I won another Correspondence Chess Tournament Game a few hours ago with another Queen-Knight Combination Checkmate. As you can see in the image above, my Queen at h8 delivers the mating move to the Black King. She is covered by her Knight at g6. The position of our armies at game's end is shown above, and our full move record is here: 1. d4 e6 2. a3 Nc6 3. Nf3 h6 4. e4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. e5 Nh7 7. b4 d6 8. g3 Be7 9. Bg2 g5 10. exd6 Bxd6 11. d5 exd5 12. O-O Bg4 13. Re1+ Kf8 14. Qxd5 Nf6 15. Qd3 Qd7 16. Bb2 Bf5 17. Qd2 Qc8 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Qxd5 Bxc2 20. Rac1 Bg6 21. h4 gxh4 22. Nxh4 h5 23. Bxh8 Kg8 24. Nxg6 Qd8 25. Bb2 Kh7 26. Qxh5+ Kg8 27. Qh8# 1-0
Nighttime meds have been taken, relaxing music is playing, and there's a book at hand that I've been enjoying. Think I'll do a chapter or two before bed.
At the half only one point separates the Fever and the Aces.
Aces 35 – Fever 34
Oh Lord, this is one exciting game!
Lexie Hull is on FIRE!
C'mon ladies, let's win this one!
This morning's chess work found me winning three games by checkmate. I'll share images of the boards showing position of the pieces at games' end.
Playing the White pieces in this game, my Queen at f7, protected by her g6 Bishop, is checkmating the Black King, as her h5 Rook covers any possible escape by the King on the h-file.
Playing the White pieces here, my Queen at g7, protected by her h5 Knight, is checkmating the Black King.
Playing Black in this game my h3 Knight checkmates the White King. His only possible flight squares are covered by my Queen on the e4 square.
You'll remember this past Summer I cracked open the 14-volume set of L. Frank Baum's Oz books. I've made it through Books 1 and 2. Book 1, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” we're all familiar with thanks to the televised version that used to be broadcast every Spring here in the US, starring the young Judy Garland as Dorothy. It had Dorothy and her little dog Toto swept away from Kansas by a tornado to the Land of Oz. There she had adventures with a living Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman, and a Cowardly Lion before returning home to Kansas. Book 2, “The Marvelous Land of Oz,” takes place entirely in Oz and features a young boy named Tip who has adventures with a talking pumpkinhead and a living sawhorse. Joining them are characters from Book 1, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Good Witch Glinda.
I've now started Book 3, “Ozma of Oz,” and found Dorothy travelling to Australia with her Uncle Henry. During a storm at sea she is swept overboard with hen named Bellina. They land in Ev, a country across the desert from Oz. They encounter the Wheelers and meet a new friend, a mechanical man named Tik-Tok. And that's as far as I've gotten.
All the drama this Summer involved with the WNBA around the Indiana Fever and their star players: (Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and others) have kept me away from following their games and “news” reports and, until recently, their socials. Though I'm a fan of the Fever, the team and the players, I am VERY much a NO DRAMA kind of guy.
That having been said, I will have my radio tuned to the Fever vs. Aces game tonight. GO FEVER!
This has been a quiet Monday here. I didn't get around to doing my laundry today, which is a chore I usually delegate to Mondays. But I can easily put it off until tomorrow, or even the day after if needed. I did try to mow the front yard, but didn't get much done; only that part bordering the front curb, and part bordering the sidewalk and the path leading to my front door. But... it was too hot out there, and I tired quickly. So I sat down with a bottle of cold water, thought about the situation, and decided to put the lawnmower away. The mowing can wait.
I won this Correspondence Chess Club Tournament Game this morning via a Rook-Knight Checkmate. The image above shows the Black King attacked by my d7 Rook which is protected by my e5 Knight. That King's only possible flight squares are covered by that e5 Knight and my d4 pawn.
Hoping to settle my mind in a healthy way before bedtime, I've got the radio set to bring me College Football, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Oklahoma St. Cowboys. Early in the 1st Qtr. Tulsa leads Oklahoma St. 7-3.
Playing the White pieces in this game, my Queen at f7, protected by her g6 Bishop, is checkmating the Black King, as her h5 Rook covers any possible escape by the King on the h-file.
Playing the White pieces here, my Queen at g7, protected by her h5 Knight, is checkmating the Black King.
Playing Black in this game my h3 Knight checkmates the White King. His only possible flight squares are covered by my Queen on the e4 square.