Phony Benoni Member since Feb-10-06 · Last seen Jun-11-22 Greetings, O Seeker After Knowledge! You have arrived in Dearborn, Michigan (whether you like it or not), and are reading words of wisdom from a player rated 2938--plus or minus 1000 points. However, I've retired from serious play--not that I ever took playing chess all that seriously. You only have to look at my games to see that. These days I pursue the simple pleasures of finding games that are bizarre or just plain funny. I'd rather enjoy a game than analyze it. For the record, my name is David Moody. This probably means nothing to you unless you're a longtime player from Michigan, though it's possible that if you attended any US Opens from 1975-1999 we might have crossed paths. Lucky you. If you know me at all, you'll realize that most of my remarks are meant to be humorous. I do this deliberately, so that if my analysis stinks to High Heaven I can always say that I was just joking. As you can undoubtedly tell from my sparkling wit, I'm a librarian in my spare time. Even worse, I'm a cataloger, which means I keep log books for cattle. Also, I'm not one of those extroverts who sit at the Reference Desk and help you with research. Instead, I spend all day staring at a computer screen updating and maintaining information in the library's catalog. The general public thinks Reference Librarians are dull. Reference Librarians think Catalogers are dull. My greatest achievement in chess, other than tricking you into reading this, was probably mating with king, bishop and knight against king in a tournament game. I have to admit that this happened after an adjournment, and that I booked up like crazy before resuming. By the way, the fact I have had adjourned games shows you I've been around too long. My funniest moment occurred when I finally got a chance to pull off a smothered mate in actual play. You know, 1.Nf7+ Kg8 2.Nh6+ Kh8 3.Qg8+ Rxg8 4.Nf7#. When I played the climactic queen check my opponent looked at the board in shocked disbelief and said, "But that's not mate! I can take the queen!" Finally, I must confess that I once played a positional move, back around 1982. I'll try not to let that happen again.

Phony Benoni has kibitzed 18634 times to chessgames   [more...]

Jun-11-22 M Blau vs Keres, 1959    Phony Benoni: Not a good recommendation for the DERLD. Out of 59 moves, White makes only three in Black's half of the board. And two of those conist of 3.Bb5 and 6.Bxc6.      Jun-11-22 chessgames.com chessforum    Phony Benoni: Er, it's back. Karpov vs Timman, 1988      Jun-10-22 Orlo Milo Rolo   Phony Benoni: Marco!      Jun-10-22 Lilienthal vs Bondarevsky, 1947   Phony Benoni: Another one for you King Hunters. Black's monarch travels fron g8 to b8, then takes the Great Circle Route back to h3 before calling it a day.      Jun-10-22 GrahamClayton chessforum    Phony Benoni: <GrahamClayton> I've posted a question for you at L T Magee vs J Holland, 1948      Jun-10-22 L T Magee vs E L Holland, 1948    Phony Benoni: <GrahamClayton> The source you cite, <Chess Review, May 1948, p. 24>, gives Black's name as <E Holland> "Chess Life" (June 5, 1948, p. 1) has a table of results giving <E L Holland>. That form also appears in USCF rating supplements for a player fro ...      Jun-09-22 Biographer Bistro    Phony Benoni: SkinnVer Here Among the Fold?      Jun-09-22 Flohr vs Bondarevsky, 1947    Phony Benoni: Black's bishop makes me think of Godzilla emerging from the depths of the ocean to wreak havoc. However, in the end it's his Two Little Friends who steal the show. Well, maybe not so litt.      Jun-06-22 W Ritson-Morry vs G T Crown, 1947   Phony Benoni: it was the last round. Rison-Morry was mired in last place. These things happen.      Jun-06-22 W Adams vs M Kagan, 1947   Phony Benoni: Some more informztion. The game was published in <Chess Review>, March 1948, p. 23. Black's name is given as "M Kagan", and the location as "Massachusetts". There is no other game data, but I think we can now safely assume Black is <Milton Kagan>. Earlier in the ...

indicates a reply to the comment.

Living in the Past

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 369 OF 914 ·  Later Kibitzing> Apr-16-12    Phony Benoni: Well, Verlander actually got a win tonight, probably by pulling a Bob Gibson. I just hope it doesn't cause long-range problems. Going into the ninth, the Tigers were up 3-1 and Verlander had thrown about 110 pitches. He went back out. Several batters later, it's 3-2 and the bases are loaded with two out. Verlander stays in, and finally strikes out the final batter with his 131st pitcn, a 100-mph fastball. Epic in a way, and maybe he had to do it after that last fiasco. But, dang it, you have to worry when he does stuff like that? Apr-16-12    Jim Bartle: Halladay vs. Lincecum tonight. A great pitcher's duel, right? Phils score 4 in the first, after Giants let a fly drop in the outfield. Apr-16-12    I play the Fred: <Halladay vs. Lincecum tonight. A great pitcher's duel, right? Phils score 4 in the first, after Giants let a fly drop in the outfield. > Baseball. Apr-17-12    eightbyeight: In your most recent addition to your puzzle-of-the-day collection, you have misspelled "April" as "Apirl". Please corrcet this. (Irony intended.) Apr-17-12    Phony Benoni: <eightbyeight> Thank you! It's always good to know somebody notices. Apr-18-12    WannaBe: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/moyer-... Until his next victory, and then we'll have update the record books again. =) I will get a chance to see his son, playing for Univ. Calif. Irvine, against Calif. St. Univ. Long Beach this weekend, at Blair Field. Maybe I'll scream something like: "Your old man can still strike YOU out!!" Wheeeeeee!!!! =)) Apr-18-12    hms123: Did you see this throw to the plate? http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b... Apr-18-12    Jim Bartle: He's 49, and they still call him Jamie. I'm really surprised he could win in Denver. Obviously he gets guys out with movement and changing speeds, not with power. And the ball simply does not break as much in the thin air of Denver. I'd think Moyer would be at a real disadvantage there. Apr-18-12    Jim Bartle: Here's a story at Sports Illustrated on the prevalence of batters putting the ball in play only 50% of the time (not a homer, walk or strikeout). Adam Dunn is the model, I guess, but I remember Jack Clark with St. Louis around 1987. http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/joe_l... Apr-19-12    OhioChessFan: It took to the end of the article, but I knew going in that Rob Deer would get a mention. Apr-19-12    Jim Bartle: I looked up Deer's record, as he was a touted prospect with the Giants in the early 80s. (Do any players ever resemble their names? He certainly couldn't run like a deer.) Tell me if this is good production, though obviously over a short period: In 1984 Deer had 32 plate appearances, had four hits, three home runs, walked or was hit eight times, struck out ten times. So his batting average was .167, but his on-base percentage was .375 and his slugging average was .542. I'd say that's good enough to be in the starting lineup, batting sixth or seventh, assuming he's a competent fielder. Of course he couldn't maintain that level over time. Only put the ball in play 11 times in 32 times at the plate. Apr-19-12    Jim Bartle: Continuing with the same theme, Minnesota-NY in the 4th inning and Granderson has come up three times without putting the ball "in play." That's three homers. Apr-19-12    Phony Benoni: Does an inside-the-park home run count as putting the ball in play? How about a ground-rule double? Apr-19-12    Jim Bartle: Good questions. You usually can't tell by the record if there are any inside-the-park HRs. Ground rule double, I'd say that's in play because a fielder had a chance to get to it. Granderson couldn't come through. Single to right in 4th AB, infield hit in 5th. So 5 for 5 with 3 HRs. Apr-19-12    OhioChessFan: What almost everyone calls a ground rule double is really just a double. If it bounces over a fence, that's a double, not a ground rule double. A ground rule double references a unique feature of a particular ball field. For example, if a ball gets hung up in the ivy at Wrigley, that's a ground rule double. Apr-19-12    Jim Bartle: I think it's a "ground rule" because you need an unnatural rule to say that a hit ball which bounces into the stands is two bases, and all baserunners advance just two bases. All stadiums have a number of ground rules to deal with idiosyncracies of the field (such as ivy on the walls). Tampa had the strangest rules for balls hitting the different catwalks around the roof at Tropicana Park. Apr-19-12    OhioChessFan: < I think it's a "ground rule" because you need an unnatural rule to say that a hit ball which bounces into the stands is two bases, and all baserunners advance just two bases.> It's a double, and all runners advance two bases. I wasn't buying it the first time I heard it discussed, but that's how the rule book reads. Apr-19-12    Phony Benoni: Here's the Official Rules: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2... Rule 6.09 covers the "ground rule" double, and it's simply described as a situation where a ball bouncing into the stands entitles the batter and runner to advance two bases. (Also seems to cover shrubbery, by the way.) No mention of the term "Ground Rule", so it looks like <OCF> has a point that they only apply to specific stadia. Interesting point, if a bit technical; never thought about it before. Should probably look up the rule covering an umpire's judgment that allows the runner from first to score. Apr-19-12    Jim Bartle: In my days umpiring teams of teenage players, we always tried to cover all the possible strange things which could happen when lineup cards were exchanged. Of course the Oakland rec fields were a lot less uniform than in the majors. You always wanted as little as possible to come down to your own judgment on an odd play. Apr-19-12    WannaBe: In my days of umpiring, any ball that bounced into the stands, it was a home run! (Nice to see some activities on this page! Let's talk beeeeesball!!! =) Apr-20-12    Phony Benoni: <WannaBe> Bless me, Wabbit, for I have sinned. I've been spending too much time on chess lately. Apr-20-12    WannaBe: 2 laps around Lake Michigan, and 3 Rosarys. Plus 5 whacks across your knuckles. Apr-20-12    Jim Bartle: Wouldn't Lake Huron be a lot closer for PB? Apr-20-12    Phony Benoni: True, but then I'd need a passport. Of course, I don't know if it's any easier getting into Wisconsin these days. Apr-20-12    Jim Bartle: I was reading an article about Boggs and Gwynn as they approached 3000 hits. I was curious to see how much Boggs benefited from playing at Fenway, and his lifetime home average is 50 points higher than away (.354 to .302). And that includes his years in New York and Tampa Bay, so the advantage must have been even greater if you look only at his Boston years. In fact if you just doubled his away numbers he wouldn't be close to a Hall of Famer. Of course he did what he did, so he's deserving. In the article he talks about getting "enough on it to get it up and onto the wall," as if it were just a routine fly. I've been watching some Boston games, and it still takes a pretty well hit ball to reach the wall. So I wondered if Ted Williams had a similar benefit from Fenway Park, if his stats were inflated by playing there for half his games. And the answer is a clear no--his average was a little higher at home, but he hit more home runs on the road. No inflation. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 914) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 369 OF 914 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific user only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

You are not logged in to chessgames.com. If you need an account, register now; it's quick, anonymous, and free! If you already have an account, click here to sign-in.