Ha Jolly Ha

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

A Good Match


Oh.My.Goodness. I just completed an INTENSE chess match.

For those unaware of my (minor) obsession, take note. I never tire of playing chess. It began with a family friend in junior high. Then, someone bought me a board for my birthday. After watching the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, my younger sister and I played once a day for a period of several months. The college chess club sealed my fate. I bought books with chess exercises, strategy and trivia. At one point, my college roommates feared for my health, when I took up end game puzzles as a regular evening pastime.

For nerds(I played black):

1. e4 e5
2. Qd1h5 Nb8c6
3. Bf1c4 Qd8e7
4. Nb1c3 Ng8f6
5. Qh5f3 d6
6. h3 Bc8e6
7. Bc4xe6 Qe7xe6
8. Nc3b5 O-O-O
9. Qf3e3 a6
10. Nb5a7 Nc6xa7
11. Qe3xa7 Qe6c4
12. Qa7a8 Kc8d7
13. Qa8xb7 Qc4xc2
14. f3 Qc2c4
15. Ng1e2 Qc4b5
16. Qb7a7 Bf8e7
17. Qa7e3 d5
18. a4 Qb5c6
19. d3 d4
20. Qe3g5 Rh8g8
21. O-O Nf6xe4
22. Qg5xe5 Ne4f6
23. Qe5xd4 Kd7c8
24. Qd4c3 Qc6xc3
25. Ne2xc3 Rd8xd3
26. Rf1e1 Be7b4
27. Re1e3 Rg8d8
28. Kg1h2 Rd3xe3
29. Bc1xe3 Bb4xc3
30. bxc3 Rd8d3
31. Be3d4 Kc8d7
32. Ra1b1 Kd7c6
33. Rb1b3 Kc6d5
34. Rb3b7 Kd5c6
35. Rb7b8 Nf6d5
36. Bd4xg7 Nd5xc3
37. a5 Nc3d5
38. Rb8h8 Rd3a3
39. Rh8xh7 Ra3xa5
40. Bg7f8 Ra5a2
41. Rh7xf7 a5
42. h4 a4
43. h5 Nd5e3
44. h6 Ra2xg2
45. Kh2h1 Rg2g5
46. Rf7f6 Kc6b5
47. Rf6f4 Rg5h5
48. Kh1g1 Ne3c4
49. Rf4f7 c5
50. h7 a3
51. Bf8e7 Rh5h6
52. Be7f6 Nc4d6
53. Rf7d7 Nd6e8
54. h8=Q Rh6xh8
55. Bf6xh8 Kb5b4
56. f4 c4 57. f5 c3
58. Rd7d8 Ne8c7
59. Rd8b8 Nc7b5
60. f6 c2
61. Rb8c8 Nb5c3
62. Rc8b8 Kb4c4
63. Rb8c8 Kc4b3
64. Rc8b8 Kb3a2
65. f7 c1=Q
66. Kg1g2 Qc1g5
67. Kg2h3 Qg5f5
68. Kh3h2 Qf5xf7
69. Bh8xc3 Qf7f4 0-1

7 Comments:

Blogger Mark S. Abeln said...

Chess. Wow.

I must admit to being a terrible player. I lose even to little kids who just learned the rules of the game.

Poker is my game!

1:41 AM  
Blogger Raindear said...

Mark,

I love chess because it removes the element of luck common to so many games, and thereby makes each game a real battle of wits(provided the players possess comparable proficiency). The game also fascinates me on account of the nearly infinite variables which arise after the first several moves. Human creativity at work - often an opponent foils my plans with a complete unexpected combination of moves!

In the Searching for Bobby Fischer movie - which is based on a true story which actually has very little to do with Mr. Fischer - a little boy sees checkmate twelve moves away and the game ends with a beautiful exchange. Each player has only one pawn left. The pawns queen on the far files, a and h. The loser queens first, but the winner queens immediately afterward and the other player's king is on the diagonal between the two queens. The loser has to move out of check and lose his queen. Glorious.

Anyways, for a studied chess player, I am mediocre to average, but compared to the unschooled, I am expert.

Poker is fun too. I also like Rummy and Pitch.

9:39 AM  
Blogger Christine said...

Lorraine,
I was a chess addict in college. My husband (before he was my husband) got me hooked. I played for the Oxford Chess Team, and had an account with the Internet Chess Club that I accessed far more than was healthy (particularly because playing speed chess ruins one's game). I was also acquaintances with several grandmasters (and was delighted to find out that the Executive head of the Federalist Society, in which I was very active in law school, is an IM).

My husband was far more of an addict than I, his favorite pastime being to play blindfold chess until 3 in the morning with his friends.

I plan on teaching chess to my children, although I must admit I am rather out of practice these days. I hope to resume the game one day soon. Best wishes with your play.

5:57 AM  
Blogger Raindear said...

I had an account with Chess.net for a while, because the best chess player I know (rated around 2000) said that all the grandmasters play there. The 5 minutes games did not improve my game very much either. Now I usually play slower games, on a free internet server. Unfortunately, the opportunity for me to play a decent opponent in person arises far too infrequently these days.

Blindfold chess players awe, bewilder and intimidate me.

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been waiting about a year for you to make a move in a game we were playing via email.

4:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Played thru your game. White can easily win if 60. f6 isn't made. Why not 60. BxP?

9:17 AM  
Blogger Raindear said...

RJP,

Sorry about the email game. I forgot all about it because I don't usually play email games. I find chess sites more convenient.

I played black. Fortunately my opponent was not as shrewd as you. (:

10:58 AM  

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