FC Chess Tournament: Final Round!
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Yelnoc
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« Reply #100 on: July 30, 2012, 07:35:45 PM »

Alrighty then, gentlemen, you know the drill.  Once somebody has a link, I'll post it here.

Franzl vs Anvikshiki
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anvi
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« Reply #101 on: August 01, 2012, 12:19:48 PM »

For those interested, here is a link to the final game of what I'm assuming is Round 1 of the FC Chess Tournament.  Franzl is White and I'm Black.

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=18170254&rnd=58323
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anvi
anvikshiki
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« Reply #102 on: August 04, 2012, 10:26:36 AM »

The final game of Round 1 of the Atlas FC chess tournament between Franzl and me is still very much in progress.  I just wanted to note that, on a separate board, Yelnoc notified us that he needs to go to two separate schools very soon and so much of his attention is going to be occupied till November, and so he was hoping to start round 2 then.

I just thought I would offer to organize and set up a tournament format for round 2 so that we can get it going after the game between Franzl and me has concluded.  Up to you all, if you want to wait till November, it's fine with me, but if you want to get it going earlier, I can facilitate round 2.
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Yelnoc
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« Reply #103 on: August 04, 2012, 02:13:56 PM »

Well, I had just intended this single elimination tournament as a test run.  So if you want to run the next one, feel free to do it round robin/Swiss style, expand the number of players, and set the date whenever.
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anvi
anvikshiki
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« Reply #104 on: August 04, 2012, 04:55:40 PM »

Mmmm, sorry Yelnoc, maybe a little too much enthusiasm on my part.  I'm totally fine with waiting for a second round till November.  As a matter of fact, I think Lewis had a good idea earlier about me sitting out round 2 entirely and maybe playing the winner of round 2.  Forgive me for chomping too much at the bit, I just haven't played against actual people in a while, so it was nice to get back to it.
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Franzl
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« Reply #105 on: August 08, 2012, 08:33:18 PM »

I played awfully and lost. Smiley
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Yelnoc
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« Reply #106 on: August 08, 2012, 08:35:35 PM »

Congratulations, Anvi!  This was a fun experiment, and I look forward to the next tournament, whenever we decide to hold it.
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anvi
anvikshiki
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« Reply #107 on: August 08, 2012, 09:05:21 PM »
« Edited: August 08, 2012, 11:56:14 PM by anvi »

Thank you, Yelnoc!  Not just for the kudos, but for this whole experiment of running the tournament!  It was a great idea and you ran the event very well.  

And thanks to everyone I got the chance to play in this, hopefully only the first, round of the Atlas FC Chess tournament.  They were all exciting games, and you're all excellent sportsmen.  

PS, Franzl played like a man who was determined to go on the attack and mix it up!  Ambition, feistiness and the right intuitions are great weapons in chess, keep, 'em all!

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muon2
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« Reply #108 on: August 09, 2012, 12:31:47 AM »


Not that I saw. There was a missed pawn fork from a strong player and little path for recovery. Other than that it looked good.
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anvi
anvikshiki
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« Reply #109 on: August 09, 2012, 12:56:02 AM »
« Edited: August 09, 2012, 01:02:19 AM by anvi »

muon2 is right, Franzl.  If your 9th move had been Bxd4 (BxNQ4) instead of Nxd4 (NxN), all I would have had was a little initiative.  Even the best of chess players would find it difficult to recover from the loss of a piece in the opening.  If I had a buck for every piece I dropped in my early days of tournament play way back when, I'd be able to afford, well...something.  Besides, you had basically the right intuition in trying to put lots of pressure on my Sicilian opening, which is a bit slow out of the gate, right away.  Anyway, maintain your strengths and just double-check the exchanges you're about to make before you move.  Like many things, it's all about the practice.
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anvi
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« Reply #110 on: August 09, 2012, 09:22:44 AM »

For those who might be interested, if I may, I'd like to give a more complete conceptual analysis of the game between Franzl and me that I have of past games.  I have found, in my own study, that the chess instruction books that are most helpful to me are the ones that don't simply offer a series of bewildering variations, but which explain how a chess player thinks their way through a game.  In this and the following two posts, I'll try to do that, and maybe some of you who may be interested might find it helpful.

Atlas Chess Tournament, Round 1 Final Match.
Franzl (White) vs. Anvi (Black)
Part 1

Chess is not just a game of pieces and squares and strategies and calculation and logic.  Chess games between human beings are also psychological battles, wherein the different temperments of the players weigh heavily on almost every move.  Unlocking the temperment of a player by watching his or her moves is always something fun to do in analysis.  Franzl’s and mine were on full display in this final game of the first round by the fifth move!

1.   e4 c5 (1.  PK4-PQB4)

The Sicilian is easily my favorite defense to 1. e4 (P-K4) as Black.  The symmetrical response 1…e5 (P-K4) leads to lines that allow White to lead the dance with his rule-given half-move advantage for too long, and other alternatives like 1…d5 (P-Q4) and 1…c6 (P-QB3) don’t suit me either.  The major advantage of the Sicilian is that it leads very quickly to the creation of what Jeremy Silman, in his incomparably outstanding book How to Reassess Your Chess calls “imbalances,” specific strengths and weaknesses of each player’s position.  (I recommend Silman’s book and its companion volumes to any and everyone who wants to improve their game.)  Structurally, if White opens up the center with the thematic move 3. d4 (P-Q4) after 2. Nf3 (N-KB3), Black will take the pawn and give himself a half-open c-file (Queen’s Bishop file) on which he can, in coordination with other typical Sicilian moves, develop sharp counter-attacks.  White’s alternatives to opening up the center quickly are to allow Black an easy and sound development.  In short, Black’s 1…c5 (P-QB4) says to White: “alright, man, let’s slug it out!”  Franzl obliges immediately with a second move not often played in the Sicilian.

2.   Bc4 (B-QB4)

White is in the mood to attack!  The Bishop targets Black’s most vulnerable pawn on f7 (KB7).  Many of the most exciting variations in the Sicilian see White develop his King’s Bishop to this square, and this arrangement has led to some of the most spectacular games in the history of the defense.  (For those interested in chess history and this defense, see the games the super-aggressive British grandmaster Nigel Short played against then-World Champion Garry Kasparov in the former’s bid for the title in 1993—for both the attack and defense they feature, these games are magnificent treats to the chess buff!)  The caveat is that it’s a bit early to place the Bishop on this square in this opening, particularly without fighting for the center first.  One of the reasons the center is so important in the opening is because it acts, when well-controlled, as a kind of bridge across which to transport one’s pieces most effectively into enemy territory.  Developing pieces for an attack without sufficient control of the center is likely to produce an attack that doesn’t have enough piece support to succeed.  But this sequence that Franzl has chosen is nonetheless sometimes played anyway by White against the Sicilian, so we’ll see what happens

2….Nc6 (…N-QB3)
3.   Nc3 g6 (N-QB3 P-KN3)
4.   g4 (P-KN4)

Consistent with his intention to attack, White makes a very committal pawn thrust.  The downside of such a committal move is that it weakens the White h3 and f3 (KR3 and KB3) squares, and this makes the development of his kingside pieces far less smooth, and this does not bode well for his plans to launch a kingside assault on Black.  It also makes it illogical for White to ever castle on the kingside.  Despite these points, however, I must say that White has a fundamentally correct intuition here.  The one major drawback of the Sicilian is that it’s very often a bit slow, and against a slow Black opening, White should try to pounce quickly.  The strategic idea Franzl has here then is quite sound!  Indeed, former world champion Kasparov, the world’s greatest-ever Sicilian expert, has often said that, without the move g4 (P-KN4), White can’t hope to succeed against the Sicilian.  It just needs to be backed up with better execution, better tactics, which means a more coherent move order that will facilitate the plan.  In the main lines of the Sicilian that Kasparov was referring to, the White move g4 (P-KN4) is usually preceded by Nf3 (N-KB3), d4 (P-Q4) to open up the center, Nxd4 (NxP-D4) after Black captures the pawn, and only then does the first player execute a sequence like Bc4 (B-QB4), f4 (P-KB4), Qf3 (Q-KB3) and then this flank pawn thrust.  Notice in this setup, White has some control of the center, advanced another flank pawn and thus can support an attack with lots more artillery.     

4…Bg7 (B-KN2)

We are in a somewhat rarely played variation of the Sicilian, the main line of which is called the “Accelerated Dragon,” called by the adjective “accelerated” because Black gets his dark-squared Bishop to the long diagonal very quickly.  I love using Bishops in this way!  Already on the 4th move, Black’s King’s Bishop radiates energy across the whole board, and White, unless he closes this diagonal somehow, or forces Black to do so, has to constantly be on the lookout for sharp tactics from this Bishop.  By the way, the variation is called the “Dragon” because of the appearance of the pawn formation Black usually ends up with in this opening, but, in the present game, that pawn formation never materializes.

5.   Qf3 (Q-KB3)

It now becomes apparent why White played the pawn advance on move 4. that he did, namely to make it immediately impossible for Black to develop his kingside pieces easily, for if Black plays, for instance, 5…Nf6 (N-KB3), White pushes his g (KN) pawn up a square and wins the piece, for it the Knight moved, White can either win the horse on d5 (Q5) or deliver a snap checkmate with Qxf7 (QxKB7) and the game comes to a quick end!  If Black doesn’t unwind this way, then his King will have to stay in the center a little longer before he castles, at least by one move.  In any case, White can now enjoy the fleeting, but nonetheless fun, feeling of threatening me with mate on the next move, which I don’t think has happened to me in the tournament yet!

5…e6 (P-K3)

On this and the next few moves, I was greatly tempted to play Ne5 (N-K4), which at once defends against the checkmate and forks White’s Queen and King’s Bishop, leading to the win of Bishop for Knight.  In calculating a few moves down the road, however, I couldn’t find a continuation that gave Black any opening advantage for doing this, and Black’s Queen’s Bishop is going to take time to develop optimally anyway, so there wasn’t much to speak for getting the two Bishops.  I wasn’t particularly comfortable with the move I made, 5…e6 (P-K3) either, since it ensures that this very Queen’s Bishop of mine will likely be bottled up for even longer.  But here is again where the fascinating issue of temperment comes in.  Despite playing openings that feature hyper-modern strategies often as Black, I still play with a lot of “classical” principles in mind.  The “classical principles” behind this move are, first, it helps control the center, staking a claim on d5 (Q4) and, second, it brings me a step closer to castling.  Third, not moving the Knight to e5 (K4) as above declines the temptation to move a piece twice in the opening, and playing a relatively slow opening like the Sicilian often makes it especially important to avoid this temptation unless the position makes it necessary or advantageous.  I am, to be sure, eager to counter-attack White, an inclination evidenced by my playing the Sicilian in the first place, but my temperment makes me naturally reluctant to start fireworks before my King has been tucked away safe and sound on the side of the board.  The present move is therefore far from the prettiest one on the board, but I judged it the most prudent under the circumstances.
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anvi
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« Reply #111 on: August 09, 2012, 09:24:05 AM »

Atlas Chess Tournament, Round 1 Final Match.
Franzl (White) vs. Anvi (Black)
Part 2

6, d3 (P-Q3)

This move is not an error per se, and modern theory for White against the Sicilian is tending against the historically much more common White move …d4 (P-Q4).  If White isn’t going to move the pawn two squares forward, it makes sense for him to open a path for his Queen’s Bishop to develop, and that piece may soon find a lively home on g5 (KN-5) where, if Black continues his development with Nge7 (KN-K2), White can at least temporarily pin this Knight against Black’s Queen.   But structurally , White’s 6th move struck me as a bit unsound nonetheless.  It prevents White’s Bishop from retreating to e2 or d3 (K2 or Q3) should the need arise, and if Black ever does undertake the forking maneuver of …Ne5 (N-K4) and then captures the White King’s Bishop, the White recapture dc (PxN) will leave White with doubled pawns on the c (QB) file, and doubled pawns often make great targets for the opponent.  This is another factor that made …Ne5 (N-K4) so tempting for me for a few moves in the immediate future.   But I relented, thinking again that getting my King to safety took immediately priority over all the above.

6…Nge7 (KN-K2)
7.  Nge2 (KN-K2)
   
Again, not an error, as it’s always hard to recommend that anybody develop their Knight to the flank (here the h or KR file).  But the move now prevents the White Queen from retreating to e2 or d1 (K2 or Q1) should the defensive need ever arise from a Black move like, for instance, …Nb4 (N-QN5).  This latter move is not a threat right away, since if I played it now White could defend with the retreat Bb3 (B-QN3).  But the prospects for White developing a quick attack are now greatly diminished, because his pieces don’t have great mobility.  White’s 7th move does have one benefit, in that it prevents a Black Knight from moving to d4 (Q5) with any considerable effect.

7…O-O

And now that my King is safe, I have to decide how to free my queenside pieces and complete my development.  The typical “freeing” move for Black in the Sicilian is …d5 (P-Q4), so I am most interested in finding ways to engineer this.   Given the move I was anticipating from White, I was not expecting to be able to do this immediately, and thought I would have to trade off White’s King’s Bishop first, with the maneuver …a6…b5…Na5 (…P-QR3…P-QN4---N-QR5), and only after such a sequence could I hope to have a good shot at pushing my Queen’s pawn.  I was, in other words, looking forward to a drawn-out and sharp middlegame, one in which White himself has very good opportunities for a solid position.  But White suddenly handed me an unexpected series of gifts.

8.  Be3? (B-K3?)

Under most circumstances, an opening move that gets a piece to the center and attacks a hanging pawn, as this one does, would be considered good.  But, ironically, this move actually prompts Black to respond with a counter that the very move was actually probably intended to prevent.   I had thought that White was going to play 8. Bg5 (B-KN5) pinning my King’s Knight against my Queen and making my “freeing” move …d5 (P-Q4) even more difficult to manage.   At this point in the game, White has to readjust to what has happened on the board; there is no more quick attack available to him, and the fight is now over central control, and so that’s the battle he has to wage, rather than making one-move threats.  If he does this, even though his pieces are not ideally placed, I think he can actually look forward to a competitive, even game.  Instead, now Black can grab the initiative.

8…Nd4 (…N-Q5)

This Knight foray is far more effective than an earlier hop to e5 (K4) would have been.  White cannot simply move his Queen to safety, since …Nxc2+ (…NxQB2+) will win Black the exchange of Rook for Knight (see now how White’s Knight at e2 prevents his Queen from retreating to defend his position!).  The only correct response is 9. Bxd4 cd 10. Nb1 (9 BxN PxB 10. N-QN1).  Returning the Knight to its home square is unfortunate, and it gives Black the initiative, but moving the Knight anywhere else will lose White material, and besides, Black doesn’t have a win on the board or anything like that right away.  After 10. Nb1 (N-QN1), I was planning to go ahead with my “freeing” maneuver, 10…d5 (P-Q4) so that I can quickly follow through with getting the rest of my pieces into active play.  White’s actual reply in the game, unfortunately, blunders away a piece.

9. Nxd4?? cd (NxQ4?? PxQ5)
10. Nb5? (N-QN5?)

I think the best bargain for White at this point is 10. Bxd4 Bxd4 11. O-O (10. BxQ4 BxQ5 11. O-O).  At least White gets a pawn for his piece and his King to safety in this variation.  As we shall shortly see, castling queenside is just too dangerous for White, and Black doesn’t really have any interest in giving up his “dragon” dark-squared Bishop in order to double White’s pawns, since White gets some central control out of the trade.  With the game continuation, White is a whole piece down with no compensation.

10…cxe3 (…PxB)
11. O-O-O?

White seems oblivious to the fact that castling long (queenside) here only makes his King even more vulnerable to Black’s Queen, dark-squared Bishop and now half-open c (Queen’s Bishop) file.  11. c3 (P-QB3) to shut down the Black “dragon” Bishop followed by either Qxe3 (QxP-K3) or O-O seems more in order, though at this point, it’s difficult to recommend moves for White that do anything more the prolong the game.  It would be very difficult, even for the best of players, to recover from losing a whole piece for a pawn in the opening unless they got major compensation for it, or if their opponent somehow let them back into the game afterward.  But I cannot afford to be complacent either, the onus is on me to turn my unearned advantage into a winning one.  How to go about it?  Attack other material right away?  Go for checkmate myself?  Trade down to an endgame right away (something I did a little too quickly in my 1st round game against Gustaf, which gave him objectively good drawing chances)?

11…d5 (…P-Q4)

Just because you’re a piece up doesn’t mean the plan you had going before winning the material should be abandoned!  Black still needs to complete his development and get all his pieces into the action before looking for final winning strategies. 
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anvi
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« Reply #112 on: August 09, 2012, 09:26:09 AM »

Atlas Chess Tournament, Round 1 Final Match.
Franzl (White) vs. Anvi (Black)
Part 3


12.  Bb3 Qb6 (B-QN3 Q-QN3)
13.  Ba4? (B-QR4?)

The intention is presumably to prevent Black from developing his own Queen’s Bishop, but the same irony that obtained for move 8 arises again here; White’s choice actually prompts the response it was designed to prevent, because he has placed his own light-squared Bishop in peril because of tactical combinations now available to Black.  Retreating the Knight and regrouping was necessary at this point.  But here, again, is a window into Franzl’s chess temperment, he likes to mix it up whenever he can, either to get the opponent’s King as quickly as possible or to recover from a bad spell in the game.  A fighting spirit in chess is, in itself, indubitably a good thing!

13…Bd7 (B-Q2)
14.  c4?? (P-QB4??)

Once again, Franzl shows he is a natural fighter, and he wants to find ways to complicate the position while down material, which is in general, once again, the right intuition.  But right intuitions are usually not enough on a chessboard, how you carry them out, calculation and tactics, are what make right intuitions actually work.  This move loses another piece immediately.

14…a6 (B-QR3)
15. c3 (P-QB3)

Obviously, if the Knight moves to any other square than c3 (QB3), Black mates on the move with Qxb2 (QxPQN7).   This was always the danger of White’s 13th move, it was far more trouble than he bargained for, since now this Bishop too is lost.

15…Bxc3 (BxNQB6)
16.  bxc3 Bxa4 (PxB BxB)
17. Rde1? exf2 (RQ1-K1? PxPKB7)
18.  Ref1 dxe4 (RK1-KB1 PxPK5)
19.  dxe4 Rac8 (QPxP RQR1-QB1)
20.  Rxf2 Rxc4 (RxPKB2 RxPQB5)
21.  h4? (P-KR4)?

White only has his heavy pieces left, and so tripling on the f (KB) file with Rhf1 (KR-KB1), putting pressure on Black’s King’s Bishop pawn, might have been worth a try, but, two pieces in arrears, the prospects are realistically beyond hope.  White’s actual 21st move allows me to achieve my next goal, namely to liquidate the heavy pieces, trading them off, and steer the game to a simpler, winning conclusion.

21…Rxc3+ (RxPQB6+)
22. Qxc3 Qxf2 (QxRQB3 QxR)
23.  White resigns
0-1

Now, if White doesn’t move his Queen or King, the former will be pinned against the latter by …Rc8 (R-QB1).  Even the only sensible continuation left on the board allows Black to trade the Queens off and win yet another pawn, for instance by 23. Qb4 Rc8+ 24. Kb1 Bc2+ 25. Ka1 Qf6+ 26. Qb2 Qxb2+ 27 Kxb2 Bxe4+ (23. Q-QN4 R-QB1+ 24. K-QN1 B-QB7+ 25. K-QR1 Q-KB3+ 26. Q-QN2 QxQ+ 27. KxQ BxPK5) and White is completely lost.  Ceding to the situation, White resigns.

The lessons that can be drawn from this game are, first, always take the center seriously in the opening, since it is the best transit route for an attack on the opponent, and be alert to when conditions change on the board such that you have to make a new plan to the one you’ve been following.   It’s a good idea to be dogged about a plan, so long as it’s backed up with good technique, but chess is a complicated game and you never know when your opponent can find lots of strong resources to counter it, so flexibility is also necessary.  As his games in the first two rounds of this tournament have amply demonstrated, Franzl is obviously a better player than this game reflects, and I was expecting a much tougher fight, and will probably get one in the future!  But the brevity of the game just goes to show you how quickly, if your opponent plays soundly, a game can fall apart even with one misstep.  So, take your time, and consider all the possible consequences of the move you’re thinking of making, and always take it for granted that your opponent will make no errors!  Execute the best move you can see, and that way, when you’re opponent does make an error, you can capitalize on it swiftly!

I thank everyone who has played in the first round of the Atlas FC Chess tournament for the good, enjoyable games and fine sportsmanship.  Hope more people will join in the future!
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #113 on: August 10, 2012, 01:32:20 PM »

For those interested in chess history and this defense, see the games the super-aggressive British grandmaster Nigel Short played against then-World Champion Garry Kasparov in the former’s bid for the title in 1993—for both the attack and defense they feature, these games are magnificent treats to the chess buff!
As it happens, the only chess book I own features one of those games.

It's a cute little thingy with all of Garri Kasparov's defeats in competitive matches (up to 1995 I think) that I picked up for a buck somewhere. Cheesy
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anvi
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« Reply #114 on: August 10, 2012, 07:11:55 PM »

Lewis,

A whole book devoted to Kasparov's defeats, huh?  That's funny!  Smiley

I've seen Kasparov play live three times.  Once in NYC, when he defended his title against Vishy Anand in 1995, when I came from Philly to watch one game.  It was game 9, the only game in that match Kasparov lost.  The other two games were in his first match with the Deep Blue computer program in 1997, the first of which he lost and the second he won.  I got a chance to talk to the international GM Yasser Sierawan after the first Deep Blue game, and I mentioned to Sierawan that both games I'd seen Garry play in so far live, he lost (with the Sicilian both times--it's a wonder I still play it!).  Sierawan laughed at me and said: "wow, I bet Garry doesn't ever want to see you in a crowd again, huh?"  The next game I went to, Kasparov won after offering the computer a draw, which the computer declined.  Kasparov was so happy after the game, he came out to do a Q&A with the audience, and they called on me for the last question.  I had a choice.  I could either butter the greatest chess player up with a bunch of compliments (he is, after all, my favorite player) or I could ask him a hard question.  I chose to ask him the hard question, and, after pointing out he offered a draw from a superior position, asked why he offered the draw in the first place.  He gave a curt answer, obviously annoyed I asked that question.  So, my greatest ever chess achievement was that I pissed off Garry Kasparov in person...even though it was not over the chessboard! Tongue
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Yelnoc
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« Reply #115 on: August 10, 2012, 07:17:22 PM »

Anvi, if you don't mind me asking, do you have a FIDE ranking?
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anvi
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« Reply #116 on: August 10, 2012, 08:07:26 PM »

No, I never played in a FIDE-sanctioned tournament.  In the stone ages, when I was 21 years old, I had a USCF rating in the 1700's, but I don't remember exactly what it was.  I think if I played competitively now, I'd be a little better than I was in my early 20's, but I haven't played in a ranked event since I was 23, so I don't know where I'm at now.  I'm not really a very strong player, but I did play a lot when I was young, and I have beaten an international IM in skittles games twice, so, you know...I'm so-so.
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #117 on: August 11, 2012, 03:58:45 AM »

Lewis,

A whole book devoted to Kasparov's defeats, huh?  That's funny!  Smiley

I've seen Kasparov play live three times.  Once in NYC, when he defended his title against Vishy Anand in 1995, when I came from Philly to watch one game.  It was game 9, the only game in that match Kasparov lost.  The other two games were in his first match with the Deep Blue computer program in 1997, the first of which he lost and the second he won.  I got a chance to talk to the international GM Yasser Sierawan after the first Deep Blue game, and I mentioned to Sierawan that both games I'd seen Garry play in so far live, he lost (with the Sicilian both times--it's a wonder I still play it!).  Sierawan laughed at me and said: "wow, I bet Garry doesn't ever want to see you in a crowd again, huh?" 
Are you related to Boris Gulko?
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anvi
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« Reply #118 on: August 11, 2012, 07:31:24 AM »


Ha, not that I know of.  Smiley  But I would give up at least a little of the little bit I own to be able to play like him.
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