DCC October 2024 Report

... but especially the players at both locations.

The heading photo is an attempt to show the social aspect of the DCC before the round starts.

The DCC October tournaments were confusing to me. I admit to being easily confused. Anyone who has played me over the board knows this :-) Normally the October Thursday night tournament would have been five rounds, but since the DCC avoids scheduling a round on a national holiday, the last round became the 1st round of the November Thursday tournament. This was due to the last Thursday in November being Thanksgiving Day. Thus, we will still have a 4 round November tournament, and players don't have to miss spending Thanksgiving with their friends and family :-) I've sent a note to Congress informing them that due to DCC weekly tournament games, we can't have holidays on Tuesday or Thursday anymore in Colorado :-) 

A typical Tuesday night room shot. 

So, now that I've taken care of that problem, on with who won prize money and rating points at the DCC October tournaments. In the Tuesday night Premier section NM Eamon Montgomery finished with a perfect 5-0 score. Of his opponents, only Jermey Roldan was rated under 1900. So it's not like he wasn't facing strong competition. This fine performance put 136 dollars and 76 cents in Mr. Mongomery's pocket. 

 Eamon Montgomery (b) vs. Luis Jimenez (w) Next board: Daniel Herman (b) vs. Sikander Baker-Nagar, who is about to move.  

NM Daniel Herman lost to Mr. Montgomery in the last round and was held to a draw by Luis Jimenez in round 3 but still 3.5 points won the 2nd place prize of 82 dollars and 5 cents. 3rd place was shared by Candidate Master Rhett Langseth, Mr. Jimenez, and Jarod Heap, who all ended up with 3 points and each player took home 18 dollars and 23 cents. The 30 dollar Premier Upset Prize was won by Grayson Manuel (1768) when he outplayed Mr. Roldan (1889) in the last round. Mr. Jimenez (1965) had an  upset win over CM Langseth (2075) and an upset draw against NM Herman (2134}

Andrew Robichaud (w) vs. Kristopher Zelkin (b) 

In the Tuesday night U1900 section, Kristopher Zelkin and Mason Brady finished with 4 points and each player won 104 dollars and 60 cents. They both won against higher rated players to earn the prize money. Darshan Satishkumar, Tyler Poole, and Andrew Robichaud all scored 3.5 points and they share the 3rd place prize of 52 dollars and 80 cents. The youngster, Navid Singhal (922) was back to his upsetting ways and won the 30 dollar U1900 Upset prize for his last round win over Steven Mendelsohn (1454). Navid also won big against Pranav Male (1300) in round 4.

Kevin Eaton (b) vs.  Richard Eveleigh (w) Next board: Jacob Zirin (w) vs. Thursday night TD Weston Taylor (b)

In the Tuesday night U1500 section, Kevin Eaton played like Eamon Montgomery and won all his games to take 1st place and win 132 dollars for his perfect 5-0 score. Richard Eveleigh and William Whitworth both ended up with 3.5 points and they share the combined 2nd and 3rd place prize of 132 dollars. Mr. Eveleigh (1100) also won the 30 dollar U1500 Upset Prize when he won against Tom Needham (1200) in round 4.

 Forest Lundstrom, maybe taking a nap in between moves :-) Photo by Shirley Herman.

In the Thursday night Premier section, Forest Lundstrom (1830) had no mercy. Winning against three higher rated players and only allowing a last round draw to Ben DeGuire. His 1st place finish won 98 dollars and 50 cents. In addition to the 20 dollar Premier Upset Prize for his Round 1 win against Alex Steger (2063) Mr. Lundstrom also had upset wins against Jarod Heap (1965) and Luis Jimenez (1965). A rating point difference that adds up to 503 points!! 

Ben DeGuire is in total focus mode. Photo by Shirley Herman.

NM Daniel Herman and Mr. DeGuire tied for 2nd and 3rd place with 3 point scores and each player won 55 dollars and 41 cents. Mr. Herman was upset in round 1 by Mr. Heap. Tyler Poole won the U1900 prize of 36 dollars and 94 cents with 2.5 points. 

In the Thursday night U1600 and Unrated section Russell Watterson and Thursday night TD Weston Taylor both scored 3.5 points and each player won 85 dollars and 29 cents. Enrico Moss won the 3rd place prize of 36 dollars and 94 cents with 3 points. Nick Hvidza won the U1300 prize of the same amount with 2.5 points.  

Navid Singhal with the black pieces (here shown playing on Tuesday night)

I guess it is no surprise to anyone that Navid Singhal (622) won the 20 dollar U1600 Upset Prize for his last round win over Kevin Eaton. (1442) The same Kevin Eaton that won all his games this month on Tuesday night. The same grade school age, Navid Singal who won all his September Tuesday night games. I think I can say the youngster's USCF rating is going to skyrocket.

Note that Colorado has a new place to play chess on Wednesday nights.  Woods Boss Brewing, 2210 California St. Denver. CO. 80205. Blitz, Bughouse, and casual games. So now Colorado players can play serious USCF rated tournament chess on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and fun casual chess on Wednesday nights. Games begin around 7:00 pm.

As always thanks to everyone who is making the DCC a great chess club. The TD's of course, but especially the players at both locations. It can only get better with the popularity of chess on the rise. I think everyone will agree that NM Chris Peterson's Best Game selection has certainly made the Games Section much better. 

Games Section

Best Game

by NM Christofer Peterson

One of the things I find so fascinating about studying biology is how nature can be so beautiful and diverse. All life around us is built of some fundamental principles. The way life takes advantage of those principles shapes the organism into a uniquely beautiful specimen. Not all creatures on earth are the most efficient at what they do. In fact, from an evolutionary standpoint, being efficient at just one thing by sacrificing diverse skills would be a detriment. 

The game I chose this month reminds me a lot of that. Admittedly it is not the cleanest game, but charm is not often found in technical precision of a game but rather in the way the game naturally unfolds. It reminds me a little of a giant panda. The way it has these carnivorous teeth and claws but is content to munch on bamboo all day. There are better ways to get the job done for the panda, and he certainly looks a bit intimidating, but they hesitate to go hunting for prey.

I also think this game has some great teachable moments, both psychologically and technically. Discovering the way players think and why they make the moves they make is a major part of being a chess coach. A coach must dissect the errors students make, present them in a clear and logical way, and devise a study strategy to correct those mistakes. This game has a lot of mistakes in it but the positions that arise can be used to teach some valuable lessons. Enough pontificating, here is the game:

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Cruz, Gera (814) - Manuel, Jeff (1055)

Round 5.20 of DCC October Tuesdays 2024 [ 2024.10.01 ]

2024.10.29

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1. e4 e6Ahh, the French. One of the most polarizing openings in chess. French players love to play it and white players love to destroy it. The French is so solid though, white will often overextend and end up losing. 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c4?!An aggressive way to approach breaking down the French line. Typically the French is a fierce battle over the d4. By playing c4, this leaves d4 poorly supported. The ensuing collapse of the d4 square plays right into the French player's hands.( 5. c3would be a popular line in the advanced French. ) 5... Qb6( 5... cxd4 6. cxd5 Qxd5This is a dream French position. White has to maneuver around black's extra d4 pawn. On top of that black will have easy development with Bc5, Nge7, and a great square for the light-squared bishop after b6 Bb7 or Bd7-c6. ) 6. Nc3 cxd4 7. cxd5??( 7. Na4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Qa5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. a3 Bxd2+ 11. Nxd2Black is much better if not winning in either line but this one keeps white in a better position. ) 7... dxc3 8. dxc6 Qxc6??Black makes a big mistake here and brings the first real teachable moment of the game. Looking at the position before Qxc6, black missed a big opportunity to win material. These types of positions can be difficult to calculate. The successive nature of the captures and the fog of calculation will make most players' heads spin. It is easy to look at the position and take the easy way out. Simply recapture the pawn, you're not in any danger. But that attitude will result in many missed opportunities. The fact is, calculating is a skill that can be honed with practice. Doing tactical puzzles will train your ability to calculate. It will also develop your instincts. As a very instinctual player myself, I would take one look at the precarious position of white's king and the swarming of the black pieces in most of the lines and just plunge into the complications. I know my king is much safer than white's so the complications are likely going to work in my favor. Care will still need to be taken but just about every tactical sequence should be winning for black. I would be very curious as to how much time Black spent in this position before making his move. Let's look at some of the tactical lines that black opted to avoid:( 8... cxb2 9. cxb7This is probably the line that scared black away from this set of calculations but you should not be afraid of complications. Mikhail Tal, one of my favorite players, once said "You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one." One of the things you can take from that is you should not be afraid of complications. It is just as complicated for you as it is for your opponent. Sometimes that fear of making a mistake can be paralyzing.( 9. Bxb2 Qxb2−+This is the simplest line. It is clear black is going to be up at least a piece here with continued pressure on white's exposed king. )( 9. Rb1 bxc1=RJust for fun 10. Qxc1 Bb4+ 11. Kd1 Ne7Qd8+ will get out of the pin on the bishop. 12. Bd3 Nd5−+White's king is hopelessly exposed. ) 9... bxc1=Q 10. bxa8=Q Bb4+ 11. Ke2 Qb2+ 12. Kd3 Qc3+ 13. Ke4( 13. Ke2 Qb5+ 14. Qd3 Qbxd3# ) 13... g5!!Closing the mating net. White can only thrash around in desperation. 14. Nxg5 f5+ 15. exf6 Nxf6+ 16. Kf4 e5#is one example. There are many other ways white can prolong it. I encourage you to go through the various options. )( 8... Bb4 9. bxc3 Bxc3+ 10. Bd2 Bxa1 11. Qxa1 bxc6−+Again black is clearly up material. ) 9. Nd4 Qe4+ 10. Be3 cxb2??This is why I found this game so interesting and deserving of the best game prize. There is an amalgamation of bloodlust and fearlessness that is punctuated by hesitancy. If either player could have won this game if they did not hesitate at key moments. Here black goes a little too aggressive again, completely ignoring the danger along the a4-e8 diagonal.( 10... a6A simple move to defend the b5 square would keep black's advantage. )( 10... Bd7An alternate way to defend against Bb5. ) 11. Bb5+ Bd7 12. Bxd7+ Kxd7 13. Nxe6+??And now we see the reckless abandon from the white side. This move looks flashy but it needlessly gives up the knight. If white had a little patience and played a quiet move, he would be winning.( 13. Rb1Solve the problem of the hanging rook so you do not have to worry about it. Black does not have a good way to get out of the discovery. 13... Bb4+ 14. Ke2 Ke7( 14... a5 15. a3 Be7 16. Qa4+ Kc8 17. Qe8+ Bd8 18. Rhc1+!! bxc1=Q 19. Rxc1+ Kb8 20. Qxd8+ Ka7 21. Nb5+ Ka6 22. Qb6# ) 15. Qb3 a5 16. a3 Bc5 17. f3Exploiting the black queen's inability to keep control over b7 and lack of safe squares. 17... Qd5( 17... Qg6 18. Qxb7++− ) 18. Nf5+! Ke8 19. Qxd5 exd5 20. Bxc5+− ) 13... Kxe6 14. Qb3+ Qd5 15. Qxb2 Qxg2 16. O-O-O Qc6+ 17. Kb1 Ke7??This move is inexplicable. I cannot come up with a good explanation for why black felt compelled to play this move.( 17... Rc8Would keep black's significant advantage. He just needs to find half-decent squares for his king-side pieces. 18. Rc1 Qe4+ 19. Ka1 Rxc1+ 20. Rxc1 Ne7Black is up a piece and two pawns. Once everything is developed, he should be clearly winning. ) 18. Bg5+??( 18. Rc1White had an opportunity to get his pieces to more active squares with tempo. 18... Qa6 19. Rhd1 ) 18... f6??This mistake makes sense from a "get my pieces developed" standpoint but it opens lines to the black king. Another example of reckless abandon. I think these mistakes come from the intrinsic nature to think about one's own goals and not taking account of the opponent's.( 18... Ke8 19. Rhe1 Qb6 ) 19. exf6+ Nxf6 20. Qe5+?We call this leading with your face. Much better to get the lesser pieces involved. Newer players tend to favor using their queen because of its powerful influence and hypermobility. The main drawback is that she is liable to be kicked around by any of the opponent's pieces. The queen is also not a great sacrifice piece. While some of the greatest combinations in history feature queen sacrifices, the truth is the queen is often needed on the board to finish a tactical motif.( 20. Rhe1+Let's get the one sidelined piece into the game. Black needs to tread carefully to avoid getting checkmated. 20... Kf7 21. Qb3+ Kg6 22. Re6 Qc8Seems natural enough but it gets checkmated! Notice how most of black's pieces are on the back rank and not contributing to the defense. 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Rg1+ Kf5 25. Qh3+! Kf4 26. Qg4# ) 20... Qe6??( 20... Kf7Black's king is slipping away. Soon he will be able to develop his last couple pieces. Once development is done, white's exposed king and lack of material will become even more obvious. ) 21. Qc7+ Ke8 22. Rhe1White may have thought he was winning black's queen here. Black's reply may have been a shock. 22... Ne4 23. Rd8+??Trading material and driving black's king to safety is not what white should be doing. Any of these moves would have been better:( 23. Rd4 )( 23. Ka1 )( 23. Qxb7 )( 23. f3 ) 23... Rxd8 24. Qxd8+ Kf7 25. Qc7+ Kg6 26. Qxb7??It was already hopeless at this point but this was the final, fatal mistake from white. It gives black even more material and allows a queen trade.( 26. Bc1 ) 26... Nc3+ 27. Kc2 Qxe1 28. Bc1 Qe4+ 29. Qxe4+ Nxe4Black is up so much material that we don't have to look at anymore. Feel free to click through to the end. 30. f4 Bd6 31. a4 Kf5 32. Be3 a6 33. Kb3 Rb8+ 34. Kc4 Bxf4 35. Kd3 Rb3+ 36. Ke2 Rxe3+ 37. Kf1 Bxh2 38. a5 Ra3 39. Kg2 Rxa5 40. Kxh2 Ra3 41. Kg2 Rb3 42. Kf1 a5 43. Ke2 a4 44. Kd1 Rc3I found this game fascinating. It really shows how the under sections have serious fighting chess and interesting positions and tactics. The main problem lies in the execution. I believe both of these players have talent and instincts that can be grown. With a little dedication, focused study, and diligent tactical practice they could easily become strong players.0-1

And with that I must say congratulations to Jeff Manuel on winning this month's best game prize. I look forward to going through the games from the next tournament. 

Thank you kindly, Chris. Feel free to comment or correct my lame comments in the following games. 

1) Peter Brooks vs. Brian Wall. Casper Wyoming Open. Round 1. After 21...h7-h6 Quoting NM Wall: "No more back rank nonsense and Peter's whole position looks like target practice" In the following, all "comments in quotation marks" are by Brian Wall.

 

2) Brian Wall vs. Amber Lock. Casper Wyoming Open. "Amber accepted a draw in this position. Ater the game Elizabeth Scott suggested 19... g4 which is a plus 5 move for Ms. Lock."

3) BekBek Herman vs. Brian Wall. Casper Wyoming Open. Round 3. (BekBek is the sister of Daniel and Sara Herman) After 24. Rd1-f1. "I doubt any computer would ever agree with me on anything but I was very proud of my... Nc6-d8-f7-d6-e4  journey."

4) Robert Butler vs. Brian Wall. Casper Wyoming Open. Round 4.  Brain says "after 8. Bc1-e3 it's Black to play and win a piece."

5) Brian Wall vs. Bruce Johnson. Casper Wyoming Open. Round 5. After 23. Nf1-e3 "I have a little pressure but not enough to win" Nevertheless Mr. Colorado Chess does go on to win.

6) Peter Brizard vs. Brian Wall. Casper Wyoming casual game. Final Position. Pawn Wave Guy strikes again. 

7) Brian Wall vs. Peter Brizard. Casper Wyoming casual game. After 19... Kb6-a5 it's mate in 5.

11) Gere Cruz vs. James Anders. DCC Tuesday. Round 3. Black has just played 20... Bb7xe4, capturing a pawn. Do you see how that loses not one, but two pieces? 

12) Sarvesh Rajesh vs. Andrew Robichaud. Tuesday. Round 3. White drops the f4 pawn by playing 27. Rd7-c7, and Mr. Robinchaud turns that into a win 42 moves later. It's never "just a Pawn", as we are all prone to thinking. 

13) John Rose vs. Gera Cruz. Tuesday. Round 2. Black had dropped a piece earlier and here drops another by playing 29. Bg4xf3. Like the GMs say, "see the whole board." which is not as easy as it sounds.  

14) Andrew Robichaud vs. Andrew Starr. Tuesday. Round 2. In this position, White plays Ne2-g3. What is a much better move?

15) Thomas Welborn vs. Andrew Robichaud. Tuesday. Round 1. White has just played 26. Qe4-h4 Why was that not the best move? Hint; Capturing with check is always good.