User Profile: Fusilli

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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.)

>> 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 84 OF 112 · Later Kibitzing>
Apr-28-23		diceman: <Fusilli: Just played. 5-min blitz on chess.com. I am black. Black to play.> Without a lot of calculation, Rxe3 looks like it is begging to be played. With the loose g and h pawns White's whole structure falls apart. This reminds me of a game of mine. (Played in early 1980!) click for larger view I played 18...e3! The computer considers e3 best. The astounding thing, is the computers second line: 18...Rxf2! click for larger view I didn't see, or consider it. After 18...Rxf2 19.Kxf2 e3+ 20.Kg1 Qxg3 click for larger view It looks like White can't protect the g2 Bishop, after Bxh3. Computer gives: 21.Rxd5 click for larger view To clear the e4 square for the queen! After 21...Bxh3 22.Qe4 Qf2+ 23.Kh1 Bxg2+ 24.Qxg2 Qxg2+ 25.Kxg2 cxd5 click for larger view It looks like a winning R+P ending.

Apr-28-23		Fusilli: <diceman> Nice! And that rook ending is quite interesting. click for larger view Without checking with the computer, I am getting worried (thinking as black) about a scenario where black loses the two central pawns, and white gets connected b-c pawns and another one on e4. This would make it impossible for the black king to attack any pawns, while the white king can stop the g-h pawns and... eh... win? For example, a pawn structure like this: click for larger view Doesn't white win that? Imagine b5, c6, ...bxc6, b6, and the e-pawn runs forward too. I can't see any square where the black king stops that from happening. Ouch! So, how about this move sequence: 26.Kf3 d4 27.Rd1 Rd8 28.Ke4 h5 29.Rxd4 Rxd4+ 29.Kxd4 a4. click for larger view That sentences white to isolated pawns and now the black king can go munch them down. And now black wins. But... does white get to set up the pawn structure? Let's see, if black gets his king out immediately, focused on stopping the structure from happening: 26.Kf3 d4 27.Rd1 Rd8 28.Ke4 Kf7 29.Rxd4 Rxd4+ 29.Kxd4 Ke6 30.b4 axb4 31.axb4 h5 32.b5 (32.Kxe3 Kd5 33.Kf3 Kc4 and black wins) h4 33.Kxe3 Kd5 34.c6 bxc6 35.b6 Kd6 36.Kf3 c5 37.e4 Kc6 black wins! Phew! (I am not using a computer, but I was thinking as I typed, and typing helps you keep track of where the pieces are.) Did I miss something? I'm sure I did. Let me know!

Apr-28-23		Fusilli: BTW, my game finished this way: 19... Rxe3 click for larger view 20. fxe3 Qxg3+ 21. Kf1 Qf3+ 22. Kg1 Qxe3+ 23. Kg2 Rd5 24. Qe1 Rg5+ 25.Kh2 Qf4+ 26.Kh1 Qf3+ 0-1 click for larger view

Apr-28-23		areknames: <I wasn't much into ballet> Oh, I am. I enjoy all the meats of our cultural stew. Oh ballet, you can't beat that bear riding that little car in the circus ring... Seriously though <Fusilli>, could you please upload the 'Multiple Sclerosis' poem again, maybe long enough so I can save it? That was just remarkable, one passage moved me to tears. You were right in wanting to share it on the forum.

Apr-30-23		Fusilli: <areknames: ... Oh ballet, you can't beat that bear riding that little car in the circus ring...> lol OK, I'll post the poem again. This time I'll leave it on. I felt self-conscious after I first posted it. But I'll get over that :)

Apr-30-23		Fusilli: <areknames> Here it is. Again, the man and the woman in the poem are not a couple. They are independent souls, going through it as best they can, managing hope and uncertainty. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS She builds bridges that connect to bridges, he picks up radio signals from Hopeland. She evens the uneven with a cleaver and a hatchet, he mends the broken with paper clips and wire. She picks pseudonyms for the authors of tomorrow, he picked his own pseudonym but has written nothing. She bakes the cookies of the unchurched, he cooks the feast of the heartbroken. They miss what they have lost, more than anyone. They cherish what they have, more than anyone. Kindness is her weapon, forgiveness is his. The schedules have been hacked, I’m afraid. Nobody knows when the last train leaves, or even the next one.

Apr-30-23		moronovich: Great poem !

May-01-23		Fusilli: Thank you <moro>!

May-02-23		scormus: Hi <Fusili> glad you like The Road not Taken. The theme resonates so much with me, I suppose most people really. I confess to not being a great fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, although I cannot escape it's appeal for Brits like me. Maybe it is a bit too British? Or maybe the humour a a bit lowbrow? But onework of theirs I make an exception, Yeoman of the Guard. I know a few productions, but for me the best by far dates back to 1975 and was performed for British TV. Valerie Masterson is absolutely to die for as as Elsie Maynard, and Derek Hammond-Stroud was so movingly vulnerable as Jack Point. Sadly, it cannot be accessed in Britain after it's copyriight was sold to a USA company. If you like Gilbert and Sullivan, you're in for a treat if you can find this version. British radio did a feature recently on Arthur Sullivan, obviously with a lot of reference to W S Gilbert. They were quite different in many ways, not always agreeing, but amazingly successful as a partnership

May-02-23		scormus: Ah, here is the IMDB URL https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364129/

May-04-23		Fusilli: <scormus> I am not really that knowledgeable about G&S. I like the music, but I like to sing along, and I find it quite hard to do that with their songs, that are frequently SO speedy. Pirates may be the only G&S that I saw on stage (years ago, not the recent Nashville Opera production). Other than that, I only listened to G&S. My wife loves G&S though. I'll check out Yeoman though!

May-05-23		Fusilli: My wife hit a deer on her way back home from Mississippi an hour ago or so. She is fine. The car is messed up and waiting for road assistance. The deer is dead. I'm grateful that she is okay!

May-05-23		chancho: Great to hear the good news <Fusilli.> A car can always be replaced. A loved one, no.

May-05-23		Fusilli: Wise words, <Chancho>

May-20-23		OhioChessFan: A nice endgame puzzle: click for larger view

May-22-23		Fusilli: <OCF> I think I got it. 1.d7+ doesn't work: 1...Kb8 2.c7+ Qxc7 3.bxc7+ Kxc7 4.Ke2 Kxd7 5.Kf3 or Kd3, Ke7 and black gains the opposition. 1.b7+ does work: 1...Kb8 2.c7+ Qxc7 3.dxc7+ Kxb7 4.Ke2 Kxc7 5.Kf3 and white gains the opposition. For example, 5...Kd7 6.Kf4

May-22-23		OhioChessFan: Yes, b7+ is the key. Forgetting the ideas of opposition (I know, I know, you can't in a K+P endgame), b7 leads to the King making a capture on the b file, just that much farther from the center than the White King. And at the end of the day, that's what wins the game for White.

May-22-23		Fusilli: <OCF> Well, yes, b7+ makes sense over d7+ on those grounds alone--costing the king a tempo.

May-22-23		OhioChessFan: Right, that's what appeals to me so much about this study. I enjoy endgames because the overwhelming logic of chess comes front and center.

May-24-23		Fusilli: Just played on chess.com (5-min blitz). I am white. Black just played 19...Ne6-d4: click for larger view White to play.

May-24-23		Fusilli: OK, that one was 20.Bxd4 Rxd4 21.Nxc6! and white wins. And now a real beauty is coming up.

May-24-23		Fusilli: Just played! 5-min blitz on chess.com. I am white. I just played 21.Qd6xf4: click for larger view Black has to play 21...Qb7, with equality. But he thought he could take the piece and get away with it. 21...Bxc3. White to play. Can you see the whole continuation? I found it as I played along. It's super cool! click for larger view

May-24-23		Fusilli: OK, here we go. After 21...Bxc3: click for larger view 22.Qxf7+ Kh8 23.Rd7 g5 click for larger view 24. Rf5! click for larger view 24...Bxf5 25.Qxf5 Bg7 click for larger view 26.Rxg7! Kxg7 27.Bd4+ Kg8 28.Qxg5+ Kf7 29.Qf6+ 1-0 click for larger view Pretty, isn't it? :)

May-24-23		moronovich: Very pretty, indeed !

May-25-23		OhioChessFan: <Black just played 19...Ne6-d4:> Obviously have to play Bxd4 Rxd4... now to look...Nxc6 and the e8 Rook is undefended. Meanwhile the Knight attacks d4 and guards d8. Too many threats for Black to parry.

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