Williebob Member since Jul-31-18 · Last seen Jul-02-22 I live in the often lovely little town of Washington, D.C. Occasionally, my travels take me near the US Capital Building, and I have never missed a chance to point to that unmistakeable dome and say to my exasperated children, "See that? That's where they spend all the money!" Since some regulars have responded to my posts, I thought it would be friendlier to add this mostly anonymous bio; you all have my admiration and respect, and I thank you for giving me a spot in an extraordinary community. Music is my main gig. Chess-wise, I am a hack, but I'm also spending some newly acquired free time in 2020 "booking up" with the goal of acquiring an official USCF rating. I suspect my current ability is under 1600, so... plenty of room to soar! ... January 2022. A resolution for this year: I will play over-the-board chess again, re-activating my USCF rating (I ceased my rare tourny outings more than ten years ago after barely crossing the provisional twenty game rating threshold). If I can crack 1600 in the minnow ponds around the D.C. area, I will be satisfied as a chess enthusiast and maybe someday expert. Excelsior!

Williebob has kibitzed 441 times to chessgames   [less...]

Jul-01-22 David Moody    Williebob: Not least among the reasons for which I'll miss seeing posts by <Phony Benoni> is his eternally funny user name. Really one of the best at CG, always gave me a laugh and his posts consistently witty. And there are a lot of funny people on this site!      Jul-01-22 FIDE Candidates (2022)    Williebob: The 2-year cycle has been looking counterproductive to me. Far too hectic. Over time it will only diminish the stature of the title. If there is an 'average chess fan' (thinking of myself as more a 'chess freak'), I wonder what the patzer thinks of 2- versus 3- year WCC cycles? I ...      Jun-26-22 Phony Benoni chessforum    Williebob: <PB>'s page on the US Opens: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index I got a big smile from seeing a T-shirt listed as a source (the 100th Anniversary souvenir tee had a complete list of Open winners 1900-1998). Bless you wherever you may be now, <PB>. The ...      Jun-26-22 Keene vs R G Wade, 1965    Williebob: If any of my kibitzes ever hurt anyone's feelings, I apologize. None are meant to hurt, though some are meant to annoy some people just a bit.      Jun-24-22 Firouzja vs Caruana, 2022    Williebob: It looks like <perfidious> was ahead of my pun idea, over at the Candidates' Match page. FIDE Candidates (2022) The pun may lack legs But the point you understand They're fair weather fans      Jun-22-22 Nigel Short    Williebob: Also, FIDE is just more comfortable working with tyrants and crooks.      Jun-13-22 E Lundin vs Najdorf, 1935   Williebob: "Knight O'er F Wins" Pun submitted. My first version was, "Najdorf's Knight O'er Fs", which I think sounds funnier but is harder to read. Starting with Black's 20th move, the Knight at f4 becomes a serious nag, as <thomastonk> brilliantly noted above.      Jun-09-22 Viswanathan Anand    Williebob: <Messiah>, unless I am badly mistaken, 22. Qb5?? Qxf3+! wins for Black. I do wish you wouldn't call Mamedyarov "Fathead", by the way. Yes, he has a large head. We should all admire what he accomplishes with it.      May-23-22 Pillsbury vs Showalter, 1897   Williebob: <par5vin>, please take another look at the position. 24.. g6?? allows White's attack on the kingside to proceed immediately with 25. fxg6 and Black is either losing the knight or getting mated quickly. Showalter's 24.. Kg8? is not much better. Stockfish makes the case for      May-15-22 Lasker vs Marshall, 1904   Williebob: <keypusher>, glad to see your response to <K Any>'s question (good one, <K>!) I was drawn to the psychology of Marshall's 38.. Qc2, which seems like a masterly bluff (even though it loses against best play as you've shown). I wonder if Lasker wasn't a bit ...      May-10-22 V Pupols vs F Rhine, 1997     May-03-22 Robert James Fischer     Apr-29-22 Sagalchik vs Nakamura, 2003     Apr-19-22 Magnus Carlsen     Apr-06-22 FIDE Grand Prix Leg 3 (2022)     Apr-01-22 Marshall vs Capablanca, 1910    Mar-28-22 Mamedyarov vs V Keymer, 2022     Mar-27-22 Alekhine vs Rubinstein, 1923    Mar-26-22 Hikaru Nakamura     Mar-12-22 Karjakin vs Ivanchuk, 2008     Mar-12-22 Sergey Karjakin     Mar-10-22 R Calapso vs D Reca, 1928    Feb-28-22 Karjakin vs Ivanchuk, 2009     Feb-23-22 Vincent Keymer     Feb-22-22 Airthings Masters (2022)     Feb-14-22 Alekhine vs Capablanca, 1938     Feb-09-22 Yuri L Averbakh     Feb-06-22 Breslau (1925)     Feb-06-22 Carlsen vs Nepomniachtchi, 2021     Jan-31-22 Fred Lindsay     Jan-31-22 84th Tata Steel Masters (2022)     Jan-30-22 A Gupta vs P Iniyan, 2018    Jan-28-22 A Graf vs A F Anosheh, 2017    Jan-28-22 Carlsen vs Mamedyarov, 2022     Jan-27-22 Harikrishna vs N Wajih, 2001    Jan-25-22 Messiah chessforum     Jan-22-22 R Praggnanandhaa vs Carlsen, 2022     Jan-22-22 Alexey Shirov     Jan-21-22 Leko vs Carlsen, 2007    Jan-20-22 Mandolfo vs Kolisch, 1858    Jan-20-22 N Grandelius vs Carlsen, 2022     Jan-18-22 Caracas (1970)     Jan-13-22 Second Piatigorsky Cup (1966)    Jan-12-22 Capablanca vs Alekhine, 1927     Jan-05-22 World Rapid Championship (2021)     Dec-28-21 V Fedoseev vs N Abdusattorov, 2021     Dec-27-21 Carlsen vs Dreev, 2021     Dec-27-21 Jobava vs Carlsen, 2021    Dec-05-21 Carlsen - 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Nov-16-20    morfishine: You can establish your USCF rating by playing one tournament. At least thats the way it used to be. If you go in unrated, I think they put you somewhere in the middle, like the 1700 group, that prevents "sandbagging" and after your 5 games (typical weekend swiss) you have an official rating to use for your next tournament. Good Luck! Nov-16-20    Check It Out: <Williebob> <Music is my main gig> Tell me more! I've played in a (used to be) gigging band for the past 25 years, let's chat. Nov-21-20    Williebob: It only just occurred to me to check my own dang profile page for kibitzes, and lo and behold! <morf>, thanks for the post. Time to polish up an opening or two! <Check it Out>, for the last 15 years I have been entertaining families around the D.C. area in a group called Rocknoceros. Original songs, often meant for children, but our approach has always been to make Beatles-sounding songs that grown ups can enjoy as much as the wee ones. What's your gig, and do you think you'll get it back soon?!?! Nov-21-20    Check It Out: <Williebob> Nice to hear from you! that's great that you write music for kids and grown ups. You can never go wrong with a Beatles-type format; so much to dig in to, not to mention all the great harmonies. Is it the lyrics that make is kid-oriented? I play guitar and sing in a heavy rock band. We do all originals and have been together now about 10 years, played maybe a 100 gigs or so during that time. Mostly angular riffs, odd time signatures, and tight arrangements, with a two alternating lead vox approach. We have continued to rehearse and write and can't wait for that time when we can play our stuff again for folks. I anticipate we will get to gig in the second half of 2021, so we hang in there, like you, I'm sure. Rocknoceros - is that like Rhinoceros? Nov-22-20    Williebob: <CiO> Yes, like "rhinoceros". Definitely the lyric writing is the most "geared" toward a family-friendly thing. We like to think our approach is like a Pixar movie - keep children and parents interested together. To our small community of fans, we have succeeded on that front. I love the description of your band! I started out as a bass player, loving and studying Rush and Yes bass licks, and have played some hard rocking type stuff in my lifetime. In high school, I got to play "One" by Metallica in front of about 2,000 peers and parents, a fond memory. We killed it! Would totally check out your band - do you have recordings out there? I record and mix a lot of stuff at home, trying to get back into making song demos. Nov-22-20    Check It Out: <W> Nice videos! Pleasant stuff. You guitar playing is smooth, and has some nice jazz, rockabilly, and rock n roll sounds to it. I'd love to post some of my band's songs, but right now I'm thinking maintaining my anonymity on this site is best. Sorry about that. If there is a way to relay it to you without posting it here I would. Nov-29-20    Williebob: <Check It> Thanks for checking out the goods, and the kind comments. We continue our search for improvements! Understood regarding privacy. It's too bad that CG doesn't have a PM! Still, I look forward to further music chat and otherwise - see you around :) Nov-30-20    Check It Out: <Willie> I wonder if you have experience with this phenomenon: I am the main riff, melody, and lyricist writer for my heavy rock band. The bass player is the "editor": he slices and dices the ideas, and we end up with these rock constructions that hold up against any "mean" rock band live. But, when I'm simply writing for myself I tend to write these rather traditional-type songs, with jangly rhythms, happy melodies, and sappy lyrics. What gives? Dec-15-20    Williebob: <Check it Out> Clearly your creativity is more universal than one band can accommodate! Recording has been tough in 2020, I've got a youngster at home while schools remain closed, but dangit I need to make some demos! Remind myself that I occasionally write. I say, try to devote some time to developing all your ideas, especially pop songs. (when I write 'pop' I mean pretty much all song craft, vs. more compositional type work... a fuzzy line but I think you know what I mean.) Heck, <Check>, you could write a hit, or a piece of one! I know people in L.A. who have careers based on a single hook - not even verses, just a good chorus. Probably the lyrical side of the hook is the thing most worth toying around with. Apr-21-21    Check It Out: Thanks, <W>. I didn't mean to come off as arrogant there. It's just that my natural "singer/songwriter" style is so different from what happens in my band, even though I write the riffs in both arenas. I was looking for others who experience this phenomenon, and what they make of it. I've also heard, come in with a strong chorus and then go from there. May-14-21    Williebob: <CiO> I keep forgetting to check out my page! I detected no arrogance from your post, my apologies if my reply sounded reactionary or else... my meaning was from the heart; I think it's great to have any number of influences and ideas. Pushing the boundaries outward. You know, over many years now, I have heard quite a few very successful bands (if YouTube play count is a reliable indicator of success, anyhow) which blend the heavy riffing of metal and more melodic singerly stuff. My daughter played for me this band called Dance Gavin Dance. They have two singers... well, one singer and one "growler". I cannot say I was enchanted by tunes I heard, but had to admire their attempt to blend "wimpy" with "hard" (using these adjectives with maximum flexibility and humor - no judgement. I like Paul Simon and Metallica!). Not least impressive was the quarter billion views(!) Dude, if that seems like a possibility for your band - integrating traditional chorus melodies with the more expanded forms of metal, you could be raking in the Internet as we type :) Hope all is well. Rocknoceros is gigging again this summer, almost back to normal-ish. To paraphrase Frank Zappa: Musicians refuse to die! May-14-21    Check It Out: That's great that you will back to gigging soon! Us too. We are back to rehearsing and writing new tunes, and as soon as the local clubs are booking we will play out. We have a new-ish drummer who started with us right when covid hit, so he's never played a gig with us yet. We need to pop the corona cherry :) As for raking in the internet, I'm afraid we are not outward looking enough to get there. We dream of making song videos, etc., but publicity is not our strong suit. We do plan to get in to record our 2nd full length album in the next year. That, new songs, and gigs, that's all we need :) Here's a good tune by Larry Coryell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lva...

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