Mike's Page - Chess

Columbia Open Game 5

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:13:11 -0700

1. d4 d5
2. c4 {Finally someone lets me play an opening I'm familiar with...}
2... c5 {But I'm not familiar with that response!}
3. e3 Nc6
4. Nf3 f6
5. Nc3 {I took a long time on this move since I thought he was preparing for e5.}
5... e6
6. b3 Bd6
7. cxd5 {I made this capture with the intention of developing my bishop to b5 for the pin.}
7... exd5
8. Bb5 {maybe I should have played Nxd5 to grab that pawn}
8... a6
9. Ba4? {I made this move quickly because in other games I've maintained a pin that way, but too late noticed that the bishop had no escape squares. I was certain b5 was next.}
9... Rb8 {I didn't understand this move, but I was relieved.}
10. Bxc6+ {I wasn't going to wait for b5 any longer.}
10... bxc6 {I was happy to double his pawns but not to let the rook have the mostly-clear file. Perhaps that was the intent of 9...Rb8?}
11. O-O c4
12. bxc4 dxc4 {Now I noticed he had two unprotected pawns.}
13. Qa4 {Attacks both of them!}
13... Ne7 {Probably his best reply. }
14. Qxc4 Rb4
15. Qd3 {Here I had 57 minutes left.}
15... O-O {My opponent had 62 minutes left. At this point I'm wondering if the pawn grab was too aggressive and my queen would be continually attacked.}
16. Bd2 c5
17. Ne4 c4
18. Qc2 Rb5
19. Nxd6 Qxd6
20. Qxc4+ Be6
21. Qc3 {36 minutes left.}
21... Rc8
22. Qd3 Bf5
23. e4 {32 minutes left. I wasn't happy with this move but I wanted to give my queen more retreat options.}
23... Bg6
24. Rfc1 {25 minutes left. I'm wanting to exchange pieces and simplify since I'm up two pawns.}
24... f5
25. Rxc8+ {24 minutes left.}
25... Nxc8
26. e5 {22 minutes left. I wanted to make trouble for his queen but here I am removing the defender from that bishop.}
26... Qd8 27. Rb1 {20 minutes left. As soon as I moved it I saw the bishop skewer and thought I had blown it.}
27... f4 {My opponent saw it too.}
28. Qc4+ {The one move to save it. I wish I could say I had planned this well ahead.}
28... Rd5
29. Rc1 {15:46 left.}
29... Bf7 {Here I saw a free knight and a queen exchange.}
30. Qxc8 {My opponent resigned here.}
1-0

Columbia Open Game 4

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:04:24 -0700

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1. c4 e5 {I had no idea what the "proper" response to the English opening was, so I just moved a center pawn.}
2. Nc3 d6
3. g3 Nf6
4. Bg2 Be7 {My opponent missed this move and we both sat for maybe 10 minutes until he noticed his clock was ticking. But he moved quickly enough it never mattered.}
5. e3 c6
6. Nge2 Be6
7. b3 d5
8. cxd5 cxd5
9. d3 Nc6
10. O-O O-O
11. f4 Bd6
12. fxe5 Bxe5
13. d4 Bc7
14. Ba3 Bd6
15. Bxd6 Qxd6
16. Nb5 Qd7
17. a4 Ng4 {Hoping to pull off the fork on e3.}
18. Qd2 {Nope!}
18... a6
19. Nbc3 Rfe8
20. h3 Nf6
21. Nf4 {Here my opponent had 67 minutes left on his first 35 moves.}
21... Rac8 {Here I had 39 minutes left on my first 35 moves.}
22. Nxe6 Qxe6 {Perhaps Rxe6 would have been better.}
23. Rae1 Ne7 {31 minutes left.}
24. Ne2 Qd7 {25 minutes left.}
25. Nf4 b5 {24 minutes left. Trying to make some trouble on the queenside.}
26. e4 bxa4 {22 minutes left.}
27. bxa4 dxe4 {20 minutes left. Was considering Qxa4 but thought it was taking the queen away from the action.}
28. a5 {There went my chance to grab that pawn.}
28... Qd6 {17:55 left. I think I made this move to threaten the g3 pawn if the knight were to move.}
29. Bxe4 Nxe4
30. Rxe4 Nd5 {14:39 left.}
31. Qe2 {Now I start to worry about the back rank.}
31... Rxe4
32. Qxe4 Nf6 {10:02 left. Attacking the queen and adding protection to e8.}
33. Qf5 Re8 {8:22 left. After I moved this I saw that I missed Qxd4+}
34. Qc5 Qxc5 {7:08 left.}
35. dxc5 Ne4 {I had 5:08 left at the 35th move, at which point we added an hour per side. I intended to attack g3.}
36. Re1 {But now the knight is pinned.}
36... f5 {Protects the knight, but my friend liked Kf8 better.}
37. g4 Re5 {Here I thought I'd threaten a lot of his pawns but didn't think about losing the knight if I moved the rook.}
38. gxf5 Kf7 {I could have grabbed two pawns for my knight but I wasn't comfortable being down a piece.}
39. c6 Kf6
40. Nd3 Re8
41. c7 Kxf5
42. Nc5 {Attacks the knight and it's still pinned.}
42... Rc8 {I decided to abandon the knight and get that troublesome pawn.}
43. Nxe4 Rxc7
44. Nd6+ Kf4
45. Rf1+ Kg3 {32 minutes left.}
46. Ne4+ Kxh3
47. Ng5+ Kg3 {Here I was trying to figure out a way to force a draw with his king hemmed in.}
48. Nxh7 Rc2
49. Rd1 {He gives his king space and I can't force a draw by repetition.}
49... Rg2+
50. Kf1 Rf2+ {25 minutes left.}
51. Ke1 Rf5
52. Rd3+ Kg4
53. Rd4+ Kg3
54. Rd7 g5 {Here my opponent offered the draw and I accepted. For fun we played out the game for several more moves and did end up with only kings left for the draw.}
1/2-1/2

Columbia Open Game 3

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:54:53 -0700

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1. d4 e6 {I was not familiar with this move as a reply to d4.}
2. c4 c5
3. e3 cxd4
4. exd4 d6
5. Nf3 Nf6
6. Nc3 a6
7. Bg5 Be7
8. Qd3 Nc6
9. a3 Qa5
10. Be2 d5
11. O-O Qc7
12. cxd5 exd5
13. Bxf6 Bxf6
14. Nxd5 Qd6
15. Nxf6+ Qxf6
16. Qe4+ Ne7
17. Rac1 O-O
18. Bxa6? {I guess I was tired when I made this move. I never considered Rxa6 until I had made the move. Not the end of the world since I was down a bishop for two pawns, but still a mistake to me.}
18...Rxa6
19. Rfe1 Re6
20. Qc2 h6
21. Qb3 Rxe1+
22. Rxe1 Nc6 {My opponent's clock is 25 minutes at this point.}
23. Qc3 {My clock is at 18:59.}
23... Rd8
24. Qe3 {Now I'm down to 13:42.}
24... Bg4
25. Ne5 {10:57 left.}
25... Nxe5
26. dxe5 Qe7
27. Qe4 h5
28. h3 {8:42 left for me.}
28... Be6 {13:58 left for my opponent.}
29. b4 {8:28 left.}
29... Bd5
30. Qe2 {8:06 left.}
30... Qg5
31. g3 g6
32. Kh2 Rc8
33. h4 {2:40 left.}
33... Qf5
34. Qb5 Qxf2+
35. Kh3 {30 seconds left.}
35... Qg2#
0-1

Columbia Open Game 2

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:54:57 -0700

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1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6
4. Bxc6 bxc6 {I'm not very familiar with the Ruy Lopez and captured with the wrong pawn. The game got ugly quickly.}
5. Nxe5 Nf6
6. d3 Bd6
7. Bf4 O-O
8. Qe2 Bb7
9. Nd2 c5
10. Nxf7 {I thought this was too aggressive, too early for my opponent.}
10... Kxf7
11. e5 Qe7
12. exd6 Qxe2+
13. Kxe2 Rfe8+
14. Kf1 cxd6
15. Bxd6 Rac8
16. f3 Rc6 {68 minutes left.}
17. Nc4 Nd5
18. Bxc5 {This was a good move by the opponent. I can't capture the bishop because then Nd6 forks the king and rook.}
18... Ne3+ {I had planned this after move 17 but it doesn't work because of the extra bishop attacking that square.}
19. Bxe3 {Now I'm certain I'll lose this game.}
19... d5
20. Na5 {I'm not sure this was a good idea. It forks the rook and bishop but leaves c2 open and takes the protection off e3.}
20... Rxc2
21. Re1 {He noticed the hanging bishop.}
21... Rxb2 {Picks up a pawn and guards the bishop.}
22. Nxb7 Rxb7
23. Bd4 {Probably the biggest mistake. I had been looking for a way to skewer that h1 rook.}
23... Rxe1+
24. Kxe1 Rb1+
25. Kf2 Rxh1
26. Kg3 Rd1
27. Kf4 Rxd3
28. Ke5 Rd2
29. a3 Rxg2
30. h4 Rh2
31. Kxd5 Rxh4
32. Kc5 Rf4
33. Bc3 Rxf3
34. Bb4 Rf6
35. a4 Re6
36. a5 h5
37. Bd2 h4
38. Bf4 h3
39. Bh2 g5
40. Bg3 g4
41. Bh2 Rg6
42. Bg3 Kf6
43. Kd4 Kf5
44. Kd5 Rg8
45. Kc6 Ke4
46. Kb6 Kf3
47. Bc7 g3
48. Kxa6 g2
49. Bh2 g1=Q
50. Bxg1 Rxg1
51. Kb7 h2
52. a6 h1=Q
53. a7 Kg4+
54. Kb8 Rb1+
0-1

Columbia Open Game 1

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:31:08 -0700

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1. e4 {My first tournament game. I was nervous playing a 1320-rated player.}
1... d5 {The Scandinavian defense. I've played a few of these.}
2. exd5 Qxd5
3. Nc3 Qa5
4. Nf3 c6
5. Be2 Nf6
6. d4 e6
7. Bd2 Qd8
8. Bg5 {Now that the queen's back where she started from I decided to pin the knight.}
8... Be7 {The pin didn't last long!}
9. O-O O-O
10. Qd2 Nd5
11. Nxd5 cxd5
12. c4 {I don't remember why I made that move.}
12... f6
13. Bh4 Nc6
14. cxd5 exd5
15. Rac1 Bb4
16. Qd3 Be7 {Another retreat.}
17. Bg3 Bd7
18. a3 Rc8
19. Rc3 Be6
20. Rfc1 Bd6
21. Bxd6 Qxd6
22. Qb5 Rc7
23. Qa4 Rfc8
24. Bd3 g6
25. Qc2 Bf7
26. Bb5 Be8
27. Qe2 Re7
28. Re3 Rcc7
29. Rxe7 Rxe730. Qd2 a6
31. Bd3 Bf7
32. Re1 Kg7
33. Rxe7 Qxe7
34. Qd1 {At this point I had 17:21 left of 75 minutes. My opponent still had 49 minutes left. I was worried about the time and wanted to exchange some pieces.}
34... Qd6
35. b4 b5
36. a4 Nxb4
37. axb5 axb5
38. Bxb5 Qb6
39. Be2 {13:46 left.}
39... Qc7
40. g3 Qc3
41. Kg2 Qb2
42. Qd2 {I had 10:45 left. Here I wanted to exchange queens, but had no idea what could be done next. I was thinking a draw but wasn't comfortable asking for one. So when my opponent, who still had 39 minutes on his clock, offered a draw, I accepted.}
1/2-1/2

Greenwood Chess Simul

nospam@example.com (Mike Boone) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:17:59 -0700

Last night was the Greenwood Chess Simul exhibition and my first time participating in one. The SC Chess Association had arranged for chess Grand Master Gregory Kaidanov to play exhibitions in four cities.

We didn't have a huge turnout in Greenwood, maybe 15 players and a small crowd of spectators. This allowed the GM to play quickly and it seemed like every time I looked up, he was coming around for another move. I think everyone would have played better with a little more time to think. I was amazed when two of the Greenwood club's strongest players were out quickly. I somehow managed to hang on for a few more minutes but was just as soundly defeated. A few more guys hung on for a little longer, but the simul was over quickly. Here is my game for your enjoyment.

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In retrospect I wish I had moved 8...Bb7 instead, but I'm sure there are plenty of other mistakes in my moves.

As if the regular simul event wasn't fast enough, it was followed by a couple rounds of speed chess, 5 minutes per side, with the GM playing four simultaneously. I still had nearly 90 seconds on my clock when I was checkmated.

The coolest part of the exhibition was the "blindfold" game. The GM sat facing away from the board and each player called out moves. Despite drawing one of the better Greenwood players, the GM made quick work of him. It's amazing to be able to keep track of the entire game in your head.

I really enjoyed the event and want to thank Mr. Kaidanov for taking the time to come to Greenwood.