Jim wins! Jim wins! Jim wins!

Looks like a disappointing day for the team, though. It looked like they were going to win 3-1 at one point, but board three blundered a whole rook in a winning position, and boards two and four are getting ground down. 1-3 looks the likely result now.

But Jim Mctigue is on the scoreboard!

Here's the game. 

Update: The US Virgin Island team lost 1.5 to 2.5. The Liechtenstein Board Four took a draw to win the match. Not sure if he saw that he could play for a win or not. It was probably trickier sitting at the board to see the right moves than it was sitting at home with an analysis engine running! Still, "our" team is finally getting board points. Hopefully match points will follow!

At a guess ...

... here's someone who really hates the new bathroom rules!

Evelyn Romero Moncayo of Ecuador. She is due soon, Olympiad baby? :) @bakuchessol2016 @WOMChess #bakuchess pic.twitter.com/3zAMun114u

— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) September 8, 2016

Time for a little experiment.

How well can a 48 year-old man play online speed chess while blasting Deep Purple?

UPDATE: Probably not the best thing I could have done, but not awful! Up 13 points on the night. The problem stretch came with the Mark II line up. It left me flat until we got to the Machine Head era. (Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about!) Closed it out with Perfect Strangers, and now it's time to stop, because I think I've finally got that Cardigans song out of my head.

UPDATE 2: Only an idiot would analyze a game of speed chess, and I am that idiot! The last game of the night featured an interesting piece battle. Follow the link, if you dare!

Tricks with Knights & Rooks

In an earlier post, I had a messy position from the Eickelman-Slade game in the club championship. Working my way through it I came to a position wherein White has to win with a Rook, g- & h-pawns versus a Knight & h-pawn. It turned out that winning the position wasn't too hard, but it put me in mind of the famous Em. Lasker-Ed. Lasker game from the New York, 1924 tournament. Looking up that position in my trusty copy of Fundamental Chess Endings, I came across the following study.

J. Moravec, La Strategie, 1913

White to move and win

This will eventually resolve itself into a R vs N endgame. If the knight is close to the king, the defending side can often draw the game, as in the Lasker-Lasker game above. However, sometimes the knight can be separated from the king, even when they're close together at the start. To see some endgame magic, check below the fold for the solution.

Olympiad Update

The Olympiad has been tough for the Virgin Island team. They've mostly been heavily out-rated and it shows in the results, as they've been blanked in all four rounds in which they played. They received a bye today. (An odd number of teams means someone has to out each round, and that usually falls to the lowest scoring team that hasn't had a bye previously.) Tomorrow they will face Liechtenstein, and once again they will be out-rated on most boards. Jim will likely face Marcel Mannhart (2128 FIDE).

Jim HAS had some good games, though, despite the results. Paull Leggett has been posting the games to Facebook. As Paul wrote about Jim's fourth round game:

He equalized easily, and the game stayed even for a very long time. After a protracted defense (just playing through it is draining), it ends with a painful and undeserved loss, much in the way Karpov started losing to Kasparov. It is a very valuable study piece, even if the story has an unhappy ending.

Clock management issues (especially in Game Three, according to a note by Jim) seem to be the biggest problem at this point. Hopefully, during the next round it will got better!

Game Two link

Game Three link

Game Four link

It should be noted that Jim appears to be having a good time regardless. He posted a bunch of pictures he's taken around Baku on his Facebook feed. He may even be at the Bermuda Party as we speak!

What he said.

The depravity of morals in modern #Chess may be traced to those who essay the London System and other ignoble débûts.

— Howard Staunton (@HowardStaunton) September 5, 2016

There ain't no justice, Part "I Stopped Counting After the First Million Examples I Encountered"

There ain't no justice, and don't let anyone ever convince you that there is. Win games are often lost, lost games are often won.

But this isn't just an advice post, this is a practical post on how to win lost games, or even win dead even positions, using the mental attribute of perseverance and a little next level strategy. In the game presented below, I used both. To win the game, I had to unbalance the position by giving away material (not sacrificing, mind you, but by just losing material), obtaining an objectively lost position after ten moves. But I persevered and and applied next level strategy to win the game. Let me show you how it's done.

Tournament Players PROTIP #7: NFL Player Edition

Watching the UMass-UF football game tonight (a dreary affair if one is a Gator), I heard an inspirational story. The announcers were discussing Florida player Brian Cox, Jr., who is the son of Brian Cox, Sr. (What a coincidence!)

Senior was an NFL player of note back in the 1990s & early 2000s. He played linebacker, a particularly violent position. Mr. Cox had a unique motivational tool. Before games he would have someone leave a ransom note in his locker, written on the opposing team's stationary, stating that the other team was holding his children hostage.

"Well," I thought, "chess is a very violent game, mentally and emotionally. Is this something I can apply to my tournament practice?" I don't have an opportunity to test this out any time soon, so if any of our reader(s) gets a chance to put this into practice, drop us a note!

Round One Results

Unfortunately the US Virgin Island Team got blanked today. Tomorrow, Angola, which is another tough match-up. If Jim plays, he'll face one of two international masters on the Angolan team. (I'm not sure what the substitution pattern will be for Jim's team.)

I should note that the individual pairings are determined right before the round. So the US Virgin Islands (and both their opponents thus far) have five players, of whom four play. The exact line-up is determined shortly before the round starts.

ADDED: Paul added the game (with a few notes) to the Club's Facebook feed.

Editorial Note: I'm seeing some hand-wringing on Twitter concerning the event's use as propaganda by the Azeri dictatorship. (And the FIDE leadership, of course.) Perhaps I missed it, but I didn't see similar hand-wringing when Qatar hosted several events late last year. It certainly seems like a case of selective outrage.

A violation of the rules.

-or-

 Don't eat the sushi in Baku!

Weird anti-cheating rule at @bakuchessol2016 - players must warn arbiter each time they intend to go to toilet and arbiter must note request

— Ian Rogers (@GMIanRogers) September 1, 2016

It has been dubbed a 'shit rule' by the players https://t.co/7trjXqEnYh

— Jon Ludvig Hammer (@gmjlh) September 2, 2016

It could happen to you.

#BakuChess #Bakuchessol2016 #PartyWithCaution #Beer #JustChessPlayerThings #ThingsNoOneBelievesUntilItHappensToThem pic.twitter.com/zJ7CILvw3h

— NakaFacts (@NakaFacts) September 2, 2016

PS Jim is slightly worse as White against IM Muhammed Lutfi Ali after 20 moves. The worrying part is that he's already used an hour on the clock, leaving him down by thirty minutes.

First round pairings are up!

The US Virgin Isles (ISV) are paired against Indonesia (INA) in Round 1. It looks like Jim (2205 FIDE) will have White against either GM Utut Adianto (2556) or IM Muhammed Lutfi Ali (2411). Adianto is a name familiar to us older players. Lutfi Ali is only 18 or 19, so I'm not familiar with him even by name.

2017 United States Amateur Team Championship South Hotel Reservation Information

[Bumped to the top. Originally published 2016 AUG 29, 12:34 AM.]

Ten days back, I mentioned that Jon Haskel had placed the winning bid for the 2017 USATS. I now have a bit more information to pass along.

The event will be held over the weekend of February 17-19, 2017, at the the Holiday Inn Orlando SW - Celebration Area, in Kissimmee, Florida. (Click the link for the hotel's website.)

If anyone would prefer to call into the hotel's Central Reservations department, call 800-465-4359.  Booking code is CHE.

As per Jon Haskel's original email announcing the event:

The special Hotel rate is $75 per night. The Hotel has waived its normal $15 resort fee, so guests will have free high speed internet, unlimited use of the fitness facility, outdoor pool with fresh towels, free parking, and free daily newspaper. A full breakfast buffet will be available for only $6 per person.

In an email I received a few hours ago with the additional information, Jon states that anyone who wants the $6 special breakfast buffet needs to email him (jon@bocachess.com), and that we should all feel free to spread the word.

So spread the word!

Can you feel that?

No, we're not down with the sickness. (Not all of us - I can't speak for everyone.) No, we're feeling the excitement of the Chess Olympiad in Baku! Clermont actually has two players (one current, one former) playing in the Olympiad this year: doughty club stalwart Jim McTigue*, and Ray Robson, who made his way through the club many years ago on his way up the ladder. (Clermont - where Champions are made! Several Olympic medalists from the recently concluded Summer Games train in Clermont, too.)

And it's not just us. I think there's more excitement for this event on my Twitter feed than any other since I got on Twitter several years ago. Not even world championships have had this much interest. It really is a unique event in the chess world, and I'm looking forward to it.

The opening ceremony is today. The games start tomorrow at 7:00 AM Eastern Time. One should be able to follow the games at the Baku Olympiad Official Website, ICC, Chess.com, Chess24.com, or any of the usual suspects.

So far many of the people that have gone have commented on the hospitality of the organizers, but a few glitches have been reported. Nigel Short has reported some problems with the accreditation process, and he also reported that Uganda and Kenya have had problems.

Two countries - Uganda & Kenya - left high and dry by promises of tickets from Presidential Board friends. #nosympathy #bakuchess

— Nigel Short (@nigelshortchess) September 1, 2016

We'll see. It'll probably be the usual large event, where some people have a great time and some have nothing but problems - and some create nothing but problems for themselves. (Note to the players and other people associated with the Baku Olympiad: Don't be Ryan Lochte**!) Hopefully the average will tend towards the former.

One other thing I'm wondering about: Will the French team adjust their board order so that MVL plays White in every game?

No word from Jim, and I don't expect to hear anything from him during the event. He'll be too busy having a good time, we hope! Good luck, Jim, and here's hoping for a great event!

* I'm probably reading too much @HowardStaunton at the moment.

** Who does NOT train in Clermont!

Wow.

From Rashit Ziatdinov's Facebook page: White to play and win. The first move is obvious. After that it gets hard! This one requires a little technique, as well. Unfortunately I don't know the origin of the study, but it's a beauty!