Fusilli Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Mar-29-26 Mariano Sana, Argentinian by birth, in the US since 1995. Naturalized US citizen. I hold a PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, and I am an associate professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University: https://as.vanderbilt.edu/sociology.... Previously, I was at Louisiana State University (2003-2009). My published academic work can be seen here: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/Mar.... My review of Gary Alan Fine's "Players and Pawns" is here: https://www.academia.edu/69647923/P.... My avatar comes from a cartoon of mine drawn by a friend. My username, besides the pasta, is my late cat's name (he died in March 2021, age 19), inspired by this cartoon: https://condenaststore.com/featured.... My first tournament was at age 12 in 1979. I finished 8th in the Argentine junior championship in 1985. So, I was good enough, but not great. (That same evaluation might still be apt today, on a good day.) Unfortunately, no game scores survived from those years. I started to play again after grad school. I play between 0 and 4 tournaments per year. I won the Louisiana State Championship in 2007. I lost the first game and then won six in a row. This was my last round win, where I got lucky after playing the opening pretty terribly: J Rousselle vs M Sana, 2007. I also won the under 2200 section of the US Open in 2014. Again, Swiss gambit. Lost the first one, then won five in a row, lost game 7 (M Sana vs J Sheng, 2014, a rather atypical game), and won games 8 and 9. My last round win was featured as a Tuesday puzzle: K Gulamali vs M Sana, 2014. (Try it! Black to play at move 29. But you can also do black to play at move 22 as a principled-move puzzle.) I'd say that I am essentially a good but inconsistent player. My playing style is a mix of strategic and tactical. I'm usually very willing to sac a pawn or allow positional weaknesses in exchange for active piece play. For years I hovered around 2200, down to mid 2100s a few years ago after a disaster and a 50-point loss at the 2019 World Open. (Aging and MS fatigue had much to do with that.) On good days, I have had nice wins: T Bartell vs M Sana, 2009, R Burnett vs M Sana, 2012, M Sana vs C Blocker, 2014, M Sana vs R Burnett, 2015. But on a bad day, I can play horribly and lose against whoever is sitting in front of me. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2011, but it didn't cause me trouble until 2018/9. I have a weak right leg (I often use a cane now) and I fatigue easily. Medication, well-timed naps, and exercise help. I play blitz games on chess.com under the username RealFusilli. My participation on this website goes through ebbs and flows, and the majority of my posts are about chess. I often post on my own forum just to keep records for myself. Everyone is welcome to visit and share! (But please don't post about politics here.)

Fusilli has kibitzed 6474 times to chessgames   [more...]

Mar-29-26 Chessgames - Literature   Fusilli: <That film's name was "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and was a rather faithful adaption of the book, I think.> Great film, and packed with top acting talent.      Mar-28-26 Fusilli chessforum    Fusilli: Hey fellas, I know we are mostly men over certain age around here. Or I assume so. So, I have a question that may or may not resonate. I like religion. I like the idea of God. I grew up in a practicing Catholic household. I went to a Catholic school 1-12. Growing up in Argentina, ...      Mar-25-26 Van der Wiel vs Kasparov, 1982   Fusilli: <Whitehat1963: What happens after 23. Nh6+ Kf8 (or Kh8) 24. Nf4?> <mertangili: <whitehat1963> i think after your line; 24...Qg5 25. Nxd3 cxd3 and the knight on h6 is lost> After 23.Nh6+ Kf8 24.Nf4 Nxf4 25.Kxf4 Qh4 and it looks like mate is coming, isn't it? (Or ...      Mar-25-26 Jacob Murey    Fusilli: He made GM at 46. Rather late in life, but maybe not so much at the time?      Mar-25-26 J Murey vs V Malakhov, 2000    Fusilli: Wow, this guys knows how to attack. Relentless.      Mar-25-26 Botvinnik vs N Sorokin, 1931    Fusilli: <perf> <So far as I know, in FIDE-rated events one is no longer allowed to write a move on their scoresheet before making it; is this the one exception?> That's an excellent question. And probably not a question we can solely answer based on rules, since the rules are ...      Mar-23-26 F Rhine vs D Sprenkle, 1981   Fusilli: <Mednis may have put in a good word for me with Informant, I don't know. But Informant did publish the game! In the next issue, I was shocked to learn that Informant's panel of judges had also voted it one of the 10 most theoretically important games in Volume 32.> No doubt a ...      Mar-23-26 Kenneth Rogoff    Fusilli: Great to know, <FSR>. I think starting your message the way you did is not just good strategy, but it is kind. You are showing him you care and appreciate his accomplishments. I'm not even 1/100th as famous as Rogoff, but as a university professor at a renowned place, I do get      Mar-22-26 Navara vs Wojtaszek, 2016   Fusilli: <I meant to include that perhaps Black overlooked that after 28...Bxf2+ 29. Kg2, 29...Rd7 would enable 30. Rf1 to be met by 30...Qc5!> That's my guess too. Maybe black played a tad too quickly there. In the old days, one could be really low on time by move 30 and mess up ...      Mar-16-26 Panno vs W Hug, 1973    Fusilli: Fun game.

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My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 113 OF 121 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-08-25    stone free or die: Cute one by <OCF>. I think I vaguely remember it from long ago - where did it come from? Nov-09-25    OhioChessFan: I found the source of a previous puzzle: https://youtu.be/3XkA2ZoVFQo?si=fGG... Nov-10-25    offramp: offramp chessforum (kibitz #2097) It's <THE INCREDIBLE FIDE 4th ROUND PREDICTION CONTEST>. Entrants submit a binary string of 16 1s or 0s. Them's the rules. Nov-22-25    Fusilli: A gem from Samuel Loyd click for larger view White to play. Nov-26-25    areknames: I love Sam Lloyd and problems in general but am useless at solving them . I am getting nowhere. Maybe someone else can nail this? Nov-28-25    Fusilli: <areknames> I don't blame you! The solution is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkR... Nov-30-25    OhioChessFan: Tougher than I thought. My first look was at Kc2. I was on the right track as White needs the Black Pawns to limit the King's mobility and a zugzwang of the King would initiate the process. I eventually figured out Nf5 and eventually the idea of Kc2/c1. Typically beautiful Lloyd puzzle. Nov-30-25    OhioChessFan: From a recent game. Black has just played Rd8. What should White do? click for larger view Spoiler: I got it wrong. Nov-30-25    OhioChessFan: By the way, big win for Vanderbilt today. Nov-30-25    Fusilli: Fun fact guys: It's Sam Loyd, not Lloyd. I had to take a second look myself. <OCF> That's tricky! White wants to take the rook and play h7, but doing that right away would blunder the rook (Qa5+ and Qxd8). (And FWIW, black would also have Qb1+ and Qxh7 if he doesn't see the rook blunder.) So... 1.Rxd8 a1=Q 2.Rb8+! Kf6 (I don't think where the king goes matters) 3.h7 and the only check is 3...Qa5+ and after 4.Kg4 there are no more checks, 1-0. True about Vanderbilt! Nov-30-25    Fusilli: <OCF> And yes about the Loyd puzzle. The fact that white must lose not one but two tempos in the Kc2-Kc1 variation is stunning. For the record, here's the whole solution: click for larger view 1.Nf5 Kf1 2.Ne3+ Ke1 3.Kc2 f2 4.Kc1 f1=anything 5.Nc2 mate 1.Nf5 e3 2.Nxe3 f2 3.Nf4 f1=anything 4.Nd3 mate 1.Nf5 f2 2.Ne3 f1=anything 3.Nc2 mate Nov-30-25    OhioChessFan: <1.Rxd8 a1=Q 2.Rb8+! Kf6 (I don't think where the king goes matters) 3.h7 and the only check is 3...Qa5+ and after 4.Kg4 there are no more checks, 1-0.> Well done, although your second move for Black is something of a typo. But the move doesn't matter. Rb8+ is the key that I missed. Qa1/b2+ stops the h Pawn, so White has to defend b2. I took the a2 Pawn which drew. 1. Rxa2+ Kxa2 2. h7 Kb3 3. Kg6 Kc4 4. f5 Kd5 5. f6 Ke6 6. Kg7 1/2 click for larger view Nov-30-25    areknames: Very elegant solution and yes, typical Lloyd. It was very instructive to follow the guy's thought process in the video. Nov-30-25    areknames: For some reason I was always convinced it was Lloyd. I stand corrected. Dec-01-25    Fusilli: <For some reason I was always convinced it was Lloyd> Well, so was I, and I think <OCF> too, the reason being that such name is usually spelled Lloyd. In fact, I think Sam Loyd is the only Loyd I've ever seen. Dec-06-25    OhioChessFan: White to mate in two: click for larger view Dec-07-25    Fusilli: <OCF> Whaaaa...? I can't even see mate in 3 right now! Dec-07-25    Fusilli: Oooh... I see it now! Dec-07-25    stone free or die: <OCF> are you sure it's a M2? I think the rook to 2nd rank and over to allow White king to hide behind takes 3 moves. (I checked with engine and it doesn't see M2 either, so at least I have company) Dec-07-25    Fusilli: <stone> it is correct. The engine omitted something. What do you think it could be? In other words, if you were programming the engine, what would you think the engine would need, as input? Dec-08-25    stone free or die: Castling?!? Dec-08-25    stone free or die: (So easy with the hint!) Dec-08-25    Fusilli: <stone> It's more of a prank than a puzzle! When I use an engine, it's generally the one on chess.com. I know that if I set up a position, there is a box to click if O-O is available. Actually, four buttons, for each side and each type of castle. Dec-08-25    stone free or die: <Fusilli> there's a flaw in CG's position diagrams - they sluff off the extra bits of a FEN where such info is stored (chess.com might be missing the 50-move count, and ep file). I guess the problem is a bit of a prank - but a good and revealing one. What's that old adage about moving the "right" rook? . Dec-08-25    OhioChessFan: Laughing uncontrollably.... Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 121) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 113 OF 121 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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