On May 23, the CSCC had 23 members in attendance. In the USCF-rated ladder game (G90), Joe Fromme flattened Jerry Maier. The rest of the participants were split into groups of 4 for USCF-rated (G30) and club-rated (G20) round robin tournaments. Here are the results:

Player Score

USCF A

Josh Bloomer 3.0

Buck Buchanan 2.0

Paul Anderson 1.0

Joe Pahk 0.0

USCF B

Roy Heath 2.5

Renae Delaware 1.5

Tom Mullikin 1.0

Dean Brown 1.0

Club A

Virgil McGuire 2.0

Josh Divine 2.0

Charles Martin 1.0

Gerry Sunderland 1.0

Club B

Paul Christensen 2.0

Chris McCarty 2.0

Gary Frenzel 0.0

Chris Wynkoop 0.0

Club C

Horst Wolf 3.0

John Pendergrass 2.0

Kathy Schneider 1.0

Lenny Long 0.0

Inn Ho Sohn,Wednesday, June 30, 2004 3:34 AM

Darn it! I'm missing out on all the scores and GotW! Wow! Renae is moving up fast! I noticed lots of aggression in her play which should help her improve quickly. She keeps an eye out for tactics. Although she loses her spirit when she's surprised(I do too). I had those beginner problems too. In blitz online, many times I'd win Queen for Rook and a piece or two pieces, but unable to win (heck just happened few days ago). Also I'd be up a piece for pawns, but be clueless(game against Denis). Although now I feel that I have better sense about those situations, mainly to keep playing aggressively and not try to passively exchange pieces. A good judge of one's true chess skills is the handling of unbalanced material positions(piece for few pawns, exchange - pawn, Q for R and B, etc). I can relate to Dan. He's so intently focused on winning the game, that social matters take back seat. It's heartbreaking when one lays everything on the table on every game(because the odds are only 50%). I used to me much more competitive, but I think I'm better for being less focused on winning and more focused on playing adventurous chess. Finally, thank you for the all the work you put into the newsletters. Colorado had the most sense of chess community than any other place I've been.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day. As is my custom, I visited Ft. Logan National Cemetery and decorated my grandfather’s grave with flowers. Also, it is about this time of year that I watch Patton, which is my favorite war movie. My grandfather served under Patton, and my grandmother, when I ask about Patton, always says, “His wife was nice.” Of course, there also seems to be a lot more documentaries about World War II on in May which I enjoy watching. So, with all these reminders of war going on, I seem to think about chess in purely military terms. This week’s quad event was like a series of military blunders for me. In my game against Joe Pahk, I advanced my infantry beyond my supply lines and got a division trapped behind enemy forces. When the truce offer came, I was so mad with myself, I just said, “Nuts!” and continue to fight on hoping my enemy would run out of time and resources. In my game against Buck Buchanan, I had a chance to capture his land forces as he made an ill-advised attack on my fortified defenses, but I became too cautious and retreated my main attack and allowed his big ships to move in and save his infantry and prolong the battle into a long, slow, grueling defeat for me. But worst of all, I decided to imitate the French military strategy, as my opponents’ time grew precariously low, against the Blitzkrieg himself, Josh Bloomer. I created a system of fortifications along my central frontier, extending from the c file to the g file. Of course, just like fortified lines since the Great Wall of China, the chief effect it had was to create a false sense of security; it could not eliminate the necessity for mobile warfare, as Josh merely flanked the defenses and left the fortifications untested.

Maginot Line

(66) Anderson,Paul (1820) - Bloomer,Josh (2197) [E70]
May Quad Colorado Springs (2.1), 23.05.2006
[Fritz 8 (60s)]

E70: King's Indian: Miscellaneous lines with 4 e4, including 5 Nge2 and 5 Bd3 0-0 6 Nge2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bd3 0-0 6.f3 c5 7.d5 e6 last book move 8.Be3 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Qe2 a6 Prevents intrusion on b5 11.a4 Nbd7 12.Nh3 Ne5 13.Nf2 h6 Consolidates g5 14.0-0 Bd7 15.Rad1 Rb8 16.h3 Controls g4 16...b5 17.axb5 Nxd3 18.Qxd3 axb5 19.Qd2 b4 Black gains space 20.Nb1 Kh7 21.b3 Ra8 22.Ng4 Nxg4 23.hxg4 Bb5 24.Rf2 Qh4 25.Bf4 Bd4 26.Be3 [>=26.Bxd6!? Qf6 27.Bg3-/+ ] 26...Be5 27.Bf4?? an oversight. But White was lost anyway. [>=27.f4 Bg7 28.Qc2-+ ] 27...Bd4 [>=27...Ra2! and Black has triumphed 28.Bxe5 Rxd2 29.Nxd2 Rxe5-+ ] 28.Be3 Bg7?? releasing the pressure on the opponent [28...Ra2! 29.Qe1 Be5 30.f4-+ (30.Rxa2?? leads to death in 2 30...Qh2+ 31.Kf2 Bg3# ) ] 29.Bf4-/+ Be5 30.g3 Covers f4 30...Qf6 31.Rh2 Bxf4 32.Qxf4 Qxf4 33.gxf4 Ra1 34.Kf2 Kg7 35.Rdh1 Ra2+ 36.Ke3 Rxh2 37.Rxh2 Ra8 38.Nd2 Ra1 39.Nc4?? White prepares e5 [>=39.g5 this is the best way to fight back 39...hxg5 40.fxg5 Re1+ 41.Kf2 Re2+ 42.Kg3= ] 39...Bxc4-+ 40.bxc4 Rc1 [>=40...Ra3+ and Black wins 41.Kd2 Ra2+ 42.Kc1 Rxh2-+ ] 41.e5 Rc3+ 42.Ke4 Rxc4+ 43.Ke3 Rd4 44.Rd2?? terrible, but what else could White do to save the game? [44.exd6 Rxd5 45.Rc2-+ ] 44...Rxd2 45.Kxd2 Kf8 46.Kd3 Ke7 47.Kc4 h5 0-1

5/30 Ladder games, CSCC
6/6 Speed tournament, CSCC
6/10-11 Southern Colorado Open, CSCA
7/1 & 7/8 Denver Open, DCC
7/22-23 2006 Kansas Open, CSCA
8/5-6 Pikes Peak Open, CSCA

Colorado Springs Chess Club: CSCC (http://www.foxfrenchtranslations.com/cscc/)
Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchessclub.org/)
Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)