Thursday Game of the Week 10/28

For this Game of the Week, I've gone back into my online archives. In this G/3 Italian game, I'm White. As this is fairly quick play, I get a little bit sidetracked early in this game.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. c3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. Re1 O-O 7. h3 Be6 8. Bb3 h6 9. d4 Bxb3 10. Qxb3 Rb8 11. d5 Na5 12. Qc2 b6 13. b4 Nb7 14. a4 a5 15. Na3 Qd7
So far, nothing to write home about. We are working our queen-side pawns but the is very little excitement. But then,

16. Nh4? I wanted to get an active king-side and set my Knight on f5, but the problem is that Black can play Nxd5 winning the pawn as his Bishop will capture my Knight with this discovery tactic.

16. ...c5? 17. b5 Rfe8? 18. c4? and apparently, so have I. I should have gone with 18. Nf5 while I have the chance to save my pawn. I guess I felt like giving something away.

18. ...Nxd5 19. Nf5 Instead of trading off Knights, I'm going to keep working the kingside. Since the pawn was taken away from where I want the action to be, I'm not worried for now, but the endgame might bite me in the end.

19. ...Nf6 20. Qd3 Bf8 21. Nc2 Rbd8 22. Ra3 Kh7 23. Qe2 giving the Rook clear path.

23. ...g6 24. Ng3 Qe6 25. Ne3 holding the pawn and getting the chance to fill d5 with my Knight.

25. ...Bg7 26. Nd5 Nxd5 27. cxd5 Qd7 Now I've created a passed pawn for Black, but I have some spacial advantage. I need to start working my king-side pawns into the mix if I'm going to crack Black.

28. Rf3 Rf8 29. h4 I'm looking at breaking Black's pawns and placing my Knight back on f5 without fear of pawn capture and limiting Black's movements overall. Not to mention that Black's Knight is stuck in the corner and cannot come to Black's aid easily.

29. ...f5?! Most interesting. Black wants to keep my Knight away, but...

30. h5!? Now if 30. ...f4 31. hxg6+ Kxg6 32. Nf5 and Black's King is out in the open. My Rook can slide to the h-file and my Queen can freely get into the fray. However, Black can exchange a Rook for a pawn and my Knight. Add that to my previous pawn and it's even, but Black's Knight is still out of the game.

30. ...fxe4? 31. hxg6+! If the Black's king pulls away to the 8th rank, I play 32. Qxe4 and have shots at the h6 pawn to go ahead on material. Black cannot get any other pieces to back up the Bishop in defense of the pawn without first clearing his King. That won't happen for a long time. Of course, as this is a G/3, there is not much time to think clearly.

31. ...Kxg6?? 32. Qxe4+!! and Black resigns as White has f5 covered indefinitely. However, this is where the fun comes in for the rest of you. There is a Mate in 10, starting with 32.Qxe4 as move one. Can you find it?

Thursday Game of the Week 10/21

For my game this week on my blog, I’ve selected a game played against a master at a local chess club. I have played this master a handful of times at the club and have managed to reach drawn endings sometimes, but I’m usually too low on time.
I’m White and the time control is G/5. This is a 2. c3 Sicilian that doesn’t seem to go either way until the very end. The endgame study is the main focus of this game.

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Be3 Bg4 8. f3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4
At this point I believe I have the move order slightly wrong as I’m recreating this from memory.

9. ...Bd7 10. Bc4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Rc8 12. Nd2 e6 13. O-O a6 14. Rfe1 Bc5 15. Bd3 Ke7 (The move order is correct from here.)

16. Bxc5+ Rxc5 17. Ne4 Rd5 18. Nxf6 Rxd3 19. Nxd7 Rxd7 20. Rad1 Rhd8 21. Rxd7+ Rxd7 22. Re2
Now the endgame is here and things look slightly better for black. The Rook has the open d-file, but cannot press an attack. As such, both sides must work with their pawns for the win.


22. ...f5 23. Kf2 h5 24. Ke3 g5 25. h3 Kf6 26. Rd2 f4+ 27. Ke2 Rxd2+
The game is back to neutral again. Even when checking it in the computer, Black is only thought to have a .10 edge on White.

28. Kxd2 Ke5 29. Kd3 Kd5 30. c4+! Kc5
White now gains the edge. The computer says .66 for White. However, the only true advantage for me when playing was that I’m actually in front of Black on time at a little more than two minutes to a minute. This is rare indeed for this master to be short on the clock.
Now I have a choice to make: stay and work with my queenside pawns or go for the running game. I opt for the latter, but I burn 20-25 seconds counting it out.

31. Ke4 Kxc4 32. Ke5 Kd3 33. Kxe6 Ke2 34. Kf5 Kf2 35. Kxg5 Kxg2 36. Kxf4 Kxh3 37. Ke3?? Kg3!

Now I’ve done it. I should have played 37.Ke5 so I can support my pawn push and I won’t be checked when Black’s pawn queens on h1. The worst part is I burned a valuable 15 seconds looking at the move too, leaving me with a minute on the clock.


38. f4 h4??
Can it be? Black has overlooked the winning 38. …Kg4!! I’m sure that this is because Black only has 20 seconds left on his clock.

39. f5 h3 40. f6 h2 41. f7 h1=Q 42. f8=Q Qc1+ 43. Kd3 Qxb2 44. Qg8+ Kf2 45. Qf7+ Ke1 46. Qe6+ Kd1??
With 10 seconds left, Black blunders the draw. If 46. …Kf1, then a draw is forced.

47. Qg4+ Ke1 48. Qg1++
If 47. …Qe2+, then 48. Qxe2+ Kc1 49. Qc2++ If 47. …Kc1 then 48. Qg1++

ISCA Annual Meeting

This year at the meeting, I intend to recommend two items: standardization of ISCA tournament to specific weekends to allow for better planning for organizers and players and that the prize fund guaranteed 1st place in different divisions of ISCA sanctioned events that have more than one section. I am also running for the position of E-editor for the electronic magazine this year. As we have not had a magazine in any format in the past three years, but have still had someone in the position of an editor, I would like the position and a chance to publish something for the ISCA members that are paying dues to do so.

The meeting takes place October 31 at 2:00 pm in the Honeywell Center in Wabash, IN.

Indiana State Chess Association Meetings (and things) in Review

When I first started playing chess, I never thought it would become such a big part of my life. I played scholastic tournaments during my junior and senior year of high school (Fall 2000-Spring 2002) and had no affiliation to my state's chess association. For the past several years, I have been an active member in the Indiana State Chess Association (ISCA). While I can't make it to a lot of tournaments that are ISCA events, I always try to make the Indiana State Championships. Incidentally, this takes place October 29-31, with 3 and 2-day playing schedules, in Wabash, IN.

At this state tournament, on Sunday afternoon, the members of ISCA gather to have their annual board meeting. This meeting is poorly planned, we never have enough time to get to everybody, and the officer elections are usually a joke. Several proposals came to the floor last time, but due to the general chaos of the assembly, we were not able to move forward with most of them.

This annual meeting is supposed to be about how we handle ISCA business and affairs. It is not supposed to be a time for everyone to just complain that ISCA is not doing enough around the state. ISCA has enough problems performing the functions that it has. If player from around the state want to improve the availability of tournaments, then player need to become Tournament Directors (TDs) and run them on their own. At the next ISCA annual meeting, we need to keep our composure, plan for enough time to get to everything, and remember that this is for business, not a complaint station.

The expansion of ISCA sanctioned events is also on members minds, but we need remember that things don't just happen. Sites, TDs, and advance notice to players need to be handled. The discussion of the tournament foramt is also a major issue that needs to be covered. However, ISCA wishes to remain stagnate without overwhelming support or outcry from the members. If the governing board does not push chess and the players wait for someone else to do everything, ISCA is then a failure. We Hoosier chess players can change this.

3 Favorite Chess Blogs

http://finegoldchess.blogspot.com/

Ben Finegold has been an active chess player for most of his life. Three generations of his family have excelled at chess. Living in Michigan for a time, I was able to play in some tournaments that Finegold participated in. While I was only rated in the 1100's at the time, to watch a Master play was incredible. His blog keeps up on his latest tournament performance, games played, and other higher rated events.

http://www.thechessmind.net/

Dennis Monokroussos was the highest rated youth in the Las Vegas area, but one day he stopped cold turkey. Now he is actively pursuing his IM norms and lives in Indiana. His blog covers various national and international tournaments. The games he covers, along with some of the concepts, go over the head of most amateur player. However, the added insight into how upper level players compete is most interesting.

http://www.hikarunakamura.com/

Hikaru Nakamura is the youngest player competing on the level of Super-GM. He is thought to be the top speed player on the internet and is ranked 15th worldwide by FIDE. He recently moved to St. Louis and joined their local chess club. He offers lessons and analysis to members of that club. His blog, while focusing on chess, include the occasional non-chess comment, tweet, or blog post. This makes him seems like any other person and I can related to that, but he'd break me in half over the board.

Thursday Game of the Week 10/14

Today's game is a Sicilian c3 variation. I played White in this G/5 against a 1700-rated blitz player, who has as 1980 rating for standard games. I thought this would be a cha1lenge so let's see what you think.
1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nc6 3. d4 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Bf3 Qxd4 12. Bxd4 Nd5 So far, nothing an opening book couldn't lead you to. I considered playing Re1 net, but I decided to opt for more development.
13. Nd2 b6 14. Bxd5 taking advantage of Black having an isolated pawn.
14. ...exd5 15. Rfe1 Bc5 16. Nf3 Be6 17. Rad1 Rfe8 18. h3 a5 With Black's last move, I'm no longer worried about Black's dark-squared bishop. Time must be wasted to backup the b6-pawn or the Bishops will trade off. Either way, my Knight is set and I can focus on other areas.
19. a3 Rab8 20. Rd3 Bf5 21. Rde3 Rxe3 22. fxe3 I decided that the isolated pawn would be fine on e3 and help create a partially open file on Black's King-side pawns.
22. ...Be4 23. Kf2 f6 24. Ke2 This is a bit hasty for me, but I want to give my Rook full access to the f-file.
Bxd4 25. exd4 b5 26. g4 Rather than worry about the g-pawn, I decide to advance it and look ahead with plans of getting my Rook on the third rank.
26. ...b4 27. axb4 axb4 28. Nd2 Bg2? Black has blundered. Either he'll sack his Bishop for two Pawns or he'll play it back to e4 and I'll gain a tempo and most likely a pawn. The real question is; do I pursue with my King or Rook? I decide to use my Rook so I can keep my King closer to my pawns.
29. Rg1 Bxh3 30. Rg3 bxc3 31. bxc3 Bxg4+ 32. Rxg4 f5 33. Rg1 Kf7 34. Nf3 Rb2+ 35. Kd3 Kf6 36. Ne5 g5 37. Nd7+ Kg6 38. Nf8+ Kg7 39. Ne6+ Kf6 40. Nxg5 Now it's a pawn for a Bishop in my favor and I will most likely pick up another pawn. The big problem for me is that I'm down to 1:22 and Black is at 2:04. Will I have time to win this.
40. ...Rh2 41. Nf3 Rh3 42. Ke3 h5 43. Kf4 h4 44. Rc1 Rg3 45. Rh1 Rg4+ 46. Ke3 Rg2 47. Rxh4 Now I'm up a piece and with his remaining pawns split, I have good chance of picking up one of those as well.
47. ...Rc2 48. Rh6+ Kg7 49. Rc6 Kf7 50. Ne5+ Ke7 51. Kf4 Rf2+ 52. Kg5 f4 53. Kg4 Rf1 54. Nf3 Kd7 55. Rc5 Kd6 56. Kxf4 With this latest pawn, I've got a great material advantage, but I still low on time :47 to 1:02
56. ...Rh1 57. Ke3 Rh3 58. Ke2 Rh5 59. Ne5 Rh2+ 60. Kd3 Rh3+ 61. Kc2 Rh2+ 62. Kb3 Rh1 63. Rc6+ Ke7 64. Rc7+ Kd6 65. Rd7+ Ke6 66. Ra7 Kd6 67. Ra6+ Ke7 68. Kb4 Rc1 69. Rc6 I've covered down on all my material and Black's Rook cannot attack or hold everything. Black has now gone past my time of :23 to :19
69. ...Rc2 70. c4 dxc4 71. Rxc4 Rd2 72. Kc5 Ke6 73. Rb4 Rc2+ 74. Nc4 1-0 as Black flags.

My 3 favorite blogs

For you chess players looking in for game material, this post isn't for you.

1. http://blog.funimation.com/

This the only blog that I have actually followed outside of school. I am an avid manga reader and anime watcher, so this site is important to me to keep up on the latest from Funimation. Usually, I checking for new acquisitions by Funimation for new anime. This leads me to check into the mangas that these anime come from.

2. http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Whenever I need a good laugh, I stop by this site. The pictures are entertaining and the captions are funny. I like to read the discussions and optional captions that take place with most of the pictures. Also, the site is generally free from rants about personal issues, unless your a cat being captioned.

3. http://whitesell-w315.blogspot.com/

This blog is a creation of a classmate in my W315. I will be participating in the Disney College Program January 12 through May 13 and I've been looking for more information about the program. The chance to pick others mind about what to expect is a great opportunity. While the creator wasn't in merchandising like I will be, I can at least get general feedback and insight about the program.

Purpose expanded

The purpose of chess is to play a game involving the minds of two opponents and determine a winner using pieces and rules. However, the purpose of this blog is to provide enrichment materials and analysis on chess that is taking place for Hoosiers. Chess from outside the state is good and most the content will revolve around events and players in/from Indiana.

In order to keep this site going, I need material, so please send some in. I can use my games all the time, but that would tend to make things dull and biased. Since the target audience for this blog is Hoosiers, your games are of the highest priority. However, if you happen to have a game that you think will engage in the learning experience of others, please submit it to me.

I encourage everyone to examine games posted on here and comment on them. This is meant to be a learning opportunity for Hoosiers that play chess and feedback is part of the learning process. You may of course just plug games or positions into your computer and have a program pick it apart. However, the hope is that you will play through these examples on your own first and then compare with a computer or others and their comments.

As this is a work in progress, items are going to change and move around. Currently, this site is also being used an assignment for my English W315 Writing for the web course. Some of the posts on here will not directly relate to chess, but once the requirements for the classroom assignments are completed, they will be removed to allow for a better focus on chess.

Thursday Game of the Week 10/07

Sorry that this one came late, Blogger was having technical difficulties with me. Today's game is a botched English in G/5 Time Control. I was black against a fellow 1700, but please keep in mind that online ratings are not always.
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qxc4 Bc6 7. Nf3 So far, nothing out of the ordinary. Not being to clear on theory at this point, I decide that I'm going to pursue development with the idea of aggravating the White Queen.
7. ...Nbd7 8. O-O Nb6 9. Qb3 Qd7?? What could have been a costly mouse-slip. I intended the Queen to be on e7 and chase the White Queen again or exchange for development of my Bishop on the recapture. Of course, 9. ...Be7 or Bd6 is better than my plan.
10. d3?? as Ne5! would have forked my Queen and Bishop leading to unpleasant doubled c-pawns
10. ...Bd6 11. Bg5 Nfd5 12. e4 Nxc3 13. bxc3 f6 14. Be3 Now I want to castle, but I have put the White Queen in a pinning position of my e6 pawn, so I decide to chas again.
14. ...Ba4 15. Qb2 O-O 16. d4 This give my Knight a great square on c4, but I can't give up my b7 pawn. So...
16. ...Rab8 17. e5 I should have taken a little more time to consider Be7 at this point, but decided to pursue Nc4.
17. ...fxe5 18. dxe5 Nc4 19. Qe2 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Be7 21. Qxa7? b6 Greed has consumed White and I've trap the Queen in the corner. While I can't get at her yet due the Bishop on g2 covering the a8-square, White must shift gears to defense and attempt to keep the Queen on the board. White 1:33 & Black 3:02 left to play.
22. Nd4 Bc5 23. Rad1? Bxd1 24. Rxd1 Giving up the exchange, but White wants a Rook on the d-file to pressure my Queen and can entertain ideas of getting his Queen out of the corner.
24. ...Bxd4 25. Rxd4 Qe7 26. Qa6 Qc5 27. Qc4 :23 to 2:21 left and White is looking to simplify, but I take back my lost pawn. 27. Qxe5 28. Bh3? I thought White would play 28. Re4 Qd5 29. Qe2 Rbe8. White is still losing, but I'm not mating him or gaining immediate material.
28. ...Qe1+ 29. Kg2?? Rxf2# 0-1 White should have played 29. Qf1 and struggle on being down the exchange, but time pressure makes us all do crazy things.

A True Balancing Act

The game of chess is a constant balancing act between the players. A single pawn move can look good at first, creating a good defense or help bolster an attack. However, this happening on the second move may have dire consequence on the twentieth move when it has become the linchpin for the King’s safety.

Obviously, the chess player should be looking into the future and developing a strategy around their moves, structure, and placement of pieces. Both players are working with their own goals, but also have the need to adjust to what the other is doing.

The same can be true for the teeter totter. Each person is supposed to take a turn up in the air and then down on the ground, but mischief can always ensue. One person might decide that they want to hold the other person up in the air for a prolonged period of time. A person might just want to try and balance the other person at the other end. Of course, these behaviors depend solely on the state of one individual, the other person has to compensate and adjust for such things. This balancing act is physical, but chess is primarily mental.

A person needs to balance their plans with the other and wait for the moment to strike. The state of mind is what determines a person’s approach in chess. However, the ability to be fluid in actions allows for one person to eventually hold the other up in the air on the mental teeter totter when checkmate looms.

Thursday Game of the Week 09/30

Today's game comes from Dasher, an Internet Chess Club program. This is G/5 game of me as white against a WIM with the handle of "laburi."
The game is a Sicilian: c3 line.
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Bxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Qxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxe2 11. Kxe2 I've decided against castling, for better or worse, but I feel good about my position.
11. ...e5 12. Nb5 O-O-O? An IM dropping a pawn seemed like a trap, but I decided to bite.
13. Nxa7+ Kb8 14. Nb5 Bc5 15. b4 Bb6 16. a4 Ng4? This seems like a wasted move, but I do have to compromise my pawn structure.
17. f3 Nf6 18. a5 Bc7 19. Nd2 Rd5 20. Nxc7 Kxc7 21. Rhd1 Rhd8 22. Ne4 Kc6 23. Rxd5 Nxd5 Now we have moved to an endgame, but I'm currently up a pawn with about a 25 second time lead.
24. a6 bxa6 25. Rxa6+ Kb5 26. Ra7 f5 27. Ra5+ Kc4 28. Rc5+ Kb3 29. Nd2+ Kc2 30. Nf1 Nxc3+ 31. Kf2 e4 32. Rxf5 Nd1+ 33. Ke2 Nc3+ 34. Ke3 Rd3+ 35. Kf4 e3 36. Nxe3+ Kd2 37. Nc4+ Ke2 38. Re5+ Kf2 39. Nb2 Rd4+ 40. Kf5 Rd8 41. b5 Kxg2 as the flag falls on her.
Obviously, this was not a great endgame on my part, I started to rely the clock pressure to win, but I shouldn't have. Hopefully, upon further review, I'll get some great endgame study out of this, and you will too.