There is more to this story then what I wrote in the first post. If one looked at the positions and analysis, he could see that it was an interesting endgame. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the game itself, and I did not want that to get lost in what occurred during the game, after the game, and on the following day.
At times I let my inner coach and TD go places that perhaps she should not go. I've had discussions with my blog readers when recounting these incidents. In this particular case I was dealing with my opponent, and I was trying to keep the tournament director out of it. I did not feel it was necessary to get the TD involved. I thought I could make the point of not talking in the tournament room, and staying focused on one's game without getting anyone in trouble. What I had not counted on was my idiomatic English being misconstrued as a cheating accusation, and butting heads with an overly protective chess parent.
After I went back into the playing room and the tournament director gave the mom a "polite lecture" about her son being mature enough to play with adults, she decided she would camp out by the door. This way she could keep an eye out on her son, and make sure his "mean and nasty opponent" was not going do anything else to him. It was rather annoying to look up from my game and see this woman staring at me like I was the devil incarnate. At one point I said something to the tournament director about not liking her giving me the evil eye from across the room. I think he was kind of aggravated by the whole thing and said to me, "What do you want me to do? Gouge her eyes out?"
I decided it was not worth asking him to tell her she could not sit by the door. I may have won the battle on the talking issue, but I was clearly going to lose the psychological war if I did not just ignore her. However it's hard to ignore this type of thing when the kid has an entourage of coaches, parents of coaches, and other assorted people who come in during the game check up on him. Nobody said anything, but people would bring him water and snacks or just stand around and watch. I felt like it was me versus my opponent and the chess academy that he is part of. Are these kids like Hollywood actors who need their entourage to look after them? Do my people need to talk to their people to smooth things out. The problem is, I don't have any people.
One may be thinking, "Ohhh, Polly let herself get psyched out by a nine year old." No it was not getting psyched out by the kid. It was getting intimidated by his entourage, and feeling guilty about being thought of as a bully accusing a nine year old of cheating. After the game was over I made a point of going out of the room with my opponent, congratulating him on outstanding play, apologizing to the mother and him for the misunderstanding, and explaining what I had meant. Apology accepted. End of story? Not quite.
On Monday I had taken a bye for round 5 so that I could play in the action tournament. That tournament was fairly uneventful except one game against a guy whose "elevator doesn't go to the top." Perhaps a post on that event will follow. The short version is; I scored 2.5 - 2.5 and won $16 tying for top under 1800. Woo hoo! That paid for dinner at LAX on Monday night. The action tournament was being played on the other side of the room, so I didn't have to deal with the kid, his mother or his entourage.
In round 6 I'm back to the main event. Taking a 1/2 point bye did not protect me from the dreaded full point bye when I only have 1 point out 5. A last round bye in a tournament where I purposely take a red-eye to avoid worrying about making my flight is really annoying. Originally the director paired me against a kid from the action who had also gotten a bye. However it seemed like he left, so the director found the player in the Open section who was getting the bye in that section.
While I'm waiting for the director to find me an opponent I got talking to the mom who had stuck up for me on Sunday. I thanked her for backing me up. She told me I was absolutely right for saying something. She knows that kids tend to talk too much with the other kids, and she's always concerned that her son might say something about a game accidentally. I told her that I felt bad that I upset the kid, and that he felt it necessary to go crying to mommy. She said something to the effect of "he plays her (you) like a fiddle." I'm not sure if she was saying I got suckered, or that he goes running to mommy over every little thing. Which ever, I guess this may be part of his game. I should mention that this woman's son is friends with the kid, and they both seem to go to the same chess program.
During his sixth round game the kid was seated directly behind me on another row of tables. Another one of his friends was seated next me. The friend's opponent was a no show, and got a forfeit win after an hour. Later on mommy comes into the playing room, and sits down next to me to watch her son play. I didn't say anything to her. I just acted as if she was a random spectator watching another game. Every once in awhile she'd get up and give him something to eat or drink. Sometimes he'd get up from the board and have a conversation with her. To me that is so wrong, but I wasn't going to say a thing. I wasn't playing him, so it his opponent's problem not mine. I made my point the day before, and if she wants to condone, even encourage her son's behavior that's her business not mine.
Maybe it's a southern California thing, but I saw way too many parents getting involved with their children's games while in progress. (My people will talk to your people, and our people will deal with the tournament director's people.) In one round there was a dispute about whether somebody had made the time control or not. The mother of one of the players in the dispute starts talking to the director and the opponent. The kid was probably 12 or 13 years old. Why is his mother butting in like that?
I've seen my share of crazy chess parents argue with the director when they don't like how a ruling was handled. I've also seen neurotic parents at open tournaments hover over their child's game when they're playing. My feeling on the matter is; if the child is strong enough to play adults then he needs to behave accordingly. That means not running around the room, or chit chatting with his friends because he's bored. That means not relying on mommy or daddy to fetch water or snacks for him during the game. That means if he has a problem with the opponent, try to work it out with the opponent, or go to the tournament director. The parent should not be involved at all while the child is playing. Chess is a game between two individual players. Parents, coaches, spouses, significant others, etc should play no part in what happens during game. After the game is over then those people can provide whatever support is needed.
Most scholastic tournaments impose certain rules regarding player conduct. Some examples are, no parents in the room while games are in progress, no wandering around the room during the game, no talking with other players, and no returning to the playing room once their game is done. Rules like this would not go over too well in an open event. "I'm sorry Grandmaster Shabalov, your game is over you can't come back in and watch Grandmaster Akobian's game." The problem is parents and kids take advantage of the less rigid structure regarding player conduct in the playing room.
This past weekend I saw too many incidents with kids having conversations with their friends, or parents not just in the playing room, but right at the board while the opponent was on move. At one point during my game with the kid, he was trying to correct his score sheet. I had given him my Mon Roi so he could see what moves he was missing. His clock was running since it was his move. A kid comes up and starts asking him questions. I said "Excuse me, we are still playing. You should not be talking to him."
I suppose it would be easy ask "Where were the tournament directors?" There was one tournament director. He was responsible for pairings, and running not only the main event, but the various side events. It was hard for him to be everywhere at once. He could only deal with what he saw, or what was reported to him. I probably caused him enough aggravation with my "cat fight" with mommy. I didn't need to tell him how to run his tournament too.
As players we need to take responsibility for our own actions. If we are parents or coaches then we need to make sure we have taught our youngsters to behave in an appropriate manner regarding etiquette, sportsmanship, decision making and all the other stuff involved in being a tournament chess player. If we can take care of these things ourselves it makes the tournament director's job a whole lot easier.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Rd. 4 Lost In Translation - Part 1
After getting slapped around by a high school kid in round three, I had to play a nine year old with a 1778 rating in round four. He had gotten paired up in his first three rounds. I was his first "down pairing". He started off with a queen side castle on the wall chart. 0-0-0. I had managed to avoid the same fate with with my first round draw.
This was my first round in the merged schedules with the 40/2, G/60 time limit. This is the part that's sometimes difficult for me to slow down. I can get kind of antsy when the opponent is going into deep thinks on every move. I was getting antsy because he was staring off into space on his move. He looked either tired or bored, it was hard to say. Even in the opening he'd be staring into space or fiddling with his watch on his time. After awhile he kept getting up and leaving the board when it was my move. Every time I'd look up he'd be hanging around with this one kid, and talking in the playing room. They'd go over and look a friend's game and continue their conversation over there. I'm sure they weren't discussing our game. I have no idea who the other kid even was. He may have been playing in the scholastic tournament that was being on Sunday also.
This type of behavior by kids, especially higher rated kids who should know better just bothers the hell out of me. Parents and coaches should be constantly reminding their children and students to take the game seriously and not be using the opponent's thinking time to run around the playing room and socializing with other kids.
As I left the room at once point to go get water, the two of them are having a conversation. I did not raise my voice, but I did tell the kids that is was inappropriate to be having conversations in the playing room. I also told the kibitzer that he was doing his friend no favors by talking to him while he's in the middle of a game. I guess I should watch my use of idioms such as "doing one no favors" when speaking to a kid whose first language is not English.
I guess this got interpreted as doing a favor by helping his friend in giving moves. I certainly didn't think the kids were cheating. If I thought that I would have gone straight to the tournament director. The inner coach was coming out and saying, "Stop talking to your friends, and go play your chess game." If he had been one of my students, I would be very upset with him for not being at the board staying focused on the game.
I also feel it's important for a player not give appearance of unethical behavior. One could be discussing the weather or what happened in last night's baseball game, but in the midst of a tournament the opponent may be thinking the worst. For all the opponent knows, the player might be saying to his higher rated buddy "I just played my knight to e5, what should I do if he attacks it with Bd6?" I've been guilty of chit chatting with friends in the playing room and having an overly concerned opponent check up on me.
The kid had been away from the board for awhile, and when I went to go to the bathroom I see the kid with his mother. She starts screaming at me for yelling at her kid. I told her I did not yell at him, but told him he should not be talking to friends during his game. I also didn't feel he should be going out and talking to his mom during the round. I didn't want to tell her that if he's going to play with adults he needs to act like an adult, and not running off to mommy if he doesn't like what his opponent said to him. (The tournament director told me later that he essentially said that exact thing to the mother, though in a nice way.) Some things are best unsaid in the heat of the moment. At this point I decided I would let the tournament director deal with it. He told the kid to get back into the playing room, and play the game. He told the mother and me to stop the arguing because he couldn't make any judgment on what was said. I was really pissed off at that point, but went back into the room. As I went back into the room, another mother whose son is friends with the kid said, "You were absolutely right." I thanked her and went back to play.
Sometimes I think it would be better if I just kept my mouth shut. However it just irks the hell out of me when these kids just think it's okay to have non-stop conversations with their buddies, parents and whoever else they decide to speak with. Maybe it's a California thing. Everybody seems to seem it's okay to hang out with friends and talk in the playing room between moves. My editorial comments on the subject will come later.
After the TD told him to go to the board and play, he became super focused. It was a really interesting game. If anyone tells you kids are all tactics and no endgame, don't listen. These days kids are more diversified, and they know a lot more about endgames then you think. I felt like I went wrong when I traded queens, but when I analyzed with Fritz later it still had me equal. Here are a few of the key positions in the ending.
In this position I played 49...d5. What followed was 50. exd5 Rxd5 51. Rd2 Kd6 52. Rxd5+ Kxd5 53. Kd3 e5
I felt I should have not allowed the rook trade, and instead play 49... a5 50. Rc4 h5. Keeping the rooks on the board makes it difficult for either side to make much progress, however the rook trade was not the losing move. After White's move 54. f3 we reached this position.
54...h5 was probably my best try, but instead I played 54...f5. 55. a4 h6? 55...h5 is still the best move here. Possible continuation would be 55... h5 56. g5 h457. Kc3 e4 58. fxe4+ fxe4 59. a5 e3 60. Kd3 e2 61. Kxe2 Kc4 62. Kf3 Kxb4 63.Ke4 Kxa5 64. Ke5 Kb4 65. Kf6 a5 66. Kxg6 a4 67. Kh5 a3 68. g6 a2 69. g7 a1=Q70. g8=Q Qd4 71. Qg4 Qxg4+ 72. Kxg4 Kc5 73. Kxh4 Kd6 74. Kg5 Ke7 75. Kg6 Kf8 76. h4 Kh8 77. h5 Kh8 78. h6 Kh8. Reaching this position which is typical rook pawn drawn ending.
Unfortunately the game went this way instead. 56. h4 fxg4 57. fxg4 g5 58. hxg5 hxg5 59. b5 axb5 60.axb5 e4+ 61. Ke3 Kc5 62. Kxe4 Kxb5 63. Kf5 Kc5 64. Kxg5 Kd6 65. Kh6 Ke6 66. g5 Kf7 67. Kh7 to reach this position. Sames pieces as above, but significant difference since Black can not prevent White from queening the g pawn.
Once he played 67. Kh7 it was very clear to me that he knew how to win this ending. 9 year old kids don't get to high 1700s without knowing how to promote in this position and execute the queen and king checkmate. It's forced mate in 10. At this point I decided to take the graceful way out, and resign. I could have been a schmuck and played out to mate. However I just think it's insulting the opponent's intelligence, especially with lots of time on the clock. I think he was surprised I resigned. I'm sure anyone he's played in a scholastic tournament would have played out hoping for stalemate or a gross blunder of hanging the queen.
This was my first round in the merged schedules with the 40/2, G/60 time limit. This is the part that's sometimes difficult for me to slow down. I can get kind of antsy when the opponent is going into deep thinks on every move. I was getting antsy because he was staring off into space on his move. He looked either tired or bored, it was hard to say. Even in the opening he'd be staring into space or fiddling with his watch on his time. After awhile he kept getting up and leaving the board when it was my move. Every time I'd look up he'd be hanging around with this one kid, and talking in the playing room. They'd go over and look a friend's game and continue their conversation over there. I'm sure they weren't discussing our game. I have no idea who the other kid even was. He may have been playing in the scholastic tournament that was being on Sunday also.
This type of behavior by kids, especially higher rated kids who should know better just bothers the hell out of me. Parents and coaches should be constantly reminding their children and students to take the game seriously and not be using the opponent's thinking time to run around the playing room and socializing with other kids.
As I left the room at once point to go get water, the two of them are having a conversation. I did not raise my voice, but I did tell the kids that is was inappropriate to be having conversations in the playing room. I also told the kibitzer that he was doing his friend no favors by talking to him while he's in the middle of a game. I guess I should watch my use of idioms such as "doing one no favors" when speaking to a kid whose first language is not English.
I guess this got interpreted as doing a favor by helping his friend in giving moves. I certainly didn't think the kids were cheating. If I thought that I would have gone straight to the tournament director. The inner coach was coming out and saying, "Stop talking to your friends, and go play your chess game." If he had been one of my students, I would be very upset with him for not being at the board staying focused on the game.
I also feel it's important for a player not give appearance of unethical behavior. One could be discussing the weather or what happened in last night's baseball game, but in the midst of a tournament the opponent may be thinking the worst. For all the opponent knows, the player might be saying to his higher rated buddy "I just played my knight to e5, what should I do if he attacks it with Bd6?" I've been guilty of chit chatting with friends in the playing room and having an overly concerned opponent check up on me.
The kid had been away from the board for awhile, and when I went to go to the bathroom I see the kid with his mother. She starts screaming at me for yelling at her kid. I told her I did not yell at him, but told him he should not be talking to friends during his game. I also didn't feel he should be going out and talking to his mom during the round. I didn't want to tell her that if he's going to play with adults he needs to act like an adult, and not running off to mommy if he doesn't like what his opponent said to him. (The tournament director told me later that he essentially said that exact thing to the mother, though in a nice way.) Some things are best unsaid in the heat of the moment. At this point I decided I would let the tournament director deal with it. He told the kid to get back into the playing room, and play the game. He told the mother and me to stop the arguing because he couldn't make any judgment on what was said. I was really pissed off at that point, but went back into the room. As I went back into the room, another mother whose son is friends with the kid said, "You were absolutely right." I thanked her and went back to play.
Sometimes I think it would be better if I just kept my mouth shut. However it just irks the hell out of me when these kids just think it's okay to have non-stop conversations with their buddies, parents and whoever else they decide to speak with. Maybe it's a California thing. Everybody seems to seem it's okay to hang out with friends and talk in the playing room between moves. My editorial comments on the subject will come later.
After the TD told him to go to the board and play, he became super focused. It was a really interesting game. If anyone tells you kids are all tactics and no endgame, don't listen. These days kids are more diversified, and they know a lot more about endgames then you think. I felt like I went wrong when I traded queens, but when I analyzed with Fritz later it still had me equal. Here are a few of the key positions in the ending.
In this position I played 49...d5. What followed was 50. exd5 Rxd5 51. Rd2 Kd6 52. Rxd5+ Kxd5 53. Kd3 e5I felt I should have not allowed the rook trade, and instead play 49... a5 50. Rc4 h5. Keeping the rooks on the board makes it difficult for either side to make much progress, however the rook trade was not the losing move. After White's move 54. f3 we reached this position.
54...h5 was probably my best try, but instead I played 54...f5. 55. a4 h6? 55...h5 is still the best move here. Possible continuation would be 55... h5 56. g5 h457. Kc3 e4 58. fxe4+ fxe4 59. a5 e3 60. Kd3 e2 61. Kxe2 Kc4 62. Kf3 Kxb4 63.Ke4 Kxa5 64. Ke5 Kb4 65. Kf6 a5 66. Kxg6 a4 67. Kh5 a3 68. g6 a2 69. g7 a1=Q70. g8=Q Qd4 71. Qg4 Qxg4+ 72. Kxg4 Kc5 73. Kxh4 Kd6 74. Kg5 Ke7 75. Kg6 Kf8 76. h4 Kh8 77. h5 Kh8 78. h6 Kh8. Reaching this position which is typical rook pawn drawn ending.
Unfortunately the game went this way instead. 56. h4 fxg4 57. fxg4 g5 58. hxg5 hxg5 59. b5 axb5 60.axb5 e4+ 61. Ke3 Kc5 62. Kxe4 Kxb5 63. Kf5 Kc5 64. Kxg5 Kd6 65. Kh6 Ke6 66. g5 Kf7 67. Kh7 to reach this position. Sames pieces as above, but significant difference since Black can not prevent White from queening the g pawn.
Once he played 67. Kh7 it was very clear to me that he knew how to win this ending. 9 year old kids don't get to high 1700s without knowing how to promote in this position and execute the queen and king checkmate. It's forced mate in 10. At this point I decided to take the graceful way out, and resign. I could have been a schmuck and played out to mate. However I just think it's insulting the opponent's intelligence, especially with lots of time on the clock. I think he was surprised I resigned. I'm sure anyone he's played in a scholastic tournament would have played out hoping for stalemate or a gross blunder of hanging the queen.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Lina Grumette Jet Lag Classic Rds. 1-3
Sometimes it doesn't pay to do things on the cheap. My first three rounds were played at Game/60. Usually I like that time control, but the trade off is often you have no time between rounds. I wasn't planning to have time to post anything until after round 4. However when I lose round 3 in 30 minutes then I have time to kill.
First round was a crazy, but sloppy game. Neither of us played so hot. I missed the best moves towards the end and offered a draw even though I was up a pawn. The problem was I had g and h pawns versus his h pawn with each of us having a rook. Here's the game. I think most would agree I don't have much chance of winning. At the end he had a minute, and I had two minutes.
MWhite-PW0522409.pgn
Round two was an insipid game where I gave up the exchange and then got a piece trapped. I would be down a rook, so I figured "Why play that out when you can take a little break instead." I was kind of annoyed during that game. After I had given up the exchange I was fiddling around with the captured pieces. It was one those little fidgety things that I sometimes do, and I'm not even aware I'm doing it. One of the players at the board next to me, reaches over and puts his hand on mine to get me to stop. I mumbled "I'm sorry." and went back to my position. But then I found myself getting really annoyed by the fact that he actually reached over and touched my hand. What the hell was that all about? I felt like saying "You touch me again, I'll touch you back much harder." I refrained. I wasn't in the mood to cause a scene.
I did get out grab a bite to eat, and enjoy a little sunshine. It didn't help me for round three. I played a teenage kid who likes to attack. I knew that since I sat next to him in round 1 and watched him take apart his higher rated opponent pretty quickly. I did not defend well at all.
RYang-PW052409.pgn
So much for being rested for round three. Let's see if I'm rested for round four. Hopefully I won't fall asleep with the longer time control of 40/2 SD/1.
First round was a crazy, but sloppy game. Neither of us played so hot. I missed the best moves towards the end and offered a draw even though I was up a pawn. The problem was I had g and h pawns versus his h pawn with each of us having a rook. Here's the game. I think most would agree I don't have much chance of winning. At the end he had a minute, and I had two minutes.
MWhite-PW0522409.pgn
Round two was an insipid game where I gave up the exchange and then got a piece trapped. I would be down a rook, so I figured "Why play that out when you can take a little break instead." I was kind of annoyed during that game. After I had given up the exchange I was fiddling around with the captured pieces. It was one those little fidgety things that I sometimes do, and I'm not even aware I'm doing it. One of the players at the board next to me, reaches over and puts his hand on mine to get me to stop. I mumbled "I'm sorry." and went back to my position. But then I found myself getting really annoyed by the fact that he actually reached over and touched my hand. What the hell was that all about? I felt like saying "You touch me again, I'll touch you back much harder." I refrained. I wasn't in the mood to cause a scene.
I did get out grab a bite to eat, and enjoy a little sunshine. It didn't help me for round three. I played a teenage kid who likes to attack. I knew that since I sat next to him in round 1 and watched him take apart his higher rated opponent pretty quickly. I did not defend well at all.
RYang-PW052409.pgn
So much for being rested for round three. Let's see if I'm rested for round four. Hopefully I won't fall asleep with the longer time control of 40/2 SD/1.
Good Morning LA!!
Greetings from from the beautiful LAX Hilton with its spectacular views of parking lots and planes.
Okay excuse the snarky introduction it is a nice hotel, especially because I'm simply here to play chess. This morning I commence play in the two day schedule of the Lina Grumette Memorial Classic this morning. This is my third time playing in the event. Hopefully I'll avoid encounters was annoying kids, unrated ringer fathers of a grandmaster, and manage to get to my round on time. Though playing the two day schedule doesn't really give one much time to wander too far from the hotel. If I'm lucky I might make it over to Carl's Jr. for a sandwich.
True confession: I'm a airline miles junkie. I'm a sucker for elite status in American Airlines frequent flier program. The airlines suck you in once you get it one time. The benefits are so nice you want to keep it up year after year. I get free luggage check, priority check in, good seat choices, upgrades, etc. I'm a sucker for this stuff, but sometimes I have to get really creative to come up with trips that max my miles. Going to Nashville via Chicago in April did that for me. But also the ticket was a third the price doing it that way.
Once a year American has a promotion where one can get double elite status miles if they fly during certain periods. I did this trip last year on that promotion, so figured I'd do it again. Since I don't have the benefit of winning a free trip to Spain on one of American's partners like last year I figured I'd better book a couple of trips using this promotion. That's why in two weeks you'll be getting updates from Las Vegas for the National Open.
I did this trip on the cheap. I flew Saturday instead of Friday. That saves a hotel night, and the flight is cheaper by not flying on Friday of a major holiday weekend. I took the later flight which also saves money. I take a red eye out Monday night. That saves another hotel night. I may regret all of this by Tuesday.
It was a big gamble taking a 6:45 pm flight out here. My normal rule of travel is to leave as early as possible. I would be up the proverbial creek if my flight got screwed up. Getting stranded at Newark Airport would have really sucked. Fortunately the flight left right on time, and we actually got into LA early! How often does that happen? I also got an upgrade so had very comfortable flight and got wined and dined for 5 hours. Woo hoo! Maybe these things are good signs for the weekend. Or perhaps I've used up all my good fortune at the airport.
Stay tuned for updates after my rounds today. Time to go play some chess.
Okay excuse the snarky introduction it is a nice hotel, especially because I'm simply here to play chess. This morning I commence play in the two day schedule of the Lina Grumette Memorial Classic this morning. This is my third time playing in the event. Hopefully I'll avoid encounters was annoying kids, unrated ringer fathers of a grandmaster, and manage to get to my round on time. Though playing the two day schedule doesn't really give one much time to wander too far from the hotel. If I'm lucky I might make it over to Carl's Jr. for a sandwich.
True confession: I'm a airline miles junkie. I'm a sucker for elite status in American Airlines frequent flier program. The airlines suck you in once you get it one time. The benefits are so nice you want to keep it up year after year. I get free luggage check, priority check in, good seat choices, upgrades, etc. I'm a sucker for this stuff, but sometimes I have to get really creative to come up with trips that max my miles. Going to Nashville via Chicago in April did that for me. But also the ticket was a third the price doing it that way.
Once a year American has a promotion where one can get double elite status miles if they fly during certain periods. I did this trip last year on that promotion, so figured I'd do it again. Since I don't have the benefit of winning a free trip to Spain on one of American's partners like last year I figured I'd better book a couple of trips using this promotion. That's why in two weeks you'll be getting updates from Las Vegas for the National Open.
I did this trip on the cheap. I flew Saturday instead of Friday. That saves a hotel night, and the flight is cheaper by not flying on Friday of a major holiday weekend. I took the later flight which also saves money. I take a red eye out Monday night. That saves another hotel night. I may regret all of this by Tuesday.
It was a big gamble taking a 6:45 pm flight out here. My normal rule of travel is to leave as early as possible. I would be up the proverbial creek if my flight got screwed up. Getting stranded at Newark Airport would have really sucked. Fortunately the flight left right on time, and we actually got into LA early! How often does that happen? I also got an upgrade so had very comfortable flight and got wined and dined for 5 hours. Woo hoo! Maybe these things are good signs for the weekend. Or perhaps I've used up all my good fortune at the airport.
Stay tuned for updates after my rounds today. Time to go play some chess.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wacky Wednesday!: Saratoga Knightmare Redux
If one goes back to the early days of this blog he might recall that 2007 ended on a rather strange note in Saratoga Springs. After all how often is it that a player can enter a tournament, play two titled players, score a half a point, and win a class prize? Only happens when 6 players show up for a tournament with 6 guaranteed prizes. But that wasn't even the strangest part of that weekend. What can I say about a tournament where the ages of my first four opponents added up to 40? Plenty, when I write this and that on the subject.
I summarized the weekend by writing; "I'm just so glad I traveled 175 miles and spent 2 nights in a hotel to play three players from my local clubs. We could have all stayed home and played a quad in my living room." It's funny that I wrote that, because less then a year and half later that's almost what we did. However it wasn't a quad and it wasn't in my living room. Instead it was a ten player Swiss in another person's living room. My three opponents were the same three kids that play in my local chess clubs. The order in which I played them was slightly different, but unfortunately the results were the same. At least now they're higher rated.
The most interesting game was my second round against Jacob. We haven't played each other since our game in Saratoga Springs. This game was certainly a lot livelier then our last one. All I can say about it is; "Look gift queens in the mouth."
PollyW-JacobS.pgn
I summarized the weekend by writing; "I'm just so glad I traveled 175 miles and spent 2 nights in a hotel to play three players from my local clubs. We could have all stayed home and played a quad in my living room." It's funny that I wrote that, because less then a year and half later that's almost what we did. However it wasn't a quad and it wasn't in my living room. Instead it was a ten player Swiss in another person's living room. My three opponents were the same three kids that play in my local chess clubs. The order in which I played them was slightly different, but unfortunately the results were the same. At least now they're higher rated.
The most interesting game was my second round against Jacob. We haven't played each other since our game in Saratoga Springs. This game was certainly a lot livelier then our last one. All I can say about it is; "Look gift queens in the mouth."
PollyW-JacobS.pgn
Sunday, May 17, 2009
They All Flew Over the Marshall Nest
Apologies to Ken Kesey who wrote One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but that's the best way to describe Thursday night's Four Rated Games Tonight! Was there a full moon, or what? Chess players are often described as a little eccentric. Those who don't mince words might say we are all insane. Let's just say that some of the players who attend on Thursday night are colorful characters. It just seemed that there was a little more color then usual.
The first indication that things might be a little off was the entrance of one player who one might say had a little too much to drink before the tournament. He comes in, completely cuts the line and then asks people who have just finished entering whether they're on line or not. He must have asked about three different people, who all said no. However he ignored all the people who actually were on line. Finally somebody points out where the end of the line is, and he goes there. When he gets up to the front, he asks Steve if it takes 2.5 points to qualify for the St. John's Masters tournament. Steve says yes, and this fellow boldly proclaims he's going to qualify.
The first round pairings go up, and I'm paired against IM Jay Bonin for the second week in a row. Jay and I almost never play in this tournament because usually I'm way down in the bottom half. Last week we played because it was a Grand Prix tournament and he was only #7 in the event. This week we played because I was actually fairly high in the bottom half. Last week was the first time I played him since 2007 Last Blunder tournament in Saratoga Springs. I was 0-14 against him going into last week. Now after two straight weeks of playing him I'm 0-16. Though this week's game was probably my best game ever against him.
Long before I lost to Jay, "Mr. I'm Qualifying!" loses in about 5 minutes to his 2000 rated opponent. It made my Kassa Krush look long in comparison. Even the two kids rated 300 and 164 lasted longer against their 1000+ higher rated opponents. Nope, neither of these kids were the 114 from two weeks ago. These were two brothers that were brought to the tournament by their mother. It was obvious she did not have a clue about this tournament. When she entered them, she asked Steve what trophies they could win. I guess she figured since her kids played for trophies in Steve's New York Under 13 tournament, there would be trophies in this tournament too. Oops!
Things got crazy for me in the second round. I got paired down against a provisionally rated 1156. Nothing overly spectacular about the game. I got some good play out of the opening. After 17 moves we reach the following position after 17...Nc6.
At first glance I looked at 18. Ne6+ Kh8 19. Nxd8 Nxd4 20. Rxd4 Rbxd8. That was just a bunch of even trades. Then I noticed that the knight on c6 was en prise so I simply played 18. Bxc6. What I neglected to look at deeper was 18. Ne6+ Kh8 19. Bxc6. Black's queen and rook are still forked, so I still pick up the rook after 19...Qe7 20. Nxf8. A minor hiccup in my analysis.
Around the 44th move I notice that he has stopped keeping score. I have about 6:30 left on my clock, and he has around 13 minutes. This is the position.
At this point I tell my opponent that he needs to continue keeping score until one of us is under 5 minutes. He tells me. "I messed up my score." I tell him it doesn't matter. He needs to continue from the move we left off on. He repeats to me that he's messed up and can't keep score. I stop the clock to get Steve so that he can explain the rule to him. He starts my clock, and says "It's your turn." I stop the clock again and tell him I'm getting the director. When I leave the room he's started my clock again.
Steve comes in and explains to him that he needs to keep score. He starts arguing with Steve. I'm arguing with him because he started my clock again. The players around us are getting annoyed, so Steve has us come out of the playing room so that we don't cause more of a disturbance then we already have. I must admit, I've totally lost my patience and cool at this point. Steve tells him if he wants he doesn't have to keep score but he's going to reduce his time down to 5 minutes. He also tells my opponent he's going to add 2 minutes to my time since he (opponent) had started my clock when I got the director. My opponent is going on about how it was my move. He didn't seem to get the idea that a player may stop the clock to get the director.
Now my opponent goes off on me, and tells me I'm taking this game way too seriously. He tells me this is supposed to be fun, and now I've ruined his fun. After Steve makes the various adjustments to the clock my opponent says to me. "I hope you're happy now. You better win this game." That comment ticked me off because he didn't have to play on if he thought he was so lost. I went back to the board, and went into hyper focus mode. Instead of grabbing more pawns, I forced the rooks off the board. I wasn't going to give him any chance to get some cheap shot in with his rook. Eventually I promoted and mated him on c2. One of my friends who was watching the end, said I looked so intense and totally focused.
I kind of felt bad that I had made such a big deal about the score keeping thing, but I felt I was going to lose more time on the clock if I kept keep score and he didn't. I've had too many "won games" get tossed because my opponent has a big edge on the clock. I could have chosen to stop keeping score when he did, but I like getting as many of the moves as possible. I had no idea that he was going get so agitated over having to keep score. I also don't think he realized what he agreed to when Steve gave him the option of not keeping score but having his time knocked down to 5 minutes.
After the game I apologized for coming across as too hardcore. I tried to explain myself, but he went off about how I serious I take chess because I have a nice clock and a Mon Roi. He goes on about how chess is supposed to be fun, and so on and so forth. What can I say? Some women like to spend their extra money on designer clothes and shoes. I like spending mine on chess toys.
It's funny because there had been a very lively discussion about this topic in the USCF Forums. In the thread I had cited an incident that I had in one of the Parents & Friends in Florida a few years ago. One of the posters complemented me on my cool in that situation. This time I wasn't so cool. Part of it may have been the fear of losing a won game. The night before I had a tough time fighting my demons as I was attempting to win a game up a rook and bishop for three pawns with queens still on the board. More about that game in another post.
Could things get any stranger? Yes. After having lost a tough game to Larry Tamarkin in round three, I get paired down against an unrated who beat an 1850 in the first round. A funny thing always happens a few months before the World Open. Unrateds or players with provisional ratings come out the woodwork, and conveniently start tossing games. Did my last round opponent dump this game? I am White. Look at the position below, and you be the judge.
Position after 26...Nf3+. The game continued 27. Kg3 Rxe1 28. Rxe1 Qd6+?? Did he really miss 28. Rxe1? At this point I figure the dump is on. 29. Kxf3 Qc6+ 30. Kg3 Qd6+ 31. Kg2 Qc6+ 32. Kg1 Qf3 33. Qb2 This is my test move. Is he going to allow me 34. Re8#? 33...Qxh3??? 34. Re8#
I alerted Steve about the game. My opponent would have ended out with a rating around 1850 if he had won this game along with his first round win against Gabor Schnitzler. Yep, that same Mr. Schnitzler that I lost to a few weeks ago. Yes the same Mr. Schnitzler who owns me with a record of 30 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses.
However I was not the only one receiving a gift in the last round. Remember the two brothers who were looking for trophies in this tournament? The 164 rated player was playing my second round opponent, "Mr. I Play Chess For Fun". What is the probability of player who is outrated by 1000 points winning? Normally around .001. However when somebody wants to lose badly enough the probability goes up substantially. Though it was kind of iffy whether "Mr. Fun" could actually escape with a loss. The kid had two queens, but it took him awhile to execute the mate. There was a good chance he'd stalemate first. Though if your opponent is determined to lose, you'll probably stumble over the mate sooner or later.
I have a couple of questions. Is this guy trying to sandbag his way down to the under 900 section at the World Open where he can win the walloping $300 and a trophy for first place? My other question is; Why do people trying to sandbag at "Four Rated Games Tonight" where the tournament director also works the World Open and will remember you, and there are so many high rated players?
As to "Mr. I'm Qualifying!", he went 1-3 with his one win against the 164. Better luck next time. Try again for next month. Maybe one of these days I can get that elusive 2.5 and qualify. I'm a little more realistic about my chances. I also don't like making predictions. Predictions usually get me in trouble.
The first indication that things might be a little off was the entrance of one player who one might say had a little too much to drink before the tournament. He comes in, completely cuts the line and then asks people who have just finished entering whether they're on line or not. He must have asked about three different people, who all said no. However he ignored all the people who actually were on line. Finally somebody points out where the end of the line is, and he goes there. When he gets up to the front, he asks Steve if it takes 2.5 points to qualify for the St. John's Masters tournament. Steve says yes, and this fellow boldly proclaims he's going to qualify.
The first round pairings go up, and I'm paired against IM Jay Bonin for the second week in a row. Jay and I almost never play in this tournament because usually I'm way down in the bottom half. Last week we played because it was a Grand Prix tournament and he was only #7 in the event. This week we played because I was actually fairly high in the bottom half. Last week was the first time I played him since 2007 Last Blunder tournament in Saratoga Springs. I was 0-14 against him going into last week. Now after two straight weeks of playing him I'm 0-16. Though this week's game was probably my best game ever against him.
Long before I lost to Jay, "Mr. I'm Qualifying!" loses in about 5 minutes to his 2000 rated opponent. It made my Kassa Krush look long in comparison. Even the two kids rated 300 and 164 lasted longer against their 1000+ higher rated opponents. Nope, neither of these kids were the 114 from two weeks ago. These were two brothers that were brought to the tournament by their mother. It was obvious she did not have a clue about this tournament. When she entered them, she asked Steve what trophies they could win. I guess she figured since her kids played for trophies in Steve's New York Under 13 tournament, there would be trophies in this tournament too. Oops!
Things got crazy for me in the second round. I got paired down against a provisionally rated 1156. Nothing overly spectacular about the game. I got some good play out of the opening. After 17 moves we reach the following position after 17...Nc6.
At first glance I looked at 18. Ne6+ Kh8 19. Nxd8 Nxd4 20. Rxd4 Rbxd8. That was just a bunch of even trades. Then I noticed that the knight on c6 was en prise so I simply played 18. Bxc6. What I neglected to look at deeper was 18. Ne6+ Kh8 19. Bxc6. Black's queen and rook are still forked, so I still pick up the rook after 19...Qe7 20. Nxf8. A minor hiccup in my analysis.
Around the 44th move I notice that he has stopped keeping score. I have about 6:30 left on my clock, and he has around 13 minutes. This is the position.
At this point I tell my opponent that he needs to continue keeping score until one of us is under 5 minutes. He tells me. "I messed up my score." I tell him it doesn't matter. He needs to continue from the move we left off on. He repeats to me that he's messed up and can't keep score. I stop the clock to get Steve so that he can explain the rule to him. He starts my clock, and says "It's your turn." I stop the clock again and tell him I'm getting the director. When I leave the room he's started my clock again.
Steve comes in and explains to him that he needs to keep score. He starts arguing with Steve. I'm arguing with him because he started my clock again. The players around us are getting annoyed, so Steve has us come out of the playing room so that we don't cause more of a disturbance then we already have. I must admit, I've totally lost my patience and cool at this point. Steve tells him if he wants he doesn't have to keep score but he's going to reduce his time down to 5 minutes. He also tells my opponent he's going to add 2 minutes to my time since he (opponent) had started my clock when I got the director. My opponent is going on about how it was my move. He didn't seem to get the idea that a player may stop the clock to get the director.
Now my opponent goes off on me, and tells me I'm taking this game way too seriously. He tells me this is supposed to be fun, and now I've ruined his fun. After Steve makes the various adjustments to the clock my opponent says to me. "I hope you're happy now. You better win this game." That comment ticked me off because he didn't have to play on if he thought he was so lost. I went back to the board, and went into hyper focus mode. Instead of grabbing more pawns, I forced the rooks off the board. I wasn't going to give him any chance to get some cheap shot in with his rook. Eventually I promoted and mated him on c2. One of my friends who was watching the end, said I looked so intense and totally focused.
I kind of felt bad that I had made such a big deal about the score keeping thing, but I felt I was going to lose more time on the clock if I kept keep score and he didn't. I've had too many "won games" get tossed because my opponent has a big edge on the clock. I could have chosen to stop keeping score when he did, but I like getting as many of the moves as possible. I had no idea that he was going get so agitated over having to keep score. I also don't think he realized what he agreed to when Steve gave him the option of not keeping score but having his time knocked down to 5 minutes.
After the game I apologized for coming across as too hardcore. I tried to explain myself, but he went off about how I serious I take chess because I have a nice clock and a Mon Roi. He goes on about how chess is supposed to be fun, and so on and so forth. What can I say? Some women like to spend their extra money on designer clothes and shoes. I like spending mine on chess toys.
It's funny because there had been a very lively discussion about this topic in the USCF Forums. In the thread I had cited an incident that I had in one of the Parents & Friends in Florida a few years ago. One of the posters complemented me on my cool in that situation. This time I wasn't so cool. Part of it may have been the fear of losing a won game. The night before I had a tough time fighting my demons as I was attempting to win a game up a rook and bishop for three pawns with queens still on the board. More about that game in another post.
Could things get any stranger? Yes. After having lost a tough game to Larry Tamarkin in round three, I get paired down against an unrated who beat an 1850 in the first round. A funny thing always happens a few months before the World Open. Unrateds or players with provisional ratings come out the woodwork, and conveniently start tossing games. Did my last round opponent dump this game? I am White. Look at the position below, and you be the judge.
Position after 26...Nf3+. The game continued 27. Kg3 Rxe1 28. Rxe1 Qd6+?? Did he really miss 28. Rxe1? At this point I figure the dump is on. 29. Kxf3 Qc6+ 30. Kg3 Qd6+ 31. Kg2 Qc6+ 32. Kg1 Qf3 33. Qb2 This is my test move. Is he going to allow me 34. Re8#? 33...Qxh3??? 34. Re8#
I alerted Steve about the game. My opponent would have ended out with a rating around 1850 if he had won this game along with his first round win against Gabor Schnitzler. Yep, that same Mr. Schnitzler that I lost to a few weeks ago. Yes the same Mr. Schnitzler who owns me with a record of 30 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses.
However I was not the only one receiving a gift in the last round. Remember the two brothers who were looking for trophies in this tournament? The 164 rated player was playing my second round opponent, "Mr. I Play Chess For Fun". What is the probability of player who is outrated by 1000 points winning? Normally around .001. However when somebody wants to lose badly enough the probability goes up substantially. Though it was kind of iffy whether "Mr. Fun" could actually escape with a loss. The kid had two queens, but it took him awhile to execute the mate. There was a good chance he'd stalemate first. Though if your opponent is determined to lose, you'll probably stumble over the mate sooner or later.
I have a couple of questions. Is this guy trying to sandbag his way down to the under 900 section at the World Open where he can win the walloping $300 and a trophy for first place? My other question is; Why do people trying to sandbag at "Four Rated Games Tonight" where the tournament director also works the World Open and will remember you, and there are so many high rated players?
As to "Mr. I'm Qualifying!", he went 1-3 with his one win against the 164. Better luck next time. Try again for next month. Maybe one of these days I can get that elusive 2.5 and qualify. I'm a little more realistic about my chances. I also don't like making predictions. Predictions usually get me in trouble.
Friday, May 15, 2009
A Break From Chess Today - NYC Photo Tour
I have lived in the NYC metropolitan area for over 30 years now. I rarely come into New York City to be a tourist. In my corporate life in the 80s and 90s I was just another one of those working stiffs making the daily commute into the city.Post corporate rat race, my trips to the city were for some culture, and lots of chess. I was down at the Marshall last night for my Thursday "cracktion" fix. (A post is in the works!) Today I played tourist with my husband and some friends from out of town. One who had never been to New York City before.
"Top of the Rock"
30 Rockefeller Center
The Empire City Building in the background. If you want a nice view of the skyline come to Rockefeller Center. Yes there are lots of tourists, but the staff seems to just do a better job of managing the crowds then they do the Empire State Building. I've lived here for 32 years and this was my first trip to the "Top of the Rock." My one and only trip to the top of the World Trade Center observation deck was for the Kasparov - Anand match on Sept 11, 1995.
Grand Central Terminal
Walking around Grand Central is its own little trip. It's an amazing building with magnificent architectural details. On the lower level there are lots of little restaurants. 5 of us ate lunch for $15 each. Not bad for midtown Manhattan.
Saint Patrick's Cathedral
I've photographed the inside of many churches on my travels. This was the first time I've taken a picture in St. Pat's. I would have like to have spent more time there, but we were trying to cram a lot of stuff in a short day.
Rockefeller Plaza
Outdoor cafe in spring summer and early fall
Skating rink in the winter.
Central Park
Somewhere down there, somebody was playing chess
at the chess & checkers house
Manhattan is an island and it takes a bridge or a tunnel to get in and out.
Times Square
Too many damn tourists!
Sometimes interesting things happen in Times Square.
This evoked memories of the Korean fan dancers I saw last summer.
Getting outta town on a Friday evening!
Traffic to the Holland Tunnel
"Top of the Rock"30 Rockefeller Center
The Empire City Building in the background. If you want a nice view of the skyline come to Rockefeller Center. Yes there are lots of tourists, but the staff seems to just do a better job of managing the crowds then they do the Empire State Building. I've lived here for 32 years and this was my first trip to the "Top of the Rock." My one and only trip to the top of the World Trade Center observation deck was for the Kasparov - Anand match on Sept 11, 1995.
Grand Central TerminalWalking around Grand Central is its own little trip. It's an amazing building with magnificent architectural details. On the lower level there are lots of little restaurants. 5 of us ate lunch for $15 each. Not bad for midtown Manhattan.
Saint Patrick's CathedralI've photographed the inside of many churches on my travels. This was the first time I've taken a picture in St. Pat's. I would have like to have spent more time there, but we were trying to cram a lot of stuff in a short day.
Rockefeller PlazaOutdoor cafe in spring summer and early fall
Skating rink in the winter.
Central ParkSomewhere down there, somebody was playing chess
at the chess & checkers house
I had to get one little chess plug in since this is a chess blog. :-)
Manhattan is an island and it takes a bridge or a tunnel to get in and out.
Times SquareToo many damn tourists!
Sometimes interesting things happen in Times Square.This evoked memories of the Korean fan dancers I saw last summer.
Getting outta town on a Friday evening!Traffic to the Holland Tunnel
As we ate dinner we watch a bunch of idiot drivers get stuck in the intersection when the light changed. There were three cops there ticketing people right on the spot for blocking the intersection. It takes the cops all of about a minute to issue a ticket. They have a machine that reads the bar code off the registration sticker, prints the tickets, the cop tears it off gives it to the motorist. He can do this all before the light changes again. There is a reason I avoid driving in Manhattan unless absolutely necessary.
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