Ten Players on Casual Chess Monday – 102615

Chess fun at LCCC.

It was a fun night of casual chess, chess lessons, chess stories and just some socializing.

We  got to welcome four new members to LCCC. They were – in order of their arrival – Gary B, Sean H, and Roman and Dan I. Glad you joined us!

Even though next week is League Night, there will be plenty of players looking for a game who are not in the league. It is also fun to watch the League rounds and watch the action during a semi-serious chess setting. So everyone come on by.

Here is the League Line up:

49’ers vs Owls

Board 1 – (W) Ken T – (B) Mike N

Board 2 – (B) Paul M – (W) Don J

Board 3 – (W) Tom H – (B) Jay S

Flyers vs Tigers

Board 4 – (W) Vince V – (B) Tim R

Board 5 – (B) John R – (W) Nick D

Board 6 – (W) Dan W – (B) Sam T

It will be another fun night of chess!

Black to move and win!

Now a puzzle.

It sure looks like White is winning to me. White’s bishop pair has more range, and the White knights are better placed.

But….it is Black to move and win! Find the combination (more than one move needed).

Week 2 of the LCCC 2015 League – Great Games Played

Past LCCC Tournament Action

Nineteen players were at the club for the 2^nd round action in the 2015 LCCC League.

The action was exciting with a lot of close and good games.

Of the nineteen players, eleven were there for casual chess! With that many people looking for opponents, you know you can stop by the club any Monday and find a game. Come on by!

The 49’ers took over sole possession of 1^st place with a 2.5 - .5 victory over The Thunder.

Congratulations to Ken T and Tom H on their victories.

In the other match The Flyers and the Owls are tied 1 – 1 with one game left to play. Congratulations to Jay S and Vince V on their victories. That will leave the match up to the game between Don J (Owls) (W) vs John R (Flyers) (B).

You will get the results when your humble scribe does.

Next round is November 2 and the matchups are:

Flyers vs Tigers

49’ers vs Owls

The Thunder has a bye.

The lineups and assigned colors to follow next week.

Position after Black's last move 14. .....O-O-O

Here is a game from tonight’s action. It was Paul M (49’ers) (W) vs Luke S (Thunder) (B).

It has been a well played opening and pretty much an even game to this point. But White's next move is a little over aggressive (-.3).

There must be a fight brewing because Black's next move was also over aggressive, 15. ....Nd7 puts White's dark squared bishop in a bad way. Instead (-.1). Still about even.

 

15. a4                    Ng4

16. Bxg4               hxg4

17. Kg2?               f6

First real error of the game. White needed 17. exd (-1.3).

 

18. Bd4                 f5?

Black attacks on the wrong wing. 18. ....c5 forces White to find 19. b5 or lose a bishop to 19. Be3, d4 20. cxd, cxd! - trapped! Instead, White is winning (+.6)

 

19. Bxb6               Rdh8

20. Rh1                 f4

21. f3?                   gxf3?

Both miss 21. ....Bf6! and the game would be even again. Instead (+.7) for White.

 

22. Nxf3                Bf6

23. e5                    Be7

24. Bf2?                g4!

White needed to play 29. g4! first! Now the game is even again.

25. Nh4                 Bxh4

26. gxh4                d4?

This allows White to attack with a tempo (extra move) (+1.1).

 

27. b5                    Nc5

28. bxc                  bxc?

Black missed the move that would even the game ...28. ....Nxd3! (-.2) as White keeps missing the needs Rad1 to protect the center pawn.

 

29. Bxd4?              Nxd3

30. a5?                   Bxh4

White thinks the a-pawn is his ticket to victory. Passed pawns must be pushed, right? But he will be lucky if he holds a draw (-2)!

 

31. a6                    f3+?

The drawing move! The simple 32.....Kb8 and the a-pawn will not reach Promotion Land. Then Black's king side pawns might win the game after some tightrope walking by Black.

32. Kg3                 Rh3+

33. Kxg4               R8h4+

34. Kg5                 Rh5+

35. Kf6                  Rh6+

Draw agreed.

The checks have to continue or the a-pawn queens.

An exciting finish.

Week101215 – Off Week from the League

But fun was had just the same! Nine players showed up to practice and just socialize.

Action from past LCCC league play. Come watch the current action Monday.

We had eighteen on League Night last week. We hope to do better than that this week, so make plans to come on by.

Not everyone will have a league game, so there will be someone there to make you feel at home. So come on by and play some casual chess.

The schedule for Monday, Oct 19  – again, is

The Thunder – Gene M, Luke S, and Zach R

    vs

The 49’ers – Ken T, Paul M and Tom H

The Flyers – Vince V, John R and Dan W

    vs

The Owls – Mike N, Don J and Jay S

The Tiger have a bye this week, so Tim R, Nick D and Sam T have the night off – or practice, or watching and/or visitor greeting duty.

And know for the puzzle of the week.

White to move and win.

2015 – 16 LCCC League Starts With a Bang!

The 2015-2016 LCCC League begins play!

It was a great start to the ‘real’ chess season (fall-winter – lol) with 15 players entering the league.

We had two new players join LCCC and the league also

Welcome Jay S and Dan W. It will also be Nick D’s first time in the LCCC league.

We delayed as long as we could and tried to find a 16^th person, but we could not get there.

So we went with a Five Team -  Three Players on each format. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

But either way, great chess will be played and fun and learning will take place.

The teams are (unless the team requests a name change):

Owls  - Mike N, Don J, Jay S

Tigers – Tim R, Nick D, Sam T

Thunder – Gene M, Luke S, Zack R

49’ers – Ken T, Paul M, Tom H

Flyers – Vince V, John R, Dan W

Good luck to everyone – and enjoy the season!

The first round got underway with the Tigers beating the Thunder 2 -1.

In the other match, the 49’ers defeated the Flyers 2  – 0 with one game to play.

The Owls got a bye and will play in the next round on Monday October 19, 2015.

That night the Tigers have a bye.

The teams and the pairings for Oct 19 are:

 Thunder vs 49’ers

(W) Gene M – (B) Ken Tack

(B) Luke S – (W) Paul M

(W) Zack R – (B) Tom H

Flyers vs Owls

(W) Vince V – (B) Mike N

(B) John R – (W) Don J

(W) Dan W – (B) Jay S

Remember, the club will still meet on Oct 12 for make up games, casual chess, analysis of the tournament games played and lessons for anyone who wants them.

And on Oct. 19, even though the league will be going on, there will still be a few players milling around looking for a casual game. So always know you are welcome at LCCC!