A Return to Playing the Game

Its been well over 5 years since I last played the game of chess at a competitive level.  When I left the game, I was on the rise to higher class levels; class A being a goal I had set out for myself a long time ago.  In 2009, I climbed over 250 rating points in a 6 month span and was still climbing. 

My understanding of the game was becoming clearer, and seeing the board; analyzing tactics were improving tremendously. I had mastered most of my endgame principles that both class C and B players should know.  In reality, I was loving the game that much more, just before I pulled the plug and went on hiatus. When I left, my rating was just short of 1700.

Why the hiatus? Well, 2009 was a life changing year for me both professionally and physically. I had undergone major surgery, had an 7 month old boy, recently got married just the year before and was undergoing a change of occupation and focusing on running a new business.  Needless to say, life required me to make some choices and I had to devote my time elsewhere other than chess.

As of September 2014, I have returned to the game I love.  I remember a friend saying to me shortly after I left the game, "You don't play this game anymore", noting that I was intently watching the game he was playing; as I still visited the club at that time. Although his comment was rather slap-stick, it did sort of hit hard at the time, because he was right, I didn't play the game anymore, but I so much wanted to stay involved -- I just couldn't.

Now, coming back to the game 5 years later, I knew that I was going to lose quite a few games before I would start to have a feel for the game again and play with confidence.  My first dozen games were vicious; basically I could be playing against a "door stop" and lose!  I think I managed 2 wins and a draw from the first 12 games I played. I was losing games to 1300 and 1400 rated players; but the good news was I was losing those games in the later stages while having a superior position on the board. Simply put, I was missing moves on the board or hanging a piece that most seasoned chess players would see. Of course, the game that really turned me around was one where I basically got my ass handed to me in under 12 or 14 moves by a 1300+ rated player.  I guess you would call this my "bottom time"; my rating having suffered a loss of over a 130+ points by this time.

After that game, I started to hit the books again, tactics, openings, pawn structures, endgames and re-read Silman's Complete Endgame Course from cover to cover! I updated my chess software, analyzed old games and refined my opening repertoire. I even joined a private chess group -- Vortex Club, which is mostly comprised of higher rated players than myself with quicker time controls. The Vortex offers me the opportunity to see a greater variety of openings and react to them with tighter time constraints and tougher play. The Vortex is the sharpening stone to my blade!

As of this posting, I am currently winning over 70% of my games. My confidence has returned, my endgame technique is closer to where it was when I left the game 5 years ago, and I am no longer confused or finding it hard to evaluate the position at hand. My openings are getting stronger too! As of my last game, I just defeated the #1 seeded player in the U1700 Section.  Things are on the upswing, my rating is once again on the rise and I'm loving the game again. To my friend, yes...I do play the game and I'm back with a vengeance!

Resolutions Achieved: Doesn’t Stop Here

In my end of year blog for 2008, I had indicated as one of my New Year’s resolutions a desire to achieve a rating level that would classify me as a “Class B” player.

When I returned to chess last year, my rating hovered just above 1400 at 1405. Initially I wanted to gain 150 to 200 points within a year’s time, but as I continued to play and improve, I thought that 250 to 350 points by August of 2009 was a reasonable goal.

Well, as of the end of June, my resolution came to fruition. With a recent five game sweep to finish first place in the MCC Summer Solstice Swiss: U1600, I officially achieved a published rating of 1673.

I’m feeling good about my chess right now, and as a matter of confidence, I’m willing to say that I’ll be breaking through the 1700 barrier before end of summer. It’s time to set a higher bar, but without the idea of placing a finite rating as that bar. Rather, just continue to improve my game with due diligence and the rating points will come.

To Honor And Reflect

The Metrowest Chess Club has been around for 25+ years now, and during its early years the club had its obligatory club champions. But the process was quite informal and in some cases the legitimacy of a club champion was questioned by the membership. There were no formal processes in place to govern an undisputed club championship event and eventually the club dropped the idea of having a club champion.

Move the clock ahead to 2003. The club had reinvented itself, designating various program positions within the organization. It was at this time, when the club’s Tournament Director, Jim Krycka, took it upon himself to put into motion a solid format to govern a Club Championship and thus bring legitimacy to the “crowning” of a Club Champion.

Since that time, the club has crowned three distinct Club Champions: GM Alexander Ivanov, IM Igor Foygel and NM Denys Shmelov.

I believe the club does a fantastic job of organizing and putting to affect a great championship event. They work hard to make the invitational event special and prestigious with little things like special name tags with the player's photo, money and a dedicated write up to the club's newsletter.

One idea that I would like to put forward on the table would be to provide some sort of means to help solidify the recognition that is due to a newly minted Club Champion. Something that is permanent and seals the recognition in a historical sense.

By providing something permanent, we enable our future club champions the ability to reflect upon and recall the glory of such an achievement. There could be the possibility of plaques or wall hangings at the club to honor our club champions. With a permenant designation on display, we bring about a little more vitality, a credible history and an ability to reflect. Both for the club and for the club champion.

For my part, I am still in the process of retrieving records of those games played from our most recent club championship event. I believe that the preservation and recording of these games into the club's archive directory is one of many key elements necessary in maintaining a historical perspective of club championships and adding an enduring legacy vital to the club's perseverance.

Going forward, I would like to persuade the membership in providing a “Certificate of Excellence” or achievement for our current and future club champions to be.

All just ideas right now; but in any case, for my part, in recognition of MCC Club Champions, past and present, I plan to present a 3 part series in honor of our champions in future blogs to come, so stay tuned.

A Blog's Worth

Why do we blog? Of course, there are several answers to this question, but one common theme; our passion to speak publicly about the things we love or concern us.

Now, obviously I love chess and am very passionate about the game. I believe I have the necessary skills to communicate this passion publicly and through a medium such as this. So here I am blogging about the game I love.

But, what good is a blog if you can’t trigger new readership and build up a following of faithful readers? There is no good at all, you need to have the ability to at least maintain some sort of faithful readership, otherwise your blog is just lost out there in a multitude of e-clouds.

So, how do we trigger readership to initiate a following? Blog…blog and blog! You have to blog consistently and to some sort of time mechanism. Moreover, your blog should carry on common themes of discussions and/or interests. A mixed bag of interests and personal observations do well as long as the reader can identify in you, the blogger, a common trait, principle or interest. Otherwise, your readers will eventually jump ship.

You say consistency eh? Yea…it has to be that way; or the effort (or lack of) you put into blogging fails. A good consistency rate for blogging successfully varies, but you should at least maintain a monthly post minimally to assure readers of your blog that fresh material is on the way witihn a dependable time frame.

Personally, I shoot for two posts a month; anything more is just pure bonus material for my readers. If there comes a time where I begin to fail by providing fresh material on a monthly basis, then it will be time to retire the blog or at the very least notify my readers that I will be entering a state of inactivity and to watch for a return at such and such a time.

Yes, I know, we get busy; we have work, travel, friends, family etc. But truth be told, engaging in your passions is necessary in keeping a healthy, successful and happy life. It is those passions that peak interest in us from others that makes their world colorful and inviting. If you decide to blog about your passion, finding a few minutes over the course of a month to write about it shouldn’t be an inconvenience, it should be satisfying.

What looks like an hourglass? Alex.

With a new month comes a new tourney at the local club (Metrowest Chess Club), and for the month of June it is appropriately named the “MCC Summer Solstice Swiss”. Because the club generally attracts 80+ players in a given month, we cater to a standard of 4 section breaks: Open, U2000, U1600 and U1400.

Our third tier section (U1600) fluctuates from month to month between a U1600 break to a U1700 break. Those months where the section break is set to U1700, player participation in this section goes up versus when the section is set to U1600, but at the cost of player participation in the U2000 section, albeit not too much.

Lately our sections look like an hourglass, our top and bottom sections have been “heavy”, whereas our middle two sections fluctuate between medium to light player participation dependent on the 3rd tier’s break.

As for our bottom tier, the reason for such heavy participation is due to a continuous growth of new players to the club on a monthly basis and the lack of player turnaround, i.e. loss of players. Our new players are sticking around and that is good, but not enough of our U1400 players are improving in a timely fashion or getting up the courage to move up a section to offset this particular section’s growth rate.

And, to illustrate recent section breakdowns, here are some numbers:

MCC Swiss w/ U1600 Section

Open Section: 22 players
U200 Section: 17 players
U1600 Section: 8 players
U1400 Section: 26 players

MCC Swiss w/ U1700 Section

Open Section: 22 players
U2000 Section: 15 players
U1700 Section: 15 players
U1400 Section: 25 players

This trend has been somewhat consistent of late and would appear that when our section break for our third tier is set to U1700, player participation among the sections are more evenly dispersed versus when the tier break is set to U1600.

My current thoughts to remedy this trend would be to either keep the section breaks static right now with the third tier break staying at U1700 or if we are to stay with a flux tier model then that flux should apply to both bottom tiers. When we have a U1700 break, our lowest tier will break at U1400, but when we have a U1600 tier; our bottom tier should break at U1300.

I like the flux model and I think that if we impose a flux break for our lowest tier, it will actually help some of our lower rated players improve at a faster rate, exposing them to the better play of higher rated players.

Black has preference; better have a damn good chess board!

Last week at the local club I overheard a conversation where one of our players asked a TD about proper etiquette and rules regarding players who draw Black; concerning preference of chess sets and game clocks.

As most of us know, Black does have the preference of using a certain chess set over another set, as long as Black is at the board before playing time and White has not set up an acceptable regulation set. Black also has the preference to determine which side of the chess board the game clock is to be placed. However, concerning clocks; if one clock is digital with a delay versus a non-delay clock, then the clock with the proper delay is used. If both clocks are digital with a delay, then Black has preference of choice.

All pretty much standard stuff as most of us know, but I have to admit; if I’m playing White and Black insists on using his old crumpled up vinyl board where pieces have to do a balancing act from move to move, or if the chess board comes with blue or red colored squares that act painfully upon my eyes, I will put up a stink and I will demand a better setting or traditional board!

Bobby Fischer was quite the anal person when it came to the conditions of his playing environment. I guess you could say the same thing about me when comes down to the conditions of a chess board.

Foxwoods Open? Not This Year

It was the 4th Annual Foxwoods Open back in 2002 and I had finished that event with a score of 3.5/7 in the U1400 section. It was an electrifying and satisfying event; one that I had promised myself to revisit in the near future.

However, I soon lost the chess bug and went into hiatus for about five years shortly after this event. When I returned to the board mid-last year, the one thing I wanted to plan for was the 2009 Foxwoods Open.

This last year, I have invested myself 100% to chess as far as extracurricular activities/hobbies are concerned. I continue to study opening and endgame theory as well as take weekly lessons from a extremely talented chess instructor. My games have improved dramatically and am quite happy with my recent progress and chess prowess.

I wanted to be ready to play the Foxwoods Open at a competitive level and generally speaking I think I have what it takes to play in the U1700 section of this event. Lodging and travel reservations had been made over a month ago and all I needed to do was pay the advanced entry fee to make this event a reality. I was ready for this and excited to be a part of it...but something was gnawing on my subconscious.

Well, today I decided to cancel my reservations and NOT enter into the 2009 Foxwoods Open. Overall savings: $600.00+ dollars! I went to CCA's website to enter today and just couldn't get past the entry fee ($227.00) to play in 7 rated games of chess. For me, its not about the money or cash payouts, but rather the experience of playing competitive chess in an energized environment. But more importantly, I wasn't ready to spend four days away from my family, especially when I have a 6 month old son and a fantastic wife who are not quite ready for me to be away from them for such an extended period of time. My wife is fully supportive of my chess addiction and my desire to play in these sort of events; this was solely my own decision.

It's just how I feel about it at this time, but I do know that I will be going to this event in the near future. Probably when things settle down a little bit more on the home front and when money is a little more plentiful.

So, in lieu of participating in this event, I have decided to invest in some chess software -- Chessbase 10! Yea baby....psyched!

What's With That Double Vision?

Lately, I feel like a foreigner at the chess board; I am having Double Vision. My last three rated games have gone into the loss column and I must admit, in each of those games even a player rated a few hundred rating points lower than myself could spot the missed opportunities that were available in each of these losses.

My last three losses shared the following common themes:
*Exhaustion or “not well rested”
*Caffeine
*Dismissing positional analysis in lieu of exercising supposed common chess strategies or an “easy out”.

In the end, I’m just plain seeing double vision; the result of a dull mind set.

Each of the following positions occurred in my last three losses, and each of these positions, if played correctly would have dramatically changed the game’s outcome.

Example 1:

In this game, I’m playing for the money in the final round of the Eastern Class Championships. In addition to those common themes listed above, I entered into this game with 2 hours downtime of complete boredom and a lack of respect for my opponent’s playing ability.

I’m Black and playing against the Smith-Mora Gambit. I always play the following against this gambit with 4…Nc6 5.Bc4 a6 6.Nf3 d6, but my head is locked into “forcing” a Sicilian Najdorf for some reason and I out right neglect White's early developement, thus suffering the positional consequences of not playing accurately to White’s gambit. Here is the critical position that led to Black’s demise, but if played correctly would have maintained an equal position and require White to seek out other moves or accept a draw.

In this position White is dogging after Black’s Queen and has just played 14.Bd4. Can you see the correct move for Black that would keep the positions equal? Black could just play 14…Qc7 and if White wishes to continue chasing Black’s Queen, Black would just return to …Qb6. Thus, White would need to come up with another move sequence or accept a draw. Now, here is the move that Black played; 14…Bc5? At the time, Black was thinking about inducing a bishop exchange and follow up with developing his queen-side pieces without ever giving White’s Knight on c3 any thought. White plays 15.Na4! Doh!!

Example 2:

This game was played at my local club in Natick MA. It is round 2 of a 5 round Swiss tournament. To emphasize the common themes above, I enter into this game with about 5 hours of sleep the night before and had a large latte earlier in the afternoon around 3:30pm. By the time the game starts, I’m crashing hard! All the ingredients are in place to play the game with double vision.

In this position, I’m Black and playing the Sicilian Najdorf against White’s Sozin Attack with 7.Bg5. White is up a minor piece for a pawn and is desperately trying to exchange pieces off the board whenever possible. Here, White has just played 29.Qg5, wanting to induce a Queen exchange.

This position if played correctly is a draw. Can you see the right move? Black’s Bishop holds a strong diagonal and has both Rooks beautifully lined up along the g-file to exert pressure, when the proper moment arises, along the 2nd rank. Black can at least draw with 29…Qxg5! Follow up line would be 30.Nxg5 Rf2!

If White wants to at least maintain a draw, his only move would be 31.Rg3 Rxc2 32.Nxe6 Rff2 33.Rxg7+ Kh8 34.Rxb7 Rxg2+ =

Unfortunately, Black wasn’t analyzing any of this because the first rule of thumb in chess; never exchange your big guns when you’re down material. That’s where my mind was, instead of analyzing this position properly, I was thinking, “What is the best move to avoid the Queen exchange?” So, exchanging Queens never entered into my thought process and therefore, the position analysis after such an exchange was never entertained. Black played 29…Qe8 and thus remained behind White in material and at a positional disadvantage until Black finally loses on TIME! My double vision got the best of me.

Example 3:

Here is another game played at the local club. It is round 3 of a 5 round Swiss tournament. All the common themes are in place and I just had a nice refreshing large afternoon latte! Its game time and you know what? My mind is racing but my body’s in lead; I fill my eyes with that double vision.

In this position, I’m White and playing the Yugoslav Attack against Black’s nasty Sicilian Dragon. Black has just played 13…Nxf3? Our positions prior to this move were equal, but now White is just better and with one move can gain a winning position and come out a full piece up in material. Can you see the move? Easy right; not when you have double vision. White is thinking simple exchange and wants to open up his g-file to exert pressure along Black’s king file. Besides, my Queen is under attack, so why not simply remove the attacking piece?

The winning move here is so blatant that I’m ashamed to even post this particular example, but I want to emphasize my mind and body’s state to the reader. Under normal circumstances, I would have hopped on this move and frankly, subliminally, this is what I was playing for. However, I decide to play for an “easy-out” and lazily play 14.gxf3. I’m not even going to tell you what the right move is, because you saw it before you even started reading my follow up for the diagram.

So, what do I do from here? Hmmm…hey, here is an idea! No more afternoon lattes! And, get this, how about getting some sleep the night before and…and…uhm...get back to my afternoon work-outs at the local gym where I’m a member! It’s the only way to void my eyes with this double vision.

Groundhog Round-Up!

As my quest for chess perfection continues forward; OK, as my quest for improved play moves forward, this month's Groundhog Day Swiss tournament had its share of ups and downs.

To start with some basic facts; the section I signed into was the U1600 with a field of 13 players ranging from low 1200 ratings to upper 1500's. On the wall chart, I was the 5th highest ranked player in our section with a rating of 1471. Overall, the turnout for this tournament was on the low end and I'd say that the field competition was moderate in our section.

Round 1: Smith(1471) vs. Cermak(1297)
This game was a rather convincing win for me. I played a gambit opening that my opponent had never seen before. Needless to say, he spent the entire game on the defensive and quickly fell short on material. We went over the game afterwards and I'm sure he'll feel a little more comfortable in the future against the sort of gambit I played.

I didn't annotate this game publicly. However, I was quite pleased with Fritz's analysis of my play -- I played quite accurate.

Round 2: Thompson(1477) vs. Smith(1471)
It would appear that Doug Thompson and myself have been joined at the hip in recent tournaments. In this game I played the Sicilian Defense in response to Doug's 1.e4 - 3.c3 opening. Because I had already just blog-annotated a game played between us in an earlier match, I decided not to blog another game between us.

Our game was interesting for a while, but things turned pretty bad for Doug later in the game. He was feeling a whole lot of heat coming down on his Monarch and his pieces were just not properly aligned to meet the onslaught. This was another solid win in my column.

So, after two rounds I scored two solid victories in comfortable fashion and according to Fritz, my play was pretty accurate in both those games. From an improvement perspective, I've been very happy with recent tournament play. My positional awareness and understanding has dramatically improved; strategic and tactical comprehension greatly increased as well. But, most importantly, I had ridden myself of some very nasty habits. Especially the one habit where I use to "exchange for the sake of exchanging".

I was looking forward to round three to test my skill against a stronger player.

Round 3: Smith(1471) vs. Harrington(1539)
In this game I played the same gambit opening I played in round 1 with succinct success. Again, my opponent was unfamiliar with the opening I sprung on him and by move 9 he was down a piece and on a fast track to being mated.

After the game, I was left with a funny thought. Since my return to tournament chess after a 3 month hiatus, my last 5 wins were downright convincing...not a lot of sweat and no end games to knuckle out. Had my play improved that much as a result of professional instruction, time and study? I would like to think so, and rested my thoughts on the idea that I had a chance to sweep the section with 4 wins by the end of the final round.

But alas, as life's funny ironies come into play, I am stricken with the flu and was bacterially forced to call in for a bye on the final round! As it turns out, I still placed 1st, just had to share it with two other people.

Rating Watch: 1553

MCC Groundhog Day Swiss: In Honor

A new month brings a new tournament at the club. February is a treacherous month in New England and to most folks, the least favorite month of the year. But February, the shortest month of the year, is a month in which we celebrate a rich collection of mythology, legends, science and history. Just to name a quick few: St. Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, Leap Year, Groundhog Day, and Black History etc...

Over the years, the Metrowest Chess Club has named its February tournaments in honor of such celebrated traditions and folklore. The most recent tournaments have been the MCC Valentine Swiss and the MCC Leap Year Swiss. This year, it is named after rodent folklore – MCC Groundhog Day Swiss.

Personally, I’m off to a good start in this particular tournament with a decisive first round win. However, rather than blog about the game this week, I’ve decided to do a little research into the history of Groundhog Day and provide a little light reading for the local chess reader who may be playing in a tournament named after this hokey folklore. Enjoy!

Groundhog Day

We all know how the story goes; every February 2nd people gather around the burrow of a groundhog, awaiting for the creature to emerge and witness whether or not the groundhog fails to see its shadow. According to legend, if he does see his shadow, the fury little thing retreats to the warm comforts of its burrow signifying another 6 dreadful weeks of winter. Otherwise, the groundhog ventures out of its burrow, thus indicating that winter will soon come to an end.

In North America, this tradition is annually celebrated both in the United States and in Canada. The most famous of groundhogs is good ole Punxsutawney Phil; where the good folks of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania gather around, anxiously waiting for Punxsutawney Phil to emerge from its heated little burrow in hopes of forecasting a short winter. Unless, of course, you’re an avid skier!

So what drives this funky folklore? There are many theories, but the one that makes the most chronological sense to me is one where we need to go back to ancient times where mythology thrived and was a major influence on the cultural make-up that catered societal practices. And what great ancient empire had the greatest influence on western culture? Well, that’s an easy one; the Roman Empire!

The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, supposedly brought this tradition to the Germanic tribes, who picked it up and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather, which they interpolated as the length of the "Second Winter." [2]

Germans would recite:

For as the sun shines on Canlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until the May.

Candlemas Day is a Christian practice known as the “Feast of the Presentation at the Temple” celebrating an early episode in the life of Jesus and falls around the 2nd of February. At the time of Roman conquest over the Germanic tribes, Christianity was the official religion of Rome.

In the days of early European Christians celebrating Candlemas Day, the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. The event marked a milestone in the winter and the weather on that particular day was important. According to old English Song: [2]

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Come, Winter, have another flight;

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,

Go Winter, and come not again.

Fast forward to the European migration of North America, and it should be noted that Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and they found groundhogs to in profusion in many parts of the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent and sensible animal and therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, so wise an animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter. [2]

An early American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in the diary entry, dated February 5th, 1841 of Berks County, Pennsylvania of storekeeper James Morris: [1]

"Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

As of today, in our modern tradition, the largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania where crowds as high as 40,000 people have gathered to celebrate this time honored tradition mixed in lore and religion.

And now you know, from the point of this writer, how Groundhog Day came to be in the United States where organizations like our very own chess club decorate their events in honor of this legendary holiday.

Notes:
1. History Society of Berks County, Reading, Pennsylvania
2. http://www.groundhog.org/about/history.php

The Universe of Chess

The Universe has a sense of humor. As chaotic as one might think of our Universe, one thing remains constant; it’s innate ability to harmonize and maintain a delicate equilibrium among all things. We learn about some of these basic principles in high school physics; Newton’s Law: For every force there is an equal but opposite force.

Well in the games of chess, I guess the same principle can apply. For example; in round two of this Month’s tournament ( MCC New Years Swiss) at the local club, I played the best game I ever lost. In other words, it was a game in which my position was superior throughout and included a slight material advantage. In the endgame, I had achieved the perfect pawn storm only to get cocky and blunder like no one has blundered before. I lost a game that should not have been lost.

The following week, round 3, I played terrible, just plain terrible. I could not focus and I was dropping material left and right to my opponent. For most of the game, my opponent had a positional edge and a strong material advantage as he continued to add pressure towards an ongoing attack against my King. He had all the makings for a strong victory. But as we played on, my position grew stronger and my pieces had coordinated enough to thwart any quick mating attacks, although, white could still achieve his win as long as he remained focused. Apparently, that was not going to be the case, as I had bated him into a Rook exchange that led to his demise with a mating attack.

I had played the worse game I ever won; I had no rights winning round three, but in the “Universe of Chess”, all things must come to order and the state of equilibrium must be achieved. In round two I was the Sherriff of Nottingham; in round three, I was Robin Hood, and the Universe once more, had corrected the natural order of things.

Chess Mannerisms

Tournament experiences this past year offered an interesting course in the sociology of chess in the Northeast. Frankly, I’m unimpressed with the mannerisms of chess players under the age of 35 and aghast at the ill mannered temperaments of a growing percentage of parents watching their children compete, and the pressure they put on their children to win at all costs.

Now, all is not bad in the gentleman’s game of chess (and yes, women are inclusive in this expression); however, there is a growing callousness in the mannerisms department among the chess community. So I thought I’d post a little something here to help put into place some basic mannerisms while playing in a chess tournament.

A) Parents: Ensure that your child is where they need to be and have everything they need to play. Give them the necessary directions to find you. Kiss or hug your child and wish them good luck, then LEAVE. Demonstrate your trust in them by allowing them some independence and more importantly removing any undue stress on your child to perform under the scrutiny of your eyes.

B) Hygiene: Take a shower, use deodorant…be clean. Wash your hands after visiting the rest rooms; those could be my pieces you’re touching.

C) Don’t eat crunchy foods while playing.

D) Shut off the damn cell phones; why in the world do you need a phone at a chess board?!

E) At the beginning of your game, look straight into your opponent’s eye and offer a firm handshake, smiling is OK, and say something along the lines of “Here’s to a good game.” But please, don’t wish your opponent good luck! That’s a bunch of garbage, why would you wish me luck against you? You’re trying to win the game.

F) Don’t slam your pieces down on the board unless you are adamant about displacing your good nature with an heir of arrogance and disrespect for your opponent. This is not an intimidation tactic!

G) In competitive chess, the need to say “check” is unnecessary but not impolite to do so. Give your opponent the credit of knowing they are under check and dispense with the traditional “check” remarks in game. Saying “check” is to alert your opponent that their King is under direct attack; most chess players with an established rating above class “E” will know they are under “check.”

H) After the game, regardless of win, lose or draw, offer a handshake of congratulations or accepted defeat graciously. If you are the winner, never say, “Good game.” The loser may not think so. Instead, say something like, “Hard fought game.” Or “Good luck at your next game.”

I) Keep post game discussions minimal until you leave the immediate area.

J) Be mindful of your fellow players around you.

And there you have it: Smitty’s Chess Mannerisms. For the sake of good chess and to maintain its aura of “royal decency”, try practicing these little tidbits. You’d be surprised how far it goes and how good you’ll feel about yourself.

Re-Entry Ugliness

On the BCC web blog, I came across this philosophical posting about "Re-entries" in chess tournaments. I found the article quite interesting and thought back to my one time personal experience of requesting a re-entry in September 2008 at the Continental Open in Sturbridge Massachusetts.

As Mike Griffin puts it, a re-entry in chess is just plain poor sportsmanship and I tend to agree. Reflecting back on my own personal experience, I can't help but recall the "ugliness" I felt when putting in for a re-entry during the Continental Open.

Here is how it went down:

I enrolled in the 3 day event only to lose the first two rounds to opponents whom I felt were not as strong a player as I. That was my first mistake; assuming relative player strengths. Ratings account for very little during tournament play, after all, it is not a rating that determines the "chess in you" but what you do on the board that defines your chess ability.

So, after losing the first two rounds I started to kick around the idea of re-entering. I thought to myself, "I'll do it over and play better. Besides, I'll get to play more chess and of course, I'll have another legitimate opportunity to play for the money!"

Then my sub conscience kicked in, "That's it isn't it? It's really about the money huh?"

"No! It's not about the money!" I refuted the idea, but somehow it continued to gnaw at me and I felt ugly for it.

The next day, I went down to the tournament booth and dished out 68 dollars for a re-entry. Now I just felt cheap, and in some way, not only was I cheating the sport of chess but cheating myself as well. I just engaged in an act that I had always frowned upon; and less of a chess player for doing so. How pathetic, if you really think about this. But, because the venue was available, I decided to dance with the devil.

And to add salt to the wound, I really didn't play much better. After the re-entry, things just didn't seem right in the world of chess for me during this particular tournament. I went on to finish the tournament with 2 1/2 points in a 5 round Swiss and didn't even stay to play the final round!!

I went home that late afternoon feeling ugly, cheap and out an additional 68 dollars. But I did make the promise to myself that I would never again partake in a re-entry; that I would keep my honor where it has always been when it comes to competitive chess. To enter the game in good gentlemanly spirits and to leave the board at its conclusion in good sportsmanship fashion -- win or lose.

Don't Be Flashy

Frustration is when you throw away a well played game with a winning endgame position. Here is how you do it:

A) You attempt a “flashy” move; the hubris in us.
B) Inaccurate calculation.
C) Over excitement that lends itself to “rushing” in-game analysis.

…and whala…you hand a win over to your opponent on a silver board.

The lessons here are always stay within yourself, remain steadfast in your play, stay true to end game basics and never ever attempt to be “flashy”!