February Update

Lest I lose all momentum, I wanted to check-in on the blog and just mention that life is busy right now and when life gets busy, chess gets put on hold.

But hopefully the busyness will end soon and I can focus a bit more on trying to actually play.  I have been keeping up my tactics on ChessTempo.  I'm not sure I'll hit my goal of 620 problems this month.  I'm 100 short right now with two days left.

I'm 12 games behind in my goal to play 52 games this year.  I've not been able to get to the computer in time to find long games Tuesdays and Thursday nights ... there have been so many football practices, band concerts, science projects, scout activities that have caused me to be late getting home ... and then I've got to help get the kids to bed.  But, as I said, hopefully things will simmer down and I'll be able to log onto FICS at 6pm (FICS time) to find a 60 5 game.  In the mean time, if any of my readers want to schedule a Saturday or Sunday game with me, please let me know - post a comment or shoot me an email at rockyrook at hotmail.

Also - I'm thinking I might leverage Chess At Work (Red Hot Pawn) to play more games and have those games count toward my 52-game goal.  So if you play CC on that site, let me know and we can play there too.

The Lone Star Open is coming up in a few weeks and I plan to play in the U1800 section.  Let me know if any of you will be playing in that tournament.

'12-13 Game 6

Game 6 of my 2012-2013 52-Game quest was my round 7 game in the Southwest Open in Dallas.

I was paired up against a gentleman I had previously played back in July in the NAS-NAJ tournament.  I won that game in July, but lost against him yesterday.

Here is the game - I was black:

I got off to a good start - went up a pawn, but then couldn't turn that 1 pawn advantage into a win.

Both of us were under a bit of time pressure ... had about 1-2 minutes per move until we hit move 30.

I think I need to let Fritz analyze this one first.  It feels like I missed something.

So I finished with a 3.0 / 7 ... in reality, it was 2.0 / 5 since I took two byes.

'12-13 Game 5

I took byes in rounds 4 and 5 and relaxed with my wife and kids; went to church; took a long nap; ate dinner at our friends' house and played lots of card games (including Spot It!) and Wii games.

That night, I got a good sleep.  I woke up this morning, gassed up the car, went to the store to get some food supplies for the games today and then came to the hotel.

Round 6 was the most unusual game I've ever played in these tournaments.  I played w/ the white pieces.

He showed up a couple of minutes late.  When the game started, he gave a bit of a half-hearted handshake.  I moved a bit quickly.  His first two or three moves were average length in think time, but then after that, I would make my move, hit the clock and then he just seemed to mentally check-out.  He was looking off in space, sucking on the tag of his jacket, coughing, sniffling, rubbing his nose ... anything but looking at the board.

After I pinned his queen, I started getting up and walking around while waiting for him to move.

Not much to see here ... other than I had a mate earlier ... would have ended the game 7 moves quicker.

I should have played Bc7+ instead of taking the rook w/ my queen.

It is about 12:45pm now ... the next round is at 3:15pm.  Ivan won his game and is sitting here at the same table in the skittles room going over his win.

A few other thoughts

Maybe a few gentle readers can explain something to me.  Why am I not paired with more 1500-1600 rated players?  I am either paired against a 1800 or a 1300-1400 player at these Swiss tournaments.

This has been the noisiest tournament I've played in.  The playing hall is smaller than most places I've played in.  I swear, half the people are either sick or have allergies ... there is a sneeze or cough every 15 seconds.  People were constantly going in and out of the playing hall.  They finally tweaked the doors to make it a bit quieter.  LOTS of parents are hovering over their kids.  They finally started making them watch from the sides of the room in round 6.  I may have to start using headphones.

This is the first tournament I've played 30/90 SD1 w/ a 5 second delay.  Getting to 30 moves in 90 minutes was a bit stressful for me.  Especially when around moves 26-29, the positions are somewhat critical and I've got just 10 minutes on the clock.  Then after move 30, that extra hour is a relief.  But it doesn't help much if you've messed up on move 28 or 29!

Anyway - 1 more game to go.  I'll post that game when I can.

'12-13 Game 4

Round 3 was at 8:00pm.  My head was pounding and I just wanted to attack.  Not really a good combination when you're playing a player rated 1800.

There's not much really to see ... I played quite poorly.  Here's the full game - I was black.

'12-13 Game 3

Round 2 was against a player rated 1425.  This was a long game; going 73 moves.  I think this was my 2nd game I've played against a 1400+ player.  The first one I played against a 1400 player, that game went about 60 moves.  Against 1500 players, my games go into the 30-40 move range, but against 1400 rated players, the games go longer.

Anyway - here's the game.  I played with the white pieces.

The game was pretty equal; the queens game off the board fairly early; he went up a pawn at about the same time we swapped queens ... again, I failed to count well and he went up a pawn.

I kept seeing ways he could win against me, but he didn't choose those moves that would have given him an advantage.  Instead, he let me off the hook a few times and I took advantage.

I was able to equalize again by taking his pawn that was one row away from queening.

Then we came to this point.  He was threatening Ne2 forking K and R.  I responded with Kf1.  I figured he would take my bishop, then I'd have doubled pawns, thus giving him a slight advantage.  But he played f5 after which I played a5 ... I had in mind that I could take his c pawn, the knight and bishop would come off and then perhaps the rooks would come off and I'd have to figure out a way to queen a pawn without him queening first.  Now that I'm thinking of it, not sure a5 was the best move.

Anyway, after a5, he played Kf7 and then I played Bb7, he moved Rc7 and I then defended the Bishop with a6.  From there, we eventually swapped rooks.  My bishop and a-pawn stayed put and I was able to go gobble his pawns with my king and eventually queen a pawn and win.  He offered me a draw after I played a6, but I suggested we played a few more moves ... I felt pretty good at that point that I had good chances of winning.

'12-13 Game 2

Round 1 of the Southwest Open was against fellow blogger Ivan (1863).  As I type this post, he has won his first three games, lost his fourth, won his fifth ... and when I left the playing hall after my round 6, he was up in his game.

This was the first OTB game in a month for me.  I felt pretty good in the opening, even went up a pawn, but then he outplayed me in the end.  I played w/ the black pieces.  Here's the full game below.

On move 21, he took my bishop (Bxb7).  I did a bit of miscalculating and retook with my rook instead of my queen.  I was a bit concerned about him playing Nxg6 fxg6 Bxd6 (forking my rooks).  But I didn't take that line one more move ... instead of playing fxg6, I would play Bxh2 Nxf8 followed by me responding with Bd6 ... I would have been ok with that.

But instead, after Bxb7, I played Qxb7 and that allowed him to get the pawn back.

After that, I tried to expel his bishop and then get an attack going with my queen and knight, but his rooks and queen came barreling down my queenside ... and along with his bishop, he delivered a nice tactic by sacrificing his queen for a mate.

This was the first round of the 4-day and as such, it was played on a Friday night, with the playing hall about 1/4th full and with mostly adults at that.  This was the most quiet round of the tournament.  Rounds 2-7 were quite noisy for this smaller playing hall with lots of scholastic players.

Rules for Entering Class Divisions in a USCF Tournament

This question if for all you USCF TDs and frequent tournament players.

So while I was registering for the US Class Championships this year, I entered into the Class C division because my rating was 1434P and the Class C division showed ratings from 1400 to 1599.  But after the tournament, I noticed that there were three players, going into the tournament, who had a rating higher than 1599 (see note below).

Why could these three players enter a class division from 1400-1599 when they had a rating higher than 1599?

Note: the three players had ratings of 1639, 1690 & 1702, so a couple of players were around 100 points higher than the upper limit of the Class C.

US Class Championships 2011

Friday September 30, 2011


After a long day of work, I drove down to Hobby Airport at the Hilton.  A cold front finally moved through South Texas and the weather was perfect in every sense of the word.  It was a great night to watch a football game and look at the stars.  But I had other things on my mind - the Class C section.  Round 1 for the 3-day was that night.

Like last year, the accommodations were nice.  The Friday night round was quiet as usual as only about half show up while the other half prefer to start round 1 on Saturday morning.

Round 1
The G/120 game started at 8:00pm.  For me, it lasted well past midnight. I played an older gentleman who was a little late for the start.  I started the clock and then he showed up a few minutes later.

I didn't get off to a great start and was quite rusty.  My pawn structure was all awry and he took full advantage of it.  I went down a pawn very early.  Later in the game, he left a pawn en prise and I returned the favor by not taking it (smack to the head!).  After I made my move, I realized I should have taken the pawn.  Then my whits really started failing me.  I held on for a few more moves only to commit an outright blunder by leaving my rook undefended.  I immediately resigned.  He was very cordial and reviewed the game with me for the next 45 minutes.  In the course of talking to him, it was apparent he had a lot of knowledge of the game.  He said he was retired and that was all he does anymore - study and play chess for several hours each day.  He seemed like the person that might win the Class C tournament.

Saturday October 1, 2011


Round 2
I tried to get some sleep after that tough loss.  I didn't get much.  I woke the next day, went on a walk in the crisp morning air, returned, mowed the lawn and then watched some football on TV.  I headed back to Hobby around noon to start round 2 at 1:00pm.

White pushed back

My next opponent was a kid who is in 6th grade.  My opening was much better than the day before.  I was black and played the KID.  After speaking with my opponent the previous night, he told me a bit about the plans of the KID ... it was useful for me since I know nothing of openings.  Like I said, I developed well and castled early, kept developing and then was able to get his bishop for one of my pawns.  He didn't castle, and instead swung both rooks over to my kingside to try a full-on attack.  But was able to hold it off and I then proceeded to drive his pieces back to where they came from.

We traded a few pieces, he attacked, then I counterattacked and then be blundered.  He thought he could check me and capture my rook, but he failed to see that my queen was defending h8.  But by this time, my clock was down to two minutes.  So I quickly promoted and mated him.

Round 3
After I won my first game, I got away from the place and ate some dinner - a nice sirloin steak - and watched some more football and baseball.  I went back to Hobby feeling pretty good.

27...Bxe3??

My third game was tough and I felt I should have lost it.  I played white and opened with the Torre.  He then captured my bishop and then I had doubled pawns.  It wasn't looking too good.  I held on for dear life.  He placed his rook on the back rank, pinning my bishop to my king, then he followed up with his queen at c4, defending the rook.  I was on the verge of being mated.  And then he blundered.  He took a pawn with his bishop, thinking it was only defended by my queen.  Had I taken the bishop with my queen, it would have been mate by queen and rook.  But he failed to see my rook defending the pawn and he lost his bishop.  I took the bishop, the played 29. Rc3 and again, he failed to see that he had to recapture with his queen.  Instead he captured with the rook and I took his queen and he resigned.  I dodged a bullet.

So I went home Saturday night with two wins under my belt!  I didn't feel deserving of both of them, but I took them all the same.

Sunday October 2, 2011


Round 4
I drove to Hobby again feeling anxious.  My unspoken goal was to get three wins, and I wanted to win round 4 and then still have round 5 for a shot at earning some prize money.

Queen stuffed in the corner

I played with black and played some opening ... not even sure if it exists.  Chessbase calls it the Bishop's Opening (C24).  Like round 2, I ended up pushing this guys pieces back-back-back-back.  But I also ended up with doubled-pawns again!  After played 25...h4, the push was complete when he stuffed his queen in the corner.  All my pieces were aiming in the right spots.  I moved my rooks up more, swung my queen over to h8 and then he crumbled.  He ended up checking me with 34. Nd6+, I captured and then his queen came and cleaned up a few pawns after checking me on c6.  But I got my king all safe and my pieces were still trained on his king.  I mated him in 41 moves.  I had won 3 games!

Round 5
I cannot lie - I was feeling really good.  The only way I can describe it is how Harry Potter must have felt after taking that "feel-lucky" potion.  I just felt I could do no wrong.  My confidence was to the point of brewing over - border-lining on genuine hubris!  I failed to mention earlier, that I was the lower-rated player in all these games coming in at 1434.

28. e7 and Black resigns

I played with white in the last round.  I was relaxed, confident and feeling really good.  It was another older gentlemen - no doubt retired.  I played, again, what I assumed is the Torre.  He ended up pushing his pawns on the queenside - I thought he was pushing them a bit prematurely.  After it was all said and done, I ended up with a pawn chain from f2 to c5 - and this chain would be his un-doing.  Once I had that spearhead firmly in place, I proceeded to plant my bishop and knight deep in his territory.  We did some exchanging after which I was up a pawn.  We did some moving around and wrangling, but with each move, my position was getting stronger until I had a death-grip and he had nothing.  I felt kind of bad for him ... every time I moved, he would shake his head, sigh and then shake his head again.  My d-pawn eventually broke free and it was over.  I scored 4.0/5.0!!!

I had about an hour left on my clock and he had over an hour left on his - it was a "quick" game both by time elapsed and moves.

The people in Black and Gold were the Saints fans

So I stayed around, snapped some pictures and watched the remaining Class C games.  I had a shot at some prize money.  I strolled around a bit too.  Over the weekend, I noticed a few families that were playing.  On Sunday, they were all wearing New Orleans Saints shirts.  So I asked one of the dads what the deal was.  He explained to me that there were 4 families who all lived next to each other and their kids went to the same school.  They all love and play chess - including the parents.  I thought that that was so cool - a real dream of mine!

Finally the games in Class C finished and they put up the final results.  I came in "4th" and scored $150!  I checked the tournament results tonight and my rating went from 1434 to 1617!  Indeed, it was a great weekend.

FICS SurveyBot September 2011

A few years ago, I published the FICS SurveyBot results comparing FICS Standard ratings with USCF ratings.

Last year when I jumped into OTB by playing at the US Class Championships, I had to enter the "Unrated Division".  I came out with a 2nd place result and about a 1200 rating.  I then played in another OTB and my rating jumped up over 1400.  So I was curious about what to expect playing in the Class C division this year.  At least according to FICS SurveyBot, I'm in the division I should be in.  I'm sitting at 1434 USCF and 1630 on FICS.  So I think the SurveyBot (in my case) is in the ballpark.

And this is about right for my expectations.  Three things could happen for me this weekend:
1) I blow through the field and go 5-0; in which case that'd would be wonderful.  Odds: pretty low.
2) I am somewhere in the middle ... 2.5-2.5, maybe worse, maybe better.  This is what I'm anticipating.  Odds: fairly high.
3) I turf it big time and fail to win a single game.  This would be a blow to the 'ol ego and it would be a bit surprising.  Odds: somewhat likely (yikes!)  I played a 1400 rated player back in June and it was a slog-fest.  I won, but it was a really hard-fought win.  I could end up with 4 or 5 losses that are decided by a pawn.

My overall approach to this weekend is just to have fun.  I didn't do any post-game skittles room analysis last year, but I hope to this year.  So if I lose, I plan on really picking the other guy's brain and even try to get some tips for improvement.

UPDATE: September 30, 2011
: FICS USCF
: ---------
: 1220  982
: 1240 1004
: 1260 1026
: 1280 1048
: 1300 1070
: 1320 1093
: 1340 1115
: 1360 1138
: 1380 1161
: 1400 1183
: 1420 1206
: 1440 1230
: 1460 1253
: 1480 1276
: 1500 1300
: 1520 1323
: 1540 1347
: 1560 1371
: 1580 1395
: 1600 1419 <<---
: 1620 1443 <<---
: 1640 1467 <<---
: 1660 1491
: 1680 1516
: 1700 1540
: 1720 1565
: 1740 1590
: 1760 1615
: 1780 1640
: 1800 1665
: 1820 1690
: 1840 1715
: 1860 1740
: 1880 1766
: 1900 1791
: 1920 1817
: 1940 1843
: 1960 1869
: 1980 1895
: 2000 1921
: 2020 1947
: 2040 1973
: 2060 1999
: 2080 2026
: 2100 2052
: 2120 2079
: 2140 2105
: 2160 2132
: 2180 2159
: 2200 2186
: 2220 2213
: 2240 2240
: 2260 2267
: 2280 2294
: 2300 2322
: 2320 2349
: 2340 2377
: 2360 2404
: 2380 2432
: 2400 2460

SurveyBot(TD): A list of the estimated USCF ratings has been displayed above. The 257 submitted USCF ratings fit the best power curve given by formula USCF=a*FICS^b, a>0, where a=0.06364782, b=1.35707831 and coefficient of determination r^2=0.517.

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.

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.

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.

Final Thoughts on US Class Championship

The last time I played in an OTB tournament, I was in 6th grade.  The tournament was a lunch-time event involving a handful of students.  I won that tournament.  This tournament was essentially my first real-live chess event I've ever participated in.  To say the least, it was fascinating.

It amazes me that in all my interactions with so many people in my neighborhood, church, work and school that I don't regularly find serious chess players.  I mean, chess is a very popular game and has a huge following, but I've never found that one friend who will stay up til midnight playing chess with you.  When we moved to Houston, I began in earnest to ask more often if people actively played chess.  Miraculously, I've been able to find a couple of gentleman who play.  One goes to my church and the other I met at at chess meetup.

Then I go to this tournament and it's as if I've finally found the party after searching all these years.  The best thing I liked about the tournament was simply talking to others about the game - knowing that there are other people like me who have the same crazy delusions about getting better at this game.  Getting the prize money wasn't the most valuable thing I got - rather it was the experience of the event ... one that I'll never forget the rest of my life.  It was exchanging contact info with other people and meeting fellow chess bloggers.

I was a little apprehensive about the tournament at first, but now all that anxiety is gone and I'm planning which tournament I want to sign up for next.  This addiction has gone to the next level.

Rounds 4 & 5 US Class Championship (Unrated Section)

The 4th and 5th rounds were much better than the 2nd and 3rd.  After doing some calculating, I figured if I won both games and the gentleman who I drew with either loses or draws a game, then I'd earn 2nd place and $100.

The 9:30am game began.  Us unrated folk are sitting in the back of the hall - having to endure people constantly walking in and out of the hall (we were right by the doors).  We also had to deal with all the traffic that was getting water (we were right by the cups and water).  About 2 or 3 times during the game, the waiter would push his cart full of water into the hall and then dump all the ice water into the water dispensers - it was very loud.

So about 15 or 20 minutes into the game, I notice the kid next to me jumping up and down, moving around a lot, going back and forth between his board and his dad who was sitting in the back of the hall with his laptop - you know where this is going.  I kept an eye on the dad.  I couldn't see what was on his screen, but I am curious because the kid is constantly going back and forth.  A few more minutes pass and I notice the dad has now turned sideways - and plain as the noon day sun, I saw a computer board on the laptop screen!  I immediately went to the director and told her what I saw.  She promptly came over, made the dad shut the computer down.  Right when the dad was closing the lid on the laptop, the kid walks over and with a shocked look on his face, raised his hands as if to say "what?"  The director then told the kid that outside help was not allowed.

Now up to this point, the kid and the gentleman who he was playing were even.  After the computer was shut down, the gentleman won easily and quickly.

After the round, I told my fellow unrated players what happened and we were all angry to put it mildly.  We just couldn't believe in the unrated sections of all sections that cheating was going on.

I won my round 4 game and then had all morning and afternoon to think about round 5 and my next opponent who I had just caught cheating.  That's right - I was playing the kid next.  Two of the other unrated players and I discussed the next round quite a bit - especially what I would do if this kid was bouncing up and down during the match.

The time came for round 5 and the kid and the dad were all ready to go.  I sat down, looked behind me and noticed the dad was also taking notation of the game - great!  So the rest of us kept a sharp eye on the kid to see what he would do.  The first time he got up to walk over to his dad, I stopped looking at the board and deliberately followed him with my eyes.  Sure enough, he was going to his dad.  I decided that if he did that again, I'd stand up and actually follow the kid.  But he actually stayed put the rest of the game.  He made his moves in under a minute every time.  I took my time and made sure not to blunder.  Twenty-six moves later, I had him check-mated.  Again, I was the last one to finish my game - the other two games had ended quickly. A few minutes later, I mated the kid - all the unrated section was done in a matter of 20 minutes.

The cherry on the top ... the gentleman I was tied with lost his final game, which gave me sole possession of 2nd place and a hundred bucks!

I hung out in the hall observing other games for the next 90 minutes.  Then when I had had enough, I packed up and went home.  Then that same night, I played my first game of the new season in the team league and I won that game as well (click here and here for the game - there was a disconnect during the game, therefore there are two parts to the game).  3-0 in one day and a hundred bucks - not a bad day at chess at all.

I'll post some additional thoughts and comments on the tournament tomorrow.

Rounds 2 & 3 US Class Championship (Unrated Section)

I lost round 2.  It went 60 moves.  But ultimately it was me not seeing the knight fork after his rook sacrifice.  I'll post the games later after I load them in pgn.

The 2nd game was also 60 moves and resulted in a draw.  There were some very crucial positions and a lot of calculation involved on both sides.  I was up two pawns at one point, but then was just up a pawn with two pawns on the g and h files to his one and one pawn on the a file to his one.  He had a white-square bishop and I a knight.  I'm sure there was a win there somewhere, but 1) I suck at endgames and 2) I suck at endgames.  Anyway - he offered a draw, but I told him I'd prefer to play it out - heck, we're paying to play right?

Regardless - it was fun and I'm looking forward to rounds 4 and 5 today.

Donnie is cleaning house!  Good luck to him today.  Ivan had an interesting ending last night - after my game was over, I watched the end of his.  He won after his opponent's flag fell.

We had our picture taken ... Ivan's posted it here.

Round 1 US Class Championships (Unrated Section)

Here it is - my first official USCF over-the-board game - and it's a win to boot!  I played with Black and I put my own annotations in. I'll run it through Fritz later to see how many missed opportunities my opponent and I had.

This was the longest time-controlled game I've played (120 mins).

Round 2 is today at 1:00pm, followed by round 3 at 6:30pm.



Also, I got to meet two fellow bloggers: Ivan and Donnie.  Both of them won their games too.

2010 Class Championships

I tossed in my hat.  I joined the USCF and registered for the 2010 Class Championships October 1-3 in Houston.

Chess Around the Net

Here's a summary of the USCF battle going on in the courts. I read about this a few years ago and tried keeping up with it, but I got tired-head after a while. Be sure you are awake and alert before you read this article (if you want to comprehend it).

All I can say is 'amen' to this op-ed regarding on-line chess ... especially the part where he states, "I sit here now, musing over a game in which I had three days to respond to my opponent’s move, responded instead in three minutes and impatience has cost me the game.
There is truly no fool like an old fool."

I should have done this for my Eagle Scout Project.