We seem to have a few players on here, so why not throw a tournament together? We can hold games on chess.com so that you can make your moves any time you are ready. It's free and quite easy to play there. If you are interested in playing, please let us know in this thread. I'm thinking we could just do the typical Swiss style tournament (everyone plays the same number of games, the better players bubble to the top and play each other, the players who aren't doing as well drop to the bottom of the table and play each other there).

If you could please also give an estimate of your ability, it would help for the initial seeding. Here is how you can gauge your strength, if you are unsure:

Total beginner (I know the rules and that's about it): 500
I can beat other people that are just starting: 1000
I can beat some regular players and can even win a tournament from time to time: 1500
I am a master/expert and win a lot of tournaments: 2000

Now, this is a really, really rough guide, but if you aren't sure how ratings work, at least that will give us some idea of where you are. If you think you are somewhere between that 500 and 1000 level, just guess about where you might be.

ROUND 1 OF 5 PAIRINGS:

Board White Player Black Player
1 Passacaglia JAG
2 MJ4H fpres
3 johnnyshaka dwardzala
4 DaddyTorgo kingfc22
5 saldana Marc Vaughan
6 TargetPractice6 PackerFanatic
7 Butter_of_69 tyketime
8 Celeval CU_Tiger
9 HiFiRevival samifan24
10 SuburbanRhythm Professor58
11 terpkristin Lathum

Links to look in on Round 1 Games:

F - BOARD 1: Passacaglia vs. JAG (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40532240) 0-1
F - BOARD 2: MJ4H vs. fpres (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40468601) 1/2-1/2
F - BOARD 3: johnnyshaka vs. dwardzala (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469516) 0-1
F - BOARD 4: DaddyTorgo vs. kingfc22 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40481236) 0-1
F - BOARD 5: saldana vs. Marc Vaughan (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40487316) 0-1
F - BOARD 6: TargetPractice6 vs. PackerFanatic (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40490345) 1-0
F - BOARD 7: Butter_of_69 vs. tyketime (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473605) 0-1
F - BOARD 8: Celeval vs. CU_Tiger (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40476921) 1-0
F - BOARD 9: HiFiRevival vs. samifan24 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469134) 1-0
F - BOARD 10: SuburbanRhythm vs. Professor58 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469042) 1-0
F - BOARD 11: terpkristin vs. Lathum (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473539) 0-1
F - BOARD 12: cyril vs. Radii (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40495273) 1-0

Round 2 Pairings:

F - BOARD 1: Jag vs. Celeval (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41115385) 1-0
F - BOARD 2: dwardzala vs. cyril (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41005093) 0-1
F - BOARD 3: Marc Vaughan vs. Suburban Rhythm (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41066385) 1-0
F - BOARD 4: Lathum vs. TargetPractice6 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40988852) 0-1
F - BOARD 5: tyketime vs. kingfc22 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41057088#) 1-0
F - BOARD 6: MJ4H vs. HiFiRevival (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40988735) 1-0
F - BOARD 7: fpres vs. DaddyTorgo (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41158759) 1- 0
F - BOARD 8: samifan24 vs. Passacaglia (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40993130) 0-1
F - BOARD 9: Radii vs. terpkristin (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41011025) 1-0
F - BOARD 10: Professor58 vs. johnnyshaka (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41039662) 0-1
F - BOARD 11: Kodos vs. saldana (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41282902) 1-0
F - BOARD 12: PackerFanatic vs. Butter of 69 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41093105) 0-1

what would you do, work out some kind of seeding system, or random draw where two higher rated players could end up in the first game

I'd be in, but being a total beginner, I'm probably going to get smoked all the time, sounds like most people have a fair bit of experience.

/tk

I'd be in. I'm probably like a 1500, although I've never actually played in any tournaments.

I'd be in and would probably be around a 1200.

what would you do, work out some kind of seeding system, or random draw where two higher rated players could end up in the first game

Well we would seed by estimated rating. It won't really matter too much in the end. The more accurate the rating estimates, the better the tournament will be, but it will be fair no matter what. Swiss system tournaments are pretty awesome.

I would be in, at a 500 level, though I have played a tiny bit before I don't know that I've ever won jack squat. I'm still rusty on castling even, so that's my level.

I am going to be gone for about 10 days in mid-August though, so know that going in. If that's a major problem, I'll just sit it out.

I should mention that a swiss system would probably only be the best choice if we have too many people for a straight round robin.

As for Butter, a couple of things: 1) if you have an iphone or ipod touch, there is a chess.com app you can download free to play from anywhere, 2) if not, chess.com has a vacation feature you can set so you don't time out on a game. Shouldn't be a problem. These games will be very leisurely.

As for Butter, a couple of things: 1) if you have an iphone or ipod touch, there is a chess.com app you can download free to play from anywhere, 2) if not, chess.com has a vacation feature you can set so you don't time out on a game. Shouldn't be a problem. These games will be very leisurely.

Oddly, I too will be gone for 2 weeks in mid August without internet access (BLISS!). :) Good to know that it shouldn't be an issue. Will look at chess.com when I get home and grab the app.

/tk

I'll play although I have no idea how to rank myself - I used to be half decent but haven't played in oh about 5-6 years (outside of teaching my eldest son to play) ... chuck me down at 1500 and I'll embaress myself :D

I'm in for 1000.

These games will be very leisurely.

In that case sign me up. Say 1700, I think that was about my rating long ago when I played in the odd tourney.

I'll play although I have no idea how to rank myself - I used to be half decent but haven't played in oh about 5-6 years (outside of teaching my eldest son to play) ... chuck me down at 1500 and I'll embaress myself :D

If we let you win, will you give us a sneak peek at FM2011? ;)

Tempting but I will pass. I would like to analyze the tourney games if they get posted...

I'll join in at 1400, but it's been so long since I've played that I'm not sure how accurate that is.

put me down at a 1000....i used to be pretty decent, but the rust is pretty thick

what would you do, work out some kind of seeding system, or random draw where two higher rated players could end up in the first game

To follow up for those unfamiliar with swiss system:

Say player1 is the top seend player16 is the lowest:

Round 1 pairings would be:

1-9
2-10
3-11
4-12
5-13
6-14
7-15
8-16

The pool of players is basically divided in half. The top player from the top half plays the top player from the bottom half. This is the basic idea of the swiss system.

Then, for round 2, players are divided into groups based on their results:

Players who won (let's say all the top seeds except, 5,6,7, and 8, who all drew with their opponents).

Top group (1 win each):
1,2,3,4

Middle group (1/2 point for 1 draw each):
5,6,7,8,13,14,15,16

Bottom group (0 points each):
9,10,11,12

Now, the same pairing idea happens for each of the groups: divide each group in half and pair the top of each group:

Top group:
1
2
---
3
4

Top group matches for round 2:
1-3
2-4

Middle group matches for round 2:
5
6
7
8
---
13
14
15
16

so
5-13
6-14
7-15
8-16

except that you aren't supposed to play the same player twice in a swiss, so you'd adjust it slightly to something like:
5-14
6-13
7-16
8-15

and the third group:
9
10
---
11
12

9-11
10-12

The third round you'd have more groups, but you'd keep doing the same thing.

I'll bid 1100, Bob

What, wait...we've all overbid? Then I'll bid $1

I didn't play for a long while, but have been playing semi-regularly online now, but pretty low level. So, I'll stick with 1100, figuring I can beat someone just starting out, but most likely not someone playing regularly.

This thing will definitely be going down, so if you want to sign up on chess.com and look around, it would probably be a good idea. It's a great site. If everything on there was free, it would be an amazing site. Still the correspondence type games are completely free and that's all we'd need.

So will this be played correspondence-style? Or the two players agree on a time and meet online to play?

I'm in, 1347.

Also, I'm kdonnelly007 on chess.com, so if anyone wants to send me a challenge (you can do unrated challenges, and I'm ok with that too) to practice, feel free. :)

Interested depending in start date. I would say 1000. Usefto play a lot but not for years now.

Interested depending in start date. I would say 1000. Usefto play a lot but not for years now.

That's kinda where I'm at...I just sort of assumed that I'd be better than 1000 - particularly in a setting where there's no time-pressure so I can take my time considering my moves (which I like to do).

OK. I'm in. Let's call me a 1400.

Just created my ID - tyketime.

So will this be played correspondence-style? Or the two players agree on a time and meet online to play?

Well with correspondence style, you can move as fast as you want. If you and your opponent both prefer, you can just keep moving back and forth. If you want to set up a time and just say I'll be around for a couple of hours at xyz time, then you can just get a bunch of moves in that way. And then when one of you has to go, it's not big deal at all.

I figure we will start this in a couple of days to give everyone that wants in a chance to get in.

And if someone wants to late join, they can just forfeit round 1 and get in on round 2 with the 0 point group if need be.

I'd be interested in joining. I guess I'll go with 1000 (used to play a lot but nothing more than the odd game now and then for the past several years).

I'll play...mark me down at 1000.

TK, it looks like you and I are in for several severe beatings.

All these people describing where they're at makes me think maybe I should be down at 1000 too?

TK, it looks like you and I are in for several severe beatings.

Agreed. I'm expecting nothing less. :)

I signed up at chess.com for an account, terpkristin, go figure. ;)

/tk

Id like to try...havent played in several years...wasn't real good when I did play.
But will be off the face of the earth for a week in August.

I'm probably 500 level...

Is that an entry?

What's the move time? I'd be in as well if its long enough. Same id on chess.com rated around 1650 over there.

3 days per move

I'm going to assume that's long enough and add you.

Professor58 - 500 works for me.

I'll play...mark me down at 1000.

Sorry, bumping this as I don't see my name listed in the first post. Thx!

Missed you the first time. Thanks for bumping!

So what do you say, let's start this tomorrow? I'm really happy with the turnout and I'd like to get as many people that signed up involved and playing as possible so that we don't lose momentum.

Any objections? Go ahead and sign up for an account at chess.com and get a feel for it. Let me know if you've changed your mind and want out, too.

This should be fun. I will announce the first round pairings tonight, I guess.

Oh boy - I need to sign up at chess.com

Just signed up at chess.com as Passacaglia

And added everyone who put their IDs in here as friends.

Missed you the first time. Thanks for bumping!

No worries...and signed up as johnnyshaka.

I haven't played in a long time, but it sounds like a fun idea. Put me down around 900. Will be signing up as PackerFanatic on chess.com in a few moments.

signed up on the site as saldana....will add friends later at home

Just signed up as samifan24

Yikes - I just played my first match against the computer. This could be a very quick tourney for me, lol.

The computer beat me in like 18 moves. Can i downgrade to like a 100?

Is there still time to sign up?

If so, you can count me in. I'd say 1000 would be a good rating.

sn: kingfc22

yep

The computer players (even 'easy') are actually pretty good.

I've always wanted to learn how to play chess. Maybe I'll study the rules and read some stuff on it over the next couple days. With chess.com will you guys be able to post a list of the moves you made? That'd probably help me in my journey to becoming a chessmaster.

Yes, in fact, I will probably try to do some analysis videos of some of the games in the tournament.

Here is one I made about a casual game I played with Celeval.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-m2t0vpSdjY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-m2t0vpSdjY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

I've always wanted to learn how to play chess. Maybe I'll study the rules and read some stuff on it over the next couple days. With chess.com will you guys be able to post a list of the moves you made? That'd probably help me in my journey to becoming a chessmaster.

Even better, you can go to the site and view any game there.

kdonnelly007 vs MJ4H - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40424169) is the one MJ4H did his video about. I probably resigned too soon - talked it over a bit with him later, and there may be a way out of it into a draw.

Hey Scoobz, TOTALLY join this tournament and feel free to kick my butt. :)

I started a thread about "How to get better at chess (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=78640)" and these guys gave me some tips (though I admit, work has had me so swamped I haven't had time to take advantage of any short of signing up for chess.com and downloading the iPod Touch app). I also had come across an article at Lifehacker about improving the chess game (http://lifehacker.com/5099728/sharpen-your-chess-game?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lifehacker%2Ffull+%28Lifehacker%29&utm_content=Google+Reader), which is more website-based which is easier during down time at work (for me at least)...

/tk

21 players, so if we can get one player, I'll go ahead and close it. I sent a message to CU_Tiger to confirm that his post was an entry. Is that how you guys read it, too?

I signed up at chess.com as fpres.

The computer players (even 'easy') are actually pretty good.

This

And also rather aggressive, I expected the computer 'easy' player to be pretty laid back.

Also, I am signed up, SuburbanRhythm (no space)

Are you entering the tournament HiFi?

I'll count that. With that entries are closed. Pairings will be posted soon.

Oh HiFi, can you throw me an estimated rating?

Board White Player Black Player
1 Passacaglia JAG
2 MJ4H fpres
3 johnnyshaka dwardzala
4 DaddyTorgo kingfc22
5 saldana Marc Vaughan
6 TargetPractice6 PackerFanatic
7 Butter_of_69 tyketime
8 Celeval CU_Tiger
9 HiFiRevival samifan24
10 SuburbanRhythm Professor58
11 terpkristin Lathum

You can start your matches with your opponent immediately. Please send me a link to your game in PM or in this thread and I will aggregate them here so we can keep track of them.

Make sure to choose your correct color when challenging your opponent (this is under advanced options when you create the game). I recommend the default time control, but please don't go over 3 days per move. You can set your vacation setting on if you have to go away for a long time during the tournament.

Also, it would be helpful if you can put FOFC in the name of the game you create (there's a place to name your game when you challenge your opponent). Would just make things easier since we'll know it's official.

Dude I get stuck playing the guy with the 1700 rating? Uh, I meant to say my rating was 999...

Links to look in on Round 1 Games:

MJ4H vs. fpres (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40468601)
SuburbanRhythm vs. Professor58 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469042)
HiFiRevival vs. samifan24 (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469134)
johnnyshaka vs. dwardzala (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40469516)
Butter_of_69 vs. tyketime (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473605)
terpkristin vs. Lathum (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473539)
Celeval vs CU_Tiger (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40476921)
saldana vs. Marc Vaughan (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40487316)
TargetPractice6 vs. PackerFanatic (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40490345)
cyril vs. Radii (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40495273)
Passacaglia vs. JAG (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40532240)

My username is "daddytorgo" FYI

Am I doing something wrong? I'm not able to see the second game when I hit the link for SuburbanRhythm vs Professor58.

No, it's messed up for me, too. He PM'd me the link. I replied that it didn't work for me, so hopefully it will get fixed soon.

OK the link should work now.

Yep I definitely overestimated my ability level.

ok, signed up as Lathum

hmm, tried searching for terpkristin and got nothing

Here is the link to my game v. tyketime.

I guess you can't start until the challenge is accepted.

Butter_of_69 vs tyketime - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473605)
(http://www.chess.com/echess/view_game_seek.html?id=11855891)

Fixed the link above.

Hey JAG, dunno if you signed up, but I need your ID if so. Or add me.

hmm, tried searching for terpkristin and got nothing

The member search doesn't work that well, but she is there.

i cannot seem to find marc vaughn

Try PMing him here.

Try Vaughan instead of Vaughn?

Haven't been able to get in touch with CU Tiger yet. You there? :)

i cannot seem to find marc vaughn

I'm here - will PM you ..

here now just signed up

Hey JAG, dunno if you signed up, but I need your ID if so. Or add me.

Request sent

promptly getting my azz kicked here...join in watch and laugh its fun....

lol, completely screwed up by getting the king and queen confused. Should probably pay better attention

Saldana and me seem to be having problems locating each other in chess.com - any ideas how to search for people properly (as neither him nor me can locate each other at present).

My user name is marcvaughan2 (and my real name "Marc Vaughan" is set in my profile so might also be searchable on?) if anyone else would be kind enough to try and locate me.

Go to manage friends and enter the other person's username in the add friends field. That's the best way I've found. The plain old search for user function for some reason just doesn't work.

Yeah, what MJ4H said.

I was typing names in the "Search My Friends", but that will only find people already added to your friends list.

Directly above that is "add a friend"

The search is to look thru the people already added as friends...in which case, why do you need to search for them?

saldana vs marcvaughan2 - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40487316)

link to marc and i

Anyone else having troubles getting started? I don't have links to board 1, 4, or 6 yet.

Link to targetpractice6 v. PackerFanatic - targetpractice6 vs PackerFanatic - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40490345)

i'd like to sign up too. I understood the tournament has already started and you could put me on the waiting list and have my 1st game forfeited. My chess.com id is "zerookie" and it gives me a default rating of 1200.

Well, that would be fine if we could find someone else to pair you with. I certainly don't mind adding another, but the problem would be that then we would introduce byes (someone has no opponent for a round). If we get one more late-joiner, then I will add you both.

great! since i think round 1 may last a while, hopefully there will be another latecomer. If there is none, feel free to drop me, no big deal and I don't want to bring the hassle to everyone with a bye week system.

Me and tk started. Will post the lnk when I get home.

Me and tk started. Will post the lnk when I get home.

Already got you guys linked.

Well, that would be fine if we could find someone else to pair you with. I certainly don't mind adding another, but the problem would be that then we would introduce byes (someone has no opponent for a round). If we get one more late-joiner, then I will add you both.

heh, i'm in. I was going to post the same thing as cyril and ask to be an alternate in case someone dropped out. I haven't really played since high school, I suppose I would fit at that default 1000 rating.

My chess.com ID is Radii21. I've never used the site before, just created it a few days ago to watch the matches.

if you are looking for someone, you can go to the members button on the top bar and then search members and that should help you find anyone

so i guess i will be paired with radii? If so, do we just start the game on our own, or are we supposed to wait for some kind of email invitation that gives a link to our "board"?

terpkristin vs Lathum - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40473539)

so i guess i will be paired with radii? If so, do we just start the game on our own, or are we supposed to wait for some kind of email invitation that gives a link to our "board"?

Actually, since I don't think even all of the games have started, if I can make the swiss tournament software accept this, you guys can just start a match, yes. Do it with cyril playing white (coinflip result).

edit: Yep, got it. Go ahead and start and then post a link to your game here or in a PM to me!

OK, i hope i did this right. I went to "Play" at upper left corner, clicked "Online chess" then "start new game", then I typed "radii21" in the opponent field and under advanced, i select white for myself. Done and it says something like challenge has been opened. So I can view the board, I suppose radii just need to confirm and accept the invite before the game starts, right? He doesn't need to start another game from his end, correct?

the following is the link:

Login - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/view_game_seek.html?id=11872108)

Sounds right.

Yup, I got the challenge and accepted.

I think this is the right link:

zerookie vs Radii21 - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40495273)

Any idea how the AI levels on the chess.com application roughly scale to rank/score for the site? (ie. is level 5 approximately like a 1200 rated player?) ... just wondering for the purposes of challenging people/entering tournaments etc.

Request sent

Got it. I started a game with you, but even though I'm white, I can't move yet. Maybe I need you to accept the game first?

Got it. I started a game with you, but even though I'm white, I can't move yet. Maybe I need you to accept the game first?

Yes, that's what happened with mine. Even though you're first, you can't start the game until the other person accepts the challenge.

since most of us (including myself) are newbies to the site, I thought I'd like to share this optional function with you:

conditional move - it's a big bar on the right hand side. after you moved and before your opponent moves, you could go there and set one line (for free members) to set the opponent's move that you anticipate and your automatic move. If the opponent does indeed play the way you think, the computer will automatically move your piece for you the way you prescribed.

This could be useful for forced moves, obvious piece exchanges and the like and could help you move the game along faster.

since most of us (including myself) are newbies to the site, I thought I'd like to share this optional function with you:

conditional move - it's a big bar on the right hand side. after you moved and before your opponent moves, you could go there and set one line (for free members) to set the opponent's move that you anticipate and your automatic move. If the opponent does indeed play the way you think, the computer will automatically move your piece for you the way you prescribed.

This could be useful for forced moves, obvious piece exchanges and the like and could help you move the game along faster.

Nice tip! Thanks... I didn't know that.

I think tyke and I are approaching our endgame... got a lot of moves in today. We've each wiped all the pieces out except for pawns, rooks, and the king (of course). Very entertaining, no matter how it turns out!

TargetPractice is wiping the mat with me. I made a few dumb moves in the beginning and he is taking every advantage I give him. Only a matter of time now.

Aaaand game. Yeah, letting me have a bishop and a queen-rook fork in the beginning just got you in too much of a hole. I was just content to trade pieces from that point on. Good game, though.

Alright, that's 2 games completed in round 1, and I still don't have a link to Board 1 (not sure JAG has accepted yet?).

The rest of the games are all happily underway, but a couple of people are running a bit low on time for their turns.

Time counts guys!

JAG and I have just started.

Passacaglia vs JAG_FOFC - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40532240)

Aaaand game. Yeah, letting me have a bishop and a queen-rook fork in the beginning just got you in too much of a hole. I was just content to trade pieces from that point on. Good game, though.

Yeah I suppose, heh. I need to practice up for the next tourney :)

cyril and I have finished our game. He made a couple small gains early on and if there were any holes to exploit I could not find them, and eventually he turned those small gains into bigger and bigger edges. I'm pleased that I didn't fall into any major traps and that I made him earn it at least. good game! I'm glad I got in on this.

gg radii, i thoroughly enjoyed the game with u. good luck in your next round and cheers for the latecomers for the excellent pace - we are the 3rd group to finish our game (and obviously it's not 1-2-3-checkmate)!!! yay!

Is there a way to get email notification when your opponent has moved?

Is there a way to get email notification when your opponent has moved?

I got an e-mail every couple of moves, but not for every one. Not sure how it determined when to send me one.

I think the time change may have an effect with me and TK

So I have a question about how we want to run the Tournament. Butter very reasonably offered a draw. But in looking at the position, I am two pawns up as we head further into the endgame. That's a fairly significant advantage, so the competitive side of me wants to keep playing. However... this is supposed to be a low-key fun tournament to get many of us back into playing chess again. I mean no disrespect to Butter, but I declined the Draw Offer.

So I have a dilemma. Do I keep playing it out and hope for the win? Or just take the draw and move on to Round 2?

It will be awhile before a lot of these games are finished. We can't start round 2 until all games in round 1 are finished anyway, so play it out if that's what you think is best.

Yeah, I am good either way. Frankly, me being a novice, you have the advantage right now.

I understand the decline, and it's no problem at all.

I wish I hadn't rushed my first game. I didn't realize everyone else would be moving at this pace.

So I have a question about how we want to run the Tournament. Butter very reasonably offered a draw. But in looking at the position, I am two pawns up as we head further into the endgame. That's a fairly significant advantage, so the competitive side of me wants to keep playing. However... this is supposed to be a low-key fun tournament to get many of us back into playing chess again. I mean no disrespect to Butter, but I declined the Draw Offer.

So I have a dilemma. Do I keep playing it out and hope for the win? Or just take the draw and move on to Round 2?

My game probably isn't close to over, especially considering the pace we are moving at.

Dang. Kinda wish I had signed up.

GG TK, keep practicing, you'll get better!

I held out for a while, but tyketime was able to win in the end.

Well done. A very fun game in which frankly, I was lucky to survive that long.

So I have a question about how we want to run the Tournament. Butter very reasonably offered a draw. But in looking at the position, I am two pawns up as we head further into the endgame. That's a fairly significant advantage, so the competitive side of me wants to keep playing. However... this is supposed to be a low-key fun tournament to get many of us back into playing chess again. I mean no disrespect to Butter, but I declined the Draw Offer.

So I have a dilemma. Do I keep playing it out and hope for the win? Or just take the draw and move on to Round 2?

I offered a draw to JAG just now, too. There's definitely no compulsion to take it -- in fact, the fact that it's a low-key fun tournament means we can do whatever we want and not worry about it.

Just went through and requested friends with almost everyone. Apparently there is a 20 request limit. :)

My name is KodosForPrez.

I held out for a while, but tyketime was able to win in the end.

Well done. A very fun game in which frankly, I was lucky to survive that long.

I mentioned to Butter a couple of times during the game that he had a lot of pressure on me. First his bishops hounded me, and then his rooks. I had a pawn or two advantage, but it wasn't very apparent. So I played for lots of piece exchanges to simplify the position. Once that occurred, the smaller advantage was much more noticeable. I was fortunate to then turn that into the victory.

Butter & I have agreed to chat about the game & discuss what we were thinking. THIS is why I signed up for the tournament. It's one thing to play a lot of games. It's another to analyze them and try to learn from them. And oh by the way... have FUN along the way.

So kudos to you too, Butter. And good luck in the next round!

I know this isn't the Youtube video thread, but this is one of my all time favorite skits/characters from SNL. Saw this on MSNBC, and thought it would help cheer us through the tourney:

<object width="512" height="288"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/WnbcABwQFrwyng-3aX3eOQ"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/WnbcABwQFrwyng-3aX3eOQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="288" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object>

Just went through and requested friends with almost everyone. Apparently there is a 20 request limit. :)

Mine name is KodosForPrez.

I'm doing the same thing now.

Butter & I have agreed to chat about the game & discuss what we were thinking. THIS is why I signed up for the tournament. It's one thing to play a lot of games. It's another to analyze them and try to learn from them. And oh by the way... have FUN along the way.


I've kept some rough notes along the way and I'll gladly share as well...mind you, insight from a n00b won't be and can't be that useful, can it??!! :p

I've kept some rough notes along the way and I'll gladly share as well...mind you, insight from a n00b won't be and can't be that useful, can it??!! :p

Of course it is, for a few reasons.

- Plenty of people playing are just as new
- People who are playing who aren't as new can comment on your notes and point out where you're right and where you may have gone in a different direction
- Working through your own thought process later will help you refine it

I've kept some rough notes along the way and I'll gladly share as well...mind you, insight from a n00b won't be and can't be that useful, can it??!! :p

I wish I had done that. Maybe I'll be able to reflect on this game with JAG later, but probably not as well as in-game notes would have been.

Of course it is, for a few reasons.

- Plenty of people playing are just as new
- People who are playing who aren't as new can comment on your notes and point out where you're right and where you may have gone in a different direction
- Working through your own thought process later will help you refine it

Fair enough. I guess my point is that n00bs (or least myself) play with one focus in mind...capture more of their pieces than they capture of mine. Obviously that's essentially the point of the game but executing that gameplan is the "nuts and bolts" of chess...I haven't got a clue about the "nuts and bolts" at this point. The game within game is what I need to learn because at the moment, 90% of the moves I make don't really have a defined purpose other than I don't want it to get captured.

Anyways, while I was originally put off by the slower pace I think I've actually grown to appreciate it as I've started using the analyzer and stopped playing "live chess" (even 30 minutes is not enough time at this point as I find myself agonizing over moves for 5-10 minutes at a time) so I can at least try and figure out what my opponent is trying to do.

Yeah, early on I had no real defined strategy except ATTACK!!!, but later on I tried to use the analyzer a bit more to figure out what exactly was going on and how I could best use my remaining pieces... but I think at that point it was a little too late.

What's this analyzer you guys keep talking about? When I click analyze, all that comes up is basically another window showing the gameboard -- is there something I'm missing there since I don't have flash?

What's this analyzer you guys keep talking about? When I click analyze, all that comes up is basically another window showing the gameboard -- is there something I'm missing there since I don't have flash?

You can make moves in this other window for yourself AND your opponent to try and "forecast" where the game is going, or how a set of moves might work out for you. You have to kind of guess what your opponent might do in those future moves, but it's very helpful.

You can make moves in this other window for yourself AND your opponent to try and "forecast" where the game is going, or how a set of moves might work out for you. You have to kind of guess what your opponent might do in those future moves, but it's very helpful.

Oh! I was wishing I could do that earlier! Cool, thanks!

You can make moves in this other window for yourself AND your opponent to try and "forecast" where the game is going, or how a set of moves might work out for you. You have to kind of guess what your opponent might do in those future moves, but it's very helpful.

Yes, very helpful indeed...or a big time waster!! :)

Just spent the last half an hour playing out several scenarios after dwardzala killed my last bishop!! He'll surely be going to hell for that move!! :p

Even though your next move may seem very obvious, it is always wise to take a step back and look at the entire board. Especially since we are under very generous time constraints. I used the Analysis board for almost every move. It's important to understand the following:

1. Why did your opponent make his last move?

2. Are any of your pieces threatened?

3. What's your strategy?

Once you have decided on your move. Make it on the analysis board. Then click on the "Flip Board" option. Now look from the other player's perspective. And consider what his/her next move might be. Does that change your move?

EVERY move should have a purpose. In addition to the clock, there is another concept of timing that happens. There's an inherent battle that goes on in the beginning of the match. White moves first, and thus has a slight advantage. Black responds. If white makes a move without a real purpose, you might consider that a loss of "time". Black could then be the initiator causing white to respond. This balance plays out again and again in a chess match. Think about it. If you move a piece, and then the very next turn move it back to its original position... then you may have just wasted two moves... two "beats". I'm sure the concept is much deeper than I am capable of understanding and making it out to be. The point is... as you start to understand chess. You move beyond what your next move is. You then begin to consider how you would respond to each of your opponents moves. And then how your opponent would move. The grandmasters think many levels deep before each move. I am out of practice now, but when I played more regularly, I got pretty good at thinking 3+ moves ahead (mine/yours/mine). I guess that would be considered a "club player".

Hope this helps...

The wheels are coming off over here. I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging with JAG for 30-35 moves. He was already getting an advantage by the 40s, and I just made a really dumb move, letting him take my rook for nothing, leaving pretty much no doubt that I will lose. It sucks to lose, but I expected to lose worse, so I'm feeling good about coming back in later rounds!

The wheels are coming off over here. I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging with JAG for 30-35 moves. He was already getting an advantage by the 40s, and I just made a really dumb move, letting him take my rook for nothing, leaving pretty much no doubt that I will lose. It sucks to lose, but I expected to lose worse, so I'm feeling good about coming back in later rounds!

And it's now official. Good game, JAG!

The wheels are coming off over here. I'm pretty proud of myself for hanging with JAG for 30-35 moves. He was already getting an advantage by the 40s, and I just made a really dumb move, letting him take my rook for nothing, leaving pretty much no doubt that I will lose. It sucks to lose, but I expected to lose worse, so I'm feeling good about coming back in later rounds!

You did more than just hang. After my 19th move I was expecting to resign for my 20th move. Instead of f3, had you exchanged queens you could have played nf6+ winning a rook. The beginning 19 moves were a textbook example of how to take advantage of a lead in development (and what not to do defensively).

Handshake. I'd be surprised if you didn't pick up some wins this tourney.

Thanks for the analyzer tip, wish I had known about that earlier.

I wish I had done that. Maybe I'll be able to reflect on this game with JAG later, but probably not as well as in-game notes would have been.

I'd be happy to annotate the game with my thoughts, soon as I get a bit of time. Maybe I'll just post it in the thread in case it's useful for others to see another's thought process.

You did more than just hang. After my 19th move I was expecting to resign for my 20th move. Instead of f3, had you exchanged queens you could have played nf6+ winning a rook. The beginning 19 moves were a textbook example of how to take advantage of a lead in development (and what not to do defensively).

Handshake. I'd be surprised if you didn't pick up some wins this tourney.

Thanks for the analyzer tip, wish I had known about that earlier.

Oh man! I definitely didn't notice that. I pretty much never think to exchange queens unless I have a really good reason for it. I remember at some point thinking I wanted to do nf6+, but I forget if that was before or after we exchanged queens, but you put a stop to it right after the exchange, anyway.

I'd be happy to annotate the game with my thoughts, soon as I get a bit of time. Maybe I'll just post it in the thread in case it's useful for others to see another's thought process.

That would be awesome! My thoughts are probably too scattered to annotate, but maybe I can respond to your stuff.

How many matches are still going?

I'd be happy to annotate the game with my thoughts, soon as I get a bit of time. Maybe I'll just post it in the thread in case it's useful for others to see another's thought process.

I've been toying with this idea as well. I was worried this thread would get too big, but it makes sense to keep it all in one place for us all to review.

How many matches are still going?

6 by my count...

man...king and I are playing really slow compared to some of you all.

wow....me and marc really need to pickup the pace....we are only 5 or 6 moves in.

wow....me and marc really need to pickup the pace....we are only 5 or 6 moves in.

Us too. Don't sweat it.

Yeah, no big. If anyone else wants to play a match while we wait for the rest of Round 1 to finish, feel free to challenge me! Maybe Kodos, since he's not in it?

Anyone wants to challenge me, I have the same username (including underscores) on chess.com.

I will probably challenge someone that doesn't take 3 days to respond (*cough* Marc) ;) Haha

I'll play anyone in a casual game even though my match is still going on. Feel free to match me.

Same here, I'm game for playing anyone that's looking for a game.

aight im starting a game with all yall

MJ4H killed me in our match, but Lathum and I had a pretty great back-and-forth match that I was actually able to win. He had me on the ropes pretty early, but I was able to squeak out of trouble and pin him.

Lathum vs PackerFanatic - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40575152)

If you're interested :)

Was a great match and I learned a ton, which illustrates the real beauty of chess.

I'm off to an inauspicious start, having mistook my queen for my king in my first two games. :(

I like the premium 3D wood chess pieces a lot better than the 2D ones.

I'm off to an inauspicious start, having mistook my queen for my king in my first two games. :(

I like the premium 3D wood chess pieces a lot better than the 2D ones.

I made a critical mistake in my first game because I mistook his queen for a king. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I wrote too much, but anyway, it's here if anyone gets bored and wants to try and work through the game, and Pass can hopefully give thoughts he had if he wants. I'm not editing this so if there are inaccuracies with some calculations, I apologize.

Some of the earlier comments are for newer players to understand the opening moves and some common chess terms. If everyone knows them, then sorry, skip ahead to the more in-depth comments.

1. e4

One of the more common opening moves, gives you some control over critical central squares and frees two pieces (queen and bishop, 'piece' in this context means knight/bishop/rook/queen and not pawn/king). There are numerous other alternatives here, in order of frequency seen, more often to less often, d4, Nf3, c4, g3, and so on. Almost any move could be played, but since in general the center is the most important part of the board (pieces have their greatest mobility in the center), the most frequently seen moves are those that try to establish some control over the center.

1...e5 (...is used to indicate Black's move, as opposed to . which indicates White's move)

Same idea as White. e4-e5 games are classed as open games, often with a lot of piece activity and occasionally sacrifices for both colors. Most frequently seen alternatives for black are numerous, ...c5, ...e6, ...d6, ...c6, ...Nf6 and so on.

2. Nf3

A logical move to develop a piece towards the center (iand attack black's e5 pawn. Development is the term used for moving pieces from their starting positions to a location where they can be more useful in implementing a plan and have greater mobility. In general terms you would like to develop your pieces around a plan as Pass does here (attack and control of the center). Alternatives for white are numerous, a sample would be f4, Nc3, d3,

2...Nc6

Black develops a piece and defends his e5 pawn. The other most reasonable alternatives here are Nf6 (counterattack) and d6.

3. Bb5

One of the oldest openings in chess dating back to the 15th or 16th century, again a logical move. White develops a piece and attacks the piece that is defending the e5 pawn. The most popular move for white, other alternatives seen here are Bc4, d4, Nc3, and others.

3...f5?! (chess notation tips, !! represents a winning move, ! is a strong move or best move among the options available, !? is an interesting but possibly unsound move, ?! is a dubious move with some interesting qualities, ? is a mistake, ?? is a blunder)

This move counterattacks white's central e4 pawn, but does not develop a piece and weakens the king's position. I played it because I studied it for a while and I like to surprise White with an offbeat line. Personally I don't think it's a sound move. Much more commonly seen would be ...Nf6 (also counterattacking, but developing a piece towards the center) or ...a6.

4. Nc3

An excellent response, developing a piece and protecting the attacked pawn. This is considered the main line of the opening.

4...Nd4?!

A move that was suggested by a former World Champion from the early 20th century (mind you he never played it in a serious game, so take it with a grain of salt). Again I played it because I used to be familiar with the positions that would result and it usually forces White to consider a number of tempting alternatives. e5 is no longer defended for example.

5. d3

Shores up the e4 pawn and opens a diagonal for the c1 bishop. A solid move that doesn't strive for too much, a sensible precaution in what was probably a new position for Pass. One downside is it leaves the b5 bishop under attack.

5...NxB Black wins the two bishops (in many positions two bishops will coordinate better than a bishop and knight, although there are exceptions), however at a cost of time, since this is the 3rd time in 5 moves this piece has moved.

6. BxN

6...c6 Protects the d5 square from future knight invasion with no loss of time as White has to move his knight again.

7. Nc3

7...d6 Protecting the e5 pawn (finally) and opening a diagnoal for the queen's bishop.

8. Be3 Aiming at the d4 central square.

8...Nf6 Developing towards the center, adding more pressure to the e4 pawn. I had considered ...f4, Bd2(or c1) ...g5 to acquire kingside space (in chess terms, space is usually obtained by moving pawns forward, having space gives you more freedom of movement for your pieces and removes mobility for your opponent in that sector, at a cost of weak squares (squares that can't be protected by pawns, since pawns are unable to move backwards). I was concerned about my development being a bit backwards due to the earlier knight excursion and a possible sacrifice of Nxe5!? dxe5, Qh5+ king moves, Qxe5 where f4 is difficult to defend and the king's position is vulnerable.

9. 0-0 (the designation for kingside castling, 0-0-0 would be queenside castling). Sensibly getting his king out of the center before beginning offensive operations there.

9...g6?! I had the idea of bringing the bishop to g7 to help shore up the center, but this further weakens the kingside and loses time when Black was already well behind in time.

10. d4! The right idea. When you have an advantage in development, you want to open the center because your pieces will be better able to take advantage of the open lines than your opponent.

10...fxe4 I saw the possibility of Pass' next move, but I didn't think he would submit to going down a pawn with his king's position getting weaker as a result. A wiser move was probably something like Be7, clearing the way for the king out of the center and keeping lines as closed as possible.

11. dxe5!? The next move for Black is forced as moving his knight would surrender the pawn on e4.

11...e4xNf3

12. e5xNf6

12...f3xg2

13. Kxg2? In positions like this, it's frequently useful to leave the enemy pawn at g2 as a shield for your king, since the enemy pieces can't pass through their own pawn. There is some danger in leaving such a far-advanced pawn there, but usually it's far enough from Black's army that White can count on capturing it at some point. One possibility is f7+, which forces black to lose the right to castle. Even better in my opinion would have been Re1!, which is in keeping with White's advantage in time and Black's disadvantage of having the king in the center with the center open. Then Black could not capture the f6 pawn (which is a thorn in his side) as 13. Re1 Qxf6?? 14. Bg5 discovered check (meaning the king is in check from the rook as the bishop is no longer blocking it) forces Black to lose his queen. As you will see later, the king ends up being more vulnerable in its position on g2 than it would have been on g1 with the black pawn on g2.

13...Qxf6?! Risky as Black's development is still pathetic (of the remaining pieces, only the queen has moved from the opening square, and to a vulnerable location no less), yet the f6 pawn was a hinderance (the f8 bishop cannot move to e7 or g7 because of it, two natural spots, which also forces the king to stay in the center longer) )and with one more move (Bg5 from white) could've been difficult or impossible to eliminate. Note that Black does not have to fear 14. Bd4 black queen moves 15. BxR because 14. Bd4 Qg5+ gives Black a move to remove the rook from danger (note how White's exposed king allows this tactic). Taking the pawn also seems bad however, White is threatening Re1 and Black's king is very exposed on the center file, yet cannot castle away from the center due to the f8 bishop being stuck and there being too many pieces still between the king and the queenside rook. I don't know what would have been a better solution. The other thought I had was Qd7, setting up a battery of Queen and bishop that would have allowed possibilities of Qg4 or h3 (again showing how the king is vulnerable on g2)

14. Re1! A strong move that highlights Black's weakness on the e file. The threat is Bg5+ (from the rook) and capturing the queen. At this point I got it in my head that I had to move the king instead of juxtaposing a piece on the e file (either ...Be7 or ...Be6, which also would clear the way for castling) because the piece on the e file would be vulnerable to additional pressure from the queen (Qe2). f7 looked dubious due to Ne4, queen moves, Ng5+ possibilities, while d8 would remove a protector of the d6 pawn when it was vulnerable to attack (Ne4 looming).

14...Kd7 An ugly move which blocks Black's bishop.

15. Ne4 A good move to attack the vulnerable d6 pawn with tempo (Black can only move his threatened queen in response)

15...Qf7 I think I was hoping for Ng5 Qd4+ which would reduce a good bit of pressure (when you have a lack of space, you typically want to trade pieces if you can because yours are cramped and can't move while your opponents' pieces are dangerous and have a lot of squares to go to.

16. Qd4! A great move. I had only considered Bd4 there, but Qd4 is much better since it does not block the d file pressure. This actually forces gain of material as best as I can tell. If Black tries to block the diagnoal to the rook with ...Bg7, then Qxd6+ Ke8, Nf6+! BxN, Bg5 discovered check Be7, Rxe7+ wins for White. If Black tries ...Qg7, then Nf6+ Kd8 (or Kc7?? Ne8+ wins the queen, or Ke6/7?? Bh6+! discovered check wins the queen), Bg5 looked rather unpleasant with Ne8 discovered check available the following move. Trying to I considered a lot of weird stuff here, like sacrificing the exchange trying to get something going on the weak kingside squares with something like ...Qf5, but a calm move like f3 leaves Black looking ridiculous. I'm not sure the position is salvageable for Black at this point.

16...Rg8 Removing the rook from attack by the queen.

17. Rad1! Another really impressive move. I can't say enough about Pass' moves from 10-17 (other than Kxg2). Even though Nf6+ immediately would win the exchange (the exchange is short-hand for winning a rook for either a knight or bishop, as a rook is considered a stronger piece than either in the majority of positions), the move as played adds more pressure to the d file and gets his last piece developed and into the attack. After ...d5 from Black, white just plays Nf6+ king moves, NxR, QxN, and then possibly c4 to break open the d file. Black can't protect d6 with Qe6 due to Nc5+ and winning the queen (the knight can't be captured because the pawn is pinned, if it were to capture the knight, White could take the enemy king) or Qe7 due to Bf4 and Black can't add any more defenders to d6.

17...Qd5 The only inadequate move left. Temporarily pins the knight to the enemy king (vulnerable on g2, or have I said that before?), however if White had played QxQ c6xQ, Nf6+ the rook would have been won, giving White a winning edge.

18. f3? Unfortunately letting black off the hook.

18...QxQ

19. QxQ Now black has the tempo needed to protect the f6 square.

19...Be7

20. Red1 At this point I knew the d6 pawn was falling (...d5 to get it out of its vulnerable position would fail to c4, taking advantage of the pin on the d file), so my idea was to let it go to allow my pieces some much needed breathing space.

20...Kc7 Getting out of the c8 bishop's way.

21. Bf4 Piling on the d6 pawn and pinning it from moving to ...d5. It's admirable how Pass has picked a target, forced it to become immobile (pinning it), and attacked it with all his forces.

21...Bf5 Finally activated and attacking the c2 pawn, this bishop will peacefully sit here for the next 26 moves.

22. Nxd6 Bxd6 The knight was too strong to remain in its advanced position, so I had to give up one of the two bishops, even though that means there would be bishops of opposite colors (meaning one of the two remaining bishops is on the dark squares, the second is on the light squares). Endgames with such bishops are often drawn because the opponent can set up a blockade on the color square opposite to their opponent's bishop and prevent passed pawns (passed pawns are pawns that can advance without fear from being captured by enemy pawns) from becoming queens.

23. Rxd6 Threatens Rxg3 discovered check (by the bishop), so I have to get the king out of the bishop's line.

23...Kb6

24. c4 Moving the pawn from attack and starting to weave a net around the enemy king. White's pieces continue to be very active, but since he has taken down the d6 pawn, he lacks a weakness to attack and the f5 bishop prevents the traditional rook invasion on the 7th rank (usually a great place for a rook because a number of opponent pawns are often attacked by a rook there) by guarding the d7 square. Moreover, he can't prevent Black from taking control of the e file since the f5 bishop also protects e6, where the d6 rook would otherwise be able to move. Material is even and the position is probably equal at this point.

24...Rae8 Threat of ...Rd2+ (7th rank) and ...Rxb2

25. R1d2 I prefer Kf2 which also protects the e1 square and gives white a possibility of Re1 to exchange the enemy rook.

25...Rgf8 Threat of ...Bb1, which attacks the bishop on f4 and the pawn on a2. It's not that Black doesn't expect White to see these threats, but the goal is to activate his rooks (they are clearly more active on f8 and e8 than g8 and a8) while the attacks keep White from implementing plans of his own.

26. Kg3?! Bg3 is better I believe, as it eyes a potential move to f2 and guards e1.

26...Re1 Continuing to make the rook more active by trying to attack the White queenside pawns from behind.

27. b4 Now Black has to contend with the possibility of b5 in some lines (taking advantage of the c6 pawn being pinned). If Black does not play actively now, White can play a4 Black moves, a5+ Ka6, b5+ Kxa6, bxc6 and White will have an advanced passed pawn that looks dangerous.

27...Rc1 Attacking the c4 pawn. White doesn't want to play c5 as that will give the king a safe square on b5 to move to and make b5 more difficult to play.

28. R2d4

28...Ra1 Attacking the a2 pawn

29. R4d2 Had Black played ...Ra1 immediately, we would have reached this position with White to move, so Black has won a tempo by the intermediate attack on c4.

29...Re8 Contemplating R8e1 and having both rooks behind enemy lines. The Bf5 continues to defend well from f5. Pass offered a draw here which I declined. After having been tortured earlier in the game, I was feeling much better just having reached equality!

30. R2d5? Dropping the a2 pawn. When I saw this move, I wondered if Pass was looking at 31. Rb5+!? or 31. Be5 with the idea of Bd4+ and attacking the a7 pawn. After the next move, it looks like Pass wanted to exchange rooks here, so he sacrificed a pawn to do so, perhaps knowing if he could get the bishops of opposite color endgame that his chances of a draw would increase, even a pawn down. Note the rook is invulnerable due to the pin of the c6 pawn.

30...Rxa2

31. Re5 RxR Black can't avoid the exchange without making his rook passive and allowing White's e5 rook the opportunity to get active.

32. BxR

32...Rc2 Attacking the vulnerable c4 pawn which can't be defended naturally (Rd4 Be6)

33. Bd4+ Kc7

34. c5 I really wanted to play Rc4 here, but Be5 threatens Rd4 discovered check and capturing the rook, even if the king moves out of the discovered check beforehand, White still plays Rd4 and defends since Black can't exchange rooks without going into a likely drawn endgame. What I decided I needed to do was to create a passed pawn on the queenside and advance it to tie down the enemy pieces. I figured with my king in the area and White's king farther away, there might even be a way to break through with a timely rook for bishop sacrifice. I also needed to free my king from its queenside prison.

34...b6

35. Be5 Kb7

36. cxb6?! axb6 I think this just helps Black to create the passed pawn, but normally when you want a draw you would prefer to exchange pawns instead of pieces so there is some logic to it.

37. Rd8 I liked this move as it starts to eye Rb8 with an attack on the b6 pawn which can only be defended by the king currently. If White can force ...b5, then Black will have a hard time creating a passed pawn (needing to get in the move ...c5) because White is stronger on the dark squares with a bishop of that color. At this point I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to advance on the queenside. ...Ka6 with the idea of ...Kb5 would be met by Rb8, capturing b6 if the king moves to ...b5 or forcing the ...b5 advance if White can get a timely Bc7 in.

37...Rc4 Trying to keep Black's pieces tied down to protecting b4.

38. Bd6 h5 I kept thinking Pass might try Rf8-f7+ idea and wanted to remove the pawn from a more vulnerable spot since I didn't have a clear idea how to advance yet.

39. f4?! While f3 was potentially weak and perhaps f4 couldn't have been prevented long-term, playing it without necessity wasn't needed. Potentially makes h2 vulnerable since the White pieces can't easily defend it.

39...Ka6 Still can't make progress because ...Kb5, Rb8 and Black can't sacrifice Rook for bishop and pawn because ...Rxb4?! is met by Bxb4 Kxb4, Rxb6+ and Black only has B + 1 pawn for the rook, which might be enough to win with the White king a ways away, but it would be risky. I expected Ra8+ Kb7, Rb8+ Ka7.

40. Kh4? The bishop now gets overloaded with defensive assignments (f4 and b4 need its help watching).

40...Rd4! This pin allows Black to create a queenside passed pawn, as well as tying down White's rook to the defense of his bishop (if 41. Ra8+ Kb7 42. Rb8+ Ka7, either the rook has to go back to d8 to protect the bishop or the bishop has to move away from the defense of the b4 pawn). I also considered ...Rc3 with the idea of ...Rh3+ and Rxh2, which should win the h pawn and give Black a passed h pawn. However, with the pressure off the b4 pawn, White can attack b6 with Rb8 and Bc7, forcing ...b5 and making it difficult to impossible to create a passed queenside pawn and keeping the king hemmed in. Lastly, I figured it made more sense to force a passed queenside pawn because Black's king can help it advance and White's is farther away, whereas the opposite would be true on the kingside.

41. Kg5

41...c5 Now if 42. bxc5 bxc5 43. Bxc5?? RxR would win for Black.

42. Bc7?

42...Rxb4? While this allows connected passed pawns (stronger than a single passed pawn), Black misses a forced winning sequence with 42...RxR 43. BxR c5xb4 44. Bf6 (Kf6?? b3 and the pawn queens) b3 45. Bb2 Kb5 46. Kf6 Kc4 47.Ke5 Kd3 followed by ...Kc2 and White will have to give up bishop for pawn. Now Black has an advantage but White can still create technical difficulties.

43. Rb8 Rb2

44. h3 (h4 would've been preferable though Black can't capture at the moment without losing the b6 pawn anyway)

44...c4

45. Be5 Rb3 (this is why h4 would've been better)

46. h4 this loses the rook or bishop for the c2 pawn by force.

46...c3 White can only forestall the pawn with Ra8+ Kb4, Ra1 but after ...b2, Black threatens ...Rb8 and queening the pawn. So White's best is Bxc3, but with a bishop and pawn advantage, Black should be able to force the win with little difficulty.

47. Rc8

47...Bxc8 (finally the bishop gets a move).

48. Kxg6 c2, 49.Kxh5 c1=Q 50. f5 Qg1 51. f6 Bf5 52. f7 Qg6# 0-1 (checkmate, also 0-1 indicates a Black win, 1-0 indicates a White win, 1/2-1/2 is a draw)

JAG, that's awesome. I'll post my comments after I finish up some work here.

I made a critical mistake in my first game because I mistook his queen for a king. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I forgot the classic "Queen Goes On Her Own Color" rule. :) They really could do a better job of labeling them. Maybe something where if you hover over a piece it says what it is. Obviously, this is probably only a problem for kings and queens.

7 games finished, 5 to go. You can follow the action in post 1 of the thread, if you haven't noticed. Results are posted there, links to all the games are there. It's the most reliable place to get updates.

I think we're nearing the end in my match with dwardzala as he's got my king running for its life.

I don't intend to spoil anyone's fun but obviously I have not thought about this before - the progression of the tournament is decided by the the match that takes the longest to finish at each round. A week on and some games are still in the opening stage. At this pace, we may not see the end until thanksgiving. Is there any provision to address this, or do we just let the tournament run at its natural pace?

I'd have thought that the play-by-mail approach of chess.com suits itself to a league competition myself?

I don't intend to spoil anyone's fun but obviously I have not thought about this before - the progression of the tournament is decided by the the match that takes the longest to finish at each round. A week on and some games are still in the opening stage. At this pace, we may not see the end until thanksgiving. Is there any provision to address this, or do we just let the tournament run at its natural pace?

I think it's called the patience provision. :p

I don't intend to spoil anyone's fun but obviously I have not thought about this before - the progression of the tournament is decided by the the match that takes the longest to finish at each round. A week on and some games are still in the opening stage. At this pace, we may not see the end until thanksgiving. Is there any provision to address this, or do we just let the tournament run at its natural pace?

I've just kept busy playing other opponents, who based on the pace of this weekend have a much more active social life than I do.

Good game johnnyshaka, you fought well to the end and probably will pick up a couple of wins in this tourney.

I may provide some analysis later, but I am not the best at explaining why I do something and certainly can't always figure out if it was a good move or not.

1. e4

One of the more common opening moves, gives you some control over critical central squares and frees two pieces (queen and bishop, 'piece' in this context means knight/bishop/rook/queen and not pawn/king). There are numerous other alternatives here, in order of frequency seen, more often to less often, d4, Nf3, c4, g3, and so on. Almost any move could be played, but since in general the center is the most important part of the board (pieces have their greatest mobility in the center), the most frequently seen moves are those that try to establish some control over the center.


Yep, pretty much my only opening move. I've tried some other "interesting" starts, but I always like being able to get a bishop and a queen out without having to waste too many moves on pawns. JAG mentions it later, but he's really right about timing, and that's especially important in the beginning -- the first few moves are all about getting your pieces developed (meaning involved in the action somehow).

1...e5 (...is used to indicate Black's move, as opposed to . which indicates White's move)

Same idea as White. e4-e5 games are classed as open games, often with a lot of piece activity and occasionally sacrifices for both colors. Most frequently seen alternatives for black are numerous, ...c5, ...e6, ...d6, ...c6, ...Nf6 and so on.


Always my first move as black as well.


2. Nf3

A logical move to develop a piece towards the center (iand attack black's e5 pawn. Development is the term used for moving pieces from their starting positions to a location where they can be more useful in implementing a plan and have greater mobility. In general terms you would like to develop your pieces around a plan as Pass does here (attack and control of the center). Alternatives for white are numerous, a sample would be f4, Nc3, d3,


Yep. At the beginning of the game, I'm thinking -- develop pieces and control the center.

2...Nc6

Black develops a piece and defends his e5 pawn. The other most reasonable alternatives here are Nf6 (counterattack) and d6.

3. Bb5

One of the oldest openings in chess dating back to the 15th or 16th century, again a logical move. White develops a piece and attacks the piece that is defending the e5 pawn. The most popular move for white, other alternatives seen here are Bc4, d4, Nc3, and others.


I don't usually do openings, but in this game I looked up a common one -- Ruy Lopez -- and used it for this game. I've never been able to really understand openings since they tell you how the game is supposed to start for both sides, and uh, I can only control one side. So I followed it until JAG stopped doing what he was supposed to, which was probably the move right after this.


3...f5?! (chess notation tips, !! represents a winning move, ! is a strong move or best move among the options available, !? is an interesting but possibly unsound move, ?! is a dubious move with some interesting qualities, ? is a mistake, ?? is a blunder)

This move counterattacks white's central e4 pawn, but does not develop a piece and weakens the king's position. I played it because I studied it for a while and I like to surprise White with an offbeat line. Personally I don't think it's a sound move. Much more commonly seen would be ...Nf6 (also counterattacking, but developing a piece towards the center) or ...a6.


I think it's a fine move -- you've got your knight defending it, but there's also a potential for your knight to get pinned if you move your queen pawn up. So it gets to be a lot to keep track of in terms of what is defending what.


4. Nc3

An excellent response, developing a piece and protecting the attacked pawn. This is considered the main line of the opening.

4...Nd4?!

A move that was suggested by a former World Champion from the early 20th century (mind you he never played it in a serious game, so take it with a grain of salt). Again I played it because I used to be familiar with the positions that would result and it usually forces White to consider a number of tempting alternatives. e5 is no longer defended for example.


I love getting that knight in the thick of things when I can, since it's usually pretty easy to get him in the middle and have a pawn defending him. I don't think I noticed that about e5 not being defended -- I wonder what would have happened if I took the pawn there.

5. d3

Shores up the e4 pawn and opens a diagonal for the c1 bishop. A solid move that doesn't strive for too much, a sensible precaution in what was probably a new position for Pass. One downside is it leaves the b5 bishop under attack.


Yeah, pretty much what I was going for -- a way to get my other bishop out.

5...NxB Black wins the two bishops (in many positions two bishops will coordinate better than a bishop and knight, although there are exceptions), however at a cost of time, since this is the 3rd time in 5 moves this piece has moved.

6. BxN


I wasn't sure what to make of that move, but in the end, I think I was just glad that the carnage stopped there.


6...c6 Protects the d5 square from future knight invasion with no loss of time as White has to move his knight again.

7. Nc3

7...d6 Protecting the e5 pawn (finally) and opening a diagnoal for the queen's bishop.

8. Be3 Aiming at the d4 central square.

8...Nf6 Developing towards the center, adding more pressure to the e4 pawn. I had considered ...f4, Bd2(or c1) ...g5 to acquire kingside space (in chess terms, space is usually obtained by moving pawns forward, having space gives you more freedom of movement for your pieces and removes mobility for your opponent in that sector, at a cost of weak squares (squares that can't be protected by pawns, since pawns are unable to move backwards). I was concerned about my development being a bit backwards due to the earlier knight excursion and a possible sacrifice of Nxe5!? dxe5, Qh5+ king moves, Qxe5 where f4 is difficult to defend and the king's position is vulnerable.


It would have really thrown me off my game to have to do Bd2, I think. Plus, I'm not sure I would have thought about bringing the queen out for Qh5+ really -- I'm probably too hesitant to bring out the queen in general these days.


9. 0-0 (the designation for kingside castling, 0-0-0 would be queenside castling). Sensibly getting his king out of the center before beginning offensive operations there.


I suppose -- I looked at as not really seeing any avenues for attack at the time, so I might as well get the king out of the way then.


9...g6?! I had the idea of bringing the bishop to g7 to help shore up the center, but this further weakens the kingside and loses time when Black was already well behind in time.

10. d4! The right idea. When you have an advantage in development, you want to open the center because your pieces will be better able to take advantage of the open lines than your opponent.


The chess.com computer analysis (which you can run after the game is over) says this was the first mistake by either of us. They liked exf5 instead.

10...fxe4 I saw the possibility of Pass' next move, but I didn't think he would submit to going down a pawn with his king's position getting weaker as a result. A wiser move was probably something like Be7, clearing the way for the king out of the center and keeping lines as closed as possible.

11. dxe5!? The next move for Black is forced as moving his knight would surrender the pawn on e4.

11...e4xNf3

12. e5xNf6

12...f3xg2

13. Kxg2? In positions like this, it's frequently useful to leave the enemy pawn at g2 as a shield for your king, since the enemy pieces can't pass through their own pawn. There is some danger in leaving such a far-advanced pawn there, but usually it's far enough from Black's army that White can count on capturing it at some point. One possibility is f7+, which forces black to lose the right to castle. Even better in my opinion would have been Re1!, which is in keeping with White's advantage in time and Black's disadvantage of having the king in the center with the center open. Then Black could not capture the f6 pawn (which is a thorn in his side) as 13. Re1 Qxf6?? 14. Bg5 discovered check (meaning the king is in check from the rook as the bishop is no longer blocking it) forces Black to lose his queen. As you will see later, the king ends up being more vulnerable in its position on g2 than it would have been on g1 with the black pawn on g2.


Yep, the chess.com computer analysis agrees with you. They said Re1 would have been better, which luckily I did think to do later. But man, it's scary to let that pawn sit right next to the king so close to the last rank, even if thinking about it, yeah, it's not likely to actually reach the last rank at that point.

13...Qxf6?! Risky as Black's development is still pathetic (of the remaining pieces, only the queen has moved from the opening square, and to a vulnerable location no less), yet the f6 pawn was a hinderance (the f8 bishop cannot move to e7 or g7 because of it, two natural spots, which also forces the king to stay in the center longer) )and with one more move (Bg5 from white) could've been difficult or impossible to eliminate. Note that Black does not have to fear 14. Bd4 black queen moves 15. BxR because 14. Bd4 Qg5+ gives Black a move to remove the rook from danger (note how White's exposed king allows this tactic). Taking the pawn also seems bad however, White is threatening Re1 and Black's king is very exposed on the center file, yet cannot castle away from the center due to the f8 bishop being stuck and there being too many pieces still between the king and the queenside rook. I don't know what would have been a better solution. The other thought I had was Qd7, setting up a battery of Queen and bishop that would have allowed possibilities of Qg4 or h3 (again showing how the king is vulnerable on g2)


This seemed like a no-brainer to me, taking a pawn and getting the queen out there in space with my king.

14. Re1! A strong move that highlights Black's weakness on the e file. The threat is Bg5+ (from the rook) and capturing the queen. At this point I got it in my head that I had to move the king instead of juxtaposing a piece on the e file (either ...Be7 or ...Be6, which also would clear the way for castling) because the piece on the e file would be vulnerable to additional pressure from the queen (Qe2). f7 looked dubious due to Ne4, queen moves, Ng5+ possibilities, while d8 would remove a protector of the d6 pawn when it was vulnerable to attack (Ne4 looming).

14...Kd7 An ugly move which blocks Black's bishop.


This move definitely worked wonders for me -- the e file is usually not clear enough for it to work like that, though. The computer analysis suggest Kd8 for you, which at least doesn't block the bishop.

15. Ne4 A good move to attack the vulnerable d6 pawn with tempo (Black can only move his threatened queen in response)

15...Qf7 I think I was hoping for Ng5 Qd4+ which would reduce a good bit of pressure (when you have a lack of space, you typically want to trade pieces if you can because yours are cramped and can't move while your opponents' pieces are dangerous and have a lot of squares to go to.

16. Qd4! A great move. I had only considered Bd4 there, but Qd4 is much better since it does not block the d file pressure. This actually forces gain of material as best as I can tell. If Black tries to block the diagnoal to the rook with ...Bg7, then Qxd6+ Ke8, Nf6+! BxN, Bg5 discovered check Be7, Rxe7+ wins for White. If Black tries ...Qg7, then Nf6+ Kd8 (or Kc7?? Ne8+ wins the queen, or Ke6/7?? Bh6+! discovered check wins the queen), Bg5 looked rather unpleasant with Ne8 discovered check available the following move. Trying to I considered a lot of weird stuff here, like sacrificing the exchange trying to get something going on the weak kingside squares with something like ...Qf5, but a calm move like f3 leaves Black looking ridiculous. I'm not sure the position is salvageable for Black at this point.

16...Rg8 Removing the rook from attack by the queen.

17. Rad1! Another really impressive move. I can't say enough about Pass' moves from 10-17 (other than Kxg2). Even though Nf6+ immediately would win the exchange (the exchange is short-hand for winning a rook for either a knight or bishop, as a rook is considered a stronger piece than either in the majority of positions), the move as played adds more pressure to the d file and gets his last piece developed and into the attack. After ...d5 from Black, white just plays Nf6+ king moves, NxR, QxN, and then possibly c4 to break open the d file. Black can't protect d6 with Qe6 due to Nc5+ and winning the queen (the knight can't be captured because the pawn is pinned, if it were to capture the knight, White could take the enemy king) or Qe7 due to Bf4 and Black can't add any more defenders to d6.

17...Qd5 The only inadequate move left. Temporarily pins the knight to the enemy king (vulnerable on g2, or have I said that before?), however if White had played QxQ c6xQ, Nf6+ the rook would have been won, giving White a winning edge.

18. f3? Unfortunately letting black off the hook.


In chat, JAG mentioned that he thought I should have taken his queen first, then after he took mine, moved my knight to put him in check, then take his rook after he moved his king. That definitely would have been the better move here, but I'm usually afraid to exchange queens for some reason, so I didn't even consider it.


18...QxQ

19. QxQ Now black has the tempo needed to protect the f6 square.

19...Be7

20. Red1 At this point I knew the d6 pawn was falling (...d5 to get it out of its vulnerable position would fail to c4, taking advantage of the pin on the d file), so my idea was to let it go to allow my pieces some much needed breathing space.

20...Kc7 Getting out of the c8 bishop's way.

21. Bf4 Piling on the d6 pawn and pinning it from moving to ...d5. It's admirable how Pass has picked a target, forced it to become immobile (pinning it), and attacked it with all his forces.


Well you kept making it hard to take! And I know it's just a pawn, but with it sitting in front of the king, it was kind of a shoot the moon thing, hoping I could get a lot out of it. I was feeling really confident right about now -- even though I was down a pawn, I had all my pieces really involved in the action and controlling the center.

21...Bf5 Finally activated and attacking the c2 pawn, this bishop will peacefully sit here for the next 26 moves.

No reason to have ever moved it -- that bishop was a thorn in my side that whole time, until (spoiler alert) I accidentally moved my rook in its path.

22. Nxd6 Bxd6 The knight was too strong to remain in its advanced position, so I had to give up one of the two bishops, even though that means there would be bishops of opposite colors (meaning one of the two remaining bishops is on the dark squares, the second is on the light squares). Endgames with such bishops are often drawn because the opponent can set up a blockade on the color square opposite to their opponent's bishop and prevent passed pawns (passed pawns are pawns that can advance without fear from being captured by enemy pawns) from becoming queens.

23. Rxd6 Threatens Rxg3 discovered check (by the bishop), so I have to get the king out of the bishop's line.

23...Kb6

For some reason, I didn't think you'd want to move your King out there, but that really let you sidestep the focus of my attack, and as a result you came out better in that exchange. If I had thought of it from your point of view, maybe I should have realized that was the best move for you.

24. c4 Moving the pawn from attack and starting to weave a net around the enemy king. White's pieces continue to be very active, but since he has taken down the d6 pawn, he lacks a weakness to attack and the f5 bishop prevents the traditional rook invasion on the 7th rank (usually a great place for a rook because a number of opponent pawns are often attacked by a rook there) by guarding the d7 square. Moreover, he can't prevent Black from taking control of the e file since the f5 bishop also protects e6, where the d6 rook would otherwise be able to move. Material is even and the position is probably equal at this point.

This is pretty much me throwing my hands in the air and saying I have nothing better to do, so maybe I'll push up some pawns and see what happens.

24...Rae8 Threat of ...Rd2+ (7th rank) and ...Rxb2

25. R1d2 I prefer Kf2 which also protects the e1 square and gives white a possibility of Re1 to exchange the enemy rook.

25...Rgf8 Threat of ...Bb1, which attacks the bishop on f4 and the pawn on a2. It's not that Black doesn't expect White to see these threats, but the goal is to activate his rooks (they are clearly more active on f8 and e8 than g8 and a8) while the attacks keep White from implementing plans of his own.

26. Kg3?! Bg3 is better I believe, as it eyes a potential move to f2 and guards e1.

Good advice for me with both moves -- I think once I stopped attacking and let you go on the offensive, I got a lot more cautious.

26...Re1 Continuing to make the rook more active by trying to attack the White queenside pawns from behind.

27. b4 Now Black has to contend with the possibility of b5 in some lines (taking advantage of the c6 pawn being pinned). If Black does not play actively now, White can play a4 Black moves, a5+ Ka6, b5+ Kxa6, bxc6 and White will have an advanced passed pawn that looks dangerous.

I was really hoping to do something with that pin, but never could get anything to work for it.

27...Rc1 Attacking the c4 pawn. White doesn't want to play c5 as that will give the king a safe square on b5 to move to and make b5 more difficult to play.

28. R2d4

28...Ra1 Attacking the a2 pawn

29. R4d2 Had Black played ...Ra1 immediately, we would have reached this position with White to move, so Black has won a tempo by the intermediate attack on c4.


It was around here that I offered JAG a draw, which he declined. We were even on material, and I had lost my advantage, and I was expecting to lose, so I would have been over the moon with a draw. But JAG was probably expecting to win, and realized that he was gaining an advantage, so it made sense for him to decline.


29...Re8 Contemplating R8e1 and having both rooks behind enemy lines. The Bf5 continues to defend well from f5. Pass offered a draw here which I declined. After having been tortured earlier in the game, I was feeling much better just having reached equality!

Well if you were feeling so much better just having reached equality, you should have taken the draw? :p Truth was, I knew I would blow it at this point.

30. R2d5? Dropping the a2 pawn. When I saw this move, I wondered if Pass was looking at 31. Rb5+!? or 31. Be5 with the idea of Bd4+ and attacking the a7 pawn. After the next move, it looks like Pass wanted to exchange rooks here, so he sacrificed a pawn to do so, perhaps knowing if he could get the bishops of opposite color endgame that his chances of a draw would increase, even a pawn down. Note the rook is invulnerable due to the pin of the c6 pawn.

Yeah, I was looking at Rb5, then Ra5, then c5 -- or if not that, some kind of havoc-causing involving Rb5.

30...Rxa2

31. Re5 RxR Black can't avoid the exchange without making his rook passive and allowing White's e5 rook the opportunity to get active.

32. BxR

Thinking about the way I would have played it if I were you, I would have moved my rook out of the way to avoid exchanging -- which is why I liked making this move from my end (especially once I realized Ra5 couldn't happen). I not only need to be more aggressive about exchanging, but realizing my opponent will be, too.

32...Rc2 Attacking the vulnerable c4 pawn which can't be defended naturally (Rd4 Be6)

33. Bd4+ Kc7

34. c5 I really wanted to play Rc4 here, but Be5 threatens Rd4 discovered check and capturing the rook, even if the king moves out of the discovered check beforehand, White still plays Rd4 and defends since Black can't exchange rooks without going into a likely drawn endgame. What I decided I needed to do was to create a passed pawn on the queenside and advance it to tie down the enemy pieces. I figured with my king in the area and White's king farther away, there might even be a way to break through with a timely rook for bishop sacrifice. I also needed to free my king from its queenside prison.

34...b6

35. Be5 Kb7

36. cxb6?! axb6 I think this just helps Black to create the passed pawn, but normally when you want a draw you would prefer to exchange pawns instead of pieces so there is some logic to it.

I think you're right. I really didn't have much idea what to do at this point, and was hoping that clearing the board would make it simpler.

37. Rd8 I liked this move as it starts to eye Rb8 with an attack on the b6 pawn which can only be defended by the king currently. If White can force ...b5, then Black will have a hard time creating a passed pawn (needing to get in the move ...c5) because White is stronger on the dark squares with a bishop of that color. At this point I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to advance on the queenside. ...Ka6 with the idea of ...Kb5 would be met by Rb8, capturing b6 if the king moves to ...b5 or forcing the ...b5 advance if White can get a timely Bc7 in.

37...Rc4 Trying to keep Black's pieces tied down to protecting b4.

38. Bd6 h5 I kept thinking Pass might try Rf8-f7+ idea and wanted to remove the pawn from a more vulnerable spot since I didn't have a clear idea how to advance yet.

I was still looking at Rb8 eventually, but moved the bishop to protect the pawn just in case. Maybe I should have just done Rb8 then, but since I hadn't done b5 yet, I didn't really see any options after you moved ...Ka7.

39. f4?! While f3 was potentially weak and perhaps f4 couldn't have been prevented long-term, playing it without necessity wasn't needed. Potentially makes h2 vulnerable since the White pieces can't easily defend it.

39...Ka6 Still can't make progress because ...Kb5, Rb8 and Black can't sacrifice Rook for bishop and pawn because ...Rxb4?! is met by Bxb4 Kxb4, Rxb6+ and Black only has B + 1 pawn for the rook, which might be enough to win with the White king a ways away, but it would be risky. I expected Ra8+ Kb7, Rb8+ Ka7.

40. Kh4? The bishop now gets overloaded with defensive assignments (f4 and b4 need its help watching).

My goal here was to attack the pawn at g6, but I think I spaced on the fact that the bishop was protecting it.

40...Rd4! This pin allows Black to create a queenside passed pawn, as well as tying down White's rook to the defense of his bishop (if 41. Ra8+ Kb7 42. Rb8+ Ka7, either the rook has to go back to d8 to protect the bishop or the bishop has to move away from the defense of the b4 pawn). I also considered ...Rc3 with the idea of ...Rh3+ and Rxh2, which should win the h pawn and give Black a passed h pawn. However, with the pressure off the b4 pawn, White can attack b6 with Rb8 and Bc7, forcing ...b5 and making it difficult to impossible to create a passed queenside pawn and keeping the king hemmed in. Lastly, I figured it made more sense to force a passed queenside pawn because Black's king can help it advance and White's is farther away, whereas the opposite would be true on the kingside.

Really not going well for me at this point, and it was a matter of time I think by here.

My apologies to the guys I've been playing with. I've been sick the past few days, and lost track of things.

Also, gotta say I am feeling extremely rusty. Not much of the strategy has stuck with me in the years since I last played.

Good game johnnyshaka, you fought well to the end and probably will pick up a couple of wins in this tourney.

I may provide some analysis later, but I am not the best at explaining why I do something and certainly can't always figure out if it was a good move or not.

Thanks, dwardzala...you're too kind! :)

You didn't make any mistakes and you capitalized on every single one of mine. Well done.

Not making excuses, but a few of the blunders later in the game were probably a result of not taking enough time to think everything out. I just have to have the discipline to slow down and think things out and I should improve.

Here are my "notes" for my round one match against dwardzala. Feel free to nit pick as I'm happy to hear any constructive criticism.

Don't have a clue what I'm doing with the opening but it is what it is...an opening.

After getting my knight over to a4 I made my first "major" blunder of the match by taking his pawn at c5 without seeing his bishop waiting in the wings...very, very lame move on my part.

After trading a knight for a pawn I did my best to settle down and not lose my focus. Not sure what I'm really focused on at this point because I have no idea about tactics or strategies. No more obviously dumb moves...that is my focus.

Black controls the middle of the board with a couple of pawns occupying some prime real estate and he's got his knights and a bishop out on patrol while we've got several pawns pushing forward but with little else in terms of an offensive.

Again, lost focus and foolishly gave away a pawn for no reason at all. We're on our heels at this point as it seems every move black makes we're forced to run around like we're starring in an episode of Benny Hill.

Finally made a bit of an offensive move by threatening his knight and rook with my bishop. Black activated his queen and quickly turned my offensive into a rather poor defensive effort. We ended up trading a knight for a bishop and then sacrificing our queens.

After the dust settled our end looks like a war zone...pawns strewn all over the place and our king sitting in the middle of the board rather open, too. Black still has some semblance of a strategy in mind and has his king well covered.

The middle of the board is starting to get clogged up and it feels like a big battle is about to take place as we're fighting to keep e4 and they are doing their damnedest to take it away from us. What's left of the big guns on either side have been mobilized but who will take the first shot?

Black fires the first shot with move 22 and takes my bishop with his knight. His knight is now in position to take my only remaining knight as well as one of my rooks. I have two options to remove his knight...my own knight or my king. I could take his pawn at f5 (actually where I thought the action would take place) but that seems to be less important at the moment.

After looking at things a little more closely, seems like he wants to get his c8 rook involved and likely takes my pawn at c4 after I remove his knight. He would then be in position to either exchange rooks but that really doesn't make a ton of sense on his part.

I just don't see what he's up to unless he's just trying to de-clutter the board a little bit by making a few exchanges as I'm not seeing any glaring holes where I could get caught with my pants down.

Doesn't seem like there is any advantage or disadvantage to using my knight or king to take down his threatening knight so I think I'll keep my knight where it is...focused on e4...and use my king.

Black had a choice to take c4, e4 or g4 and chose the former and put me in check. I've got three options...king, p3, or knight. I've run all the options a few times and really can't see where Black is trying to go with this because unless I make a really boneheaded move (very possible) nothing is really going to get accomplished unless he's willing to exchange a better piece for a pawn essentially evening things up.

Using my knight would create a little standoff in that I would have one of his rooks in my sights but would have to be willing to trade off...something I would probably do. He could retreat his rook or go balls to the wall and take out f3 and immediately lose said rook...not likely. I could pressure his other rook which could end up in him taking a pawn of mine but losing a bishop while we exchange rooks...again, not likely.

If I go with my pawn then I'm leaving my already fractured pawn structure in even worse shape as none of them will be supporting each other and essentially making it easier for Black to pick them off at his convenience.

Moving my king even further up the board seems very risky so knight it is.

After putting some pressure on his white bishop he moved it to a spot with better cover but also manages to limit the movement of my knight as well put himself in good position to mount a pretty good offensive. In other words, I'm in a pretty good pickle at the moment.

I could threaten his black bishop with my rook but if he makes the move I think he would my knight would be under siege and would be forced to hide him again. I could use a pawn to do the same but that would leave another pawn open for an easy take down.

My other option is to move my h pawn up to support my knight against what I think black will do next, bd8...putting my knight in harms way. Then I can move my knight into a position to force his rook to retreat for the time being.

The end is near as black has all his pieces applying pressure. His next move is likely d3 (and as I'm typing this note that is exactly what he did) forcing my king to the first row. Oh boy.

Running for my life right now and my only hope is if black makes a mistake in haste...but that isn't likely.

I didn't understand black's move to move his rook up two spots...but I'm sure it'll become apparent shortly.

I chose to pressure his bishop with a p5. If he doesn't take my pawn I'll take his bishop leaving me an opportunity to mess with his king a little before my flame is extinguished.

I am not great at analysis and usually don't follow my own advice of make every move with a purpose

Here are my "notes" for my round one match against dwardzala. Feel free to nit pick as I'm happy to hear any constructive criticism.

Don't have a clue what I'm doing with the opening but it is what it is...an opening.

I played Sicilian Defense here. It is a good counterattacking defense against the e4 opening. During the opening, the intent is to get your pieces (e.g. knight, bishop, etc.) developed as quickly as possible. I don't like your second move to f3 because it blocks your knight in and doesn't really develop a piece. Developing your knight to the edge of the board (move 4) is also not good as he does control as many squares as he would if he were developed toward the center.

After getting my knight over to a4 I made my first "major" blunder of the match by taking his pawn at c5 without seeing his bishop waiting in the wings...very, very lame move on my part.

After trading a knight for a pawn I did my best to settle down and not lose my focus. Not sure what I'm really focused on at this point because I have no idea about tactics or strategies. No more obviously dumb moves...that is my focus.

The recommended move here is to pin my knight to my king with Bb5.

Having a plan is so important. It needs to be more than just trying to take more pieces. My plan was to try to control the center of the board and develop an attack on one of the two flanks, depending on which side you castled to (which didn't happen).

Black controls the middle of the board with a couple of pawns occupying some prime real estate and he's got his knights and a bishop out on patrol while we've got several pawns pushing forward but with little else in terms of an offensive.

Again, lost focus and foolishly gave away a pawn for no reason at all. We're on our heels at this point as it seems every move black makes we're forced to run around like we're starring in an episode of Benny Hill.

When a player can develop pieces and attack his opponents pieces at the same time, he is doing double damage. He is developing a piece while forcing his opponent to react and forcing his opponent to lose time because he is not developing a piece.

Finally made a bit of an offensive move by threatening his knight and rook with my bishop. Black activated his queen and quickly turned my offensive into a rather poor defensive effort. We ended up trading a knight for a bishop and then sacrificing our queens.

After the dust settled our end looks like a war zone...pawns strewn all over the place and our king sitting in the middle of the board rather open, too. Black still has some semblance of a strategy in mind and has his king well covered.

The middle of the board is starting to get clogged up and it feels like a big battle is about to take place as we're fighting to keep e4 and they are doing their damnedest to take it away from us. What's left of the big guns on either side have been mobilized but who will take the first shot?

I made a strategic error here. Being up a piece I should not have closed the position here with d4. The analysis recommended dxe which is the typical line for the Sicilian.

Moves 10 for both of us were weak. Your knight retreating to h3 cost you tempo. I failed to capture it and weaken your kingside pawn structure. I contemplated that move, but felt I would be giving you an open file for your rook to attack my fortress on the kingside where I planned to castle to. Your move to c4 gave me the b pawn, but you countered nicely with a skewer on my knight and rook (which I missed). The analysis indicated I shouldn't have traded queens, but being a piece up I felt I had a better position without the queens on the board.

Black fires the first shot with move 22 and takes my bishop with his knight. His knight is now in position to take my only remaining knight as well as one of my rooks. I have two options to remove his knight...my own knight or my king. I could take his pawn at f5 (actually where I thought the action would take place) but that seems to be less important at the moment.

After looking at things a little more closely, seems like he wants to get his c8 rook involved and likely takes my pawn at c4 after I remove his knight. He would then be in position to either exchange rooks but that really doesn't make a ton of sense on his part.

I just don't see what he's up to unless he's just trying to de-clutter the board a little bit by making a few exchanges as I'm not seeing any glaring holes where I could get caught with my pants down.

I fumbled around quite a bit here. Closing the position limited both our mobility and I couldn't seem to make up my mind on where to attack. Originally I wanted the c pawn then it looked like maybe I could get the e pawn. With all the tension in the center, I decided I needed to break it by taking the bishop. The analysis suggested I was better off with fxe.

Doesn't seem like there is any advantage or disadvantage to using my knight or king to take down his threatening knight so I think I'll keep my knight where it is...focused on e4...and use my king.

The white king is way out there now. I don't like to keep a king in the center of the board like that – a little too close to the action for my taste. It did allow you to keep you knight in position to protect e4 and g4.

Black had a choice to take c4, e4 or g4 and chose the former and put me in check. I've got three options...king, p3, or knight. I've run all the options a few times and really can't see where Black is trying to go with this because unless I make a really boneheaded move (very possible) nothing is really going to get accomplished unless he's willing to exchange a better piece for a pawn essentially evening things up.

Using my knight would create a little standoff in that I would have one of his rooks in my sights but would have to be willing to trade off...something I would probably do. He could retreat his rook or go balls to the wall and take out f3 and immediately lose said rook...not likely. I could pressure his other rook which could end up in him taking a pawn of mine but losing a bishop while we exchange rooks...again, not likely.

If I go with my pawn then I'm leaving my already fractured pawn structure in even worse shape as none of them will be supporting each other and essentially making it easier for Black to pick them off at his convenience.

Moving my king even further up the board seems very risky so knight it is.

After putting some pressure on his white bishop he moved it to a spot with better cover but also manages to limit the movement of my knight as well put himself in good position to mount a pretty good offensive. In other words, I'm in a pretty good pickle at the moment.

Bb7 was not the best move here. I should pushed the e pawn to check you which would have resulted in an exchange of rooks and destruction of your pawn structure.

I could threaten his black bishop with my rook but if he makes the move I think he would my knight would be under siege and would be forced to hide him again. I could use a pawn to do the same but that would leave another pawn open for an easy take down.

My other option is to move my h pawn up to support my knight against what I think black will do next, bd8...putting my knight in harms way. Then I can move my knight into a position to force his rook to retreat for the time being.

I actually expected you to take my bishop with your knight here. When you didn't I decided to get the bishop into the attack and drive your king away from the c pawn.

The end is near as black has all his pieces applying pressure. His next move is likely d3 (and as I'm typing this note that is exactly what he did) forcing my king to the first row. Oh boy.

Running for my life right now and my only hope is if black makes a mistake in haste...but that isn't likely.

I didn't understand black's move to move his rook up two spots...but I'm sure it'll become apparent shortly.

I was deathly afraid of the knight fork of my two rooks (although the analysis didn't really bear it out – I'll need to study the position to figure out why that threat is not real).

I chose to pressure his bishop with a p5. If he doesn't take my pawn I'll take his bishop leaving me an opportunity to mess with his king a little before my flame is extinguished.

My end game was very sloppy. I should have been able to take you down without promoting the d pawn, but you fought hard at the end.

Again good game and you will shake the rust off in no time.

Thanks for the feedback.

Being a n00b (I've known the rules of chess for 25 years but never read a book or learned about strategy) means having a valid plan is virtually impossible. I really need to work on figuring out what I should be trying to do besides trying to with the exchange of pieces. The game within the game, so to speak.

A good book which I have read 5 or 6 times is this:

Best Lessons of a Chess Coach (http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Chess-Coach-Sunil-Weeramantry/dp/0812922654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281377485&sr=8-1#_)

Amazon has it listed for $69 which seems absolutely outrageous but for $15-20 its a good book and will teach you about strategy and tactics in a sort of conversational way. (It might be out of print which is why the price is so high, but it is a good book - check your library).

Also, another good thing to do is a learn a book opening for white and black. I recommend the Ruy Lopez for White and the Sicillian Defense for black. You just need to learn the first 5 or 6 moves as you will find that your opponent won't cooperate beyond that anyway.

The book openings will give you good piece development and foundation for the middle game where tactics become more important.

Right now, 6th-grade Kodos would mop the floor with 40-year-old Kodos.

fpres and I agreed to a draw this evening. I need to go over this game. Will probably do a video analysis of it and post in this thread. I'm honestly not sure if I played well in this game or really badly. I was kind of confused for most of the middle game. We made it to a knight vs. bishop ending where I didn't see any way for me to make progress. However, I suck at endings, so I'm not really qualified to judge that.

I will take a look at the game tomorrow and probably do a little video about it or at least a write up.

Good game, fpres.

Good game, MJ4H.

You countered just about everything I tried, so I feel very fortunate to have escaped with the draw. I'll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the game.

I will try to do a little writeup tomorrow of my thought process during certain parts of the game.

Typical me, I went completely overboard and made a 43 minute video discussing my game with fpres.

I'm uploading it to youtube in parts. Here is part 1:
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kCfAg0yPhjE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kCfAg0yPhjE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>


NOTE!!! I made this video with beginners in mind. I talk about some things in there that are pretty basic. Don't avoid watching the video because you are afraid you won't understand anything. I try to make to discuss it with basic ideas. If you want to ask questions about something in the video, PLEASE DO!!!

Conclusion of video in spoilers below to save room in the thread:

part 2
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MIu7hTFfrqY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MIu7hTFfrqY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

part 3
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DyMjvIdWfH8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DyMjvIdWfH8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

part 4
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cyZ7Tg9f0oY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cyZ7Tg9f0oY&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

part 5
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DLnmNqYyqjE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DLnmNqYyqjE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Also could you please let me know if you watch the videos? I'd like to know if it is even worthwhile to do more of them. I'd be happy to, but only if someone gets something from them.

How was the pizza?

(I've only watched that far)

haha it was just spam from domino's. I get it all the time because I order online.

Also could you please let me know if you watch the videos? I'd like to know if it is even worthwhile to do more of them. I'd be happy to, but only if someone gets something from them.

I just finished watching them all. Very good stuff for someone who hasn't thought about the game in 15 years heh, thanks for taking the time to make it.

I just finished watching them all. Very good stuff for someone who hasn't thought about the game in 15 years heh, thanks for taking the time to make it.

Same here. I've really enjoyed following along with this thread.

I've watched one of them. I have a short attention span, so I have to break them into bite-sized pieces.

Useful, though a little over my head in a couple places. I'm sure I'll learn tho. :)

/tk

Awesome, I'm glad some people are watching and even enjoying. terp, I can say some things in a different way if there is a particular spot that is confusing. Happy to try to explain things in a different way, if need be.

Great job on the videos and the analysis. You hit on a lot of what I was thinking during many of the moves I made. I can't do as complete a job as you breaking the game down, but I'll try to do a little write-up about some of the individual spots that you focused attention on.


1. e4 c5 2. c3 ...

Out of all the openings I used to play, I probably remember the main lines of the Sicilian best. So, that's what I chose in this case. Unfortunately, c3 took me out of anything familiar so I had to wing it from there. I tried to stick to my gameplan...aim for asymmetry, make a push on the queenside and hope for the best in the center and on the kingside. My
2 ...Nf6 move was an attempt at development but also to ultimately bring some added pressure to the queenside.


8 ... Bb4+ 9. Nc3 Nd5 10. Bd2 Qa5 11. Nxd5 Bxd2+ 12. Nxd2 Qxd5 13. Nf3 ...

Like you said, this was my attempt to overload White's pieces on the queenside. Looking back, I might have played this differently on the next few moves. I feel that there must be some way to take advantage of having a queen on d5 with White's queen still on d1, but I couldn't see it at the time.


13 ... Qa5+ 14. Qd2 Qxd2+ 15. Kxd2 O-O

My indecision on what to do with my queen led to this. I was willing to exchange queens if it meant taking away White's ability to castle. As you point out though, Black doesn't have the pieces in position to capitalize. Looking back, I think I would have preferred to keep both queens on the board.


18 ... a5

I was really unsure of this move when I played it. I did it with the intention of keeping the a6 and b7 squares open as options for my queenside bishop. (i.e., 19 ... Ba6 20. Bxa6 Rxa6 which likely would've been forced). My bishop being blocked-in troubled me through most of the middlegame and I was looking for any way to get it into the fray. Ultimately, b7 was a better square for my bishop as it gave it access to a far more important diagonal. Big mistake on my part as I feel it slowed down my development.


23 ... g6 (instead of ...h6)

I was indecisive on this one and almost played ...h6 but I decided on moving my pawn to g6 with an eye towards being able to get my king to the center one move quicker if it came down to that in the endgame (king to g7-->f6-->e5 rather than king to h7-->g6-->f5/f6-->e5). Luckily for me, the followup 24. Ne4 probably would've happened in either case.


26. ... d5 27. exd6 Rxd6

The en passant move. I did a large amount of thinking prior to this move. In just about every scenario I could work out, I think an advancement of White's d4 pawn was inevitable with a subsequent infiltration of the seventh rank with White's rook(s). The quickest way I could think of getting my d8 rook into the action was to remove my d7 pawn that was blocking it in. I was thinking of advancing my pawn to d6, but then I couldn't be sure that you would take the pawn in that case.

---

It was with move 28 that I changed my focus and began playing for the draw. With just two rooks on the board and then knight vs. bishop, I didn't like my prospects for pulling something out. To me, it was far more likely that I would blunder and then that would be that. (Endgames are definitely an area of weakness for me.)

I guess to sum up... I feel very fortunate to come away from this game with a draw. You made me think about things that I haven't thought about in a long time, not just during the game but also while watching your videos.

marc and i are still going, but i am thinking more and more that i am not long for this earth.

marc and i are still going, but i am thinking more and more that i am not long for this earth.

Its been a close game, I sacrificed a pawn for position* and I think it came off - was rather concerned at the time that I was too rusty to take advantage of things properly, but I think it might pan out.

(that being said I fully expect to do something stupid in due course and throw the game away :D)

*In all honesty because of the delayed nature of the game (and the fact I'm playing quite a few matches at once) I can't recall if I sacrificed it or simply discovered it missing with helpful consequences ;)
Taking notes is not optional with play-by-mail chess I've discovered :D

Am going on vacation starting this afternoon, so I will be back late next week to pick up any new games that may be starting.

it took me about 5 or 6 rounds of turns before i figured out that i could rewind and fast forward to figure out what the hell you had done, and probably 10 more after that before i found the little list of what pieces had been taken already.

Also could you please let me know if you watch the videos? I'd like to know if it is even worthwhile to do more of them. I'd be happy to, but only if someone gets something from them.

Watched the first videos you posted but don't have time to check this one out...yet...but I will when I have more time.

marc wins..i resigned.

marc wins..i resigned.

Was a good game, I look forward to a rematch in the future :D

10 games down, 2 to go for round 1.

Since I really like making chess videos, I am going to start recording a lot of my online blitz games with me doing a live commentary while I'm playing.

Pretty hilarious results, so far, but it's fun. Only 2 videos so far, but I will definitely be adding more.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Gorgonian#p/c/C11765D279E3CF2C

Was a good game, I look forward to a rematch in the future :D

absolutely...gratz on the win

Am going on vacation starting this afternoon, so I will be back late next week to pick up any new games that may be starting.

I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow at 0600, won't be back til the 26th.

/tk

I will be on vacation and back on Aug 24

Looks like I won on time :rolleyes:

Looks like I won on time :rolleyes:

no way - really??

wtf???

i submitted my last move - no way it's been time since then.

that's messed up. ah well.

maybe it has been?? I dunno. it was what - 3 days? so that means friday afternoon you moved and i haven't checked it since then?? that's weird. i swear i checked it last night.

bah.

Sorry king. was enjoying our game.

no way - really??

wtf???

i submitted my last move - no way it's been time since then.

that's messed up. ah well.

maybe it has been?? I dunno. it was what - 3 days? so that means friday afternoon you moved and i haven't checked it since then?? that's weird. i swear i checked it last night.

bah.

Sorry king. was enjoying our game.

I know me too. I was giving the rolley eyes to the chess.com rules not you. Just an FYI.

Maybe we shall meet again.

I know me too. I was giving the rolley eyes to the chess.com rules not you. Just an FYI.

Maybe we shall meet again.

Weird. I honestly had no idea that it was about to time out - I mean I haven't been on my computer all day and I knew I'd have to hop on and make a move tonight, but I thought I still had like... >10hrs to go for sure.

Sorry man.

has anybody had any issues with the mobile chess game? I couldn't get it to work - I have a blackberry storm 2 and I am not able to open the game on the phone - it like doesn't recognize that I have a touch screen.

With that said - if anybody wants to challenge me, feel free. I'm a rusty player that used to play alot when I was younger. Same name as my FOFC name.

So are we ready for round 2?

One game still going on. You can see the current state of all the games by looking in the original post of the thread.

One game still going on. You can see the current state of all the games by looking in the original post of the thread.

Doh! I checked that post but must have overlooked the one that was still going on.

Anyone else want to play? Radii21, feel free to friend me/invite me to a game. I've got a couple going now but am having a lot of fun playing, woudln't mind more.

If I can get a couple more games completed before sept 1st I'm gonna enter whatever tournament fits my rating at the time.

Our last game of round 1 is moving again. Round 2 will start pretty quickly after round 1 ends. Let me know if for some reason you can't continue, so that we don't have people paired with no one, if possible.

I am planning on continuing.

I'll be active (and will take any challenges from people wanting extra games).

I'll be continuing but I won't be available the next two weekends.

I'm still in

I'm still in as well.

I'm back. :)

/tk

Final game of round 1 is done.

10 SuburbanRhythm Professor58

I resigned as I have been totally defensive for the last several moves and it was looking to get worse in the next series of turns (that and I am not that good to recover) .

Good Game SR.

On to round two !

OK, Round 2 pairings will be up in an hour or two. I don't have access to my external hard drive here, which is where the tournament data is stored. Will get to it tonight.

Final game of round 1 is done.

10 SuburbanRhythm Professor58

I resigned as I have been totally defensive for the last several moves and it was looking to get worse in the next series of turns (that and I am not that good to recover) .

Good Game SR.

On to round two !

Good Game...honestly, I didn't think I had you that much on the run yet. So, possibly total dumb luck by me to put you in a bad spot that I didn't even realize was that bad. :redface:

Round 2 Pairings:

BOARD 1: Jag vs. Celeval
BOARD 2: dwardzala vs. cyril
BOARD 3: Marc Vaughan vs. Suburban Rhythm
BOARD 4: Lathum vs. TargetPractice6
BOARD 5: tyketime vs. kingfc22
BOARD 6: MJ4H vs. HiFiRevival
BOARD 7: fpres vs. DaddyTorgo
BOARD 8: samifan24 vs. Passacaglia
BOARD 9: Radii vs. terpkristin
BOARD 10: Professor58 vs. johnnyshaka
BOARD 11: CU Tiger vs. saldana
BOARD 12: PackerFanatic vs. Butter of 69

I sent you a challenge tk.

I sent you a challenge, Pass.

Don't forget to send me a link to your game and I will update the first post in the thread with links to watch everyone's game.

Good Game...honestly, I didn't think I had you that much on the run yet. So, possibly total dumb luck by me to put you in a bad spot that I didn't even realize was that bad. :redface:

Ever since I tried to get the pawn home, ever move was defensive. Next several moves were going to be trading assets. Besides, I lasted a lot longer than I thought. First game since high school.

I sent you a challenge tk.

I saw it, sorry I got home really late last night and didn't accept then. Will do it when I get home from the gym tonight.

/tk

i am still in, i will try to challenge CU Tiger when i get home.

I sent you a challenge, Pass.

samifan24 vs Passacaglia - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40993130)

Round 2 Pairings:

BOARD 10: Professor58 vs. johnnyshaka


Professor58, my sister is getting married this weekend...I'll fire you a challenge/accept yours later on in the weekend.

Board four up: Lathum vs targetpractice6 - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=40988852)

Professor58, my sister is getting married this weekend...I'll fire you a challenge/accept yours later on in the weekend.

No problem. I took a week off in round one

Cyril, I issued you a challenge. Good Luck.

how do we know which side to take?

White is listed first.

White is listed first.
ok challenge sent

I really need to drop out of this tournament. For the second game in a row I mistook my king for the queen. Ugh. I'm truly an amateur.

PackerFanatic, feel free to issue me a challenge any time. I am ready.

I really need to drop out of this tournament. For the second game in a row I mistook my king for the queen. Ugh. I'm truly an amateur.

You should stick with it! That is definitely the kind of mistake that can kill you, but the more you play, the less likely you are to mix those up, and you'll definitely see yourself getting better and noticing more things on the board.

I really need to drop out of this tournament. For the second game in a row I mistook my king for the queen. Ugh. I'm truly an amateur.

It's ok, samifan, can't be worse than me! In my current match, I've made all of one play. And for that play, I spent 30 minutes looking at the board and couldn't figure out if there was any real difference whichever piece I moved, after Radii started with e4. :) I just have no clue, even what various openings imply. :-\

/tk

Sent a request to Celeval

You should stick with it! That is definitely the kind of mistake that can kill you, but the more you play, the less likely you are to mix those up, and you'll definitely see yourself getting better and noticing more things on the board.

Thanks but you had me pretty early there.

Challenge sent to DaddyTorgo. Good luck!

Here is the board 2 game between me and cyril.

Link (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41005093)

board 10

Professor58 vs johnnyshaka - Online Chess - Chess.com (http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=41039662)

Challenge sent to kingfc22.

Just noticed Celeval hasn't been active for a little over a week, so I shot him a PM in case he has email notification.

Challenge sent to kingfc22.

Accepted.