I am back for another season of chess news and games. Last year, I suffered another down year rating-wise. This makes three down years in a row. Ouch! I have never had three bad years in a row before.
However, while the rating is on the skids, the championships are still cruising along. I defended my title and am the Speed King again. Long live the King!
I picked up my third Colorado Springs City Speed Chess Championship in January. It is the first time I have won it in back-to-back years, moving into the category with LM Josh Bloomer (2005 & 2006) and Dan Avery (2000 & 2001; 2011 & 2012). Also, it moved me into third place for the total number of crowns behind Josh (7) and Dan (6).
This week's game comes from the January One Night Quick. It is a one-night event. All the games in the tournament are completed in one evening. Players enter the event, play all their games, collect their prizes, and get their ratings updated in less than 24 hours.
This kind of event works well to fill an extra Tuesday, like the 5th Tuesday of a month. They occur a couple times each year and are the source of the main controversy at the Colorado Springs Chess Club's annual meeting. Every year, attendees meet to take care of club business and fight over who gets control of the 5th Tuesday: the Turtles or the Hares.
This year the Turtles won. However, it was a hollow victory, as the 5th Tuesdays don't fall on any of the months we have our month-long, slow tournaments (G/90+30).
So, we still need some kind of quick events to fill the 5th Tuesdays in April and July.
I don't mind the quick events, as they make for some crazy games. In fact, the past couple of quicker tournaments have provided games that qualify for the Jim Burden Award.
The Jim Burden Award can be earned by submitting a game to LM Brian Wall where you drop your Queen, refuse to resign, and get the win.
It has become my burden to keep this award going when Brian drops the ball and forgets to pick a winner. Typically, I send him every blitz game I win, where I make a colossal mistake with my Queen. I am more likely to resign when I drop a Rook than a Queen. However, every now and then I suggest someone else's game.
I suggested the winners in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2018. Now, I am shooting for the 2019 winner. The award is supposed to be announced April 1st, and this year, Brian should be able to make the announcement on time, thanks to this gem.
It was the classic battle of tortoise versus hare during our 5th Tuesday event: the January One Night Quick. Clint Eads decided to play in our quick tournament (G/20; d/5) since our Supporting Members get a free entry to these kinds of events.
Clint knew his chances to get a win were slim, as he typically takes 20 minutes for his first couple of moves. However, he took his time and took advantage of some opening mistakes to get the lead.
Then he found himself in this position with his clock rapidly dwindling down. Could he handle the burden of having the superior force but limited time? Could any white player manage this burden?
Sometimes good fortune is too much to handle.
On February 26th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club finished its February Swiss 90 (4SS, G90+30).