Colorado Springs Chess News

Game Of The Week

This week’s game comes from one of my readers. The nice thing about doing this newsletter is that I talk with chess players with whom I might not have otherwise met.

I have never faced Robert Rountree over the board. We only see each other at the weekend tournaments, and he was nice enough to let me know he was getting the newsletter and enjoying it.

During the off-season, I commented on a couple of games he emailed to me. My advice is usually very general, as I have taken the Ben Kenobi approach to chess. I told him:

“You must do what you feel is right, of course.”

I have started to realize that a lot of getting better at chess is learning about myself. Then I can focus on improving my strengths and minimizing my weaknesses. Robert seemed to catch onto that idea in this tournament and improved his results against his 2nd class A opponent:

“Hi Paul, I just read your newsletter and thought I would send you these games from the G30 Valentine Tournament (2/14/09) in Pueblo. I played Mitch Anderson in the first round. He did not see my “cheap trick” until after 11. a4. He offered a draw that I refused. I should have looked at my clock instead of my position. I got in time trouble and lost. Determined not to get in time trouble again, I played Klaus rather quickly in the second round. I don’t think the entire game lasted more than 15 minutes. I won. I think for players of my caliber, the secret to better play is to realize that your opponent is on your side of the board. We have to stop making errors and think at the board. Thanks for the inspiration, Bob Rountree”

My Own Worst Enemy

http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=95894

[Event "A Valentine Tournament"]

[Site "http://cschess.webs.com/"]

[Date "2009.02.14"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Rountree, Robert"]

[Black "Johnson, Klaus"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B80"]

[WhiteElo "1509"]

[BlackElo "1808"]

[PlyCount "49"]

[EventDate "2009.02.14"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be3 Be7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2

Nbd7 9. O-O-O O-O 10. g4 Ne5 11. Be2 b5 12. g5 Nfd7 13. f4 Nc4 14. Bxc4 bxc4

15. Nc6 Qe8 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 Re8 19. Rc6 Bb7 20. Rc7 Bc8

21. Rxc4 Nf8 22. Rd1 Bb7 23. Rc7 Reb8 24. Bc5 Bc8 25. Bxf8 1-0

This Week In Chess

On February 24th, the CSCC had 10 members in attendance. The main event was a Fischer-Random, double-Swiss tournament (G15). In each round, the pawns started in their regular position. However, a draw from a hat determined the set-up of the pieces. Of course, a couple of rules helped keep the game close to standard chess; the bishops had to be on opposite colors, and the king had to be between the rooks. Castling was accomplished with the standard rules and into the normal position, but the king and rook could start from almost any other back rank square. Here are the results:

Score Player

4.0 Paul Anderson

4.0 Bill Whinemiller

2.0 Tikila Nichols

2.0 Philip Long

2.0 Dean Brown

2.0 Tony Rizzo

0.0 Mike Bauers

0.0 Jason Feith

A Valentine Tournament Results

By Liz Wood

At last, the crosstable and prize list for Pueblo Chess Club's A Valentine Tournament, held on 2/14/09 at the Daily Grind in Pueblo:

4.5 Igor Melnykov 1st $50.50

3.5 Mitchell Anderson

3.5 M Paull Covington

3.0 Jeffrey Baffo U1900 $25.00

3.0 Anthony Cordova U1900 $25.00

3.0 Robert Roundtree U1900 $25.00

2.5 Klaus Johnson

2.5 Tom Mullikin U1400 $24.00

2.0 Dean Brown

2.0 Jerry Maier

2.0 Tikila Nichols

2.0 Kathy Schneider U1200 $20.00

1.0 Liz Wood

Upcoming Events

3/3 Speed Tournament, CSCC

3/4,11,18,25 Poor Richard's Bookstore March Open, CSCC

3/7-8 Colorado Springs Open, CSCA

3/10 Team tournament - 2-player teams, CSCC

3/12 Family Chess Knight with the Colorado Avalanche, CSCA

3/17 Bughouse!!, CSCC

For event details and additional events, see the following websites:

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://springschess.org/)

Boulder Chess Club: BCC (http://www.geocities.com/boulderchessclub/)

Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)

Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)

Kansas Chess Association: KCA (http://www.kansaschess.org/)