September 11, 2009 • General
There are several other quick notes which I would like to add before the weekend comes around and I simply vanish into thin air as expected. First of all, I would like to confirm my participation in the BN Bank Blitz in Oslo, Norway this upcoming November. I first heard about this event back at the end of the NH Rising Stars event, but held off on any firm decisions until I was fully recovered health wise. Having decided that I am not playing the world cup due to the scheduling conflict with the tournament in London, this event will fit nicely into my schedule. As I have no tournaments scheduled between mid October until London in December, this should be a good warm up event for me, and I look forward to it. From Norway, I will probably go to London and see some friends there until the tournament gets started on the 7th of December.
Second, I have also decided to teach the very talented Seattle junior Michael Lee. Having seen his play over the past few years, Michael is one of the more talented juniors I have seen in the US. As he resides in Seattle and I am now living here for good, it should definitely be an interesting task ahead of me in getting him to GM. Nevertheless, it should be a great opportunity to give back for all that chess has given me. That’s all for now, have a great weekend everyone!
September 11, 2009 • General
Hello to everyone out there once again! In an effort to start branching out, I am going to blog about all things which are of interest as opposed to simply chess-related events. For anyone who is expecting nothing but hardcore chess news, this certainly is not the place to be! During my downtime here in Seattle, I will probably be spending the vast majority of my time blogging about my lovely adventures in the Northwest.
After I went for a nice walk around Green Lake on Wednesday, I was interviewed by Pacific Citizen which is an asian publication based out of Los Angeles, California. The interview was pretty interesting, although the questions start seeming similar after a while. I am not sure when the piece will be published, but I suspect it will be sometime within the next week. So stay tuned!
Yesterday was certainly a lot more interesting as I ventured out to Endfest 18 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. The process of simply getting out there was interesting in itself as there was a lot of traffic in downtown Seattle and on the interstate too. Alas, we all got there safe and sound after a lot of traffic arriving around 5 PM. The venue was very nice as the amphitheatre itself is an outdoor concert venue with both seats and a lawn for people to sit on and enjoy the show. The main attraction for the event were Blink182 and Weezer. Having been a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s, I was quite familiar with their music. Nevertheless, I found the two opening bands to be quite good as well. Chester French and Taking Back Sunday definitely fulfilled my expectations, although I thought the lead singer for Chester French could have done a better job if he was not trying to be a Napoleon Dynamite look alike.
At this point, the main entertainment for the evening got started when Weezer came on. They played many of their best songs including Falling For You, Island In The Sun, Beverly Hills,No One Else, Undone, etc. Although it was hard to follow some of the lyrics due to the very large and LOUD sound system, the general gist of the words was quite easy to follow. Overall it was very splendid performance and they involved the crowd which made it even better. The lead singer, Rivers Cuomo was also a very good stage performer and definitely made it more memorable. A+
The second major group performing was Blink 182. This group, unlike Weezer has nto stayed together through the years. They broke up in 2005, but recently got back together. The band also did not vary much from their big hits as they played First Date, Feeling This,Always,Miss You, etc. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this performance as much since I found the vocals to be a little shaky. However, the drummer Travis was simply amazing and pretty much made up for it. The highlight of the show was definitely when he did a drum solo while in the air with his drum set on a portion of the stage which came off the ground. This was simply breathtaking and something which I was certainly not expecting. Overall, a solid performance, I would have preferred it if the two bands had played in the opposite order. B+
Going to a concert which was not directly in Seattle meant that the ride back took a long time as we (I am not using names here) were all in different areas of town. This meant that I got back home at 12:30 AM which has left me with a short afternoon in which to get stuff done. However, it was certainly a great concert and I would certainly recommend seeing Weezer if one has the opportunity (assuming you like this type of music). That is pretty much all for now, check back for updates later in the week. Here are a few pictures from last night. Enjoy!
The stage from where I was sitting.
The stage and the interesting lighting background for Blink182.
The confetti coming out everywhere following the end of the concert.
September 09, 2009 • General
Good evening to everyone who is on the east coast! Fortunately for me, I am out here on the west coast where it is nothing but sunny skies and lovely girls all around. Before I get into the whole match last night, I would also like to clarify one thing for those who are not aware. Last night, I know there was chatter about where I am currently living. Right now, I am living in Seattle, Washington and NOT Vancouver,BC.Without further ado, onto the chess which is what most people are more interested in.
Nakamura-Kacheishvili, US Chess League, 9.8.09
1.b3! A rather suspicious opening move. Last year I employed 1.g3, but I felt that this year I should try something completely different. 1…d5 A very sound and practical move. 2.Bb2 c5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 g6!? (Diagram 1)
In this position, I considered several moves. Having played this opening quite a few times on ICC, I was just debating whether to take on f6 or play something a little bit more standard like c4 or d4. In the end, I decided that avoiding anything resembling chess would be preferable. Therefore, I went…5.Bxf6!? exf6 6.c3 Bd6! This is much better than the conventional 6…Bg7 after which I close the diagonal with 7.d4 and have a small advantage. 7.d4 0-0 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.a3 f5 (Diagram 2)
10.c4??? I give this move three question marks because I refused to use my brain at this point in the game. At this point, my mind was already thinking about the impending food which I had ordered at the start of the game. Unfortunately, because I am so incredibly stupid when I am on my own, I forgot to eat any food before the game. Therefore, our acting team manager, Josh had one of our local poker buddies go off and grab me a cheeseburger and fries from Kidd Valley which is a true Seattle experience. Back to the game, 10.b4 or 10.g3 were still roughly equal although Black certainly has no problems here. 10…Nc6 11.dxc5 (11.cxd5 Bxd5 12.Bc4 was equal.) Bxc5 12.b4 Be7 13.c5 Bf6 14.Rc1? 14…d4? (14…f4! 15.exf4 Bf5! with the idea of Re8 and Bb2 is simply winning on the spot.)
15.Bc4 dxe3 16.fxe3 Re8! 17.0-0 Ne5! (Diagram 3)
This last move was played while I was away from the board. Unfortunately, Giorgi played this move at the most inopportune time for me as I was off eating my delicious dinner in the other room. In this position, I am already a tad worse, but I went badly astray as I was feeling happy and content. I immediately played….
18.Nxe5 Bxe5 19.Bxe6 Rxe6 (18…fxe6 gives White the advantage after 19.Nc4 Bc7 20.Qf3.) 20.Qc2?? Another very stupid move which can only be explained by my lack of chess ability which is quite bad. 20…Qc7! A very strong move which I had overlooked. At this point, I am now on the ropes for the rest of the game. 21.Nf3 Bg7 22.Rfe1 Rae8 23.Qa4 Qe7! (Diagram 4)
Another very strong move which I completely overlooked. For some reason I did not realize that Qxa7 was never a threat because of Ra6. At this point, I realized that I was going to need some help here, so I just decided to try and pose as many problems as possible.
24.Kh1 Rxe3 25.h3 (Diagram 5)
Surprisingly, Rybka just says Black wins after f4! However, I think we had both overloooked 26.Qxa7 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Qxe1 28.Nxe1 Rxe1 29.Kh2 Be5! After which I cannot stop involving f3-f2 without giving up lots of material. Nevertheless, I got a nice little gift with 25…Bc3? 26.Rxe3 Qxe3 27.Rxc3 (Diagram 6)
Oopsies! A slight oversight on the part of my opponent, but one that I will gladly take. 1-0
Board 2: Charbonneau-Serper
On board two, mon bon ami Canadien Pascal was taking on Greg Serper. The opening looked like a normal Kan until Greg went for a dubious plan involving b6 and Re8. Pascal quickly got a winning position although he missed several wins along the way before showing some superlative technique in an endgame. The result was never really in doubt here and with this win the match was evened out at 1-1.
Board 3: Lee-Bonin
On board 3 talented junior, Michael Lee was taking on Jay Bonin. Having played Bonin at least a half dozen times over the years, he is not an easy customer and is capable of beating anyone on a good day. After a rather bizarre Botvinnik English, they reached a complicated middlegame and agreed to a draw. I was really unsure about who was better, but in terms of the match situation is was fine for both players. Even after three boards
Board 4: Sturt-Chen
On board four, two relatively unknowns in Raven Sturt and Howard Chen faced off. I really do not have a whole lot to say about this game other than that Sturt should be trying to enjoy chess. Playing an opening in which queens come off right out of the opening at the age of 15 is simply ridiculous. I can only hope that he will learn in the future and play more active chess. A dull draw with nothing much to say. 2-2
Conclusion:
In summary, the match seemed to be headed New York’s way overall and they were a bit unlucky to not win the match. If Giorgi draws against me, they win the match for sure. Overall it is a solid draw and keeps us on track to make the playoffs. Despite being early on in the season, I have a good feeling about the Sluggers this year and look forward to next week when we play the Arizona Scorpions. Once again, GO SLUGGERS, GO!
On a complete sidenote, I would also like to see my beloved Titans win tomorrow. Sadly, I will be unable to root them on as I will be off at Endfest 18 enjoying music from bands such as Blink182, Weezer, etc. Ah the good life in Seattle!
September 07, 2009 • General
This is going to be another short blog as I arrived in Seattle yesterday. Having gotten my apartment in order with the exception of internet, I am enjoying myself thus far. Overall, I have mostly recovered although I still have some slight throat problems even now. Tomorrow, I will be making my debut in the US Chess League, so I will definitely attempt to blog after the game/match. GO SLUGGERS!
September 02, 2009 • General
Once again, this blog will be extremely short. I would just like to let everyone know, I will be headed to the doctor today to try and figure out what in the world has struck me since I have been sick for close to two whole weeks now. When I am settled in Seattle early next week, I’ll let everyone know about my general thoughts regarding the NH disaster and everything else.
