User Profile: Phony Benoni

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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.

>> Click here to see Phony Benoni's game collections.

   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 117 OF 914 · Later Kibitzing>
Oct-22-09		Phony Benoni: Anyone speculating what Ryan Howard might do in Yankee Stadium? (With any luck, such talk will jinx the Yankees.)

Oct-22-09		Jim Bartle: I'm thinking about what Alex Rodriguez and the other Yankees will do in Philadelphia. It's like there's no gravity there.

Oct-22-09		Chessdreamer: <Phony Benoni> more GOTD games Jul-07-07 Kang Chuanqi vs Sun Hui, 2001, Jul-21-07 B Hellen vs A Holmsten, 1993, Jul-30-07 Sherzer vs Kaplan, 1988, Aug-18-07 Waitzkin vs A Friedman, 1993, Sep-02-07 Stellwagen vs Ljubojevic, 2007, Sep-06-07 E J Diemer vs Spohn, 1970, Sep-09-07 Smitten vs Prince Dadian, 1896, Sep-21-07 Smyslov vs Mecking, 1973, Sep-29-07 A Casellato vs S Alma, 1969, Oct-01-07 J Sarwer vs Waitzkin, 1986 ---

Oct-22-09		Chessdreamer: ...more GOTD games Oct-09-07 Carlos Torre vs Little, 1924, Oct-10-07 W Fuller vs L Basin, 1992, Oct-22-07 Kan vs Botvinnik, 1935, Oct-27-07 Alekhine vs K Richter, 1942, Nov-09-07 R Stone vs Sherzer, 1988, Nov-29-07 Pokorna vs N Gaprindashvili, 2003, Dec-16-07 Grob vs P F Johner, 1932, Dec-30-07 M Rotova vs P Mors, 1992 --- Jan-08-06 E Hintikka vs O Koskinen, 1981, Jan-13-06 H Olafsson vs Chandler, 1991, Jan-18-06 S Lipnowski vs R Jiganchine, 2004, Feb-01-06 Larsen vs A Lein, 1979, Feb-08-06 Fischer vs Najdorf, 1970, Feb-10-06 Karjakin vs S Papa, 2003, Feb-28-06 Vasiukov vs V Hora, 1965, Mar-15-06 M Dogge vs S Beshukov, 2003, Apr-04-06 Short vs Shirov, 1997, Apr-05-06 Shirov vs ACDC, 2000, Apr-27-06 F Dahlhaus vs U Jost, 1999 ---

Oct-22-09		A.G. Argent: Czar, thanks very much for the link to the Borges poem. Isn't that a wonderful piece?

Oct-22-09		Deus Ex Alekhina: I thot this was supposed to be a Yankee-Free Zone! So, in that vein, the (un-named team) will probably beat the Halos tonite, and then the Phils will go up against the (whatevers) for the World Serious.

Oct-22-09		Phony Benoni: <Chessdreamer> Thanks again. <A.G. Argent> Not a problem. I'm not good at evaluating real poetry, but had to find Borges. He was a librarian, you know. Oh, as for the Yankee Free Zone? I did propose that, but then realized the only person affected would be <Technical Draw>, whose little eccentricities we like to humor. We've got to get some humor out of him, after all.

Oct-22-09		Phony Benoni: <chessdreamer> It finally hit me how I should have been looking for the retrospective GOTDs: a Google search on the header! I'm not finding everything, but I'm filling in a lot of holes.

Oct-22-09		Phony Benoni: Steve Swisher has to be the most popular player in Anaheim right now.

Oct-23-09		dzechiel: When Scioscia brought Fuentes in to pitch the ninth, I almost threw up. Weaver had been brilliant in the 8th, let him get three more outs. It's only dumb luck that the Angels are going back to the Bronx.

Oct-23-09		Phony Benoni: <dzechiel> That's the way they play baseball these days--you bring in your "closer" and then you don't have to answer questions about why you didn't bring in your closer. I still don't know why they walked Rodriguez intentionally. Pitch around him, yes; that's solid, established strategy. But when you don't think your Almighty Closer can throw several pitches without grooving one--well, you have to wonder how much Scioscia really trusts him.

Oct-23-09		Jim Bartle: Walking Rodriguez meant Scioscia thought the chance he'd hit a home run was greater than Matsui hitting a double, or Matsui and Cano hitting singles. I don't see it.

Oct-23-09		YouRang: Thank god for Nick Swisher. The one guy in the Yankee lineup that the Angels can confidently get out. I think what happened is this: After getting the first 2 batters out, Scioscia calculated that he could effectively load the bases in order get to Swisher for the last out.

Oct-23-09		Phony Benoni: A-Rod wasn't going to beat you in that spot. Putting him on for nothing and letting someone else pop one probably was. And this was not a Barry Bonds sort of situation, where he was the only player on the team capable of hitting a home run on short notice. No, I think this was a case where you needed to have confidence in your pitcher rather than trying to prevent him from making a mistake. More overmanaging; instead of having a winning attitude, it's like he's saying "We can't win this on skill, guys, so I'm going to have use stragety". Although it did have one good effect, since Girardi immediately took Rodriguez and Matsui out for pinch runners. Scioscia might have enjoyed contemplating extra innings with them on the bench.

Oct-23-09		YouRang: Nick Swisher in game 5: - 2nd inning (trailing 4-0 w/ 1 out, bases empty): <Grounds out to 1B> for 2nd out -- no runs scored. - 5th inning (trailing 4-0 to leadoff inning): <Strikes out> (next batter singled) -- no runs scored. - 7th inning (trailing 4-0 to leadoff inning): <Flies out to CF> (to limit damage in Yankee's big inning) - 7th inning (leading 6-4 w/ 2 out, runner at 3B): <Flies out to LF> to end big inning (making 2 of the 3 outs) - 9th inning (trailing 7-6 w/ 2 out, bases loaded): <Pops out to SS> to end game. Go Swisher!

Oct-23-09		A.G. Argent: <Dave Z>, you don't even mention Scioscia's pulling of Lackey. That was REALLY maddening. Oooohh, that would have haunted both of them a long time if the Angels hadn't come back from the ensuing, immediate shelling of Oliver. But I think PB is right about Scioscia playing it a little too much by the modern day book of the hook. He did it there as well. You had to think that with Lackey's fiery response to Scioscia's arriving on the mound and having just gotten the 2nd out, in saying with extreme conviction THIS IS MINE!, that he would have gotten that third out easily and been quite happy to sit down for the night. That is a very tough guy, Lackey. Too bad you're gonna lose him.

Oct-23-09		YouRang: <Phony Benoni: A-Rod wasn't going to beat you in that spot.> That's true. Granted, with 2 outs and bases empty, Scioscia might have had some justification for not wanting to give A-Rod a chance to tie it, no doubt recalling A-Rod hitting a game-tying homer in 11th inning of game 2, and another shot in game 3.

Oct-23-09		playground player: <Phony Benoni> I think it was Paul Richards who turned overmanaging into an art form, when he was overmanaging the Orioles in the early 1960s. One one occasion, Jim Gentile had hit two grand slams, only to be removed for a pinch-hitter when the already battered opposition brought in a leftie to pitch to him. Joe McCarthy used to say, "Sure, I'm brilliant. I just put DiMaggio and Henrich and Dickey and Rolfe and all those guys on the field, and you should see what happens..."

Oct-23-09		Jim Bartle: "Although it did have one good effect, since Girardi immediately took Rodriguez and Matsui out for pinch runners. Scioscia might have enjoyed contemplating extra innings with them on the bench." I really didn't understand putting in a runner for Rodriguez. First, he's a pretty fast runner, though not a burner. But more importantly, say the Yankees scored one run. They would be without their best hitter, in exchange for a very small potential benefit on the bases. I might have thought Scioscia would have left Lackey in when he saw his aggressive attitude. He seemed ready to keep pitching, and pitching well. He just had to calm down a little, as according to the radio broadcast he was really upset on a ball four call a couple of batters earlier.

Oct-23-09		Phony Benoni: <playground player> I fear your memory is a bit off. Here's the game: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/... Gentile was not pinch hit for, but removed defensively in the bottom of the 8th. He batted twice against left-handers, with a strikeout and a sacrifice fly. Retrosheet has destroyed my recollections more than once as well.

Oct-23-09		YouRang: <Jim Bartle><I really didn't understand putting in a runner for Rodriguez. First, he's a pretty fast runner, though not a burner. But more importantly, say the Yankees scored one run. They would be without their best hitter, in exchange for a very small potential benefit on the bases.> I agree. I thought that was a stupid move by Girardi. The Angels need more stupid moves by Girardi.

Oct-23-09		Jim Bartle: I won't call it overmanaging, but it was Casey Stengel in the 50s who popularized platooning. He sent out a different lineup every day, and he also juggled his rotation so Ford would pitch primarily against the best teams.

Oct-23-09		YouRang: <Phony Benoni> Interesting site, is retrosheet.org -- thanks for mentioning it. :-) I was just looking at the "Lost Home Runs" section. The most curious case I noticed was this: <9/26/2006: Chase Utley hit a ball down the right field line at RFK Stadium in Washington that struck the pole for an apparent three-run homer. However, it was ruled a foul ball and no one from the Phillies protested the call. Utley popped out and the Nationals won the game, 4-3. > Isn't it hard to imagine that no one from the Phillies would protest losing a game winning home run on a ball that hit the foul pole?!

Oct-23-09		Jim Bartle: Who hit the "lost home run" on Seinfeld, where Kramer had promised the sick kid two home runs in order to get the autographed birthday card back? The second home run was changed to a triple and an error.

Oct-23-09		Phony Benoni: <JB> That was Paul O'Neill, I think. <YouRang> Watch out for Retrosheet. It can become addictive. Speaking of platooning, Casey Stengel learned it from John McGraw, who once had the practice turned against him in memorable fashion. Going into the seventh game of the 1924 World Series (Senators-Giants), young Bill Terry was batting .500--due in part to McGraw's practice of only using him against right-handed pitching. Senators manager Bucky Harris was thinking of starting left-handed George Mogridge in the game, but figured he wouldn't go the distance and that McGraw would be quick to bring Teery in to do some damage late against the right-handed bullpen. So Harris started <right-hander> Curly Ogden, getting Terry into the opening lineup, then brought in Mogridge after two batters. McGraw let Terry hit twice against the left-hander without success, then pinch hit for him the third time around. The Senators wound up winning in twelve innings. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/...

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