+2 -1 =1

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Or click on the image to view the game with the Java Game Viewer


Game 4 of the St Patzer vs. Qxh7# series resulted in a win for me. It was an equal game until a small endgame error resulted in a decisive advantage. I'm sure he will get me next time to even up the match score.

Tactical vs. Positional

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So I wanted to show a position from a recent game. On move 16 I dropped the exchange in a tactical blunder. Actually on move 15 I dropped a pawn but either my opponent overlooked it or decided to go for bigger fish. In any event, after winning the exchange my opponent made one critical mistake. Instead of making a freeing move to unbind his position, he went immediately for liquidation of the position.

The resulting trades left him materially ahead and positionally crushed. I've reviewed the game with Crafty which did not spot any chances for White here, but I think if I had held on to the exchange and achieved this position I win easily. It just goes to show that you can't rely on tactics or positional parts of the game alone to win. You need to meld elements of both into your style.

A Knight's Value

I was real glad I read King of the Spill's post about interference when I came across this problem. I don't think I would have found the solution if I hadn't. Thanks for the pointer!

Overconfidence leads to bad chess

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Or simply click the image to go to the Java Game Viewer


Another tough loss at the club. Ed is a quality player and he seems to be just 1 step ahead of me when we play. I enjoy the tense games though. Good practice to go along with tactics training.

Behind schedule, but making some progress

Well I took a two week break in the middle of my cirlces but I'm at last making some progress again. I've supposedly learned 720 new tactics. That is pretty good I think. Now its on to Module 2.

My Eyes Bleed

720 Problems in 3 hours 35 minutes. Now thats what I call review.

Even My Cartoon Coach is After Me

Ut oh! Tchekov is mad at me too!

The Secret to Grand Mastery

Wear a jacket and tie.

+1 -1 =1

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Or Click on the Image to go to the Java .PGN Viewer

So I finally evened up the score with St. Patzer. He made a whoopsie and fell into a pawn fork on his minor peices in the opening. So not a commanding, over powering win, but a win I will take just the same given my recent string of losses at timeforchess.com.

A quick synopsis of the game is, Patzer blunders the minor for a pawn. I quickly simplify the position with a bunch of forced trades. In the end its R+B vs. R and I use one of the R+B mating motifs to force a resignation.

Updated Template

I changed the template and made a .css file for my websight so that when I put up a .PGN viewer to showcase a game or two it kind of ties into this blog look and feel wise. I hope you like it. I'm not real artistic but the colors don't clash too badly in my mind. I had my wife check it out and she said it looks ok too. So I hope that means I'm safe.

Mores posts coming soon. I have to at least post my victory over St. Patzer since I posted the draw and loss I suffered to him.