|
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 63 OF 112 ·
Later Kibitzing> |
Jul-05-19
 | | Fusilli: Round 4 of the World Open... I lost again. This is not looking very good! +1 =0 -3 so far! My opponent (White pieces) was Joshua Altman. I had beat him when he was 10, five years ago. He got his revenge, with flair. In this thematic position of the Orthodox Tartakower, after 11.Ne5: 
click for larger viewI carelessly neglected to play the obvious, and thematic, 11...h6 and took the knight straight with 11...Nxe5. Then 12.dxe5 Ne4: 
click for larger viewAnd here he played the very strong 13.Bf4!
click for larger viewThis move actually wins a pawn (I'll omit the variations). Unless you don't want to admit it, let him sac a piece, and go down in flames as I did, with: 13...Nxc3 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.bxc3 and here Black still has to admit the mistake and just let the pawn go. But I didn't want to: 15...g6 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qxg6 and White is winning. 
click for larger viewWhen I took on c3, I thought here I had 17...Bf8 18.Bg5 Qd7, transferring the queen to h7 immediately after (and I believe he doesn't have time for f4 and Rf3 without constant queen harassment from me), but there is no transfer because (as I saw now) White has 19.Bf6+ Bg7 20.e6, and after 20...Rxe6 21.Bxg7+ followed by Qxe6 simply wins. So I played 17...Rf8 and the end came this way: 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.Bh6
click for larger viewDoom. If 19...Rf7 20.Qg6+ wins the rook. So the game went 19...Qe8 20.Qg4+ Kf7 21.e6+ 1-0 
click for larger viewRemember the show "Arrested Development" when George Bluth (the dad) would always say "And that's why you leave a note!" Well, I can say here "And that's why you play h6!" I was going to take a bye for this evening game, but I don't feel tired, and I am in fighting mood now. I think I'll take back the bye if they let me. |
|
Jul-06-19
| | Fusilli: OK, I took a half-point bye in Round 5, and in Round 6... I just lost again. I handled the black pieces against a teen and I played suicidal right after the opening. The worst of it is... it was an opening I used to know well. So, +1 =0 -4 now. <Sigh>
Maybe this is my day of reckoning and it's time to retire... Kidding! I'm never retiring from chess! One of the reasons I play chess is to keep my mind active. I have multiple sclerosis (diagnosed eight years ago), and I believe playing chess has good health benefits. So far, symptoms are limited to a weakened right leg (I can't run anymore), but my brain is fine! |
|
Jul-06-19
 | | OhioChessFan: This might just be an outlier, but it might be an indication you've played too much tournament chess lately. |
|
Jul-06-19
| | Fusilli: Thanks <OCF>, I hope so. Truth be told, decline is inevitable. I just hope it doesn't happen too fast. |
|
Jul-07-19
| | Fusilli: I took a half-point bye in Round 7. Last two rounds today and I'll play both. Let's see if I can go back home with a little bit of dignity left! |
|
Jul-07-19
| | Fusilli: Round 8.
click for larger viewIn this position (I am white, my opponent is a kid in the 2000s rating), I thought I was winning by bringing the king to the queenside, since my rook is cutting off his king. But of course he has kingside pawns, will kill some of mine with the rook, and might make it (or kill me). The computer says it's even and doesn't approve of my plan. What happens is that he will have the resource of going back with the rook on the h-file to h8, which I was not considering. My plan may be a loser. But anyway, whether the plan is sound or not, the way to execute it is to start with 39.Kf1, obviously. I was aware I had to play g3 too... if he's going to kill my pawns, make them spend tempos on them. But then I had a senior moment and played 39.g3?? ... without Kf1 first! The obvious 39...Re2 followed and I lost unceremoniously. Three and half hours of hard work tossed out the window. And now it's +1 =0 -5. Catastrophic.
The big question is whether I am finished as a player (I cannot play chess and have lapses like this!) or if I am just going through a bad time. |
|
| Jul-07-19 | | Boomie: <The big question...> One possibility is burn out. The schedule for study needs to include rest periods. The unconscious mind needs time to produce. It seems that your intuition is failing you. You should be feeling the danger. That is a clue that your study schedule needs work. |
|
| Jul-07-19 | | Count Wedgemore: Yeah, I agree with <Boomie>. Two consecutive tournaments in short order can be tough. We all need some physical and mental restitution after such a busy schedule. You're probably just a little burned out at the moment. <The big question is whether I am finished as a player> Hey, I'm sorry. But that's nonsense. You just had a fine tournament performance in the US Senior Open! If you were "finished as a player", you think you would have been able to share fifth in that tournament, scoring +4 =1 -1? No, you wouldn't. So cheer up, my friend. You'll bounce back! |
|
Jul-07-19
| | Fusilli: Thanks, <Boomie>, <Count W>, I appreciate the support! The funny thing is that I had not played any tournament in two years. Then I played a small rapid in Nashville, the Senior Open, and the World Open. I'm going to say that I prefer rapid to the grueling long games of the World Open (The Senior Open was G90, which is nice too.) Round 9: I lost my last game too. I played well for the most part, except for a positional blunder which, again, the better me would have not made. So, after getting back to 2200 after the US Senior Open, I am crashing down to the mid-2100s. Next goal: to get back up to 2200, of course. But of course if I play like I just did, it will never happen. Time to take a break from grueling tournaments. The Nashville Chess Center has a nice 4-game rapid (G45) one Saturday per month. I might stick to that for a while. |
|
Jul-15-19
| | Fusilli: On Saturday I played the NCC Monthly Swiss (4 rounds, G45) and won it with 3.5/4. Nice, though I was the top rated, went up only 2 points of rating, and my level of play was not very good (big blunder with subsequent swindle included)... but here's an interesting puzzle. Mariano Sana (2150) v Matthew Burgett (1706)
Position after 13...B(b7)xd5:
click for larger viewBlack has, surprisingly, taken the pawn on d5. It is clear that the piece comes back after black plays e4, right? Well... my instinct was telling me the move was flawed, but my imagination did not get it right. What I did get right was that there was an option for a queen check on the long diagonal... would a strong shot be based on it? Try to see this without moving the pieces:
14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 e4 17.Qc3+
Now... notice that no one will defend the e8-rook if Black covers the check with Qf6. So, if 17...Qf6, White keeps the piece with 18.Qxf6+ Kxf6 19.Rfe1! followed by the capture on e4 (if 19...Kf5 White has 20.Nd4+). So... Against 17.Qc3+ Black has to retreat with 17...Kg8, and this is the resulting position: 
click for larger viewAnd HERE's where the shot exists, but I did not see it in my calculations (and the diagrammed position never happened in the game because I wrongly played something else). Do you see it? Hint: White does get to keep the piece. Moral of the story: I should have trusted my instinct and looked deeper! |
|
Jul-15-19
| | OhioChessFan: You should have channelled Petrosian. |
|
Jul-15-19
| | Fusilli: <OCF> Right! It just didn't occur to me to think of maneuvers that start by going backwards. |
|
| Jul-16-19 | | Boomie: I missed it, too. I failed to see the strategy behind the move. The structure is calling out for attention.
Capa's trick of finding the best square for a piece could also work here. |
|
Jul-16-19
| | Fusilli: <Boomie> Glad to get company! But you know, we are trying to see the Nh2-Ng4 maneuver in moves 18-19 out of the diagrammed position after Black's 13th move. As a regular OTB player, I can tell you it's surely a tough call, so let's not be too hard on ourselves :) Of course, a grandmaster would want to kill himself for missing this, but I'm not in that league! This is a good example of why I always say that puzzles are not a great training tool, because no one in a real game whispers in your ear "hey, there is a winning move here!" Yusupov says that one of the key advantages of grandmasters is that they are better at pinpointing when the key junctures in a game are happening. That's a great skill! In the first diagram, my instinct was telling me the bishop sac was wrong, but my instinct is not as convincing as reading "white to play and win." (This is why I recommend Guest the Move as a better training exercise than solving puzzles. Puzzles are good to sharpen your calculation skills though.) So, someone who solves every single puzzle may still fail miserably at the board if he/she doesn't even realize that it's a "puzzle position" (and of course, if you treat every sharp position as a puzzle position then you'll run out of time). |
|
Jul-16-19
| | OhioChessFan: I would have never seen that OTB. Being told a shot exists makes it much easier. |
|
Jul-23-19
| | Fusilli: Since I came back from my disaster in Philadelphia, I've been kicking butt at speed chess online. My rating on ICC is at an all-time high on 3-minute games and close to my all-time high on 5-minute games. I seem to be quite alert, tactical and fast. I've been studying Yusupov. Maybe my IM friend is right. He told me "Study Yusupov and your rating will go up 100 points." It motivates me to keep working on it. |
|
Jul-23-19
| | Fusilli: Here's a pretty finish from a 5-minute game on ICC. I am Black. I am very clearly winning, but as said, the finish is pretty. White just played Qg2-f3:
click for larger view1...Bc5+ 2.Nxc5 Qxc5+ 3.Qf2
click for larger view3...Rd2! 4.Bxd2 (4.Qxc5 Rg2#) Rxf2 5.Rxf2 Ne5 0-1 
click for larger view |
|
| Aug-09-19 | | parisattack: #15 <Fusilli>. I hope all is well with you, yours. |
|
Aug-09-19
| | Fusilli: <parisattack> Thank you, and happy 15 year anniversary with <CG> to you too! |
|
| Aug-10-19 | | wordfunph: <Fusilli> happy 15th! |
|
Aug-14-19
 | | juan31: Un Ángel más en el cielo, Tristan, para usted mis condolencias |
|
Aug-14-19
 | | moronovich: My deepest condolences <Fusilli>. So sorry to hear. |
|
| Aug-14-19 | | Count Wedgemore: Dear <Fusilli>, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Tristan. May our Lord bless and comfort you and your family in this difficult time. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Your friend Bjørn. |
|
| Aug-14-19 | | WinKing: My condolences to you & your loved ones <Fusilli>. You are all in my prayers. |
|
| Aug-14-19 | | bubuli55: < Fusilli > Condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. |
|
 |
|
|
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 63 OF 112 ·
Later Kibitzing> |
Kibitzing
