viewA Halloween Surprise
Earlier this afternoon I logged onto the website of a chess club to which I belong, and I was surprised to find that I'd won this game yesterday when my opponent playing White ran out of time on his clock.
We were playing with a very relaxed time control of 5 days per move, and timeouts are allowed in this club if requested. There was no indication that he'd asked for one; he just stopped playing. That's considered very bad form in Correspondence Chess circles. We call it a silent resignation. If our developing middlegame made him too uncomfortable to play on he could have done the honorable thing and simply announced his resignation.
At any rate this counts as a loss for him and a win for me. And I'll gladly take the win.
The position of pieces at game's end is shown on the graphic that leads this post, and our complete move record is below.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 Bd6 5. Bxd6 cxd6 6. e3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 g6 9. Nf3 Re8 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 a6 12. Qc2 Ne7 13. Rac1 b5 14. b4 Bf5
0-1
And the adventure continues.
Published on 01 November 2020, ~15:00 Central Time.
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by Roscoe
viewQueen-Rook Checkmate
It took me 73 moves to checkmate the White King yesterday in a Correspondence Chess game that started over a month ago and involved my opponent and me wiping out almost our entire armies. Finally my Queen and Rook trapped his King in a checkmate against an edge of the board.
The position of pieces at game's end is above, at the top of this post, and our full move record is below.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. b3 g6 4. Be3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Re8 8. Nxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxd5 Nb4 10. Be4 e5 11. d5 c6 12. a3 Na6 13. Nf3 b5 14. cxb5 Nc7 15. bxc6 Nb5 16. Rc1 Qd6 17. b4 Nxa3 18. c7 Qxb4+ 19. Nd2 Bf8 20. d6 Bd7 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. O-O Rc8 23. Ne4 Qxe4 24. Qd3 Qxd3 25. exd3 Bxd6 26. Bxa7 Bxc7 27. Rc3 Nb5 28. Rb3 Nxa7 29. Rb4 Bf5 30. Kg2 Bxd3 31. Rd1 Nc6 32. Rh4 Nb4 33. Rxb4 Rd8 34. Rb7 Ba5 35. Re7 e4 36. h4 Kf8 37. Kh2 Kxe7 38. Kg2 Kf8 39. Ra1 Bc3 40. Rd1 Kg7 41. Kh2 h5 42. Rc1 Bb2 43. Rc7 Bd4 44. Kh3 e3 45. fxe3 Bf5+ 46. Kh2 Bxe3 47. Re7 Rd2+ 48. Kh1 Bc5 49. Re5 Bb6 50. Re7 Bh3 51. g4 Bxg4 52. Re1 Bh3 53. Re2 Rd1+ 54. Kh2 Bg4 55. Kg3 Bc7+ 56. Kf2 Bxe2 57. Kxe2 Rh1 58. Kf2 Rxh4 59. Kg2 f5 60. Kf3 g5 61. Ke3 f4+ 62. Ke4 Kf6 63. Kd5 f3 64. Kc6 f2 65. Kxc7 f1=Q 66. Kd6 Qe1 67. Kd5 Qe6+ 68. Kc5 Rh1 69. Kd4 Rd1+ 70. Kc3 Qc6+ 71. Kb2 Rd8 72. Kb3 Rb8+ 73. Ka3 Qa6#
0-1
And the adventure continues.
Published on 29 October 2020, ~10:15 CDT, this is my post number 98/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewA Halloween Week Massacre
That's what this Correspondence Chess game looks like. The board at game's end when my opponent playing Black resigned yesterday, giving me the win with White, is shown in the graphic at the top of this post.
Our game's full record is below.
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. a3 c6 4. Nbd2 Nd7 5. e4 Ndf6 6. exd5 cxd5 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. O-O O-O-O 10. c4 Qd6 11. c5 Qc6 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. b4 b6 14. cxb6 Qc3 15. Nxf7 Qxa1 16. Nxd8 Kxd8 17. bxa7 Qxa3 18. Bxa3 Ne4 19. a8=Q+ Ke7 20. b5+ Nd6 21. Bxd6+ Kxd6 22. Qxf8+
1-0
And the adventure continues.
Published on 27 October 2020, ~10:15 CDT, this is my post number 97/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewNo, I'm not watching tonight's VP “Debate” Show.
My decision was whether to watch that political debate, or catch a scary movie on TV. I've opted for The House The Dripped Blood, a cheesy British horror film from the 70's. And I'm convinced I made the better choice. Better for my peace of mind anyway.
Over the past several days I've been consuming much less “news” than has been my custom since, well... forever it seems. And my mood has improved noticeably. The reason for less news? More chess.
My load of Correspondence Chess games has become much larger: I've got 20 active games going now, thanks largely to a 7-player tournament that's just getting underway. And I'm taking these games much more seriously than the casual games I've been playing. Hours of daily chess study, with my mind clear and focused, simply does not allow for the distraction of “news” shows designed more to provoke anger and fear rather than impart balanced, factual information.
This places me in a win-win situation. More time spent with my chess, and serious study of that, is healthy in and of itself. And having less time to dwell on the emotionally charged, mind grabbing “news” spread by most popular media sources is good too.
A few hours in the morning with my coffee and chores provides me time to monitor current events and analysis from a mix of sources playing in the background. And another hour or so in the late afternoon or early evening similarly spent is more than enough for the news.
And so the adventure continues.
Published on 07 October 2020, ~20:30 CDT, this is my post number 77/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewBack with the ICCF now
Several days ago I reactivated my membership in the International Correspondence Chess Federation and now have a two-game match in progress there. It's been over a decade since I played any games under the auspices the ICCF, what I considered then and still do as the premier place for serious Correspondence Chess (CC). My return to that organization was unplanned but seemed to be a natural step given the increased amount of time spent with my chess over these several months of the pandemic lockdown.
Heck, I've even started keeping an old analysis set at a corner of my work table (see above). So when I'm not online receiving or sending moves I can focus on my games.
This satisfies me greatly!
And so the adventure continues.
Published on 17 September 2020, ~15:00 CDT, this is my post number 68/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewAnother head-scratcher
This morning I was notified by a club in which I play that I had won another game with the White pieces. And this is another victory that has me scratching my head and wondering: why? Black's army had stormed out after my conventional opening and launched a powerful attack on my Queen-side.
But then... he apparently let his clock run out, something pretty unusual given the very relaxed time-controls we were using, giving me the win here by default. And he had been playing such a strong game!
The position of pieces at game's end is above, and our full move record is below:
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nd2 d5 3. Ngf3 c5 4. b3 Nc6 5. Bb2 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nxd4 7. Bxd4 cxd4 8. Ndf3 Qa5+ 9. Nd2 Rc8 10. a4 e6 11. Nf3 Bxc2 12. Qc1 1-0
And the adventure continues.
Published on 11 September 2020, ~16:10 CDT, this is my post number 67/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewA little Labor Day win
This win was not mysterious at all. The game didn't end with a checkmate, that would have come many tortuous moves into this game's future. But with my material advantage (my White Bishop and Knight vs. his lone Bishop, and an equal number of pawns) I would have been able to force a mate much sooner than the Black army could.
Black's resignation giving me the win after I captured his Rook at 27. Nxe1 was probably what I'd have done in his place.
Our board at game's end is pictured above, and the full move record is below.
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. a3 Nxe5 5. Nbd2 Nf6 6. Nxe5 Qxe5 7. Nc4 Qd5 8. Qxd5 Nxd5 9. g3 Bc5 10. e3 b5 11. Na5 O-O 12. Bg2 c6 13. O-O Ba6 14. Nb3 Bb6 15. e4 Ne7 16. a4 Rfe8 17. axb5 Bxb5 18. Re1 f6 19. Be3 Bxe3 20. Rxe3 a6 21. e5 fxe5 22. Rxe5 Ng6 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Nd4 Ne5 25. Re1 Nf3+ 26. Nxf3 Rxe1+ 27. Nxe1 1-0
And the adventure continues.
Published on 07 September 2020, ~13:30 CDT, this is my post number 66/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewI'll gladly take the win, but...
...there was so much chess yet to play here!
My opponent playing Black resigned this server based Correspondence Chess game to me yesterday after my pawn captured his Knight on the f6 square. My goodness, that only put him down by one major piece. And we were just moving from the opening to early middlegame.
1. d4 d5 2. h3 Ng8f6 3. Nb1c3 Nb8c6 4. Ng1f3 h6 5. e3 Bc8f5 6. Bf1d3 Bf5xd3 7. Qd1xd3 e6 8. O-O Bf8d6 9. Rf1e1 O-O 10. a3 a6 11. e4 Rf8e8 12. e5 Bd6f8 13. exf6 1-0
The adventure continues curiously, sometimes.
Published on 04 September 2020, ~17:45 CDT, this is my post number 65/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewIs there anything more heart-wrenching than...
...blundering away one's Queen in a late endgame? Well, maybe. But not by much! AARRGH!
Okay. This afternoon I lost two correspondence chess games, resigning in both of them. In one game I was simply outplayed. And that game I shall subject to a proper post mortem, to try and learn from mistakes I made there. I always feel rather badly about losing a game, but if a loss can teach me something about myself, can help me become a little stronger in the future, well... that is some salve to the wound.
But that other loss! Oh, Lord! That just hurts! How could I have been so blind?!
Oh well...
The adventure continues at a somewhat humbler pace right now. Darn it.
Published on 01 September 2020, ~17:45 CDT, this is my post number 64/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe
viewHoping for a slower Friday.
And one that is more chess-oriented. As a matter of fact, I hope to cut back on the time and attention swallowed up by other side projects and spend more time with my chess ongoing.
My current game load of 12 CC games feels very right, and there is no temptation to add to that in any way, whether by adding OTB, real-time server based play, or more CC games. As soon as one game is completed I'll add another. That's what I've been doing this summer.
However I DO intend to spend more quality time every day studying, following annotated master class games, and analyzing my own losses to learn from my mistakes.
Once, many years ago, I almost earned a master class rating. It would be nice if I can return to that level of play again. I wonder if that's even possible at my age?
And so the adventure continues.
Published on 28 August 2020, ~11:30 CDT, this is my post number 62/100/365 of the https://100daystooffload.com blogging challenge.
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by Roscoe