Played today vs. player "Brinkie47". 1 d4 d5 2 e4 de 3 Nc3 Nf6 Top players play 3...c6 (62%) or 3...e6 (25%). 3...Nf6 comes in at only 8%.
4 Bg5 Top players prefer 4 f3 (82%), with my move coming in at only 11%. 4...Bf5 Preferred is 4...e6 (93%), with his move at only 3%.
5 f3 ef 6 Nxf3 e6 7 Bd3 BxB 8 QxB Be7 9 0-0-0 Nc6(?) (c6) 10 Rhf1(?) (10 BxN BxB 11 d5) h6(?) (0-0) 11 BxN BxB 12 d5 ed 13 Rfe1+ Ne7? (Kf8) 14 Nxd5 Qd6? (Kf8) 15 NxB+ QxN?? And now it is mate in three!
The game concluded 16 Qd7+ Kf8 17 Qd8+ RxQ 18 RxR# 1-0
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
2020 MLB Predictions
AL East -- Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles
Only issue here is between Sox and Rays for second. I'm going with the Sox.
AL Central -- Indians, Twins, White Sox, Royals, Tigers
I originally had the Twins in first, but the Indians young rotation impresses me. Had the Indians gotten rid of Lindor, I would have dropped them down, maybe even to third.
AL West -- Astros, Angels, A's, Rangers, Mariners
I usually find an excuse to rank the Angels higher than they deserve. Here it is the free agent signing of Anthony Rendon.
NL East -- Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
This is the most puzzling division to predict. Any of the top four teams could win it. I look for the Nats to have a letdown after their amazing run last year. Keeping Strasburg should help in 2020, although the 7-year contact given to a player who's been on the DL ten times is ludicrous.
NL Central -- Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Pirates
There's something about the Brewers that interests me; it seems I always enjoy watching them play. I actually think the Reds will finish higher then fourth, but I don't know which of the top teams to drop down to fourth.
NL West -- Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, Giants
D'Backs signed Madison Bumgarner, showing a desire to compete. Padres still have the top-ranked farm system, but that doesn't mean they will compete this year.
Only issue here is between Sox and Rays for second. I'm going with the Sox.
AL Central -- Indians, Twins, White Sox, Royals, Tigers
I originally had the Twins in first, but the Indians young rotation impresses me. Had the Indians gotten rid of Lindor, I would have dropped them down, maybe even to third.
AL West -- Astros, Angels, A's, Rangers, Mariners
I usually find an excuse to rank the Angels higher than they deserve. Here it is the free agent signing of Anthony Rendon.
NL East -- Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
This is the most puzzling division to predict. Any of the top four teams could win it. I look for the Nats to have a letdown after their amazing run last year. Keeping Strasburg should help in 2020, although the 7-year contact given to a player who's been on the DL ten times is ludicrous.
NL Central -- Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, Pirates
There's something about the Brewers that interests me; it seems I always enjoy watching them play. I actually think the Reds will finish higher then fourth, but I don't know which of the top teams to drop down to fourth.
NL West -- Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, Giants
D'Backs signed Madison Bumgarner, showing a desire to compete. Padres still have the top-ranked farm system, but that doesn't mean they will compete this year.
Monday, July 13, 2020
Is the Political Comvention Obsolete?
At this writing the Republican Party still hopes to have an in-person national convention in Jacksonville, Florida, while the Democratic Convention will take place remotely. This raises the question: why have conventions at all anymore?
It used to be that the political convention was held every four years to pick the party's candidates for president and vice-president. However, every candidate since 1952 has won on the first ballot. There has still been occasional drama, as when Reagan challenged Ford in 1976, or when Kennedy challenged Carter in 1980, but the drama has largely gone by the wayside.
The political convention was a source of excitement and party fervor from 1832 to 1952, but is now obsolete.
It used to be that the political convention was held every four years to pick the party's candidates for president and vice-president. However, every candidate since 1952 has won on the first ballot. There has still been occasional drama, as when Reagan challenged Ford in 1976, or when Kennedy challenged Carter in 1980, but the drama has largely gone by the wayside.
The political convention was a source of excitement and party fervor from 1832 to 1952, but is now obsolete.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Themes in the Budapest
The Budapest Defense, sometimes called the Budapest Gambit, was first played in 1896, but has never found favor among the world's top players. It is rather easy to play against by white players who have some idea of what they are doing.
My approach has been to not try to hang onto the gambit pawn, but to play for development, and pressure on the d-file. A game I played today on chessbase illustrates this theme. It began 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5?! 3 de Ng4 A trappy line is 3...Ne4, but if white knows to simply play 4 a3, it comes to nothing. I rarely, if ever, face 3...Ne4. White's moves with his king's knight in the Budapest violate basic principles against moving the same piece twice in the opening. The trick for white is to be patient and not try to capitalize violently on this violation on black's part.
4 Nf3 White can also play 4 Bf4, 4 e3, or 4 e4, all of which score in the 60%+ range.
4...Bc5 5 e3 Nc6 6 Be2 0-0 7 0-0 Nxe5 8 NxN NxN 9 Nd2 9 Nc3 is the overwhelming favorite here, but I like the d2 square, preparing to go to f3 and oppose the black knight on e5.
9...a5 10 b3 Ra6 This "rook lift" is actually a major idea in the Budapest, although I wasn't really familiar with it before this game.
11 Bb2 Qe7 12 Nf3 NxN+ 13 BxN Rg6 14 Qe2 d6 15 Rfd1 Qh4 16 g3 Qh3 17 Bg2 Qf5 18 Rd5 Qe6 19 Rh5 Rh6 20 Bh3! I offer black a rook and bishop for his queen, an offer which he wisely declines.
20...Qg6 21 RxR QxR 22BxB RxB 23 Qd4 Rg8 24 Rd1 Bxe3? Black, unable to realize anything from his king-side pressure, unwisely sacs his bishop for two pawns. Patience is the virtue he lacks.
25 fe Qxe3+ 26 Kh1 g6 27 Qd4 27 Bd4 was objectively better, but I choose to simplify into an easily won endgame.
27...Qf3+ 28 Kg1 f6 29 Rf1 1-0 In a position in which white has complete control of the board, black ran out of time.
My approach has been to not try to hang onto the gambit pawn, but to play for development, and pressure on the d-file. A game I played today on chessbase illustrates this theme. It began 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e5?! 3 de Ng4 A trappy line is 3...Ne4, but if white knows to simply play 4 a3, it comes to nothing. I rarely, if ever, face 3...Ne4. White's moves with his king's knight in the Budapest violate basic principles against moving the same piece twice in the opening. The trick for white is to be patient and not try to capitalize violently on this violation on black's part.
4 Nf3 White can also play 4 Bf4, 4 e3, or 4 e4, all of which score in the 60%+ range.
4...Bc5 5 e3 Nc6 6 Be2 0-0 7 0-0 Nxe5 8 NxN NxN 9 Nd2 9 Nc3 is the overwhelming favorite here, but I like the d2 square, preparing to go to f3 and oppose the black knight on e5.
9...a5 10 b3 Ra6 This "rook lift" is actually a major idea in the Budapest, although I wasn't really familiar with it before this game.
11 Bb2 Qe7 12 Nf3 NxN+ 13 BxN Rg6 14 Qe2 d6 15 Rfd1 Qh4 16 g3 Qh3 17 Bg2 Qf5 18 Rd5 Qe6 19 Rh5 Rh6 20 Bh3! I offer black a rook and bishop for his queen, an offer which he wisely declines.
20...Qg6 21 RxR QxR 22BxB RxB 23 Qd4 Rg8 24 Rd1 Bxe3? Black, unable to realize anything from his king-side pressure, unwisely sacs his bishop for two pawns. Patience is the virtue he lacks.
25 fe Qxe3+ 26 Kh1 g6 27 Qd4 27 Bd4 was objectively better, but I choose to simplify into an easily won endgame.
27...Qf3+ 28 Kg1 f6 29 Rf1 1-0 In a position in which white has complete control of the board, black ran out of time.
Monday, July 6, 2020
Themes in the Gruenfeld
Here is a game I played today on chessbase which illustrates some modern themes in the Gruenfeld Defense. The game began 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 cd Nxd5 5 e4 NxN 6 bc Bg7 7 Nf3 Back in 1970s when I used to play the Gruenfeld, this was considered a blunder. Now, however, this is the most popular move for white. All major alternatives score about 55% for white.
7...0-0 (7...c5 is preferred 8:1.) 8 Bc4 Other moves are preferred, and score better (8 Bc4 scores only 40% for white!). Most usual is 8 Be2.
8...c5 9 0-0 Nc6 10 Be3 cd 11 cd Bg4 12 Rb1 Five different moves have been played here, but this seems the most principled. White seeks to pressure the b-pawn which black left unprotected when he played 11...Bg4.
12...b6 12...Nxd4 and 12...Bxf3 have been played. My move is perhaps too passive.
13 d5 Ne5 14 Be2 Rc8 15 Bf4 NxN+ 16 BxN BxB 17 QxB Rc2 18 Qa3 Re8? (18...Qd7=) 19 Qxa7 Qa8 20 Qxb6 Qxa2 21 Qb5 Rec8 22 Qd7 h5 (22...Bd4) 23 Qxe7 Rxf2! 24 RxR?? Mate is now forced. 24 Bg3 would have preserved white's one-point advantage, though this is a hard move to find in a blitz game.
The game ended 24...QxR+ 25 Rf1 Bd4+ 26 Be3 BxB+ 27 Kh1 QxR#.
7...0-0 (7...c5 is preferred 8:1.) 8 Bc4 Other moves are preferred, and score better (8 Bc4 scores only 40% for white!). Most usual is 8 Be2.
8...c5 9 0-0 Nc6 10 Be3 cd 11 cd Bg4 12 Rb1 Five different moves have been played here, but this seems the most principled. White seeks to pressure the b-pawn which black left unprotected when he played 11...Bg4.
12...b6 12...Nxd4 and 12...Bxf3 have been played. My move is perhaps too passive.
13 d5 Ne5 14 Be2 Rc8 15 Bf4 NxN+ 16 BxN BxB 17 QxB Rc2 18 Qa3 Re8? (18...Qd7=) 19 Qxa7 Qa8 20 Qxb6 Qxa2 21 Qb5 Rec8 22 Qd7 h5 (22...Bd4) 23 Qxe7 Rxf2! 24 RxR?? Mate is now forced. 24 Bg3 would have preserved white's one-point advantage, though this is a hard move to find in a blitz game.
The game ended 24...QxR+ 25 Rf1 Bd4+ 26 Be3 BxB+ 27 Kh1 QxR#.
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