Tactics Time Chess Newsletter: Just Feels Great

Published: Tue, 02/25/14

Newsletter Issue Just Feels Great Tactics Time 
Just Feels Great

It is tactics like that (see position below) that make chess feel so good. To be able to construct something like that over the board, no assistance, it just feels great. -  Chris Peterson

chess tactics position
 
 
T
 
 
 
his position was sent to my friend Jules Carter, who posted on facebook "Is this Tactics Time 3 worthy? Today was the New Mexico G/15 Championships and this was my last round. Can't remember my opponent's name but I'll get that info once the tourney results are submitted".
 
   In the position on the right it is Black to move
 
   Answer below.
 
 
   Some news and notes:
 
  • I really liked Chris Peterson's quote above.  Playing a tactic like this in a real game DOES feel great.  When you sacrifice a piece (or two!) in a real game, it is a lot different than doing it in a tactics problem.  When you crunch the lines, and feel that it works, and it does, that is like the best feeling in the world.

 

  • Jules (who sent me this position) is on the podcast I did with Brian Wall before the Denver Open.  http://tacticstime.com/podcast/life-master-brian-wall-podcast/ 

    Jules came on the Colorado chess scene in May 2013 with a provisional rating of 1135, and after a series of big upsets, got all the way to 1577 by November 2013, which is a lot of rating points in a short amount of time.  You can see his rating history here: http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlTnmtHst.php?13828692

    Jules has some interesting stories.  Before getting into chess, he was a professional poker player.  Jules is someone who is good at learning and getting good at things.  He can take a new skill and learn it quickly.  He reminds me of Tim Ferriss.  Jules went through the Tactics Time kindle book 10 times, literally memorizing every position in the book.  He is also a de la Maza fan, like I am, and is a big fan of doing tons of repetition to learn something inside and out to get good at it.

 

  • I recently watched the movie "Life of a King" - it is available now from Netflix - really enjoyed it! Great acting from Cuba Gooding Jr. Based on a true story. The film tells the true story of Eugene Brown, an ex-con who starts a chess club for inner-city youths in Washington, D.C..  It probably isn't appropriate for children (it is rated PG-13), but I think that most adults would enjoy it.

 

  • I recently read a very well written and researched article about online "critics" and "haters".  Anthea and I have had to deal with this with our chess books, and I know that many TDs and organizers can relate to a lot of this as well - good stuffhttp://www.sparringmind.com/hello-haters/
 
 
 
   Here is the complete game
 
[Event "New Mexico G/15 Championship"]
[Site "Main Library, Downtown Albuquerque"]
[Date "2014.02.22"]
[Round "7"]
[White "NN"]
[Black "Carter, Jules"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo "1352"]
[Annotator "Brennan,Tim"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "Q7/6kp/3p2p1/2q1p1b1/1pBr3r/1P1P1P2/2P3PP/R3R2K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]

1... Rxh2+ $3 {40} 2. Kxh2 {66} (2. Kg1 Rh1+ {4} (2... Rdh4+ 3. Kf1 Rh1+ 4. Ke2
Qe3+ 5. Kd1 Rxe1# (5... Qxe1#) (5... Qd2#)) 3. Kf2 {2} (3. Kxh1 Rh4#) 3... Rg4+
{5} 4. d4 {3} (4. Ke2 Qe3+ 5. Kd1 Rxe1#) 4... Qxd4+ {1} 5. Re3 {1} Qxe3# {0})
2... Rh4+ {5} 3. Kg3 {12} Bf4+ $3 {23} 4. Kxh4 {2} Qf2+ {2} 5. Kg4 {15} (5. Kh3
Qg3#) (5. g3 Qxg3#) 5... Qg3# {0} 0-1


   You can play through this game here:
 
   Answer:
 
   1...Rxh2+!!
 
   2.Kxh2 Rh4+ 3.Kg3 Bf4+!! 4.Kxh4 Qf2+ 5.Kg4 Qg3#
   2.Kg1 Rh1+ 3.Kf2 Rg4+ 4.d4 Qxd4+ 5.Ke2 Rxg2#
 
   There are some other variations that work as well.  If you click on the link above, I give most of the main variations, all of which lead to mate.
 
 
   Happy Tactics!
 
   Your Friend,
 
  Tim
 
   P.S. Had fun playing chess last weekend at Jeff Baffo's "Chess Flash Mob" at Wendy's in the Denver Tech Center.  Here is a picture of my buddy Francisco playing Jeff taken by Rob Hartelt.  Francisco is famous for his fishing pole win over Walter Browne in a simul in Reno a few years ago.  Brian Wall calls him a "living legend" :)
 
   Brian Wall and Chris Peterson made some great chess videos about the Walter Browne Fishing pole game, which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGSXjvKej0
 
 
 
 
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