The DKos Chess Tournament 2009 open thread is now open! Updated standings and results through Round 4 are posted below.
It has come to my attention that disconnections on Chess.com are becoming more and more frequent. For this, I apologize to the chess players as it is the most popular website being used in this tournament. It is not a perfect website and glitches have been known to occur there. So, I offer the following two general recommendations:
- Use Live Chess with Firefox, Safari, or Chrome. Internet Explorer is not the best browser to use for Chess.com -- although I have used IE before with success.
- Have a back-up website ready. FICS probably has fewer disconnection problems than any of the websites, but you'll need to download an interface like BabasChess to use it. Chess Cube and Yahoo also work fine, but Yahoo doesn't save the Move List from your game.
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DKOS CHESS TOURNAMENT 2009: ROUND 4 (July 7-June 13)
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MUSIC: "Chess Hotel" by The Elms
UPCOMING MATCHES
White | Black | Match Time | Match Site |
montrealdan | hekebolos | Thursday, July 09, 2009 07:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Unlabled | Dbug | Thursday, July 09, 2009 08:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
sharris0512 | jerseycorn | Thursday, July 09, 2009 09:00 PM ET | Chess Cube |
Cavebird | dnta | Thursday, July 09, 2009 09:30 PM ET | Chess.com |
ben masel | Albanius | Thursday, July 09, 2009 09:30 PM ET | Chess.com |
bgblcklab1 | stlbucket | Friday, July 10, 2009 12:00 PM (noon) ET (postponed from today) | Chess.com |
Cobbler | FightingRegistrar | Friday, July 10, 2009 10:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Mo | rmonroe | Saturday, July 11, 2009 12:15 AM ET (Friday, July 10, 2009 @ 09:15 PM Pacific) | Chess.com |
cschess | dov12348 | Saturday, July 11, 2009 Between 10:00-11:00 AM ET | Chess.com | brendanm98 | dissonantharmony | Saturday, July 11, 2009 02:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
dpinzow | hanswall | Saturday, July 11, 2009 06:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Dvd Avins | cskendrick | Sunday, July 12, 2009 07:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Guy Fawkes | ActivistGuy | Sunday, July 12, 2009 07:30 PM ET | Chess.com |
To chess players:
Round 4 will last from now until the evening of Monday, July 13. It is your responsibility to contact your opponent so that you can complete your match before the end of Round 4. When you and your opponent have agreed to a schedule and chess website for your match, enter the information here.
To the community:
If you would like to watch an upcoming match, you will first need to register for an account on the website where the game is taking place, then log in. You can observe the games on Chess.com by opening Live Chess (under the Play tab at the top of the main page) and finding the user of your choice. On FICS, type "observe [INSERT USER'S NAME HERE]" into the command console. On Chess Cube, add the user you're looking for as a friend, click on that user's profile, and observe the game he/she is playing. On Yahoo! Games, you will need to know which room/lounge the user is playing in -- then just enter it and sit at the table.
See more information about using these websites here.
Analysis: Free Radical (WHITE) vs. M31 (BLACK)
Previously, we had seen a marathon match from Free Radical in Round 1, ending in a draw with less than 4 seconds remaining on his clock. This time, he had another 70-move match with both players' clocks running near empty -- although he claims that the game was decided at Move 36. He provides a very well-written analysis beneath the ChessFlash widget. Enjoy!
Analysis by Free Radical
- e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. d3 h6 8. Be3
In this line of the Worall attack, white typically plays Be3 to exchange the active c5 bishop when Black prevents Bg5 with ...h6.
8...Ba7 9. O-O d6 10. Bxa7 Rxa7
Throughout the game I hoped to take advantage of the loose rook on a7 or c7.
- c3 Bg4 12. Nbd2 O-O 13. Rfd1 a5 14. h3
Following the routine unpinning maneuvre in these positions, (14. a4!?)
14...Bh5 15. Nf1 a4 16. Bc2 Re8 17. Ng3 Bg6 18. Nh4 Ne7 19. Nxg6 Nxg6 20. Qd2
I want to strengthen f4 for an eventual f2-f4 push. However, I need to review sample middlegames for this opening. White has been coordinating for a d4 push -- a standard theme in this opening. Switching to an f-pawn push seems like waffling. (20. Qe3 gains a tempo on the a7 rook but there were lines where I was concerned with the e-file opening up and my queen being on the same file as the e8 rook)
20... c6 21. Rf1
(21. d4! has to be played...why avoid the thematic push?)
21... d5
General rule: if Black is allowed to push both e7-e5 and d7-d5 in the opening without concession, then White has screwed up.
- Rae1 d4 23. cxd4
(23. Nf5!? was considered during game)
23... Qxd4 24. Qe3 Qxe3 25. fxe3
This is a position where both Rybka and I feel the doubled pawns are good. They strengthen the center, take squares away from the knights, and should make it easier to advance the backwards d-pawn. Finally, White has two half-open files to play with.
25...Ne7 26. Rc1 Rc7 27. Rfd1 Nd7 28. d4 g6 29. Bb1
(29. Bd3 is better, with the threat of Bxc5)
29... Nb6 (aiming at c4).
- Bd3 (30. b3 was considered during the game but I was concerned about the weakening of the queenside pawns followed by Black occupying the a file)
30... Nec8 31. Kf2
I kicked myself after this move. This is where the move I had been working towards, Bxc5! could have been played. For some reason I got distracted by the idea of centralizing the king and reinforcing e3.
31...Nd6
Now Bxc5 doesn't work. Also, Black is again threatening to plant a Knight on c4.
- b3 h5 33. Rc2
I'm not cluing into the removal of the guard tactic that Black is aiming for
33...h4 34. Ne2 exd4 35. exd4 (a calculation error)
Although the double isolated pawns look ugly, this at least doesn't lose material right away.
35... Nxe4+ 36. Kf1
I wanted to keep the bishop for a possible Bxc5 tactic, but this is the wrong way to do it. (36. Kf3 was considered but Ng5+ 37. Kg4 concerned me. Why, I'm not so sure now. 36. Bxe4 Rxe4 looked like a technical win for Black)
36... Nd5
This is what I missed. After this move, the e3 weakness I had overzealously protected earlier wins the game for Black. The rest of the game doesn't require much commentary, as White is dead lost and is just playing for tricks.
- Bxe4 Rxe4 38. Nc3 Rf4+ 39. Ke2 Re7+ 40. Kd3 Ne3
(40... Nb4+ is better)
- Ne2 Rf2 42. Rxc6 Nxd1 43. d5 Nb2+ 44. Kd4 Rexe2 45. d6 Rd2+ 46. Kc5 axb3 47. axb3 Rc2+ 48. Kb6 Rxc6+ 49. Kxc6 Nd3 50. Kxb5 (50. d7 Ne5+) 50... Ne5 51. Kb6
(51. b4 would at least hold on to b4 longer)
51... Rb2 52. Kc7 Rxb3 53. d7 Nxd7 54. Kxd7 Rg3 55. Kd6 Rxg2 56. Ke5 Rg3 57. Kf4 Rxh3 58. Kg4 Rh1 59. Kf3 f5 60. Kg2 Re1 61. Kh3 g5 62. Kh2 Kf7 63. Kg2 g4 64. Kf2 Re4 65. Kg2 h3+ 66. Kh2 f4 67. Kh1 Re2 68. Kg1 f3 69. Kf1 g3 70. Kg1 Re1# 0-1
MATCH-UPS
The match-ups for Round 4 have been selected by the Tournament Director based on the results of Rounds 1-3 and the approximate skill rating of each player. All matches will have a 30-minute time limit per player, 0 bonus time. Every effort is being ensured to maintain color balance. In other words, every player will have ample opportunity to play as both White and Black throughout the tournament.
WHITE | vs. | BLACK | WINNER |
cschess | vs. | dov12348 | . |
MakeChessNotWar | vs. | Gangster Octopus | MakeChessNotWar |
RickMassimo | vs. | PsiFighter37 | . |
wmorriss | vs. | vets74 | . |
ben masel | vs. | Albanius | . |
Sharkmeister | vs. | DoomsdayShark | . |
Jumpin J | vs. | Abelian | Abelian |
Cobbler | vs. | FightingRegistrar | . |
spider441 | vs. | mquander | . |
i know | vs. | Twin Planets | . |
cavebird | vs. | dnta | . |
brendanm98 | vs. | dissonantharmony | . |
BTP | vs. | Andrew Lazarus | . |
thereisnospoon | vs. | high5 | high5 |
ferrisbueller | vs. | TeacherRyan | . |
papicek | vs. | nargel | papicek |
sharris0512 | vs. | jerseycorn | . |
bgblcklab1 | vs. | stlbucket | . |
Dvd Avins | vs. | cskendrick | . |
Seneca Doane | vs. | Kimball | Kimball |
mnguy66 | vs. | cmorrison | cmorrison |
Thutmose V | vs. | evilstorm | . |
Anderson Republican | vs. | RageKage | . |
Dan Morris | vs. | PedsNeuro | PedsNeuro |
black2thefuture | vs. | writerkirk | . |
PinkFreud | vs. | BaxKen | . |
rhutcheson | vs. | Keith Pickering | . |
Free Radical | vs. | M31 | M31 |
montrealdan | vs. | hekebolos | . |
FWIW | vs. | LaughingPlanet | . |
Marcion | vs. | Geenius at Wrok | . |
louisedkos | vs. | ThyrsiodB | louisedkos |
Ignacio Magaloni | vs. | Robert Naiman | . |
zamrzla | vs. | Spud1 | Spud1 |
Grey Paladin | vs. | TheCid | Grey Paladin |
dpinzow | vs. | hanswall | . |
mconvente | vs. | ericledford | ericledford |
AndrewMC | vs. | Elvis Vader | . |
DeadB0y | vs. | Chicagoa | . |
Guy Fawkes | vs. | ActivistGuy | . |
vescis | vs. | kto9 | . |
eztempo | vs. | lostboyjim | . |
Blue Wind | vs. | debedb | . |
Joffan | vs. | ZaBlanc | ZaBlanc |
Celtic Merlin | vs. | Melanchthon | . |
neilliebus | vs. | Bill White | . |
Unlabled | vs. | Dbug | . |
foodmetaphors | vs. | cartwrightdale | . |
USArmyParatrooper | vs. | JeffLieber | . |
DynamicUno | vs. | Blue Intrigue | . |
mattc129 | vs. | drache | . |
Mo | vs. | rmonroe | . |
Something the Dog Said | vs. | Odysseus | . |
dmet | vs. | Kevin in Long Beach | . |
Jimdotz | vs. | SuperBowlXX | SuperBowlXX |
NOTE: zamrzla and Spud1 agreed to switch colors this week.
14 of 55 Round 4 matches have been completed.
STANDINGS
Note: Standings are sorted first by points, then by alphabetical order. Color balance is included.
Player | # Matches | Points | # White | # Black |
Abelian | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
MakeChessNotWar | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Albanius | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
cmorrison | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Cobbler | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
cschess | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
high5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
i know | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Kimball | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
M31 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
mquander | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
papicek | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
PedsNeuro | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
PsiFighter37 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Sharkmeister | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
vets74 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
wmorriss | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
ben masel | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
DoomsdayShark | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 |
dov12348 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 |
FightingRegistrar | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 |
Gangster Octopus | 4 | 2.5 | 2 | 2 |
Jumpin J | 4 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 |
RickMassimo | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
spider441 | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
Twin Planets | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 |
Anderson Republican | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Andrew Lazarus | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
BaxKen | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
bgblcklab1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
black2thefuture | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
brendanm98 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
BTP | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
cavebird | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
cskendrick | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Dan Morris | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
dissonantharmony | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
dnta | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Dvd Avins | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
ericledford | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
evilstorm | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
ferrisbueller | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
FWIW | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Geenius at Wrok | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Grey Paladin | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
jerseycorn | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Keith Pickering | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
louisedkos | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Marcion | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
mnguy66 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
montrealdan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
nargel | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
PinkFreud | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
RageKage | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Seneca Doane | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
sharris0512 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Spud1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
stlbucket | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
SuperBowlXX | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
TeacherRyan | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
thereisnospoon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Thutmose V | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
writerkirk | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
ZaBlanc | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Free Radical | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 |
hekebolos | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 1 |
LaughingPlanet | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 1 |
rhutcheson | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 |
ActivistGuy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
AndrewMC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Bill White | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Blue Wind | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Celtic Merlin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Chicagoa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Dbug | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
DeadB0y | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
debedb | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
dmet | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
dpinzow | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
drache | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
DynamicUno | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
eddiem86 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Elvis Vader | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
eztempo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
foodmetaphors | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Guy Fawkes | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
hanswall | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Ignacio Magaloni | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
JeffLieber | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Joffan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
KStreetProjector | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
kto9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
lostboyjim | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
mconvente | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Melanchthon | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Mo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Odysseus | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Robert Naiman | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
rteeter | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
TheCid | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
ThyrsiodB | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
USArmyParatrooper | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
vescis | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
zamrzla | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
cartwrightdale | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
Unlabled | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 |
ajsuited | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Blue Intrigue | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Crawdaddy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
filmgeek83 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Jimdotz | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
kentuckydave | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Kevin in Long Beach | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
KillerKoala | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
lexington1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
matador | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
mattc129 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
neilliebus | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Patch Adam | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Pym | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
rmonroe | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
sjohntucson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Something the Dog Said | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
aaraujo | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
Uncle Cosmo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
valislav stein | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
KEY:
Points = 1 point for a win, 0 points for a loss, 0.5 points for a draw.
# White = Number of times played as White.
# Black = Number of times played as Black.
# Matches = Number of matches played.