Chess Thread II

[Unbeliever (OP)]

There was a chess thread a few years ago that didn't go anywhere of interest, so I thought maybe we could try again.

I know some of you play chess. Do any of you players record your games? If so, I'm hoping you'll post some of your better ones here so that we can enjoy them.

I'll start by posting one of the games I played this past summer with a fellow named Dave, who can usually give me a bit of a challenge. Not in this game, though - I managed to trap his Queen after only 14 moves!

I was playing the white pieces:

1. d4........d5
2. c4........e6
3. Nc3......Nf6
4. Nf3......c5
5. Bf4......Be7
6. e3.......0-0
7. cd5......ed5
8. dc5......Bc5
9. Rc1......Bb4
10. a3......Ba5
11. b4......Bb6
12. Na4....Be6
13. Nb6....Qb6
14. Bc7.....resigns

I guess on move 13 he didn't want to double his pawns on the b file, as I thought he'd have to do. I was planning to move my Rook to the 7th rank afterwards, but when he recaptured with the Queen I saw that I could trap it. It's usually not easy to trap a Queen on such an open board, so I felt pretty good about it.

I wish I still had all the other games I've recorded over the years, but didn't manage to keep up with them. I have a few of the ones I played recently, though, so I'll see if any more of them are worth posting.

I hope some of you will post some of your's, as well.

[Sorginak]

Lol, I thought this said "Cheese Thread".  xD

[Unbeliever (OP)]

I wish I had time to play some games here, but right now I don't. Hopefully I will eventually manage that, I'd like to see if I can find a good challenging game here. I know there are some players that I'd enjoy having a go at.

I don't focus much on losing and winning at chess - I look at it as two people cooperating to create something beautiful. Although winning is fun...

[Mr.Obvious]

You'll probably kick my ass, but if you ever want to play a game and see me online, let me know.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

I've tried learning Chess a few times, but I keep losing interest after about a week. By "learn" I mean memorizing the best opening moves, thinking a few moves ahead, etc.

[Unbeliever (OP)]

You'll probably kick my ass, but if you ever want to play a game and see me online, let me know.

It's not always easy for me to predict exactly when I'll be on-line, but if we could set up a specific time, we could give it a try. I have very few people to play with, that are any good, so I'd love to have a go with you if it can be worked out. I probably won't be back at the library until monday. I can post here, where i'm at now, but I can only be on-line for a few minutes at a time. At the library I can be on for about 4 hours, which would be more than enough time for a good game.

[Unbeliever (OP)]

I've tried learning Chess a few times, but I keep losing interest after about a week. By "learn" I mean memorizing the best opening moves, thinking a few moves ahead, etc.

Learning chess isn't easy - I've bene at it for about 40 years or so, and I still haven't learned nearly as much as I'd like.

Try to find a good book on the game, if you can. The only way I was ever able to really start learning the game (I lost the first couple of hundred games I played) was to study the masters from the past.

A very good book on openings is "The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings"  ( I think by Ruben Fine) if you can find a copy of it. But the openings are only a very small part of the game - once you've learned the general principles, you can proceed without memorizing all those variations. I have a really lousy memory, so I realized early on that I wouldn't improve by rote memorization.

There are a lot of really good chess books these days, so if you want you can browse your local used book store and find many. Also, there are good videos on-line that may help.

[Baruch]

I've tried learning Chess a few times, but I keep losing interest after about a week. By "learn" I mean memorizing the best opening moves, thinking a few moves ahead, etc.

Memorizing a few dozen famous openings ... not worth it.  Learning to see 2 or 3 moves ahead ... priceless.

[Cavebear]

There was a chess thread a few years ago that didn't go anywhere of interest, so I thought maybe we could try again.

I know some of you play chess. Do any of you players record your games? If so, I'm hoping you'll post some of your better ones here so that we can enjoy them.

I'll start by posting one of the games I played this past summer with a fellow named Dave, who can usually give me a bit of a challenge. Not in this game, though - I managed to trap his Queen after only 14 moves!

I was playing the white pieces:

1. d4........d5
2. c4........e6
3. Nc3......Nf6
4. Nf3......c5
5. Bf4......Be7
6. e3.......0-0
7. cd5......ed5
8. dc5......Bc5
9. Rc1......Bb4
10. a3......Ba5
11. b4......Bb6
12. Na4....Be6
13. Bb6....Qb6
14. Bc7.....resigns

I guess on move 13 he didn't want to double his pawns on the b file, as I thought he'd have to do. I was planning to move my Rook to the 7th rank afterwards, but when he recaptured with the Queen I saw that I could trap it. It's usually not easy to trap a Queen on such an open board, so I felt pretty good about it.

I wish I still had all the other games I've recorded over the years, but didn't manage to keep up with them. I have a few of the ones I played recently, though, so I'll see if any more of them are worth posting.

I hope some of you will post some of your's, as well.

  I can't make your game work.  There is no 7...  ed5.  Am I missing something?

[Cavebear]

But here is one of mine from last year...

1.  h2-h3      e7e5
2.  Nb1-c3    d7-d5
3.  Ng1-f3     Nb8-c6
4.  g2-g4      e5-e4
5.  Nf3-h4     d5-d4
6.  Nc3xd4    Qd8xh4
7.  d2-d3       Bc8xg4
8.  Bc1-f4      Bg4xh3
9.  Bf4xc7      Bf8 - b4+
10. c2-c3       Bb4xc3+
11. b2xb3      Ra8-c8
12. Ne4-d6+  Ke8-f8
13. Qd1-b3    Rc8xc7
14. Rh1xh3    Qh4-e7
15. Nd6-f5     Qe7-c5
16. Bf1-g2      Qc5xf5
17. Bg3xc6     Rc7xc6
18. Rh3-f3      Qf5-a5
19. Qb3Xf7 Mate

[Unbeliever (OP)]

  I can't make your game work.  There is no 7...  ed5.  Am I missing something?

There's a pawn on d6 capturing a pawn on d5.

[Unbeliever (OP)]

But here is one of mine from last year...

1.  h2-h3      e7e5
2.  Nb1-c3    d7-d5
3.  Ng1-f3     Nb8-c6
4.  g2-g4      e5-e4
5.  Nf3-h4     d5-d4
6.  Nc3xd4    Qd8xh4
7.  d2-d3       Bc8xg4
8.  Bc1-f4      Bg4xh3
9.  Bf4xc7      Bf8 - b4+
10. c2-c3       Bb4xc3+
11. b2xb3      Ra8-c8
12. Ne4-d6+  Ke8-f8
13. Qd1-b3    Rc8xc7
14. Rh1xh3    Qh4-e7
15. Nd6-f5     Qe7-c5
16. Bf1-g2      Qc5xf5
17. Bg3xc6     Rc7xc6
18. Rh3-f3      Qf5-a5
19. Qb3Xf7 Mate

I think you intended the 6th move by white to be Nxe4, didn't you, since the knight can't get from c3 to d4., and given that the knight later moves to d6.

[Cavebear]

There's a pawn on d6 capturing a pawn on d5.

Oh, you meant 13. Nb6 not B

I'm of the old positional notation.  The newer algebraic notation gives me fits.  I had to write the letters and numbers on a board to play postal and online.  But you got it wrong on 13.  And I see how the Q is trapped.  Nice game, bad notation.

I remember Bobby Fisher's P-K4 "Best By Test", LOL.  But get the moves right.  You drove me crazy for an hour til I figured out what the right move HAD to be.

And yeah I messed on 7.

[Unbeliever (OP)]

Oh, you meant 13. Nb6 not B

I'm of the old positional notation.  The newer algebraic notation gives me fits.  I had to write the letters and numbers on a board to play postal and online.  But you got it wrong on 13.  And I see how the Q is trapped.  Nice game, bad notation.

I remember Bobby Fisher's P-K4 "Best By Test", LOL.  But get the moves right.  You drove me crazy for an hour til I figured out what the right move HAD to be.

And yeah I messed on 7.

Ach, you're right laddie! I fixed it. I'll be sure to be more careful next time.

I used the descriptive notation for a long time, but the algebraic is a bit easier for me to use now that I've gotten used to it.

[Cavebear]

Ach, you're right laddie! I fixed it. I'll be sure to be more careful next time.

I used the descriptive notation for a long time, but the algebraic is a bit easier for me to use now that I've gotten used to it.

Glad I solved it and you fixed it.  It was a pleasure to replay your game afterwards.  That Q trap was beautiful!

I even looked at it as black (nothing better than seeing both sides) and I didn't see it coming.

I'm mostly English as White and Sicilian as Black.  I'm not a positional player, LOL!