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Apr-07-19
 | | Fusilli: Just played on ICC. Fusilli v someone.
We arrived at this position. There are other pieces on the board, of course, but they don't matter. 
click for larger viewWhite to play.
It's good to know this pattern. The queen and knight work together to corral the king into mate. 1.Rxg7+ Kxg7 and now white can choose between 2.Qf7+ Kh8 3.Ng6#, or 2.Qg6+ and mate in the next move with either Nf7 or Qf7, depending on black's response. Stripped to the bare minimum:
click for larger viewIf one can force black into this position and the white queen has access to either g6 or f7, mate follows. |
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May-06-19
| | Fusilli: Thinking of doing some tournament travel this summer. Possibilities: 2019 U.S. Senior Open Championship June 28-30 in Naperville, IL. Now that I crossed the age 50 threshold, I qualify. 47th World Open, July 2-7, 2019, Philadelphia, PA. I always liked the World Open, and I have not been back in Philly in years. 2019 U.S. Open, August 3-11, Orlando, FL. I like the vibe of the US Open. And I did pretty well the last time I played (2014), winning my rating category. What I am going to avoid: any tournament in Las Vegas. I hate playing in Las Vegas. |
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Jun-07-19
| | Fusilli: <Sally> <Sokrates> I can tell you that every schoolkid in Argentina has engraved "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" in their brains by the time they finish elementary school, and so was I. (Malvinas is the name of the Falklands in the Spanish-speaking world, of course.) All we are taught is this: Spain had them, then we "inherited" them from Spain with independence in 1816, then the Brits kicked us out in 1833. (All that is true.) Therefore, the Brits stole them from us. It wasn't until the Internet existed, in the mid-90s, and I was now in America, that one day I started to poke around to read about the history of the islands and found out so many things we were never told in school. In short, <Sokrates> is right: the history of the islands is complicated. Of course, the Falklands War was a stupid waste of life. And a political boon to Thatcher. And a last ditch attempt by the military dictatorship in Argentina, which was crumbling (and did fall apart after the war). |
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| Jun-08-19 | | Sokrates: Many thanks for this explanation, <Fusilli>. We Europeans rarely read about the Argentinian arguments. It's actually very complicated and the stands seem to depend of which nation you are favouring. Personally, I see valid arguments on both sides and I am not able to reach any conclusion. |
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| Jun-08-19 | | Sokrates: PS: I have never visited your site before, but I certainly intend to do it now. A very good site and a great presentation of yourself. Finally: I love fusilli pasta :-) |
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Jun-08-19
| | Fusilli: Thank you <Sokrates>, you are welcome to visit any time! |
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Jun-16-19
| | Fusilli: Yesterday I played the Monthly Swiss at the NCC (Nashville Chess Center). I was seeded first by over 200 points, but it was satisfying to deliver (+4=0-0). Mariano Sana (2186) v Jeff Tobin (1955)
click for larger viewBlack is threatening the bishop.
20.Qxd6! Rxb5 21.Rhe1+ Re5 22.Rxe5+ fxe5 23.Qxe5+ Kf8 24.Qxh8+ 1-0 in 32. |
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Jun-16-19
| | Fusilli: From the same tourney:
Julius Melillo (1757) v Mariano Sana (2186)
click for larger viewBlack to pay.
White has committed way too much to the kingside. He was probably planning Nhf3-Nh4 now. Black has to act fast to attack first. The LSB controlling the b1-h7 diagonal is key. 22...b4! 23.c4 (if 23.cxb4 c5 is too strong) Qa5 24.Qb3 Rad8 
click for larger viewThe attack is overwhelming. White responds to the threat of ...Rd3, where the a-pawn falls and the position collapses. 25.a4 Rd3 26.Qa2
click for larger view26...b3! It prevents White's b3 and lets the black queen in. When in attack, keep the position open, and open lines! 27.Nxb3 Qb4 28.Nd2 Nc5.
click for larger viewWhite resigned. 0-1 |
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Jun-16-19
| | Fusilli: The TD snapped a photo of me after 27...Qb4:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byv5rXh... |
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| Jun-16-19 | | Gregor Samsa Mendel: ¡Que pinta de argentino tenes che! |
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Jun-16-19
| | Fusilli: <GSM> Si señor! |
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Jun-22-19
 | | perfidious: <Fusilli>, I just played the Senior event. Oops....it was in a place you have sworn never to play: <What I am going to avoid: any tournament in Las Vegas. I hate playing in Las Vegas.> Those are my meat--in poker, of course. Was just out at the World Series for eleven days. Best of luck in Illinois and at the World Open. Hard to believe this will be the 47th edition of the latter; I remember the first, held in Manhattan. |
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Jun-22-19
| | Fusilli: Thanks <perfidious>! Did you make any $$? Just for the record, I don't hate Vegas (don't love it either). But I hate playing chess in Vegas. The reason is that with the crazy intensive schedule of chess opens (and my games tend to be lengthy, which makes it worse), you often have limited time in between rounds. So you are stuck in whichever hotel the tournament is, with no time to wander out. Typically, those hotels have 3-4 restaurants (some of which are just damn closed in the early-to-mid-afternoon, which happens to be the in-between rounds time), and they are packed and you have to stand in line forever just to be seated. Never mind that they are also overpriced and the food is mediocre at best. The alternative is to get a lousy (also overpriced) sandwich from one of the coffee stands... for which, of course, you will also have to stand in line for a while. So, my Vegas chess experience (two opens) has been miserable, being underfed, or poorly fed, and cranky all the time. Not surprisingly, I didn't do particularly well in either tournament. On the other hand, I never did badly in Philly, which bodes well for the World Open! I lived there for eight years, I love Philly. |
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Jun-28-19
| | Fusilli: So far, +2 =0 -0 at the US Senior Open.
2nd round, Mariano Sana (2186) v James Abbott (1885). Position after 16...Na6:
click for larger viewYusupov says that one of the most important skills a chess player can have is to recognize key junctures in a game. I felt this was a key juncture. I was not happy with any of the variations allowing his knight to live, where it'd get to c5 and Black is very comfortable, even a bit better. But I was worried about giving up my bishop for his knight. In the end, I chose to to do it, and I turned out to be right! (The 6-second Stockfish analysis here doesn't give me credit, but it doesn't offer better plans for black than what my opponent played, and eventually I ended up much better!) 17.Bxa6! Rxa6 18.Qd3 Ra8 19.Nd2
The trade allowed for a crucial redeployment of the white knight. The queen freed up d2 with the win of a tempo by threatening the rook. And once the knight is out of b3, White will be able to play b3 and 0-0-0. 
click for larger view19...Bc8 20.Ne4
click for larger viewTake a look at this position. For the next 5-10 moves, White will simply improve his position and there is nothing black can do! 20...Ba6 21.Qe3 f6 22.f3 Qc7 23.b3 Rc8 24.O-O-O Kf7 25.Kb2 Bb7 26.Rgd2 Rhd8 27.Qf2 Rh8 28.Rc1 
click for larger viewWhite has no weaknesses and is ready to push the c-pawn, with dangerous attack. 28...Ba6 29.c4 bxc3 30.Rxc3
click for larger viewAnd here Black blundered with 30...Qd8? 31.Qa7+ 1-0 He had to play 30...Qb8, after which 31.Rc6 is strong. 31...Rxc6 is forced and after 32.dxc6 Rhd8 33.Rc2 or 33.h4, it seems to me White is clearly better. |
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Jun-29-19
 | | OhioChessFan: At first glance, Black's 20...Ba6 was somewhat a waste of time. Your Queen wanted off that diagonal anyway. The Queen move to e3 was with tempo, as the g5 Pawn was weak. f6 was a little weakening, your Queen (now) supported f4, and moved directly to f2. Meanwhile, the Ba6 has nothing to do. I think 20...Rh4 was called for. |
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Jun-29-19
| | OhioChessFan: I did notice in that entire sequence Black was always on the verge of running out of moves. |
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Jun-29-19
| | Fusilli: Hi <OCF>. I think you are right about 20...Rh4. If 21.f3 I think I was thinking he had to play 21...f5, trying to find an active plan. Also, if he manages to trade his bishop for my knight, that would be good business for him. Today I lost to Joel Benjamin in round 3, and won in round 4 against a 1900. So, +3 =0 -1. Tomorrow morning, for round 5, I am facing a 2100. It's six rounds total. In round 3, to my surprise, Alexey Vladislavovich Yermolinsky (on board 2) offered a draw to a national master after just a dozen moves. He said it was a "boring game." Strange for a GM to concede a draw so easily to someone nearly 400 points below him. I wonder if there was any tournament-pairing strategizing behind that. Considering that in round 5, the other two GMs (JB and Dimitri Borisovich Gurevich) are slated to face each other on board one, maybe there was...? Naperville is a pretty town, by the way. It has a cute river walk and a pretty lively scene. |
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Jun-29-19
| | OhioChessFan: We won't get on you too much for losing to Benjamin. I have to believe it was pairing strategy for Yermo. I guess everyone has seen some results where being a half point behind leads to a much easier road than always being in the lead. |
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Jul-01-19
| | Fusilli: Done with the US Senior Open! In Round 5, I drew with Marc Plum, and I beat Leonid Bondar in Round 6, for a final score of +4 =1 -1. I shared fifth place, and got a $155 check :) This result, together with the Nashville tourney I played a few weeks ago, means that I am back at the master-level rating of 2200. That feels good. Dimitri Borisovich Gurevich won the tournament with 5.5. |
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Jul-01-19
 | | moronovich: Congrats <Fussili> ! |
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Jul-02-19
 | | chancho: https://www.cavemanchess.com/usso-s...
Buen resultado! |
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Jul-02-19
| | Fusilli: <chancho> <moronovich> Thank you! |
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Jul-04-19
| | Fusilli: In the first round of the World Open, I lost to Andrey Gorovets. I handled the white pieces. It was a hard fought game. I found myself playing pretty fast. By the end of the game (39 moves), I had used barely an hour, against his hour and fifty. The course of the game changed after 23...Kxd6: 
click for larger viewThe computer gives either 24.Kc3 or 24.a4 with complete equality. I played 24.f5, which leads to clear black advantage. Without getting into lines, this is the idea: trading the black c-pawn for white's f-pawn is good business for white. Grabbing the g7-pawn looks good because it breaks black's kingside pawn chain, but it has the big, big downside of gifting black's knight a fantastic placement on e5, while keeping the c-pawn. I thought the c-pawn would fall too, but it doesn't. The next few moves were: 24...Ne5 25.Rxg7 Rb8! 26.a4 a6 27.Bxa6 Rxb2+ 28.Kc3 Rxh2.
click for larger view
The c-pawn is untouchable, as White would lose the bishop. And in the process, Black managed to defend the h7 pawn too. Black is not winning yet, but now White is on the defensive. |
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Jul-04-19
| | Fusilli: Round 2 of the World Open. Sam Sloan opened with 1.g4, which I had never faced OTB before. I followed what appears to be the main line for the first 6 moves (not that there are many games with it in this database, and most are Sloan's own). After 6.e4:
click for larger viewI went for 6...d4 and after 7.Nce2, I went for Ng6. 
click for larger viewMy reasoning was that, if I am going to try to exploit the early commitment to the h3-g4 pawn structure, I should fight for the h4/f4 squares. So after 8.Nf3, I went for 8...Nh4. 
click for larger viewAfter 9.Nxh4 Qxh4, the principled move was 10.c3. That's what I was expecting, but he castled, and I followed with 10...h5: 
click for larger viewNow things are bad for White, since 11.f3 is the only move, and he has a terrible bishop and weak black squares. 11...Na6, which develops the knight with potential future dangerous jumps to b4. (It immediately averts 12.Qe1.) 
click for larger view12.Bd2 hxg4 13.fxg4
click for larger viewWhat to do? Be1 is coming. The natural move is 13...Be6 (or 13...Nc5) and Black is better, but I did not want to let him work on consolidating his king side. So, I neglected the development of my LSB to continue working on the dark squares with 13...Be7. It's a bit of a gambit, in that if White plays the principled 14.c3, the game goes back and forth (I thought I would still be better, but the computer calls me optimistic). If White neglects to react with 14.c3, the dark square weakness is hard to deal with. 14.Be1 Qh6 15.Bg3
click for larger viewHere 15...f6 and Black still has the upper hand, but I went for 15...Bh4 
click for larger viewMy idea was to keep working on the dark squares after the pretty much forced 16.Bxh4. But he played 17.Bxe5? 
click for larger viewSee what's coming? I'll let you figure it out :) (Hint: it could be a Tuesday --or Wednesday?-- puzzle.) 0-1 in 19 (he could have lost material and played along, but he went up in flames instead). So this was my birthday present for myself :) |
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Jul-04-19
| | Fusilli: World Open, Round 3. I lost to this teen FM: Ben Li. I handled the white pieces, and in this completely even position:
click for larger view... because I can be a brute sometimes, with no sense of danger, I played 15.0-0-0? And I was soon in trouble after:
15...0-0 16.Bb3 a5 17.c3 a4 18.Bc2 Be6
click for larger viewI played the best defense (the principled 19.d4) but the rest of the game was torture anyway. 0-1 in 43. |
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