On July 10th, the CSCC had 16 members in attendance. In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Josh Bloomer blistered Bill Weihmiller. Most of the participants played in the USCF-rated, quick Swiss tournament (G15). The tournament was the debut of the club’s newest tournament director, Jerry Maier, and was won by Josh Divine. Here are the results:

Player Score

Josh Divine 4.0
Kale Duncan 3.0
Virgil McGuire 2.0
Paul Anderson 2.0
Dean Brown 1.5
Mike Filppu 1.0
Jerry Maier 1.0
Lucas Bundy 0.5

I was reading over some of LM Brian Wall’s emails this past week. I usually don’t read them as they come in, but rather I read through them like I am eating grapes. Who eats just one grape at a time? You have to eat a whole bunch at once or else there is not enough nutritional value to make it worthwhile. Now, if I could only get my beloved wife to feed me the emails one by one as I recline in a pile of pillows, I would surely become master strength. “Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples…” (Song of Songs 2:5). But, until that happens, I will have to endure the pain of being one of Brian’s preordained victories. In the last bunch of emails, Brian had mentioned that Larry Wutt was 0-8 against him despite having winning and drawing positions. Well, I noticed that I wasn’t doing much better. I am 0-7 against Brian in rated games. That is my worst performance against any opponent (Andy Rea is second with 0-6). On the other hand, I have a couple of opponents to whom I have never lost or drawn in multiple rated games. I went 12-0 against Al Ufer and am 10-0 against Joe Pahk. Josh Smith mentioned that his best preordained opponent was Paul Grimm (10-0), but he seemed to imply that Paul was the only one. I find that hard to believe. I checked my statistics and I have 17 opponents who are 0-4 or worse against me. In any case, these numbers only count rated games (USCF or club) over the board. These numbers don’t include blitz, simul, or any other victories that go unrated and often unrecorded. However, sometimes your opponent is nice enough to replay the game and let you record it so that you have a permanent record of your free will and a constant reminder to choose your moves wisely.

This One's For Larry! (Click this link to view the game on your web browser)

(99) Wall,Brian (2223) - Anderson,Paul (1884) [B12]
CSCC Speed Colorado Springs (3.1), 03.07.2007
[Fritz 8 (60s)]

B12: Caro-Kann: Advance Variation
1.d4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.Nd2 g6 4.Ngf3 Nh6 5.Bd3 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 last book move 7...Bg4 8.c3 e6 9.e5 Nd7 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nf5 12.g4 Ne7 13.Qg3 c5 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Bc2 Nc6 16.Nb3 Ne4 17.Qh2 [17.Bxe4!? is an interesting idea 17...dxe4 18.Nc5=/+ ] 17...Bxe5 18.f4 Bc7 19.Be3 Bb6 20.Rad1 [20.Bxe4!? is worthy of consideration 20...dxe4 21.Qf2=/+ ] 20...Bxe3+ 21.Rxe3 Qb6 22.Qe2 Nd6 23.Bb1 [>=23.Bd3!?-/+ ] 23...Nc4-+ 24.Nd4 Nxe3 25.Qxe3 Nxd4 26.Qxd4 Qxd4+ [>=26...Qxb2 and Black wins 27.c4 Qa3 28.Kg2-+ ] 27.Rxd4 Rac8 28.Bd3 a6 29.Kf2 Rc5 30.Ke3 Rfc8 31.g5 Kg7 32.h4 h6 33.Rb4 b5 34.a4 bxa4 35.Bxa6 Ra8 36.Bd3 a3 37.bxa3 Rxa3 38.Kd4 Rcxc3 39.Be2 Re3 40.Rb2 hxg5 [40...Re4+!? seems even better 41.Kc5 Rxf4 42.Rb7-+ ] 41.hxg5 Re4+ 42.Kc5 Rxf4 0-1

7/17 Josh Bloomer Lecture / Simul, CSCC
7/18,25 Poor Richard's Book Store July Open Final Rounds, CSCC
7/20-22 Boulder Chess Festival: Boulder Invitational, Boulder Qualifiers, and Open, BCC
7/21 DCC Red Hot Quick Tournament, DCC
7/31 Bughouse tournament, CSCC
8/1,8,15,22,29 Poor Richard's Book Store August Open, CSCC

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/)