User Profile: Fusilli

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Fusilli
Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Oct-07-25

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.)

>> Click here to see Fusilli's game collections.

   Fusilli has kibitzed 6255 times to chessgames [more...]

   Oct-07-25 Hikaru Nakamura

Fusilli: Back in the day, I would sometimes resign by picking up my king and placing it in front of my opponent. And one day I read that a GM (I think Sosonko) did the same thing, while saying, "here's, it's yours." So, sure, one for the crowd, why not.

   Sep-15-25 L Mendonca vs M Yilmaz, 2024

Fusilli: <perfidious> <There have been POTDs presented by <cg> which have featured positions which were analogous to practical games rather than guess the move> Not sure I follow. To me, Guess-the-Move games do reflect practical play, since you have to make every move, ...

   Sep-12-25 Leon Mendonca

Fusilli: Mendonca, no doubt originally spelled with a c-cedilla instead of a c, is a Portuguese surname, a reminder that Portugal colonized parts of India since as early as the 16th century.

   Sep-12-25 A Mittal vs Y K Erdogmus, 2025

Fusilli: <FSR: Insane! The kid is a genius! I say he's a future world champion.> I share your enthusiasm but not your evaluation. The combination is absolutely beautiful but not hard to see for a strong player. It's a straight set of forced moves. I think it would be a Friday puzzle ...

   Sep-10-25 Fusilli chessforum

Fusilli: <OCF> I'm kind of proud of myself I got it. The word puzzle was apt! Where did you source it from?

   Sep-07-25 Karpov vs K Rogoff, 1971

Fusilli: Vintage Karpov gives a lesson on superior positional play. Every piece going to the right square at the right time. Or pretty close to that.

   Sep-07-25 S Marangunic vs K Rogoff, 1971

Fusilli: <FTB> OK, here we go. I thought 16.Bxf6 was dubious. Why give up the bishop pair in a fairly open position? 16.Ne3 looks better to me. I was wondering what could be wrong with 23.Nb5. It turns out that after 23...Bf8 24.Rxd7 Rxd7 25.Nxa7 meets ...Bc5 followed by ...Rd2, which ...

   Sep-07-25 Fridrik Olafsson

Fusilli: <perf> oh, right, I see

   Sep-06-25 Peter Enders

Fusilli: <He died on his birthday :( > Very sad. It reminded me of this demographic research article I saw decades ago: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/143... Abstract: <This study of deaths from natural causes examined adult mortality around the birthday for two samples, ...

   Sep-03-25 So vs D Gukesh, 2025

Fusilli: <beatgiant> Because I didn't see it? Or I like complicating things, especially my life? Who knows!

indicates a reply to the comment.

My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 13 OF 112 · Later Kibitzing>
Aug-13-10		Fusilli: A little puzzle. Fusilli v Someone, ICC 2010 Position after 26...Re3: click for larger view White to play and win

Aug-18-10		Fusilli: Hmmm... no takers. :-( click for larger view 27.Qxe3! dxe3 28.Bxg7+ Kg8 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 (threatens back-rank mate) 30.Rf8+! Rxf8 31.Bxf8 Kxf8 32.Kf1 and White won the King + Pawn endgame.

Aug-18-10		hms123: <Mariano> Sorry to be late. Stockfish takes a different approach after <Qxg6>: click for larger view Analysis by Stockfish 1.8 JA: 21 ply 1. (93.05): 1...Qf8 2.Rxd4 Re1+ 3.Kf2 Re5 4.Rh4+ Kg8 5.Rhf4 Rc8 6.Rxf8+ Rxf8 7.Bxe5 Rxf4+ 8.Bxf4 Kh8 9.Be5 Bxe5 10.Qh5+ Kg8 11.Qxe5 Kf7 12.Qg3 Ke6 13.Qg6+ Kd5 14.Qxa6 Ke5 15.Ke3 Kd5 16.Qb5+ Ke6 17.Kd4 2. (#8): 1...Qg8 2.Rxd4 Re1+ 3.Kf2 Re2+ 4.Kxe2 Re8+ 5.Kf1 Re1+ 6.Kxe1 Qe8+ 7.Kd1 Qe2+ 8.Kxe2 Bxd4 3. (#7): 1...Qf6 2.Rxf6 Bxf6 3.Qxf6+ Kh7 4.Bxd4 Ra7 5.Bxa7 Re4 6.Rd7+ Re7 7.Rxe7+ Kg8 4. (#6): 1...Re1+ 2.Rxe1 Qg8 3.Re4 Qf8 4.Rxf8+ Rxf8 5.Re7 Rf1+ 6.Kxf1 Kg8

Aug-19-10		Fusilli: Yeah, Stockfish's version is shorter and bloodier. Mine has the beauty of forced moves. Are you ready to begin teaching?? I'm not! I'm "DGSing" nearly full time these days!

Aug-19-10		hms123: I just came from a 3-hour orientation meeting for advisor's of incoming students. Painful. I am ready to teach though--I found my notes!

Sep-07-10		OhioChessFan: FWIW, I chose Qxe3. I decided to tweak the position a little. click for larger view And now Qxe3 is clearly best and probably only winning move.

Sep-07-10		OhioChessFan: I don't get why Rc5 doesn't work in the Nguyen/Giri game. 48. Rc5 Rd8 (48...Rd4+ 49. Ke3 Rd8 50. Ke4) 49. Ke4 and game over. Any King move for Black's 48th and 49. c7 wins.

Sep-08-10		Fusilli: <OCF> Nice improvement on my ICC game puzzle with 1.Qxe3. I think you are right and now that's the only way to win. On the Nguyen-Giri game, following your line, Black plays 49...Ke6 and the resulting position is this: click for larger view I think it is not that easy for White to make progress now. Pushing the pawn to c7 will result into ...Rc8, ...Kd7 and the pawn falls. If 50.Re5+ Kf6. If 50.Rh5 Rb8. Even if 50.Rc1 Rc8 51.Ra1 Rc7. Do you see a way to progress?

Sep-08-10		OhioChessFan: 48. Rc5 Ke6 49. Re5+ Kf6 50. Rd5 Rook moves 51. Kd4 is an easy win

Sep-08-10		Fusilli: <OCF> Well, that is correct. I am not sure then why GM Benjamin said that 48.Re8 is the way to go and 48.Rc5 was more complicated. I just set up the position before White's move 48 on my computer and Fritz says both 48.Re8 and 48.Rc5 are decisive.

Sep-09-10		OhioChessFan: Yeah, I am shocked GM Benjamin missed a fairly easy endgame win. I was sort of wondering what I was missing. I skipped 48..Rd8 49. Ke4 in my last post, but I can tell you followed what I meant.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: I was 12 growing up in Buenos Aires in 1979, and just beginning to play in chess tournaments, when he trounced almost everybody at the 1979 Clarin tournament. His score was +9 =4, three full points ahead of Najdorf, Miles and Andersson, who shared 2nd-to-4th place. He beat Spassky, Petrosian, Andersson, Panno, Quinteros, Ivkov, Rubinetti, Franco and Tempone, and drew with Najdorf, Miles, Gheorghiu and Lombardy. None of the draws were grandmaster draws, to which some of the other contenders seemed addicted. Bent Larsen was like a god. It was simply amazing. I will be posting positions from his games at the 1979 Clarin tournament.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 1, Larsen vs Ulf Andersson, 1979 Position after 37.Qa3: click for larger view Black blundered a point earlier, but by now the position is even (Fritz says dead even at +0.11). But now Andersson commits suicide (maybe under time pressure): 37...Qd4+ 38.e3 Ra7?! (retreating with the queen was safer) 39.Rb8+ Kh7: click for larger view 40.Rh8+ Kxh8?? 1-0 (in view of 41.Qf8+).

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 2, Ivkov vs Larsen, 1979 Position after 27.Bc1: click for larger view From the computer point of view, the position is even, but from a human point of view, it is more difficult to play it with the white pieces than with the black pieces. Larsen surely understood that, and went for 27...Nb2, which forces the trade 28.Bxb2 Bxb2, after which White has to find the good moves while Black is annoyingly trying to create threats inside White's territory. Eventually, Ivkov fell into a simple trap. One suspects time pressure. Position after 32...Qb2+: click for larger view 33.Kg3?? h4+! 34.Nxh4 (unless you prefer to be mated by a humble pawn after 34.Kxh4 Qf2+ 35.Kg5 f6#) Be1+ 35.Kf3 Bxh4 0-1 Incidentally, this could have been the Larsen Monday puzzle this week.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 3, Larsen vs Quinteros, 1979 This game illustrates Larsen's tenacity: Position after 40...Nh6: click for larger view Black has two passed pawns and White has none! Fritz evaluates this as very slightly better for Black. Position after 47...Kf6: click for larger view Now White got a passed pawn, and the position is dead even (Fritz evaluates it at 0.00). Position after 59.a4: click for larger view Producing a second passed pawn for White. Here it's interesting that after 59...Kf6 Fritz chooses 60.a5 and evaluates the position as +0.87, when it is obvious that Black can just block the whole board and it would be a draw. Larsen played 60.axb5. Position after 67.Ra1: click for larger view Black is in trouble. Somewhere along the way Quinteros made the wrong blocking choices, it seems. Position after 74.Rh1: click for larger view 1-0

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, J A Rubinetti vs Larsen, 1979 Not much to show from this game. Larsen won without much effort.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, Larsen vs Najdorf, 1979 At 69, "El Viejo" was still a formidable opponent. In fact, he finished the tournament undefeated. Larsen was in classical mode... Position after 5.f4: click for larger view Position after 28...Qc6: click for larger view By now, Najdorf has equalized. Position after 36...a4: click for larger view White is the one who needs to equalize now. He did. Final position, after 56.Rxg5: click for larger view Who knows, if Najdorf had been younger maybe he would have played 56...Bd7. While the position is a book draw, there is only one side at risk of losing (see for example Leko vs Ivanchuk, 2008). But El Viejo was tired.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, Larsen vs Petrosian, 1979 Larsen outplays Petrosian in a final positional battle. Position after 42...Be6: click for larger view Taking the bishop leads to a drawish ending, e.g. 43.Bxe6 fxe6 44.Nf1 Ka6 45.Nc4 and here either 45...Kb5 46.Ke2 Kb4 47.Kf2= or 45...Kxa5 46.Nc4+ = Larsen played 43.Bf1 and proceeded to maneouver until he was able to place his knight on d6 via c4. Position after 55...Kb8: click for larger view Now it's a different story. 56.Bxe6 fxe6 57.Nf7. See the game for the remaining moves... Black's position falls apart. 1-0 in 65.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: I forgot to add round numbers... Rubinetti-Larsen was in round 4, Larsen-Najdorf in round 5, and Larsen-Petrosian in round 6.

Sep-15-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 7, Spassky vs Larsen, 1979 A rather undignified defeat for Spassky. Position after 12...Rg8: click for larger view Here Spassky probably erred with 13.bxc5. This move seems to give Black a good c5-square and fails to stop Black's attack on the Kingside. 13.Nh4 was probably needed. Larsen played 13...Bxc5 and Spassky went for 14.Nd4? Again, 14.Nh4 was better, or 14.Bxc5. Now Larsen simply played 14...Bh3 and won the exchange: click for larger view The rest is just a Black bulldozer destroying White's position. Surprisingly, in this position (after 28...Qh1+ 29.Kg3): click for larger view ...Larsen failed to play the absolutely crushing 29...Nh2+ and instead played 29...Nf6+, which is the least dangerous discovery check he can give, thus allowing Spassky to survive for ten more moves. 0-1 in 39

Sep-16-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 8, Larsen vs M J Tempone, 1979 Position after 25.Nxa7: click for larger view Black can play 25...Ra5 or 25...Rd2 with equality. Instead he played 25...R8d6? 26.Nc8: click for larger view The problem is not really the fork, but the loss of the pawn on e4. 26...Qf6 (saves the exchange because perpetual check would follow) 27.Qe8+ Bf8 28.Qxe4. 1-0 in 40.

Sep-16-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 9, Lombardy vs Larsen, 1979 Position after 29.Bxe1: click for larger view Position after 39.h4: click for larger view The White bishop is officially "bad". Position after 49...a3: click for larger view And Larsen tried and tried, but couldn't break White's defense. Final position, after 71...Kc6: click for larger view

Sep-16-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 10, Larsen vs Panno, 1979 Position after 30.Qe4: click for larger view It takes very good intuition and calculation to find the good defense here. With the help of Fritz, that would be 30...Kf8, or even 30...Ne7. Panno played 30...Ne5, and he is lost after that. See the game for the rest. It is instructive to see how the weakness of the white squares is lethal for Black even after there are just a few pieces left. 1-0 in 41.

Sep-16-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 11, Gheorghiu vs Larsen, 1979 They must have been terrified of Larsen by now. In this position (after 19...Rb8): click for larger view ... Gheorghiu, having plenty of choices, played 20.e4, which leads pretty much mathematically to this: click for larger view (Above: position after 25.gxf3) But he succeeded. He did get his draw in 40 moves.

Sep-16-10		Fusilli: Buenos Aires (Clarin) 1979, round 12, Larsen vs Z Franco-Ocampos, 1979 Larsen played very aggressively and Franco truly horribly. White is winning after just 15 moves. Position after 15.h5: click for larger view Enormous White advantage. Black even castled on the Kingside (all choices were bad) and was killed a few moves later. Final position, after 23.Qg3: click for larger view

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