I have updated my chess site with a new page offering free PDF ebooks on chess and updated the analysis in my game against Clifford Story. The free chess ebooks are older books that fall into the public domain or that have give away rights. Click here to get free chess ebooks.
Over time I will be updating analysis on old games published at my chess site and replacing the old game pages that I accidentally deleted some time ago. Eventually, all of the links on this blog will work!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Mike Serovey Defeats Michael Cui
In spite of my sloppy play against a much lower rated player I managed to win this game on time forfeit. My opponent was a little boy who is one of Mike Hoffer's students. I have used Chess Base 11 and Rybka to find improvements to this game for both sides but will not publish all of that analysis because Mike knows about this blog and my chess site, and so will some of his students.
I drew a higher rated player in Round One of the Florida State Championship Prep tournament and this game is from Round Two, when I was still tired from Round One. One of the problems with being a 1500 rated player in an open tournament is that I usually get paired up in the first round! Win, lose or draw, I usually do not have time to recover from Round One before I have to start Round Two! That happened again here!
This entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://mikeseroveyonchess.com/MichaelCui-French.html. Here is the PGN:
[Event "Florida State Championship Prep"]
[Site "Tampa"]
[Date "2011.08.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Serovey, Michael"]
[Black "Cui, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1567"]
[BlackElo "923"]
[Annotator "Michael Serovey"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2011.08.27"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceDate "2011.08.29"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4
Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 a6 11. Re1 f6 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Qf3 Bb4 14. Ne2 Qg4
15. Qxg4 Nxg4 16. Rd1 O-O 17. h3 Nxf2 18. Be3 Nxd1 19. Rxd1 e5 20. a3 Bd6 21. g4
Rf3 22. Be4 Rxe3 23. Bxd5+ Kf8 24. Nc3 Bc5 25. Kg2 Bc6 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. Na4 Be7
28. Rc1 Rc8 29. Nb6 Rb8 30. Nd7+ Kf7 31. Nxb8 Re2+ 32. Kf3 Rxb2 33. Rc3 Kf6 34.
Nxc6 Rb7 35. Nxe7 Rxe7 36. Ke4 Kg5 37. a4 Kh4 38. a5 h5 39. gxh5 Kxh5 40. Rg3
Kh4 41. Rf3 g5 42. Rf5 g4 43. hxg4 Kxg4 44. Rxe5 1-0
I drew a higher rated player in Round One of the Florida State Championship Prep tournament and this game is from Round Two, when I was still tired from Round One. One of the problems with being a 1500 rated player in an open tournament is that I usually get paired up in the first round! Win, lose or draw, I usually do not have time to recover from Round One before I have to start Round Two! That happened again here!
This entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://mikeseroveyonchess.com/MichaelCui-French.html. Here is the PGN:
[Event "Florida State Championship Prep"]
[Site "Tampa"]
[Date "2011.08.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Serovey, Michael"]
[Black "Cui, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1567"]
[BlackElo "923"]
[Annotator "Michael Serovey"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2011.08.27"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceDate "2011.08.29"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4
Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 a6 11. Re1 f6 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Qf3 Bb4 14. Ne2 Qg4
15. Qxg4 Nxg4 16. Rd1 O-O 17. h3 Nxf2 18. Be3 Nxd1 19. Rxd1 e5 20. a3 Bd6 21. g4
Rf3 22. Be4 Rxe3 23. Bxd5+ Kf8 24. Nc3 Bc5 25. Kg2 Bc6 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. Na4 Be7
28. Rc1 Rc8 29. Nb6 Rb8 30. Nd7+ Kf7 31. Nxb8 Re2+ 32. Kf3 Rxb2 33. Rc3 Kf6 34.
Nxc6 Rb7 35. Nxe7 Rxe7 36. Ke4 Kg5 37. a4 Kh4 38. a5 h5 39. gxh5 Kxh5 40. Rg3
Kh4 41. Rf3 g5 42. Rf5 g4 43. hxg4 Kxg4 44. Rxe5 1-0
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Mike Serovey Wins Class "C" Prize in FCA Quick Chess Regional Championship
Yesterday I played in my first FCA membership required chess tournament in a long time. It was a game in 29 minutes time control and the clocks were set to 25 minutes with a 5 second delay.
In Round 1 I had a rematch with Roshan Jayarama and again had White. I again played the English opening and this time we drew. After the game Roshan asked me if I always play the English. The answer is "No", but until he outplays me in the opening there is no need to play anything else against him. I was winning this game until I noticed that I was behind on time and started rushing my moves. I dropped a pawn and then was able to win it back in the time scramble. With nothing left on the board but a King and Rook each I said, "Draw!" not asking for a draw but declaring it one. Of course, Roshan had to agree in order to end the game there and he did.
In Round 2 I again had Black against Terry Feeney. The first time we played I played the Modern defense and Terry missed a chance to win a pawn in the opening. He was better for the first 20 moves or so but eventually lost on time. So, this time I played the Sicilian defense and must have caught Terry sleep walking because he played terribly and quickly lost.
In Round 3 I got my friend Robert Clark and I thought that I would have an easy draw because of the number of times that I have drawn or beaten Rob in the past. I was mistaken because Rob plays for a win in every game, even against friends. I tried something new and it backfired. I now know that in the games with really fast time controls it is best for me to stay with openings that I know well.
In Round 4 I got one of Mike Hoffer's students, Truman Hoang. Before the start of the tournament I overheard Mike telling one of his students that he knew how to beat me and then Mike pointed me out to him. I was warned by Mike that he had prepared something special for me and I believe that it is a new twist on his "chick bone" thing. So, I played the Sicilian defense in order to avoid the prepared line. Truman was about 5 minutes late for the start of this game and eventually blundered in time pressure. I may have lost this one if he had been on time.
I am a little annoyed, flattered and amused all at the same time that Mike is teaching his students how to beat me! I am amused because Mike has yet to beat me in a rated game! He has outplayed me at times in part of our games but blunders in time trouble and gives back any advantage that he may have had! I have yet to see his students handle time trouble any better than he does. I am annoyed because he wants me to do him favors because we are friends yet he is unwilling to share with me the file that he is keeping on me and my games. His paid students learn how to beat me but I have to figure out on my own how to beat them! I wonder if his students know about this blog and my chess site. If they do then they can look up my games going back longer than these little kids have been alive! I am a little flattered that a higher rated player than I am thinks that I am a threat to him and his students!
In the final round I got one of the people who tied for first place, Andres Hernandez. The USCF rules state that because White has a slight advantage with the first move he or she gets his or her choice of playing equipment to include the chess clock. Andres insisted on using his clock even though it was not working correctly. We were at least ten moves into this game when I realized that I was 5 minutes behind on time because my clock was still running when it was my opponent's turn to move! When I called this out we used my clock. I wanted to start the clock with the full 25 minutes but Andres insisted on taking 5 minutes of both side's time. I don't think that I had actually used 5 minutes of my time yet and may have been penalized for agreeing to this. Unfortunately, the tournament director was not nearby at that time. Because I had rushed some of my moves when I thought that I was behind on time due to a defective clock, I went into the time scramble later on down material. I don't mind losing to a higher rated player who is better than I am, but I do mind blundering due to a defective clock!
A score of two and a half out of five was enough to win the Class "C" prize of $35 so I recovered my entry fee and got $5 for gas. That was all that I had hoped to accomplish when I started this event. Now, I am trying to figure out how to play mistake free chess and also how to get more chess players to show up for these Tampa tournaments.
In Round 1 I had a rematch with Roshan Jayarama and again had White. I again played the English opening and this time we drew. After the game Roshan asked me if I always play the English. The answer is "No", but until he outplays me in the opening there is no need to play anything else against him. I was winning this game until I noticed that I was behind on time and started rushing my moves. I dropped a pawn and then was able to win it back in the time scramble. With nothing left on the board but a King and Rook each I said, "Draw!" not asking for a draw but declaring it one. Of course, Roshan had to agree in order to end the game there and he did.
In Round 2 I again had Black against Terry Feeney. The first time we played I played the Modern defense and Terry missed a chance to win a pawn in the opening. He was better for the first 20 moves or so but eventually lost on time. So, this time I played the Sicilian defense and must have caught Terry sleep walking because he played terribly and quickly lost.
In Round 3 I got my friend Robert Clark and I thought that I would have an easy draw because of the number of times that I have drawn or beaten Rob in the past. I was mistaken because Rob plays for a win in every game, even against friends. I tried something new and it backfired. I now know that in the games with really fast time controls it is best for me to stay with openings that I know well.
In Round 4 I got one of Mike Hoffer's students, Truman Hoang. Before the start of the tournament I overheard Mike telling one of his students that he knew how to beat me and then Mike pointed me out to him. I was warned by Mike that he had prepared something special for me and I believe that it is a new twist on his "chick bone" thing. So, I played the Sicilian defense in order to avoid the prepared line. Truman was about 5 minutes late for the start of this game and eventually blundered in time pressure. I may have lost this one if he had been on time.
I am a little annoyed, flattered and amused all at the same time that Mike is teaching his students how to beat me! I am amused because Mike has yet to beat me in a rated game! He has outplayed me at times in part of our games but blunders in time trouble and gives back any advantage that he may have had! I have yet to see his students handle time trouble any better than he does. I am annoyed because he wants me to do him favors because we are friends yet he is unwilling to share with me the file that he is keeping on me and my games. His paid students learn how to beat me but I have to figure out on my own how to beat them! I wonder if his students know about this blog and my chess site. If they do then they can look up my games going back longer than these little kids have been alive! I am a little flattered that a higher rated player than I am thinks that I am a threat to him and his students!
In the final round I got one of the people who tied for first place, Andres Hernandez. The USCF rules state that because White has a slight advantage with the first move he or she gets his or her choice of playing equipment to include the chess clock. Andres insisted on using his clock even though it was not working correctly. We were at least ten moves into this game when I realized that I was 5 minutes behind on time because my clock was still running when it was my opponent's turn to move! When I called this out we used my clock. I wanted to start the clock with the full 25 minutes but Andres insisted on taking 5 minutes of both side's time. I don't think that I had actually used 5 minutes of my time yet and may have been penalized for agreeing to this. Unfortunately, the tournament director was not nearby at that time. Because I had rushed some of my moves when I thought that I was behind on time due to a defective clock, I went into the time scramble later on down material. I don't mind losing to a higher rated player who is better than I am, but I do mind blundering due to a defective clock!
A score of two and a half out of five was enough to win the Class "C" prize of $35 so I recovered my entry fee and got $5 for gas. That was all that I had hoped to accomplish when I started this event. Now, I am trying to figure out how to play mistake free chess and also how to get more chess players to show up for these Tampa tournaments.
Location of Hoffer's Chess Acadamy & Tampa Chess Club
For the past two years Willard Taylor and Mike Hoffer have been running chess tournaments and giving instructions to students in various locations in and around Tampa, Florida. On the fourth Saturday of every month there will a rapid chess tornado at the Perkin's restaurant located at the corner of Fowler Avenue and 50th Street. It is on the North side of Fowler and is easy to find. However, the location of the other playing site is more difficult to find so I have added some code here for you to get directions to it.
View Larger Map
Coach Willard Taylor can be contacted at 813 - 516 - 2257.
View Larger Map
Coach Willard Taylor can be contacted at 813 - 516 - 2257.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mike Serovey Draws Jamie Calvin
Back in May of 2011 Jamie Calvin and I agreed to a draw in an Electronic Knights chess game. I just added that game along with some analysis to my chess site and the game can be found at http://mikeseroveyonchess.com/JamieCalvin-Modern.html. This is one of my few draws against a correspondence chess master.
Here is the game in PGN:
[Event "11EN1"]
[Site "Electronic Knights"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Calvin, Jamie"]
[Black "Serovey, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. Qd2 O-O 6. O-O-O c6 7. Bh6 b5 8. Bxg7
Kxg7 9. Bd3 b4 10. Nce2 a5 11. Nf3 Ba6 12. h4 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 h5 14. Ng3 Nbd7 15.
e5 Ng4 16. Nxh5+ gxh5 17. Ng5 Rh8 18. e6 Ndf6 19. Qg3 Qb8 20. f3 Nh6 21. Nxf7+
Kh7 22. Nxh8 Qxh8 23. Qe1 Rg8 24. Rg1 Qg7 25. Qe2 Qg3 26. Qa6 Qf4+ 27. Kb1 Nf5
28. Qxc6 Ne3 29. Rd2 Nfd5 30. Rc1 Qf5 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2
Here is the game in PGN:
[Event "11EN1"]
[Site "Electronic Knights"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Calvin, Jamie"]
[Black "Serovey, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. Qd2 O-O 6. O-O-O c6 7. Bh6 b5 8. Bxg7
Kxg7 9. Bd3 b4 10. Nce2 a5 11. Nf3 Ba6 12. h4 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 h5 14. Ng3 Nbd7 15.
e5 Ng4 16. Nxh5+ gxh5 17. Ng5 Rh8 18. e6 Ndf6 19. Qg3 Qb8 20. f3 Nh6 21. Nxf7+
Kh7 22. Nxh8 Qxh8 23. Qe1 Rg8 24. Rg1 Qg7 25. Qe2 Qg3 26. Qa6 Qf4+ 27. Kb1 Nf5
28. Qxc6 Ne3 29. Rd2 Nfd5 30. Rc1 Qf5 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2
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