Chess at altitude...

I hardly ever read the local newspaper, but in leafing through the "local happenings" section late last week, I caught an announcement about chess in Pagosa. It turns out local chessplayers meet on Saturday mornings at an eatery in the supermarket strip mall, and so I went last Saturday, played a few games, and then returned today for some more punishment. There were about 10 or so attendees last week, including a couple of kids, and about 7 or 8 today.

As a local church book club met rather loudly a few tables away, I played a couple of games against a fellow who introduced himself as "Athuh," which sounded so unusual I asked him to spell it for me, which he did ("A-R-T-H-U-R"), and it turns out - surprise! - he's originally from Boston. Arthur surprised me in our second game by sacrificing his Bishop on my f7 early on, whereupon the rest of the game hinged on whether I'd be able to find my way past the sharp and pointy objects he kept strewing in the path of my king. I managed to hang on, just barely.

Our first game started with a strange opening that found all four central pawns facing off against one another, but I managed to maintain the initiative and eventually win the game.

[Date "2009.03.14"]
[White "AlexPGP"]
[Black "Arthur"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.d4 d5 2.e4 e5

{I had been hoping for a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit or a French Defense. Instead Black makes a move that lets White keep the initiative.}

3.dxe5 Nc6 4.Bb5 dxe4 5.Qxd8+

{This sort of reminds me of the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez, except easier to play as White.}

5...Kxd8 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bg5+ f6 9.O-O-O+!

{I'm thinking Black may have done better not to interpose with the f pawn on move 8, as castling basically represents an "in-between" move - what the literature calls a zwischenzug - that helps White with his development.}

9... Bd7?



10.e6!

{By pushing the pawn against the pinned Bishop, it may look like I'm just exchanging bishop for bishop, but when I recapture Black's bishop, my rook will end up on my seventh rank and really put a giant crimp in Black's game.}

10...fxg5 11.Rxd7+ Ke8 12.Nxe4 Nf6 13.Nxf6+

{It's weird playing this game, because it's almost playing itself.}

13...gxf6 14.Nf3 Be7 15.Rhd1

{15.Nd4 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Nxc6+ Ke8, and the a pawn goes, but I wanted to double rooks on the d file first.}

15...c5

{This pawn move deep-sixes the idea of playing Nd4 in the immediate future.}

16.Rxc7 a5 17.Rdd7 Bd8 18.Rxc5 Ra6 19.Nd4 Rxe6?

{At first glance, this looks pretty good, as 20. Nxe6 is followed by 20...Kxd7, regaining the rook but with a very rocky road still ahead, two pawns down. However, White has another zwischenzug here that wraps up the game.}

20.Rxd8+! Kxd8 21.Nxe6+ (1-0)

I'm feeling pretty good that I was able to reconstruct the game from memory after coming home. At least it shows I was paying attention!

Cheers...