User Profile: Penguincw

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Penguincw
Member since Dec-22-10 · Last seen Nov-09-25

♔ MY PROFILE ♔
I'd like to thank the user who gave me a year of premium services from Feb/14/2012-Feb/14/2013, the user who gave me 3 years of premium services from Dec/26/2015-Dec/26/2018, the user who gave me 2 years of premium services from Dec/31/2018-Dec/31/2020, the user who gave me 3 years of premium services from Dec/25/2020 to Dec/25/2023, the user who gave me 1 year of premium services from Dec/26/2023 to Dec/26/2024, and the user who gave me 1 year of premium services from Dec/26/2024 to Dec/26/2025. :)
??? BIOGRAPHY ???
Outside of chess, I also like to watch sports (who doesn't), and even play sports (even though I'm not great at it). Baseball is by far my favourite sport.
??? GAME COLLECTIONS ???
Penguincw's Game Collections
To view all my collections, see here: Game Collection: 0: Table of Contents.
??? CHESS PUZZLES ???
Here are some chess puzzles I composed. I'm not a very strong composer, but they should be fun to solve nevertheless. However, since my forum won't always be open, I decided to use one of my game collections for that purpose:
Game Collection: Chess Puzzles
Here's a sample:
White to move, mate in three

click for larger view
Solution: (click on above game collection)
??? ACHIEVEMENTS ???
Here's my short list of achievements on this site (other than achievements relating to the prediction contests, which are listed further below):
966th user to open up their forum.
Became the 45th user to reach 13,000 posts (unofficial).
Only the 2nd user (honour shared with 7 other users) to win a membership from the Santa Claus draw twice.
In the ChessBookie Game, finished first in the Championship 2015 preseason with 1727 cbs, 174 cbs ahead of 2nd place. Also, in the Fall 2014 preseason, I finished in 2nd with 1418 cbs, just 40 cbs behind first at the last known update.
4th user, and 3rd overall (after <SwitchingQuylthulg> (x2), <wordfunph> and <Annie K.>) to run the ChessBookie Game.
At the 2016 Caissar Awards, I was nominated and won the "Most Helpful" award for 2015.
In Spring 2016, I became the 172nd user to qualify for the Championship Leg in the ChessBookie Game, finishing in 10th place with 4,204 cbs. (fact-checking needed)
??? PREDICTION CONTESTS ???
I like competing in the prediction contests, and so far, have won these medals (along with the rank listed):
<Golden Executive>
♔♔♔♕♕♕♕♖♖♖♖♖♖♖ (3 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze; 23rd)
<chessmoron> (hosted by <OhioChessFan>) ♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗ (10 gold, 12 silver, 22 bronze; 10th)
<lostemperor>
♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♖♖♖♖ (7 gold, 4 bronze; 3rd)
<Overall>
♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♕♕♕♕♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♘♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♖♗- ♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗♗ (20 gold, 16 silver, 33 bronze; 8th)
Updated through Tata Steel 2018.
<Golden Executive>'s Games Prediction Contest: User: Golden Executive
<chessmoron>'s Moves Prediction Contest (hosted by <OhioChessFan>): User: OhioChessFan
<lostemperor>'s Final Standings Prediction Contest: User: lostemperor
Other Notable Achievements:
Only user to ever win a quadruple crown (London Chess Classic 2011) in the Moves Prediction Contest (or any contest for that matter).
Only user to ever win a Betting title crown in the Games Prediction Contest, and defend it the very next year, same tournament (Tata Steel 2014 & 2015).
First user to ever win a gold medal in each of the 3 contests from the same tournament (Tata Steel 2015).
The 4th user to have won at least 3 golds in 3 different contests (after <chessmoron>, <lostemperor> and <SwitchingQuylthulg>). Members of this club are unofficially considered to be "grandmasters" of the prediction contests.
For the 7th consecutive year (2011-2017), I have won at least one gold medal in one of the contests. I am one of just 6 active users to have done so, the others being <chessmoron>, <cromat>, <lostemperor>, <SwitchingQuylthulg> and <WinKing>.
??? NOTABLE POSTS ???
I've made over 13,000 posts, but not all posts are created equally. In fact, most of them don't have too much value, but here are some of my best posts:
Probably my most "viral" post to date (introducing the now defunct Chessgames Playing Zone The Kibitzer's Café
Probably the first <on the internet> to notice the Original Six sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning were going through during the Stanley Cup playoffs, 2015: Mating Net chessforum.
More posts will be added as time progresses.
Here are some of my favourite posts by <other users> around the site (no reason given to some):
The Kibitzer's Café
SwitchingQuylthulg chessforum
chessgames.com chessforum
<YouRang> describes his Hall of Fame (which I am in): YouRang chessforum
Golden Executive chessforum (kibitz #3235)

More posts will be added as time progresses.

>> Click here to see Penguincw's game collections.

   Current net-worth: 1,457 chessbucks
[what is this?]

   Penguincw has kibitzed 16389 times to chessgames [more...]

   Oct-23-25 Chessgames - Sports

Penguincw: Hello <keypusher>.

   Oct-20-25 Daniel Naroditsky

Penguincw: Heard about it from chess.com https://x.com/chesscom/status/19803... R.I.P. Naroditsky. Gone far too young.

   Feb-27-25 Boris Spassky

Penguincw: Rest in peace, Mr. Spassky.

   Feb-04-25 lostemperor chessforum

Penguincw: Thank you <lostemperor> for hosting this. Happy to come away with a gold. Congrats to the other medalists, hope to see you next time, whenever that may be.

   Jan-01-25 Benzol chessforum

Penguincw: Dropping by to wish you Happy New Year, <Benzol>.

   Dec-26-24 OhioChessFan chessforum

Penguincw: Hi <OCF>. Seasonal greetings to you, my friend.

   Dec-25-24 WannaBe chessforum

Penguincw: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, <WannaBe>.

   Dec-25-24 juan31 chessforum

Penguincw: Feliz Navidad <juan31>.

   Dec-25-24 Golden Executive chessforum

Penguincw: Hello <GE>. Merry Christmas to you, your friends, and your family!

   Dec-25-24 FSR chessforum

Penguincw: Hello <FSR>. Dropping by to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. :)

indicates a reply to the comment.

March of the Penguins

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 18 OF 45 · Later Kibitzing>
Feb-25-12		SwitchingQuylthulg: <Penguincw> You don't need 500 posts to get to page 20... 476 will do :-)

Feb-25-12		Penguincw: < SwitchingQuylthulg: <Penguincw> You don't need 500 posts to get to page 20... 476 will do :-) > That is true, but 500 posts is 20 full pages. :)

Feb-25-12		wordfunph: <Peng> lady luck smiled on me yeyyy! <Polish Championship Rd 8: Kempinski-Bartel : Draw [cash in ticket] 500 YOU WIN! COLLECT 999 1:1 2.00 999 Feb-25-12> <Polish Championship Rd 8: Socko-Miton : Draw [cash in ticket] 300 YOU WIN! COLLECT 667 5:4 2.23 667 Feb-25-12> <Polish Championship Rd 8: Wojtaszek-Macieja : Draw [cash in ticket] 884 YOU WIN! COLLECT 2055 4:3 2.33 2,055 Feb-25-12> just enough to pay for my loan :)

Feb-25-12		Penguincw: Note: My recent bets have boosted my credit rating and now I get to bet as much as 1500. ACCOUNT: Penguincw FUNDS: x chessbucks NET WORTH: 1,811 chessbucks (max bet: 1500)

Feb-26-12		wordfunph: <Penguincw: < 193. wordfunph -463 > Not bad. Big improvement.> but i lost $1,300+ yesterday :(

Feb-26-12		Penguincw: Report: Polish Championship Rd 9: PICK THREE : Draw-White-Draw [discard ticket] 3 LOSE 10:1 11.03 -- Feb-25-12 Polish Championship Rd 9: PICK THREE : Draw-Draw-Draw [discard ticket] 10 LOSE 4:1 4.95 -- Feb-25-12 Pick 3 isn't easy to get. I was wrong right off the first game. :-\ Polish Championship Rd 9: Bartel-Markowski : Draw [discard ticket] 25 LOSE 5:8 1.63 -- Feb-26-12 Polish Championship Rd 9: Bartel-Markowski : Bartel [cash in ticket] 250 YOU WIN! COLLECT 731 2:1 2.93 731 Feb-26-12 That rocks! I'm glad the leader won his game. :) Polish Championship Rd 9: Macieja-Socko : Draw [discard ticket] 250 LOSE 4:7 1.58 -- Feb-26-12 Polish Championship Rd 9: Macieja-Socko : Macieja [cash in ticket] 25 YOU WIN! COLLECT 85 5:2 3.40 85 Feb-26-12 I'm also glad that the other leader won, sort of. It doesn't hurt to bet backups (unless the upset happens). Polish Championship Rd 9: Miton-Bulski : Draw [discard ticket] 250 LOSE 2:3 1.67 -- Feb-26-12 Polish Championship Rd 9: Miton-Bulski : Miton [cash in ticket] 25 YOU WIN! COLLECT 75 2:1 3.03 75 Feb-26-12 A lot of decisive games, I would say. Old Account: Funds: 1,811 Loan: 0 Net Worth: 1,811 (max. bet: 1500) New Account: Funds: 1,864 Loan: 0 Net Worth: 1,864 (max. bet: 1500) This rocks. An improvement of 53 cbs is not bad.

Feb-28-12		wordfunph: <Be careful what you bet on, since you have to wait more than 2 weeks to get paid.> <Peng> nothing to lose, everything to gain. thanks.

Feb-28-12		Penguincw: < wordfunph: <Be careful what you bet on, since you have to wait more than 2 weeks to get paid.> <Peng> nothing to lose, everything to gain. thanks. > Where have I heard that before? < Mar-31-11 wordfunph: <Penguincw: Signed up for the chessbookie game yet? I'm ready for a leg of insane betting. Are you?> ready as ever! as usual, nothin to lose and everything to gain, fight! > Penguincw chessforum No problem. :)

Feb-28-12		wordfunph: motto of 3rd world CG chessbookie players :(

Feb-29-12		Penguincw: ♔ ATTENTION ♔ It's puzzle time again! First one of the new year, literally! I found this one online, so I won't be including this one in my bio. It's a really nice one. White to move, mate in 6. click for larger view I will release solution on Mar.13 (two weeks). If you think you've found it, please do tell. :) Note: You do not have to tell all the variations (if any). Just explaining the main solution, in algebraic notation is sufficent. :)

Feb-29-12		Penguincw: New rating list out: http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?l... Welcome back Nakamura and welcome Caruana! However, Topalov and Gashimov with their poor performances have since been kicked out. However, Topalov is #12 and 12 points behind Ivanchuk. Also, nice to finally see a Feb.29th. It happens every four years. ;)

Mar-02-12		morfishine: <Penguincw> Glad you are back in business again! And cool new avatar: I never got the hang of a hamburger with your username :)

Mar-03-12		morfishine: Yes, I am working on your puzzle

Mar-03-12		wordfunph: <Penguincw: Just another reminder that you can bet on the Mecking-Granda match. Note that it's more than two weeks to payday, and you never know when the guy you need won't provide you with needs...> thank you <Peng>..

Mar-03-12		Penguincw: < morfishine: Yes, I am working on your puzzle > Ok. Take your time. :) If no one can figure out the solution, I will give a hint on Mar. 6th, evening.

Mar-04-12		morfishine: Tricky one, but not unsolvable

Mar-04-12		Penguincw: ♔ ANNOUNCEMENT ♔ I would like to share with you a new feature. Earlier today, I bought a book called < "100 Facts~Penguins" >. It turns out it had more than 100 facts. :-\ Every Sunday, "special day" and "random day", I will present you a brand new fact about Penguins. I will deliver in the following format: ♔ UPDATE ♔ Fact #[number] [< "Main Fact" >] [< "Information" >] [< "Extra Information" > (usually but not always available, also sometimes edited to make sense)] [< My Comment (also a question that will be answered in next time's update) >] And here's today's ♔ UPDATE ♔ Fact #1 < "Penguins are peculiar birds unlike any others on the planet." > < "They have feathers that are more like fur, and wings that are more like flippers. Penguins live in some of the oldest, windiest and emptiest locations, yet they are still some of the most recognizable birds on Earth." > < "Penguins are fascinating flightless birds that live extraordinary lives. They are unlike any other type of animal in appearance, and they face incredible challenges to survive from day to day." > < Recognizable, but can have a hard life. How many types of recognizable penguins are there? >

Mar-05-12		Penguincw: Today, I played a game against a friend and it was a long game. I won a pawn in the opening, but wished I kept the queens on the board. My opponent put a really strong attack on me and I tried to save the game. I won after a blunder but it wasn't easy getting the 0-1. I also made a few errors in notation so added some moves for it to make sense. :) Now I hope you enjoy this low quality game as I put in my comments. :) NN vs. Me, 2012 < 1.Nc3 Nc6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e5 4.d4 e4 5.Ne5 d5 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.f3 exf3 8.Qxf3 Bb4 9.e4 Nxe4 > click for larger view He thought that he could open up the center, but really his knight was pinned. I wanted to capture with the knight, to pile up on c3. <10.Bd2 Nxd2 11.Kxd2 Qf6 12.Qe3+ Be6 13.a3 Ba5 14.b4 Bb6 15.a4 a5 16.b5 cxb5 17.axb5 0-0 18.Na4 Qh6 19.Nxb6 cxb6 20.Qxh6 gxh6 > click for larger view I should've kept the queens on the board, as I now have 5 pawn islands (!) which consists of doubled rook pawns, an isolated pawn on a half file, a fixed pawn, and a backward pawn. At this point, he plans to fix all my pawns. < 21.Bd3 Rac8 22.Rhg1 Ra8 23.g4 f6 24.Bf5 Bxf5 25.gxf5+ Kf7 26.h4 a4 27.h5 a3 > click for larger view At this point, none of my pawns can move, so I'm down to rook and king moves. < 28.Ra2 Ra5 29.Rb1 Rc8 30.Rb4 Rc4 31.Rxc4 dxc4 32.d5 Ke7 33.Ke3 Kd6 34.Kd4 Ra4 35.c3 Kd7 36.Ra1 a2 37.Ke4 Kd6 38.Kd4 Kc7 39.Ke4 Ra3 40.Kd4 Kd6 41.Kxc4 Ra8 > click for larger view I tried to put an attack on the kingside by giving up two pawns, but it doesn't work the way I want it to. Also I have to watch my tempo, since I only have king and rook moves. < 42.Kd4 Rg8 43.Rxa2 Rg5 44.Ra6 Kc7 45.d6+ Kxd6 46.Rxb6+ Ke7 47.Rc6 Rxf5 48.b6 Kd7 49.b7 Rb5 > click for larger view He thought he had it (1-0) but I came up with a "miracle save". He should have played Rc8 where I would have to give up a rook for this. Note, the rook is obviously immune due to simply promoting. < 50.c4 Rxb7 51.Ra6 Ke7 52.c5 Rd7+ 53.Kc4 Rb7 54.c6 Rc7 55.Kd5 f5 56.Ra4 Rc8 57.Kc5 Kd8 58.Kb6 Rb8+ 59.Kc5 Kc7 60.Rf4 Rb6 61.Rxf5 Rxc6+ > click for larger view It looks like a drawn game long time ago. With fixed pawns on the h-file, it seems like I have to trade rooks and have a race to the pawns.

Mar-05-12		Penguincw: < 62.Kd4 Kd7 63.Rf7+ Ke8 64.Rxh7 Kf8 65.Ra7 Rc8 66.Ke5 Re8+ 67.Kf6 Kg8 68.Kg6 Re6+ 69.Kf5 Rb6 70.Ra8+ Kg7 > click for larger view (continued) I offered a draw after I played my 70th move, but hedeclined. At this point, it looks very drawish, but he plays on and I bet he regrets that. < 71.Ra7+ Kh8 72.Ra8+ Kg7 73.Ra7+ Kh8 74.Ke5 Rb5+ 75.Kf6 Rxh5 76.Kf7 Rh1 77.Ra8+ Kh7 78.Rg8 Rf1+ 0-1 > click for larger view I already won a pawn, and now a deflection move would win. I put it at 0-1, since I can play this against any player from this position, white to move, with black and still win. At this point, he called it a draw and just grabbed my hand for a handshake. :-\ Well, I offered a draw on move 70, and once it's declined, it's declined. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to post them on my forum. :)

Mar-06-12		sevenseaman: I enjoy your terse, witty comments on the site. And I like your choice of avatar; the bird's critically focused eyes and its tense body aspect showing the imminence of the next move.

Mar-07-12		Penguincw: < sevenseaman: I enjoy your terse, witty comments on the site. And I like your choice of avatar; the bird's critically focused eyes and its tense body aspect showing the imminence of the next move. > Thanks. :) I know I forgot to give a hint last night, so I'll give it out this morning. Penguincw chessforum Hint: The first move is a knight move. Next Hint: Coming Friday. Hope this helps. :)

Mar-07-12		Penguincw: (Random Day #1) Previous Fact: Penguincw chessforum ♔ UPDATE ♔ Fact #2 < "Like all birds, penguins are covered in feathers and lay eggs." > < "Most birds have bodies that help them fly, but penguins' bodies are perfectly suited to swimming. There are 17 types of penguin, all quite similar in appearance." > < "Birds are vertebrates-just like reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. This means that they have bony skeletons that support their bodies." "The bones in a penguin's flipper are similar to those in other birds' wings, and a human's arm." > < Seems pretty straight forward. Now when we see a penguin, often it's black and white. But is there are reason for this? On a different note, I changed the format slightly. > Next Day: Friday March 9th, 2012.

Mar-08-12		wordfunph: <Bets out. :)> all-in $750! from our old friend <Loanie>..

Mar-08-12		Penguincw: Today, I played against someone else. He was the strongest player I have faced in quite some time (I usually play with beginners anyways), but he fell apart very quickly, to my surprise. NN vs. Me, 2012 < 1.e4 e5 2.Qf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.g4 > click for larger view The novelty (according to cg's database) is 2...Nf6, which is quite surprising. I faced this opening a few times but g4 is a new but smart idea. Kick my knight, and then I get mated. I have to stop that pawn or protect f7. < 4...Qe7 5.g5 Ng8 6.g6 hxg6 7.d4 Nxd4 8.Qe3 Nxc2+ > click for larger view Eight moves into the game, and white is already lost. Firstly, he gives up two pawns, which allows my pieces to work better. And also, I win a third, with a deadly fork. I was kind of hoping he would play that (or a3). < 9.Kf1 Nxe3+ 10.fxe3 Qc5 11.b3 b5 > click for larger view Another piece is going to fall now. If the bishop moves, I'll grab the c1 bishop with check, then trap the rook. I didn't realize it at the time. < 12.Nf3 bxc4 13.bxc4 Qxc4+ 14.Kf2 Qxe4 15.Rf1 Nf6 16.Nbd2 Qa4 > click for larger view I think I've been too impatient in grabbing as much material as possible. I had about 10 minutes to finish the game (I was busy) and should've calmed down. Developing my minor pieces might be better. < 17.a3 e4 18.Ne1 Rxh2+ 19.Ng2 Bc5 20.Re1 > click for larger view White is tied up now. It's hard to suggest a good move for white. And now, I give up the exchange for a pawn (or I thought I would) < 20...Ng4+ 21.Kg3 Rxg2+ 22.Kxg2 Nxe3+ > click for larger view I grabbed another pawn, with check, and now I will win one of white's rook. At this point, he will have to give the exchange up. Also, I suggested that he can take the e4 pawn if he wants, but I knew he knew better and seemed to have done that intentionally. < 23.Rxe3 Bxe3 24.Nxe4 Bxc1 25.Rxc1 Qxe4+ > click for larger view I cleared out white's army. At this point, I will win white's last piece (rook) with a fork on rather e3 or f4. I can also grab the a3 pawn, if I want. < 26.Kf2 Qf4+ 27.Ke2 Qxc1 28.Kd3 > click for larger view There's a reason why I didn't put 0-1. It's because the game didn't end here. However, in a rush (no chess clocks, just in a rush) I messed up the notation somewhere and this is the last move that makes sense. If you're curious, I wrote down < 28...Bf5 29.Kd4 Rd8+ 30.Ke5 f6# 0-1 > Again, if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to post them on my forum.

Mar-09-12		Penguincw: < KKDEREK> Thanks. I actually like this one too. Maybe I'll even have a shot at the Caissars. :)

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