Southern Illinois Summer Open 2016 (Round 2)

After I blundered a piece in the opening I decided to fight on and hope for a draw but I made the mistake of exchanging rooks on move 45.Rxf7+ when 45.Rd8 was my last hope for drawing chances.

[Event "SoIL Summer Open 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.08.13"] [Round "2"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "DeVilbiss, Mike"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B08"] [WhiteElo "1611"] [BlackElo "1700"] [PlyCount "112"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 7. Ng5 e5 8. d5 Nd4 9. Nf3 Nxe2%2B 10. Qxe2 Bd7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bd2 Re8 13. Qd3 a6 14. Ne2 ({ -1.47 Fritz 15:} 14. Be3 b5 15. a3 c5 16. b4 cxb4 17. axb4 Nh5 18. Rfb1 Nf4 19. Qd1 Qc7 20. Rb3 Rec8 21. Ra5 Qb7 22. h3 Rc4 {-0.24/19}) 14... c6 15. c4 ({ -2.34 Fritz 15:} 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Nc3 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 d5 18. Neg5 Bb5 19. Qb3 hxg5 20. Bxg5 f6 21. Bd2 Bc4 22. Qxb7 Rb8 23. Qc6 Bxf1 24. Rxf1 Rxb2 25. Nh4 Rb6 26. Qa4 {-1.42/17}) 15... cxd5 16. cxd5 Bb5 17. Qa3 Bxe2 18. Rfe1 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Qd7 20. Bxh6 Bxh6 21. Qxf6 Rad8 22. h4 Qg4 23. g3 Bg7 ({-2.53 Fritz 15:} 23... Bd2 24. Red1 Ba5 25. Kg2 Qxe4%2B 26. Qf3 Qxf3%2B 27. Kxf3 e4%2B 28. Ke2 Re5 29. Rac1 Rf5 30. Kf1 Bb6 31. Rc2 Re8 32. Kg2 Rf3 33. a4 Kg7 34. b4 Rd3 35. Rxd3 { -3.50/20}) 24. Qg5 Qxg5 25. hxg5 Rc8 26. Rac1 f5 27. gxf6 Bxf6 28. Kg2 Bg5 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Re2 Kf7 31. Kf3 Bc1 32. Kg4 g5 ({-1.67 Fritz 15:} 32... Kf6 33. f3 b6 34. Rh2 a5 35. Re2 b5 36. b3 a4 37. bxa4 bxa4 38. Rh2 Be3 39. Rb2 Rc3 40. Re2 a3 41. Rh2 Bd4 42. Rg2 Rc1 43. Re2 Rb1 44. Rh2 Rb2 {-2.94/25}) 33. b3 ({ -2.48 Fritz 15:} 33. Kf5 Ke7 34. f3 Rf8%2B 35. Kg4 Kd7 36. Rh2 Rf7 37. a4 Be3 38. b4 Kc7 39. Re2 Bb6 40. Rh2 Bd4 41. Rh1 Be3 42. Rh2 Kb6 43. Rc2 a5 44. b5 Rc7 45. Rxc7 Kxc7 46. Kf5 Kb6 {-1.67/28}) 33... Kg6 34. f3 Rc3 35. Rh2 a5 36. Rh8 Rc7 ({-1.09 Fritz 15:} 36... b6 37. Rg8%2B Kf6 38. Re8 Ba3 39. Re6%2B Kf7 40. Rh6 Kg7 41. Re6 Kf7 42. Rh6 Kg7 43. Re6 Kf7 44. Rh6 Kg7 45. Re6 Kf7 46. Rh6 Kg7 47. Re6 Kf7 48. Rh6 Kg7 49. Re6 Kf7 50. Rh6 Kg7 51. Re6 Kf7 {-1.92/25}) 37. Re8 Kf7 38. Rh8 Rd7 39. Kf5 Kg7 40. Rc8 Rf7%2B 41. Kg4 Be3 42. Rd8 Bc5 43. Kxg5 ({ -3.05 Fritz 15:} 43. Rb8 b6 44. a4 Be3 45. Re8 Bd4 46. Rb8 Rc7 47. Rd8 Rc3 48. Rxd6 Rxb3 49. Rd7%2B Kf6 50. Rh7 Ra3 51. d6 Bc5 52. d7 Rd3 {-1.46/27}) 43... Rxf3 44. Rd7%2B Rf7 45. Rxf7%2B ({-8.09 Fritz 15:} 45. Rd8 b6 46. Rb8 Rf2 47. Rb7%2B Kf8 48. Rb8%2B Kf7 49. Rb7%2B Ke8 50. Rb8%2B Ke7 51. Rb7%2B Ke8 52. Rb8%2B Ke7 53. Rb7%2B Ke8 54. Rb8%2B Ke7 55. Rb7%2B Ke8 56. Rb8%2B Ke7 57. Rb7%2B Ke8 58. Rb8%2B Ke7 59. Rb7%2B Ke8 60. Rb8%2B {-3.05/24}) 45... Kxf7 46. Kf5 b5 47. g4 a4 48. bxa4 ({-20.95 Fritz 15:} 48. Kg5 Be3%2B 49. Kf5 Bd2 50. g5 Be3 51. g6%2B Ke7 52. g7 Kf7 53. Kg4 Kxg7 54. Kh5 axb3 55. axb3 Kf6 56. Kh4 Kg6 57. Kg3 Kg5 58. Kf3 Bd4 59. Kg3 Bc5 60. Kf3 Bf2 61. Kxf2 Kf4 62. Ke2 Kxe4 63. b4 {-7.00/27}) 48... bxa4 49. g5 Ba3 50. g6%2B Kg7 51. Kg5 Bc1%2B 52. Kf5 Bd2 53. Ke6 Kxg6 54. Kxd6 Kf6 55. Kc6 Ke7 ({ -10.50 Fritz 15:} 55... a3 56. d6 Kg5 57. Kb5 Kg4 58. Ka4 Kf3 59. Kxa3 Kxe4 60. Ka4 Bg5 61. Kb5 Kd5 62. a4 Kxd6 63. Kc4 Bd8 64. Kb5 e4 65. Kc4 Ke5 66. Kc3 Bc7 67. Kc4 Ke6 68. Kd4 Kf5 69. Kd5 e3 70. Kc6 e2 {-20.55/26}) 56. Kc5 Kd7 ({ -7.30 Fritz 15:} 56... a3 57. Kb5 Kf6 58. Ka4 Bc1 59. Kb4 Kg5 60. d6 Kf6 61. Kc5 Ke6 62. Kc6 Bg5 63. Kc7 Bd2 64. Kc6 Bb4 65. d7 Be7 66. Kc7 Kf6 67. Kb7 Bd8 68. Kc6 Kg5 69. Kc5 Kf4 70. Kd5 Bh4 71. Kc4 Kxe4 {-10.50/30}) 0-1 '/>

A Solid Victory on ICC This Saturday Afternoon

I have not played a good solid game in a while. Sometimes when I feel like I am losing my love for chess a good victory lifts my spirits and puts me back in the mood. Unfortunately I do not have any chess software to analyze the mistakes in this game but I have analyzed it by myself and feel I played very well, though I'm sure Fritz or Chessmaster would point out a lot of better moves I could have made. I am going to purchase Fritz 15 and Chessmaster soon. I want to start studying seriously again. I hope you enjoy this game. Thanks for viewing!

[Event "ICC 15 6"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2016.05.21"] [Round "-"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "goodharvest"] [Result "1-0"] [ICCResult "Black resigns"] [WhiteElo "1512"] [BlackElo "1664"] [Opening "English opening"] [ECO "A22"] [NIC "EO.10"] [Time "13:59:31"] [TimeControl "900%2B6"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 e4 7. Qa4 Nc6 8. Qxe4 Be7 9. g3 O-O 10. Bg2 f5 11. Qa4 Bd7 12. Qb3 Kh8 13. O-O Rb8 14. Bf4 Bf6 15. Rad1 Na5 16. Qc2 b6 17. Ne5 Be6 18. d4 g5 19. Bc1 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Qe7 21. f4 g4 22. Kh1 h5 23. e4 h4 24. gxh4 Qxh4 25. Qf2 Qh5 26. Rfe1 Rbd8 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Be3 Rg8 29. Qg3 Nc4 30. Bd4 c5 31. Bg1 Rd8 32. exf5 Qxf5 33. Qh4 {Black resigns} 1-0'/>

Round 3 Victory 8.16.14

I finished the tournament 2.5/3 and tied for second place. This game (Round 3) was definitely one of my better games. Enjoy :)

[Event "Southern Illinois Summer Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.08.16"] [Round "3"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "Colvin, Mark"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "1598"] [BlackElo "1705"] [PlyCount "47"] [SourceDate "2014.08.16"] 1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 d6 3. Bc4 e6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d4 Ne7 6. Ng5 O-O 7. f4 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Nc3 c6 10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Bb3 Nc6 12. c3 h6 13. Nf3 Na5 14. Bc2 Nc4 15. Ne5 Kh7 16. Qe2 Nd6 17. Rf3 Bd7 18. Rg3 Nf5 19. Rh3 Be8 20. g4 Ne7 21. g5 Nf5 22. gxh6 Bxh6 23. Ng4 Rg8 24. Nxh6 1-0 '/>

Southern Illinois Summer Open Round 2 (Draw)

This was a tough game I played against an old timer that ended in a draw. I feel I played a little too passively.

[Event "Southern Illinois Summer Open"] [Site "Salem Illinois"] [Date "2014.08.16"] [Round "2"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "Fathauer, Terry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B84"] [WhiteElo "1598"] [BlackElo "1688"] [PlyCount "87"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nxd4 Nc6 4. e4 a6 5. Be2 e6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Be3 Qc7 9. f4 d6 10. e5 dxe5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. fxe5 Qxe5 13. Bd4 Bc5 14. Bxc5 Qxc5 15. Kh1 O-O 16. Bd3 Bb7 17. Qe2 Qg5 18. Ne4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Qb5 20. c4 Qc5 21. Rad1 f5 22. Bc2 Rad8 23. Qxe6 Kh8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Qxf5 Qxf5 26. Rxf5 g6 27. Rf2 c5 28. h3 Kg7 29. b3 Bc6 30. Kh2 Rd6 31. g4 Bd7 32. Kg3 a5 33. Be4 Bc6 34. Bxc6 Rxc6 1/2-1/2 '/>

Southern Illinois Summer Open 8.16.14 (Round 1)

I cannot feel THAT proud of my first round victory because my opponent was only 8 years old.

[Event "Southern Illinois Summer Open"] [Site "Salem, Illinois"] [Date "2014.08.16"] [Round "1"] [White "Owen, Cody"] [Black "Terlizzi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B50"] [BlackElo "1598"] [PlyCount "58"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 e6 5. O-O Nf6 6. d3 Be7 7. Bf4 a6 8. Ng5 b5 9. Bb3 Nd4 10. Nf3 Nxb3 11. cxb3 b4 12. Na4 e5 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nb6 Qxb6 16. a4 a5 17. d4 cxd4 18. Qc2 Ba6 19. Rfc1 O-O 20. Qc6 Qxc6 21. Rxc6 Bb7 22. Rb6 Bxe4 23. Ne1 d3 24. f3 Bf5 25. Rd1 e4 26. fxe4 Bd4 27. Kf1 Bg4 28. Rc1 Bxb6 29. Rc6 Be2# 0-1 '/>

A Tough Game I Played on FICS (draw)

[Event "rated standard match"] [Site "Free Internet Chess Server"] [Date "2014.07.28"] [Round "?"] [White "zhujun"] [Black "TERLIZZZI"] [Result "*"] [WhiteElo "1872"] [BlackElo "1776"] [ECO "E91"] [TimeControl "900%2B3"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 a6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. b4 Re8 9. Bb2 e5 10. d5 a5 11. a3 axb4 12. axb4 Rxa1 13. Qxa1 b6 14. Nb5 Nxe4 15. Qa7 Nxf2 16. Rxf2 e4 17. Bxg7 exf3 18. Bxf3 Kxg7 19. Qxc7 Qxc7 20. Nxc7 Re1 21. Rf1 Rxf1 22. Kxf1 Ne5 23. Be2 Bg4 24. Bxg4 Nxg4 25. Nb5 Ne3 26. Kf2 Nxc4 27. Ke2 Kf6 28. Kd3 Ne5 29. Kd4 Ke7 30. h3 f5 31. Nc7 g5 32. Na8 Nd7 33. Nc7 h5 34. Ne6 Kf6 35. Nc7 Ke7 36. Ne6 g4 37. Ng7 gxh3 38. gxh3 Kf6 39. Nxh5 Kg5 40. Ng3 f4 41. Ne4 Kh4 42. Nxd6 Kxh3 43. Ne4 f3 44. Ke3 Kg2 45. Nd2 f2 46. Ke2 Ne5 47. d6 b5 48. Nf1 Kg1 49. Nd2 Kg2 50. Nf1 *'/>

Update 7.12.14

My next tournament is probably going to be the Southern Illinois Summer Open in my hometown on August 16. I, at least, hope to win 2 games out of 3 which should be enough to push into the next rating Class (Class B). Other than that there isn't a whole lot that's new. I'm studying daily on Chess(dot)com. I use it's tactics trainer and it's a really good tool for keeping my game sharp. I go over about 20 - 30 puzzles every day. I also watch a few instructive chess videos on YouTube and I try to play about 2-3 games/week online (I use the Free Internet Chess server available at http://www.freechess.org). And I really have no idea when my next BIG tournament is going to be - maybe in St. Louis. Maybe not. Who knows. I've actually been fairly busy the past few weeks. Stay posted for more updates.

Upcoming Tournaments

The Chicago Open starts May 22nd and ends May 26th. I am probably going to go to it. This year it is in Wheeling at the Westin North Shore hotel. The last time I went to this tournament was in 2009. I ended the tournament with a 4/7 score (4 wins and 3 losses). I was not very pleased with the result even though I DID gain some rating points from it. I feel confident to get 5/7 or hopefully even 6/7 this year (high expectations). I have been to this tournament a couple times in my teens and it is the biggest one I have ever been too.

Currently the U.S. Chess Championship is going on at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It started May 7th and ends May 20th. Players are battling over a $172,000 total prize fund. First place wins $45,000. Some of the contestants include Gata Kamsky (last year's winner), Timur Gareev, Alex Onischuk, and Varuzhan Akobian. The games start at 1:00 pm Central Time Zone. I, myself, hope to get out there soon and watch a few of the games. Thanks for reading and I will keep you all posted on my chess activities.

The 12th Annual Mark Oestreich Memoiral Open 3.8.14 (Rounds 2 and 3)

The last two games of them tournament went well for me. I played two class D players and won both games. In round two I had to fight hard for the win. The guy was very under-rated. I felt like I was playing a strong class B player. I will only post the game from the second round. The game from the third round wasn't much of a game as he blundered two pieces early in the game.

[Event "Mark Oestreich"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.03.08"] [Round "2"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "Bennett, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "1570"] [BlackElo "1200"] [PlyCount "61"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 Nc6 8. c3 Rb8 9. Qc2 e5 10. a3 Be6 11. Ng5 Qd7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. f4 exf4 14. gxf4 Ng4 15. Nf3 b5 16. b4 d4 17. h3 Ne3 18. Bxe3 dxe3 19. bxc5 Rxf4 20. d4 Rbf8 21. e5 R8f5 22. Qe2 Rxf3 23. Rxf3 Nxd4 24. cxd4 Qxd4 25. Rd1 Qxe5 26. Rxf5 Qxf5 27. c6 Qc5 28. Kh1 Bd6 29. Qd3 Bc7 30. Qd7 Qe5 31. Qe8# 1-0 '/>

The 12th Annual Mark Oestreich Memorial Open 3.8.14 (Round 1)

I did not win first place this time. I lost my very first round against class A player James Pollitt. This was the opponent I defeated two years ago, and I mentioned him and showed the game in one of my previous posts. This time, however, he got the best of me. He was grinding me down out of the opening and I cracked under the pressure and blundered two pawns. This blunder happened on move 18. Nf4. It was really just a mistake of carelessness.

[Event "Mark Oestreich Memorial "] [Site "Salem"] [Date "2014.03.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "Pollitt"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [PlyCount "38"] [SourceDate "2014.03.08"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. f3 Bh5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. O-O O-O-O 9. Be3 Nb4 10. Ng3 Nxd3 11. Qxd3 Bg6 12. Qc4 e6 13. Nce4 Nd5 14. Bf2 h5 15. Ne2 h4 16. Be1 Qb6 17. Bd2 Be7 18. Nf4 Nxf4 19. Bxf4 Rxd4 0-1'/>

Chess - 3/6/2014

Today I met with Attila Turzo on ICC (Internet Chess Club) for a chess lesson - the first one I've had in over a year. We analyzed the King's Indian Attack (KIA) for White and looked over a couple of my recent ICC games. I learned that if Black mirrors White's kingside fianchetto, White can still carry out the d3-e4, and Nd2 plan. This line is still considered to be The King's Indian Attack. I played 5.c4 instead which turns the game into the very hypermodern opening called the "Reti" opening.

This coming Saturday - March 8, 2014, I have a tournament here in my hometown. The Mark Oestreich Memorial Tournament. It is a small tournament with only three rounds (a good thing as I often get too fatigued for a fourth round and lose my ability to focus). I need to exercise more often ;) And I am to continue studying KIA ebook that Attila sent me as well as do some tactics training with Chess.com's "Tactics Trainer". That's all for now. I will keep you guys updated on how the tournament went over the weekend.

Kasparov and Computer Chess

No, this blog is not about the match between Kasparov and Deep Blue back in the 90's. Rather, my interest for this blog post was to see just quite how good computers are nowadays (almost 20 years after the Deep Blue matches). So, I had my Chess Program (Fritz 12) on my desktop PC analyze what is widely considered the greatest game of chess ever played. Now, I do not have the multi-processor version of Fritz, but I thought the commercial version would be good enough (and it is). The game I'm about to go through was played at the Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands Super GM Tournament in 1999. Garry Kasparov played white. The move I set my computer to do a deep positional analysis of was 24. Rxd4. Kasparov offers a rook for a pawn. This sacrifice is SOOOOOO deep. Black regretfully accepted and Kasparov got a winning position almost 20 moves later. Experts use to believe that computers will never be able to match the power of the human mind as far as chess is considered. But now the question is not can a computer win a match against the best human player, rather the question is can a human win just one game against a computer. I believe the answer is "no", or will soon be "no" if not already.

What was interesting to see was what my computer had to say about the game. And, YES, it saw the move 24. Rxd4 !! I was very surprised. In fact, it even decided not to make the rook sacrifice because black is better off refusing to take the rook and playing 24 ...Kb6 instead. So, my computer suggests instead of the rook sacrifice to continue 24.Nc6+. And another question, if 24.Nc6+ was technically a better move then is this really the best game of chess ever played? I'll leave that for you to decide.

[Event "Hoogovens A Tournament"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "1999.01.20"] [EventDate "?"] [Round "4"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Garry Kasparov"] [Black "Veselin Topalov"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2700"] [PlyCount "87"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4 Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7 Kb6 26. Qxd4 Kxa5 27. b4 Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 32. Qxa6 Kxb4 33. c3 Kxc3 34. Qa1 Kd2 35. Qb2 Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7 Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4 Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 1-0'/>

My Strongest Tournament Victory - 3.10.12, Oestreich Memorial

[Event "2012 Mark Oestreich Memorial"] [Site "Salem, IL"] [Round "2"] [White "Pollitt"] [Black "Terlizzi"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1919"] [BlackElo "1472"] [Annotator "Terlizzi"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2012.03.10"] [TimeControl "2700%2B45"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 a6 6. Nc3 Qd8 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Bc4 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Bb3 Nc6 12. Be3 Nd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Ne5 Bf6 15. f4 Qd6 16. Qf3 Ne7 17. g4 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Qg6 19. h3 h5 20. g5 h4 21. Bc5 Re8 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. Bxd5 Bf5 24. Kh2 Qb6 25. Re2 Rd8 26. Rd1 Red7 27. Red2 Be6 28. f5 Bxd5 29. Rxd5 Rxd5 30. Rxd5 Qxb2 31. Kg1 Qb1 32. Kf2 Qxa2 33. Ke3 Qxd5 *'/>

This game was played in my hometown two years ago (2012). I was playing a guy from Indiana who was rated nearly 500 points higher than me. It was the first time I had ever beaten a Class A player. I ended the tournament with a perfect score - 3/3 and received first place. I had always planned for white to play the anti-Sicilian (Alapin) whenever I play the Sicilian. My plan is to always play ...d5 on the second move. He responds 3. exd5 and I recapture the pawn with my queen on move 3. I surprised myself a bit on move 5 by playing ...a6. The move looked too passive but in hindsight I think it was a very important move and it helped me build a strong position for the opening as it prevents white from moving the bishop to b5. The rest of the game was fairly simple. He just made a tactical blunder in the middle of the game and I capitalized on it by winning his rook. I remember punching in the numbers on my computer when I got home that night and I discovered that I had a performance rating of over 2300 ELO, which is well into the master class. This tournament is coming up again next month and I hope I win it again. I'll keep everyone informed. Thanks for reading.

Play to Win

[Event "ICC"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2013.12.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Misticknights3"] [Black "Terlizzi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "1787"] [BlackElo "1859"] [Annotator "Terlizzi"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700%2B45"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 Bxc3 5. bxc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. Rb1 e4 9. Nd4 d5 10. Ba3 Re8 11. Qb3 a6 12. c5 Nbd7 13. Qa4 Ne5 14. Rfc1 Nc4 15. Rc2 Nxa3 16. Qxa3 Ng4 17. Nb3 a5 18. d4 e3 19. f3 Bf5 20. Rbc1 Bxc2 21. Rxc2 Nf6 22. Rb2 Qc7 23. Nc1 Nd7 24. Bh3 g6 25. Bxd7 Qxd7 26. Kg2 f6 27. Nd3 g5 28. Rb6 g4 29. f4 1/2-1/2 ’/>'/>

I was both happy and a little disappointed at the result of this game. My opponent had a strong rating at 1787 ELO. I feel that I outplayed him during the game and had a significant advantage but on the other hand I was really tired and ready for the game to end. I was starting to get nervous that I was going to ruin my advantage. His knight could have been tricky. However, at move 29 my opponent offered a draw and I accept. Ergo, I was both pleased and displeased at the result. When you have a three point advantage on your opponent then you have to play to win because I feel in a way it was somewhat of a loss for me due to a lack of confidence. In chess, the only way is to play to win.

Five Things Chess has Taught Me.

1. You can't hit a home run every single game!

2. "Psychologically you have to have confidence in yourself, and this confidence should be based on fact" - Bobby Fischer

3. There is usually more than one way to approach things.

4. Improvement comes only from persistence in hard work.

5. Always remember your mistakes.


Happy Holidays everyone !!! I'm hoping to make it to a tournament at the end of January, even though it will be over a three hour drive. The Mark Oestreich Memorial is in March. This was the tournament I won two years ago and had a performance rating over 2300. I hope to make it the Chicago Open in May. It's been five years since I've played in it. I will keep everyone posted in the meantime.

ciao ciao!

Magnus Carlsen, 16th World Chess Champion

The World Championship match started Nov. 9th, 2013 in Chennai, India - home of the (now former) World Champion Viswanathan(Vishy) Anand. After four draws in a row the 22-year-old challenger, Magnus Carlsen, got down to business and won game 5 and 6. It became clear that he was rated #1 on the Fide top 100 for a reason. I sent out a tweet after game 6 comparing Carlsen's play to that of the third World Champion, Jose Raul Capablanca with their exceptional endgame play and their style of grinding down their opponents slowly but surely. Carlsen ended up undefeated and the match ended with 6 points to Carlsen and 3 points (from the six draws) to Viswanathan Anand. The chess crown now resides in the Western World (Norway) for the first time since Bobby Fischer.

Chess - 11.15.13

I have been laying off the tactical training on Chess.com tactics trainer a little bit. I've had a lot go on the past couple of weeks with my move back to Illinois. I've also been following the World Chess Championship match which started on the 8th of this month. The 22-year-old challenger from Norway finally got ahead in the series with a victory today (Round 5 of 12) after the first 4 games that each ended in a draw. I was starting to get a little worried for the sake of chess. I mean, draws are boring (obviously) and a long time ago the Cuban Champion - Capablanca - warned us all of the draw death of chess. His view was that as theory keeps expanding and players get stronger the games will end up nearly all draws (at the top level of course) as the game is believed to be a theoretical draw. Anyways, the win for Carlsen was a bit of a relief. The last round is scheduled November 28th, hopefully we will have a new World Champion (yes, i am routing for Carlsen). Click here for the official website of the match.

Strange Game I Lost on ICC (Internet Chess Club) 10-26-13

[Event "ICC"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2013.10.26"] [White "Terlizzi"] [Black "lionstrong"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1557"] [BlackElo "1615"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Petrov"] [Variation "Cochrane gambit"] [TimeControl "720%2B14"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nxf7 Kxf7 5. Nc3 Be7 6. d4 Re8 7. Bc4 d5 8. Nxd5 Be6 9. Nxf6 Bxf6 10. d5 Bc8 11. Qh5 Kg8 12. d6 Kh8 13. dxc7 Rxe4 14. Be3 Qxc7 15. Bd3 Bg4 16. Qd5 Re8 17. O-O Nc6 18. Qc4 Rac8 19. Qxg4 Ne5 20. Qh5 Nxd3 21. cxd3 Rcd8 22. d4 Re4 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. Qxg5 Rexd4 25. Rac1 Qb6 26. h3 h6 27. Qe7 R4d7 28. Qe5 Rd2 29. Rb1 Qg6 30. Qe3 R2d3 31. Qxa7 Rxh3 32. f3 Qg3 33. Qb6 Qh2 34. Kf2 Rd2 35. Ke3 Qxg2 36. Qb4 Qe2 37. Kf4 Rh4 0-1'/>

I made some pretty obvious mistakes in this game. Time controls were a bit fast, and the Cochrane Gambit is sketchy. On move 12 I should have played Bd3 and fought for my e pawn. On move 18 ...Rac8, he blunders a piece and I still lose the game!!!

Strong Tactical Maneuver for Checkmate (Online Opponent)

[Event "Let’s Play!"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2013.09.19"] [White "zedlepp"] [Black "TERLIZZI"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1410"] [BlackElo "1581"] [TimeControl "1 in 3 days"] [Termination "TERLIZZI won by checkmate"] 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bd3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Bd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Bg4 8.O-O-O b5 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 b4 11.Ne2 a5 12.g4 Qd6 13.g5 Ne4 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Qxe4 a4 16.h4 b3 17.cxb3 axb3 18.a3 Nd7 19.h5 Rxa3 20.bxa3 Qxa3 21.Kb1 Nc5 22.Nc3 Nxe4 23.h6 Nxc3 24.Bxc3 Qa2 25.Kc1 Qc2# 0-1'/>