The Ginger Draw

Upon completion of the previous post I surfed on over to check out the games from the Hastings Chess tournament where the following “game” was discovered:

Simon K Williams (2461) vs Keith C Arkell (2453)

Hastings Masters 2019 round 08

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Bd3 ½-½

 

Before the round began the players were tied for third place with a record of 5-2. Magesh Chandran Panchanathan led with 6-1. Romain Edouard was alone in second place with 5 1/2-1 1/2. Someone needed to win the game or the Ginger GM and his opponent would be also-rans, nothing more than members of the “pack.” The two “players” decided to become “pack mules.” Keith Arkell was born 8 January, 1961 and will turn fifty-nine in a few days. Simon Gingerman Williams

was born 30 November, 1979, which means he recently turned forty. The younger player had the white pieces and it was incumbent upon him to have taken it to the older player, but he chose, for whatever reason, to offer his opponent a draw, and live with the disgrace, and the opprobrium, which will be heaped upon him by…who? No one in the world of Chess seems care how many draws these non-players make, and because of this the Royal game is in its death throes.

Keith Arkell

published a book some years ago that I would like to read but it is now out of print. The price precludes purchase, especially considering it is a paperback book. The last time I looked, which was about a month or so ago, I was unable to find a copy for sale. After surfin’ on over to the Gorilla just now I learned there is a copy of Arkells Odyssey: The Autobiography of a Chess Grandmaster

 

for sale…priced at $83.08 (!) in US dollars. (https://www.amazon.com/Arkells-Odyssey-Autobiography-Grandmaster-Arkell/dp/B009A8NI1Q/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=keith+arkell&qid=1578174269&s=books&sr=1-1) The book consists of only ONE HUNDRED TWENTYTHREE pages! Those must be 123 OUTSTANDING pages…The fact is, the book is about the only book left on my Chess reading list. Frankly, if I were going to ante-up that much money on a Chess book it would be the new book, Louis Paulsen: A Chess Biography With 719 Games, by Hans Renette.

If a reader happens to have a worn out, beat-up, reading copy of of Arkells Odyssey with which this Warrior can spend time with in an Armchair, I will pay for the shipping, and return shipping, and you will have a friend for life, or at least as much life as is left…Send email to: xpertchesslessons@yahoo.com.

 

Playing The Dutch Against Any And Everything

Marc A Bryant (1823) vs Carsten Byrn (1919)

Hastings Masters 2019 round 04

1. a3 f5

(My first thought upon seeing this move was, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Former President of the Georgia Chess Association, and many other state organizations, not to mention USCF mover and shaker, Don Schultz,

Testing the New Polgar Chess Clock – Front: Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar – Back: Karpov Chess School President Marck Cobb, Vice-President and Secretary Irwin “Wes” Fisk, USCF Vice-President Don Schultz, U.S. Chess Trust Director Barbara DuMaro and USCF Vice-President Joel Channing

played 1 a3 against me in a tournament game, and lost. After the game Don informed he decided to play the move because, “I’ve played everything else against you, so why not?” Why not, indeed. Don and I played many 15 minute games ‘back in the day’ and, for some reason, I seemed to have Don’s number. We were both class A players who had crossed the 2000 threshold. SF 270919 @depth 50 plays 1…c5, as does Komodo 13.2 @depth 44. There are only two games with 1…f5 at the CBDB. After mentioning the first two opening moves to the Legendary Georgia Ironman he said, “I guess it stops e4.”) 2. e4 fxe4 3. d3 e3

(This move is, unsurprisingly, a TN. Over at the ChessBomb (https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2019-hastings-masters/04-Bryant_Marc_A-Byrn_Carsten) the move is also one of the reddest of red moves. SF 200419 @depth 30 plays 3…exd3, as does Houdini, but SF 10 @depth 29 plays 3…Nf6) 4. Qh5+?

(This move caused me to think of the poplar saying, “Patzer sees a check, patzer gives a check.” The move is also a “bright Red move. The thought of something a local Chess teacher mentioned about the early Qh5+ move occurred. He said a new boy had come to one of his groups and was beating all the local players with, you guessed it, 2 Qh5. “He was one of Steve’s boys.” “Steve” being Steve Schneider, the owner of Championship Chess, whom I have written about previously. (https://xpertchesslessons.wordpress.com/2019/07/19/the-world-of-championship-chess/) Upon completion of laugh the tale continued with my asking, “I thought you taught these kids how to defend against the Queen’s Raid.” His response was, “Evidently not enough.” This time I, as we say down South, busted a gut laughing! After gathering myself I said, “It looks like with someone who not only teaches the Queen’s Raid, but owns a company that goes into schools and teaches nothing but the Queen’s Raid, everyone in the state would teach their spuds how to defend against the Queen’s Raid.” He nodded in agreement… 4 Bxe3 looks like a good enough move) 4…g6 5. Qe5? (One of the possible legal moves in this position is 5 Qe2. Just sayin’…) 5…exf2+ 6. Kxf2 Nf6 7. Nc3?

Ng4+ (Sticking the fork in deeply) 8. Ke1 0-1