Round 6 Fall 2006 OCL

I'm satisfied with my effort in this game. What I'm not too happy about is my time management. After not using enough time the last few games, I decided to use as much time analyzing what I deemd were critical positions. The problem, however, is that I thought all my positions were critical and I ended up using too much time.

I used to think that 45 45 and 60 15 were too long. Now I think they are too quick. Had this game been 90 15 or something like that, I think I would have won. But towards the end of the game when I needed to use more time to analyze, I didn't have enough minutes on the clock to allow myself that comfort. Subsequently I missed a sweet tactic that Fritz pointed out. Up to that point, my game was pretty good. But as Mr. Heisman says, "you game is only as good was your worst move."

Here is the tactic I missed.


Again, because of time constraints, I didn't analyze all the checks, captures and threats. One of the candidate moves was indeed Nf5. But since I was rushing (and it was late at night so I was mentally tired) I didn't fully follow through on this line. I saw that I would hang my H rook and then failed to see that my D rook would win a queen if I moved Ne7+ (assuming he didn't move his king).

There is only one more round left in the Fall OCL. About Tal is dead last.

I've organized my studies a bit. I'm continuing to work on the tactics, but I'm not going to focus on them exclusively. I'm going to keep working on them for about 30-40 minutes a night. After tactics, I'll be reading through some games. I still need to finish Logical Chess Move by Move Every Moved Explained by Chernev. So I'm reading that book every night until I finish it. I've got all the games on pgn so I have the games in front of me as I read.

Also, I've been reading several Knight Errant posts & comments about positional play (especially Tempo's posts). You read read them here, here & here. I've also been reading Dan Heisman's Chess Cafe article entitled "A Positional Primer" from September 2002. Interesting stuff.

Lastly, after the Fall OCL, I don't think there will be any (on-line) tournaments for a while. I plan on trying to find one long game a week to keep up that end of the chess front. So if anyone wants to play some long games between November 12th and December 17th , post a comment and we can arrange a game. I play on FICS.

Chess Around the Net

Read this enjoyable article about The Wonders of Chess.

Play chess, improve in math:

students in the [chess] club improved their math scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test by 30 percent between fifth and sixth grade.

Be good to your kids if you want them to be good chess players,

Chess is not merely a brain game. It is also a game of neurons against
neurons. Obviously neurons with superior dendritic connections and complex networks would win. For building a superior neuronal network there are three requirements - a happy childhood, the right brain stimulating stimuli and a genetic endowment of excellent genes. A happy childhood depends on loving, caring and understanding parents.

A little more backgroud for the previous link.

My wife bought some of these the other day ... I had no idea they existed. Not only do they have chess symbols on them, but they are very delicious! Pepperidge Farm has some good stuff!

Round 5 Fall 2006 OCL

What a pathetic excuse for a woodpusher I am!

First I want to thank my opponent for a good game. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better match.

Second, Mr. Heisman would be gravely disappointed about my lack of safety for my pieces (see image below pennance). As pennance, I will write the following phrase 50 times: "I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe."

I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe. I will strive harder to keep my pieces safe.



Thirdly, the CT-ART 3.0 is going well. I've just about mastered the Level 10 problems. My progress in this area is tracked over here.

Fourthly, I think I need to play over more games to get some ideas about what to do when I don't know what to do. Here is where I went blank ... I didn't know what to move. I just didn't know how to further develop my pieces. I lacked a long-range plan. I always get stuck in this scenario. To counter this problem, I'm planning on going back and reading some of Hesiman's articles to see what he says on the subject. I think Silman might have some advice too. Does anyone else have some advice for me?

Chess Around the Net

"Deep" Kasparov runs on 23 watts,

Q: Let me try to ask the question differently, then. If our brains are
computers, how are they different from the computer that's sitting on my desk?
A: Ahh, that's a great question. So, how does my brain, as adapted
biological computer, differ from the thing that sits beside my desk? Let's think about the time Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, played the chess-playing machine called Deep Blue. In 1996, Kasparov beat Deep Blue quite soundly, but in 1997 Deep Blue eked out a victory, 3.5 to 2.5 in a match. One big difference between Kasparov and the computer is that he remained warm to the touch. This is a guy who can play chess better than anyone, and he can also read books, write poetry and have political opinions. Deep Blue, on the other hand, was a one-ton device with an enormous amount of air conditioning blowing on it, and 256 specialized chess-playing computer chips. If you turned off the air conditioning to Deep Blue it would burst into flames. To my mind, the most amazing thing is that Kasparov could even play that computer. What it means is that Garry Kasparov's brain is freakishly efficient, it's running on about 23 watts while Deep Blue doesn't know how to use energy that efficiently. So, one of the problems that biological computers have solved is how to take in energy and turn it almost into, magically, freakishly efficient computation.

I'm still trying to find a picture of the chess piece.

George Condo has painted the monarch in nine surreal images, including one with carrots sticking out of her ears and another where she's shaped like a chess piece.

Mmm, Pumpkin Chess Bars

A homeless man who used to play chess (Randy Dolinger - 1971) is running for a spot on the city council in Ashland, Oregon.

And while I compare him to his homeless peers, I should add that Randy's
intellect is on a par with many college graduates I have known as well. It
surprised me to find out he was a child prodigy. His favorite focus was chess. It was a game he would master on a par with the great Bobby Fisher. I found his name on a list of champions in North Carolina. In 1971, Randy was great.

Round 4 Fall 2006 OCL

So I played board 4 in round 4. I was looking to earn my first on-line tournament win since 2004. It turned out well, but how I got there wasn't too satisfying.

My opponent put proper pressure on me and I probably didn't have the best position. For a long time I thought I would lose the game ... I felt that my play just wasn't solid. Then came this position (see below). I totally missed seeing the fork and consequently did not protect against it. To my suprise, my opponent forked me. From then on, I just gave the game a half-effort. I continued with my plan to double up my rooks and try for a mate in the corner. The only chance I would get would be if my opponent blundered.

He didn't blunder any pieces, but he did miss mate in one. At this position, I was expecting Kf8. Instead he moved e2. I rubbed my eyes and verified the mate and then proceed to move Rh8#.

I was expecting my oppenent to put more pressure on my king such as b4 and then getting his rooks and queen all lined up for the mate. I lucked out and that is why I'm not entirely satisfied with this performance.

Chess Around the Net (Articles About Greatness)

To learn how to achieve greatness in chess, read this.

Another similiar article related to greatness.

Here is an example of complicating the complex.

Interesting blog about chess and business.

Do you think this is a good idea to keep your kids or students from losing interest in chess?

Even then losing the game continuously (and that too by good players who don't make mistakes so often) makes some of us get bored. So, how to carry on the motivation to try forever with out quitting? My dad had the great timeless answer for it. In the middle of the game, he used to just exchange the sides. He takes my king's army which is in a very weak position and I am offered his powerful strong one. It’s Very Simple. Hey, it's also not an easy task to be in the strong side. I used to lose all my army before winning the game. But gradually it made me to learn how to play the winning game and finally the game itself.

Mmmm, chocolate chess pie.

Round 3 Fall 2006 OCL

I lost. But I'm more satifsifed with my effort this week than last week's effort.

Here is the position that I faced that could have made me a hero. Instead, I dropped the ball. But even if I made the move, my opponent was a very solid player and probably would have made it tough to finish him off.


I was pretty concerned about the knight posted on a5. I could see myself tripping up and getting forked someplace. Plus I saw him possibly checking my king while releasing an attack with his rook on my queen. Seeing all that, I focused a lot on the lower-left rather than the upper-right.

I was also using a lot of time. I had about 30 minute on my clock at this point.

Anyway, the correct move should have been Ng6. My opponent said so after the game and Fritz confirmed it.

More tactical studies this week. I should be finished with my first circle and then I'm going back to concentrate on the first level to get those down pat.

Chess Around the Net

Fischer v. Karpov for $15 million? I do not know all the details on this, but here is the link.

Another link from the same blog ... this post was back in July of this year.

Here's a short video of Karpov speaking of Fischer:

HAPPY NATIONAL CHESS DAY!

Today is the 30th anniversary of National Chess Day in the United States.

On October 9, 1976 President Gerald Ford declared National Chess Day.

The USCF has a bit on it too.



I'm celebrating today by working on my tactics and playing chess with my kids. Then after they go to bed, I'll log on to FICS and play some more.

Hope Chess at its Finest

Here's the definition:

Hope chess is when you make a move and don't look at what your opponent might threaten on his next move, and whether you can meet that threat on your next move. Instead, you just wait until next move and see what he does, and then hope you can meet any threats.

Yes, I may have been half asleep during this game and yes I do have a final in school that is coming up, but the truth of the matter is that I was unprepared and it was quite an embarassing loss. Kudos to my opponent for playing so well.

Here is where I lost the game:

For the life of me, I didn't know what to do. So I just moved Nc6. From then on it was over.

I took advantage of this loss and actually looked up the correct book moves for this opening. I can't remember what it's called, but the proper move would have been d5. So this defeat wasn't a total loss.

You can replay the whole game. Just click on my "Some Standard Games" link. The match was against RobertRoy. I have two games in the DB. One is annotated by Chessmaster 10th ed. while the other is by Fritz 8.

I've been so busy with other things lately, that I've not been practicing my tactics for two days now. I think I need to correct that.

Quote Applicable to Chess?

I'm a BYU Cougar fan ... especially when it comes to football.

Anyway, I read an article today linked from cougarfan.com and it was referred to some close games that BYU should have won (vs. Arizona and vs. Boston College). Otherwise, they'd be undefeated and possibly ranked in the top 20. But the article goes on to say,

close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

I got a laugh out of the quote.

And so to link to back to chess ... I imagine the same is true with chess. You can always say, "look at this game ... I had mate in 3!" but you didn't actually move the pieces to capture the win. It's our actual moves that define us as a chess player. Everything else is just analysis.

Chess Around the Net

Funny story about Bob Baladan

Balaban says he was browsing through chess books at the tournament hotel
when he posed a question to a woman he didn’t recognize.“I said, ‘Do you read any of Susan Polgar’s books?’ ‘No,’ she said. ‘I write them.’ ”

"The ICL says it will increase fines and penalties against chess 'goons'" ... click to read entire article ... very funny!

It looks like this blogger is intent on explaining all the openings. It has potential.

You may have seen this before, but here is a cool site where you can play chess and watch the computer think ... you'll be amused.

Interesting read about chess. Has anyone seen this chess set before?

There once was a Soviet chess set manufactured in porcelain during the first half of the twentieth century. The theme was, of course, capitalists versus socialists. Socialists were red, capitalists were white (probably echoing the Russian Revolution). The communist side spoke in the language of Soviet propaganda and mythology, and featured a wholesome, corn-fed farmer king and his chaste queen. On the other side of the board/world, the capitalists took up arms with a whorish queen, pawns bound in chains, and a king with a skull for a head.

I Googled it (the above described chess set) and found this link.

Chess Around the Net

The Politics of Chess is an article that offers similarities between real life and life on the 64. For obvious reasons, I was curious about what the author would say about rooks. He says,

"Ahhh… the safety and security of bricks and mortar are the lesson to be learned here. How solid and dependable are the rooks? They occupy and guard the outer edges of the world, keeping the other players safe from invading paws of curious kittens and insurgencies of spilt beverages. But how high is the price of such security? I’ll tell you – it’s a terrible toll. Severely restricted movement, and a mindset programmed to think in unbending lines. Compare this to the United States, where the price of freedom is restrictions beyond their wildest nightmares – a government hellbent on tying down its own people to protect them from themselves, and others.Thus, the Rooks are the US Government of the chess world. Bulky, cumbersome and programmed to defend and destroy, or die trying.

Go take a read ... you'll be amused.

Aladdin (as in the Disney character) now teaches chess. I guess since he's off the streets now, he has lots of time on his hands. It looks like this software is geared towards teaching children chess.

Interesting blog (and wiki).

A sketch of a couple playing chess.

Does anyone use bit torrents? I'll have to read up on this. If you use them, here is an interesting link. It looks like they have something to do with file sharing.

Underpromoted

This blog has been demoted over at the Boylston Chess Club Weblog.

In the "upper class" links are the power chess blogs. The "2nd class" links below the "upper class" links are the non-English chess blogs. Following them are the "worker class" blogs (Knights Errant). They are the ones who do the real work. Thankfully, my other blog is listed there.

Lastly is the lowly "kibitzer class." This is the class whose blogs are not entirely focused on chess. They might occasionly comment on chess or they are related to the BCC in one way or another. This blog was once a member of the "upper class" but has since been relegated to "kibitzer." Maybe it's because I talked so much about my MBA classes with a smattering of chess topics. Who knows ...

Anway ... I'm pretty much done with school. In fact I rarely talk of it. This blog will now focus mainly on chess. Maybe, just maybe if this blog is special enough, it will receive it's upper-class status again.

Chess Around the Net

Software for blind chess launched - Talk 64 will be released next month. This software is designed to help the visually impaired improve in chess. Another link to story.

Can the Knight's Tour be considered a magic trick? This article seems to suggest that it can.

Bush v Bin Laden in chess? - entertaining read.

How "White N' Nerdy" are you? - chess is considered the geek sport by many. But exactly how nerdy are you?

Video About the Benefits of Chess

Here are some links to the video (google, youtube).

I just read the chessbase.com article about the new book out by David Shenk.

Getting Ready for the Fall OCL

I've been trying to play more slow games and (trying to) avoiding blitz. Now even the 20 5 games are too fast for me ... this is a good sign that I'm thinking more than reacting.

Tonight I took advantage of one blunder from my opponent, but missed out on a second opportunity to score a sweet tactic. I havn't run the game through Fritz yet, but I think this would have been a good tactic.



I'm Black and it's my move. After I moved Nxc4, I saw a better move. I should have considered Bh4! threatening mate as well as attacking the queen. To my credit, I was running a little low on time and I did see the move immediately after moving Nxe4 ... moral of the story, always look for a better move as Dan Heisman has advised many times.

Tomorrow I'm signing up for the Fall 2006 OCL. I've recruited one person so far for our team. I'm hoping we'll be able to pick up a couple of others.

My Official Opinion on Takebacks

Occasionally I receive a takeback request on FICS.

Basically, my take on it is that unless it's an unrated game or if I know my opponent (if he's a personal friend or on-line acquaintance) then I don't ask or give tackbacks. I assume that my opponents can properly and carefully handle a mouse during an on-line game of chess. Any rated OTB game would never allow takebacks.

Some might argue that the game would be more interesting if I grant the takeback. I agree ... therefore if we want to have a really interesting game, then let's play an unrated game and grant unlimited takebacks on both sides of the board ... we'll do a full analysis of all the positions. Along those same lines, we could finish the game without granting the takeback and afterwards we could go back to the move where the blunder occured and analyze the game from that point on.

Additionally, careful play is part of the game. If you drop of piece because you weren't careful, how can you expect to never repeat that blunder again if you're given a tackback every time? At some point, the line must be drawn.

I Googled "takebacks" and "chess" to see what others' opinions were on the subject.

The first one I found concerns advice to parents of children learning chess.

Finally, my number one recommendation for ALL parents:
always play touch-move and touch-capture, even in offhand games. This is a
critical factor in developing the kind of cause-and-effect thinking that leads
to both improvement and a great enjoyment in a much deeper game. Even a five
year old can learn to play touch move, and it will make everything go much more
smoothly if you always follow this practice. Similarly, discourage the use of
"takebacks" or "undo" options in computer chess games. In the long run, it is
better to resign a game and start a new one if you make a really bad blunder
then to use an undo and play on without the mistake.

The second one comes from the ICC.

IMPORTANT: Nobody, ever, is obligated to grant a takeback.
Refusing to give a takeback is NOT unsportsman-like. Takebacks are NOT in the
rules of chess. You, and you alone, are responsible for making your moves and
avoiding "mousos" and "typos". If you ask for a takeback from your opponent,
he/she is not even obligated to respond to your request. It is inappropriate to
criticize your opponent for not giving the takeback. ICC will not tolerate
harrassment or complaints against an opponent who would not give a takeback.

The third hit came from a site dedicated to chess ettiquette.

This is a subject of great controversy. Nobody--aside from perhaps chess coaches--ever wants to grant a takeback, but, sadly, it is fairly common to hear requests for them in casual games. A good rule of thumb is to move carefully so that you don't need to ask. If you're playing a friendly untimed game against someone weaker than you, it's usually ok to preempt their request by pointing out quietly and without fanfare how they would have hung their rook or queen or stepped into checkmate. I've done this with friends many times and they are usually very happy to be able to continue the game. With strangers, though, they're typically on their own.

So there are a few other opinions on the subject. I also found that one of the variables on FICS is takeback. If it is set to 1, then any takeback request will automatically be declined.

I set mine to 1.

Does anyone else have a hot opinion on the subject?

I've a Long Way to Go ...

So I'm trying to play more slow games. I read on the Chessville forum how someone suggested taking baby steps towards longer games, because the main reason for playing so much blitz is because one only has time for a quickie.

I don't have two hours every night to spend playing a 60 15 game. So I've been seeking 20 5 games.

Last night I played a solid player.

I learned a few things:

1. I need to pick an opening for black ... for a response to both d4 and e4. Then I need to practice and study a bit of that opening.
2. In the middle of the game at some point, I'm at a loss for tactics and general stratgey. I arrive at a postion and I just simply don't know what to do.
3. I need to continue to practice calculating all possibilities for my moves. For example, if I see a good move, I tend to think what my opponent would respond with ... but what I think he'll respond with and what he does are two different things ... this is because I didn't clearly think all the way through my calculations ... so I need to practice more of that and that can only be done in slow games.
4. Last night's game was lost on a "sacrifice" that I didn't think all the way through. It worked a bit, but I didn't keep up the pressure. But my real 4th point is that I didn't miss any major tactics ... this is encouraging. What I did miss and lack was a solid game plan.

Anyway ... here is the critical (in my opinion) position that broke me last night.

I sacrificed my bishop at f2. I was able to flush his king out and put a lot of pressure on him. But like I said, I didn't think it all the way through.

I let Fritz analyze the game and here are some of the annotations he gave me:
"simply worsens the situation"
"Black crumbles in face of a dire situation"
"does not help much"
"doesn't do any good"
"is not the saving move"
"a fruitless try to alter the course of the game"
and my favorite "praying for a miracle"

So my que haceres (to do's) before my next game ...

1. find, study a litte and practice a response for black to d4 or e4.
2. continue to study and look for tactics in games (especially combos)
3. determine a game plan early in the game
4. calculate deeper before moving in a "critical" position, especially if it involves a sacrifice.
5. saftey ... defend the king at all costs.

The answer to the previous tactic is Qxd8 Rxd8 followed by f4. Since the knight is pinned, all you need to do is drive off the extra defenders and you win the knight.

Back to Slow Games

Lord of the Rings is on my mind today. I've already posted once today referencing Gandalf. Now I'm thinking of Samwise Gamgee when he returns home from the Grey Havens and says, "well, I'm back."

I'm back to playing slow games. I'm hoping to toss my hat into the OCL Fall 2006 tournament. I emailed a friend of mine asking him if he wants to join me in forming a team. I haven't heard back from him yet. If he decides not to, then I hope I can be put on a team. It's been exactly 3 years since I started playing in on-line tournaments. The Fall 2003 OCL tourney was my first ever on-line tournament I played.

So last night after working on my Circles, I logged on to FICS and played a 20 5 game. It was so refreshing being able to think and ponder rather than think under time pressure. I used almost my entire clock. I played solidly. I missed one tactic. My opponent ended up dropping a piece in the end game and later resigned. I would have liked to given him back the move and kept on playing because that is what I need to work on ... endgames.

Anyway ... here is the missed tactic. I'm white and it's my move. I didn't see it until after Señor Fritz enlightened me.