Colorado Springs Chess News

Game Of The Week

The nice thing about the thematic tournaments is that you often get to play an opening that is unfamiliar to you. I have played in 574 club-rated games to date with a winning percentage of 67.51%. I have played in 424 USCF-rated games to date with a winning percentage of 60.14%. I have also played in countless non-rated games at the club, but never have I run across the Evans Gambit.

I think I have seen it a couple times online, but never have I played it as white. So, when I got paired as white 3 times in this week’s event, I was entering uncharted territory. My first match-up was against Tom Mullikin, who declined the gambit. That was helpful as far as getting a win, but didn’t help as far as understanding the value of the gambit.

My next round game was against Josh Bloomer and was a good chance for me to see how a master plays white when the gambit is accepted. It was a close game, and I offered a draw when I thought neither of us could make any more progress without taking a losing position. However, Josh declined. Later, he told me that he figured the risk of advancing his king was worth a try since there was so little time left. I guess he has seen enough of my notorious time pressure blunders that he figured the odds were actually in his favor.

But I had gained enough from seeing him play white to get at least 7 moves into book. In the next two games, I got to the same position and didn’t know where I was going. Both times I went for the kamikaze approach and sacrificed the bishop just to keep the attack going. Well, there must be something to that divine wind as both games ended as miniatures.

I even got a couple exclamation points from Fritz 8 in my last game. Not a bad way to end my first 3 attempts with the Evans Gambit.

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3:8

Divine Wind

http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=94340

[Event "CSCC Thematic"]

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

[Date "2007.06.26"]

[Round "4.2"]

[White "Anderson, Paul"]

[Black "Filppu, Mike"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C52"]

[WhiteElo "1861"]

[BlackElo "1534"]

[PlyCount "40"]

[EventDate "2007.06.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 Nxe4 8.

Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. d5 Re8 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 Bxc3 12. Nxc3 Nxc3 13. Qc4+ Nd5 14.

Bg5 Re7 15. Nxe5+ Kg8 16. Rfe1 Qf8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nxc6 Qxe1+ 19. Rxe1 dxc6

20. Qxc6 Bb7 1-0

This Week In Chess

Tuesday July 3, 2007

On June 26, the CSCC had 13 members in attendance. The main event for the evening was a thematic, Swiss tournament (4SS, G15). The theme for the evening was the Evans Gambit so all games had to start after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 b4. Here are the results:

Player Score

Josh Bloomer 4.0

Paul Anderson 3.0

Tom Mullikin 2.0

Mike Filppu 2.0

Jerry Maier 1.0

Mike Dimeo 0.0

Club Quarterly Schedule

By Buck Buchanan

Here is the schedule for the next quarter...

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COLORADO SPRINGS CHESS CLUB

July - September 2007

The Colorado Springs Chess Club meets Tuesday evenings in the downstairs Game Room of the Acacia Apartments Building at 104 E. Platte, just north of Acacia Park. The playing site opens about 6:30 PM. Most activities begin registration about 7:00, with play starting at 8:00. On most evenings, club ladder games are also available, including USCF-rated G/90 games. For more information call Buck at 685-1984 or e-mail [email protected] Players should arrive no later than 8:00 to get into the building.

Please note: In addition to Tuesday evenings, club members are gathering for chess at these times:

Wednesdays: Poor Richard’s, 320 N Tejon, 6:30 - 10 PM - Rated tourney, G/90, 1 game a night

Saturdays: 3rd Sat. of month (7/21, 8 /18, 9/15), Agia Sophia coffee house, 2902 W Colorado, 8 PM

**************************************************************************************

July

3 Speed Tournament

10 G/15 Tournament

17 4-SS, G/15, Low rated players select opponents

24 Josh Bloomer Lecture / Simul

31 Bughouse tournament

August

7 Speed tournament

August 11-12, Manitou Spgs City Hall: Pikes Peak Open Register with Buck

14 Ladder games

21 Quads: 3-RR, G/30 for USCF rated sections, others G/20

28 Team tournament, 4-SS, G/15. 2 player teams, sum of club ratings < 3400

Sept. 1-3, Denver: Colorado Open - State Championship tournament. Membership meeting Saturday.

Sept.

4 Speed tournament

11 Eccentric pairings tournament: 4-SS, G/15

18 Guest TDs tournament: 4-SS, G/15

25 Thematic tournament (4-SS, G/15, not rated): Dracula-Frankenstein variation of Vienna Game: 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4, Nxe4 4 Qh5, Nd6 5 Bb3, Nc6 6 Nb5, g6 7 Qf3 f5 8 Qd5 Qe7 9 Nxc7+ Kd8 10 Nxa8 b6.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT OCTOBER 9 - 30

Upcoming Events

7/3 Speed Tournament, CSCC

7/7-8 "The Alison Hannah Greiner Memorial for Cancer Research" Denver Open, DCC

7/10 G/15 Tournament, CSCC

7/11,18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open, CSCC

7/13-15 2007 Kansas Open, KCA

7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, BCC

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

Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.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/)