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.