Chess Improvement

Chess master Josh Bloomer, lucky in both love and cards, was at Poor Richard’s tonight. It was in Bloomer’s basement that I hatched the Full Metal Jacket Opening, meaning Black keeps all 8 bullets ( pawns ) -

1. d4 Nc6 2. d5 Ne5 3. e4 e6 4. f4 exd5 5. fxe5 Qh4+ 6. Ke2 Qxe4+
7. Be3 Bc5 8.Qd3 Qxe5 9. Nf3 Qxe3+ 10. Qxe3+ Bxe3 11. Kxe3 Nf6

It was Josh Bloomer who said -
” Half of Brian’s wins are pawn waves. ”

Therefore it was fitting tonight that my opening was the Fishing Pole, Full
Metal Jacket Variation, i.e., I kept all eight pawns on the board for 34 moves, rather rare, I should think and absolutely impossible in a Fishing Pole.  I marched my pawns down the board in a pawn wave, just the way Josh noted.

Congratulations to Anthea Carson Martinez, whose rating unofficially surpassed 1800 for the first time in her life. She beat this 1900 twice at the Denver Chess Club starting out at about 1700 and managed to almost equalize their ratings.

I never saw Josh Bloomer look at my game because he had a tigress by the tail, none other than our newest A-player, Anthea. The game looked like a tough, close battle to me and I think Josh pointed out in the post-mortem where she could have drawn. It was the last game to finish.

Fred Spell is only 1484 but I was shocked at his move technique – I guess years of playing at Poor Richard’s have hardened him or fear of this email inspired him but he played tough Chess down the line and used up all of his time, a positive sign that someone is trying their very best. English Super Grandmaster Michael Adams says that in Swiss system tournaments, players either completely cave in against him or play the game of their life.

In other games tonight, the unstoppable juggernaut Mitch Anderson rolled over TD Jerry Maier, Bill Weihmiller won a piece off of Danielle Rice’s Scandinavian and Dean Brown had a battle Royal with Paul Covington – I think it was one of those games where all three results were possible. Joe Fromme had a tough time beating Tikila. Tom Mullikin looked lost without Dragan.

[Event "Poor Richard's"]
[Site "Colorado Springs"]
[Date "2009.03.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Fred Spell"]
[Black "B-Wall"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1484"]
[BlackElo "2206"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin defense, 4.O-O, Fishing Pole, Full Metal Jacket"]
[ECO "C65"]
[NIC "RL.07"]
[Time "18:09:28"]
[TimeControl "Game/85 5 second delay"]

Poor Richard’s Bookstore Wednesday Night Chess Tournament,
320 North Tejon Street, Downtown Colorado Springs, CO

Warm night

March 4, 2009

Round 1

Board 2

Game/85 minutes
5 second delay

Opening -
Fishing Pole, Full Metal Jacket

White – Fred Spell 1484

Black – Brian Wall 2206

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Ng4!!

Fishing Pole

5. Re1 Bc5!!

Played instantaneously hoping for
6 d4 N:d4 7 N:d4 Qh4 8 Nf3 Q:f2+ 9 Kh1 Qg1+!!!
10 any-captures-g1 followed by smothered mate on f2
like I beat two masters on ICC and as illustrated in
How To Play Chess Like An Animal. I was hoping to
complete a slow rated game of Chess with less than a
minute used on my clock.

6. Re2

The best thing about this position is that the best move is so utterly
humiliating, 6 Rf1, losing 2 tempi. Simply stated, the best move is
psychologically impossible to play, whether in blitz or slow Chess.

6 … Nd4!!

I remembered that Fritz really loved this move but I couldn’t remember why at all – it goes against my usual strategy of building up a massive attack.

7. Nxd4! Bxd4!?

Fritz likes 7 … ed!! 8 h3 a6!, .. Ne5! or … c6!
but what the hell does that have to do with a Fishing Pole?

8. h3!

The 1400 serves notice that it won’t be business as
usual tonight by finding an only move in one minute.
My main threats were 8 … Qh4 or harassing his
floating bishop on b5 with pawns.

8 … Nxf2

Some possibilities
8 … c6! 9 Ba4 N:f2! 10 R:f2 d5!
White has two pieces and the slightly better game -
I have rook and center pawn and safer King,
much like what was played.
8 … a6 9 Bc4 b5 10 Bb3 Nf6 11 c3 Bb6 12 d4
with normal Ruy Lopez avantage.
The reason I rejected the normal Fishing Pole move 8 … h5 was -
A – I seemed to remember Fritz preferring … N:f2
B – miscalculation after 8 … h5 9 d3? Qh4! 10 Be3? N:e3!
11 fe B:b2! the move I missed

8 … h5 9 hg hg 10 g3! c6 or … Qf6
I have some compensation for the Fishing Pole Knight.

9. Rxf2! Bxf2+! 10. Kxf2! Qh4+
——————————————————————————

In the dark corner of my mind where Fishing Pole analysis lies dormant,
I seemed to remember 10 … Qf6+ 11 Qf3/Kg1/Ke3 Qb6+
picking up the bishop and as Botvinnik said about his one game with Fischer -
” That position was my guiding light ” -
10 … Qf6+ 11 Kg3 Qf4 checkmate looked promising too.
I didn’t see the point of my play after
10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke2 -
Fred’s King is in the center but I wanted the tangible e-pawn and center,
not vague threats against his King.
Fritz 11 continues 10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke2 c6 12 Bd3
The Renae Delaware Defense to the Fishing Pole -
White hangs onto his e-pawn, I didn’t like that -
also 10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke2 c6 12 Bc4 is possible or
10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke1 Qh4+ 12 Kf1 Q:e4
is better than the game becuase Fred’s
King is closer to the center by one tempo.
also possible is 10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke1 Qh4+ 12 Kf1 f5
trying to castle on Fred’s head -
Here’s a fun line -
10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke1 Qh4+ 12 Kf1 f5 13 d4 fe 14 de 0-0+
15 Kg1 d6 16 ed?? B:h3!! crushing
one more idea before we leave this place -
10 … Qf6+ 11 Ke2 c6 12 Bc4 Qg6 13 Kf1 f5
14 ef Q:f5+ 15 Kg1 d5 16 Bb3
and I have one less pawn than the game.

I decided to avoid the murky stuff and just grab the pawn,
even though I half remembered that Fritz preferred 10 … Qf6+
for some obscure reason ( driving Fred’s King into the center ).
—————————————————————————–

11. Kg1!
—————————————————————————-
11 Ke3? Qg3+! 12 Qf3 Qe1+ is bad for Mr. Spell
also very bad is 11 Kf3? Qh5+ ( skewering King and Queen )
12 g4 Q:h3+
11 Ke2 Q:e4+ is the same material balance as the
game but Fred’s King headed in the wrong direction.
11 Kf1 or g3 are OK, no immediate disasters loom but
Fred’s move is clearly best, safeguarding his King.
——————————————————————————

11 … Qxe4!
—————————————————————————–

So we have the Fishing Pole, Full Metal Jacket Variation.
Remarkably I keep all 8 bullets until move 35.
Rook and two center pawns for bishop and knight is a
delicate balance relying on subtle nuances. A small
mistake can tip the scales.

We have used about 15 minutes so far.
——————————————————————————

12. Nc3! Qd4+! 13. Kh1! c6

I decided that 13 … c6 or … 0-0
must be interchangable and Fritz 11 confirms this.

14. Ba4 O-O! 15. Qf3

I didn’t get the point of this move walking into
… e4 shots but maybe Fred wanted to sac on d5.
15 d3! seemed to be the most useful/flexible/necessary move

15 … d5

15 … a5! might be a subtle improvement,
forcing 16 a3! f5 12 d3 f4 13 Bd2 d5 14 Be1 Black-Queen-somewhere
with a King’s Gambit Accepted type pawn on f4
jamming Fred’s Kingside. This was the key concept
in the final Colorado Scholastic game that gave
Richard Herbst a shot at the Denker over David Twerskoi.

16. d3! f5!

My idea is to keep the center locked up and maybe Fred’s bishops won’t eat me.

17. Be3! Qb4!

I thought surely a 1400 would get this move
wrong but he quickly played the only move again.
We had about an hour left each now.

18. Bb3! Be6! 19. Qf2!

Threatening 20 Bc5

19 … b6! 20. Bd2!

threatening 21 N:d5

20 … Qd6

White should play d4 establishing a dark square center blockade
and I should anticipate this with 20 … Qe7! 21 d4 ed 22 Q:d4 Rae8

21. Re1

Fred should establish a central presence with 21 d4!

21 … Rae8

I have a slight edge with hopes for more after
21 … d4, … Rae8 or … f4

22. Ne2

fighting for d4/f4.
This is not an easy position,
one chink in my pawn wall
and the snakes slither in.

22 … c5

22 … d4, … c5 or … f4
are all good for me -
I did not want to trade bishops
or advance too fast.

23. Ng3 f4!

We had about 42 minutes left now.
Fred was keeping up with me on the clock.
Fritz slightly prefers the inhuman 23 … Qd7!!
unguarding e5 but threatening … c4
trapping the b3 bishop.
Preventing counter-piece-sacs is all
part of managing your pawn wave.
I have lots of good ideas after
23 … f4 24 Ne2 like
24 … a6, … b5 or .. c4
OTB 24 .. f3 looked scary too.

24. Nf1 b5

with both hands on the b3-bishop’s throat,
one of many good moves.
I thought of … Qc6!! after I moved and Fritz 11
likes this too, threatening to trap the bishop.
I can even combine peanut butter and chocolate with
24 … f3 25 gf Qc6
Fritz 11 is starting to light up like a pinball machine.
24 … Qd7! is another bishop trapping move

Essentially Fred has not challenged my center enough and
I am starting to smother him with my Full Metal Jacket.

25. a3! g5

Chocolate Rain.
I wanted to keep f4 protected in case of … e4,
one of many good ideas.
Fritz 11 favorites are 25 … Kh8, … Qc7 and … Rc8

26. Qf3 Kg7

Fritz 11 likes the rook lift 26 … Rf6! best here

27. Qh5! h6

Fred – 28 minutes left with a long game ahead
Me – 37 minutes with a comfortable game ahead

It’s a little bit like a bughouse game where I am trying to prevent Fred
from establishing dominance or a foothold on one color or another.

28. Qe2 Bf5!

Guarding e5 and enhancing … e4

29. Kg1

Fred’s default move when he couldn’t think of what to do,
a sign of passive waiting for the axe to fall.

29 … a6!!

So that b5 isn’t hanging after … e4 de

30. Kh1

Fred’s King paces nervously in the palace waiting
for Ghengis Khan’s army to overwhelm him.

30 … Kh7

Fritz loves 30 … e4 31 de B:e4
but I thought maybe a pawn would be better on e4
My original idea was … Kg8-g7-g6
and Fritz likes 30 … Kg6 as well
My move comes next.

31. Bc3 d4!!

I have been resisting creating holes in my
pawn wall but this provocation is too much.

32. Bd2! e4!!

The battering ram breaches the wall

33. Qh5

33 de B:e4
with brutal pressure on the light squares
c4, c2, f3, g2
which I can increase with
… f3, … Qc6, … Qg6 etc.

33 … e3!!!

I considered this a complete triumph of my strategy
and utterly hopeless for Fred. Everything wins.
I still have all eight pawns! How often does that
happen this late in a game?

34. Bc1 c4

From over two dozen clear wins
Fritz only prefers 34 … f3!!
with the ideas 35 Q:f3 B:d3!! or
winning Fred’s knight versus a brutal invasion with
34 … f3 35 gf e2 36 Nh2 Qg3

My idea is simpler and thematic -
just keep rolling the pawns forward.

35. dxc4! bxc4! 36. Ba4 Re7!!

It’s hard to go wrong here.
Fred is running out of position ( and time )
as Dzindi likes to say.

Fred – 7 minutes
Brian – 23 minutes

It may not look like it now but Fred seems much improved -
he didn’t drop anything and moved carefully each time -
that’s 1600 Chess in my book.

37. Nh2!

sorta kind of activating his knight

37 … d3!!

It’s a little known fact that Hans Berliner gives a computer value of +7
for two connected passed pawns on the 6th rank. That means if you advance
two pawns from the second rank to the sixth rank, you have gained a rook.
Since I am theoretically a rook up, I should win easily if I don’t drop
anything. This is why I try to prevent countersacs of two pawns for a
piece as I advance my pawns. I know if I get them far enough it is Game Over.

38. cxd3 cxd3! 39. Nf3! Qg6

Trading Queens seemed like a simple mathematical win
versus the delicate yet brutal Fritz favorite
39 … Bg6!! 40 Qg4 Be4

40. Qxg6+! Kxg6! 41. Kg1 Rd8!!

I have 15 minutes to Fred’s two plus an overpowering presence.
I have too many threats to list.

42. Bd2

looks pitiful but a top move -
the point is that my two pawns on the
6th rank should cost Fred a piece each.

42 … Be4

I couldn’t make up my mind between
42 … Re4!! or … Be4
I liked the idea of trading everything
( Queens and now Bishop for knight )
leaving me with the overwhelming mathematical
superiority of my passed pawns in their purest form,
sort of like reducing a fraction to
its lowest common denominator.
I saw attacking two bishops with 42 … Re4!!
was strong but it seemed tricky and less thematic.

43. Bc3

Time -
Fred – 28 seconds left
Brian – 12 minutes

43 … Bxf3! 44. gxf3! d2! 45. Bc2+ Kh5!

0-1

Fred ran out of time.

I asked Fred if he wanted to go over the game but he is on my email list,
the night was getting late so he just said , ” That’s OK, I will enjoy the
writeup. ”

—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————

[Event "Poor Richard's"]
[Site "Colorado Springs"]
[Date "2009.03.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Fred Spell"]
[Black "B-Wall"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1484"]
[BlackElo "2206"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin defense, 4.O-O, Fishing Pole, Full Metal Jacket"]
[ECO "C65"]
[NIC "RL.07"]
[Time "18:09:28"]
[TimeControl "Game/85 5 second delay"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Ng4 5. Re1 Bc5 6. Re2 Nd4 7. Nxd4 Bxd4
8. h3 Nxf2 9. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 10. Kxf2 Qh4+ 11. Kg1 Qxe4 12. Nc3 Qd4+ 13. Kh1 c6
14. Ba4 O-O 15. Qf3 d5 16. d3 f5 17. Be3 Qb4 18. Bb3 Be6 19. Qf2 b6 20. Bd2
Qd6 21. Re1 Rae8 22. Ne2 c5 23. Ng3 f4 24. Nf1 b5 25. a3 g5 26. Qf3 Kg7 27.
Qh5 h6 28. Qe2 Bf5 29. Kg1 a6 30. Kh1 Kh7 31. Bc3 d4 32. Bd2 e4 33. Qh5 e3
34. Bc1 c4 35. dxc4 bxc4 36. Ba4 Re7 37. Nh2 d3 38. cxd3 cxd3 39. Nf3 Qg6
40. Qxg6+ Kxg6 41. Kg1 Rd8 42. Bd2 Be4 43. Bc3 Bxf3 44. gxf3 d2 45. Bc2+ Kh5

0-1

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