Greetings,
Happy Easter!
I have decided to resurrect the Colorado Springs Chess Club and the newsletter…
And now, some updates.
The Colorado Springs Chess Club is currently closed for our Tuesday night meetings until the current stay-at-home order is lifted. The March Swiss 90 has been rated for the 2 weeks we played. Since no prizes were announced, everyone’s entry fees can be applied to a future event or refunded.
uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202003107822
The USCF sent me the following rating updates about several events in which I played. Mark McGough took home 1st place in the February Swiss 90.
uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202002256222
LM Gunnar Andersen went unbeaten to grab the top spot in the IHOP Quick February.
uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202002234952
I won the January One Night Quick. Now, if only I can get my rating database updated.
uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202001280812
And now, the first newsletter for 2020:
Start Of The Season
Sunday, April 12, 2020
The times are changing. Historically, I put out my Game Of The Year at the end of my chess publishing season some time in August. For 2019, I did not get it done. I have been spending the off-season looking for some excuse why I did not publishing the 16th version of the Game Of The Year.
Then Coronavirus hit! The Colorado Springs Chess Club was closed; businesses went dark; the streets became desolate, and toilet paper can only be purchased on the dark web. Now, I had the perfect justification for my lack of chess writing.
However, the more I thought about it; the more I realized how essential chess is to the victory over this dreaded plague. Clearly, chess is the greatest tool for social distancing since the invention of body odor.
I have been social distancing ever since I downloaded a chess app to my phone. I convinced myself that moving from sleeping in bed to playing chess on the couch meant I was up and being productive since, technically, I am a chess professional and any practice counts as work. In addition, my favorite aspect of chess club is the fact that I can escape any boring social interaction with three simple words, “My opponent moved.”
Unfortunately, the stay-at-home order has been extended. Not enough people are practicing safe space. Well, I have decided to do my part. My plan is to resurrect the Colorado Springs Chess Club and convert more people into social distancing masters by offering online tournament for the club.
…
Stay home and play chess!
Game Of The Year
The Game Of The Year comes from a Quick-rated game given to me by LM Gunnar Andersen. He won the 2020 Colorado Springs City Speed Chess Championship in January and became the 11th champion. Unfortunately, the speed games are not recorded. So, I picked the next best thing.
However, I also wanted to tell you about my best victory from last year. It came from my encounter with the auto insurance company Progressive. If you are just interested in the chess, then feel free to skip over my rant.
[Begin Rant]
I will spare the forum readers the rant. You can read it here, if you are so inclined.
cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/show … e-year-xvi
[End Rant]
And now, back to an actual chess game.
LM Gunnar Andersen got the Game Of The Year thanks to good timing and an old policy I created to punish one of my chess villains. I am the Dark Knight of Colorado Springs chess. When the bat-signal shines bright on Tuesday night, I must swoop in and prevent any crime.
Years ago, the Penguin tormented the citizens of Colorado Springs. I banished him to Arkham asylum and offered any citizen the right to have their victory over Penguin moved to the top of the publish list. The citizens rejoiced with the return of safety and sportsmanship.
However, the peace was short-lived when the Riddler tried to wreak havoc. The ingenious use of the bat-camera scared the Riddler into hiding. Tranquility returned to the club until the Joker’s cackling laughter sent shivers up the spines of everyone in the tournament hall. Again, the Dark Knight was able to restore order.
One at a time, the villains were little match for the Caped Crusader. Unfortunately, there has been a jailbreak and the inmates have escaped: the Penguin, the Riddler, and the Joker are on the loose!
With LM Gunnar Andersen’s new Speed crown and his ability to win chess games at lightning speed, I chose one of his quick wins as the Game Of The Year. I call it:
The Flash vs The Penguin
Black to move
See diagram and answer here:
cschess.webs.com/apps/photos/ph … =206165523
Game Of The Year XVI
chessvideos.tv/chess-game-r … ?id=115314
[Event “IHOP QUICK SEPTEMBER”]
[Site “https://cschess.webs.com/”]
[Date “2019.09.15”]
[Round “2.1”]
[White “Whinemiller”]
[Black “Andersen, Gunnar”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B00”]
[WhiteElo “1793”]
[BlackElo “2124”]
[PlyCount “34”]
[EventDate “2019.09.15”]
[TimeControl “1440+5”]
- e4 Na6 2. d4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 dxe4 5. Nxe4
Bf5 6. Ng3 Bg6 7. Bc4 Nb4 8. Bb3 Nf6 9. O-O e6 10. a3 Nbd5 11. c4 Nb6 12. Re1
Be7 13. Be3 O-O 14. Rc1 Qc7 15. d5 Rad8 16. Bxb6 Qxb6 17. Nd4 Bc5 0-1
The Last Week In Chess
On March 10th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club held the 2nd round of the March Swiss 90 (5SS, G/90+30). Then the Coronavirus hit! And life has never been the same.
Standings. March Swiss 90
Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Tot Prize
1 Paul D Anderson 1957 W6 W4 2.0
2 Gunnar Andersen 2292 W5 D3 1.5
3 Mitchell Anderson 1969 W7 D2 1.5
4 Mark McGough 1805 W9 L1 1.0
5 Grayson Ed Harris 1599 L2 W8 1.0
6 Gabriel Frank 1350 L1 D7 0.5
7 Dean W Brown 1442 L3 D6 0.5
8 Derek Eskeldson 1368 H— L5 0.5
9 Clinton Eads 1241 L4 H— 0.5