The DKos Chess Tournament 2009 open thread is now open! Updated standings and results through Round 3 are posted below.
Last night featured three very entertaining matches among players with two points through two rounds. This week I will analyze each one of them, starting with Cobbler vs. M31 today, Gangster Octopus vs. ben masel on Thursday, and mquander vs. montrealdan on Friday. On the Fourth of July, I will take a look at one of the more classic "patriotic" chess matches in history -- Fischer-Spassky of 1972.
For more chess blogging, TheCid has been using DKos to analyze his own tourney matches. Check out his latest diary here. papicek has also written a diary about building a website for the tournament here.
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DKOS CHESS TOURNAMENT 2009: ROUND 3 (June 29-July 6)
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UPCOMING MATCHES
White | Black | Match Time | Match Site |
TeacherRyan | i know | Wednesday, July 01, 2009 08:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
SuperBowlXX | bgblcklab1 | Wednesday, July 01, 2009 08:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
ActivistGuy | cavebird | Wednesday, July 01, 2009 09:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Nargel | MakeChessNotWar | Wednesday, July 01, 2009 10:30 PM ET | Chess.com |
dov12348 | Twin Planets | Thursday, July 02, 2009 12:00 AM (midnight) ET | Chess.com |
Dbug | Dan Morris | Thursday, July 02, 2009 06:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Abelian | Thutmose V | Thursday, July 02, 2009 08:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Kimball | Grey Paladin | Friday, July 03, 2009 09:00 PM ET | Chess.com |
Blue Wind | Spud1 | Friday, July 03, 2009 11:00 PM ET | Chess Cube |
To chess players: When you have agreed to a schedule and chess website with your opponent, enter your match information at
this webpage. Confirm your match schedule
here.
To the community: If you would like to watch an upcoming match, you will first need to register for an account on the website where the game is taking place, then log in. You can observe the games on Chess.com by opening Live Chess (under the Play tab at the top of the main page) and finding the user of your choice. On FICS, type "observe [INSERT USER'S NAME HERE]" into the command console. On Chess Cube, add the user you're looking for as a friend, click on that user's profile, and observe the game he/she is playing. On Yahoo! Games, you will need to know which room/lounge the user is playing in -- then just enter it and sit at the table.
See more information about using these websites here.
Analysis: Cobbler (WHITE) vs. M31 (BLACK)
Queen's Gambit Declined to start the match (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6). By Move 14, both sides were loading up to gain control of the d5 square -- White would eventually grab it at Move 19. The interesting thing about this match was the time factor. Both White and Black were taking several minutes between moves in the opening and middle game, which made for an interesting endgame. Despite Black capturing the open Pawn with 24...Qxf4 -- and also threatening the possibility of a Bishop-Queen attack on g2, White's Queen's Pawn would prove to be a critical piece to the match as it steadily advanced to e7 at Move 25. White's goal was clearly to promote the Pawn; however, with the Black Knight pinned with 26...Nf7, White was forced to exchange Queens after 27. Nd3, blocking the protected e4 square by the White Bishop.
With time running low, Black committed an error with 33...Rc7, allowing the White Knight to crash the party with 34. Ne6 Rb7 35.Nd8 Rxe7 36.Rxe7 Rxd8. Black then hung the Bishop out to dry with 39...Ba4?? -- but even with White's big advantage in material and position, it was still not clear who would win! By this point, both White and Black had run so much time off their clocks, only 15 seconds had remained for each side. After a couple of checks and escapes, White emerged victorious with only 10 seconds left. Black had run out of time.
Yet another lesson in time management: Keep an eye on your clock!
MATCH-UPS
The match-ups for Round 3 have been selected by the Tournament Director based on the results of Rounds 1-2 and the approximate skill rating of each player. All matches will have a 30-minute time limit per player, 0 bonus time. Every effort is being ensured to maintain color balance. In other words, every player will have ample opportunity to play as both White and Black throughout the tournament.
WHITE | vs. | BLACK | WINNER |
high5 | vs. | cschess | cschess |
nargel | vs. | MakeChessNotWar | . |
PsiFighter37 | vs. | Anderson Republican | . |
vets74 | vs. | Dvd Avins | . |
Albanius | vs. | FWIW | . |
Gangster Octopus | vs. | ben masel | DRAW |
jerseycorn | vs. | Sharkmeister | . |
Abelian | vs. | Thutmose V | . |
Cobbler | vs. | M31 | Cobbler |
mquander | vs. | montrealdan | mquander |
TeacherRyan | vs. | i know | . |
DoomsdayShark | vs. | RickMassimo | . |
Keith Pickering | vs. | wmorriss | . |
dov12348 | vs. | Twin Planets | . |
FightingRegistrar | vs. | Andrew Lazarus | . |
Jumpin J | vs. | AndrewMC | . |
ericledford | vs. | spider441 | . |
PedsNeuro | vs. | rhutcheson | . |
LaughingPlanet | vs. | thereisnospoon | thereisnospoon |
hekebolos | vs. | BTP | . |
Kimball | vs. | Grey Paladin | . |
ActivistGuy | vs. | cavebird | . |
debedb | vs. | brendanm98 | . |
Robert Naiman | vs. | ferrisbueller | . |
kto9 | vs. | PinkFreud | . |
lostboyjim | vs. | Marcion | . |
sharris0512 | vs. | hanswall | . |
stlbucket | vs. | Melanchthon | . |
Bill White | vs. | writerkirk | . |
Dbug | vs. | Dan Morris | . |
RageKage | vs. | dmet | . |
dnta | vs. | dpinzow | . |
cmorrison | vs. | DynamicUno | . |
dissonantharmony | vs. | USArmyParatrooper | . |
Elvis Vader | vs. | papicek | papicek |
cskendrick | vs. | mconvente | . |
Chicagoa | vs. | Seneca Doane | Seneca Doane |
drache | vs. | black2thefuture | . |
Guy Fawkes | vs. | eddiem86 | . |
BaxKen | vs. | Mo | . |
SuperBowlXX | vs. | bgblcklab1 | . |
mnguy66 | vs. | eztempo | . |
evilstorm | vs. | Ignacio Magaloni | . |
Blue Wind | vs. | Spud1 | . |
Blue Intrigue | vs. | Geenius at Wrok | . |
ThyrsiodB | vs. | Free Radical | Free Radical |
KillerKoala | vs. | Odysseus | . |
TheCid | vs. | Unlabled | DRAW |
vescis | vs. | ajsuited | . |
cartwrightdale | vs. | lexington1 | . |
zamrzla | vs. | filmgeek83 | . |
DeadB0y | vs. | rmonroe | . |
ZaBlanc | vs. | Something the Dog Said | . |
Joffan | vs. | Jimdotz | . |
mattc129 | vs. | Patch Adam | . |
JeffLieber | vs. | Pym | . |
Kevin in Long Beach | vs. | foodmetaphors | . |
Celtic Merlin | vs. | neilliebus | . |
9 of 58 Round 3 matches have been completed.
STANDINGS
Note: Standings are sorted first by points, then by alphabetical order. Color balance is included.
Player | # Matches | Points | # White | # Black |
Cobbler | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
cschess | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
mquander | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
ben masel | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 2 |
Gangster Octopus | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 |
Abelian | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Albanius | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Anderson Republican | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Andrew Lazarus | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
DoomsdayShark | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
dov12348 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Dvd Avins | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
FWIW | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
high5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
i know | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
jerseycorn | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Keith Pickering | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
M31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
MakeChessNotWar | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
montrealdan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
nargel | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
papicek | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
PsiFighter37 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
RickMassimo | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Seneca Doane | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Sharkmeister | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
TeacherRyan | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
thereisnospoon | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Thutmose V | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Twin Planets | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
vets74 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
wmorriss | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
FightingRegistrar | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
Free Radical | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 2 |
hekebolos | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
Jumpin J | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
LaughingPlanet | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 1 |
rhutcheson | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
spider441 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
ActivistGuy | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
AndrewMC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
BaxKen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
bgblcklab1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Bill White | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
black2thefuture | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Blue Wind | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
brendanm98 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
BTP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
cavebird | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Chicagoa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
cmorrison | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
cskendrick | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Dan Morris | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Dbug | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
debedb | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
dissonantharmony | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
dmet | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
dnta | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
dpinzow | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
drache | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
DynamicUno | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
eddiem86 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Elvis Vader | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
ericledford | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
evilstorm | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
eztempo | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
ferrisbueller | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Guy Fawkes | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Geenius at Wrok | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Grey Paladin | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
hanswall | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Ignacio Magaloni | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Kimball | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
KStreetProjector | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
kto9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
lostboyjim | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Marcion | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
mconvente | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Melanchthon | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
mnguy66 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Mo | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
PedsNeuro | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
PinkFreud | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
RageKage | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Robert Naiman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
rteeter | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
sharris0512 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
stlbucket | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
SuperBowlXX | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
TheCid | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
ThyrsiodB | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
USArmyParatrooper | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
writerkirk | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
cartwrightdale | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 |
Unlabled | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 |
ajsuited | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Blue Intrigue | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Celtic Merlin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Crawdaddy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
DeadB0y | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
filmgeek83 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
foodmetaphors | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
JeffLieber | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Jimdotz | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Joffan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
kentuckydave | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Kevin in Long Beach | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
KillerKoala | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
lexington1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
matador | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
mattc129 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
neilliebus | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Odysseus | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Patch Adam | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Pym | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
rmonroe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
sjohntucson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Something the Dog Said | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Spud1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
vescis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
ZaBlanc | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
zamrzla | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
aaraujo | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 |
Uncle Cosmo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
valislav stein | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
KEY:
Points = 1 point for a win, 0 points for a loss, 0.5 points for a draw.
# White = Number of times played as White.
# Black = Number of times played as Black.
# Matches = Number of matches played.