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Oct-07-09
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| Richard Taylor: [Event "George Trundle Qualifier 2009"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.10.03"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Taylor, Richard"]
[Black "Wheeler, Bruce"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1942"]
[BlackElo "2077"]
[ECO "C06"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2009.09.26"]
[SourceDate "2009.09.26"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O g5 
click for larger viewPosition after black's 9. ... g5?!
This isn't best, but it is a line, and it surprised me. My reply is o.k. but I see that 9. ... dxc5 it has been played and GM Jones said it was the best move.
But my defensive/offensive idea is o.k.
h5 10. h3 Qc7 11. Kg2 Nf8 12. Qe2 Bd7 13. dxc5 hxg4 14. hxg4 Bxc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Bd2 O-O-O 17. Rh1 Rg8 18. Rh6! 
click for larger viewPosition after 18. Rh6!
I thought I was winning here (positionally) and so did my opponent!
He is close to Zugzwang.
Be8 19. Nbd4 Nd7 20. Re1 Nc5 21. Bh7 Rg7 22. b4 Na4 23. Bc2 Here I expected 23. ... Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Nxc3. I wasn't sure what to play then and was trying to find a move when Bruce went to b6. Perhaps 25. Qd3 Ne4 26. Rxe6. Or possibly 25 Rc1. Nb6 24. Rxe6!
I'd been waiting to play this! It should win.
click for larger viewPosition after 24. Rxe6!
Bd7 25. Nxc6??
A tragedy! The move I played is not really so bad and I am still better, but there is much better move, found on Fritz - GM Jones saw the game the next day and said it was winning IF I now play (as I now knew courtesy of Fritz) 25. Nb5!! (an idea I had had but had forgotten as I had to play 15 moves in about 14 minutes which can be scary) But after 25. Nb5 then 25. ... Qb8 26. Rxe7!! Nxe7 27. Nd6+ Kc7 (!!) 28. Nxg5 (or other moves such as 28 e6 or 28. Bxg5) wins easily. Bxe6 26. Nxd8 Bxg4! 27. Nxb7 Kxb7
Black has defended well but Whiteis still a little better.. 28. Rh1?
Loses a pawn. Better is 28. a3 when my position is better. 28 ...Bxb4! 29. Qd3 Bc5 30. a4?
30. Be3 is more solid and possibly is better for me.
Bxf3+ 31. Kxf3?
Bizarre! What is wrong with 31. Qxf3.. ? I am short of time and trying to get to move 40 still. I didn't manage my time well in this tourney. Qxe5 32. a5?!
Even here 32. Rh8 or the more solid 32. Be3 and I am possibly o.k. still. Nc4 33. Be3?
After this my goose properly cooked! Perhaps the only hope was 33. Kg2
The rest is silence.
Bxe3 34. fxe3 g4+ 35. Ke2 g3 36. e4 g2 37. Rg1 Qh5+ 38. Qf3 Qxf3+ 39. Kxf3 Nd2+ 40. Kf4 Nxe4 41. Bxe4 dxe4 42. Kxe4 Kc6 43. Ke5 Rg6 44. Kd4 Rg5 45. a6 Kb6 46. c4 Kxa6 47. c5 Kb5 48. Rb1+ Kc6 49. Rg1 f6 (White resigns) 0-1 |
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Oct-21-09
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| Benzol: Guess who's at number 72 on this list.
http://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtm...
:) |
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Oct-24-09
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| Richard Taylor: I'm pretty low down! I seem to beat some good players then have a lot of disasters v the lower ranked and other players... But I have improved since I started back.
However I seem to have reached a hump. A "Sough of Despond". In the Merv I have only managed a draw v Caleb today and I lost to Bruce Wheeler and then Benji Lim. This and maybe Congress are my "testers" if I don't do well - that's it for me. I will just play over games and so on and maybe play on Red Hot Pawn - or possibly play Correspondence Chess in NZ. I'm finding chess increasingly difficult and also very very tiring.
And if my recent tourneys are to judge then I am slipping down rather than improving - despite study. It gets increasingly disheartening to lose so many games... And I'm not really enjoying chess so much recently (of course because I am losing so many games but -) as I cant sleep well during tourneys and
after two games today I was absolutely totaled... This is a young man's game! And I need to get back to my writing. |
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Oct-24-09
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| timhortons: sad to hear that rich, take a break for a while.. |
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Oct-26-09
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| Richard Taylor: I have to decide whether it is worth really studying openings etc or face just stagnating (and or declining and getting whipped by kids) - and getting good knowledge of chess to get me near 2000 or so might be just too much -so I might see - see how the NZCC (Reserve) goes in Jan 2010 or maybe I will stop playing altogether - I have always wanted to learn more about practical art etc - I am quite au fait with art and some art techniques but I want to 'master it' (albeit one never masters anything of course) or get into it a lot more - I see chess as too much a win or lose situation which I feel is psychologically bad and also very physically tiring at my age. Karpov collects stamps and travels around playing symbolic matches - after all he has been the World Champion (but what does that matter in the long run in any case?) - I don't think he really cared very much after about 1988 or so...Kasparov lost interest in serious chess and he wasn't much over than 40 - he saw the writing on the wall so to speak. Chess is vastly difficult. I am not sure that I have time for it as I did more in the 8os before I went into literature etc (But then I had a young family, which somewhat countered that free time for chess)...also chess is actually quite expensive - petrol costs getting to clubs etc (and my car is 25 years old!) - fees to tourneys - most of which I do poorly at - and so on) Even Correspondence Chess I now find very tiring. And of course a lot of people use computers now... I did in a couple of recent online correspondence gases...(To confirm a tactic...) But I can see that happening more and more by me!! It's not sad if you realise that there is so much to do in life and my son and I are quite busy with daily activities even though neither of us work. I haven't really worked since 1987. Too busy to work! I want to read a lot more also - I would love for example to read all Balzac's work (but his Comedie Humaine has at least 90 long and short novels!). Balzac is a marvelous writer... and much else... and Proust's famous work (his Remembrance of Things Past). And many contempray wirter as well as a lot of classics)... I am primarily a writer (although I am pretty laid back about that - I don't really try to publish very much) - chess is a hobby only, really... but it is somewhat addictive I must concede...! |
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Oct-26-09
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| Richard Taylor: I would still take an interest in chess and play over master games etc and look at the YouTube and videos etc but tournaments I would probably avoid. But I am losing too many games lately so it is getting to be crunch time for my chess. I read a number of essays by Montaigne - who invented the term "Essay" - and one in particular he says how he thinks of death ALL THE TIME. Now that sounds morbid but the reading of it - while Montaigne is always contradictory (it is a ploy he uses) - the rationale of it is quite interesting. And as I approach my own death, while death becomes quite frightening - who wants to face eternal extinction? While this is so (and losing and chess is like dying), one actually gains from such introspection - one also needs of course to think forward. I'm not talking of "giving up" on life because of my age. As that would mean one could use age as an excuse no matter what one's age was! I have no religion - but this to me seems to make the deep mystery of life all the greater. What are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? That is the title (or something like) that of the famous Gauguin painting... Acceptance of decline, decay and eventual and inevitable death. And as one ages physically etc - all gets worse. There are no magic ways out. I like this existential stance. Art, being busy, and love are compensating things. And I am not talking depression. This kind of thinking can have positive sides. The remembrance of things past is partly what makes us human, and we cannot operate at any age without memory. Some ideas... |
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| Oct-26-09 |
| moronovich: Go with the joy , Richard. |
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Oct-26-09
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| pulsar: <moronovich: Go with the joy , Richard.> I say the same, Richard. It seems you're the competitive type but chess could also be a good source of enjoyment (as I know you know). Take care. |
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Oct-27-09
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| Richard Taylor: I am not saying it cant be -I am saying I don't need to actually play chess competitively for it to be fun. I can play over master games etc
If one starts to lose a lot then it is just NOT fun at all. It is miserable - witness why so many older players retire - gracefully. Now there exceptions but in my own case there are reasons that I myself I am finding it too much... Chess is a young man's game.
And as for joy - that is everywhere around us - and inside us. |
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Oct-27-09
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| Richard Taylor: I was so exhausted by this last weekender - I only got 2 draws and one win - o.k. the drawn games were close fought - in both I had chances to win.
Then I blow the White side of a Tarrasch French in 19 moves... I didn't even know about the Botvinnik var and tried to avoid exchange my W Bishop and in so doing so managed to get into terrible tangle - what is wrong with me??! (OK I can answer that partly - I never really properly studied any openings except once the Benoni and the English and the Alekhines in the 80s - Icoudl do so - but the time and indeed the cost - o.k. I can get library books...but the time!) But even had I won the tournament - I was very tired, almost physically sick, and I ate well and I am of a good weight etc etc But I may have to sell my car. I cant afford to fix it. Even though I do a lot of my own repairs...but petrol is so expensive here and the traffic is terrible on the roads. People drive so fast. And dangerously...police and helicopter chases all the time. It is crazy here... Or that (the demise of my 25 year old Holden car!)* will happen soon. And Club and tournament fees etc and other costs are something in my circumstances I wish to avoid.
Ask Benzol about costs over here!
* My brake pipes are corroding, I have replaced the LHS but there is more to do...endless. |
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Oct-27-09
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| Richard Taylor: "In uncertainty I am certain that beneath their uppermost layers of frailty men want to be good and to be loved.In fact most of our vices are attempted shortcuts to love." -John Steinbeck, 'East of Eden'
I read Steinbeck as a teenager - his Grapes of Wrath is monumental and his Mice and Men I read about 1969. I wondered when I saw The Green Mile (orig. written by Stephen King) if it wasn't influenced by 'Of Mice and Men' (Actually I have watched it about twice if not more). |
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Oct-27-09
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| pulsar: <Richard> I haven't read 'Grapes of Wrath' by Steinbeck (I know I should when I have the time), but I did read King's 'The Green Mile', which as you keenly observed, seemed to have taken some inspiration from 'Of Mice and Men' (the first book I read on Steinbeck). 'East of Eden' is one of my favorite books (I also find 'Travels with Charley' heartwarming). By the way, that quote happens to be in my forum header, too. :) |
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Oct-28-09
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| Richard Taylor: <pulsar> That's where I got the quote! Steinbeck, like Howard Fast (wrote 'Spartacus' which became a film) was a Communist and investigated the situation of the poor for some newspaper in the 20s and wrote about it, and then he wrote his classic. My mother read most of his books as well as Travels with Charley. (I sold a copy of that via abebooks by the way). Did you see the film, The Green Mile? I didn't expect to admire it much, but strangely I found it fascinating. (I had read a book about Capital Punishment in the US before reading it and it had echoes - it was based on some sad truths)... |
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Oct-28-09
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| pulsar: <Richard> I have a terrible memory (quite selective) but I think I saw the film 'The Green Mile' with Tom Hanks on it. I have no strong recollection about it now, but I always prefer the books over the movies they make out of them. Books, at least for me, leave something beneath the surface, staying longer. Some of the books that left strong impressions on me: The Last Summer by Boris Pasternak; The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson Mccullers; Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky; Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn... |
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Oct-30-09
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| Jonathan Sarfati: Yes, Steadman was killing Solo:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 f5 9. Nh3 Qa5 10. e4 fxe4 11. fxe4 Qxc3+ 12. Bd2 Qe5 13. Bd3 Nc3 14. Bf4 Qd4? 15. Qh5+ g6 16. Qe5! Qxd3 17. Qxh8+ Kd7 18. Kf2 Qc2+ 19. Kf1 Qe2+ 20. Kg1 Qb2 21. Qxh7+ Kc6 22. Qc7+ Kb5 23. Re1 Nc6 24. Be3 e5 25. Nf2 Ka6 26. Nd3 Qxa3 27. Nxe5 Nxe5 28. Qxe5 Bg4 29. Qd6+ Kb5 30. Bd2 Rc8 31. Qd3+ Kc6 32. Qxc3 Qxc3 33. Bxc3 Kxc5 34. h3 Be6 35. Kf2 b5 36. Ra1 b4 37. Bd2 [37.  e5 is much better to control the diagonal and keep the  out. Even simpler is 37.xb4 xb4 38. xa7 removing any of Black's swindling chances, so should win easily with the exchange and 2  s up. 37... b3 38. Rxa7 Kd4 39. Ra4+ Kd3 40. Be3? [anything else; if White must lose his , at least get the b- for it] 40... Rf8+ 41. Kg3 Kxe3 42. Rb4 Kd2 43. Rb6 Bc4 44. Kg4 Rf2 45. g3 Kc3 46. Kg5 Bd3 47. Re1 Rf3 48. Kg4 Rf8 49. e5 Kd2 50. Rh1 Be4 51. Rh2+ Kc3 52. e6 Rf5 53. h4 Bf3+ 54. Kh3 Re5 55. Rf2 Bd5 56. e7 [56. Rf6] 56... Rxe7 57. Rxg6 Rb7 58. Rd6 Be4 59. Rdd2 b2 60. Rxb2 Rxb2 61. Rxb2 Kxb2 62. Kg4 Kc3 63. Kf4 Kd4 64. g4 Kd5 65. h5 Bc2 66. Kg5 Ke6 67. Kh6 Kf7 68. g5 Kg8 [Draw agreed] 1/2-1/2 |
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Nov-08-09
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| Richard Taylor: Yes - it was an interesting game...I think 13 .. 0-0 was better than what was played. Mike jokes that he always gets players who play d5 (rather than 4 ... c5 5 d5 (or other) which I used to play - maybe not in the future..not sure) with his 4 f3 and then (eventually a Ra2 (!!?) (heading for the King side!) etc which he did with me in a rapid tourney but this line (basically it is the Saemisch with f3 although the 4 f3 (rather than 4 a3) confuses things...) looks o.k. for Black. But then Soloman blundered and then Steadman missed your line and so on... Soloman seemed a very nice fellow also BTW. |
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Nov-22-09
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| Travis Bickle: You ever see this great film?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc9z... |
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Nov-24-09
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| Richard Taylor: <Travis Bickle> I saw it, but I used to watch the TV program and that was so good (or my memories of it were) I was bit disappointed in the film. But the actor in that scene is very good..isit De Norio ? He was great in Casino and some others. Also AL Pacino was good in "Scent of a Woman" which keeps reminding me of military things! (But all in all I don't like war or violence - BUT violence & war are realities - sadly) Re Vietnam* - a complex film of great merit I feel is or was "Apocalypse Now" * But it goes beyond the Vietnam war as such and references Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" [it follows the plot of hat story] and hence by association T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" and
(forgive me if you know this already) and to get really into things the phrase comes from Julius Caesar by Shakespear...now the point of that (as far as I can work out) is that the conspirators who kill Caesar** feel themselves to be hollow men, or they might be..."; a kind of existential dilemma of doubt etc and surreal cynicism which brings us back to Brando and the poem The Hollow Men whose lines he keeps muttering and Mr Kurtz and Vietman and "advisors" and surfing(!) and so on... ** It is not clear why they kill him... if for personal power or for "justice" and so on. So this "reflects" on the film with the mumbling Brando being just right for the role.. |
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Nov-24-09
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| Richard Taylor: <Benzol> There is a lightening tourney on Sunday next - are you playing - I might play for ACC? Did you see that my old "sparing partner" Bobby Cheng (who I never lost to in Standard Chess - albeit he was then between 8 or 11 years old!) won the World Under 18 Championships in Turkey? Ewen announced it last night.
But more importantly I had a draw with Bruce Wheeler last night in the Spring Cup - so far I haven't lost a game. (Opposition, apart from Bruce, who is well over 2000 and few stroppy juniors) isn't that strong though - my best game which included a "brilliancy" was against Mark Brimble. |
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Nov-24-09
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| Benzol: <Richard> Yes I'm going to play at the ACC on Sunday. I've been hauled out of moth-balls because HPCC can't apparently put a team together. I saw a bit about Bobby Cheng the other day on his games file here. You should upload your wins. Hint, hint. BTW did you know that your game against Edward Tanoi from the George Trundle is in the latest New Zealand Chess Magazine? I'm completing a couple of game collections including "Modern Chess Miniatures" so I'll return it to you in the very near future. How you doing with my Smyslov book? |
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Nov-24-09
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| Richard Taylor: Do you want the Smyslov book back - I only play the odd game when the opening suits me. He is a great player. What I really want though are more modern players. The games I have played are excellent - beautiful games. I got inspiration from there to play the Slav versus Gino - another game I was easily winning in... Actually I must go through all the games systematically ...Vic and I play over a game of Tarrasch's each day but I could start on that book next...but I have to be careful where I take it.
Now I think about it - by playing Smyslov I will get ideas for openings and more importantly, strategy for Congress. |
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Nov-25-09
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| Richard Taylor: <Benzol> I started playing over his games more systematically so I would like to keep it longer now if you don't mind. Up to Congress? Do you have any other GM collections I can borrow leading up to Congress or are you also playing playing? e.g. I was impressed with that book by Geller. But o.k. if no. It was a pity my game v Bruce Wheeler wasn't in the NZ Chess Mag as that was one of the best games played (by anyone) even though I lost. In fact it also showed Bruce in a good light also as his counter attack was good. |
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Nov-25-09
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| Richard Taylor: <Benzol> I realised that the game could have been chosen randomly in Wellington -
I will upload more of my games - I have uploaded my other draw v Ortvin - very exciting game v Sarapu* but I have many old games and recent with many great sacrifices,comnbinations etc [Mind you I also have some interesting games I lost as well as many very bad games!] * At one stage I had only a pawn versus his N and R !! At another point I made Zchwisenzug pawn sac that The Ort saw in time!! Otherwise if he accepted he was gone! |
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Nov-26-09
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| Benzol: <Richard> If you want to hang on to the Smyslov book until the Congress that's fine. I'll hunt out my Geller book for you too. I haven't finished it yet but you might be interested in
Game Collection: Auckland International Open 2003 |
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Nov-27-09
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| Richard Taylor: <Benzol> Thanks. I was playing some games today - Smyslov is perhaps my favourite player esp. of the time. beautiful chess - all aspects of the game. I should see you on Sunday also. |
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