Magnus Carlsen Solves Chess Puzzles In New Timed Mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcXSd-3sv_8

Chess Analysis Blog: What is the strongest continuation for Black?

From my analysis of my chess games, I think this position is exceptionally interesting ...

https://chessanalsysis.blogspot.com/2019/12/what-is-strongest-continuation-for-black_77.html

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.

BOBBY FISCHER annotates PAUL MORPHY "Opera Game" (chess)

https://youtu.be/6urb6b2oNOY

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.

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

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."

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.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

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

The Magic of Chess

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

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.

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

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNm72VY6yfU&feature=youtu.be

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

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

Mayhem In The Morra! - Blindfold Chess

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpX3Fb963NM

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

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

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

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.

Chess Problem

https://greenwoodchessclub.blogspot.com/

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

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

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.

The choice

Stockfish We Have A Little Problem

Chess problems and Endgames

https://greenwoodchessclub.blogspot.com/

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

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.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Good book

Look What I found! Rossolimo's "Lost" Brilliancy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m0f7HZoI88&feature=push-u-sub&attr_tag=Y2_Cb8E62dXBVls4%3A6

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

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

Magnus Carlsen On The Ancient Appeal Of Chess And The Opportunities Of A More Modern Game

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2019/01/31/magnus-carlsen-chess/

Here is a small tactic that I missed last night

https://chesslevel2.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-is-best-continuation-for-white.html

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

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

Mating tactic

Here is an interesting win that my opponent missed.

https://chesslevel4.blogspot.com/2019/01/white-to-play-and-win.html

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

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

-- 

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Black to play and win

https://chesslevel2.blogspot.com/2018/12/black-to-play-and-win.html

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Chess.com USCF Online Blitz rated tournament decent result

It says 22 players, but that doesn't include the 12 who dropped out.

I got as high as 1888 blitz rating points before I lost to a lower rated player knocking me down around 30 points.  Overall I had a net gain of 6 points.

It sure would be nice to break 1900.

Stockfish 10 vs. Stockfish 9

When Stockfish 9 came out, I did a speed chess round robin between Stockfish versions 6, 7, 8, and 9, and all the games were draws except for the games played by Stockfish 9, which won all its games against the older versions of the engines.  That is a significant difference.

I analyzed one position with Stockfish 9 and the new version 10 running at the same time.   After 5 minutes, Stockfish 10 was thinking 1 ply deeper in the same position..  Is that significant?   Probably.  For most positions the engines would be very similar, but being able to think half a move deeper than your opponent usually makes you unbeatable, because you already see all the variations that your opponent is going to think about.

Both programs ran at roughly the same number of nodes per second.  Given that this is a 27-28 ply search, achieving 1 ply deeper probably means that 10 has to eliminate about 3% of the variations that 9 looks at, by my calculation.  This could also mean that 10 has a weakness that 9 doesn't.  Or this could mean that 10 has a better evaluation function, leading to more variations being eliminated.

Third Place in the USCF Online rated speed tournament was a surprise.

There were some higher rated players who dropped out before the final round, probably because they lost to the top player with the monster rating.   It says "17 players", but that doesn't include the 18 who dropped out before the final round.

I had a couple of games that I really should have lost, but won anyway.  I made many errors, but so did my opponents.  This happens sometimes in speed chess.  My last round opponent literally had me in a mating net and threw it away.

USCF Online Quick rated ICC tournament. I'll take what I can get.

>uscf 

>   4.5 john2001plus

>   4.0 jyokela

>   3.5 mrneale buglet

>   3.0 IAlwaysWin aslan777

>   2.5 weakfish BIRDSMAN

>   2.0 getRooked chessnvd saikolli

>   1.5 Acheyos

>   1.0 LarryDavidson55

>   0.0 Celtruler

> 

>    __________  __  ______  _   __________  __   ____ _    ____________

>   /_  __/ __ \/ / / / __ \/ | / / ____/\ \/ /  / __ \ |  / / ____/ __ \

>    / / / / / / / / / /_/ /  |/ / __/    \  /  / / / / | / / __/ / /_/ /

>   / / / /_/ / /_/ / _  _/ /|  / /___    / /  / /_/ /| |/ / /___/ _  _/ 

>  /_/  \____/\____/_/ |_/_/ |_/_____/   /_/   \____/ |___/_____/_/ |_|

> 

>    Congratulations john2001plus and Thanks to all :-)

The only really challenge was against IAlwaysWin who is a USCF 2100+ rated Expert.

[Event "ICC tourney 1543 (12 3)"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2018.11.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "IAlwaysWin"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White forfeits on time"]
[WhiteElo "1732"]
[BlackElo "1731"]
[Opening "Réti opening"]
[ECO "A05"]
[NIC "QP.11"]
[Time "18:17:49"]
[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. e3 e6 3. b3 b6 4. Bb2 Bb7 5. c4 c5 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8.
Nc3 O-O 9. d3 d5 10. Rc1 d4 11. exd4 cxd4 12. Nb5 e5 13. Nd2 a6 14. Na3 Nd7
15. Bf3 Nc5 16. Qe2 Nb4 17. Bxb7 Nxb7 18. Nf3 Nxa2 19. Ra1 Nc3 20. Bxc3 dxc3
21. Nxe5 Bxa3 22. Rxa3 Qd6 23. Raa1 Rfe8 24. f4 f6 25. Qf3 Nc5 26. Nc6 Nxb3
27. Rae1 Nd2 28. Ne7+ Kf8 29. Qh5 Nxf1 30. Qxh7 Qd4+ 31. Kh1 Rxe7 32. Qh8+
Kf7 33. Qh5+ Kg8 34. Rxe7 Rf8 35. Qg6 f5 36. Re8 Qf6 {White forfeits on
time} 0-1  

Position from last night

This is not the most deep position in the world, because White is already winning, but I think that the method that I used to finish the game is somewhat interesting.

Play chess online

Eric Schiller Dies at 63: "Will be Remembered for His Love of Chess" - US Chess

https://new.uschess.org/news/eric-schiller-author-fide-master-dies-63-will-remembered-love-chess/

I met this guy at the National Open around nine years ago.  Compared to other professionals he was extremely nice.  He briefly looked at one of my games and recommended a chess book. 

McCutchen

[Event "Casual blitz"]
[Site "Kroger"]
[Date "Oct 29, 2018"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steve Sims"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. Qg4
g6 9. h4 h5 10. Qf3 c5 11. Bd3 Nxd2 12. Kxd2 c4 13. Be2 Nd7 14. Nh3 f5 15. Nf4
Nf8 16. Rab1 Qe7 17. Rh3 Kf7 18. Rg3 b6 19. Bxc4 Bb7 20. Bd3 Rc8 21. Nh3 Nh7
22. Rxg6 Kxg6 23. g4 hxg4 24. Qxg4+ Kf7 25. Bxf5 Rcg8 26. Qh5+ Kf8 27. Bg6 Nf6
28. Qf3 Rxh4 29. exf6 Qd6 30. Rg1 e5 31. Ng5 Rxg6
0-1

Budapest Gambit

Play online chess

Lc0 vs Stockfish: Tablebase Brilliance At The Computer Chess Championship

Good endgame lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSFyvIUCp3U

My best tournament result.

I didn't remember what year the tournament was, but I found it.  I got a draw against soon to be Grandmaster Igor Ivanov and came in second.

This was a time when I felt like studying tactics was really helping me.  Just looking at my rating progress, I went from 1800 even to 1927 in just 5 months, but it would take another 9.5 years before I would hit 2000!

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200402148750-12237320

There were a few other good results in recent years like ..

Winning the Utah G/60 championship http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201305040002.1-11080847

and getting the Expert trophy at the class championship a couple of times.   Of course, winning the senior championship 3 times didn't hurt either.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Chess Lesson 2018-09-17

Michael Tal

Interesting chess problem.

White to move.

Carlsen vs Caruana | Sinquefield Cup (2018)

This is an interesting chess game

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

Carlsen's secrets: How does he do it?

"There is an equal position on the board, and the opponent thinks: this is dead drawn. I can play almost anything and there is nothing he can do. But Magnus plays on, seeking complications, setting up threats. He is narrowing the margin required to hold the draw. Soon his opponent is thinking: why is he still playing – I can hold a draw with any of these three moves. Then: I can hold with this move and with this move. And then: I still have one clear way to hold a draw. And under the strain of constantly having to solve deep and complex problems, more often than not the opponent will crack. Magnus wins not because it was in the position, he wins because he is Magnus."

https://en.chessbase.com/post/carlsen-s-secrets-how-does-he-do-it-1

Facebook post from 2 years ago.

I have been playing chess seriously for 42 years, so in the 2016 Open Chess Championship when I play an 8 year old who plays almost as well as me, I get nervous. I am also amazed. I was playing 8 year old Luke Ye from Missouri.

There are some gaps in my chess opening knowledge, because chess is nearly infinite, and you can't know everything. Earlier in the week I tried to fix one of my gaps in my knowledge by studying a game played by world champion Magnus Carlsen in the French Defense. When I played the kid, he followed the world champion game closely, which by itself made me nervous, but he also started an attack against my kingside sooner than I expected. I was not quite prepared for this. Before the game I had asked Luke's dad if the kid had coaching, which he had, which means that some master or Grandmaster had taught him to play a certain way against the French Defense. I had the sense that the kid was following some sort of script by wrote, where he had been coached that if you put your pieces on specific squares then you can checkmate your opponent. Around move 15 he started an attack against my kingside and I spent over 20 moves defending. The kid was relentless. He just kept pursuing the idea of checkmating me on the kingside, somewhat to his detriment because it allowed me to be stronger on the queenside. I had my own plan, which took a long time to implement, but my plan was to weaken his pawn structure and trade the pieces down to an even king and rook endgame that was technically winning for me, which is what happened. I had figured that no matter how strong this prodigy might be, he wasn't going to be as strong as me in the endgame.

The two of us had spent spent about 75 minutes each on the first 25 moves. This is about the point that I felt that the game was turning in my favor, so I was able to move more quickly after that.

My opponent's 37nth move was a disaster. When I saw him reach for the pawn I thought "Don't do it!". He played such a good game up to that point, I didn't want to see him throw it all away on one bad move. I was winning anyway, but there was still a little bit of fight left in the game that would have been fun to play out. Instead he made a mistake and the game ended very quickly after that.

It is nice to win a game after a couple of tough losses. I now have 4.5 out of 8. At the very least I will finish the tournament with 4.5 out of 9. I don't think that the last round pairings will be kind to me; I will most likely play someone stronger than me, but I will give it my best effort. It would be very nice to get a draw or a win which would put me over 50%.

[Event "2016 US Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Indianapolis Indiana"]
[Date "2016.08.07"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ye, Luke"]
[Black "Coffey, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2012"]
[BlackElo "1741"]
[Annotator "Coffey,John"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[TimeControl "90+30"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3
Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. Qd2 a6 10. O-O b5 11. Qe1 b4 12. Na4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bb7 15. Qg3 Qc7 16. Bd3 g6
(Better is 16... Bc6 but I was worried about... 17. f5 Bxa4 18. f6, but then black can play Nxf6 19. exf6 Qxg3 20. hxg3 gxf6 21. Bxf6 Bc5+ 22. Kh2 Bd6 which prevents Rf4. That would have been really hard to calculate out in the game.)
17.Qh3 (If 17. f5 exf5 18. Bxf5 Nc5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5) 17... Bc6 18. b3 Bxa4 19. bxa4 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. Qh6 Nxd3 22. cxd3 Qc5+ 23. Kh1 Qd4 24. Rad1 Rac8 25.
Rf3 f6 26. Rg3 Rc7 27. Qh3 f5 28. Qh6 Qf2 29. Rg5 Rg7 30. Rg3 Rc8 31. Rg5 Qxf4 32. Rxg6 Qxh6 33. Rxh6 Rg6 34. Rxg6+ hxg6 35. Kg1 Rc2 36. Ra1 a5 37. a3 b3 38. Rb1 b2 39. Rf1 Rc1 0-1

Endgame

This is subtle, but I like subtlety.  It is not a very hard position, but initially I had a hard time wrapping my head around why one move is better than the other.   However, it is all about tempos and weak pawns.

http://chesslevel5.blogspot.com/2018/08/what-is-best-move-for-black.html

How To Learn a Chess Opening. IM Valeri Lilov

I watched this video live. You could make a drinking game, tea in my case, out of every time he says, "This is really important."

Seems to me that the video is light on content, but has a few useful ideas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfCxv95r6zQ

Instructive endgame

When I played this endgame, I did not understand the subtleties involved.  The computer analysis was telling me that 51. Ke3 was much stronger than the move I made, but at first I had no clue as to why it would have been stronger.  

http://chesslevel8.blogspot.com/2018/07/what-is-strongest-continuation-for-white.html

After diving deeper into this, it became clear that White needed to prevent 51... g5+ and 52.... Kg7 with tempo.  Also, it is easier for White to win this game if he can roll his pawns with f4 and e5, because in some positions the Black king cannot let himself get exposed to Rf8+ and the Black rook is tied down to stopping the b7 pawn.

I don't know if these ideas are common sense or not.  I was playing a speed game and I did not pick up on them.

In the analysis I don't show every possible variation nor do I explain every move, but I do show the above mentioned ideas.

Chess Problem

A minute ago I started looking at my game on itsyourturn.com when I suddenly noticed something.

Exceptionally nice result in the USCF Online rated chess.com 3+2 blitz tournament

Before the tournament I said that I was going to "bring it."   I felt like I could do well.

I started the tournament at chess.com rating 1800 and finished with a rating of 1848.

In Round 2 I had a nice victory against our friend Mohamed, who used to come to the Greenwood Chess Club.

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "john2001plus"]

[Black "Coupra"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "D32"]

[WhiteElo "1816"]

[BlackElo "2019"]

[Annotator "Coffey,John"]

[PlyCount "67"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

[TimeControl "180+2"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Be7 8.

e3 O-O 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Ne5 11. Be2 h6 12. Bh4 Ng6 13. Bg3 a6 14. Rc1 Qb6 15.

Na4 Qa7 16. Bc7 Bd7 17. Nb6 Rae8 18. Bd3 Bd8 19. Nxd7 Nxd7 20. Bf5 Bxc7 21.

Rxc7 Nf6 22. Qb3 Re7 23. Nc6 bxc6 24. Rxa7 Rxa7 25. Bxg6 fxg6 26. Qb6 Rd7 27.

Qxc6 Rfd8 28. Qxa6 d4 29. exd4 Rxd4 30. h3 Ne4 31. Re1 Nc5 32. Qb6 Nd3 33. Re8+

Kh7 34. Rxd8 1-0

​In Round 3 I played a national master who in the end got his king trapped in a mating net.

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "Jahonas"]

[Black "john2001plus"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "E16"]

[WhiteElo "2245"]

[BlackElo "1834"]

[Annotator "Coffey,John"]

[PlyCount "70"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

[TimeControl "180+2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 O-O 8.

O-O d6 9. Rc1 Nbd7 10. Qc2 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Rfd1 Rc8 13. Qb1 Nfe4 14. b4

Nxd2 15. Nxd2 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Nb7 17. Ne4 Qc7 18. Qd3 Rfd8 19. Ng5 g6 20. Qd4 e5

21. Qh4 f5 22. e4 Qe7 23. exf5 gxf5 24. Qh6 Rf8 25. h4 Rf6 26. Qh5 h6 27. Nf3

Qf7 28. Qxf7+ Kxf7 29. Rd2 f4 30. g4 Rg8 31. g5 hxg5 32. hxg5 Rf5 33. c5 e4 34.

Nd4 Rfxg5+ 35. Kf1 f3 0-1

​

​In round 4 I just outplayed a higher rated player.  (USCF OTB 1964).

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "john2001plus"]

[Black "WarrenJoshuaJones"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "E94"]

[WhiteElo "1844"]

[BlackElo "1863"]

[PlyCount "91"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Bg5

Nbd7 9. O-O c6 10. Qc2 Qc7 11. b4 Re8 12. a4 a5 13. b5 Nc5 14. Rad1 h6 15. Be3

Ne6 16. Qd2 Kh7 17. Qd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 Bf8 19. Rd3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 exd4 21. Nxd4

Nxe4 22. Nxe4 Rxe4 23. Bf3 Re8 24. bxc6 bxc6 25. Bxc6 Bf5 26. Nxf5 gxf5 27.

Bxa8 Rxa8 28. Rd5 Rc8 29. Rxf5 Kg6 30. Rxa5 Rxc4 31. Ra6+ f6 32. h3 Bb4 33. Rd1

h5 34. Rd8 Bc3 35. Rg8+ Kf5 36. g4+ hxg4 37. Rxg4 Bd4 38. Rd6 Rc1+ 39. Kg2 Be5

40. Rd3 Ra1 41. Rc4 Ra2 42. h4 Kg6 43. Rg4+ Kh5 44. Rc4 Kg6 45. Rd8 Bc7 46.

Rxc7 1-0

In round 5 I outplayed a higher rated player in the endgame.

​[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "PlanetChessClub"]

[Black "john2001plus"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C01"]

[WhiteElo "2022"]

[BlackElo "1858"]

[PlyCount "160"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Be2 Bd6 6. c3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4

g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Ne5 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Qe7 14. Qa4 Nxe5

15. Qxe4 Re8 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Qxe5 Rxe5 18. f3 Bf5 19. Kf2 Rd8 20. Rad1 Red5

21. Rxd5 Rxd5 22. Ke3 Re5+ 23. Kf2 Rd5 24. Rd1 Rxd1 25. Bxd1 Be6 26. a3 f6 27.

Ke3 Kf7 28. Kd4 Ke7 29. c4 Kd6 30. b4 b6 31. c5+ bxc5+ 32. bxc5+ Ke7 33. Ba4

Bd7 34. c6 Bc8 35. Bb5 Kd6 36. a4 Bf5 37. Kc4 a5 38. Kd4 Bc2 39. Ke3 Ke5 40. g3

Bb3 41. f4+ gxf4+ 42. gxf4+ Kd6 43. Kd4 Bd5 44. Bd3 Bxc6 45. Bc2 Bd7 46. Bb3

c5+ 47. Kc3 Be6 48. Bc2 Ba2 49. Bf5 Kd5 50. Kb2 Bc4 51. Kc3 Be2 52. Bg6 Bd1 53.

Be8 c4 54. Bf7+ Kc5 55. Be8 Bf3 56. Bf7 Bc6 57. Bxc4 Bxa4 58. Bf7 Bd1 59. Bg6

a4 60. Bf7 a3 61. Bg8 Bf3 62. Kb3 Bd5+ 63. Bxd5 Kxd5 64. Kxa3 Ke4 65. Kb3 Kxf4

66. Kc4 Ke3 67. Kd5 f5 68. Ke5 f4 69. Kf5 f3 70. Kg6 f2 71. h4 f1=Q 72. Kxh6

Qh3 73. h5 Qg4 74. Kh7 Qxh5+ 75. Kg8 Qg6+ 76. Kf8 Qh7 77. Ke8 Kd4 78. Kd8 Kd5

79. Kc8 Kc6 80. Kd8 Qd7# 0-1

In round 6 I had a draw against my old friend Kingsbishop.  I have played him many times on both chess.com and ICC USCF Online rated tournaments.   Usually I do well against him, so I might have missed something.

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "john2001plus"]

[Black "KingsBishop"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "D38"]

[WhiteElo "1854"]

[BlackElo "1697"]

[PlyCount "130"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. Nf3 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Ne4 7. Qc2 h6 8. Bd3

Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bd6 10. Ne5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Na5 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. Qa4+

Nc6 15. O-O O-O 16. Rd2 Bd7 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. Be2 Nxe5 19. Qe4 f6 20. Bxe5 fxe5

21. Qxe5 Be8 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Qxe6+ Bf7 25. Qe4 Qd2 26. Qd3 Qxd3

27. Bxd3 Bxa2 28. Kf1 Bd5 29. e4 Bc6 30. Ke2 a5 31. Ke3 b5 32. Kd4 Kf7 33. Kc5

Bd7 34. Bxb5 c6 35. Bc4+ Ke7 36. Kb6 a4 37. Ka5 c5 38. Kb6 Be6 39. Kxc5 a3 40.

Kb4 Bxc4 41. Kxa3 Ke6 42. Kb4 Bf1 43. g3 Ke5 44. c4 Kxe4 45. c5 Kd5 46. f4 Bg2

47. g4 Bh3 48. g5 hxg5 49. fxg5 g6 50. Kb5 Bf1+ 51. Kb6 Ke6 52. c6 Ke7 53. c7

Bh3 54. Kb7 Kd6 55. c8=Q Bxc8+ 56. Kxc8 Ke5 57. Kd7 Kf5 58. Kd6 Kxg5 59. Ke5

Kh4 60. Kf4 g5+ 61. Kf3 Kh3 62. Ke4 g4 63. Kf4 Kh4 64. Kf5 g3 65. hxg3+ Kxg3

1/2-1/2

In my last round I sacrificed material against a higher rated player and got beat, but there was a chance to win that I missed.

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2018.06.06"]

[Round "?"]

[White "mateosh"]

[Black "john2001plus"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C01"]

[WhiteElo "1991"]

[BlackElo "1848"]

[PlyCount "53"]

[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O c6 8.

Bg5 h6 9. Be3 Re8 10. Re1 Ne4 11. Nd2 Qh4 12. g3 Nxg3 13. Nf3 Qh5 14. fxg3 Bg4

15. Kg2 Qh3+ 16. Kg1 Bxg3 17. Bf2 Bxh2+ (17... Bxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Rxe1 19. Qxe1

Qxf3+ 20. Kg1 Nd7 21. Qg3 Qxg3+ 22. hxg3 Re8) 18. Nxh2 Rxe1+ 19. Qxe1 Nd7 20.

Qe7 Nf6 21. Re1 Be6 22. Qd6 g5 23. Ne2 g4 24. Ng3 Nh5 25. Rxe6 Nxg3 26. Bxg3

Qxg3+ 27. Qxg3 1-0

​

Surprise first place finish in the USCF Online rated ICC tournament. (Two weeks in a row.)

Surprise first place finish in the USCF Online rated ICC tournament.  I didn't expect to get first because "Tthius" who was tied with me for first beat the guy who beat me, which was "tigeriz."   However, I won the tournament on tie breaks.

Anyhow, in the following game I felt like I played in a sophisticated manner against an "Over The Board" 2100+ player.  I hope that computer analysis doesn't poke holes in the game, although it probably will.   At one point I offered to give up two rooks for a queen because I thought that I could control some important squares afterwards.  My opponent didn't go for it, but offered to trade major pieces.  Afterwards my plan was to restrict his minor pieces as much as possible.  Eventually he won a piece at the expense of a couple of pawns, but this was apparently a mistake because my extra pawns overwhelmed his king.

The bottom line is that I had a plan, and be it good or bad it worked.  Few of us can have a perfect plan, especially at these rapid time controls, so it is important just to have a plan period.

>uscf 

>   4.0 john2001plus Ethius

>   3.5 tigeriz IAlwaysWin

>   3.0 KingsBishop RightHandRook OnseySeyon

>   2.5 TheBlackVeil aslan777 rjp1888

>   2.0 GTG Remingtown wizard realityczech

>   1.5 ROWLAND BIRDSMAN

>   1.0 kaps-ak chess4aditya Zephyr

>   0.5 RM3

> 

>    __________  __  ______  _   __________  __   ____ _    ____________

>   /_  __/ __ \/ / / / __ \/ | / / ____/\ \/ /  / __ \ |  / / ____/ __ \

>    / / / / / / / / / /_/ /  |/ / __/    \  /  / / / / | / / __/ / /_/ /

>   / / / /_/ / /_/ / _  _/ /|  / /___    / /  / /_/ /| |/ / /___/ _  _/ 

>  /_/  \____/\____/_/ |_/_/ |_/_____/   /_/   \____/ |___/_____/_/ |_|

> 

>    Congratulations john2001plus and Thanks to all :-)

On Sat, May 26, 2018 at 6:54 PM, ICC [john2001plus] <icc@chessclub.com> wrote:

[Event "ICC tourney 1444 (12 3)"]

[Site "Internet Chess Club"]

[Date "2018.05.26"]

[Round "4"]

[White "IAlwaysWin"]

[Black "john2001plus"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ICCResult "White forfeits on time"]

[WhiteElo "1624"]

[BlackElo "1773"]

[Opening "Queen's Indian: 4.g3"]

[ECO "E15"]

[NIC "QI.02"]

[Time "18:25:19"]

[TimeControl "720+3"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 O-O 7. Bg2 Bb7

8. Nc3 d5 9. Ne5 Ne4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ng4 f5 12. Ne3 Nd7 13. O-O Nf6 14.

Nc2 c5 15. Rfd1 Rc8 16. b3 Qe7 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. Qd6 Rfd8 19. Qxc5 bxc5 20.

Kf1 Ng4 21. h3 Ne5 22. Ke1 g5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Kxd1 Kf7 26.

Kd2 f4 27. gxf4 gxf4 28. e3 Nd3 29. exf4 Nxf2 30. Ne3 Kf6 31. Kc3 Nd3 32. a3

Nxf4 33. b4 Ke5 34. bxc5 Bc6 35. Bf1 h5 36. Nc2 a5 37. Ne3 Kf6 38. Nc2 e5

39. Ne3 Kg5 40. Kd2 Kh4 41. Nf5+ Kg5 42. Ne7 Bd7 43. c6 Be6 44. c7 Nxh3 45.

Bxh3 Bxh3 46. c8=Q Bxc8 47. Nxc8 h4 48. Ke3 h3 49. Kf2 e3+

{White forfeits on time}

0-1

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com