[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cid_Yama', 'B')y studying the above, you will be prepared to recognize and meet them when they are used against you. As you get to higher levels, you don't want to be taken advantage of.

[Carlhole]

So bad it's great.

Chess Now: Episode 1

Wear a bra, for christsake.

[Narz]

Dude, I'm actually gonna be on that show next month.

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', 'D')ude, I'm actually gonna be on that show next month.

[Narz]

I don't think that lady is on the show anymore. It seems they've done their best to become slightly more respectable.

[Narz]

Haven't found making new chess videos so fulfilling lately so I'll just share the games from my last Quad :

First game I forgot to add comments for, last two have comments :

Note : if you don't have a chess engine (or feel like firing one up, paste the games here)

[Event "Westfield Quad"]
[Site "YMCA"]
[Date "2010.06.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Norris, Tony"]
[Black "Chatsky, Sam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "1938"]
[BlackElo "1870"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bh5
5. exd5 cxd5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. g4 Bg6 8. Ne5 Qd6 9. d4 a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Bf4
h5 12. g5 Qe6 13. Qe2 Bf5 14. h4 f6 15. Nd3 Qxe2+ 16. Kxe2 e6 17. Kd2 Ne7 18.
Bd6 Ng6 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. Rae1 Kf7 21. Ne2 e5 22. Ng3 Bxd3 23. Kxd3 Nf4+ 24.
Kc3 e4 25. b3 g6 26. f3 f5 27. Rhf1 Kg7 28. fxe4 fxe4 29. Rf2 Ne6 30. Ref1 Rxf2
31. Rxf2 Rf8 32. Rxf8 Kxf8 33. Ne2 Ke7 34. Kb4 Kd6 35. Ka5 c5 36. c3 cxd4 37.
cxd4 Nxg5 38. hxg5 h4 39. Nf4 e3 40. Kb4 0-1

[Event "W-field Quad"]
[Site "YMCA"]
[Date "2010.06.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Graif, William"]
[Black "Norris, Tony"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B74"]
[WhiteElo "1900"]
[BlackElo "1938"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6
5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 O-O 8. Nb3 {I am out of the book here} a5 9. a4 d6
10. O-O Be6 11. f4 Qd7 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb4 14. Bf3 e6 15. dxe6 fxe6 16.
Bb6 Nbd5 17. Bxa5 Ne3 18. Qd3 Nxf1 19. Kxf1 {I like positions like this, I am
slightly on the defensive & black has two raking bishops but I am the exchange
up so I should win with perfect play} d5 20. Bb4 Rfc8 21. Nc5 Qc6 22. Re1 Re8
23. a5 b6 24. axb6 Qxb6 25. c3 Rac8 {Bf8 instead maybe} 26. Nb3 Bf8 {
now it's not so good :-/} 27. Bxf8 Kxf8 28. Nd4 Kf7 29. Re2 Ra8 30. Qb5 {
white offers draw, I refuse because I need a win to hope for prize money &
also because I like working on my engames OTB and I like chess & I came to
play it. } Rab8 31. Qxb6 Rxb6 32. b4 {doesn't seem strong} Rc8 33. Rc2 Ne8
34. Ke2 Nd6 35. Bg4 Nb5 36. Kd3 Nxd4 37. Kxd4 Rc4+ {I saw Rxb4+ here but I was
scared to play it, I thought the passed pawn might be too strong for white.}
38. Kd3 Rxf4 39. Bf3 Kf6 40. Ra2 Rc4 41. h3 {I feel like white doesn't know
what to do here, unfortunately I am almost out of time} Rbc6 42. Ra3 {
white offers another draw & I decline again} Rd6 {kind of a useless move in
time pressure, I can't play d4 anyway due to the rook (not to mention letting
the passed pawns roll), probably Ke5 was better} 43. Ra5 Rdc6 44. Ra3 {
now I have another chance to make a better move, I choose h5, perhaps Ke5 was
better} h5 45. Rb3 Kg5 46. b5 Rb6 47. Be2 Rc5 48. Kd4 Kf4 $4 {I crack under
pressure & resign immediately after white takes the rook, still not sad I
didn't take the draw though, was an insturctive endgame (even more so after I
analyze it with an engine) & like I said, there would have been no money
either way. The last half-dozen moves or so were at about 2 or 3 minutes on
the clock but my little prodegy opponent remembered them so I copied them down}
1-0

[Event "Westfield Quad"]
[Site "YMCA"]
[Date "2010.06.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Fleysher, Leonid"]
[Black "Norris, Tony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "1918"]
[BlackElo "1938"]

1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 4. e4 fxe4
5. dxe4 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Be2 d6 8. O-O O-O 9. a3 a5 10. h3 Bd7 11. Re1 a4 {
this pesky move gives my c6-knight some future I hope} 12. Nf1 Na5 13. Bg5 Nb3
14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Rb1 Bc6 16. Bd3 Bh4 17. Bc2 Nd4 18. Nxh4 {
this was a surprise to see} Qxh4 19. Qd2 Rf6 20. Ng3 Raf8 21. Rf1 Qxh3 {
perhaps, as Fritz likes to comment, there were "better ways to keep up the
pressure". this move allows white to bail out into an endgame withQxN} 22.
Qxd4 Qxg3 23. fxg3 exd4 24. Rxf6 Rxf6 25. Rd1 d3 26. Bxd3 Re6 27. Re1 Re5 28.
Kf2 b6 29. Ke3 Kf7 30. Rf1+ Ke7 31. g4 h6 32. g3 Bd7 33. Be2 g5 34. Kd4 {
here my opponent overed a draw, telling me "it's a draw", I disagreed & this
time refused, not out of principle or the lust for cash but simply because I
was fairly certain I could winit} c5+ 35. Kd3 Bc6 36. Bf3 b5 37. Rh1 bxc4+ 38.
Ke3 Re6 {just to be safe unfortunately the rest of the moves were not
recorded, I'm pretty sure my opponent played Kd2 here after which I took the
pawn on e4 & ended up winning about 10 moves after that.} 0-1

[Narz]

As promised, here's my stint on the NYC public access show ChessNow : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XgHrYxYsMs

[Narz]

Went down to South Jersey for a Quad there but no one was within 300 points of me unfortunately. Still, I needed the money & I had driven all that way (about two hours) so I played in the quad anyway. It's a funny thing when you're playing down you really feel pressure to "prove yourself".

My 2nd & 3rd games were sloppy (the second one I actually dropped an exchange vs. a 1550 & was lucky to draw, the third I won after my opponent missed a tactic so I won the quad), the 1st one is the only one worth sharing. My opponent played very experimentally in the opening but it didn't work out so well for him.

[Event "ATKM G-30"]
[Site "Pitman"]
[Date "2010.07.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Norris, Tony"]
[Black "Sal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A42"]
[WhiteElo "1938"]
[BlackElo "1480"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. f4 Ne7 6. Nf3 b6 7. Be2 Bb7 8. Be3 Nd7 9. Qd2 Nf6 10.
d5 Qd7 11. Rd1 O-O-O 12. O-O Kb8 13. b4 c6? 14. dxe6 fxe6 15. Ng5 Nc8 16. e5 dxe5 17. fxe5 Qc7 18. exf6 Rxd2 19. fxg7 Rxd1 20. gxh8=Q Rd8 21. Qxh7 Rd7 22. Rf7 1-0


19. ... Qxg7 would've been better for black though he still would've been lost.
__________________

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Narz', '1'). e4 e6 2. d4 d6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. f4 Ne7 6. Nf3 b6 7. Be2 Bb7 8. Be3 Nd7 9. Qd2 Nf6 10.d5 Qd7 11. Rd1 O-O-O 12. O-O Kb8 13. b4 c6? 14. dxe6 fxe6 15. Ng5 Nc8 16. e5 dxe5 17. fxe5 Qc7 18. exf6 Rxd2 19. fxg7 Rxd1 20. gxh8=Q Rd8 21. Qxh7 Rd7 22. Rf7 1-0

[Narz]

Some people play that style of offbeat opening just to get out of the books but a strong player, who's been playing it for years is going to have a lot of experience with it & know when to break open the position & when not to.

I find such openings quite annoying myself, I don't think I would do the 4-pawns attack thing again, it lends itself too much to counter attack. Occasionally while playing dragon-type sicilian games I will fianchetto on both sides but I don't prefer to & I definitely don't like the structure b6, d6, e6, g6, seems like white should be able to bust thru somehow or squeeze black into not having any good moves. It's certainly an art though. In my game 13. ... c6? gave me what I needed to bust thru. I guess white's goal should be to squeeze black to where any move is a bad one, while white enjoys more space & thus more options. It's obviously easier said than done, and like with any opening, the better player will win.

[Narz]

Up to 1960 USCF now, my all time high.

One of my nicer games from a recent quad. One little pawn grabbing mistake by my opponent & it was all over (though he fought on for many more moves just for the hell of it).

[Event "W-field Quad"]
[Site "YMCA"]
[Date "2010.07.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Fleysher, Leonid"]
[Black "Norris, Tony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "1942"]
[BlackElo "1940"]

1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Nd2 f5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 d6 6. a3 a5 7. e3 Be7 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. b3 Qe8 11. Nc3 Kh8 12. Nd5 Rc8 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Nxb4 16. Qb3 Na6 17. Qxb7 Nc5 18. Qb1 Bb5 19. Nc4 e4 20. Ra5 Rb8 21. Qa2 Nxd3 22. Bd2 Qf7 23. Ra7 Qxd5 24. Qa5 Bxc4 25. Qxd5 Bxd5 26. Rxc7 Bf6 27. h4 Rfc8 28. Rd7 Rd8 29. Rc7 Rbc8 30. Ra7 Rc2 31. Ba5 Ra8 32. Rxa8+ Bxa8 33. Rb1 Rc1+ 34. Rxc1 Nxc1 35. Bf1 Nd3 36. Bc7 Be7 37. Be2 Kg8 38. Kf1 Kf7 39. f3 d5 40. Ba5 Bc5 41. Bd2 Ne5 42. fxe4 fxe4 43. Bd1 Nc4 44. Ke2 Nxd2 45. Kxd2 Kf6 46. g4 Ke5 0-1

[Narz]

Fun lil' 5-minute game, sweet attack out of the opening, probably could've have finished it faster but let my opponent get a little counterplay. Nevertheless, it's hard to come back from losing your queen on move 14.

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=46214225

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.08.28"]
[White "nasir_chaudhry2000"]
[Black "Narz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1688"]
[BlackElo "1644"]
[TimeControl "5|0"]
[Termination "Narz won by resignation"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e3 f5 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Nge2 Bd6 7.O-O Bxh2+ 8.Kxh2 Ng4+ 9.Kg3 Qg5 10.e4 Ne3+! 11.Kf3 fxe4+ 12.Bxe4 O-O+ 13.Nf4 Rxf4+ 14.Ke2 Nxd1 15.Bd3 Nxc3+ 16.bxc3 Qh5+ 17.f3 Rf6 18.Be3 e5 19.dxe5 Qxe5 20.Kd2 dxc4 21.Bxc4+ Be6 22.Bd3 Qd6 23.Bd4 Rf7 24.Rh1 g6 25.Rae1 Bf5 26.Bc4 Nd7 27.Bxf7+ Kxf7 28.Rxh7+ Kg8 29.Rh8+ Kf7 30.Rxa8 c5 31.Rae8 cxd4 32.R1e7+ Qxe7 33.Rxe7+ Kxe7 0-1

[Carlhole]

If you are a member of the International Chess Club (ICC), you're probably familiar with Dasher, the console used to play online against real people and also against computer chess personalities. I've been playing one particular chess personality at the 1800 level called "Jennifer" (what a slinky babe, especially for a piece of software, but ooo, the pain!). She's great for learning book moves of several different openings; she plays the Queen's Gambit mostly. The next higher level, "David" is an example of how I WISH I could play chess. Maybe I'll get there one day.

Anyway, Jennifer confronted me with a boggling tactical opening which I discovered was the Oxford variation of the Vienna gambit. So I looked around on the web for a little bit about it and found this blog. The guy can write pretty well.

Pawn's Progress

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Shock and Awe with the Vienna Gambit

Hi Pilgrims,

Here is a temporary break from the indignity of my getting thrashed by master level players, in the shape of another Vienna where I, and hopefully your good self, get to have some fun.

Recall if you will, the charms of Vienna. It has nothing to do with the modern city of Vienna. We have to go back to a seedier time; when the human dregs of the dying Austro-Hungarian Empire drifted through the city; when bohemians (ethnic or in lifestyle) played chess in coffee houses; when Steinitz was the past champion of the world, Tarrasch the great teacher, Lasker and Capablanca the colossi of the moment, and only Rudolf Spielmann was flying the lone flag of romanticism in the face of scientific chess.

In the end even Spielmann fell by the wayside as he also took up the scientific way of playing, albeit in the style of the so-called neo-romanticism of Nimzovich. But it wasn’t the old rock and roll that was playing. True romantic chess was as dead as the imagination of a player of the Queen's Gambit.

You don’t always have to play scientifically. Life is short, so don't die wondering. You can put a little adventure in your life by playing the Vienna Gambit.

Anyway, the Vienna has a science of it's own if the truth be told. But what an enjoyable way to be scientific. Just let the orchestra play those waltzes. Bring out the pieces and the champagne and let's have at it.

The following game is part of a series of Vienna’s played over 25 years by correspondence chess, email, and across the board (see previous posting 'The Vienna Gambit ~ more tricks than a dog has fleas'). I have always relied on the Vienna - especially it's wilder scion, the Vienna Gambit. And why not? It's fun; it's sound; people think it's rubbish and don’t study it; and therefore, it wins.

Apart from Spielmann, essentially a spirit of the 19th Century, the only other modern players to have tried it have been (in order of playing strength) Spassky, Larsen, and Harding. The latter wrote a wonderful monograph on the Vienna (and the Bishop's Opening) and I would urge you to find a copy and start reviving your stale chess repertoire, before you get too old to play chess. Do you really want to be known in the nursing home as a player who once played quiet, positional chess, or would you rather be known as a rakish, bold, gambiteer?

Do it now. Your wives and children will thank you for it. At the carrot eater level of play - somewhere around 1600 and below, I am the only person I know of who plays it regularly if given a chance. I have done so since the 1970's; even in the so-called ‘ultra accurate’ world of correspondence chess I have done well with it. More importantly, I have had fun with it.

In the absence of any other player of note, or another average oik like me willing to stick his furry neck out, the following game will have to suffice as an ersatz tribute to the Vienna.

Hope you have some fun playing over this latest offering.

Played by correspondence in the 4-2 Tournament 2570, 1996/97 of the Correspondence Chess League of Australia.

This game received only a runner-up award for ‘best game with sacrifice’ in 1997. I thought it was better than the competition, but then I would, wouldn’t I?

George Eraclides Versus M. S. Schmidt
Vienna Gambit

1. e4 e5
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. f4 d5
4. fxe5 Nxe4
5. d3

The Oxford Variation - the thinking players gambit line...

[Narz]

I'm too wimpy to play e5 against e4 (though objectively maybe it's best) so I play Sicilian.

[Outcast_Searcher]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')
I'm having a lot of trouble pushing my game higher, btw.

[Narz]

Had a nice (winning) 5 minute game against a FIDE Master until I blew it on move 45 with about a minute remaining.

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=49583294

[Narz]

Beat an expert on TV. Albeit a distracted expert in an 8-minute game. (also some footage of me screwing up an even endgame from the recent free Central Park tournament)

Chess Now still has a looong way to go as a show so be gentle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfFT6wADT3w

Game :

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2 O-O 6. Nc3 c6 7. a4 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. Be3 e5 11. d5 Nb6 12. Bb3 c5 13. a5 Nc8 14. O-O Ne7 15. Bg5 Nd7 16. a6 b6 17. Ba4 f6 18. Bd2 Rc8 19. Nb5 f5 20. Na7 fxe4 21. Qxe4 Nf6 22. Qd3 Ra8 23. Nc6 Nxc6 24. Bxc6 Ra7 25. b4 Qc8 26. bxc5 bxc5 27. Bb7 Rxb7 28. axb7 Qxb7 29. c4 e4 30. Qa3 Nd5 31. cxd5 Ba1 32. Rxa1 Qd5 33. Bh6 Re8 34. Qa7 Qe5 35. Ra6 d5 36. Qc5 Rb8 37. Rb6 Qa1 38. Kh2 Qe5 39. g3 Ra8 40. Rd6 Kf7 41. Qc7 Kg8 42. Rxg6 hxg6 1-0

[Narz]

Got a draw against a master OTB. Really should have won it as I ended up a pawn up in the endgame but was in severe time trouble & my rook & pawn endgames (at least with multiple pawns) are... well, not Master strength.

The game went on another 20 or so moves beyond what I was able to record but I couldn't manage to breakthrough so I took a offered a draw with 50 seconds left on my clock (he had four minutes) and he accepted (with some relief).

I was in the top Quad. I lost to another Master & lost to a 2100 expert (who won the quad).

Game :

[Event "W-field Quad"]
[Site "YMCA"]
[Date "2010.10.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "West, James"]
[Black "Norris, Tony"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B35"]
[WhiteElo "2203"]
[BlackElo "1945"]
[TimeControl "G-45"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 a5 9. f3 d5 10. exd5 Nb4 11. Nde2 Bf5 12. O-O a4 13. Nxa4 Nfxd5 14. Bf2 b5 15. Nac3 Nxc3 16. Nxc3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Qxd1 18. Rfxd1 Nxc2 19. Rac1 Na3 20. Bc5 Rfe8 21. Bxa3 Rxa3 22. Rd5 Rb8 23. Rcd1 Kg7 24. Rd8 Raa8 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Rd4 Rc8 27. Rb4 Bd3 28. Kf2 Rxc3 29. Ke3 Bf1+ 30. Kf2 Bc4 31. Bxc4 bxc4 32. a4 Rc2+ 33. Kg3 c3 34. Rc4 Kf6 35. a5 Ra2 36. Rxc3 Rxa5 37. h4 h5 38. Rc4 1/2-1/2

[Narz]

This thread appears to have gone into hibernation for the winter but just an update, I'm playing this long weekend @ the Amateur Team East in Parsippany, NJ with my team. I'm board one. In the first round we all played up & all lost (I played a pretty solid game against a strong Master around 2300 rated but blew it in time pressure in the later middlegame), in the second round we all played down & we all won. Things should balance out now.

In other news I slayed my first National Master a couple months ago. Overall my rating has slipped though due to stress & health issues.

I plan to start making some new YouTube vids in the next few months. Please remind me if I don't update this thread by late Spirng.

[Narz]

PenultimateManStanding told me once I'd never be an International Master (I played him once a few years back when I was rated in the 1400's and only won by the skin of my teeth) but I'm hoping to become Expert in the next few months (hopefully after the 2011 World Open as I'd like to play in the Under-2000 section).

Here's a nice game against a 2200 Master.

[Event "Marshall G-30"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club"]
[Date "2011.04.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Sena, Juan"]
[Black "Norris, Tony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2252"]
[BlackElo "1980"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bc4 Bg7 4. c3 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. O-O
d6 7. h3 a6 8. Bb3 b5 9. a4 Bb7 10. axb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bxa8 12. Be3 Nd7 13. Na3
Qa5 14. d4 c4 15. Bc2 O-O 16. d5 Nce5 17. Nd4 b4 18. cxb4 Qxb4 19. f4 Qxb2 20.
Qa1 Qxa1 21. Rxa1 Nd3 22. Nxc4 Nxf4 23. Ra7 Bxd4 24. Rxd7 Rc8 25. Bxd4 Ne2+ 26.
Kf2 Nxd4 27. Bd3 Kf8 28. Nb6 Rb8 29. Rxd6?? Ke8! 30. Nxa8 exd6 31. Ke3 {
white offers draw, lol} Nb3 32. Nc7+ Kd7 33. Nb5 {went on 10 or 15 more moves but the result was not in doubt} 0-1

----------------------------------

Here's onne more, this one looks sloppy but you must realize it's from a 1-minute lightning game

I mated with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=123635609

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.04.27"]
[White "spliffster"]
[Black "Narz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2091"]
[BlackElo "2086"]
[TimeControl "1|0"]
[Termination "Narz won by checkmate"]

1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e6 4.f4 Nge7 5.Nf3 d5 6.Be2 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.h3 O-O 9.Ng5 h6 10.Nf3 dxe4
11.dxe4 Nd4 12.Bd3 a6 13.Nh2 b5 14.Ne2 c4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 16.Kh1 cxd3 17.cxd3 Bb7 18.Qf3 Rad8 19.Rd1 Bxe4 20.Qxe4 Qxe4
21.dxe4 Rxd1+ 22.Nf1 Rxf1+ 23.Kh2 Bd4 24.g4 Rf2+ 25.Kg3 Rc8 26.f5 Rcc2 27.Bxh6 Rg2+ 28.Kh4 Bf2+ 29.Kg5 gxf5 30.exf5 Nxf5
31.Kf6 Nxh6 32.g5 Bd4+ 33.Ke7 Rc7+ 34.Kd8 Rgc2 35.Rd1 Rc8+ 36.Kd7 R2c7+ 37.Kd6 Nf5# 0-1