

51…Nb7 52.h5 g5 53.Kf5 Be7 54.Kg6 Nc5 55.Kxh6 Bd8 56.Kg6 1–0

Answer: 51…h5+ Everything is bad, but this slows the King invasion down and might be your last shot to set a trap (51... h5+ 52.Kg5 Kg7 53. g3 Bc1+ 54. Nf4 exf4 55. gxf4 Ba3 56. f5 Bc1#).  Wouldn’t that have been quite the comeback!

The King

[Event "9-10-6"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2001.09.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C96"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2001.06.04"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nd7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. Nb3 a5 15. Be3 a4 16. Nbd2 Ba6 17. Rc1 Rc8 18. d5 Nb4 19. Bb1 f5 20. a3 f4 21. axb4 fxe3 22. Rxe3 Qb6 23. Rec3 Kh8 24. Bd3 Ra8 25. Qe2 Ra7 26. Nb1 Rb7 27. Na3 Nb8 28. Rc8 Bd8 29. Ng5 Re7 30. Ne6 Rxe6 31. dxe6 Bxc8 32. Rxc8 Nc6 33. Bxb5 Nd4 34. Qe3 Qb7 35. Bd7 h6 36. b5 Be7 37. Rxf8+ Bxf8 38. Kf1 d5 39. f3 Bb4 40. Qd3 dxe4 41. Qxe4 Qxe4 42. fxe4 Kg8 43. Nc4 Kf8 44. Ne3 a3 45. bxa3 Bxa3 46. Nd5 Nb3 47. b6 Na5 48. Ke2 g6 49. Kf3 Bc5 50. Kg4 Ba3 51. h4 Nb7 52. h5 g5 53. Kf5 Be7 54. Kg6 Nc5 55. Kxh6 Bd8 56. Kg6 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=93128

This Week In Chess

On June 10th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club started its annual June event:  The June Mating Game.  It is a 2-week event, and players can still jointhe final 2 rounds for $5 and receive a 1/2 point bye for the previous rounds.  Jeff Fox and Daniel Herman won both their games and have jumped into the lead.

June Mating Game (4SS, G30):

2.0 Jeff Fox
2.0 Daniel Herman
1.5 Mark McGough
1.0 Paul Anderson
1.0 Arthur Knize
1.0 Sara Herman
1.0 Shirley Herman
0.5 Dean Brown
0.0 Luke Thurman
0.0 Steven Readel

Tuesday Night Chess Tour Cumulative and 2nd Quarter Standings

# MAX POSSIBLE 84.00 40.00

1 Paul Anderson 54.20 22.70
2 Daniel Herman 43.33 23.00
3 Richard Buchanan 32.00 8.50
4 Mark McGough 28.87 15.53
5 Koji DelConte 25.00 10.00
6 Shirley Herman 20.00 8.00
7 William Benedek 19.03 9.53
8 Joe Pahk 15.70 2.20
9 Earle Wikle 15.00 10.00
10 Dean Brown 13.50 8.50
11 Katie Wise 12.20 8.20
12 Imre Barlay 12.00 6.00
13 Sara Herman 8.33 4.33
14 Josh Bloomer 8.00 0.00
15 Anthony Thomason 8.00 8.00
16 Larry Kledzik 7.00 2.00
17 Mike Makinney 7.00 7.00
18 Mike Madsen 7.00 2.00
19 Gunnar Andersen 6.50 3.50
20 Eugin Pahk 6.00 0.00
21 Ben Matthews 6.00 2.00
22 Jeff Fox 5.50 5.50
23 Alex Freeman 5.33 0.00
24 Peter Barlay 5.00 3.00
25 Paul Protheroe 5.00 5.00
26 Rezheen Hamid 5.00 5.00
27 Kevin Kaaoush 4.00 1.00
28 Alex Torres 4.00 1.00
29 Mitch Vincent 3.00 3.00
30 Peter Wise 3.00 1.00
31 David Silva 3.00 3.00
32 Richard Brown 2.50 2.50
33 Gary Atkinson 2.00 0.00
34 John Byrne 2.00 0.00
35 Robert Jimenez 2.00 0.00
36 Ron Dotson 2.00 0.00
37 Chris Wynkoop 2.00 0.00
38 Arthur Knize 2.00 2.00
39 Bobby Dzagen 1.00 0.00
40 Adam Metzger 1.00 0.00
41 Web McNairy 1.00 0.00
42 Jeremy Hawks 1.00 1.00
43 Phil Van Hawk 1.00 1.00
44 Brandon Hilliard 1.00 1.00
45 Dragan Plakalovic 1.00 1.00
46 Thomas Mullikin 1.00 1.00
47 Daniel Cabrera 1.00 1.00
48 Anthea Carson 1.00 1.00

3 Ms Of Chess: Material

Game Of The Week

When I started playing tournament chess, I read a pamphlet from GM Arthur Bisguier about how to improve at chess.  Since I had been crushed by him in a simul, I was more than willing to take his advice, even though I knew little about what a GM was.  He had a list of 10 principles to keep in mind when playing.  I thought that was a little too complicated for me to remember.

So, I condensed those ideas into what I considered the 3 strategies of chess.  I also wanted something easy to remember so I decided to use the trick of alliteration to make them even more unforgettable.  I called them the 3 Ms of chess:

• Mate
• Material
• Mobility

The idea was that every chess move was an attempt to accomplish one of these three strategies and provided an ordered thought process in choosing a move.

The 1st priority chess strategy (Mate, https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2013/05/3-ms-of-chess-mate.html) was to protect your King from checkmate.  Once you decide your King is not in harm, you can strategize about getting your opponent’s King.  However, in most chess positions checkmate is a long way off.  So, now what do you do?

The 2nd priority chess strategy (Material) was to gain a more powerful army than your opponent.  This idea involved not only a simple piece count, but also the understanding that each piece has a different value.

Piece Values In Chess:

1. Queen = 9
2. Rook = 5
3. Bishop = 3
4. Knight = 3
5. Pawn = 1
6. King = Eternal

I quickly learned to grab up the pieces my opponent was giving away and hold on, as tight as I could, to mine, but also I used this simple chart to calculate the success of piece trades.  Trading a lower value piece for a higher one was almost always the right move.

I learned that even a one Pawn advantage could be the difference in the game.  The special move a Pawn has, called Promotion, is probably the most decisive way to gain a material advantage.  In one move you typically gain 8 points of material (Pawn + Promotion = Queen; 1+8=9).  The more Pawns you have versus your opponent just means more chances to promote.

Here is an example:

Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [B12]

7-7-3 Email,17.05.2000

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.Be3 Qa5+

Black to move

This could have been called the Anderson variation since I played it a lot in my beginning days of chess.  However, the lack of success I had with my own idea killed any chance of this opening catching on.  Here I just give up a Pawn with no clear plan to get it back.

“In a gambit you give up a Pawn for the sake of getting a lost game.”

Samuel Standige Boden

6.Qd2 Qxd2+ 7.Nxd2 Nc6 8.Bb5 Nge7 9.c3 g6 10.f4 Bg7 11.Ngf3 0–012.Kf2 Nf5 13.Bd4 h5 14.g3 Bd7 15.Bd3 Nfe7 16.Rae1 a5 17.h3 f6 18.exf6 Bxf619.Kg2 Nf5 20.Bf2 Kf7 21.g4 Ng7 22.g5 Be7 23.Nh4 Nf5 24.Nxf5 exf5 25.Nf3 Bd8 26.Re2 Bc7 27.Kg3 Rfe8 28.Rhe1 Rxe2 29.Rxe2 Re8 30.Rxe8 Bxe8

Another idea about Material strategy could have helped me in this game:  Trading pieces favors the player with the material advantage.  Here I trade off all the big guns in my army.  This makes it harder to create tactics to regain my Pawn deficit.  A better approach is to trade Pawns not pieces when behind in material.

While the simple piece value chart has served me well, even up to this point in my chess career, I understand it is subjective.  The value of the pieces does vary based on their position on the board. Clearly, a Pawn on the 8th rank is more valuable than one on the 2nd rank.

“A passed Pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes.”

Capablanca

31.h4 Ke6 32.Bb5 Bd7 33.a3 Na7 34.Nd4+ Ke7 35.Bxd7 Kxd7 36.a4 Bd8 37.b4 Nc8 38.Kf3 Ne7 39.b5 b6 40.c6+ Kd6 41.Ke2 Bc7 42.Be3 Nc8 43.Kd3 Ke7 44.Nf3 Ke6 45.Kd4 Bd6 46.Ne5 Ne7 47.Nd7 Bc7 48.Kd3 Nc8 49.Ke2 Bd8 50.Bd4 Bc7 51.Kd3 Bd8 52.Be5 Nd6 53.Bxd6 Kxd6 54.Kd4 Bc7 55.Ne5 Ke6 56.Nxg6 Bd6

With an army that is only larger by one Pawn, it is not going to be a quick win.  However, my dad finally breaks through and gains a second Pawn.  At the top levels of chess, two Pawns are winning.

57.Ne5 Bc5+ 58.Kd3 Bd6 59.g6 Kf6 60.Nd7+ Kxg6 61.Nxb6 Bxf4 62.Nxd5 Bd6 63.c7 Bxc7 64.Nxc7 f4 65.Ke4 1–0

To finish out the game he used the threat of Promotion to reduce my army to almost nothing.  If that had been his last Pawn, I could have salvaged a draw.  However, trading off his pieces and not his Pawns left me in the helpless position of facing multiple promotions.  I chose to raise the white flag.

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

Luke 14:31-32 (KJV)

3 Ms Of Chess: Material

[Event "7-7-3"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2000.05.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2000.03.13"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Qa5+ 6. Qd2 Qxd2+ 7. Nxd2 Nc6 8. Bb5 Nge7 9. c3 g6 10. f4 Bg7 11. Ngf3 O-O 12. Kf2 Nf5 13. Bd4 h5 14. g3 Bd7 15. Bd3 Nfe7 16. Rae1 a5 17. h3 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Kg2 Nf5 20. Bf2 Kf7 21. g4 Ng7 22. g5 Be7 23. Nh4 Nf5 24. Nxf5 exf5 25. Nf3 Bd8 26. Re2 Bc7 27. Kg3 Rfe8 28. Rhe1 Rxe2 29. Rxe2 Re8 30. Rxe8 Bxe8 31. h4 Ke6 32. Bb5 Bd7 33. a3 Na7 34. Nd4+ Ke7 35. Bxd7 Kxd7 36. a4 Bd8 37. b4 Nc8 38. Kf3 Ne7 39. b5 b6 40. c6+ Kd6 41. Ke2 Bc7 42. Be3 Nc8 43. Kd3 Ke7 44. Nf3 Ke6 45. Kd4 Bd6 46. Ne5 Ne7 47. Nd7 Bc7 48. Kd3 Nc8 49. Ke2 Bd8 50. Bd4 Bc7 51. Kd3 Bd8 52. Be5 Nd6 53. Bxd6 Kxd6 54. Kd4 Bc7 55. Ne5 Ke6 56. Nxg6 Bd6 57. Ne5 Bc5+ 58. Kd3 Bd6 59. g6 Kf6 60. Nd7+ Kxg6 61. Nxb6 Bxf4 62. Nxd5 Bd6 63. c7 Bxc7 64. Nxc7 f4 65. Ke4 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=81378

This Week In Chess

On June 11th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held its annual June Mating Game event.  This 2-week, USCF-rated tournament costs $5 and allows players to join in the 2nd week (3rd round) with a half point bye.

The 1st week saw Gunnar Andersen, Alex Freeman, and Joe Pahk score 2 wins to jump into the lead.  However, with the half point bye even a late entrant has a shot at first place.

Here are the current standings:

Score, Player:

June Mating Game (4SS, G30) results:

2.0 Gunnar Andersen
2.0 Alex Freeman
2.0 Joe Pahk
1.0 Buck Buchanan
1.0 Brian Rountree
1.0 Mark McGough
1.0 Daniel Herman
1.0 Eugin Pahk
0.5 Dean Brown
0.5 Kevin Kaaoush
0.0 Shirley Herman
0.0 Tom Richardson

Tuesday Night Chess Tour Cumulative and 2nd Quarter Standings

Current Standings (rank, name, total, quarter):

1 Paul Anderson 56.00 31.00
2 Isaac Martinez 30.50 25.50
3 Mark McGough 30.25 18.25
4 Mike Madsen 24.50 17.00
5 Jeff Fox 14.75 10.25
6 Koji DelConte 13.50 7.00
7 Daniel Herman 13.50 9.50
8 Alex Torres 13.00 5.00
9 Dean Brown 12.50 5.50
10 Tim Brennan 12.00 0.00
11 Peter Grigg 12.00 9.00
12 Josh Bloomer 10.50 8.00
13 Shirley Herman 9.00 7.00
14 Richard Buchanan 7.75 7.75
15 Sara Herman 7.00 3.00
16 Randy Canton 6.00 6.00
17 Alex Freeman 5.00 0.00
18 Tom Richardson 5.00 5.00
19 Josh Divine 4.25 4.25
20 Brian Rountree 4.00 0.00
21 Scott Williams 4.00 4.00
22 Eugin Pahk 4.00 1.00
23 Kathy Schneider 4.00 3.00
24 Joe Pahk 4.00 2.50
25 Peter Barlay 3.50 3.50
26 Joe Polanco 3.00 3.00
27 Kevin Kaaoush 3.00 3.00
28 Anthea Carson 2.00 0.00
29 Mike Wanek 2.00 0.00
30 James Powers 2.00 0.00
31 Wes Smith 2.00 1.00
32 William Wilken 2.00 2.00
33 Imre Barlay 2.00 2.00
34 Rebecca Herman 1.50 0.00
35 Mike Toth 1.00 0.00
36 Buddy Diamond 1.00 0.00
37 Curits Holsinger 1.00 1.00
38 Evan Baron 1.00 1.00
39 Teppei Monjiyama 1.00 1.00
40 Nicholas Wyle 1.00 1.00
41 Katie Wise 1.00 1.00

MAX POSSIBLE 68.00 40.00

How To Improve At Chess, Part II

Game Of The Week

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

Practice

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

Matthew 7:24

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

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

Email Match Results During The Online Days

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

Patience

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

Ecclesiastes 7:8

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

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

Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [B14]

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

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

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

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

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

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

White to move

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

Email Match Results During The Club Days

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How To Improve At Chess, Part II

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

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

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

This Week In Chess

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

Score, Player

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

Chess Dads

Game Of The Week

This week's game comes from my email match (1996-2010) with my dad.  As my Father's day gift, I publish one of his victories over me.

This year's edition was game number two, and I was not yet coming to the club.  I don't remember what I was thinking, but I make a blunder and suffered a slow death.

White to move

In this position, I had a lot of better choices than Bxg7.  Nd5 is probably the coolest, threatening to fork king and queen with Ne7+.  However, Be7, Bh4, Bg5 are all better places to put the bishop.  I guess this year's lesson from dad was to look before you leap.

It is easier for a son to lose to his dad than the other way around, especially when the son is young.  At a young age, the chess relationship is more master - disciple than as competitors.

My dad and I didn't play much in the master - disciple mode.  Most of our games were as competitors.  Losing wasn't hard for me, it just motivated me to get better.  But I had already won the first game, so I knew I could beat him.  Just having that knowledge, my the losses were easier to take.

I kind of have that mentality when I am playing the dads at the Renaissance fesitval.  I feel like it is my job to show the kids that their dads can be beaten.  Over and over.

It was that way with Joe Waggoner.  He brings his son to the Renaissance Fair every year and wins bracelet after bracelet until his son's entire arm is covered in chain mail.  I found this out because he thought Buck had quit the fair after his victories last year.

Buck is always one of the monks at the fair when Joe and his son show up.  He thought he knocked Buck out of chess like LM Brian Wall knocked him out of chess.

Well, he was back for another bracelet this year when he and his son took on Alex Freeman the first time Alex was trying to play 2 boards at once.  Of course, Alex beat the son but lost to Joe.

So, I had to make it my goal to restore the honor of the monks and show Joe's son that dad could be beat.  Joe gave it 3 tries before the cannon blast, and he was very close in a couple of games, but I am proud to say that Joe's son happily ate his ice cream set in the fact that his dad is not invincible and someday he too can beat his old man.

Chess Dads

[Event "1-1"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "1996.08.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anderson, Paul"]
[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D20"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1996.02.23"]
[TimeControl "0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. Bxc4 O-O 7. Bg5 a6 8. Nf3 Qd6 9. O-O Bg4 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. a3 c6 12. Re1 Ba7 13. dxc6 Qxc6 14. Bxf6 Bxf3 15. Bxg7 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Kxg7 17. Red1 Nf6 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. Qf3 Qe6 20. Rd3 Qg4 21. Qg3 Qxg3 22. Rxg3+ Kh8 23. Re1 Rg8 24. Rf3 Rg6 25. g3 Bd4 26. h3 Kg7 27. Kg2 Rc4 28. Re2 Bxc3 29. Rxc3 Rxc3 30. bxc3 b5 31. f3 Ne8 32. a4 Rc6 33. axb5 axb5 34. Rb2 Rc5 35. Kf2 Nd6 36. Rd2 Nc8 37. Rd3 Nb6 38. Ke2 Na4 39. Kd2 Kg6 40. h4 f6 41. g4 h5 42. Re3 Rc4 43. Kc2 b4 44. Rd3 Rxc3+ 45. Rxc3 Nxc3 46. Kb3 hxg4 47. fxg4 Nxe4 48. Kxb4 Nf2 49. g5 fxg5 50. hxg5 Kxg5 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=66987

This Week In Chess

On June 14th, the CSCC had 5 members in attendance.  The participants played speed games, but no score was kept.

Several members of the club are playing chess as monks at the Renaissance Festival this summer to promote the clubs around the state.  Alex Freeman and I played on June 18th beating all comers except Joe Wagoner, who took home a chain mail bracelet.

Here is my best guess at the results:

Wins, Player

30.0 Paul Anderson
30.0 Alex Freeman
1.0 Joe Wagoner

Bobby's Twin, Part II

Game Of The Week

My Father's Day tradition is to publish a chess game where my dad beats me.  I have collected all of them into a category on the website and included this year's edition below:

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/search/label/Father%27s%20Day

2005 Lessons From Dad

2006 More Lessons From Dad

2007 Lessons From Dad, Part III

2008 Bobby's Twin

2009 The Sesquicenchessial

2010 Bobby's Twin, Part II

Last quarter, I published a game where I beat my dad in an email game (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2010/05/break-on-through.html). Well, I thought it was only fair to turn the tables for this issue.

Since the encounter in the January Informant, the battle has gone back and forth.  I won 2 more, and he has won 2 more.  Actually, we are still in the midst of his last victory, as I am saving my resignation for his birthday present.  It seemed appropriate to me as his birthday has some chess significance.

There are several pieces of historical trivia that have stuck with me.  The reason they have stuck with me is because the events in question have coincided with the birthdays of my family members.

• I know on what day and month President Abraham Lincoln died.  Do you?
• I know on what day and month the Titanic sank.  Can you get that one?
• I know on what day and month income taxes are due.  Ok, that is an easy one.  How do I know?

Well, they all coincide with my birthday.  It makes for kind of a depressing day.  I like to think I broke the string of bad luck.

Anyway, I also know some notable birthdays too.  My grandfather was born on the exact same day as President Kennedy, and of course, the most important coincidence is that my dad was born on the exact same day as Bobby Fischer.

Having the same birthday as, arguably, the greatest American chess player has seemed to give my dad an air of invincibility around March 9th.  We have played 52 games together, and seven of them have finished in the month of March.

On March 7th, 1997 I lost.  We have drawn on the 10th (2000), the 5th (2001), and the 9th (2003).  I won on March 3rd, but that was my only March win.  The final two were losses I decided to think of as birthday gifts (2006 and 2010).

So, my grand tally for games ending in March is 1 win, 3 draws, and 3 losses. It kind of feels like I am playing Bobby’s twin!

Anderson,Paul - Anderson,Douglas

21–15–16 Email, 09.03.2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.d5 Bd7 5.Bxc4 Bd6 6.Ne2 h6 7.Nbc3 Nf6 8.f3 Qe7 9.0–0 Bc8 10.a3 b6 11.Kh1 Nbd7 12.Nb5 Bb7 13.Nxd6+ cxd6 14.Be3 0–0 15.Qd2 Nh7

I was pretty happy with the opening.  I have the bishop pair, more space, and, possibly, an attack building up on the castled king.  What could possibly go wrong?

16.Ng3 Qf6 17.Rac1 Rac8 18.Bb5 Nc5 19.b4??

Well, I could get speculative.  There is a proverb that goes:

“He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.”

Proverbs 28:19 KJV

I am not sure which conman talked me into this move, but my delusions of grandeur quickly turned my cow into a handful of magic beans.  These beans were supposed to give me control of the open file, a safe king, and minor pieces that could swoop in and open the door for the b or d pawn to find the goose that laid the golden egg.  19.Qd1 a6 20.Bc6 looks like a better way to plow the field.

19...Nb3 20.Rxc8 Nxd2 21.Rxf8+ Kxf8 22.Bxd2 Qd8 23.Rc1 f6 24.Bc6 Bc8

Now my invasion is not making the progress for which I had hoped, but I am undaunted.  I am going to keep marching forward and find a way through.  Perhaps, leaving a retreat option for my bishop would have left him with some more options than just a couple of pointless moves.  Then I could still march on with a4 and trying to set loose my b pawn (25.a4 g5 26.Be3 Ke7 27.Ra1).

25.b5 Ng5 26.a4 Nf7 27.Ba8 g6 28.Rc4 Kg7 29.Bc6 h5

I am beginning to flounder without a clear plan.  I was hoping that getting through his defenses was going to be easier.  However, I am beginning to think that I am going to need the help of the knight if I am going to sacrifice a piece in my queen side break through.

30.Ne2 g5 31.Be3 f5 32.Nc3 f4 33.Bg1 g4

I am starting to worry about the speed of my plan now.  I don’t think I put as much thought into how quickly his pieces are going to flow to my king when these pawns start to collapse.  This is an area where I often make mistakes:  counter-attack.  I get a little too focused on my own plan and stop assessing his plan.  However, I am feeling like it is a little too late to shut the back door now.  I decide to defend with the rook and hope the minor pieces can create something before he does.

34.fxg4 hxg4 35.a5 g3 36.Na4 Nh6 37.Rc2 Ng4 38.Bxb6

Well, it is desperation time.  I am just hoping that I can hold off mate before his birthday rolls around.

38...axb6 39.h3 Ne3 40.Rb2 

Black to move

40...Qh4 41.Kg1 Bxh3 42.Re2 Bg4 0–1

Happy Birthday Dad!

I guess I should have paid more attention to your advice when I asked you how your chess improved:

“I got better by taking more time on my moves and playing better defense, which means I look more carefully at what attacks you may have and try to defend against them early before you have 2 attacks and I only have 1 move to defend. I also try to keep my pieces well defended to prevent any surprises. I used to be able to get away with taking chances and being more aggressive and count on you making a weak move if I got into trouble. But now if I get into trouble it seems you are very good at maintaining your advantage to a win. Only after I feel a defensive move is not necessary and I have a free move, do I look for a good offensive move. That seems to get me at least a draw instead of a loss. Even if I feel I have a slight advantage, I try to make sure I hang on to the draw rather than trying something risky for a win.”

Douglas Anderson

Bobby's Twin, Part II

[Event "21-15-16"]

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

[Date "2010.03.09"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "D20"]

[PlyCount "82"]

[EventDate "2009.08.27"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 Bd7 5. Bxc4 Bd6 6. Ne2 h6 7. Nbc3 Nf6 8. f3

Qe7 9. O-O Bc8 10. a3 b6 11. Kh1 Nbd7 12. Nb5 Bb7 13. Nxd6+ cxd6 14. Be3 O-O

15. Qd2 Nh7 16. Ng3 Qf6 17. Rac1 Rac8 18. Bb5 Nc5 19. b4 Nb3 20. Rxc8 Nxd2 21.

Rxf8+ Kxf8 22. Bxd2 Qd8 23. Rc1 f6 24. Bc6 Bc8 25. b5 Ng5 26. a4 Nf7 27. Ba8 g6

28. Rc4 Kg7 29. Bc6 h5 30. Ne2 g5 31. Be3 f5 32. Nc3 f4 33. Bg1 g4 34. fxg4

hxg4 35. a5 g3 36. Na4 Nh6 37. Rc2 Ng4 38. Bxb6 axb6 39. h3 Ne3 40. Rb2 Qh4 41.

Kg1 Bxh3 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=71239

This Week In Chess

On June 15th, the CSCC had 8 members in attendance.  Half of the players joined the final round of the USCF-rated June Mating Game tournament (3RR, G30).  All I needed was a draw to secure 1st place, so I played it safe and waited for Jeff to offer the draw or flag on time.  He decided not to make the draw offer:

Score, Player, Place, Prize:

3.0 Paul Anderson, 1st, $12

2.0 Buck Buchanan, 2nd, $5

1.0 Jeff Fox

0.0 Dean Brown

June Panera Bread Thursday

By Dean Brown

Round 3 results:

Kurt Kondracki over Dean Brown

Gene Lucas over Jerry Maier

Kumar Tedla over Paul Sample

Sai Tedla over Justin Leo

Right Move Public Chess Club

By David Meliti

Holding the black pieces against Mark McGough, Jason Loving opted for the French Defense and came up with the victory in round 3 of the USCF June 2010 Swiss this past Thursday evening.  Also noteworthy, David Meliti played a successful Petrov Defense against Brian Rountree which turned out to be a very double-edged and tactical event for sure.  Standings after 3 rounds show David and Jason in a tie for first place with 2.5 points followed close behind by Brian Rountree with 2.0 points.  Round 4 (the final round of the month) will be played this Thursday evening June 24th with prizes to be awarded at the conclusion of the event.

After 3 rounds played in the club's "Informal" June 2010 Swiss, Henry Blandon & Paul Covington are tied for the lead with 2.5 points each (Paul took a bye this past Thursday evening) followed close behind by Anthea Carson, Isaac Martinez & Justin Zeek with 1.5 points.  Henry Blandon was able to secure a win over David Flaks on the white side of the board in an unusual king's pawn game beginning with the moves e4, Nc6 (the Nimzowitsch Defence) while Anthea Carson opted for the Barry Attack and came up with a victory against Gil Garrison who played a Kings Indian style defense.

Round 3 results for all players this past Thursday June 17th are as follows:

Brian Rountree................0-1..................David Meliti (USCF)

Mark McGough.................0-1..................Jason Loving (USCF)

Peter Swan.....................1-0..................Jay Shuler (USCF)

Henry Blandon................1-0...................David Flaks (Informal)

Anthea Carson................1-0..................Gil Garrison (Informal)

Melody Kirkwood.............0-1..................Isaac Martinez (Informal)

Byes: Paul Covington, Travis Bradley and Justin Zeek (Informal)

Small Group Chess Lessons Off-Site (Mondays)

This past Monday night June 21st 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.  Paul Covington covered the following topics in this past Monday's class:  middle game strategy attack on f7 as white, the Fried Liver Attack, when and when not to trade down pieces and finding strong outposts for your pieces.  Next Monday June 28th will be the final class and graduation of the adult students.  Paul Covington and David Meliti will put on a simul for the students.

June 28, 2010:::: Small Group Adults Class: 6:30 -8:00pm Graduation (The Last Class)

Planned activity: simultaneous exhibition / question & answer

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

Tournament Style Play: 7:00 - 9:30pm (Final Rounds/Prizes)

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

July 1, 2010::: Casual Play: 6:00 - 9:30pm

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

USCF RATED Tournament: 5-SS G/75 July 2010 Swiss Rd 1 of 5

Informal Club-Rated Event: 5-SS G/75 July 2010 Swiss Rd 1 of 5

July 08, 2010:: Casual Play: 6:00 - 9:30pm

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

USCF RATED Tournament: 5-SS G/75 July 2010 Swiss Rd 2 of 5

Informal Club-Rated Event: 5-SS G/75 July 2010 Swiss Rd 2 of 5

Other Club Announcements

Just a reminder, 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.

RMPCC 2010 Summer Quads, A Saturday Summer Chess Series, (Less than 2 weeks away from tourney #1 !!! )

3RR. G/60, Regular and Quick Chess Rated , Sudden death in 60 minutes, Groups of 4 by rating, USCF rated, USCF membership required. Right Move Public Chess Club, First United Methodist Church, 420 North Nevada Avenue, Classroom #234, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. The church is on Nevada Avenue between Boulder and St Vrain in downtown Colorado Springs. EF: $10 if received 3 days prior to event, $15 on event day. $35 to first in each quad. Registration: 10-10:30 a.m. Rounds: 10:45-1:00-3:00 p.m. If the total number of entries is not divisible by four, the lowest 5 - 7 players will play a 3-round swiss. Because this tournament is in a "Quads" format, byes are not allowed and withdrawals are strongly discouraged. USCF 5th edition rules will be in effect for all quad tournaments. Digital clocks will be set to G/55 td/5. Unrated players will be placed in the lower quad or section and will be eligible for prizes. USCF membership may be obtained at playing site. Send pre-registrations to: Right Move Public Chess Club, P.O. Box 246, Colorado Springs, CO 80901, Checks payable to Right Move Public Chess Club. Info: rightmovechess@yahoo.com, 719- 484-9467.

July 3, 2010, Tournament #1 (USCF RATED)

July 24, 2010, Tournament #2 (USCF RATED)

August 28, 2010, Tournament #3 (USCF RATED)

Happy Chess Playing !!!

The Sesquicenchessial

Game Of The Week

Last week I wrote about my 500th USCF-rated game.  Since there was no term to describe the occasion of playing 500 chess games, I had to create my own:  The Quincenchessial.

I had remembered the big stink my hometown, Naperville, had made back in 1981 when it celebrated its sesquicentennial of the year it was founded.  Apparently, some guy, Joe Naper, took two months to sail across the Great Lakes and was too tired to cross the DuPage river so he plopped his butt right there in 1831.

The thought occurred to me that if 150 years had its own designation, surely 500 years would as well.  So, I just modified the term for my own purposes.  And the first chess holiday was born.

Well, I soon realized that I had more milestones to come.  This week’s game marks the quinquennial of my father’s day emails.  I have been forgetting my card to my dad the past couple of years, but I have been making up for it by publishing his chess victories over me.  Isn't that much better than a tie anyway?

And this year’s game is especially memorable, as our email match has now hit the semicenchessial mark.  Even the Karpov vs. Kasparov World Chess Championship match in 1984 only made it to 48 games before being terminated.

This was the game that put us past the two former World Champs and was a long awaited, hard earned win for my dad after a drought of 6 games (4 loss, 2 draw) and 2.5 years.  In addition, it turns out to be my 150th published newsletter, just in time for my dad to now claim he has beaten Colorado’s newest expert (https://www.uschess.org/datapage/ratings_graph.php?memid=12728345).

Happy Father’s Day! 

Event, Paul Anderson’s Lexicon Of Chess Holidays

5 years = Quinquennial

50 games = Semicenchessial

150 games = Sesquicenchessial

500 games = Quincenchessial

White to move

The Sesquicenchessial

[Event "19-14-16"]

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

[Date "2008.10.09"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Anderson, Douglas"]

[Black "Anderson, Paul"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B10"]

[PlyCount "83"]

[EventDate "2008.05.19"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 g6 3. a3 Bg7 4. Bc4 d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. c3 O-O 7. Be3 e5 8. Nbd2

Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Nxf3 Nbd7 11. Qd2 Re8 12. O-O-O d5 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Ba2 Rc8

15. Kb1 a5 16. c4 d4 17. Bg5 Qb6 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Ng5 Nc5 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21.

dxe4 a4 22. h4 Qc6 23. f3 Rc7 24. g4 Rec8 25. g5 Bg7 26. h5 Bf8 27. hxg6 hxg6

28. Rh3 b5 29. Rdh1 Bg7 30. Qh2 Kf8 31. Rh7 f5 32. Rxg7 Rxg7 33. Qh8+ Rg8 34.

Qxg8+ Kxg8 35. cxb5+ Kg7 36. bxc6 Rxc6 37. Rc1 Ra6 38. Bd5 Ra7 39. Rc4 Ra5 40.

Bc6 Ra6 41. Bxa4 Kf7 42. Bd1 1-0

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=97420

This Week In Chess

On June 16th, the CSCC had 9 members in attendance.  The main event was the conclusion of the two-week, USCF-rated June Mating Game Tournament (4SS, G30).

Paul Anderson, Dean Brown, and Bob Staten withdrew from the event opening the door for Mitch Anderson to claim the top prize and James Powers to jump in and snag the U1800 prize.  Here are the final results:

Score, Prize, Place, Player

3.0 $18 1st Mitch Anderson

2.5 $12 2nd Josh Divine

2.0 Paul Anderson

2.0 Jeff Fox

1.5 Buck Buchanan

1.5 $12 U1800 James Powers

1.0 Dean Brown

1.0 Bob Staten

0.0 Mitchell Pjontek

Comments From Email

Josh "JD" Smith, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:56 PM

Was that a Mike Fuchs response that I saw in there?  Roommate from way back!  It’s fun to read the names on your email list and remember old friends.  Fromme, Splichal, Schultz just to name a few...  You guys should stop by Utah sometime.  I have all of the top rated players in the state playing a tournament in my basement this weekend!  Anybody know how to get a hold of Randall Moore?

Brian Wall, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 5:12 PM

After 17 years of playing Chess I was about to become a Chessmaster.  I normally played 1 d4 d5 2 e4 (The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit).  I was so scared my unsound gambit would lose to Steven Henderson and I would never become a Master I offered a draw after 1 d4 d5 which he accepted.

My idea of a major upset is anyone 400 or more points above me lucky enough to weasel out a draw.

DuWayne Langseth, Wednesday, June 17, 2009 9:51 AM

Way to spook him into a draw with a fishing pole attack!

Jeffrey Csima, Saturday, June 20, 2009 7:43 AM

I was surprised to hear our game last Sunday was such an important one for you, especially since a little bird told me you were going for a grandmaster draw even before the game began!  I normally play for a win and don't mind taking it to 150 moves if need be, but you caught me in a fatigued state after a fairly grueling tournament with 6 games in 2 days.  My brain was feeling a bit numb and indeed the NBA finals was looming as well.  Having the black pieces and not losing too many rating points helped the decision too.  If my glazed-over brain had seen the continuations stemming from 10 ... d4!  I probably would've declined the draw.  Instead I was only looking for ways to win the knight with little compensation for white, but I didn't see any so that was a key reason for my acceptance.  Next time we meet up you can look forward to a proper fight!

The question by Ann Davies is interesting I'd like to add my 2c on it.  I agree there is no official ratings difference that counts as an upset.  I suppose even a single rating point would qualify technically but most people don't take it that far.  Personally I use 200 rating points as the cutoff.  That's roughly where the higher rated player has about a 0.75 point expected result, which can be thought of as a 50-50 chance to win or draw with no chance to lose.  In reality there is obviously some chance to lose but it's small enough to deserve a special name like "upset" I'd say.

As a newcomer to your mailing list I'd also like to compliment you on your fine newsletter and hope you keep up the good work for years to come!

[Comments are about this newsletter:  https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/the-quincenchessial.html]

Upcoming Events

6/23 G/15 Ladders, CSCC

6/24 East Coast Deli’s June Open final rounds, CSCC

6/27 USAFA Quads #11, CSCA

6/30 Bughouse!, CSCC

7/1,8,15,22,29 2009 July East Coast Deli, CSCC

7/2,9,16,23,30 2009 July USAFA Chess, 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/)

Bobby's Twin

Game Of The Week

This week I had a lot of suggestions for the game of the week.  Anthea Carson NN crushed me this week at the June Mating Game for her 2nd win over me in 13 tries.  She was hoping that I would write up the game to promote her chess videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/TimmyBx).

However, she didn’t tell me which animal opening she used, so I didn’t know which video to promote. My favorite is the crab but that isn’t what she played this time.

In addition, I got a wonderful game from Tim Fisher this week.  He annotated a blitz game from back in January where he drops his queen but holds on to win.  I do that every now and then in blitz games and send them to LM Brian Wall as Jim Burden Award nominees.

However, I have yet to win the prize, but maybe Tim’s annotations might impress the judge and tip the balance in his favor.

Of course, I couldn’t possibly choose either of those fine selections, as today is Father’s Day.  The past 3 years I have posted a loss of mine to my dad as part of his present:

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2005/06/lessons-from-dad.html

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2006/06/more-lessons-from-dad.html

https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2007/06/lessons-from-dad-part-iii.html

I think it is a nice way to remember him, and it doesn’t cost anything to boot.  In addition, I am behind in getting his card out to him so it looks like I forgot.

Well, I didn’t forget.  It just took longer to get his surprise together than I expected.  I have been collecting some Bobby Fischer memorabilia for him since they share the exact same birthday (3/9/1943), and this is the first year my dad didn’t have his chess twin around to celebrate their birthday together.

So, I asked my dad which win he liked the best, and wouldn’t you know it, he chose the gift I gave to him on the 63rd anniversary of Bobby Fischer’s birth.  Happy Father’s Day!

White to move

Bobby's Twin

[Event "15-13-14"]

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

[Date "2006.03.09"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Anderson, Douglas"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "A36"]

[PlyCount "78"]

[EventDate "2005.11.28"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. e3 e6 5. b3 b6 6. Bb2 Bb7 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3

Nge7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 Nb4 11. Qb1 Nec6 12. a3 Na6 13. Nb5 Bxb2 14. Qxb2 d5

15. d4 dxc4 16. bxc4 Na5 17. Rac1 Qe7 18. Rfd1 Rfd8 19. Ne5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 f6

21. Nf3 Kg7 22. Nd2 Rd7 23. Ne4 Rad8 24. f3 Nc6 25. Rd2 Na5 26. Qc3 Nc6 27.

Rcd1 Na5 28. dxc5 Rxd2+ 29. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 30. Qxd2 Nxc5 31. Nxc5 Qxc5 32. Qd7+ Kh6

33. Qxe6 Nxc4 34. Nd4 f5 35. Nxf5+ Qxf5 36. Qxc4 Qa5 37. Qb4 Qxb4 38. axb4 a5

39. bxa5 bxa5 0-1

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95205

This Week In Chess

On June 10th, the CSCC had 11 members in attendance.  The main event for the evening was the first round of the June Mating Game.  This USCF-rated event (G30) is a 4 round, Swiss tournament played over 2 weeks.  Here are the results after the first 2 rounds:

Score Player

2.0 Brian Wall

1.0 Paul Anderson

1.0 Anthea Carson

1.0 Jeff Fox

1.0 David Meliti

0.0 Dean Brown

Comments From Email

Tim Fisher, Friday, June 13, 2008 12:56 AM

Hey Paul.  In honor of the 2008 release of the first Rambo movie in over 20 years (I think it's called "Rambo Takes on the Nursing Home"), I thought it only fitting to submit this ICC blitz game in which I had to to call upon my inner Rambo.

Ode to Rambo

[Event "ICC 2 10"]

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

[Date "2008.01.30"]

[Round "?"]

[White "PegLeg"]

[Black "Tim "Rambo" Fisher"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B01"]

[Annotator "Fisher,Tim"]

[PlyCount "88"]

[EventDate "2008.??.??"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Ne5 e6 7. Be2 Nbd78.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}Qxf410. Nxh8 Kf 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. Qe3Nxc313. axb4 {Here, any sane person would have resigned. But I dug down deepandthose 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.Ra1O-O {My king enters his fortress while the rook is now ready to decimateanyone who stands in his way!} 26. c4 Nf6 {A charge to the rear!} 27. b4 Rd828. 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. Kf1Nxc3 ! {Goodnight Saigon!} 32. Rxd8+ Bxd8 33. c6 Bb6 34. Ke1 Nfd5 35. Kd2Ne4+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

Keep up the good work Paul!

--Tim

Upcoming Events

6/17 June Mating Game concludes, CSCC

6/18,25 Poor Richard's Bookstore June Open Final Rounds, CSCC

6/19 June 2008 G/29 Grand Prix Event, WCA

6/24 Ladder games, CSCC

6/28 The Pueblo Open, CSCA

7/1 Speed tournament, 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/)

New Mexico Chess Organization: NMCO (http://www.nmchess.org/)