How to Grow Your Chess Club

Bob Rasmussen is the president of the Fresno Chess Club, the 2009 Chess Club of the Year. CLO is pleased to report that Bob has recently accepted the additional role as the USCF Clubs Committee chair. Bill Goichberg of the USCF Executive Board said, "This committee rarely had an active chair, but Bob is very enthusiastic and led the rebuilding of the Fresno club from 15 members to several hundred during the past few years, so I am optimistic. Anyone interested in discussing how to build a chess club or joining the committee is welcome to call Bob at 559-708-8100."

Indeed, Bob has high hopes for American chess clubs. He told CLO, "I would like bring chess to the more mainstream than it is. I welcome phone calls from anyone who is trying to grow a club or help to make chess more popular." Bob is not much of an email man, but don't be shy-he really wants to hear from you. See other contact info on the Fresno Club's official website.

You may recall the name Bob Rasmussen from Chess Life Magazine, where his club was profiled in the June 2009 issue. You can log in as a member and review the article here.

Bob believes a chess club, especially those that like Fresno, lack outside funding or a permanent space, must follow the same principles as a business. "The Fresno Chess Club is a proud chess club since 1930. Four years ago we were down to 15 members. We lost a lot of members to the Internet and so we put our heads together and we went over reasons why people might quit going and things we would like to see from a club. And we applied those things and now we have 350 paid members. We believe that building a chess club is pretty much an exact science. If you do certain things, your club is going to grow."

The Fresno club added a Friday night session because it allows more people to come out. It's also important to Bob that members all have comfortable seating and that newcomers are given a warm introduction. Some things that seem obvious to Bob are not intuitive for some of the chess organizers he spoke with. "They tell me how hard it is to talk to newcomers when they're in the middle of the game." Bob says, "and they wonder why it's hard to attract more members to their club", Bob says, "Like any business, the new customer is the one you have to make feel comfortable."

The club outgrew their former location Carl's Jr., so they moved to Denny's. The restaurant's only demand is they spend more than $100 a night. "We spent $400 on the first night."

Tuesday "Ladies' nights" are a new addition to the club menu. 9Queens Tucson all women chess clubs were also captured in the New York Times. Such evenings, Bob said, end up benefiting both genders. "If the ladies can stick the guys with the kids and the dishes on Tuesday night, they are more understanding when the men want to run off to chess club on Monday or Friday night."

Bob also gives ample credit to the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco and director IM John Donaldson. The club "rolls out the red carpet" on the Fresno club's annual visits to the Mechanics. "John is such a gentleman. He gives us a simul when we go there, without a charge. He's helped show us the right way to treat our members by the way he treats us."

Contact Bob Rasmussen at 559-708-8100, find out more about the club at the Fresno Chess club website and check out the feature Chess Life Magazine article on the club.

A Gucco Piano (Quiet Game) Chess Game‏

I'm in training for the big Victoria Open chess tournament this coming Saturday! My chess compadre Ken Henkelman and I have played about ten games a week for the past several weeks, and I am winning about 1/3 of our games and drawing a few others. Tonight I scored an exciting win in the "Gucco Piano" (the quiet game) opening. I have basically abandoned my gambits with the White pieces against Ken, because I have learned that if you give Ken an extra pawn, even to gain more rapid development, you generally get smashed. So I have been using "normal" openings with White in recent games with Ken - hence the "Gucco Piano".

I gradually build up a substantial positional and material advantage, and the game ends with a beautiful discovered check position. I submit this game for your consideration.

DEVRIES vs HENKELMAN 03-22-2010

WHITE (DeVries) BLACK (Henkelman)


-1- e4 c5
Ken chooses the Scicilian Defense.
-2- Nf3 Nc6
-3- Bc4 Nf6
Ken chooses the "Two Knights Defense." I have played the first 3 moves for the Gucco Piano.
-4- d3 g6
-5- Bg5 Bg7
I ignore Ken's "King's Indian Defense."
-6- c3 0- 0
My pawn move keeps Ken's bishop from dominating the diagonal.
-7- 0 - 0 d6
-8- h3 Bd7
White's 8th move prevents pin of knight against White queen.
-9- QNd2 a6
-10- Re1 Re8
-11- Qc2 Qc7
-12- QRc1 e6
-13- a3 QRd8?
Black Rook would have been better placed on c8.
-14- d4 P x P
-15- P x P Qb6
-16- e5 P x P
-17- P x P Nd4
-18- N x N Q x N
-19- P x N Bh8
I have a minor piece advantage.
-20- Nf3 Qb6
-21- Ne5 Bc8
-22- Ng4 Qd4
-23- Qc3 Qc5
-24- Nh6 check Kf8
Forcing the exchange of queens when I am ahead in material.
-25- Qb4 Q x Q
-26- P x Q Rd4
-27- Ba2! R x P on b4 ?
A pawn sacrifice that wins the game for me.
-28- Rc7 Rd8
Black's 28th move saves him from checkmate, temporarily.
-29- R x P on f7 check Ke8
-30- Re7 check Kf8
-31- R x P on h7 check Ke8
Threatening R x B on h8 checkmate.
-32- f7 check Kd7
-33- B x R Bg7
-34- R x B Rf4
A beautiful discovered check finish.
-35- f8 queen check Resigns

Victoria Open

Come one, come all to GCCC's first tourney! We are centrally located to Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Corpus Christi.

Victoria Open
USCF Rated 4 Round Swiss g/60
March 27, 2010
Victoria College - Student Center
2200 E. Red River
Victoria, TX 77901

One Section: Open to all players.

Entry Fee: $10 if paid before March 20th; $15 at site. Must be USCF member - various membership types available at site.

Entries to: Lisa DeVries 217 Nantucket Ave B103 Victoria, TX 77904

Registration: 8:00am-8:45am

Rounds: 9:00am; others ASAP, with one hour lunch between RD2-RD3.

Prizes: Based on 65% of entries; 1st place, 2nd place, <1600. More prizes possible based on entries.

Wheelchair Access, Limited Smoking, and NO Computers.

For more information, contact Lisa DeVries at lisa.devries@victoriacollege.edu

The Longest Bishop

-Friends-

The great (?) Henkelman/DeVries chess rivalry keeps getting stronger! Ken and I are playing two games virtually every day. We met at our usual haunt, the coffee area of Barnes and Noble/Waco, last night. Over the last four games, I was 0-2-2 with Ken (two draws with White pieces, two smashmouth losses with the Black pieces/Latvian Gambit - Ken has been playing my Latvian Gambit with -3- Bc4, followed in a very short time by d4 and has crushed me the last couple Latvian games. I had Black in our first game last night, and decided to temporarily abandon the Latvian Gambit, because I had no great confidence that I could escape defeat from Move 1. I decided to go with -1- e4 e5 -2- Nf3 Nc6.

I have played 6000+ (?) chess games, and have played -1- e4 e5 -2- Nf3 Nc6 perhaps three times. It does have one advantage over Latvian Gambit - it doesn't immediately give up a pawn. I did play it once in a tournament game against a 1900 player, and got through the opening in an even position (although I lost because of a blunder in the late middle game). As I expected, my opening moves with this defense were not stellar (I lost a pawn in the opening). However, I won the game with "the longest bishop" (total control of the a8 to h1 diagonal - and my ending position was picturesque and almost unrepeatable ( I rarely get these beautiful positions with a really good player). So I submit this game for your consideration.

WHITE (HENKELMAN) BLACK (DEVRIES)


-1- e4 e5
-2- Nf3 Nc6
-3- Bb5 Nf6

I know nothing about playing the Ruy Lopez as White, and know nothing about defending against Ruy Lopez as Black.

-4- 0-0 Be7
Ken wins a pawn
-5- B x N NP x B
-6- N x P on e5 0-0
-7- d3 Bb7
-8- Nc3 d6
-9- Nc4 Re8
-10- Bg5 Qd7
-11- Re1 QRd8
-12- Qf3 h6
-13- Bh4 Nh7?!

My 13th move looks like a retreat, but it eventually gets my Knight placed on a better square.

-14- B x B R x B
-15- e5 R on d8 to e8
-16- Na5 Ba8

Now my "longest Bishop" has some protection.

-17- d4 Ng5
-18- Qe3 ? c5

Ken's Queen moved away from defense of his King. In the postmortem, we agreed that -18- Qg3 was better for White.

-19- f4 P x P c5 x d4
-20- Q x P at d4 Qg4

Now it is over for White - the Black Queen threat against g2 is supported by the Black Bishop, and Knight check threat is devastating.

-21- Re2 Nf3 check
-22- Resigns

Vince's Favorite Gambit!

The Blackmar Diemer Gambit (-1- d4 d5 -2- e4) is another offbeat opening that I like to play with the White pieces. Master chess players rarely resort to the Blackmar Diemar Gambit, because it surrenders a pawn in the opening. However, there is a tenacious worldwide Blackmar Diemar Gambit chess community that sponsors Blackmar Diemar Gambit tournaments (usually correspondence), publishes games, and defends the gambit's reputation.

The creators of the Blackmar Diemar Gambit have their own interesting personal histories. Armand (?) Blackmar (1826-1888) ran a music publishing business in Lousiana before the Civil War until his death.

Mr. Blackmar was born in Vermont! He was active in Lousiana chess circles for 30+ years. He introduced his gambit (Blackmar Gambit) with -1- e4 e5 -2- e4 P x P -3- f3 and published several articles in a respected chess magazine in 1882 that gave several of his Blackmar Gambit games with annotations.
In the 20th Century, Emil Diemer of Germany (1908-1990), a master player who loved to experiment with various gambits for the White pieces, showed that the Blackmar Gambit could be improved with -3- Nc3.

Diemar (like many Germans in the 1930's) was a strong supporter of the Nazi government, competed in Nazi chess tournaments in the 1930's and during World War II ( it is amazing that Nazis and Jews both loved chess, although Adolf Hitler was said to disparage chess and chess players - it was a "Jewish game". After World War II, Diemar continued playing in chess tournaments - he was known for eccentricities - he never married, but wrote wrote books and articles promoting the Blackmar Diemar Gambit. His most famous book had the uncompromising title - "Toward Mate From Move One!" Diemar held court in the Black Forest region of Germany, and eventually died in 1990. I don't know if Diemar's politics ever changed (Diemar grew a beard in his later years), but Diemar loved chess and chess dominated his life.

I mention a bit of Blackmar Diemar history because I have a Blackmar Diemar Gambit game to show you.

My opponent was my wonderful chess sidekick, Ken Henkelman. Even though I won the game, and even though Ken's rating is USCF 1800, it was not my best game, and several Henkelman mistakes helped me win. Even at the end, with his position in tatters, he probably could have salvaged a draw. However, i did play well in the early part of the game - and this game may illustrate "how to play the Blackmar Diemar Gambit in the opening" and "how to win a Blackmar Diemar Gambit game if your opponent makes mistakes". We played this game on March 5th in a Barnes & Noble coffee shop area.

Casual Game John DeVries vs Ken Henkelman 03-05-10

DEVRIES (White) HENKELMAN (Black)
-1- d4 d5
-2- e4 P x P (d5 x e4)
-3- Nf3 Nf6
-4- f3 P x P

I have sometimes played the "Ryder Gambit" against Ken and other players. This involves taking the pawn on f3 with the Queen instead of the Knight. The problem is that Black can capture a second pawn on d4 with their Queen. White moves against the Queen with Bd3 and pushes development at all costs. Ken has been beating me recently when I play Ryder Gambit. I have been playing the more "conservative" and "safer" (?) Blackmar Diemar Gambit with -5- N x P.

-5- N x P Bg4

In past games, I have often immediately attacked the White Bishop - this often leads to ....B x N, Q x B, .....c6 and I often don't make much progress. In this game, I decided to focus on development ignore the pin on the knight.

-6- Be3 c6
-7- Bd3 QNd7
-8- 0 - 0 e6

I really like my development at this point - it is time to go after Ken's Bishop.

-9- h3 B x N
-10- Q x B Bb4

On move Eleven, I try for a "cheap" checkmate threat with Ne4 - if ....N x N, then Q x f7. Of course, when you are playing Ken Henkelman, this does not work.

-11- Ne4 Be7
-12- c3 Qa5
-13- b4 Qh5

Ken wants to trade Queens, but I wisely decline.

-14- Qg3 N x N

The easy thing would be to take Ken's Knight with my Bishop, but I thought I saw some tactical play. Ken certainly expected -15- B x N, and my 15th move certainly confused him. My text move was unsound, but it looked good at the time.

-15- Q x P at g7 ??! Rf8?

I think that -15- ...Bf6! would have held Ken's position. He would have entered the middle game with a three pawn advantage (or minor piece for one pawn + gambit pawn).

-16- B x N 0 - 0 - 0
-17- B x RP Qe2
-18- Bg5 B x B
-19- Q x B f5
-20- a4 Nf6
-21- Qh6 Qc4

-21- .....N X B may have been better for Black. On Move 22, Ken makes a bad move.

-22- QRe1 Ne4?
-23- R x N ! P x R at e4
-24- R x R Q x P at c3
-25- Q x P check Kc7
-26- R x R K x R?

I think that Ken could salvage a perpetual check draw by checking me with his Queen on Move 26 and subsequent moves, ignoring the loss of a Rook on Move 26. Maybe.

-26- .... K x R ends the game - and the game ends with an artistic checkmate.

-27- Qd6 check Ke8
-28 Bg6 checkmate

John DeVries
Waco Chess Club

Excalibur vs. Vincey-poo

A match game on 10-19-06. Black was KA/Excalibur(1750 rated/mid-range); Sicillian Defense Opening.

V. Maniscalco KA/Excalibur

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 c:d
4. N:d Nf6
5. Nc3 d6
6. Be3 N:N
7. Q:N e5! (by theory, this frees up Black's game)
8. Qa4+ Bd7
9. Qb4 Qc7 (moves 1-9 standard opening moves)
10. 0-0-0 d5!? (Q threat)
11. Qb3 d:e? (opens d file, d4 is little better)
12. Nb5! Qa5
13. Bd2 Qb6
14. Be3 Be6?? (loses by force due to tempo edge)
15. B:Q!! Rc8 (15. ... B:Q? loses to mate in 2)
16. Qa4 Bd7 (16. ...a:B? loses to a different mate in 2)
17. Q:a Bg4
18. Q:b!! Bc5
19. B:B! R:B (white threatens mate in 1)
20. Nd6+ Kd8 (20. ...Kf8?? mate in 1)
21. N:f+ Ke8
22. Rd8#

The real key to winning this game was to exploit a small tempo advantage that made what seemed an ordinary Q tactical swap not so ordinary. Black had also made the mistake of leaving his K in the center of an open game. Black was also slightly behind in his development. All these little errors led to an explosive ending. Look for these opportunities in your own games.

Hilton in the Big Classroom, Part II: Mexico by Jonathan Hilton

There is no kind of hospitality quite like chess player hospitality, and there is no city in Mexico quite like Mérida, Yucatán. Since returning from a trip I took to Mexico last December, I have detailed on numerous occasions, much to the bafflement of my non-chess friends, the story of the great hospitality I received from the chess community there. Within eighteen hours of entering the local Club de Ajedrez "Bobby Fischer" (Bobby Fischer Chess Club) in Mérida, I had the privilege of being treated to two authentic yucateco meals, was interviewed by a renowned local chess journalist, played an exhibition match with Cuban trainer and author IM Huerta Sorís, and had my picture in the local newspaper. It was not that I had signed up for the University of Cincinnati's annual winter tour across the Yucatan Peninsula - a whirlwind study abroad experience that took me from Mérida to Cancún in ten short days - with the intention of finding the chess players there. As I discovered, encountering signs of the local meridano chess culture is just something that happens once one has spent a day or two roaming Mérida.

I had some free time on the Saturday after my plane flight into Mérida, so I took advantage of the hot and sunny December weather to wander the city. I'm an adventurer at heart and I love to explore, so it wasn't long before I had entered several beautiful buildings and walked a dozen streets. Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, was the home of Mexican millionaires during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a result of what is known as the "henequen boom," a time period when a high demand for sisal rope - produced from the henequen plant, a tough shrub which thrived in the Yucatan's desert-like climate - brought a tremendous influx of capital from the newly-industrialized United States. Geographically isolated from the central powers in Mexico City, the Yucatan developed its own distinct cultural identity. Although the region's economic boom ended with the introduction of cheaper, more durable synthetic rope in later times, the remnants of great wealth still exist in Mérida in the form of dozens of elegant mansions along the famous Paseo de Montejo, a grand boulevard so long I saw only a fraction of it on foot.

In the cool of the evening, while the rest of the students headed out for a night on the town, I crept into a cultural center just a block from the hotel where we were staying - the tranquil Casa del Balam, an example of extravagant Art Deco architecture - and enjoyed a free music event. After the show, I browsed the numerous fliers, stands, and posters in the atrium. There, amidst the colorful cardboard advertisements for the usual variety of song-and-dance events, was a tiny three-by-six-inch paper with the headline: "El Club de Ajedrez Bobby Fischer." I wrote the location (57th Street, between 62nd and 64th Street) on a piece of paper and put it in my pocket. A few days later, when I had another free evening, I set out on foot to find this chess club.

The club "Bobby Fischer" was easy to spot. At 7:30 P.M. on a weekday evening, the club was the only building in the area besides an adjacent hotel still open and visibly lit. From the street, I could make out the silhouette of two players absorbed in a game by the second-floor window, a demo board hanging behind them. Upon entering, I headed up a spiral staircase and found myself in a cozy room just big enough for a ten- or twelve-person weekend Swiss. Spanish-language chess books filled a single bookcase on the far left, and tacked everywhere along the wall were chess posters and newspaper clippings. On the right, a Mexican man and a woman played an offhand game by the window. A lady sat quietly in the corner, watching.

My timid entrance into the club didn't distract the two players from their game, but the spectator introduced herself to me as Concepción Godinez Bautista, the club's director. As I explained in Spanish that I was a chess journalist from the United States, she became quite animated, insisting there was someone I had to meet. She pulled out her cell phone, placed a call, and then asked if I would be able to stay at the club for the rest of the evening. I agreed, so while we waited on the mystery guest, Señora Godinez gave me a full tour of the club, which included a more spacious third floor (for which she was still trying to get air conditioning) and a fenced-in patio on the roof, where the two of us talked in the cool night breeze.

Over the next half hour, I learned more from Godinez about chess in the State of Yucatán than I ever expected to know. Prior, I had considered my finding the tiny ad for the local Mexican chess club to be nothing more than a coincidence; Godinez made me realize that it was, in fact, an eventuality. Spend enough time in the city of Mérida and you will eventually learn to play chess. Mérida was the home of the first Mexican Grandmaster, the famous Carlos Torre Repetto (1904-1978), and has developed a rich chess culture based around the annual Torre Memorial tournament. Indeed, the game of chess is an integral aspect of society for many meridanos. Children in first and second grade are required to learn the game as part of their school curriculum; only in third grade does it become an optional activity. A handful of chess teachers are hired by the city for a free chess program for anyone else who wants to learn. Yucatán is also home to two Grandmasters, Manuel León Hoyos and José González Garcia, and several lesser masters.

As we chatted on the roof patio, Godinez explained to me that this booming chess culture was perfect for Mérida's service-based economy. Hosting tournaments and giving chess lessons are now important economic activities that keep the chess movement growing. The popularity of chess also provides a market for vendors to sell goods. As I would discover later, boards and sets are popular items at tourist sites such as Chichén Itzá, where chess sets lined up on tables or on the ground in open-air markets are often visible as far as the eye can see.

In spite of the positive impact chess has had on Mérida's economy, this year's Torre Memorial, which was actually set to take place in part during my time in Mérida, was canceled this year due to lack of government funding. Although a virtual version of the competition was held in its stead, the cancelation of the tournament had been a disappointment for the meridano chess community. I had seen the venue of the tournament - the Centro Cultural Olimpio - for myself, and I could only imagine the thrill of watching top players competing there. No wonder the locals felt they had been deprived an important part of their calendar year for 2009.

As our conversation began to wind down, the mystery guest arrived. The man whom Godinez had called was Jorge Balam Díaz, a writer for the daily paper Diario de Yucatán who had served as a chess columnist for over thirty years. Señor Balam - a smiling, middle-age man with a round face who, in accordance with Latin American stylishness, wore his glasses clipped over the open V-neck of his dress shirt - began by composing a few photographs of me sitting across the board from the woman I had seen playing in the window earlier. Although we hadn't managed to get past the opening before the photo shoot was finished, my impression was that my opponent, Guadalupe Burgos Canul, the city women's champion, was a formidable player.

When he had put the camera away, Balam took a seat across from me and interviewed me meticulously. This tested the limits of my Spanish at times. When I could, I stuck to telling anecdotes I had already told many times in English. Balam asked about everything from my coverage of the 2008 Olympiad in Dresden to my other travels in Latin America, which had, at that point, included trips to both Nicaragua and Honduras. My answers were scrupulously recorded in a little brown notebook, the meridano writing furiously the whole time. Then, Balam arranged with Godinez for me to face Cuban trainer IM Ramón Huerta Sorís the following morning for an exhibition blitz match. Having not had the opportunity to play a titled player in several months, I jumped at the chance. I agreed to meet Balam, Godinez, and IM Sorís for breakfast at 8:30 the following morning.

Tired, I started making a move to leave. Meridano hospitality being what it is, however, I should have known better - no sooner had I expressed a desire to head back to my hotel than Balam invited me to a late dinner with Godinez, a few friends, and his daughter, a local chess teacher. We all headed down the street to a quiet restaurant and bar called the Mayan Pub, where Señor Balam proceeded to order half the traditional yucateco items on the menu so that I could try them. I failed miserably at eating the panuchos, a kind of open-faced soft taco loaded with every ingredient imaginable, using only my hands. The party lasted past 11:00 P.M. that night as we shared stories, told jokes, and discussed once more the chess scene in Mérida.

IM Ramón Huerta Sorís and Jonathan Hilton with a stack of Huerta's Spanish language books on chess, Photo Jorge Balam

The next morning, Balam and Godinez brought IM Ramón Huerta Sorís to meet me in the lobby of the Casa del Balam hotel. Huerta - a tall, weathered Cuban with a thick black beard - is the author of over half a dozen Spanish-language chess books, five of which he brought to me as a gift. Over a hot breakfast of huevos motuleños at another downtown Mérida restaurant (my hosts had insisted on treating me once again), Huerta discussed his life as a trainer of young ajedrecistas in Cuba. Having worked with several upcoming strong players, he had developed a firm belief in creating a disciplined training routine. He graciously offered to help me create one for myself so that I could become an International Master. Knowing that - college student that I am - I would be unlikely to stick to any schedule outside of my classes, I decided to decline.

It was finally time for the blitz match. We headed once again to the club Bobby Fischer, where a crowd of a little less than a dozen people had come to watch. I won the first game with the White pieces, converting an endgame advantage from a line I wrote about in my book on the late GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz: 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Qa4 Nd7 7.Qxc4 Nb6 8.Qd3 e5 9.Nxe5 Nb4 10.Qc3 Qxd4 11.0-0 Qxc3 12.Nxc3 Bd6 13.Nf3 c6 14.Rd1

After 14...Be7, I eventually penetrated with the maneuvers Bc1-f4, e2-e4, and Nf3-f5-d6, achieving a bind. In the second game, I tried out the Sicilian Defense against 1.e4 - something I've been experimenting with lately at college - rather than my typical stalwart 1...e5, but, having limited knowledge of the opening, I soon found myself being positionally stuffed out by Huerta's skillful Rossolimo. I eventually caved under pressure and went down a piece, ending the match in a tie at 1-1.

As my class with University of Cincinnati was leaving Mérida for Chichén Itzá, never to return, at noon, I was compelled to bid my guests farewell before lunch. I shook hands with everyone one last time and tucked Huerta's present of five books under my arm before heading back to the Casa del Balam. I was sad to leave Mérida because I felt I was only just getting started exploring the city and its people. Nowhere else in all my travels had I encountered a more hospitable welcome as a chess master and writer. In fact, the day after my departure, Jorge Balam's article about my encounter with Huerta was published in Diario de Yucatán. (A translation can be found on my Facebook page.)

This encounter in Mérida, as well as many of my other global chess encounters, has led me to believe that the FIDE motto - Gens una sumus, we are one people - represents more than just a hackneyed slogan for chess politicians. A chess player is a marked man. He shares a set of core experiences with the millions of others like him, opening up a world of possibilities for human interaction. And in this world there are many types of chess players, such as club owners, hustlers, professionals, teachers, and journalists, and each of these plays a vital role in sustaining a small part of this global chess community. Thus, what has already been said of mankind can also be said of the chess world: no chess player is an island, entire of itself. The late Jerry Hanken told me this, though he himself had never played out of the country. Now that I have traveled, I can only affirm that what he said is true.

Adventures in Chess - Latvian Style

-Friends-

For weeks, my daughter Lisa has cajoled me to contribute something meaningful to the "Chess Club of the Golden Crescent"/Victoria Chess Club Blog. But various things prevented me from responding to this most reasonable request - writer's block, a severe audit of my non profit agency by its state government funding source, family difficulties, poor time management - but most importantly, I couldn't find THE chess game or THE chess topic that was worthy of posting on any chess blog.

I am an avid chess enthusiast in Waco. In the past couple weeks, I have spent most evenings playing chess with my friend, Waco Chess Club President (the title is more impressive than the reality) Ken Henkelman, a retired USCF 1800 player for whom "chess is life". Ken is a wonderful friend - he is someone who will play chess with anyone at any time on ten minutes notice. You could call him at midnight - "Ken, how about some chess at the Whataburger in twenty minutes?" "Okay". Or you could call him on Sunday morning - "Ken - could you skip church today and play some chess with me at a McDonald's?" "Sure". Ken is a great person who loves chess.

Most of my games with Ken are losses - he is better than me. As I may have mentioned earlier (this is my second posting to the Victoria Chess Club Blog), I win about 1/5 of my games with Ken, and feel fortunate to win that many. So I have won about four or our last twenty games - most were relatively narrow defeats, but they were still defeats, and there were a few crushing defeats inflicted on me by Ken. When I have the Black pieces, we invariably play the Latvian Gambit (a Black version of the King's Gambit that is derided by virtually all chess players (including Ken) except Latvian Gambit enthusiasts. ( -1- e4 e5 -2- Nf3 f5 ) Ken has been feeling pretty cocky in recent days because he won about seven straight Latvian Gambit games against me by using the 3rd White move Bc4. Expert and master chess players who love the Latvian Gambit often claim that -3- N x P at e5 is the strongest 3rd move for White, and Ken has played that move against me with considerable success against me. However, Ken has been winning consistently with -3- Bc4 in our Latvian Gambit struggles. So he used it again tonight. However, I write down the moves of most Henkelman/DeVries chess games, so I learn even from my losses. I could feel myself improving against the -3- Bc4 variation against the Latvian Gambit, so I sat down at the chess board tonight with some confidence.

I was very frustrated during the sixty minutes before my entrance into Barnes & Noble. I called Ken on an hour's notice (early Saturday evening) - "Ken, could you meet me at the Barnes and Noble coffee area in one hour for a couple chess games?" "Sure". Then I misplaced my glasses and spent one hour frantically looking for them in my mother's small duplex apartment. Eventually, I ;located my glasses, and I got to Barnes & Noble about twenty minutes late, knowing that Ken would still be there waiting with his chess board. We sat down, and played the following Latvian Gambit game, and I won!!! I can truly say that this game is worthy of review. It deserves to be published in a Chess Blog. I present this game for your consideration.

I present this game for your consideration. Enjoy!!!!!

Henkelman vs DeVries (Casual Game) 02-27-2010 Latvian Gambit -3- Bc4 variation

-1- e4 e5
-2- Nf3 f5
-3- Bc4 d5
I have learned that ....d5 is the best move against -3- Bc4 -3- .....d6 does not work.
-4- P x P e4 x d5 Bd6
-5- 0 - 0 Ne7
All of this is standard in the Henkelman/DeVries chess rivalry. I have learned that
-5- ....Qe7 leads to disaster.
-6- Nc3 0 - 0
In the post mortem, Ken claimed (probably correctly) that -6- d4 was much stronger.
-7- d3 h6
-8- Qe2 Nd7
This hems in my Queen Bishop but gives protection to my vital pawn on e5.
-9- Re1 Ng6
More protection for the e5 pawn.
-10- a4 Qe8
-11- Bd2 Nf6
In the post mortem, Ken thought that -11- Bb5 might have been stronger.
-12- Bb5 Bd7
-13- B x B at d7 N x B
.The capture with the Knight gives important support to the e5 pawn.
-14- Nb5 a6
I want Ken to trade his knight for my Bishop on d6 - it gives me a chance to create an open file for my rook. Ken obliges.
-15- N x B P x N
-16- Bc3 Nf4!
I believe this move is one of my best moves of the game - Ken puts his Queen in awkward position.
-17- Qf1 N x P at d5
I win a pawn!
-18- Bd2 Qh5
A good square for my Queen.
-19- Qe2 Queen Rook to e8
More support for my e5 pawn.
-20- c4 Nf4
My pawns will be doubled if -21- B x N, and I will have doubled pawns, but I will have a mostly open file for my Rook.
-21- B x N P x B
-22- Qd2 Ne5
I liked this move, but in the post mortem, Ken suggested -23- Nd4 as superior to the text.
-23- N x N P x N
-24- Qc3 e4
-25- P x P P x P
My pawns are no longer doubled.
-26- QR d1 e3
-27- P x P ? P x P
Ken believes his game became lost on Move 27 - he should have moved -27- Rd5.
-28- Rd5 Qf7
Rd5 comes one move too late for White.
-29- Qc2 Qf2 check
Move 29 is the winning move for Black.
-30- Q x Q (forced - to avoid mate) P x Q check
-31- Kf1 R x R checkmate !!!!

A rare but satisfying victory over a strong opponent with my beloved Kamikaze-like opening,the Latvian Gambit!

Best Wishes,
John DeVries
Waco Chess Club