Game 3 of 52

I finally pulled off my first victory in this march to 52.  I tried fishing for a game early on last night on FICS ... I trolled channel 90 for a bit asking for any takers, but there were none.  So I stayed up and watched the TCU at Baylor game (what a game!) and then decided to sleep in.  I worked it out so I could have 3 hours to myself in the afternoon.  So I had 1:00pm to 4:00pm blocked off.  I tried fishing for a G/90 game again on FICS, but there were still no takers.

So I fired up Chessmaster again.  I couldn't play Seb ... the highest rated player it would let me play was Hayden (1282).  Fifty moves later I had won.  Unfortunately, the Hayden personality wasn't so keen.  You know when the computer makes a seemingly dumb move like just giving up a pawn or exchanging a bishop for pawn?  Well, that is what it was like playing this personality.  I would have thought it would've played a bit tougher.  Seb was like 1300 or something ... anyway.

The cool part about playing from 1-4pm on a Saturday was being able to watch all the college football while playing chess.  Maybe that doesn't exactly help me make the best moves, but it was fun.

I'm on game 20 in Logical Chess - still enjoying that.  I should be done with the project around the end of October now.  I'm averaging about 3 pages a day now.

This 3-day weekend should be fun ... I should have lots of time to do tactics and play some blitz.  I'm for sure going to the LHCC Tuesday night.  I also need to renew my USCF membership and sign up for the US Class Championships scheduled in about a month.

Game 2 of 52

What a week!  We got back from vacation Monday afternoon.  We had driven 22 straight hours between Sunday morning and Monday morning.  We crashed at a friend's house in Dallas; did some school-shopping Monday afternoon and finally made it back to SE Texas late Monday afternoon.  So I've been trying to catch up on sleep all week long.  Work was a killer this week - lots of fires to put out.  Then our AC unit decided to quit; so we had a big chunk of it replaced.  Glad this week is in the books!

But I'm determined to keep this chess quest up.  I did get up one morning this week to read over Logical Chess. I also manged to get 20 tactics in this week on ChessTempo.  Then this morning, I struggled to get out of bed to play my G/90 game.  I rolled out at around 6:30am and decided to play Seb again (Chessmaster).  I played with Black this time.

So the good news is this:
1. I actually played and finished the 2nd game.
2. I used most of my clock - I had about 6 minutes left when the game finished.
3. I got to move 28 (rather than move 15) before screwing up.

So move 28 was where the wheels came off.  Here is the position:

Seb just checked me with his queen.  I had Kf7, Kh8 or Rf7.  I played Rf7 thinking I could get the rook more involved with a counterattack.  Kh8 felt like I was painting my king into a corner.  Kf7 felt like the king would be more exposed.

But again - my tactics antennae failed me.  I failed to see Nd7 and with the queen pinning the rook, there was no hope.

The good thing about playing Seb is he punishes me for these types of mistakes - which is exactly what I need - I need to be able to spot these.

Going back a few moves before this one, I had pushed the d-pawn.  This opened up this very diagonal, which of course in this position burned me.

It's tough trying to nail down everything at once.  Chess is kind of like trying to stop 5 leaks with just 2 hands. You stop one leak, another crops ups.  You gotta keep an eye on everything.

So after going 0-2 against Seb, I'll probably be playing the next lower rated player in Chessmaster (if I can't find someone on-line to play against next week).

One other thing - one nice feature of CM is the ability to pause the game.  My kids and wife are always interrupting me later in the game.  Today, I just paused it, addressed the family issue and then came back to the game when I had some time.  Not exactly the best scenario to play chess, but you do what you can :-)

Game 1 of 52

So I decided to really do it.  My goal is to play 52 of any G/90 or G/120 games I can get over the next year.  What I mean by "any G/90 or G/120 game I can get", I mean OTB, games over the Internet or against Chessmaster (Grandmaster Edition) - in that order of preference.

Generally speaking, I want to play one game a week, but I realize there will be times when I won't get a game in for a week and there will be times when I can get multiple games in a week (i.e. tournament).

At Least it's a Start
I sent out a seek on FICS this morning, but got no takers for a G/90.  So I fired up Chessmaster and played the Seb personality.  A sub-goal, now, is to raise my embarrassing CM rating ... after my lost to Seb this morning, I'm at 898.

I still need to work on taking more time and looking at all variations.  I got burned this morning for not seeing a fork.  Also, as a TL team member told me, I need to play more defensive chess.  In other words, I need to improve at looking for tactics against me and not just be looking for tactics to score against my opponent.

White to move

Here is the position right before I moved 15. Rb1 followed by Black's 15 ... Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Qe4!

While considering Rb1, my "defensive tactic antennae" (which I need to develop) should have shot up ... seeing that there is the potential for the forking of the rooks.  After seeing the potential fork, I should have either developed a defense of it or tossed the Rb1 move out.

I think Fritz suggested Bg2.

The other key mistake I made was in the opening ... another theme of my mistakes.  After 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 I decided to move 4. c4?  It really makes no sense now that I look at it.  The only reason I can think of about why I made this move was because of a game I was reading in Logical Chess Move by Move ... it had seemed to me the c2 pawn should have been on c4.  Even that doesn't make much sense because the move sequence in the book was different.

Anyway, the correct 4th move should have been e3 or e4.

Developing the Habit
Next steps now ... I need to return and play another game.  I need to get this weekly habit going.  Unfortunately, we are leaving on a family vacation for the next week and a half and I won't have a chance to play until the week of August 22.  The good news is that my schedule is fairly clear from August 22 to the end of the year and therefore nothing should trip me up on trying to form this habit.

Lake Houston Chess Club

We finally have a place to meet and play on the NE side.

Check it out: Lake Houston Chess Club; meets Tuesdays at 7pm at Panera Bread on 1960.

July Update

I have a post I've saved as draft - it's been sitting around for a while now.  I wrote it after my dismal performance in the last team league tournament.  I'm not sure I'm willing to publish it quite yet.  So in the mean time, I'll just post an update of what I've been doing.

Anyway - I've been getting into a good routine lately.  I've been getting up early in the morning and working on chess for an hour before I go to work.  My first goal, with this dedicated chess time, is to finish Logical Chess by Chernev.  I'm reading, transcribing it into a pgn and then trying to absorb the information.  At my current rate, I should be done with it this fall.

As for play - I was about to sign up for the NAS-NAJ tournament at Hilton Hobby in Houston, but some friends of ours changed plans at the last minute and decided to stay with us on the weekend rather than the following Monday and Tuesday.  So I missed out on that opportunity.  Then, I will miss the tournament on August 13 because my sister-in-law is getting married and we'll be driving there on the 13th.  All these wonderful OTB opportunities going by are driving me nuts.  As of today, I am still on playing in the Class Championships 9/30 to 10/2.

I've had a thought stirring in my mind for a while: play 50 G/120 games in one year.  There are a number of reasons for the thought.  1)  I need to play lots more than I am now.  2) I need to play long games ... G/60 and 45/45 seem a bit fast for my slow brain.  3) I need more practice at 'Real Chess'  4) I'd like to have a set time every week that I play the game - something I can depend upon.

So I'm considering setting aside Saturdays at 03:00 FICS time to play.  If I can find someone to play on-line, so be it.  If not, then I'll play the 'personalities' on Chessmaster.  As for finding people to play, I can troll the STD forums as well as the other chess forums.  I've also thought about putting a google spreadsheet out there for people to sign up for a time to play me.

That's the update for now.

I'm still reading lots of blogs out there.  I've enjoyed the carnivals - maybe I'll get creative one day and submit something.

Houston Swiss Open

Just found out about another tournament here in Houston.  The Houston Swiss Open will be Saturday August 13, 2011 at the University of St. Thomas.

Three rounds; G/90 w/ 5 second increment.

I'm planning on it.

By the way, if any of you are interested in playing a G/120 or G/90 on-line - or even in person - sometime, drop me an email or leave a comment.

Chess Pistols Tournament at Rice University

The Chess Pistols chess club held a G/60 +5 SS tournament on June 4.  I took my 1244 provisional rating into the tournament determined to come out with at least one win.

Game 1


The first game was typical ... I blundered early ... was moving too quickly; not paying attention to the threats after my candidate moves.  I went down a bishop.  But, I kept fighting and came back big time.

I equalized the game by trapping his bishop and then later on, I sacrificed a pawn to clear the way for my rooks to do some serious damage.  I eventually was able to trade a rook for his queen.

From there, it was even more stressful.  I had to win the game now with limited time on my clock.  I managed to screw myself by not managing my remaining pawns well.  We dropped the pencils and focused entirely on the board.  I kept giving check.  My strategy, at this point, was either to force him to lose on time, force a draw by repetition.  But I managed to maneuver his rook and king to the edge of the board and with my king and my solitary pawn, I was able to mate him.  I honestly didn't see the mate until after I made the move.  We were both in shock that the game was over.

Later on in the day, I found that he was rated over 1800 - making this the biggest win of my entire chess career!!

Game 2 and 3


With my extraordinary win in round one, I was paired with one of the top players in the tournament.  He was rated over 1900.  I got crushed in 23 moves.  I wasn't so disappointed in the loss per se, but rather in the lack of effort on my part.

Game 3 was pretty much the same.  I played a 1700 player; blundered and then got blistered on a brutal checkmate.  That game also went a measly 23 moves.

Game 4


I was finally paired with someone with about the same rating - a 1400.  This game was a slog-fest going over 60 moves.  I managed to find a crucial tactic that secured me a pawn lead.  I went on to force trades of the remaining pawns and then cleared a path for my remaining pawn to queen.  He resigned before I could queen.

So I went 2-2 and placed 2nd in the U1600 division and scored $10!

Now - can someone answer me this: how did I get paired with an 1800-rated player in round 1 when there were 1400-rated players?  Hind-sight: I'm glad I did, but I would think that they would pair me - a 1244P player - with someone around my rating.

Here is a link to some pictures of the tournament.  My rating is now 1434 after 13 games.

Cheating??

I've always been a little leery of whispering in my games while playing them (in Team League play).  Generally speaking, there can be three to several people observing your game.  But what if your opponent is also logged in as a guest and sees all the whispers that are being made during the game - especially the whispers you're making?

This screen-grab is from a game of one of our team members.  When I first started observing the game, it was just me, TeamLeague and that guest observing that game.

Rocket Chess

hat tip to chesshouse ... follow the link to see a couple of pictures.

The Pin

Second TL46 Game

I won my 2nd game in TL46.

The first caption is move 15.  I started licking my chops when he moved that king behind his queen.

I stayed patient and resisted the urge to capture his knight with my white-square bishop.  Then move 19 came and I saw what I was looking for.

After clearing one rook, my knight attacked his bishop and queen.  After taking the bishop and he the knight, he'd be pinned.  He opted to just drop the bishop altogether.

I kept up the pressure.  He eventually resigned on move 28.    I was about to mate him or clear all his pieces.

It was just neat how I kept chipping away at trying to get that pin.  I knew at any point the position could have changed and the pin would have been an after-thought.  But it felt good to be patient, develop pieces and prepare the position entirely.

Case for Wood Board


I finally got around to finding a case for a wood board (23x23).  House of Staunton has one for $35.  If any of you know of a better price for a wood board (that does not fold), let me know.  Link to case.

Tron Legacy


What a great show.  I finally watched it last night.  I loved the music to it.

NAS-NAJ Open July 22-23


I was aware of the Senior and Junior opens July 22-24 at Hilton Hobby, but what I was not aware of was the Not-a-Senior-Not-a-Junior Open going on at the same time and place.  I found it will perusing Cajun Chess.  Here's a link to the tournament details.  I think I may play it.

The Chess Pistols & Misc.

I've not visted this marauding club yet, but I will on June 4.

They're hosting a 4SS tournament at Rice University.

I've not been over to Rice yet, so I don't know what their commons room is like.  I would assume it'll be relatively quiet as it'll be summer term or perhaps in between terms.

Anyway, if you're in the area and available that day, sign up (Donnie? Ivan?)

In other news, TL46 is up and running.  I like the new format and I'm glad they've come up with their own little formula for a TL-rating.  It better represents the kind of competition you'll be up against.

Lastly, it's good to see Wahrheit back to blogging.

My Favorite Chess Blog

The Chess Improver (by Nigel Davies)

I've yet to find a post I thought was rubbish.

Chess Around the Net

I haven't done this in a long time ...

Surf n Chess Club
"An avid chess player, Neely had read dozens of studies on the positive effects of chess on learning and wanted to introduce it to his students.

There was one hurdle.

"A 'chess club' is something for eight or nine bright nerds," Neely said. "I wanted something more than that. I wanted something cool for the kids."

So Neely, also a longtime surfer, decided to jazz up the game with Beach Boys tunes and a beach party atmosphere. There was also one hard and fast rule: Students had to shake hands with their opponents to wish them good luck before each game. His students became known at chess tournaments for being the most polite."

Fischer Spassky Board

Bridge (not Chess) in School
"Chess is still the game of choice among educators, but bridge is catching on at a growing number of schools, community leagues and recreational centers across the nation, many of which see the card game as offering similar mental benefits to those of chess, but with a social component."

A Different Kind of Talking Chess Set
Not sure I would pay even $19.99 for this ... interesting.

picking up the pieces

i had a very interesting week this week.  licked my wounds a bit only to be comically re-injured when i challenged my team league team mates to a 45 0 game.  my captain took me up on the offer and then handily whooped my ass.  i was literally laughing at the utter breakdown on my part coupled with his flawless play.

i joined the 21st century and discovered pandora this week.  quickly i found the android app for it and have been listening to my one selection of genre the whole week.  it had picked up a song i shared on facebook (a william orbit song) and auto-generated my personal radio station.a couple of days ago, i installed the windows 7 gadget -  it is the perfect companion for doing tactics at chesstempo.

last night i was doing just that - tactics and listening to pandora - when this exceptional piece was played.  it is called 'our breath shall intermix' and is by a group called symbion project.  again, i finally caught up.  this group (artist?) has been around for 20 years.  come to find out that the album this piece is from is called immortal game and there are two tracks on it that reference chess 1) pawn to king 2) bishop to king 7, checkmate.

another interesting thing from my tactics session last night ... i was limping along ... 12 right 8 wrong.  it felt like a real struggle; like my head was in the fog; like i wasn't really paying attention.  like a switch, i just said to myself, 'enough.  i am going to get these problem right.'  it seemed to work.  i ended up with 36 right and 12 wrong.

and now, for your listening pleasure.  find 10 uninterrupted minutes, sit down, put on some wicked headphones and listen to this track.

Epic Failure

Winning! - not.

T45 is over.  My last loss of the season summed up perfectly how T45 went for both me and our team.

I went 1-4.  The team finished with 1 match point and finished last.

The last loss ... I had no vision, no desire, no fight ... nothing.

Bleah.

I guess it's time to re-group.

Cogmed and Chess

Our 10 year-old daughter has been diagnosed with ADD.  We've been working with psychiatrists and psychologists to help her overcome this disability.  At the same time, we've been trying other methods to try and tackle her focus issues.  There is no doubt in our minds that our daughter is very intelligent, but we see that focus is an issue.  We also think this issue is hereditary - my wife and I experience the same issues that are described in our daughter.

So in discussing these challenges with other parents who's kids have the same issues, we came across a program called Cogmed.  We just heard about it last week and I finally got around to going to the website to get more details.

As I was reading some of the user case studies, I found that one user used Cogmed to improve his chess.  Not only did it help him improve, he went from placing 26th in a tournament before using Cogmed, to winning the state championship after using Cogmed for a month.

Click here to read this brief case study.

Chess Boxing to Control Your Emotions

I ran across a fascinating article that discusses using chess-boxing to create the "ability to effectively regulate emotions in order to maintain cognitive control."

You can read it in its entirety: "Could Chess-Boxing Defuse Aggression?"

LOL

In playing a 3-game set with another player, I lost the first game and was about to crash and burn in the 2nd and 3rd games ... but I didn't.

Game 2
Game 3

Burning Castles

Even though he hasn't posted for almost a year now, I still find Wormstar's blog highly fascinating.  I've been toying with the concept of trying to replicate what he did.

Burning Castles

Chess Reference

I would have just copied the chess reference quote and included a link, but it looks like the author (Scott Adams) had to take the post down.  It is a worth-while read ... and I bolded the chess reference.

The topic my readers most want me to address is something called men's rights. (See previous post.) This is a surprisingly good topic. It's dangerous. It's relevant. It isn't overdone. And apparently you care.


Let's start with the laundry list.


According to my readers, examples of unfair treatment of men include many elements of the legal system, the military draft in some cases, the lower life expectancies of men, the higher suicide rates for men, circumcision, and the growing number of government agencies that are primarily for women.


You might add to this list the entire area of manners. We take for granted that men should hold doors for women, and women should be served first in restaurants. Can you even imagine that situation in reverse?


Generally speaking, society discourages male behavior whereas female behavior is celebrated. Exceptions are the fields of sports, humor, and war. Men are allowed to do what they want in those areas.


Add to our list of inequities the fact that women have overtaken men in college attendance. If the situation were reversed it would be considered a national emergency.


How about the higher rates for car insurance that young men pay compared to young women? Statistics support this inequity, but I don't think anyone believes the situation would be legal if women were charged more for car insurance, no matter what the statistics said.


Women will counter with their own list of wrongs, starting with the well-known statistic that women earn only 80 cents on the dollar, on average, compared to what men earn for the same jobs. My readers will argue that if any two groups of people act differently, on average, one group is likely to get better results. On average, men negotiate pay differently and approach risk differently than women.


Women will point out that few females are in top management jobs. Men will argue that if you ask a sample group of young men and young women if they would be willing to take the personal sacrifices needed to someday achieve such power, men are far more likely to say yes. In my personal non-scientific polling, men are about ten times more likely than women to trade family time for the highest level of career success.


Now I would like to speak directly to my male readers who feel unjustly treated by the widespread suppression of men's rights:


Get over it, you bunch of pussies.


The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It's just easier this way for everyone. You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. You don't punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don't argue when a women tells you she's only making 80 cents to your dollar. It's the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles.


How many times do we men suppress our natural instincts for sex and aggression just to get something better in the long run? It's called a strategy. Sometimes you sacrifice a pawn to nail the queen. If you're still crying about your pawn when you're having your way with the queen, there's something wrong with you and it isn't men's rights.


Fairness is an illusion. It's unobtainable in the real world. I'm happy that I can open jars with my bare hands. I like being able to lift heavy objects. And I don't mind that women get served first in restaurants because I don't like staring at food that I can't yet eat.


If you're feeling unfairly treated because women outlive men, try visiting an Assisted Living facility and see how delighted the old ladies are about the extra ten years of pushing the walker around. It makes dying look like a bargain.


I don't like the fact that the legal system treats men more harshly than women. But part of being male is the automatic feeling of team. If someone on the team screws up, we all take the hit. Don't kid yourself that men haven't earned some harsh treatment from the legal system. On the plus side, if I'm trapped in a burning car someday, a man will be the one pulling me out. That's the team I want to be on.


I realize I might take some heat for lumping women, children and the mentally handicapped in the same group. So I want to be perfectly clear. I'm not saying women are similar to either group. I'm saying that a man's best strategy for dealing with each group is disturbingly similar. If he's smart, he takes the path of least resistance most of the time, which involves considering the emotional realities of other people. A man only digs in for a good fight on the few issues that matter to him, and for which he has some chance of winning. This is a strategy that men are uniquely suited for because, on average, we genuinely don't care about 90% of what is happening around us.


I just did a little test to see if I knew what pajama bottoms I was wearing without looking. I failed.