Still have it...

Galina and I went past the Barnes & Noble near I-45, where I spied "Starbucks John" (my name for him, because he can reliably be found sitting outside the Starbucks that adjoins the bookstore) waiting behind a chessboard for an opponent while studying a chess publication.

I figured I'd try my skill against him again, and try to even the score.

[Site "Barnes & Noble"]
[Date "2015.06.09"]
[White "AlexPGP"]
[Black "Starbucks John"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 Bb4 4.Bd3 d6 5.f4

{Maybe 5.Nfe2 would be better, but I wanted to get something going!}

5...Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 O-O 7.e5

{7.Nf3 would develop a piece.}

7...Nd5 8.Bd2

{I thought about 8.Nf3 and if ...Nxc3, then 9.Bxh7+ and I try to get some traction with the Queen and Knight, but I concluded it was too risky.}

8...b6

{I think ...Nc6 is better here; I'd almost say the text was an error.}

9.Nf3 f5 10.O-O c5 11.c4 Ne7 12.Qe1

{In retrospect, maybe not so great a move. I thought the Queen would be well-placed here, but after ...cxd4 Nxd4 dxe5 Qxe5, the Queen gets chased away with Nbc6. Still, not exactly an error.}

12...d5 13.cxd5 exd5 14.e6?!

{This just looked like the right move at the time. It sets a (weak) trap as well.}

14...c4 15.Be2 Bxe6?

{Falls into the trap; ...Nbc6 was called for.}

16.Bxc4 Qc8 17.Bb3 h6?

{This move really doesn't do much.}

18.Bb4 Nbc6 19.Bxe7 Nxe7 20.Rc1 Nc6 21.c4 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Re8??

{Black should have just exchanged Bishops and be done with it.}

23.d5! Bxd5??

{I think Black had better chances by retreating the Bishop to f7. The text pretty much loses.}

24.Bxd5+ Kh8 25.Qc3 Qd8 26.Qxc6 Qe7 27.Ne5

{25.Rfe1 was to be considered, but I'm in mop-up mode right now.}

27...Qb4 28.Qc4

{At home, I concluded that 28.Qd7!! was the way to go. However, at this point, I wanted to avoid walking into any surprises. The game is won; exchange off the ladies and get on with it.}

28...Qxc4 29.Rxc4 Rac8 30.Rfc1 Rb8 31.Rc7 a5? 32.R1c6 b5?

{This and the previous move are, I think, just inertia. White now has a mate in two.}

33.Rxh6+! gxh6 34.Ng6# 1-0

In the middle of the fray, the fellow named Carl—who seemed to me to be so wild-eyed and manic during my previous game with John—stopped by to say hello and shake hands. In appearance, Carl reminds me a little of Marty Feldman, and we had a short, pleasant conversation (considering the circumstances).

The rest of the day so far has been one giant reaction to the lupron, both from the point of view of lethargy and pain around the injection site. (The pain was there the first time, too, but Friday's was a 6-month dose, so I'm not terribly surprised that the discomfort is concomitantly greater.) I missed last Thursday's tai chi owing to a followup, as was the case yesterday, and both times it was because I could not get back to Seabrook in time. Today, I'm missing class because I am one giant lump of a cross between a whole-body charley horse and a not-quite-knock-me-out Mickey Finn.

I'll get better, I promise. :)

Cheers...