Chess match(es)

I'm taking a break.

I gave away two pieces in one game, then gave away my queen in the other game -- a game I was doing well in. I'm not sure where or how I contracted this case of head-up-a-dark-place-itis, but I'm going to take a day or two to hopefully get over it. Then I'll offer Mark another pair of games.

I'd like to blame it on being home and distracted. But I seriously doubt I have more distractions than Mark does, and he's doing just fine.

He's a good chess player, and I enjoy butting heads with him. I'll be back....

 

OK, I think I'm done sulking and banging my head on the wall now...

I've offered Mark another pair of games.

 

Okay, I'll go accept. Don't sulk. I lost two games to an inferior player today. It doesn't mean a thing in the long run. Have a good game now.

 

And we're off. I played d4 as white, so Mark can explain to me again how it's an inferior opening.

Mark started with e4 in the other game, and I countered with a routine e5 instead of trying to get fancy.

By the way: I can't count, or read, or something. When Mark said d4 was an inferior opening, I went dyslexic and was thinking of e4, which is why I made the comment about Fischer and the Ruy Lopez opening.

 

It's easy to get mixed up on notation. In a tournament, one is required to maintain a move list. Fights sometimes ensue.
Two wierd openings, gambits, if you will, accepted.

One decidedly more wierd than the other. Okay, let's see what we can do with this!

 

The first game is fairly normal: I opened with a Queen's Gambit, and Mark accepted.

It's the second one that's getting strange. I accepted his King's Gambit, and he rolled on into what a friend of mine used to call the Drunken King opening.

His hope was that I would hop on his meandering King with my Queen, hoping to roll up pawns and maybe his rook. When my attack petered out, it would leave him probably three pawns down. But in return, he'd have some wide open lines to launch an attack on my King side -- while my pieces were still undeveloped.

And if I got the least bit careless, he would trap my queen...

 

If everybody always did what we wanted them to do, what fun would that be? Thanks for screwing up my best layed plans, Troy. I'm done offering you trick openings only to have you decline.


Okay, for you, you desert rat, I was handing you the "tumbleweed", or less apropriately, the "king's own gambit". Yes, similar to the "drunken king". I am flat pissed that I didn't get to crush you with it - it would have been glorious, bearing in mind it's moniker. Check it out, tho, and use it against somebody in a timed game: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/the-kings-own-opening Read the poem, as it's funny.
Great fun, it is good for two or more crushings against one blitz player. The funny thing is, when you crush someone with it, then a year or more later with witnesses, he will bite again because he forgot how it went (and he wants to show off) , and you can beat him again - even when he knows, in the back of his mind, that something is fishy! The trouble is, if you (you) smell it, the perp is in trouble. Idon't know how I will recover from THAT mess I've built! I think I'll go play Scrabble awhile - I'm brushing with 1600 there, where I have not treaded, because I am irritated and not selling my chess snake oil well now.

 

One can memorize a hundred openings and their branches and still end up with crazy stuff like this second game...



At least the other isn't too far out.

 

Some of Mark's problems dealing with me are due to the fact that although I learned the basic principles of chess a long time ago, I've never spent much time memorizing openings and lines of play. I mostly wing it. So sometimes, I don't do what he wants me to do simply because I don't know any better.

Of course, that lack of specific knowledge would be disastrous at any serious level of chess. But down here in Amateur Land I get away with it sometimes, especially if there isn't a clock on the table.

It's going to take more than unpredictability to even the score on my games with Mark, though.... I'm going to have to play some serious chess.

[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "http://www.itsyourturn.com"]
[Date "2010.12.05"]
[Round "*"]
[White "mark775"]
[Black "troy2000"]
[Result "*"]
[Ply "16"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Kf2 Nc6 4. d4 d6 5. d5 Ne5 6. Nf3
Nxf3 7. Qxf3 Be7 8. Bxf4 Nf6 *


[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "http://www.itsyourturn.com"]
[Date "2010.12.05"]
[Round "*"]
[White "troy2000"]
[Black "mark775"]
[Result "*"]
[Ply "17"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nc3 Bd6 5. e4 Bb4
6. Bxc4 Nf6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. O-O *

 

In the comments on the Tumbleweed poem I posted someone has put up interactive boards that show the gambit.

 

Thanks for that; three very entertaining games. And I love the interactive boards. Any idea how he's doing that? I know he's using the analysis board under 'Resources,' but I have no idea how he's posting it, or how we could do the same here.

 

A view of the games from my side, for a change.

 

It's funny, I had actually typed that identical query to you, and deleted before entering the post - I didn't think you'd be interested! I have no idea, Troy. I am quite computer illiterate and don't see that well anymore anyways. It is a struggle for me to figure out new (to me) programs. Where they're at:

 

oh. i was cooking and posting and you already had it! ...And you just got sneaky!

 

I am getting flayed in both games.