Fusilli Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Oct-16-25 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.)

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!

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My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 112 ·  Later Kibitzing> Dec-17-09    Everyone: <Fusilli: Did everyone see it?> Sure! Dec-17-09    Fusilli: <Everyone> LOL! Dec-17-09    NakoSonorense: Facerook Wall? Haha, I like it! Dec-18-09    Fusilli: <NakoSonorense> My wife came up with it. She has a Facebook profile but I don't. She said that chessgames.com is my Facebook, and then proposed "Facerook". I just looked at your profile here. I am with you re: the Dream Act. Have you been following the case of Rigo Padilla? I am one of the professors around the country who signed the petition against his deportation. Dec-18-09    NakoSonorense: As an active user of both sites, I would say that both Facebook and "Facerook" are equally addictive. I heard about Rigo's Case a while back. I was part of a student group at UCLA called IDEAS (you've probably heard about it since it's been in national news) whose purpose is to raise awareness about the situation of AB-540 students. I remember talking about Rigo's situation and how similar it is to the people in our group. It's really sad that so many students are facing the same dilemma as he is. Dec-19-09    Fusilli: Blau vs J H Donner, 1958, White to play: click for larger view Dec-19-09    Fusilli: So funny! The Mexican soap opera for people with only three weeks of Spanish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOb... And then check out the second episode! Dec-19-09    Fusilli: <NakoS> In the case of Rigo, he came to the US at age six. Deporting him to Mexico is basically sending him to what for him is a foreign country. He grew up here and identifies himself with America. Dec-20-09    NakoSonorense: Indeed. The problem is that they turned a DUI case into an immigration case, which is an unfortunate common thing. Re: Qué hora es? That is awesome, I had never seen it before. It reminded me of a clip a saw a while back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq... Spanish Love Song Dec-21-09    Fusilli: What I read is that Rigo had watched the game with friends and had a couple of beers. Driving after having a couple of beers is pretty common, among both US citizens and immigrants, isn't it? It may be wrong, but it is not something Americans don't do routinely and only illegal immigrants do. If you read the right-wing bloggers on Rigo's case they present it as "this illegal immigrant drunk who is putting our children at risk with his drunk driving". He had no records before he was stopped for running a stop sign. He may have been mildly distracted by a beer or two, or he might have been mighty drunk after a dozen beers (which I doubt), but he had no history before that, so it's preposterous to assume that he is a drunkard. It makes me sick that Congress will sit on the Dream Act forever. Yeah, I had seen the One-semester Spanish love song before. Funny! Dec-21-09    hms123: Rigo's depaortation has been stayed: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/... Dec-21-09    Fusilli: <hms123> Yes, which is a victory for common sense. On the other hand, the administration has said they will continue to deal with cases like his on a case-by-case basis, which is inefficient and not common sense... From a tactical point of view, I think it is a bad move to embed the Dream Act (or its leading principles) into a major comprehensive immigration reform bill. That way it is likely that nothing at all will happen, as it did (or didn't) in 2005/06. By itself, the Dream Act would have many more supporters (in both Congress and society at large) than a major comprehensive immigration reform. I believe we do need both, but I think it is poor political tactics to mix them into the same package. Dec-21-09    hms123: <Fusilli> Immigration is obviously a touchy subject for many. Not surprising, I am for letting in anyone and everyone who takes the initiative and wants to be here--especially (but not only) those who are well-educated or bring other talents with them. For one thing, we need to re-populate the US with young folks who will help pay my social security benefits. For another, it doesn't matter that we let in non-English speaking, non-educated whoevers--their children will be bilingual and productive members of society, and their grandchildren will be doctors and lawyers. The US has always been able to absorb lots of immigrants--it has made the country interesting and stronger overall despite whatever bumps in the road there were along the way. Once the economy picks up some of the right-wing craziness on this issue will dissipate. Dec-21-09    Jim Bartle: This sounds like exactly the sort of case that O'Reilly, Hannity, Malkin et. al. can distort into a scandal of illegals endangering the safety of God-fearing US citizens. Dec-21-09    zanshin: And to think <Jim>, Michelle Malkin is of Filipino heritage. Dec-21-09    Jim Bartle: She's long forgotten that. Dec-23-09    Fusilli: <Jim> Amazingly, I think Rigo's case did not appear on O'Reilly's, Hannity's or Malkin's radars, but maybe I'm wrong. [BTW, <Jim>, I just re-read your profile and there is a brain typo (one of those typos that are not hand accidents but brain accidents... look for "games have chess" instead of "games of chess"] Immigration is a touchy issue, and a fascinating one in so many respects. I will refrain from commenting much because there would never be enough space... but let me be professorial and recommend two books for now: "Immigrant America: A Portrait", by A. Portes and R. Rumbaut, and "The Ethnic Myth", by S. Steinberg. The former helps understand migration today, the latter helps understand migration history. Hey, <Jim>, I'm surprised you didn't comment on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOb.... And here's the follow up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Hu.... I have played them a million times and I still keep laughing! Dec-23-09    Jim Bartle: It's just that they're so clearly bogus--nobody says "albondigas" even once. No, this Padilla case hasn't been on Fox, or taken up by Malkin, as far as I know. Contradicting my earlier statement, I think it doesn't do the anti-immigration people any good. The guy is an exemplary citizen (not citizen, you know what I mean...), he only came to the US with his parents, not on his own, and most importantly, he didn't injure or kill any real Americans while driving drunk. I should differentiate among the righties I named. Hannity and Malkin are beyond the pale. But there's hope for O'Reilly. At least he'll listen, and doesn't automatically take the radical-right position. (And he clearly despises Beck.) Dec-23-09    WinKing: Merry Christmas & happy Holidays to you <Fusilli>! Dec-23-09    Fusilli: <WinKing> Thank you! Same to you! I am spending Xmas in Baton Rouge with friends, and flying to Vegas afterward for the North American Open. I will be posting my games/positions from the tournament as it goes on. It's Dec 26-29. <Jim> Interesting, it never occur to me to differentiate among them, but now that I think about it, I think you are right. O'Reilly beats everyone else on the screaming factor, though. What? You don't agree with me? Then SHUT UP!! Do you hear me?? SHUUUUT UUUUP, JIM!!!!! Dec-24-09    NakoSonorense: Feliz Navidad! And good luck in Vegas! Dec-24-09    crawfb5: <Fusilli: Merry Christmas, crawfb5! BTW, every time I see your name I think of crawfish... I lived six years in Louisiana and like crawfish (and had a great time in Louisiana), so it's a nice thought. :)> Merry Christmas yourself. "crawf" is a common short version of my name (Crawford). It also works as a reminder of various things. This time of year Doreen likes to call me "Santa Crawf." I did spend a nice couple of days sampling New Orleans ("Narlens") cuisine, although I don't think I had crawfish. Good luck in your tournament. Dec-24-09    zanshin: Merry Christmas Mariano - and Happy New Year! Dec-25-09    Open Defence: Merry Christmas!!!!! Dec-25-09    OhioChessFan: <charlietheman: Isn't this like Kramnik not noticing mate in one> <fusilli: What game are you talking about, please? I missed that one.> Deep Fritz vs Kramnik, 2006 Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 112) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 7 OF 112 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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