The New Threat to National Security: Chess Clocks

I am one day late with my post but better late than never. I just wanted to share that I have been stopped twice by airport security. They've wanted to use some kind of scanner device to check my chess clock.

The new terrorist threat: eccentric chess players.

On a more serious note, they probably suspected there was some kind of explosive inside the clock.

It's Coming Tomorrow

A new post will be at your internet "door" tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

A Delightful Game I Played

For any interested person's viewing pleasure.

1.e4 e5

2.Nf3 Nc6

3.Bb5 a6

4.Ba4 Nf6

5.0-0 Be7

6.Re1 b5

7.Bb3 0-0

8.c3 d5

9.ed5 Nd5

10.Ne5 Ne5

11.Re5 c6

12.Bd5 cd5

13.Qf3 Bb7

14.d4 Bd6

15.Rel Qh4

16.g3 Qh3

17.Be3 Rae8

18.Nbd2 f5

19.Bf4 Bf4

20.Qf4 Re4

21.Ne4 fe4

22.Qh4 Qf5

23.f4 ef3

24.Re5 f2+

25.Kf1 Qd3+

26.Re2 Re8

27.Qh5 Rf8

28.Kg2 g6

29.Qg4 Bc8

30.Qg5 Qf3+

31.Kf1 Qh1++

Just copy and paste the notation into the window at this site: http://www.lutanho.net/pgn/pgnviewer.html

On the 20th move, I give up a rook for a knight -- and this is called an exchange sacrifice in chess lingo -- to take back with the f-pawn. This opens a file for my rook to assist in a mating attack on the king,

I felt the stress of playing carefully after it since I was at a material disadvantage.

A joyful kind of stress ( : ( :

Sorry and an Update

From now on, I won't make promises to write more that I am not very sure I will follow up on. I do have plans to keep this blog active, but want to take a step back while I decide what direction to take it in. A plan for a three part series on the Missouri Open has been scrapped, but I will likely annotate some of the games I played in it.

Stay tuned!

Fischer Thoughts-Rothbard Follow Up

Murray Rothbard's piece on Fischer is a mixture of the good and the bad. To the best of my knowledge, Rothbard's understanding of chess and its history wasn't too extensive but he makes some valid points. Its never bothered me that Fischer violated U.N. sanctions in Yugoslavia so I'm on board when Rothbard defends him.

When asked about the "sanctions" against him, Bobby heroically pulled out a letter from the U.S. Treasury, warning him that if he went through with the match, he would be violating UN sanctions and subject to fine and imprisonment. Bobby met this challenge by heroically spitting on the Treasury letter, and declaring that he doesn't recognize the sovereignty of the United Nations in fact, that the world would be a lot better without the UN.

On the other hand, Rothbard is too quick to dismiss charges against him at times.

Two: Bobby makes excessive, trivial, and loony demands of tournament directors. And yet, virtually all of these supposedly wacko demands have now been adopted, and chess experts have begun to see their merits. For example: It was Bobby's correct charges of Soviet conspiracy that forced the international chess authorities to change the way they pick championship contenders, turning from tournaments (where deliberate draws can be concocted) to one-on-one matches, where such conspiracies cannot take place. Bobby has also pioneered in changing tournament time clocks, to guard against being rushed to beat the time clock. This innovation showed a principled regard for the good of the game, since one of Bobby's attributes as a chess player is that he himself was virtually never in time trouble.

So, Fischer isn't always wrong but his demands on tournament directors, not to mention other players, have reached ridiculous heights at times. For proof, a great book to turn too is Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time that deserves quoting here:

Just before midnight on 9 May, the thirty-three-old Benko came looking for Bisguier in Fischer's room; he needed some help in analyzing his adjourned game with Petrosian. Fischer and Benko started scrapping- What Bisguier calls "fisticuffs". The following day, Fischer wrote to the tournament organizing committee, saying Benko should be fined and/or expelled from the tournament. It was a letter they chose to ignore.
Pg.14

This passage is included in a paragraph documenting Fischer's desire to have Bisguier only assist him.

Apologizes and More to Come

I promised to write much more in this blog, and apologize for taking so long to finally getting around to it.

Look for more frequent posting this week!

Under Renovation

I've switched to a new and improved look for the chess blog and thanks to the people behind blogger.com for offering more features.

Chess in New York City

To begin the lack of neglect I spoke of here; A piece I've had collecting dust for awhile is offered. I also have a three part series of posts on the Missouri Chess Festival planned. General commentary, annotated games, and a take on the Missouri Chess Association bulletin report will be posted.

Its often been a habit of mine to call New York City the chess capital of America. A recent family trip to the city left me with this favorable impression intact. From risking cash or wagering push-ups in Union Square to visiting the Marshall Chess Club, a good time was always had. Next to the above, a stop at the infamous Washington Square Park of Searching for Bobby Fischer fame was also made. My results in all three of these venues was mixed. On the first stop in Union Square, a lost match of first to win six games left me 30 dollars less in spending allowance. The opponent I faced was a very friendly guy who provided enjoyable conversation. In a second trip, he was kind enough to play me with the time odds of 3:1.40 in my favor. Enough games were won to garner 4 dollars but there was no repeat of this in Washington Square. Here, I lost both of two attempts to triumph over a local player. While these excursions into NYC park playing were fun, visiting the Marshall turned out to be the real highlight of my chess experiences. Being able to catch glimpses of chess history captured in many photographs was worth the visit alone.

On the Move Again

The Westport Chess Club makes a move back to the Westport Flea Market next Tuesday. Be sure to drop by!

Back in Action

More posting on here is about to come. My long neglect of the chess blog will end.

Chess Life Redesign-Follow Up

Many thanks to all of those who left comments on my Chess Life Redesign post. It managed to be my first post (to the best of my knowledge) mentioned elsewhere on the net at the Boylston Chess Club Weblog. On a similiar note, my blog is linked at All the King's Men.

Chess Life Redesign

Chess Life has a new look! Perhaps, they decided the old format was too stale for the times. There is quite the contrast between the old design and the new. They've upped the ante with a flashier presentation likely designed to make it easier on the eyes. The old format, despite being kind of bland, never really bothered me much though. Being a hardcore chess enthusiast, content takes precedence over style for me. I'm sad to see Larry Evans column disappear but it's my hope that we'll get to see it online. Speaking of which, I've got mixed feelings about the shift of more content to the net. We do live in an age where net access is becoming increasingly widespread but those without a taste for the web would be left out in this change. Not that it's possible for the USCF to completely please everyone but accommodations for those without a net connection could be made. Two versions of Chess Life could be published with one retaining more content in print form. Of course, there's the issue of increased costs and thus USCF dues (not really knowledgeable on how the current revenue is spent or whether it's mostly spent in a good way) but offering two deals with any extra costs added in could solve that. Anyway, that's my take.

What's yours?

Update: It's a shame to see David L. Brown's Key Kracker's column disappear.

Fischer Thoughts-Another Perspective

I've written a fairly critical essay on Bobby Fischer in the past and I'd like to provide a link to a more complimentary piece written by the late Murray Rothbard. There are some similar areas of concern but the points in time that our respective writings were put together are very far apart.

Judge for yourself! I'll be doing a follow up post with my thoughts on it eventually.

Favorite Tourney

Let me know about the tournament that made your day.

Mine would have to be the 2005 North American Open.

Chess Buzz

Is blitz chess an adrenaline rush for you?

Share your thoughts!

Game of the Day-Spectacular Attack

Young Bobby Fischer played more than one game that awed chess players. One of my favorites is Fischer-Bent Larsen that was played at the 1958 Interzonal held in Portoroz, Slovenia.

Game of the Day-Artistic Finish

Today, I'll promote a game that has an absolutely sparkling finish. It's the fifth match game between Capablanca and Marshall from their 21 game series played in 1909. Those interested in an annotation should track down a copy of Capablanca's Best Chess Endings:60 Complete Games that contains it, along with several other battles of the event.

An Intense Tournament-The 2006 Chess Club Championship

Intensity! Chess is often a quiet game on the surface but it can be quite different inside the inner worlds of the players. I had an experience that is to be treasured in my last game when intense calculations were made. No doubt, others have their own memorable moments from this event. Once again, I'm at a loss to poke holes in the running of a Chess Club tourney. If anyone has a grievance to air than here's one forum to do so.

Memorable Moments

What's your most memorable chess moment?

My piece on the 2006 Chess Club Championship will be up sometime this week.

Sorry for the delay!

Surprise Surprise

Chess can be a limitless game that manages to keep us on our toes.

It can throw new and exciting situations at us even when we think we've seen it all.

What kind of surprises has chess provided for you?