2019-12-24

Don't Memorize Moves! Understand your Openings | Road to 2000

This lecture is interesting.  I noticed right away a couple of tactical errors on his part, but fortunately, his audience pointed them out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxbAGgr4iRY

Since this is a lecture to an audience, he often asks obvious questions and then waits awhile for the audience to answer.  Youtube has a feature where you can skip ahead by 10 or more seconds.  On the PC it is done with the right arrow key.  On the iPhone, it is done by multiple-tapping the right side of the screen.

2019-11-17

I tried to Master Chess in 30 Days

This guy wanted to see if he could master chess in 30 days.  He improved, maybe going from beginner to 1000 or 1100 in 30 days.  On day 30 he has a rematch with a 1500 player that does not go well.  I had much to say about that game in the comments section of the video.

Bobby Fischer teaches chess is very much at the absolute beginner level.  Game 1 the Ne5 move was way premature, but you explain that.

To really master chess you might want to learn 1. d4.   The book "Logical Chess Move by Move" is useful in this regard.

The en-passant rule has to do with the fact that pawns used to only move one square from the start.  Moving two squares was a way to speed up the game (and so is castling), so enemy pawns can normally capture your pawn if you move up one square and this is important for allowing pawns to blockade other pawns.  En-passant allows a capture as if the pawn had only moved up one square, which maintains the ability to blockade.

My experience is that you are unlikely to reach a memorized opening past move 11.  There are some exceptions where certain openings, like the Dragon, don't really get started until around move 10.  Everything up to that point frequently follows the same sequence.

In the last game, I don't like 5. Bd3.  It is not a great spot for the Bishop, which is serving the purpose of a pawn.  The move b2-b4 creates weakness on the C file with a backward pawn on c2.  Here your pawn is well guarded but there is a big hole on c3 creating a weak spot that your opponent should try to occupy.  Your pieces (bishops and knights) are somewhat passive and in defensive positions, and eventually you will want to get them to better spots.  (Grandmasters really like to have active pieces.)  Ouch, you got skewered with Ba6!  The game is technically lost at that point.  The Bb6 response is probably bad.  I think that he should respond with Qb7 and try to pin your b6 bishop.  He didn't have to capture the queen immediately.  Instead of Nb3, the knight taking on e4 makes more sense to me because material is important.  When you played Nf6+ (check) you had two attackers on the square and he had two defenders on the square, but you moved one of your attackers to the square meaning that he was going to win the piece.  You really need more attackers than defenders on that square to make that move.  After he captured the knight it is better not to trade your bishop because you should not trade when you are down material, because your percentage of the total material becomes worse.  Likewise, you should not have traded your last piece, but the game is pretty much over by that point.  (Overall, you were too anxious to trade pieces.  Many beginners do this, but I only trade when I think that it is to my advantage.)

Best wishes,

John Coffey (rated 2016)

My free online chess lessons:  http://www.entertainmentjourney.com/index1.htm

Pattern recognition is a huge factor in this game, and on my website I stress doing tactical exercises to improve pattern recognition.

P.S. Your hypothetical example of where trading pawns might be favorable to Black is really bad because after 1. e4 g6 2. d3?! f5? White can play 3. exf5 and then if 3... gxf5???? 4. Qh5# (checkmate), which is a variation on "Fools Mate."

2019-11-16

Won the ICC tournament

I did something that I rarely do, which is win the ICC USCF Online rated tournament.

>uscf You won!!! Congratulations! This is your 11 1st place finish
> During the 5 rounds, you collected 4.5 points
>uscf
>   4.5 john2001plus
>   4.0 pawninthegrass Kausy trivialpursuit BillietheKid
>   3.0 ROWLAND tenchess CL123789 Lo eeec1
>   2.5 mrneale BotanicalKnight
>   2.0 IAlwaysWin Easy-Win fisherino kaps-ak
>   1.5 edwin9015 rjp1888 A4-H5 BIRDSMAN aslan777
>   1.0 eeec2 weakfish
>   0.0 alonzob
>
>    __________  __  ______  _   __________  __   ____ _    ____________
>   /_  __/ __ \/ / / / __ \/ | / / ____/\ \/ /  / __ \ |  / / ____/ __ \
>    / / / / / / / / / /_/ /  |/ / __/    \  /  / / / / | / / __/ / /_/ /
>   / / / /_/ / /_/ / _  _/ /|  / /___    / /  / /_/ /| |/ / /___/ _  _/
>  /_/  \____/\____/_/ |_/_/ |_/_____/   /_/   \____/ |___/_____/_/ |_|
>
>    Congratulations john2001plus and Thanks to all :-)
AlonzoB(TM)(231): john2001plus Congratulations! Thanks to all for playing and I hope you  enjoyed the tournament. :-)

john2001plus(231): Thanks to all.  Good games!


The time control was 12+3.


Against potentially my toughest opponent (USCF OTB 2100+) I tried to play sharp.  However, my record is pretty positive against this guy.

[Event "ICC tourney 1751 (12 3)"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.11.16"]
[Round "4"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "IAlwaysWin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D25"]
[WhiteElo "1719"]
[BlackElo "1654"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Bxc4 e6 7. O-O Bb7 8. Nbd2
Be7 9. a5 O-O 10. a6 Bd5 11. Ne5 c5 12. Qa4 Bxc4 13. Ndxc4 cxd4 14. exd4 Qd5
15. Be3 Nbd7 16. Nc6 Qxc4 17. Rac1 Qe2 18. Rfe1 Qxb2 19. Nxe7+ Kh8 20. Rb1 Qa3
21. Ra1 Qxa4 22. Rxa4 b3 23. Rb1 Rab8 24. Nc6 Rb6 25. d5 Rb5 26. dxe6 fxe6 27.
Nxa7 Rbb8 28. Nc6 Rbc8 29. a7 Nc5 30. Bxc5 Rxc6 31. Bxf8 b2 32. Ba3 {
Black resigns} 1-0




I had one draw against a lower-rated player.  I was winning that game but blew it somehow.

I appeared to be losing my last round game.  I was in a "must-win" situation to win the tournament.  I thought that if I simplify the ending that I might outfox my opponent.

[Event "ICC tourney 1751 (12 3)"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.11.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "pawninthegrass"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1528"]
[BlackElo "1727"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. g3 e5 2. Bg2 d5 3. d3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bc5 5. e3 c6 6. d4 exd4 7. exd4 Bd6 8. Ne2
O-O 9. O-O h6 10. Bf4 Bg4 11. f3 Bf5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Nbc3 Qc7 15.
Rae1 Nbd7 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. h3 b5 18. Nd1 Re7 19. Nf2 Rae8 20. c3 a5 21. Nd3
Bxd3 22. Qxd3 Re3 23. Qd2 Qe7 24. Kf2 Nh7 25. Ng3 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 27. Qxe1
Rxe1 28. Kxe1 g6 29. f4 Nhf6 30. Ke2 Kf8 31. Ke3 Ke7 32. g5 hxg5 33. fxg5 Nh7
34. h4 f6 35. gxf6+ Nhxf6 36. Kf4 Nh7 37. Bh3 Nb6 38. b3 Kf6 39. h5 Ng5 40. Bg4
gxh5 41. Nxh5+ Kg6 42. Ng3 Kf6 43. Bf5 Nf7 44. Nh5+ Ke7 45. Bg6 Nd6 46. Ng3 a4
47. Nf5+ Nxf5 48. Bxf5 Kd6 49. Kg5 axb3 50. axb3 c5 51. Bd3 c4 52. bxc4 dxc4
53. Be4 Na4 54. Kf4 Nxc3 55. Bf3 b4 56. Ke3 b3 57. Bh5 b2 58. Bg6 b1=Q 59. Bxb1
Nxb1 60. Ke4 Kc6 61. Ke5 c3 62. Ke6 c2 63. d5+ Kc5 64. d6 c1=Q 65. d7 Qe3+ 66.
Kf7 Qf4+ 67. Ke8 Qe5+ 68. Kd8 Kc6 69. Kc8 Qc7# {White checkmated} 0-1


Perhaps the most important thing is that I didn't make any losing blunders that I know of.  I haven't analyzed the games yet.  I did fail to win a game that I should have won against a lower rated player and I will be examining how I messed that up.

--

2019-10-24

Mad Queen Chess

Between the years 1475 and 1500, a new variant of chess arose called "Mad Queen Chess." The previously weak queen suddenly became the most powerful piece on the board. This made games more exciting and allowed them to finish faster. This is the version of chess we play today, with only minor differences.

I thought that "Mad Queen Chess" originated in England during the reign of Queen Mary I during the 1500s, but it actually originated in Spain in the late 1400s because Queen Isabella was a very powerful Queen.

I think that chess is being played now more than ever, but it has shifted to online.  When I first got on the board of the Utah Chess Association around the year 2000, the membership was down to 500's, compared to the heyday of around 800 to 900. By the time I left Utah, it was 350.  Some of this decline happened while I was President of the Utah Chess Association.  If it wasn't for the kid's tournaments it would have less than 100.


--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

2019-09-15

Checkmate in 4 moves

For those who might be interested, this is a unique mate in 4.  I know that some people will say to not focus on the trivial, but I find it interesting because this produces a pattern that I never would have predicted.

https://chesslevel2.blogspot.com/2019/09/checkmate-in-4-moves.html

2019-09-14

Victory

Play online chess
Click here for 6.Bd2.
Click here for 8... c6.
Click here for 13. O-O.
Click here for 22... e5.
Click here for 24... e5.
Click here for 25. Rxd1.
Click here for 25... e5.
Click here for 29. d6.
Click here for 29... Be8.
Click here for 31. d6.
Click here for 31... Re8+.
Click here for 41... Bb6.
Click here for 45... Rg8.
Click here for 52... Bxa4.
Click here for 55. d6.

2019-09-03

4 Year Old Chess Prodigy Misha vs 95 Year Old GM Yuri Averbakh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slLUZVqRuOY

The game starts pretty good but has some really big mistakes from both players.  I'm not sure how to evaluate the play of the 4-year-old, but it is a good starting point.

Around 2007 or 2008, eight-year-old Kayden Troff had a draw against me in a major Utah tournament. Actually, I was down at least a pawn but figured out how to get to a book drawn ending.  Two years later he won the Utah state speed chess championship beating a life master twice.  Six years after that he earned the Grandmaster title.

Utah produced a few prodigies, so I was used to losing to kids.

Tonight I had a couple of interesting games against ten-year-old Evan, who has an impressive 1500 rating.  The first game I won without too much problem, but the second game was a difficult struggle.  Evan plays with a maturity way beyond his years.  

Best wishes,

John Coffey





2019-09-02

3 Year Old Chess Prodigy Misha vs Anatoly Karpov

Although a couple of moves are inaccurate, this is still an amazing short game by a 3-year-old against a former world champion.  Just the fact that he didn't do anything really bad is an accomplishment.

2019-08-17

Chess Level 0: White to play

I present this for your consideration only because my opponent thought that he had me in checkmate, which I found amusing.

Play chess online


2019-07-26

Simple but fun

[Event "January 2019 Member Main #1 Tournament"]
[Site "https://itsyourturn.com"]
[Date "2019.07.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "badnite"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Ply "22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. h3 cxd4
6. cxd4 Qb6 7. b3 Bb4+ 8. Nbd2 Nxd4 9. Ne5 Ne4 10. Nc4
Nf3+ 11. exf3 Qxf2# 0-1



2019-06-26

Mayhem In The Morra! - Blindfold Chess

Avoiding simple mistakes (in chess)

My friend was in Utah was asking me how to avoid obvious blunders.

Not meaning to sound like a broken record, this is what I said...

 I think that my chess strength varies from about 1800 to 2100. I have a friend, Steve, who likely varies from 1700 to 2000. If you can avoid making simple mistakes then you can probably add a hundred points to your overall strength.

The way that you avoid simple mistakes is pattern recognition. In the 23 years that I have had 1, 2 and 3 move tactics on my website, I have done both the Black and White problems a minimum of 200 times, and possibly much more. I believe in doing simple tactics repeatedly as a way of avoiding mistakes.  

--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

2019-06-17

Chess game

[Event "Greenwood Chess Club"]
[Site "Kroger"]
[Date "Jun 17, 2019"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nate Bush"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. g3 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Nb6 8.
Ne5 e6 9. Bg2 Bb4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Re1 Nfd7 13. e4 Nxe5 14. exf5
Nec4 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Rxe6 Nd5 17. Qe2 Qd7 18. Bh3 Rae8 19. Rxe8 Rxe8 20. Qh5
Re1+ 21. Kg2 Qf7 22. Qg5 h6 23. Qd8+ Kh7 24. Qc8 Nde3+ 25. Bxe3 Nxe3+
1-0




Best wishes,

John Coffey

2019-06-04

Anniversaries.

I first went to the Columbus Chess Club 44 years ago *today*. The club started in either 1972 or 1973.

Yesterday, at the Greenwood Chess Club, we celebrated our 4th anniversary.

Best wishes,

John Coffey

2019-05-31

McCutcheon Variation

One website spells it "MacCutchoen Variation", but this looked wrong to me, so I did some research and found the person who invented the opening.  It was a 19nth century master.  His win against the world champion in a simultaneous exhibition brought the opening to the public attention.

[Event "New York simul"]
[Site "New York simul"]
[Date "1885.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wilhelm Steinitz"]
[Black "John Lindsay McCutcheon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C12"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "1885.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Nf3 f5 8. Bd3
c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Qd2 Qe7 12. Qf4 Bd7 13. Nb5 O-O-O 14. c4 Be8
15. Rfc1 Kb8 16. a3 a6 17. Nc3 dxc4 18. Bxc4 Nd4 19. Ne2 Nxf3+ 20. Qxf3 Bc6 21.
Qh3 Ka7 22. b4 Bb6 23. Nc3 Rhg8 24. Bf1 Rd2 25. Nd1 Qg5 26. Rxc6 bxc6 27. Qc3
Qf4 28. Qxc6 Rxd1 29. Qxb6+ Kxb6 30. Rxd1 Qxe5 31. a4 Qf4 32. a5+ Kc7 33. g3
Qxb4 34. Bxa6 Qxa5 35. Be2 Rd8 36. Rc1+ Kd6 37. Rd1+ Ke7 38. Rxd8 Qxd8 39. Kg2
Qd5+ 40. Bf3 Qd3 41. Bb7 Qb5 42. Bf3 Qa5 43. h3 Qb5 44. g4 Qd3 45. Bb7 Kd6 46.
Ba8 Kc7 47. Bf3 fxg4 48. Bxg4 Qd5+ 49. Bf3 Qf5 50. Be2 0-1

"I have no respect for a man who can spell a word only one way."  - Mark Twain.

2019-05-25

john2001plus vs karre1234

Started the ICC USCF Online rated tournament in 3rd place, but finished first.  It helped that the one higher rated player fell for a trap in the opening.  

I played about as well as I ever have in this time control of 12+3.  I was more focussed on positional ideas and I wasn't making tactical blunders that I know of.   At that speed, there are going to be inaccurate moves.  Most of the games I was in time trouble.

This game below is fun for tactical reasons.


[Event "ICC tourney 1651 (12 3)"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.05.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "karre1234"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black checkmated"]
[WhiteElo "1728"]
[BlackElo "1162"]
[Opening "QGD semi-Slav: 5.e3"]
[ECO "D45"]
[NIC "SL.08"]
[Time "17:30:08"]
[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 e6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8.
Bd2 Nbd7 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. cxd5 Bxd2 11. dxc6 Ba5 12. cxd7 Bxd7 13. Ne5 Bc8
14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Qxf7+ Kh8 17. f4 Kh7 18. Rf3 Be1 19. Rxe1
Qh4 20. Rh3 Qxh3 21. gxh3 Rd8 22. Ng4 Bd7 23. Nf6+ Kh8 24. Qh5#
{Black checkmated}
1-0


Although technically I should have won this, I was low on time, so I was glad to get the draw.  My opponent is pretty strong, with an OTB rating in the 2100's, so I was somewhat fearful that this game go south on me.

My 15. Ba6 move was very dubious, so I regrouped and tried to find a different plan.


[Event "ICC tourney 1651 (12 3)"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.05.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "lagarto300"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by repetition"]
[WhiteElo "1740"]
[BlackElo "1830"]
[Opening "King's Indian: Andersson variation"]
[ECO "E92"]
[NIC "KI.18"]
[Time "18:31:05"]
[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 d6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 8.
Bg5 h6 9. Qxd8 Rxd8 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 Rxd5 12. cxd5 c6 13. Rc1 Bg4 14.
dxc6 Nxc6 15. Ba6 Nb4 16. Bc4 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Nc6 18. Rg1 g5 19. Bd5 Nd4 20.
Rg3 Bd8 21. h4 Kg7 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Kd2 Kf6 24. Rh1 Ba5+ 25. Kd3 Rc8 26.
Rh7 Rc2 27. Rxf7+ Kg6 28. Rxb7 Rd2+ 29. Kc4 Rc2+ 30. Kd3 Rd2+ 31. Kc4 Rc2+
32. Kd3 Rd2+ {Game drawn by repetition} 1/2-1/2


--

2019-05-24

I wrote this on Facebook

Of all the chess players that I have known, the name that sticks out the most is "Steve".  I have known so many Steves who play chess, in both Indiana and Utah. 

Best wishes,

John Coffey

White to play 2nd attempt.

2019-05-06

Chess Game

[Event "Greenwood Chess Club"]
[Site "Kroger"]
[Date "May 6, 2019"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Brayden"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 g6 6. c3 Bg7 7. Bc2 e5 8. d4
Ne7 9. d5 O-O 10. Bg5 f6 11. Be3 f5 12. Ng5 Nf6 13. exf5 Nxf5 14. Ne6 Bxe6 15.
dxe6 Qe7 16. Bb3 b5 17. Bd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Rxf1+ 20. Kxf1 Rf8+ 21.
Kg1 Re8 22. Qc6 Bh6 23. e4 Be3+ 24. Kh1 Bc1 25. a4 Rf8 26. h3 Qf6 27. Na3 Qf1+
28. Kh2 Bf4+ 29. g3 Bxg3+ 30. Kxg3 Qf2+ 31. Kg4 Qf4#
0-1

2019-04-24

Online chess and cheating.

Online chess is more popular than ever. However, it is fairly easy to cheat. For example, my phone plays better chess than most, if not all, professionals. For this reason, chess servers crack down on this kind of behavior with sophisticated cheat detection methods, and chess.com is probably the best at this.

I played a chess.com USCF Online Rated tournament Friday night where I was doing pretty well until the final round where I lost to a lower rated player. As a result, I got 4th place. However, chess.com has analysis tools that show how well a player played. My opponent who beat me played 99.6% accurate against me, which is unlikely that anything less than a computer could achieve this result. His other games showed similar accuracy, so I reported my opponent to chess.com and they agreed that he was cheating. They not only deleted his account, but it is my understanding that my loss will be reversed which will put me in first place.

This is about the 5th time that this has happened to me. Cheating seems to be rampant, despite the servers attempts to crack down on it.

--

2019-04-11

6 Year Old Girl In USCF Blitz Just Took 7 Year Old Boy's Queen!!! Dada vs. Golan

This was a cute chess game between a six-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy. To be so young, they both played pretty well. The boy looked impatient and distracted. The girl also looked distracted at times, and hams it up for the camera, especially when she wins the boy's queen. This is the kind of behavior that would annoy serious players but is cute with the kids. The boy twice misses a knight fork that would win the queen back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfr2avtGLo&feature=share

2019-03-13

Crazy draw against Florida Quick Champion, 2823 rated on chess.com

I'm sure that I missed a win.  Given that it is a 3 minute game with a 2 second increment, I am always in time trouble, so there are a ton of errors.

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2019.03.13"]
[Round "7"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "TampaChess"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[WhiteElo "1835"]
[BlackElo "2823"]
[Termination "Game drawn by 50-move rule"]

1. Nf3 {[%clk 0:03:01.9]} 1... d6 {[%clk 0:03:00.7]} 2. d4 {[%clk 0:02:59.8]}
2... g6 {[%clk 0:03:02.6]} 3. c4 {[%clk 0:03:00.5]} 3... Bg7 {[%clk 0:03:04]} 4.
Nc3 {[%clk 0:03:01.5]} 4... h6 {[%clk 0:03:05.5]} 5. e4 {[%clk 0:03:01.9]} 5...
Nc6 {[%clk 0:03:07]} 6. Be2 {[%clk 0:02:51.8]} 6... e5 {[%clk 0:03:08]} 7. Be3
{[%clk 0:02:52]} 7... Nge7 {[%clk 0:03:06.8]} 8. O-O {[%clk 0:02:50.9]} 8... O-O
{[%clk 0:03:07.1]} 9. Qd2 {[%clk 0:02:44]} 9... Kh7 {[%clk 0:03:07.6]} 10. Rfd1
{[%clk 0:02:35.4]} 10... f5 {[%clk 0:03:06.4]} 11. dxe5 {[%clk 0:02:21.9]} 11...
dxe5 {[%clk 0:03:04.4]} 12. Qxd8 {[%clk 0:02:19]} 12... Rxd8 {[%clk 0:03:06.3]}
13. Rxd8 {[%clk 0:02:18.3]} 13... Nxd8 {[%clk 0:03:08.2]} 14. Rd1 {[%clk
0:02:07.1]} 14... Be6 {[%clk 0:03:08.6]} 15. Nd5 {[%clk 0:02:08.5]} 15... Bxd5
{[%clk 0:03:03.7]} 16. exd5 {[%clk 0:01:59.9]} 16... Nf7 {[%clk 0:03:01.2]} 17.
Bc5 {[%clk 0:01:57.3]} 17... Re8 {[%clk 0:03:00.4]} 18. Bxa7 {[%clk 0:01:45.3]}
18... e4 {[%clk 0:02:43.6]} 19. Nd4 {[%clk 0:01:40.2]} 19... b6 {[%clk
0:02:26.6]} 20. c5 {[%clk 0:01:21.4]} 20... Nxd5 {[%clk 0:02:06.1]} 21. Bc4
{[%clk 0:01:17.3]} 21... Nf4 {[%clk 0:00:54.6]} 22. Bxf7 {[%clk 0:00:54.5]}
22... Re7 {[%clk 0:00:39.3]} 23. Bc4 {[%clk 0:00:43.6]} 23... Rd7 {[%clk
0:00:34.1]} 24. cxb6 {[%clk 0:00:41.8]} 24... c5 {[%clk 0:00:35.4]} 25. Bb5
{[%clk 0:00:38.6]} 25... Rxd4 {[%clk 0:00:29.7]} 26. Rxd4 {[%clk 0:00:38.7]}
26... cxd4 {[%clk 0:00:30.5]} 27. b7 {[%clk 0:00:39.6]} 27... Be5 {[%clk
0:00:31.8]} 28. Bxd4 {[%clk 0:00:36.5]} 28... Ne2+ {[%clk 0:00:29.6]} 29. Kf1
{[%clk 0:00:36.4]} 29... Nxd4 {[%clk 0:00:30.1]} 30. Bc4 {[%clk 0:00:31.4]}
30... Nc6 {[%clk 0:00:24.5]} 31. Bd5 {[%clk 0:00:24.1]} 31... Nb8 {[%clk
0:00:20.3]} 32. b4 {[%clk 0:00:23.9]} 32... Bc3 {[%clk 0:00:19.4]} 33. b5 {[%clk
0:00:19.1]} 33... Kg7 {[%clk 0:00:18.5]} 34. Ke2 {[%clk 0:00:19.9]} 34... Kf6
{[%clk 0:00:19.4]} 35. Kd1 {[%clk 0:00:21.4]} 35... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:20.3]} 36.
Bc4 {[%clk 0:00:21.1]} 36... Bd4 {[%clk 0:00:20.6]} 37. Kc2 {[%clk 0:00:21.5]}
37... Bxf2 {[%clk 0:00:21.5]} 38. Kb3 {[%clk 0:00:21.1]} 38... Bb6 {[%clk
0:00:21.5]} 39. a4 {[%clk 0:00:21.4]} 39... f4 {[%clk 0:00:21.2]} 40. Kb4 {[%clk
0:00:21.2]} 40... Kd6 {[%clk 0:00:15.8]} 41. a5 {[%clk 0:00:22]} 41... Bg1
{[%clk 0:00:15.2]} 42. b6 {[%clk 0:00:20.6]} 42... Kc6 {[%clk 0:00:14.3]} 43.
Bf7 {[%clk 0:00:18.9]} 43... g5 {[%clk 0:00:14.7]} 44. Bg6 {[%clk 0:00:20.1]}
44... Kxb7 {[%clk 0:00:10.1]} 45. Bxe4+ {[%clk 0:00:21.3]} 45... Kc8 {[%clk
0:00:11.6]} 46. h3 {[%clk 0:00:21.7]} 46... Nd7 {[%clk 0:00:11.3]} 47. Kb5
{[%clk 0:00:21.5]} 47... Ne5 {[%clk 0:00:07.8]} 48. a6 {[%clk 0:00:21.5]} 48...
Nd7 {[%clk 0:00:06.7]} 49. a7 {[%clk 0:00:21.8]} 49... Nxb6 {[%clk 0:00:07.6]}
50. Ka6 {[%clk 0:00:16.8]} 50... Kc7 {[%clk 0:00:08.3]} 51. a8=Q {[%clk
0:00:16.6]} 51... Nxa8 {[%clk 0:00:08.7]} 52. Bxa8 {[%clk 0:00:17.9]} 52... Kd6
{[%clk 0:00:09.9]} 53. Kb5 {[%clk 0:00:18.1]} 53... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:09.4]} 54.
Kc4 {[%clk 0:00:18.4]} 54... Bb6 {[%clk 0:00:09.1]} 55. Kd3 {[%clk 0:00:19]}
55... Ba7 {[%clk 0:00:10.5]} 56. Ke2 {[%clk 0:00:19.7]} 56... h5 {[%clk
0:00:10.8]} 57. Kf3 {[%clk 0:00:20.5]} 57... Kf5 {[%clk 0:00:11.7]} 58. Bb7
{[%clk 0:00:20.6]} 58... Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:13.5]} 59. Bc8 {[%clk 0:00:21.1]} 59...
Kg6 {[%clk 0:00:14.1]} 60. Bd7 {[%clk 0:00:21.4]} 60... Bb6 {[%clk 0:00:14]} 61.
Be8+ {[%clk 0:00:22.2]} 61... Kh6 {[%clk 0:00:15.5]} 62. g3 {[%clk 0:00:21.4]}
62... fxg3 {[%clk 0:00:14.1]} 63. Kxg3 {[%clk 0:00:23.3]} 63... Bc7+ {[%clk
0:00:15.3]} 64. Kf3 {[%clk 0:00:23.9]} 64... Bb8 {[%clk 0:00:15.8]} 65. Bf7
{[%clk 0:00:23.6]} 65... h4 {[%clk 0:00:15.4]} 66. Be8 {[%clk 0:00:24.2]} 66...
Kg7 {[%clk 0:00:17.3]} 67. Bd7 {[%clk 0:00:25.3]} 67... Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:18.7]}
68. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:26.8]} 68... Bf4 {[%clk 0:00:19.4]} 69. Ke2 {[%clk
0:00:27.5]} 69... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:20.7]} 70. Kf3 {[%clk 0:00:28.2]} 70... Bc1
{[%clk 0:00:21.7]} 71. Kf2 {[%clk 0:00:29]} 71... Ba3 {[%clk 0:00:23.6]} 72. Kf3
{[%clk 0:00:28.8]} 72... Bc5 {[%clk 0:00:25.2]} 73. Bc8 {[%clk 0:00:29.5]} 73...
Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:25.9]} 74. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:30.8]} 74... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:26.9]}
75. Bc8 {[%clk 0:00:31.6]} 75... Bb6 {[%clk 0:00:28.8]} 76. Bg4 {[%clk
0:00:32.3]} 76... Ba7 {[%clk 0:00:29.1]} 77. Bh5 {[%clk 0:00:32.8]} 77... Bb6
{[%clk 0:00:29.6]} 78. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:34.3]} 78... Bd8 {[%clk 0:00:31.5]} 79.
Bh5 {[%clk 0:00:35.5]} 79... Kf5 {[%clk 0:00:33.4]} 80. Bg4+ {[%clk 0:00:36.7]}
80... Kg6 {[%clk 0:00:35.3]} 81. Bd7 {[%clk 0:00:37.1]} 81... Be7 {[%clk
0:00:37.2]} 82. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:38]} 82... Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:39.1]} 83. Bc8 {[%clk
0:00:38.6]} 83... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:41]} 84. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:39.5]} 84... Bd8
{[%clk 0:00:42.9]} 85. Bh5 {[%clk 0:00:40.7]} 85... Kd4 {[%clk 0:00:43.5]} 86.
Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:41.3]} 86... Kd3 {[%clk 0:00:44.5]} 87. Bh5 {[%clk 0:00:42.3]}
87... Kd2 {[%clk 0:00:46.4]} 88. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:43.4]} 88... Ke1 {[%clk
0:00:48.3]} 89. Bd7 {[%clk 0:00:43.5]} 89... Kf1 {[%clk 0:00:50.2]} 90. Bg4
{[%clk 0:00:44.5]} 90... Kg1 {[%clk 0:00:49.9]} 91. Ke4 {[%clk 0:00:45.1]} 91...
Kh2 {[%clk 0:00:51.8]} 92. Kf5 {[%clk 0:00:46.1]} 92... Kg3 {[%clk 0:00:51.7]}
93. Kg6 {[%clk 0:00:47]} 93... Be7 {[%clk 0:00:52.1]} 94. Kf7 {[%clk 0:00:47.4]}
94... Bc5 {[%clk 0:00:53.1]} 95. Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:47.4]} 95... Be3 {[%clk
0:00:55]} 96. Kf5 {[%clk 0:00:48.5]} 96... Bc1 {[%clk 0:00:56.9]} 97. Kf6 {[%clk
0:00:49.4]} 97... Kf4 {[%clk 0:00:58.8]} 98. Kg6 {[%clk 0:00:50]} 98... Ke5
{[%clk 0:01:00.2]} 99. Kh5 {[%clk 0:00:50.2]} 99... Kf6 {[%clk 0:01:00.3]} 100.
Kh6 {[%clk 0:00:51.4]} 100... Bd2 {[%clk 0:00:59.2]} 101. Kh5 {[%clk 0:00:52.4]}
101... Kg7 {[%clk 0:01:01.1]} 102. Bc8 {[%clk 0:00:50.9]} 102... Bc1 {[%clk
0:01:03]} 103. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:51.6]} 103... Kh7 {[%clk 0:01:03.8]} 104. Bc8
{[%clk 0:00:52]} 104... Kg7 {[%clk 0:01:05.7]} 105. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:52.7]}
105... Kf6 {[%clk 0:01:07.6]} 106. Bc8 {[%clk 0:00:53]} 106... Bd2 {[%clk
0:00:52.6]} 107. Bg4 {[%clk 0:00:52.6]} 107... Be1 {[%clk 0:00:54.5]} 108. Kh6
{[%clk 0:00:52.1]} 108... Bd2 {[%clk 0:00:50.1]} 109. Kh7 {[%clk 0:00:51.3]}
109... Ke5 {[%clk 0:00:45.7]} 110. Kg6 {[%clk 0:00:51.9]} 110... Kf4 {[%clk
0:00:47.6]} 111. Kf6 {[%clk 0:00:51.8]} 111... Kg3 {[%clk 0:00:48.4]} 112. Ke5
{[%clk 0:00:52.5]} 112... Bc1 {[%clk 0:00:48.8]} 113. Ke4 {[%clk 0:00:53.5]}
113... Bf4 {[%clk 0:00:49.6]} 114. Kd3 {[%clk 0:00:52.7]} 114... Bb8 {[%clk
0:00:49.9]} 115. Ke4 {[%clk 0:00:53.7]} 115... Ba7 {[%clk 0:00:50.2]} 116. Kd3
{[%clk 0:00:54.4]} 116... Kf4 {[%clk 0:00:50]} 117. Ke2 {[%clk 0:00:55.5]}
117... Kg3 {[%clk 0:00:33.9]} 118. Kd3 {[%clk 0:00:54.8]} 118... Bb8 {[%clk
0:00:22.9]} 119. Ke2 {[%clk 0:00:54.6]} 119... Bf4 {[%clk 0:00:24.8]} 120. Kd3
{[%clk 0:00:55.1]} 120... Bc1 {[%clk 0:00:26]} 121. Ke2 {[%clk 0:00:56]} 121...
Bf4 {[%clk 0:00:26.1]} 1/2-1/2

2019-01-04

Some chess games are too much fun

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2019.01.04"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "ryanaga2009"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D07"]
[WhiteElo "1819"]
[BlackElo "1298"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[EndTime "17:16:19 PST"]
[Termination "john2001plus won by checkmate"]
[CurrentPosition "5b1r/1Q4pp/R7/k1p3q1/1p3N2/8/PP3PPP/2KR4 b - - 0 29"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nf6 6. d5 Nb8 7. Nc3 e6 8.
Bb5+ Bd7 9. dxe6 fxe6 10. Qb3 c6 11. Bc4 Qe7 12. Ng5 b5 13. Bxe6 Bxe6 14. Nxe6
a6 15. Bf4 c5 16. Nc7+ Kd8 17. O-O-O+ Kc8 18. Nxa8 b4 19. Nb6+ Kb7 20. Ncd5
Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Qxe4 22. Rhe1 Qg6 23. Bxb8 Kxb8 24. Nf4 Qg5 25. Re8+ Kc7 26. Qf7+
Kc6 27. Re6+ Kb5 28. Qb7+ Ka5 29. Rxa6# 1-0

2019-01-02

Surprise 3rd place tie.

I had an interesting and lucky win against Blues4 in a top heavy chess.com USCF Online rated speed tournament with at least a couple of masters.  I went from 1872 to 1902, breaking 1900 which seems very hard to do on chess.com.  Not sure if rating points are easier to get now, but I am about a hundred points higher than I was a few weeks ago.

A couple of my games were too easy where I won quickly.  Against higher rated players I choked in a couple of games making blunders. The remaining 3 games were intense battles that I won.




[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2019.01.02"]
[White "Blues4"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2269"]
[BlackElo "1883"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "18:05:13 PST"]
[Termination "john2001plus won on time"]
[CurrentPosition "2r5/p6p/n3N3/5p2/1p1pkP2/4P3/1R2K1PP/8 w - - 0 41"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. d5 e6 5. c4 b5 6. e3 bxc4 7. Bxc4 Qa5+ 8.
Nc3 Ba6 9. Qb3 Qb4 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. dxe6 fxe6 12. Qxb4 cxb4 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nd2
Bg7 15. O-O-O Rc8+ 16. Kb1 d5 17. Ne2 Ke7 18. Nf4 Nc5 19. Nb3 Na4 20. Rd2 Rhd8
21. Rhd1 Bxb2 22. Rxb2 Nc3+ 23. Kc2 Na4+ 24. Kb1 Nc3+ 25. Kc1 Nxa2+ 26. Kd2 Nc3
27. Ra1 Ne4+ 28. Ke2 Rc7 29. Nd4 e5 30. Nfe6 Nc3+ 31. Ke1 exd4 32. Nxc7 d3 33.
Kd2 Ne4+ 34. Kxd3 Kd6 35. Nb5+ Ke5 36. Nd4 Rc8 37. Ra6 Nc5+ 38. Ke2 Nxa6 39.
f4+ Ke4 40. Ne6 d4 0-1

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