Play Chess and They Shall Come

It began as just an idea to get a game in over the holidays, and 2 days later there were 9 for coffee and chess at Panera Bread. Last night saw play from Ernie, Clany, Jerry, Rudy, Sal, James B., Stephanie, Bob L. and James' son Damien (who laid down a win to establish a spot in the club). Four boards were active all evening and plenty of games were played. They had to give us the evil eye around 9pm so they could lock the doors. Plan on playing again on this Saturday at Panera starting at 10am. Then we'll meet again as usual at 7pm on Tuesday, January 5 at the college.

Coal Dust

Six players broke out the pieces to get their day after Christmas "chess fix"; Darren, Bob L., Steff, Andrew P., James B., and Jerry all overcame their "chess withdrawal" symptoms as the fur and pieces flew.

Steff still had coal dust on her hands from emptying her stocking but was soon her "merry old self" after trading pieces with Andrew P.

But all joking aside; I just noticed I had to use last name initials to identify three of the six attendees! That means our club has really grown over the last year; one day I hope to have to add a last name initial after every bodies name!

If anyone wants to play chess tomorrow send out an e-mail or simply add a comment to this post and I'll get the word out. We won't be able to play at ECTC again until the 5th of January.

Mouse Pad

USCFSales has a neat mouse pad in stock for $3. It is not in the printed catalog, you'll have to go on line and search under analysis sets. The pad is a green and white chess board with 13/16th of an inch squares. Algebraic square designation is on all 4 sides and the included chess pieces w/1.5 inch king fit well on the pad.

Not something you would order by it's self (shipping would cost more than the pad), but a great add on to your next equipment order.

Recommended. Those who use a computer at work may find this a good way to advertise that you play chess; unless the boss perceives it as "goofing off on the job".

Merry Christmas and Let's Play Chess

It's Christmas Day and chess presents are sure to be found under many a Christmas tree! When the presents are opened, the meals are eaten, the kids are busy playing, and the TV slumps into Lawrence Welk holiday reruns .... chess is waiting! Go online now to Chess.com and catch up with your games, pick out a new tournament, check out the latest puzzle, or watch the Pogonina game. Then swing on over to Panera Bread on Saturday starting at 10am for coffee and chess. Meet there again on the day after New Years and plan on our first Tuesday meeting of the year on January 5th at 7pm at the college as usual. Have you started your list of chess New Years resolutions? Get going now and avoid the last minute rush. Challenge everyone with your list of chess promises by adding your comment to this post. (You can buy the album shown on the left here.)

2009 Club Championship Wrap-up

For those who would like to see how they stacked up against the rest of the Club; here is a breakdown followed by some miscellaneous statistics.

Place ----------------Won ----------Lost ------------Drew --------------Total

1. Parsons ...........21................... 0..................... 3........................ 22.5
2. Weaver ...........19.................... 3..................... 2....................... .20
3. Farrell .............17.................... 5..................... 2........................ 18
4. Owens............ 14.................... 5..................... 5........................ 16.5
5. Weldin............ 14.................... 7..................... 3........................ 15.5
6. Fatula..............14.................... 8..................... 2........................ 15
7. Radford........... 13.................. 10..................... 1........................ 13.5
8. Kilmer............... 8................... 15..................... 1.......................... 8.5
9. Phelps.............. 7................... 15..................... 2.......................... 8
10. Mc Kinney......... 7................... 16..................... 1.......................... 7.5
11. Mullins.............. 5................... 17..................... 2.......................... 6
12. Brock............... 4.................... 20.................... 0.......................... 4
13. Mancuso........... 1.................... 23.................... 0.......................... 1

Total Games Played = 156 Games Won = 144 (92.31%) Games Drawn = 12 (7.69%)

Holiday Chess

Due to the college being closed during the holidays, the Elizabethtown Chess Club will not meet on the regular Tuesday evenings on Dec. 22 or 29. However, the club does expect to continue meeting on Saturday mornings at Panera Bread during the holidays. Also, club operations on Chess.com will be in full swing. The club will meet again for a regular Tuedsday night on January 5th, 2010. My apologies for being late to post this information and to any club members who were inconvenienced by my oversight. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.

The Caro Can

Johnny Owens succeeded on the other end of the Caro-Kann in his second game against FM Joost Retera. The variation was once again the Panov-Botvinnik Attack and the middlegame began with a clash over an isolated queen pawn. But White seemed to fall steadily back after ridding himself of the weakness and eventually resigned to Black's pressure. Replay the game with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Santa Sighting at Skittles

Sure enough, Santa (or perhaps it was just one of his helpers) was spotted in line for coffee at Panera Bread this morning. There to witness the event was Andrew Preston, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, Darren Radford, Nick Folino, Jerry Weldin, Stephanie Clayton, and Bob Lenning. Though it isn't clear if all of the wishes for chess presents will be granted, at least we were able to take our requests to the highest authority. Everyone has agreed to meet next Saturday to compare how we each fared with the man in the red hat.

Coffee, Chess, Christmas Presents, Repeat

Looking for something to do on Saturday? Need a little joe to get ya goin'? Got a hankerin' to play chess? Want to zip onto the internet and compare Christmas chess wishlists with the club while you check your Chess.com games? You can do all that Saturday morning from 10 am at Panera Bread. Stop in for a coffee, set up the pieces, and sign on to the internet and shop away. If Santa plays chess, this is where you'll find him.

Pogonina Issues a Challenge

Want to play chess against WGM Natalia Pogonina? If you play chess with the Elizabethtown Chess Club on Chess.com you can! The young woodpusher has challenged all Chess.com players to a game of vote chess beginning on Wednesday, December 23 with a 1 move per day time control. We'll be playing with the Black pieces. Not a member yet but want to play? Sign up with us at Chess.com.

Let's Get Ready to Checkmate

Last night the club voted on and approved a plan for the 2010 club championship. On a proposal by Johnny, it was decided that points earned in the twelve 2nd Tuesday tournaments during the year will be totalled to decide a champion. The monthly swiss tournaments will still offer both open and under-1400 sections when turnout allows. Only points earned in the open section will count towards the championship total. Any under-1400 wishing to play up and thereby earn qualifying points must notify the TD before the start of that tournament.  In the case of a a tie, the cumulative method for tie-breaks will be applied.* There's no need to sign up separately to participate, just attend monthly tournaments and win. Of course, it is always appreciated if you advance register with Johnny for each monthly tournament to ease the task of preparing the pairings. The 2nd Tuesday of the Month Tournaments are open to all USCF members and offer 3 rounds beginning at 7:00pm at a time control of G/30 with a 5 second delay. The traditional $1 entry fee applies.

* Edited to include tie-break method. 1/19/2010

Big Prizes For Big Winners

Last night saw the end of the Club Championship Tournament and the awarding of the year's trophies. Jerry Weldin hosted the festivities. Steve Parsons claimed the top prize for his killer performance. Ernie Weaver claimed the second place trophy and Joe Farrell edged out his competition last night to get the 3rd place trophy. It was a long hard struggle to put together so many wins over a full year, and these winners as well as all the players deserve a big kudo. Also winning prizes were Sal Mancuso and Bob Kilmer for the biggest upsets of the year. And everyone who participated received an 'I Survived' medal for their efforts.

(A big thank you to Stephanie Clayton for these great photos. Also attending last night but not in the photos was Andrew Lee.)

Lee Gives Shereshevsky a New Home

Our newest member Andrew Lee has generously donated a copy of Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy to the club library. Be sure to thank him for pitching in the next time you see him.

Also, three boxes of Skittles were found while inspecting the library after the last club meeting. These have been confiscated by the librarian and will not be placed in general circulation.

E-Town E-Chess Wins Again!

This time it was the Ashburn, VA club that fell victim to our tough match play. Joe Phelps dove into a Closed Sicilian and shut out Smartgenes to close the match at 4-2 and raise his Chess.com rating to 2073. Check out the game score with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Endgame Express

Our own Andrew Lee turned in his second win in the 3rd round of the Lexington Chess Tournament last Saturday. Black tried the Petroff Defense, but Andrew refused to fall asleep. He crashed out of the gate with 7.Bg5! to announce his intention to fight. Tactics flew back and forth with a few inaccuracies, but when the endgame came calling, Andrew whistled for a ride and pushed his rook pawn all the way to a win. Look for the score and analysis by Fritz after the fold.

Grandmaster Kaidanov Explains the Pin

Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov explained the simple tactical motif of the pin to children at the Lexington Chess Tournament on December 12, 2009. The position used is from analysis of the game Prasad vs. Kaidanov played in Calcutta in 1988. Watch the video and replay the game with the grandmaster's analysis after the fold.

E-Town Pawn Pushers Storm Lexington

Imagine the thrill as all 3 of our Elizabethtown scholastic players stepped up to accept trophies at the Lexington Chess Tournament held on Saturday at the Lexington Convention Center. All three had taken one point before lunch and a lecture by local grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov. Kids strained forward to hear every word of wisdom from the great master and thrust their hands up for just one chance at the pride that comes from answering a question with the insight of a young Fischer. And I must admit my own pleasure at shaking his hand after he kindly posed for a photo. Then the chess action was furious again with our players taking another 6.5 points to earn their gold. Our Andrew Lee (center) collected a trophy for 4th overall K-12 for his performance of 2.5 out of 4. Luke Emberton (left) earned 1st under 900 K-5 with a stand-up 4 points out of 5 to get his prize trophy. And Jacob Emberton (right) went 3 out of 5 to win his trophy for 9th overall K-8. Both Embertons attend the Hardin County Kids Chess Club at the mall on Thursday nights at 6:30 pm hosted by their mom Denise. All in all a peformance which earned us a thank you from the organizers for coming all the way from Elizabethtown to play. And as you can see, it brought proud smiles from our players. Find complete tournament crosstables here.

"Thibodeaux, Fontainbleau, the place is buzzin'"

Steff's Veteran's Tournament paid extra dividends as Clany Soileau, Co-Winner of the "Under 1600 Section" drove from Springfield to join Steff, Darren, James, and Jerry for "C&C" (coffee and chess) at Panara Bread.

Clany fit into the group like he'd always been there, accepting us "warts and all"; and will be coming Tuesday Nites as soon as he is relieved of his baby sitting duties. Bob L would have loved Clany's chess set; it was perfect for the small Panera tables.

Over-the-board conversation was especially stimulating and covered topics such as: Tiger Woods, football, child rearing, the French language, monogamy, SSI, L4 L5 lumbar problems, Jerry's unappreciated "Don Rickles" humor, the Swiss Pairing System, and other topics best left unsaid.

Things broke up between 1230-1p.m. and as Steff headed for JC Penny, Clany to Barnes and Nobles, I drove to the Flea Market with topics like Booray (Bourre), Acadia Parish (Paroisse de l' Acadie), Ascension, St. Charles, Baton Rouge (Red Stick), Orleans, and Vernon Parish (my old stompin' grounds) running down the Highway 10 of my mind.

I PROBABLY COULDN'T EVEN WATCH SHAKIRA THAT LONG, BUT I'D LIKE TO TRY

The indispensable Chernev reports that ; "In the 11th game of their match for the World's Championship in 1927, Capablanca took two hours on one move , and Alekhine took an hour and three quarters for his reply!"

Today we would play three complete games in that amount of time! And have time left over to possibly get in a fourth.

TAKE TWO PAWNS AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

According to Chernev; the Greek physicians Galan and Hippocrates (the father of medicine) considered chess a potent antidote to diarrhoea (diarrhea) and erysipelas (an acute skin disease), and prescibed it with success.

A PROBLEM ANYONE CAN SOLVE

Slow brain day? No problem....White to move and mate in six.

Two Winners Cross the Finish Line

Turnout was strong for December's 2nd Tuesday ratings tournament. Among the 9 participants were Johnny Owens, Steve Parsons, Kerry Fatula, and Andrew Lee (playing up) in the over 1400 section, and James Biggs, Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, Rudy McKinney, and Bob Lenning in the under 1400 section. Steve Parsons took top honors in the upper section with a perfect score of 3.0, and Rudy McKinney topped the other players with a strong showing of 2.5 points. Catch the full tournament crosstable here.

Second Tuesday Tourney

Plan on it! It's the second Tuesday of December coming up and it's time for an E-town ratings swiss. Register in advance with Johnny Owens or be sure to show up early. Three rounds of G30 with a 5 second delay will begin at 7 o'clock. USCF membership is required. Entry fee is $1. Players will be paired in two sections if enough attend.

Saturday Morning at Panera

Darren Radford and Joe Farrell faced off at Panera Bread on Saturday for 2 club championship games, with Joe Farrell coming up with the 2 wins. Also playing skittles were Jerry Weldin, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, Andrew Preston, and Bob Lenning. Tanner, a dog with coat and hat, was benched and observed the games from outside the window, providing extra entertainment.

Der Linksspringer Turns to the Dark Side ......

Der Linksspringer (Darren Radford) turned to the dark side, but still played the knight on the c-file for his first move. It brought a draw, a half-point, and our team to a score of 6-3 against Republic of Newfoundland. On the other end of the draw was Dougrob. Replay the gamescore with analysis by Fritz after the fold.

ALPHABET SOUP

While looking through the books in the club library recently Andrew Lee and I ended up in a conversation about Eugene Znosko-Borovsky.Which led me to post this blog.

If you throw in Znosko-Borovsky's middle name, Alexandrovich, and take into account the different spellings found on line you must use all but 8 of the 26 letters in the alphabet. If Eugene played in our Club today I have no doubt that he would be labeled "ski" the very first night!

In his book "How To Play The Chess Openings", Znosko-Borovsky bemoans the fact that his fellow Chess Masters teased him relentlessly over the title of his previous book, "How Not To Play Chess".

I personally greatly enjoyed "How To Play The Chess Openings"; however, since it is not yet available in "algebraic" the "computer generation" and a few others in our Club will miss out on a great chess book. Znosko-Borovsky drew on his personal games against such greats as Capablanca and Aleckine to show the pawn structures resulting from different openings and the strengths or weaknesses of the various pawn formations that you could expect to encounter. IT'S TIME TO BECOME BI-LINGUAL!

So much for the history; now for the trivia: Irving Chernev reports in his classic book: Wonders and Curiosities of Chess, that in a tournament held in St. Petersburg in 1903, "no less than three Znosko-Borovskys won prizes."

Scholastics and Pink Floyd

Mark your calendars for December 12 when Lexington will be the venue for both scholastic and adult tournaments. The Lexington Chess Tournament will be held at the Lexington Convention Center and features a K-12 4 round G/60 section ready and waiting for our Andrew Lee. Rounds will be at 9:15, Noon, 2:30 and 4:30 with awards for the top 10 players. Read more about it here. As a warm-up,  the KSCC Scholastic Chess Tournament will be held at the U of L Shelby campus on December 5th. This will be 4 rounds at G/45 for K-12. Read about this tourney here.

On the same day (December 12) at the UK Student Center is the 26th Pink Floyd Open, a 4 round G/60 tournament. The rumor is that Pink Floyd will be playing on the tournament floor. Read about it here.

The Caro-Kan't

How can you score a win in a Caro-Kann Defense against a FIDE Master whose Chess.com nickname is CaroKann? Johnny Owens shows how in his game against FM Joost Retera in a thematic tournament featuring the Panov-Botvinnik Attack. This game seems to mark a good time to salute the players Horatio Caro, Marcus Kann, Vasiliy Panov, and Mikhail Botvinnik. See how it was done with analysis after the fold.

(Thanks to Jerry for the new post title.)

Joe Phelps Shaves Saint Nick

Our Joe Phelps snapped out 17 moves to take a point away from SaintNick and bring our score against Republic of Newfoundland to 5.5-2.5. Joe answered 1...c5 with a Closed Sicilian / Grand Prix Attack. The move 15...Re8?? put Black in a bind and Joe jumped on the opportunity. Replay the game with analysis after the fold.

December Starts Big

December started big for the Elizabethtown Chess Club with 14 members attending last night. Joe F. (W) and Johnny Owens (B) split a point and Ernie Weaver earned a point from Joe Phelps with the Black pieces in championship action. The skittles room saw lots of action with Jerry Weldin, Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, Dave Brock, Rudy McKinney, Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, James Biggs, Andrew Lee, and Bob Lenning. All 90+ items in our club library were also present. Mark your calendars now to remember that next week will be our Second Tuesday tournament. We'll be playing 3 rounds at a time control of G/30 with a 5 second delay. Be sure to pre-register with Johnny or arrive before the 7pm start time to register at the site. The entry fee is a nominal $1 to cover the cost of ratings.

Time to Manage Your Clock

Just as Jerry has written a great post on the first use of chess clocks, Chess Cafe has republished an archived article by Dan Heisman on time management. Read about mechanical clocks in the 1880's, 50 moves in 2 hours, adjournments and the advent of sudden death, and the insufficient losing chances rule. And read the 11 bullet points of Dan's recommended time strategies and methods.

Stretching the Lead

Freydisdottir has resigned the postion to Andrew Lee giving him a win and the club a 4.5-2.5 lead in our match against Republic of Newfoundland. Andrew played the White pieces and went with the Ruy Lopez. Read the game score and Fritz analysis after the fold..

"DDD"

While a "triple D" may conjure up thoughts of wide shoes or plus size Victoria Secret catalogs; here in E-town it stands for "Dave vs Darren Duel".

I dropped in on Dave and Darren as they were bringing the first game of their match to a "time scramble finale" with Darren emerging the victor after "being under the cudgel" until the very end.

Bob Lenning popped in shortly after my arrival but left after the second game got underway as he had left his rice cooker on at home. Steve Parsons arrived shortly thereafter; just missing Bob but in time to relieve me to respond to a frantic call from home.

Dave called me later to report that Darren emerged victorious in the second game also. Dave further reported that he enjoyed both games even though they were hard fought losses for him. To quote Dave "they were worth driving to E-town". (Dave lives in Munfordville and the holiday traffic was pretty bad)

Six more games remain to close out this years Club Championship:

Farrell vs Owens (2)
Farrell vs Radford (2)
Weaver vs Phelps (1)
Mullins vs Mancuso (1)

Reminder to all: 15 December is the last day to get your games played and reported to Johnny.

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

Phrases like "what happened to your bishop", "no I didn't do that", and "I had a won game" ricocheted off the walls Saturday at Panera's as Darren, Steff, James, Andrew Lee, and Jerry battled it out on "Black Saturday". As usual things got "ugly" when "good" moves turned "bad" the instant a piece was released from the hand.

Rudy made two "cameo" appearances to get food and Tom had an extended stay when he came to pick up Andrew. Cassia is slowly luring Tom deeper into her lair.

Overall a pretty good showing for a "holiday weekend".

If you're in the area Sunday, pop in and you might catch Dave and Darren knocking out their Championship games. (around 3PM I think)

Panera Cold Turkey Invitational

Several players have expressed an intention to play at Panera on Saturday morning, so it's all systems go for some coffee and chess action. We'll begin at our usual 10 am, but players can stop by anytime in the morning or through the lunch hour.

First Timed Game

At last Tuesday's Club meeting young master Andrew Lee asked if I knew when they first started timing chess games. (Andrew has yet to develop an appreciation for time controls longer than game 10; and prefers game 7.)

Among my favorite chess books is Irving Chernev's Wonders and Curiosities of Chess; published by Dover in 1974. On page 130, Chernev reports:

"The first match in which the players were restricted to a certain number of moves per hour was the one between Anderssen and Kolisch in 1861. An hour glass was used, and each player had to make 24 moves in two hours."

I have seen pictures of these hour glasses which were inclosed in a cage that pivoted in the center in order to be turned horizontally when it was not your turn to move. This of course required a device be used for each player.

Andrew, I hope this answers your question.

For more info, see also:
History of Timers and Clocks in Chess Matches
London 1883

New Feature

Check out the new online bookshelf for our library.

New (to me!) Chess site

How many times have you bought a Chess book only to be disappointed when you received it? Yesterday I stumbled onto a new chess site while trying to find info on a chess book I have seen advertised. I haven't explored all it has to offer yet; but found the book review section, of the new site to be a very helpful tool that we all could use.

Go to www.chessville.com/ choose "REVIEWS" then "INDEX"; find the book you want and click on it for a review.

I did not waste my money on the book (Black Lion) after reading the review.

Now you have something to do while the "non-nerds" are watching those annoying parades and football games!

Steve Parsons Clinches 2009 Club Championship

Steve Parsons scores 22.5 out of 24 to win the 2009 Club Championship in grand style! Steve gave up draws to Jerry Weldin, Ernie Weaver, and Joe Farrell on his way to a stunning victory without a single loss.

Ernie Weaver has secured 2nd place with a score of 19 with one game yet to be played.

3rd place will go to either Joe Farrell or Johnny Owens. Joe has 14.5 points and still must play Darren Radford and Johnny Owens. Johnny is setting on 16 points with only Joe left to play. I wonder who Johnny will be rooting for in the Joe vs Darren match up?

"Two Days Till Turkey" Tuesday

Three boards were active in the tournament room last night. Joe Phelps avenged his performance of last week by stopping Dave Brock with the White pieces. Steve Parsons protected his championship lead with a double win over Stan Mullins. And Kerry Fatula and Ernie Weaver split a pair of games, both winning with the Black pieces. The skittles room was active with Bob Lenning, Andrew Lee, Darren Radford, James Biggs, and Jerry Weldin participating. Several players made use of the library.

My Favorite Blog Site

If you have not checked out Alexandra's Chess Blog you are missing out! She has problems, games, and the latest Chess News. Usually Alexandra's reports are "first hand" from a participant's view point; with chess and human interest blended into her great reports.
Check her out at CHESSBLOG.COM

The Left Hand of Darren

Our Darren Radford began with the knight on the left, transposed into the Vienna Game,  and pressed for 48 moves until Dougrob had enough in their first game in our match against Republic of Newfoundland. We lead now with a score of 3.5-2.5. Check out the game after the fold.

Perhaps the Best Endgame Book

Thanks to Stephanie Clayton for the generous donation of a copy of Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Our library now has 91 books, CD's, and DVD's along with magazines and other items. Active members can check out up to 2 items for up to 3 weeks. Be sure to check out our selection at our next club meeting.

Do you have chess books or other materials that you could donate to our library? Or a couple of dollars that we could use to buy books? Please consider contributing to this great club asset.

Don't Toy With Saint Nick

Joe Phelps got right to business and put a wrench in SaintNick's sleigh with a win in our match against Republic of Newfoundland. Our score is now tied 2.5-2.5 with 5 games yet to finish. Replay the game and check out the Fritz analysis after the break.

Lasker reduces 28 move combination to one move

BLACK TO MOVE

A. W. Fox was awarded a gold medal for his game against Lawrence in the Cable match of 1911 based on a "brilliant" 28 move combination. In his comments on the game ; Lasker reduced the combination to one move! (see starting position above).

Fox's winning line was as follows: 32....Ba6 33.Qxa6 Rxh2+ 34.Kxh2 Qh6+ 35.Nh5 Rxh5+ 36.Rh3 Qf4+ 37.Kh1 Rxh3+ 38.gxh Qf3+ 39.Kh2 Bd6+ 40.Kg1 Qg3+ 41.Kf1 Qxh3+ 42.Ke2 Qg2+ 43.Ke3 Qg5+ 44.Ke2 Qg4+ 45.Kf1 Qf3+ 46.Ke1 Bg3+ 47.Kd2 Bf4+ 48. Ke1 Qxc3+ 49.Kf1 Qf3+ 50.Ke1 Qg3+ 51.Kf1 Qh3+ 52.Ke1 Qh4+ 53.Ke2 Qh2+ 54.Kf1 Qh1+ 55.Ke2 Qg2+ 56.Kd3 Qf3+ 57.Kd4 Qe3#

Lasker's comments were that the game was not a "masterpiece" as some had claimed and that the "winning line" (given above) was not the best way to win. Lasker pointed out: "Against 32...Qd6, menacing 33....Rxh2+ followed by 34...Rh5#, White had no sufficient defense. If, for instance, 33.Rf4 Be3, and the White game falls to pieces, Black wins as he wants to."

Double Triple

Six players were on hand for chess and coffee at Panera Bread today. Three boards were manned steadily for a good part of the day. In attendance were Darren Radford, Jerry Weldin, James Biggs, Stephanie Clayton, Bob Lenning, and Andrew Lee. Darren and Bob finally decided to give it a rest when the dinner crew started to arrive.

Doublemint Doublegood

Double your weekly chess fun by playing with us on Saturday morning at Panera Bread. We'll start at 10 am and play through the lunch hour. You can join in at any time. Some players are even known to stay till the dinner hour!

Not So Fast There Buddy

Johnny Owens put a quick stop to Twan709 to bring our team within one point in our match against Republic of Newfoundland. Johnny, Joe Phelps, Andrew Lee and Darren Radford still have games underway in the match. Replay the game here or follow the analysis by Fritz after the break.

One Good Move Wasn't Enough

Joe Phelps proved that KYPatzer is a deceptive nick with a recent win over onegoodmove (2119) on Chess.com. Replay the game here or follow the Fritz analysis after the break.

Brock and Roll

Dave Brock put a big win in his pocket against Joe Phelps last Tuesday night in a club championship game. It was an exciting game with interesting tactics. Check out the analysis by Fritz after the break.

No Mercy

Our Johnny Owens shows why he's currently rated 2497 on Chess.com with this recent win over mingmercy (Mingo Lam 2454 Chess.com/1654 FIDE from Hong Kong). The game is a King's Gambit played in a thematic tournament. Replay the game here on Chess.com or follow the Fritz analysis after the break.

Going for the Gold

Our own Johnny Owens is locked in a Caro-Kann (Panov-Botvinnik Attack) battle against FIDE Master Joost Retera from the Netherlands. Follow the action here on Chess.com.

We Gotta Go

We need more players to sign up for our newest match challenges against the Winchester club so that games can be started. Both under-1500 and over-1700 sections are available. Check your Chess.com messages or go to our club page there to be in the action.

A Chessplayer's Dozen

Twelve players were on hand for chess down at the college on Tuesday night. Two championship games were contested in the main room. Joe F. clipped Sal with the Black pieces. And Dave slipped a tactic past Joe P. to score with the White pieces.

The skittles room saw plenty of action with Steve P., Ernie, Bob L., Jerry, Andrew L., Johnny, Rudy, and Nick. The library was also busy. Steve N. stopped by for a moment to return a book.

It was decided that our blog will now be listed as the official site for our club.

Plenty of Piece Pounding at Panera

Michael Leito surprised everyone with an appearance this morning at Panera Bread. He was busy with games against Jerry and Andrew L. Also rounding out the crew today were Bob L., James, Darren, and Johnny. There was plenty of play, plenty of coffee, and plenty of good times. Of course, our thoughts were also with Stephanie and her family this morning.

Be There or Be (64) Square

It's almost Saturday morning and time again for coffee and chess at Panera Bread. Join us beginning at 10am (or most anytime during the day) for some skittles fun.

Perfect 3's

Johnny Owens and Rudy McKinney both scored perfect 3's to lead the two sections of the 2nd Tuesday Tournament for November. Nine players showed for the contest. Our newest member Andrew Lee took home two points to bring his provisional rating to 1130. See the official crosstables here.

Stump the Expert

Steve Parsons scored 3.5 points in 4 rounds at last Saturday's Veterans Day Tournament to raise his rating to 1945. His climb to Expert may be imminent! Watch this guy close!

Both Steve and Johnny Owens scored wins against Expert Chris Bush, taking him out of contention for the top prize. Our club seemed to dominate the day.

Here We Go Again

Back by popular demand, our club has challenged the Winchester club to an online match. But this time the action is for players rated under 1500 (Chess.com) only. We will decide how many boards will play according to how many sign up. This is a great chance to start in match play if you haven't played before. Winchester has already mustered their first 2 players, so lets show them how eager we are and get all of our under-1500 players signed up.

Chess Veterans

Twenty anxious players showed up for the 1st annual Veterans Day Tournament in Bardstown. Forty games were played in 3 sections to settle the contest. Lots of familiar names appeared on the prize list. Steve Parsons took clear first in the open section, with Darren Radford taking second. Chris Bush, Michael Brooks, and Johnny Owens split the 3rd position. In the under 1600 section Rudy McKinney and Clany Soileau tied for first and Stan Mullins held down the 3rd spot by himself. The under 1000/unrated section saw a logjam for first. Stephanie Clayton, James Biggs, Daniel Martin, and Will Hahn shared honors. Stephanie took the top honor on tiebreaks. See the complete crosstable here.

Cheaper by the Dozen

A dozen players were on hand tonight for Tuesday night chess club. There were 2 boards of championship action with Steve P. taking a win against Joe F. with the black pieces and Ernie racking up a point against Joe P. with the white pieces. The skittles room saw plenty of action with Kerry, Bob L., James, Stephanie, Rudy, Andrew L., Jerry, and Sal. Players were warming up in preparation for the Veterans' Day tournament on Saturday.

We Are Winners!

Darren has bonked backrow1720 again in the last game against the Winchester club in our very first match! Our record is now 1-0 as a team. What great fun! I'll be looking to set up more matches for us soon. In the meanwhile, check out Darren's performance as analyzed by Fritz after the break.

All Over in a Handshake

Our first game in a match against Republic of Newfoundland has ended in a draw. Our General-Lee held his own to earn a half-point against Freydisdottir. The General left the book to offer a pawn and get the queens off the board. The critical point of the game came after 15... Bxc4 when White had a chance to win material. But 16. Rfd1 passed by the chance and the two eventually agreed to a draw. Fritz analyzes after the break.

What Fancy Checkmate?

Bob L. took another point from khob86 to move our club to an unbeatable score of 5.5-3.5 in our match against the Winchester club with just one game to go. Bob passed up the fancy attacks and checkmates and took the long slog to an endgame capitulation. Fritz analyzes after the break.

Drawn Out

A draw was the result when Steve P. and Joe F. met for a championship tournament match last Tuesday. But the game offered high and low tides analyzed by Fritz after the break.

Coffee for 6

There were 6 for coffee and chess at Panera Bread this morning. James, Steph, Jerry, Andrew, Darren, and Bob L. filled 2 tables. Pretty soon we should be able to earn a tour bus discount. Next Saturday there will not be chess at Panera as everyone should be attending the Veterans' Tournament in Bardstown. We'll meet again on the following Saturday, Nov. 14

A Rook on the 7th

Bob L. (lenningrl) got the upper hand in a Caro-Kann against khob86 in the Battle for the Bluegrass against the Winchester club, giving our club the lead 4.5-3.5. When the rook went to the 7th on move 16 the die was cast. Too many pawns heading for queening squares forced White to eventually resign. Fritz analyzes after the break.

Out of Ideas

Our Kypatzer (Joe P.) faced a Sicilian Defense against Smartgenes in our Chess.com match against the Ashburn club and found himself in familiar territory. White seemed to be out of ideas with 20. h3 but the game seemed to remain fairly level. But ideas were short again with 28. Kh2 and this time Joe found a way to convert his advantage to an extra pawn and prove the win. See Fritz' analysis after the break.

Gimme More Stuff

Have you browsed the items on the righthand side of our blog? There are all sorts of tidbits there to lead you to more chess. For example, have you tried using TWIC - The Week in Chess (see the box labelled 'Where the Chess Is')? It's a great resource of all the top games played in the world each week. You can download the games as PGN or CBH (Chessbase) files. If you use the latest Chessbase Light 2009 (also listed on the righthand side) or Chessbase 10 or 11, you'll find an option on the Help menu called Get TWIC. Choosing this will automatically download the latest TWIC file(s) to your computer. Just choosing this option every week or two can keep you up to date will all the theory in latest practice. Then make yourself a new blank database and append each TWIC file to create a new collection of all the latest games.

Don't see your favorite chess site listed here? Send it to Bob to get it linked on our blog.

Tuesday Night Fights

Once again, turnout was great for a Tuesday night down at the chess club. Two championship boards were in play with Steve P. (W) and Joe F. (B) playing to a draw and Ernie earning a win with the Black pieces over Stan. The skittles room saw action from Johnny, Bob L., Andrew L, Jerry, Joe P., Nick, Kerry, Steve N., and Rudy. The library was open for business and lots of talk revolved around our online matches.

A Pawn Too Far

Ashburn's scjohnson went a pawn too far with 9. Nxe5, and our KYLion lit the dynamite. Some nice tactical possibilities ensued and White was compelled to resign after 16 moves. The win brings the club to a score of 2-1 in our match. Fritz analyzes below:

[Date "2009.10.18"]
[White "scjohnson"]
[Black "KYLion"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1928"]
[BlackElo "2242"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (30s)"]

{E11: Bogo-Indian} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 O-O 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 d6 7. b4 {last book move}

e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 ??

(9. better is Bb2 = {is just about the only chance}) 9... Qd4 -+ 10. Bb2 (10. Ra2 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Qxe5 11. Nf3 Qh5 -+ (11... Qxe4+ ?! 12. Re2 Bxb4+ 13. axb4 Qxc4 14. Bd2 -+)) 10... Qxb2 11. Nd3 Qd4 12. f3 (12. Be2 {does not win a prize} Nc6 -+) 12... Nc6 13. Rc1 (13. Nb3 {is not the saving move} Qc3+ 14. Kf2 Nd4 -+) 13... Rd8 14. Nb3 (14. Be2 {praying for a miracle} Ne5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. Qc2 -+) 14... Qe3+ 15. Be2

15... Ne5 ! {Deflection: d3} 16. Rc3 (16. Nxe5 Rxd1+ {Deflection Pinning}) (16. -- with the idea of Nxd3+ {Wins material}) 16... Nxe4 ! {Decoy: f1} (16... Nxe4 17. Qc1 (17. fxe4 Bh4+ 18. g3 Nf3+ 19. Kf1 Bh3#) 17... Nxd3+ 18. Rxd3 Rxd3 19. Qxe3 Rxe3 -+) 0-1

The Knight on the Left

Our own DerLinksspringer was ahead early and pressed his advantage against Winchester's backrow1720 to get the club a win in the Battle for the Bluegrass. For those who don't speak German, Darren opened with 1.Nc3. Black's 3 ... Bb4 got him into trouble and the rest was history. Fritz analyzes below:

[Date "2009.09.30"]
[White "DerLinksspringer"]
[Black "backrow1720"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1863"]
[BlackElo "1675"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (30s)"]

{A00: Irregular Openings} 1. Nc3 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {last book move. White threatens to win material: d4xe5}

3 ... Bb4 (3... exd4 $5 {should be considered} 4. Nxd4 Nf6 +/=) 4. dxe5 +/- f6 5. exf6 (5. e4 !? +/-) 5... Nxf6 +/= 6. Qd3 d6 {Controls e5} (6... d5 7. Bg5 d4 8. a3 dxc3 9. axb4 Qxd3 10. exd3 cxb2 11. Rb1 Nxb4 12. c3 =) 7. Bd2 Be6 8. e4 {White has an active position} Qe7 9. O-O-O Bxc3 (9... O-O 10. Bg5 +/-) 10. Bxc3 +/- (10. bxc3 ?! O-O-O (not as good is 10... Bxa2 11. c4 +/-) 11. Nd4 Ne5 = (11... Bxa2 {Black again will not be able to digest the pawn} 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Qa6+ Kb8 14. Qxa2 +-)) (10. Qxc3 ?! Nxe4 11. Qe3 Nxd2 (not as good is 11... Bxa2 12. Re1 d5 13. Nd4 +-) 12. Qxd2 O-O-O =) 10... Rd8 (10... O-O !? +/-) 11. Ng5 Ne5 ?? {an oversight. But Black was lost anyway.} (better is 11... Bd7 +-) 12. Bxe5 dxe5 13. Qb5+ (better is 13. Qxd8+ !? {might be the shorter path} Qxd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Nxe6+ Kd7 +-) 13... c6 ? (13... Bd7 14. Qxb7 O-O 15. Qxa7 h6 16. Bc4+ Kh8 +-) 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Nxe6+ (15. Qxe5 ?! Bc8 16. Qb8 Nd5 +-) 15... Qxe6 16. Qxb7 Re8 (16... Nxe4 {doesn't get the bull off the ice}

17. Bc4 ! {Double attack: a7/d8} Qh6+ 18. Kb1 Nd2+ 19. Ka1 Nxc4 20. Qb8+ Ke7 21. Qxh8 +-) 17. Qb8+ (better is 17. Bc4 ! {makes sure everything is clear} Qc8 18. Qxg7 Nd7 +-) 17... Ke7 18. Qxa7+ Kf8 19. f3 Nd7 20. Qa3+ Kg8 (20... Kf7 {is not much help} 21. b3 Qh6+ 22. Kb1 +-) 21. Qb3 Nc5 (21... Qxb3 {does not help much} 22. cxb3 Kf8 23. Kc2 +-) 22. Bc4 Nxb3+ 23. Bxb3 Qxb3 24. cxb3 ({Instead of} 24. axb3 Re6 +-) 24... Rd8 (24... Kf7 +- {desperation}) 25. Rd1 Ra8 26. a3 Kf7 (26... Ra6 {cannot change what is in store for Black} 27. b4 Kf8 28. Rd7 +-) 27. Rd7+ Kg8 (27... Ke6 {cannot change destiny} 28. Rc7 +-) 28. Kc2 Rb8 29. Kc3 Rb5 (29... Rc8 {does not win a prize} 30. b4 +-) 30. Kc4 Kf8 (30... Rb6 {is not the saving move} 31. b4 Ra6 32. Kc5 +-) 31. b4 Rb8 32. Kc5 (32. a4 !? {makes it even easier for White} Ra8 33. a5 Ra6 +-) 32... Rc8 (32... Ra8 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 33. Kd6 +-) 33. a4 1-0

Try the Bagels

Saturday morning is always time for coffee and chess at Panera Bread. Be there at 10am, or stop by later for a turn at a board.

I'm Never Board With Chess

Just when you thought it was safe to put the chessboard away, our club has started another challenge match. This time our rival is Republic of Newfoundland (yes, Canada has secessionists too) and the match is called Old Town. (old town .... do they mean us?) We mustered 5 boards almost as soon as I clicked the accept button. Johnny will lead us on board 1 against Twan709. James O. is close behind on the second board against WarrenPeace (nice nick). Our Joe P. will be facing SaintNick, which hardly seems fair with Christmas just around the corner. And Darren is facing off against Dougrob (a Grob fanatic?). Our newest member Andrew will face off against Freydisdottir. (forget that her name is Jennifer, just beat her!)

Only in America?

Leave it to we Americans to try our hand at Vote Chess. We've started a contest at Chess.com against our friends at the Winchester Club. Just sign up to play and you get to vote on our moves. Of course, this will be a non-partisan contest.

The Lion Reaches 2146

Our own KYLion (Johnny) has reached an online rating of 2146 with his win against timrox in the Battle for the Bluegrass, our match against the Winchester club. He flushes out the Black king and then ensnares him in a mating net. Check it out with analysis by Fritz:

[Date "2009.09.30"]
[White "KYLion"]
[Black "timrox"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2146"]
[BlackElo "1678"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (30s)"]

{D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4}

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 {last book move}

4 ... a6 {Consolidates b5} 5. c3 {Covers b4} Bd6 6. Nbd2 Nf6 7. Bd3 b5 (7... O-O 8. O-O +/=) 8. O-O +/- Bb7 9. b4 O-O 10. a4 {White threatens to win material: a4xb5} Re8 (10... Bxf4 11. exf4 Qd6 12. Ne5 +/-) 11. axb5 axb5 12. Bxb5 Re7 (12... Rxa1 !? 13. Qxa1 Bxf4 14. exf4 Qd6 +/-) 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Bg5 Kf8 (14... Re8 !? +-) 15. Qc2 h6 ? (15... Kg8 +-) 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qh7 Ke8 (17... Rd7 {cannot change what is in store for Black} 18. Qxh6+ Kg8 19. Bd3 +-) 18. c4 dxc4 19. Ne4 Kd8

20. Qh8+ Re8 21. Qxf6+ Be7 (21... Kc8 {cannot undo what has already been done} 22. Qxf7 Rd8 23. Nc5 +-) 22. Qxf7 Kd7 (22... Rf8 {otherwise it's curtains at once} 23. Qxe6 Nb8 +-) 23. Nc5+ Kd8 (23... Kc8 {does not improve anything} 24. Qxe8+ Bd8 25. Nxb7 Na5 26. Nxa5 c6 27. Ne5 Qa7 28. Ba6+ Qxa6 29. Qd7+ Kb8 30. Nexc6+ Qxc6 31. Nxc6+ Ka8 32. Qa7#) 24. Nxe6+ Kd7 (24... Kc8 {doesn't change anything anymore} 25. Qxe8+ Bd8 26. Nxd8 Nxd8 27. Bd7+ Kb8 28. Qxd8+ Bc8 29. Qxc8+ Ka7 30. Qxc7+ Qb7 31. Ra1#) 25. Ne5+ Kd6 (25... Kc8 {does not win a prize} 26. Qxe8+ Nd8 27. Qd7+ Kb8 28. Qxc7+ Ka7 29. Ra1#) 26. Nc5 Qc8 (26... Nxe5 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} 27. Qe6#) 27. Nxc4# 1-0

A Call to Arms

We need more chess stuff! Got a game that's worth showing off? Send it to Bob L. to see it here in bright lights. Got some words of chess wisdom that you'd like to pass on to the club? Get with Bob L. and be added as a blog author. Found a fabulous chess site? Share it with Bob L. and it will be linked to here on our blog. Pitch in and help to make our blog something worth reading.

All Hands on Deck

Turnout was great for the club tonight. James, Bob L., Rudy, Joe P., Andrew L., and Nick held down the skittles room and kept 3 boards busy. Johnny, Jerry, Bob K., Kerry, Dave, and Ernie played championship matches with Owens, Weaver, and Fatula coming up winners. Johnny and Jerry also split a point. Steve and Joe F. were also there but didn't get their game started.

Lion in Wait - Another 19 Moves

Johnny (KYLion (2132)) has scored another 19 move win, this time against timrox of the Winchester Club in our Battle for the Bluegrass. Tim offered a Colle System, but trying to turn it into a Zukertort with 12.Bb2 didn't work out too well, so Johnny decided to do some kingside attacking of his own.

[Date "2009.09.30"]
[White "timrox"]
[Black "KYLion"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1703"]
[BlackElo "2132"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (30s)"]

{D05: Colle System with ...e6}

1. d4 e6 2. e3 d5 3. Bd3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Bd6 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O O-O 8. b3 {last book move} cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. Re1 e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12. Bb2 ?? (12. Nxe5 is better {and would bring relief}Bxe5 13. Bb2 =/+)

12... Nxd3 -+ 13. Rxe8+ Qxe8 14. Bc1 (14. c4 {there is nothing else anyway}Nxb2 15. Qc2 Nxc4 16. bxc4 -+) 14... Ng4 15. h3 (15. Nf1 {no good, but what else?} Ngxf2 16. Qc2 -+) 15... Ngxf2 16. Qf1 Qe3 17. Nc4 Nxh3+ 18. Kh1 Ndf2+ ( 18... dxc4 ? {doesn't lead to the expected results} 19. Bxe3 Nhf4 20. Bxf4 ( 20. bxc4 ?! Bf5 +/-) 20... Bxf4 21. Ne1 +-) 19. Qxf2 Nxf2+ (19... Nxf2+ 20. Kg1 Nh3+ 21. Kh1 Qg1+ 22. Nxg1 Nf2#) 0-1

Queen Sac

Our own Johnny (KYLion on Chess.com) has scored a big win in 19 moves against scjohnson in our club's match against the Ashburn (VA) Chess Club. Analysis by Fritz shows how crushing the win was.

[Date "2009.09.30"]
[White "KYLion"]
[Black "scjohnson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2113"]
[BlackElo "1939"]
[Annotator "Fritz 11 (30s)"]

{D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4}

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. Nf3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 {last book move} 5. dxc5 a5 (5... Ne4 6. b4 =) 6. Na3 +/= Nh5 (6... e5 7. Nxe5 Bxc5 8. e3 +/=) 7. Qa4 +/- Bd7 8. O-O-O e6 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. Qg4 g6 12. Qh4 f6 ?? {causes further problems for Black} (better is 12... Qc7 13. g4 Qf4+ 14. Nd2 e5 +/-) 13. g4 +/- Nf4 14. Qxf6 Rf8 15.Qg7 Qc7 16. Ne5 g5 (16... O-O-O {is not much help}

17. Nxd7 (not as good is 17. Qxe7  Qxe5 18. e3 Rfe8 +-) 17... Qxd7 18. e3 +-) 17. Nac4! {Deflection: d5} Qxc5 (17... dxc4 18. Rxd7 {Deflection Pinning})

18. Qxf8+ !! {the crowning sacrifice} Kxf8 19. Nxd7+ Ke8 1-0

Playing for Bread

Panera Bread saw action both Thursday night (with Stephanie, Bob L., Sal, and everyone in Nick's family except Nick plus Dominic's friend Bryce and his mom) and Saturday morning (with Jerry, Stephanie, Bob L., and Darren). James was given an official pardon for not being there Saturday because it was his anniversary.

Action is also fast for our club at Chess.com. Stan has now joined up and we've got 13 on our team. A recent club attendee, James Osborne, has also stopped by to see us online. He should be on our group list shortly. We are down 3 games against Winchester, so the remaining boards will have to try to hang tough. No games are yet completed against the Ashburn club.

We have also received a match challenge from Republic of Newfoundland and a vote chess challenge from the Winchester Club. We need more players to express an interest before accepting.

Not Just Another Tuesday Night

It was a busy night down at the E-Town club tonight. Eight players lined up for 2nd Tuesday Swiss assignments, enough for 2 sections. The players included Johnny, Jerry, Steve P., Ernie, Stephanie, Rudy, Sal, and James. Steve and Rudy ripped up the competition to score 3 points each in their sections. Get a look at the official crosstable here.

Four players put in time over the board for championship games. Joe Farrell took 2 points in contests against Stan Mullins and Kerry Fatula scored a point against Bob Kilmer. Eleven players had results in the last crosstable, with Ernie picking up 4 points. Find the latest update to offical results here.

Bob L. manned the library and hosted the club's newest member, Andrew Lee. Andrew scored 1 point in 3 games against club players, proving that he'll fit right in. He already plays online at Chess.com and will soon join our club page there. Be sure to welcome Andrew to the club when you meet him.

More Coffee?

You knew it would happen sooner or later! The Bardstown crowd is coming to E-Town to show us what they've got! It's another Panera Special Invitational on Thursday night at 6:30pm. You don't want to miss this! Join us for an after dinner coffee and some friendly chess.

Where the Boys (and Girl) Are

Our club now has 11 members playing online at Chess.com. If you aren't there, you're missing out on a lot of fun.

Many individual challenges are in progress, and our club is playing challenge matches against the Winchester (KY) Chess Club and the Ashburn (VA) Chess Club. We are just 1 game down in our Winchester match. There are no finished games yet  in the Ashburn match.

Bob L. has won his section in the first round of the 8th Chess.com Tournament (1601-1800) , and Johnny needs to finish just one more regular game before beginning his online tournament career.

Johnny is currently the club's ratings leader at 2027. Joe P. is following closely at 1982, and Darren has moved into third place at 1843. Our club average is a respectable 1493.

If It's Tuesday ...

If it's Tuesday, it's chess night in Elizabethtown. And this week we're having our 2nd Tuesday Swiss tournament. For just a $1 entry fee you get three rounds of G/30 5 rated action. Be sure to get there early if you haven't pre-registered.

My Three Sons

OK ... two sons. James brought his son Damien and Jerry brought his son John to the Saturday morning Panera Invitational. Damien tried his hand at the board and said he might just come to a Tuesday night meeting. Bob L. and Stephanie also came ready to push wood. Two boards saw lots of action. The coffee, the company, and the chess were all good. Darren promises to be back next week, so start preparing your special lines for him now.

National Chess Day

James, Stephanie, and Bob L. celebrated National Chess Day early with chess and coffee at a Special Panera Invitational yesterday morning. Plenty of good games were had, and Bob K. stopped by and checked out the action. (He also has recently joined us on Chess.com.) You can celebrate the holiday tomorrow by joining us for another Panera Invitational at 10am. It's great fun and a great chance to practice your game.

If you'd like to give yourself a present in celebration, Chess.com has announced that members will receive a free chess book with any order from USCF Sales. Just use the coupon code "CHESSCOM" when you check out. Get a book that you've been wanting, or get a title that you know is great and donate it to our club chess library.

Tuesday Night Fights

Don't forget our regular 2nd Tuesday of the month tournament on Oct. 13. It's 3 rounds of Swiss system action at a G/30 time control with a 5 second delay. Register in advance with Johnny to reserve your spot, or be sure to be there early for registration. Entry fee is $1; USCF membership is required.

No Champs Yet

The whole room was for skittles last night as no championship games were played. Attending were Jerry, Nick, James, Steve P., Steve N., Dave, Kerry, Bob L., and Rudy. Everyone got in at least one game. Bob L. and Dave turned in a draw. It was a good warmup for next week's 2nd Tuesday tournament.

Turning Wood

Stephanie, James, and Jerry took turns pushing wood at yesterday's weekly Panera Invitational. Good games were had on a sunny Saturday morning. Seven different club members have attended on various Saturdays now. When will you stop in and see what you are missing?

No RSVP Required

It's almost Saturday morning and time for the weekly Panera Invitational. It's coffee and casual chess at Panera Bread and this is your invitation. We start at ten, but we might not leave till they throw us out.

Strike Another Match

Here we go again! The Battle for the Bluegrass against the Winchester Chess Club / Anywheretownfieldville Chess Club is underway. It's five boards of double action, ten games at once. Our lenningrl signed on to face khob86 1862 Chess.com / 908P USCF on board one. KYLion is on board two against timrox 1735 Chess.com. DerLinksspringer is going head to head against backrow1720 1675 Chess.com / 1319 USCF, while wpgriffon will face off against boyerbcb77 1665 Chess.com. Our fifth board will feature wildangels against jahnknight 1410 Chess.com / 939P USCF. Watch the action live and support our club on Chess.com.