User Profile: Fusilli

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Fusilli
Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Dec-31-25

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 6328 times to chessgames [more...]

   Dec-30-25 M Miazhynski vs J Durana, 2025

Fusilli: Wait, what? 6.O-O? Bc5? Surely someone messed up the score sheet!

   Dec-28-25 World Rapid Championship (2025)

Fusilli: Sahidi v Grischuk After entering an even rook endgame at move 39, Grischuk (with more maneuvering space) has been dancing around, trying to find a way to break in, presumably by pouncing on an error. Then, the error came. White to play [DIAGRAM] Correct is 92.Rb8, but white ...

   Dec-28-25 A Musovic vs D Kadric, 2025

Fusilli: White starts with a speculative 1.a3 but then cleverly steers the opening game into a position where the pawn on a3 proves to be a titan spearheading white's unstoppable attack!

   Dec-28-25 D Anton Guijarro vs Carlsen, 2025

Fusilli: <The Boomerang: Crushing from Carlsen.> Totally. Gangsta game.

   Dec-28-25 V Artemiev vs Carlsen, 2025

Fusilli: Hard to believe Magnus' blunder here.

   Dec-28-25 Penguincw chessforum

Fusilli: Hey, happy holidays to you too, my friend!

   Dec-26-25 OhioChessFan chessforum

Fusilli: Merry Christmas, <OCF> And best wishes for the new year.

   Dec-25-25 moronovich chessforum

Fusilli: Merry Christmas to you, <moro>! And happy new year too, what the heck!

   Dec-22-25 Fusilli chessforum

Fusilli: <OCF> Right? In other news, I'm in bed with the flu. First my wife caught it, now me. I took care of her until lunch today. Then she began to feel better and I went down quickly. So, now she is the caretaker.

   Dec-13-25 Lenderman vs C Yip, 2017

Fusilli: Great game by Lenderman, showing the true value of the minor pieces in this setup when black has no prospects on the king side.

indicates a reply to the comment.

My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 86 OF 114 · Later Kibitzing>
Jun-26-23		OhioChessFan: 1. Rf8 Kh2 2. Ke5 g3 3. Kf4 g2. 4. Rh8+ Kg1 5. Kg3 Kf1 Here's where you know it's a win . Black has mate threats along with trying to defend the Pawn, which overworks the King. click for larger view 6. Rf8+ Kg1 7. Rf5 Kh1 8. Rh5+ Kg1 9. Rh2 wins the Pawn. click for larger view

Jun-26-23		Fusilli: <OCF> Yes! Beautiful, isn't it?

Jun-27-23		OhioChessFan: Move 7 is the beauty. A semi-zugzwang, Rf7 or 6 or 5 or 4, doesn't matter so long as the Rook can get to the h file.

Jun-28-23		Fusilli: <OCF> Oh, what a pity. I ran it by the computer and look what I found. Here: click for larger view ... keeping the rook on the f-file is not the only way to win. White also wins with Rg8. If Kh1, Kf2, and if Kf1, Kh2. Now, the silicon monster calculates that mate comes four moves earlier with the moves that keep the rook on the f-file, but it's a pity there is an alternative solution.

Jun-29-23		Fusilli: If anyone knows about photography: I would like to get a camera that takes photos like what I see with my binoculars: The binoculars specs are here: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nikon-... Specifically, I want to photograph the birds visiting my backyard and its surroundings (say, up to 150ft away). Not necessarily in flight. I am happy to get them when they are still. Any suggestions of cameras or resources (e.g. websites) to look at? Thanks.

Jul-01-23		FSR: <Fusilli> I am in Park Ridge, 12 miles north of Elmhurst. I played in the Senior Open last year and had a good result, including F Rhine vs Yermolinsky, 2022. I am not planning on playing this year because (a) I'm chessed out and (b) I missed the deadline to get a decent price on the entry fee. Now it's $160, which is pretty exorbitant. I'd be happy to meet you for dinner sometime if that works out. My e-mail is fsrhine at gmail.

Jul-01-23		Fusilli: <FSR> Dinner sounds good. I'll email you.

Jul-03-23		FSR: <Fusilli> That Aagaard study is a beauty. But what if in your final position White slides his rook too far with Rf3?? After ...Kh1, White still draws. click for larger view Very easy.

Jul-04-23		Fusilli: <FSR> Kh4 :)

Jul-04-23		Fusilli: <FSR> About a month ago, <OCF> posted (here in my forum) this supercool endgame study: click for larger view White to play and win. I gave up after a while, but as <OCF> posted, once you get the idea, it's straightforward.

Jul-05-23		FSR: <Fusilli> That is very cute. Could actually happen in a game (as could the Aagaard study), unlike many studies. At the end, White has an embarrassment of riches: 6.a8=Q#, 6.a8=B#, 6.Rb1 Rxb1 7.a8=B/Q#, etc.

Jul-10-23		Fusilli: Entries so far for the US Senior Open: https://www.kingregistration.com/en... Four GMs so far. At the moment, I am 13th by US rating and 10th by FIDE rating. This is going to be exciting! Also, I'm excited to take Lucinda on the road. A 7.5 hr drive. Lucinda is our new Hyundai Ioniq 6, electric car with a 270-mile range on full charge. RWD with an incredible kick ass, QUIET acceleration. It's amazing, it accelerates like a roller coaster and you hear nothing! Not that I'll be using that feature much, but it's fun. Overall, very quiet car, spacious, and packed with useful assisted driving safety features and a sophisticated infosystem that I am still learning to use. My first EV. I was always hesitant about getting an EV car because of range anxiety, but EV charging stations keep popping up like mushrooms after rain.

Jul-10-23		Fusilli: This is Lucinda, on the website of the dealer we got her from: https://www.wilsoncountyhyundai.com... The advertised 305 mile range is under ideal conditions, which include, among other things, not using the AC. In reality, it's more like 270.

Jul-10-23		chancho: Because it looks sick! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35l... 👍👍👍👍👍

Jul-10-23		Fusilli: <chancho> I agree. Dope design! We get praise from random people! The car the video guy reviewed is the top of the line AWD. We have the RWD, which gets a bit more mileage. We don't have the sunroof and a few other fancy features.

Jul-17-23		Fusilli: Instructive mistake I made in a 3/2 blitz on chess.com against a FM. I am black. Position after 34.c6: click for larger view I have had the upper hand for most of the game, which means it was difficult for me to suddenly get in the defensive mindset. I blundered with the awful 34...Rc7? Basically, three moves later, the position is this, with black to move: click for larger view And this is quite hard to defend. Black's king will be pushed away by a rook check, and black will have to start thinking of how to survive after being forced to sac the rook sooner or later. The correct defense is: 34...Rb8! click for larger view It's the king's job to stop the pawn, not the rook's! For example: 35.Kd4 Ke7 36.Kc5 Rb2 = click for larger view Or 35.Ra1 Ke6 36.Rxa7 Rc8 37.Rxh7 Rxc6= click for larger view Blitz is frivolous, sure. But if you review the game, you are actually training. You learn from your mistakes in an unimportant game, so that you are less likely to make them in the important ones.

Jul-17-23		moronovich: A very instructive blunder, many of us would have made in time trouble. And without ;) All the best -moro-

Jul-18-23		Fusilli: Thanks <moro>. Heading to the Chicago area for the US Senior Open later this week. I'm excited!

Jul-18-23		Fusilli: Tactical shot! Black to play. 3/2 blitz on chess.com, I am black. Easy... once you are told it's a puzzle! Probably easy in real life chess with time to think. Medium-easy if in time trouble but not down to seconds. click for larger view I saw it but didn't play it. I had 5.2 seconds and used exactly half of my time but wasn't enough to confirm it was a good move. (My opponent had 16 seconds at this point.) I won anyway... I play with 2-second increments because I do this routinely... get advantageous positions in exchange for time trouble, and then have to hang in there on the 2-second increment to the end of the game. It works for me. Sometimes I play decently under severe time pressure, and my opponents probably get rattled when they see they are losing their time advantage over me. (I ended this game with 7.7 seconds on my clock vs. 6.5 for my opponent.)

Jul-19-23		moronovich: - Be5+ ! followed by- Qf4+ Hoping you will have the tournament of your life in Chicago !

Jul-19-23		Fusilli: <moronovich: - Be5+ ! followed by- Qf4+ > Right! After 1...Be5+ 2.Rxe5 Qf4+ 3.g3 Qxf3, the Qf2 mate threat can be stopped, but the Q/Rh1 mate threat is unstoppable. <Hoping you will have the tournament of your life in Chicago !> That's a big wish! But I'll try!

Jul-19-23		Unstable Psychopath: <Fusilli> How's your progress towards becoming a full professor?

Jul-22-23		FSR: <Fusilli> Hope the tournament is off to a good start for you. I sent you an e-mail about our anticipated dinner.

Jul-22-23		Check It Out: Have a great dinner! If I were there I'd buy the first round. Enjoy!

Jul-23-23		FSR: <Fusilli> Dinner was great! A pleasure to meet you. Knock 'em dead tomorrow!

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