Mike Serovey On Chess

Upcoming January Chess Events

2012-01-11T04:00:00.000-05:00

My friend, Mike Hoffer, sent me the following announcement:

Dear loyal supporters:

This email is being sent to my closest and loyal friends who have supported our tournaments. As you all know, I have worked hard and devoted my life to improving chess for the Tampa Bay Area. We've provided you with your own quality location. I promised everyone attendance would rise in January. My reputation is at stake!

Especially now that St. Pete has shut down until fall, it is time for us to make a statement. The days of limited entries are over! If only our loyal core shows up on January 21, our prize fund will be $335. With ten more, which I truly EXPECT, the prize fund will be $500, as it should be on a regular basis, if we start now.

Please mark your calendars and let me know early if you can play in our open event on Saturday, January 21, the day before the NFC/AFC Conference Championships.

We have many exciting prospects for the New Year, thanks to your support!

Thanks,

Coach Mike

Tampa Open Chess Tournament – Saturday, January 21 @ 12:15-6:30 pm

The adults are on the run!
These events are rating BONANZAS for younger players & great lessons if they lose!

PLEASE RSVP WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND SO WE MAY START ON TIME!
PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE! WE ARE STARTING AN HOUR EARLIER DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND!
WE ARE PAIRING THE ADVANCE ENTRIES WHO MAY ARRIVE @12:45. CALL IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT!
Expected entrants include: Corey Acor, Brian Alvarado, Luther Barnum, Bruce Beard, Wyndell East, Terry Feeney, Lyubo Gospodinov, Timo Gospodinov, Andres Hernandez, TrongAn Hoang, Truman Hoang, Michael Hoffer, Roshan Jayaraman, Joshua Kennedy, Goran Markovic, Vinod Panicker, Scott Raymond, Mike Serovey, Kevin Stevens, Jeff York

Rated USCF Chess Tournament - Open to all ages PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND
Tampa Chess Centre at Busch Commercial Plaza, 5035 E. Busch Blvd, Suite 10, Tampa, FL 33617
Entry fee is only $25 if registered in advance. $30 on-site (pre-register and save $5).
USCF membership required. You may join on-site. Please bring your own clocks and sets if you have them.
Time control: GAME 40 minutes for each player, four round Swiss System - no elimination
Registration starts 12:15 PM; First round begins (times approximate): 12:45; R2 2:20; R3 3:40; R4 5:00
Prize money: $500 based on 30 entries. Prize distribution subject to category of entries (such as if 50% adults/kids) split equitably. Example of prizes: $150-90-60. U1600: $90; U1400: $60; U1000: $50
Dates: February 25; March 24; April 28; May 26
We also have requests for blitz tournaments. Please let us know if you would play in such events.

Tampa Chess Centre Club & Classes by Hoffer’s Chess Academy
Official Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation
Push Pawns Not Drugs! Say Yes 2 Chess!
Thursday Nights 6:30-8:30 PM @ Tampa Chess Centre
Busch Commercial Plaza, 5035 E. Busch Blvd., Suite 10, Tampa, 33617

December Chess in Tampa

2011-12-17T02:15:00.001-05:00

My friend, Mike Hoffer, sent to me the following announcement:

We at Hoffer’s Chess Academy / www.Yes2Chess.com have a solemn commitment to provide quality monthly chess tournaments for the Tampa Bay Area. This is why we ask players to RSVP whether or not they may be attending our events. With the holiday distractions, no one has bothered to say they are not coming. Less than ten have said they are coming. Due to the uncertainty regarding attendance, this Sunday’s event has been cancelled. We look forward to seeing all of you for the next Over/Under 800 on January 29, the New Year’s Eve Open, and the January 30 Homeschool Unrated Tournament. Please refer to our website for the complete schedule of events.

The overwhelming factor over Sunday was we had a contingent coming from over the Bay & some NEW Tampa families. We feel they are the ones we cannot disappoint. While our faithful core indicated a willingness to participate if needed, we do not want to take advantage of that bond. We are sorry to inconvenience those who planned to attend. Therefore, we are offering a free club night on Thursday, December 22 6:30-8:30 PM at our Tampa Chess Centre, 5035 E. Busch Blvd., Suite #10, with free pizza and refreshments.

For years, the Tampa Bay Area has been privileged with popular monthly events promoted by either Willard Taylor or the late Andrew Scherman. They achieved a following by consistently doing things the right way. We are doing our utmost to carry on this heritage.

There is little doubt we will have a good turnout on January 29. We have worked hard to develop a treasure trove of new enthusiastic entries for the future. There are plenty of families who appreciate our efforts. Many people were discouraged when the Beatles broke up, too. Eventually they still listened to other music.

Happy Holidays!

Scholastic Chess Tournament – Over/Under 800

2011-11-11T17:24:00.000-05:00

Scholastic Chess Tournament – Over/Under 800
Sunday, November 13, 12-5pm

PLEASE RSVP WHETHER OR NOT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND SO WE MAY START ON TIME!
ADVANCE ENTRIES WILL BE PAIRED & MAY ARRIVE FOR ROUND 1 @1 PM. PLEASE CALL IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT!

Presented by the Tampa Chess Club and Yes2Chess.com
Fully Rated USCF Chess Tournament for Grades K-12 Only
2 Divisions: Over 800 / Under 800 (includes Unrated)
Entry fee is only $20 (if registered 8 days before the event)

Dates: Sundays 12-5: November 13; December 18; January 29; February 19; March 11; April 15; May 13

Location:
Tampa Chess Club
Busch Commercial Plaza
5035 E. Busch Blvd, Suite 10
Tampa, FL 33617

Rounds: 4 rounds Swiss System (no elimination)
Time Control: Game 30 minutes for each player
Entry fee: Only $20 if registered 8 days before the event; otherwise entry fee is $30 on site.

USCF membership required. May join USCF on tournament day. Grades K-12 only.

Prize money: Based on 20 entries per each division
1st place: $100
2nd place: $60
3rd place: $40

Registration: Noon - 12:45pm (on-site cost $30; pre-register 8 days in advance and save $10)

Round 1: 1:00pm; Rounds 2-4: start as soon as possible
For more information, email or call 813-526-2257.

Other events this month:
Home-school Unrated Chess Tournament – Monday, Nov. 14 @ 10:30-2:30 pm
Thanksgiving Open Chess Tournament – Saturday, Nov. 19 @ 12:15-6:30 pm

Tampa Chess Centre Club & Classes by Hoffer’s Chess Academy
Official Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation
Push Pawns Not Drugs! Say Yes 2 Chess!
Thursday Nights 6:30-8:30 PM @ Tampa Chess Centre
Busch Commercial Plaza, 5035 E. Busch Blvd., Suite 10, Tampa, 33617
www.Yes2Chess.com
(813) 526-2257

Chess Tournament Crosstables

2011-11-01T19:49:00.001-04:00

I have recently been re certified as a Local Tournament Director by the US Chess Federation and have run two chess tournaments as the chief TD in each. I have had some formatting problems with this blog, but the information that is available to me is posted below. Clickable links in the crosstables will allow my readers to get more information on the players listed below. I have posted what I have for all of the tournaments that I have run as the chief TD since 1996 and the results of a few that I have played in before getting re certified.

The hosting company for most of my websites seems to have gone out of business. Until I can get my sites moved to new servers I will have my chess site down.

Tampa
Bay Fall Open

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Pair | Player Name                    |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|

 Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)      | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    1 | LYUBOMIR T GOSPODINOV          |4.0  |W   7|W   2|W   3|W   5|

   FL | 13398238 / R: 1775   ->1823    |N:2  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1720   ->1774    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    2 | ROBERT B CLARK                 |2.5  |W   6|L   1|W   7|D   3|

   FL | 12717539 / R: 1736   ->1737    |N:3  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1709   ->1703    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    3 | TIMOTEY DIMITROV GOSPODINOV    |2.5  |W   8|W   5|L   1|D   2|

   FL | 13797483 / R: 1694   ->1701    |N:3  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1631   ->1643    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    4 | KEVIN A STEVENS                |2.0  |D   5|L   7|D   6|W   8|

   FL | 12579504 / R: 1378   ->1419    |N:4  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1359   ->1382    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    5 | MICHAEL R SEROVEY              |1.5  |D   4|L   3|W   8|L   1|

   FL | 10235278 / R: 1562   ->1552    |N:4  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1557   ->1541    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    6 | TRUMAN HOANG                   |1.5  |L   2|L   8|D   4|W   7|

   FL | 14234767 / R: 1509   ->1497    |N:4  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1374   ->1376    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    7 | JEROME YORK                    |1.0  |L   1|W   4|L   2|L   6|

   FL | 12600812 / R: 1559   ->1537    |     |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1459   ->1440    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    8 | DYLAN SUNJIC                   |1.0  |L   3|W   6|L   5|L   4|

   FL | 14194190 / R: 1487   ->1463    |     |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1452   ->1423    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Guavaween Open

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Num |
USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

1
|

COREY ACOR
|3.5 |W   7|W   6|W   3|H   0|

FL |
12788211 / R: 2215 ->2216 | | | | | |

| Q: 2184 ->2185 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

2
|

JOSHUA WILLIAM KENNEDY
|3.0 |W   5|L   3|W   7|W   6|

FL |
14462950 / R: 1670 ->1674 | | | | | |

| Q: 1572 ->1586 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

3
|

TRUMAN HOANG
|3.0 |W   4|W   2|L   1|W   7|

FL |
14234767 / R: 1461 ->1598 | | | | | |

| Q: 1346 ->1513 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

4
|

ANDRES HERNANDEZ
         |2.0 |L   3|W   5|W   6|U   0|

FL |
13460747 / R: 1847 ->1833 | | | | | |

| Q: 1860 ->1844 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

  5
|

ROSHAN JAYARAMAN
|2.0 |L   2|L   4|W   8|B   0|

FL |
14689114 / R: 1372P20->1365P23 | | | | | |

| Q: 1371P25->1361 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

6
|

MICHAEL R SEROVEY
|1.0 |W   8|L   1|L   4|L   2|

FL |
10235278 / R: 1552 ->1536 | | | | | |

| Q: 1541 ->1522 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

7
|

TERRANCE M FEENEY
|1.0 |L   1|W   8|L   2|L   3|

FL |
13961137 / R: 1521 ->1499 | | | | | |

| Q: 1491 ->1463 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

8
|

BENSON WALENT
|0.0 |L   6|L   7|L   5|U   0|

FL |
14088988 / R: 849 -> 843 | | | | | |

| Q: 834 -> 828 | | | | | |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:50:06

Event ID: 201110292501

Event Name: GUAVAWEEN OPEN

Location: TAMPA FL 33617

Event Dates: 2011-10-29 - 2011-10-29

Stats: 1 Section, 8 Players, 14 Games

Affiliate: A6020214 HOFFER'S CHESS ACADEMY

Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst Chief TD:

Section: 1 OPEN

Section Dates: 2011-10-29 - 2011-10-29

Sec Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec Asst Chef TD: 12450312 MICHAEL HOFFER

Stats: 4 Rounds, 8 Players, 14 Games, Swiss

Rating Stats: Dual Rated Full K

Dates: Received: 2011-10-29, Entered: 2011-10-29,
Rated: 2011-10-29

Re-Rated: 2011-10-29

USCF ID PAIR NAME ST PRERATE POST--R PRERATE
POST--Q 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- -------
------- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

12788211 1 ACOR, COREY FL 2215* 2216* 2184*
2185* W---7 W---6 W---3 H---0 3.5

14462950 2 KENNEDY, JOSHUA W FL 1670* 1674* 1572*
1586* W---5 L---3 W---7 W---6 3.0

14234767 3 HOANG, TRUMAN FL 1461* 1598* 1346*
1513* W---4 W---2 L---1 W---7 3.0

13460747 4 HERNANDEZ, ANDRES FL 1847* 1833* 1860*
1844* L---3 W---5 W---6 U---0 2.0

14689114 5 JAYARAMAN, ROSHAN FL 1372/20 1365/23 1371/25
1361* L---2 L---4 W---8 B---0 2.0

10235278 6 SEROVEY, MICHAEL FL 1552* 1536* 1541*
1522* W---8 L---1 L---4 L---2 1.0

13961137 7 FEENEY, TERRANCE FL 1521* 1499* 1491*
1463* L---1 W---8 L---2 L---3 1.0

14088988 8 WALENT, BENSON FL 849* 843* 834*
828* L---6 L---7 L---5 U---0 0.0

FLORIDA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PREP

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Pair | Player Name                    |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|

 Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)      | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    1 | JOSHUA WILLIAM KENNEDY         |3.0  |W   6|L   3|W   4|W   5|

   FL | 14462950 / R: 1668   ->1675    |N:3  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1541   ->1572    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    2 | SCOTT GREGORY RAYMOND          |2.5  |D   5|L   4|W   6|W   3|

   FL | 13197836 / R: 1781   ->1765    |N:4  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1666   ->1657    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    3 | TERRANCE M FEENEY              |2.5  |W   4|W   1|D   5|L   2|

   FL | 13961137 / R: 1406   ->1521    |N:3  |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1381   ->1491    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    4 | ROBERT B CLARK                 |2.0  |L   3|W   2|L   1|W   6|

   FL | 12717539 / R: 1758   ->1736    |     |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1738   ->1709    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    5 | MICHAEL R SEROVEY              |2.0  |D   2|W   6|D   3|L   1|

   FL | 10235278 / R: 1567   ->1562    |     |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q: 1572   ->1557    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

    6 | MICHAEL CUI                    |0.0  |L   1|L   5|L   2|L   4|

   FL | 14010352 / R:  923   -> 920    |     |     |     |     |     |

      |            Q:  756   -> 754    |     |     |     |     |     |

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:49:48

Event
ID: 201110230701

Event
Name: OCTOBER SCHOLASTIC CHESS

Location: TAMPA FL 33617

Event
Dates: 2011-10-23 - 2011-10-23

Stats: 2 Sections, 20 Players, 34 Games

Affiliate: A6020214 HOFFER'S CHESS ACADEMY

Chief
TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst
Chief TD:

Section: 1 U800

Section
Dates: 2011-10-23 - 2011-10-23

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chf TD: 12450312 MICHAEL HOFFER

Stats: 4 Rounds, 7 Players, 12 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Dual Rated Full K

Dates: Received: 2011-10-24, Entered: 2011-10-24, Rated: 2011-10-24

Re-Rated: 2011-10-25

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE POST--R PRERATE POST--Q 1 2 3
4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ------- ------- ----- -----
----- ----- -----

14088988 1 WALENT, BENSON FL 690* 849* 667* 834* W---5 W---3
W---2 W---4 4.0

14496540 2 REGISTER, MATTHEW FL 731/16 734/20 722/16 725/20 W---4 W---7
L---1 W---6 3.0

14496356 3 MASON, MICHAEL AN FL 698* 696* 690* 687* W---6 L---1
W---5 B---0 3.0

14688786 4 THIVIERGE, MARK T FL 586/08 562/12 573/08 550/12 L---2 W---6
W---7 L---1 2.0

14688771 5 THIVIERGE, ERIC J FL 425/08 418/11 415/08 409/11 L---1 B---0
L---3 W---7 2.0

14496445 6 CORSO, ANTHONY FL 345/24 312* 338/24 304* L---3 L---4
B---0 L---2 1.0

14460644 7 BIKKASANI, TEJ FL 116/12 116/15 116/12 116/15 B---0 L---2
L---4 L---5 1.0

Section: 2 O800

Section
Dates: 2011-10-23 - 2011-10-23

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chef TD: 12450312 MICHAEL HOFFER

Stats: 4 Rounds, 13 Players, 22 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Dual Rated Full K

Dates: Received: 2011-10-24, Entered: 2011-10-24, Rated: 2011-10-24

Re-Rated: 2011-10-25

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE POST--R PRERATE POST--Q 1 2 3
4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ------- ------- ----- -----
----- ----- -----

13398238 1 GOSPODINOV, LYUBO FL 1846* 1827* 1788* 1769* L---4 W---5
W---3 W---7 3.0

13640761 2 MASON, DAVID SMITH FL 1441* 1464* 1411* 1430* W---7 W---4
W---6 L---3 3.0

14689114 3 JAYARAMAN, ROSHAN FL 1318/16 1372/20 1331/21 1371/25 W--11 W--12
L---1 W---2 3.0

14030857 4 PETERS, ZACHARY S FL 1231* 1349* 1208* 1318* W---1 L---2
W---8 W---9 3.0

14234710 5 ELLSTROM, GAVIN FL 824* 1029* 756* 967* B---0 L---1
W---9 W---6 3.0

14234767 6 HOANG, TRUMAN FL 1497* 1461* 1376* 1346* W--13 W---9
L---2 L---5 2.0

14166813 7 NEWMAN, JACOB FL 1156* 1196* 1133* 1166* L---2 W--13
W--12 L---1 2.0

14166807 8 NEWMAN, ZACHARY FL 985* 995* 954* 956* L---9 B---0
L---4 W--12 2.0

13728646 9 LEVISON, JOSHUA FL 1393* 1329* 1305* 1240* W---8 L---6
L---5 L---4 1.0

13967363 10 STAMAT, CHRISTOPHER FL 1258* 1180* 1230* 1148* L--12 L--11
B---0 U---0 1.0

14278835 11 BARRICK, STEPHEN FL 876* 923* 850* 898* L---3 W--10
U---0 U---0 1.0

14010352 12 CUI, MICHAEL FL 920* 930* 754* 802* W--10 L---3
L---7 L---8 1.0

14209413 13 NAIR, JACOB E FL 1235* 1200* 1219* 1177* L---6 L---7
U---0 U---0 0.0

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:50:01

Event
ID: 199812057270

Event
Name: HCC FALL OPEN

Location: TAMPA FL 33617

Event
Dates: 1998-12-05 - 1998-12-05

Stats: 1 Section, 20 Players, 39 Games

Affiliate: G6013346 HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE CC

Chief
TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst
Chief TD:

Other
TDs: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Section: 1 OPEN

Section
Dates: 1998-12-05 - 1998-12-05

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chef TD: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Stats: 4 Rounds, 20 Players, 39 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Regular Ratings Full K

Dates: Received: 1998-12-15, Entered: 1998-12-30, Rated: 1999-01-06

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE PSTRATE 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

10703565 1 GREENE, CHARLES FL 2127* 2141* W--19 W---8 W---6 W---5 4.0

10126142 2 MILLER, PERETZ FL 2222* 2208* W--10 W--14 L---5 W---7 3.0

12558712 3 OWOSINA, TOLANI A FL 2161* 2161* H---0 W--10 D---4 W---9 3.0

12242070 4 SCHERMAN, ANDREW FL 2102* 2092* W--11 D---7 D---3 W--12 3.0

12600066 5 SANCHEZ, ROBERTO FL 2088* 2098* W--15 W---9 W---2 L---1 3.0

12603968 6 JACOBS, DAVID G HI 1719* 1721* W--12 W--17 L---1 W--11 3.0

12742081 7 HERNANDEZ, LUIS FL 1631* 1665* W--18 D---4 W--14 L---2 2.5

12625504 8 MYERS, MICHAEL FL 1629* 1599* W--20 L---1 L--12 W--17 2.0

12735513 9 BUGIA, GEBER R FL 1627/13 1648/17 W--13 L---5 W--17 L---3 2.0

12684122 10 DACANAY, RENATO FL 1553* 1566* L---2 L---3 W--13 W--18 2.0

20050103 11 BAILEY, SIMON F FL 1298* 1310* L---4 W--20 W--18 L---6 2.0

12666059 12 GOBBIS, MICHAEL J SC 1190* 1236* L---6 W--19 W---8 L---4 2.0

12756541 13 MALA, ARMEND FL 0/00 1436/04 L---9 W--15 L--10 W--19 2.0

12439808 14 PAREE, LOYD A FL 1710* 1679* W--16 L---2 L---7 D--15 1.5

12655738 15 YOUNG, JONATHAN H FL 1382* 1382* L---5 L--13 W--20 D--14 1.5

12691684 16 LUCIANNO, VICTOR FL 1129* 1114* L--14 L--18 L--19 W--20 1.0

12725802 17 CROCIATA, JONATHAN FL 925/05 1053/08 B---0 L---6 L---9 L---8 1.0

12756540 18 MALA, EDMOND FL 0/00 1203/04 L---7 W--16 L--11 L--10 1.0

12748156 19 BERRYMAN, BOB FL 0/00 1259/04 L---1 L--12 W--16 L--13 1.0

12726059 20 WATERS, JOHN R FL 0/00 960/04 L---8 L--11 L--15 L--16 0.0

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:50:09

Event
ID: 199804258020

Event
Name: HCC SPRING OPEN

Location: TAMPA FL 33630-3030

Event
Dates: 1998-04-25 - 1998-04-25

Stats: 1 Section, 12 Players, 24 Games

Affiliate: G6013346 HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE CC

Chief
TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst
Chief TD:

Other
TDs: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Section: 1

Section
Dates: 1998-04-25 - 1998-04-25

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chef TD: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Stats: 4 Rounds, 12 Players, 24 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Regular Ratings Full K

Dates: Received: 1998-05-01, Entered: 1998-05-07, Rated: 1998-05-12

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE PSTRATE 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

12600066 1 SANCHEZ, ROBERTO FL 2101* 2113* W---6 W---4 D---2 W---5 3.5

12742081 2 HERNANDEZ, LUIS FL 0/00 2078/04 W--11 W---3 D---1 W---6 3.5

12556704 3 WHITE, DANIEL L FL 1739* 1752* W---8 L---2 W---9 W---7 3.0

10157552 4 NEEDHAM, JOHN V FL 1780* 1794* W---7 L---1 D---5 W---9 2.5

11441653 5 MASON, MIKE W FL 1981* 1951* D---9 W--10 D---4 L---1 2.0

12625504 6 MYERS, MICHAEL FL 1623* 1633* L---1 W--12 W--10 L---2 2.0

12605052 7 BIEZUNSKI, JEFFREY FL 1524* 1543* L---4 W---8 W--11 L---3 2.0

12717539 8 CLARK, ROBERT B FL 0/00 1422/04 L---3 L---7 W--12 W--10 2.0

12605018 9 BIEZUNSKI, EMANUEL FL 1470* 1496* D---5 W--11 L---3 L---4 1.5

12522321 10 BURGOS, FERNANDO FL 1686/08 1581/12 W--12 L---5 L---6 L---8 1.0

12684122 11 DACANAY, RENATO FL 1647* 1600* L---2 L---9 L---7 W--12 1.0

12703999 12 MILANES, JAVIER A FL 615/06 833/10 L--10 L---6 L---8 L--11 0.0

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:50:11

Event
ID: 199705038530

Event
Name: HILLSBOROUGH CC SPRING OPEN

Location: TAMPA FL 33619

Event
Dates: 1997-05-03 - 1997-05-03

Stats: 1 Section, 8 Players, 16 Games

Affiliate: G6013346 HILLSBOROUGH COMM COLLEGE CC

Chief
TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst
Chief TD:

Other
TDs: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Section: 1 1

Section
Dates: 1997-05-03 - 1997-05-03

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chief TD: 12542331 ALEXANDER A AMBRIOSO

Stats: 4 Rounds, 8 Players, 16 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Regular Ratings Full K

Dates: Received: 1997-05-12, Entered: 1997-05-30, Rated: 1997-06-03

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE PSTRATE 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

12600066 1 SANCHEZ, ROBERTO FL 2155* 2161* W---5 W---3 W---2 D---4 3.5

10703565 2 GREENE, CHARLES FL 2118* 2103* W---7 W---6 L---1 D---3 2.5

11441653 3 MASON, MIKE W FL 1963* 1964* W---8 L---1 W---6 D---2 2.5

12542331 4 AMBRIOSO, ALEXANDER FL 1601* 1609* L---6 W---7 W---5 D---1
2.5

12564226 5 MACIEJEWSKI, JEREMY NC 1457* 1457* L---1 W---8 L---4 W---7
2.0

12684122 6 DACANAY, RENATO FL 1342/04 1525/08 W---4 L---2 L---3 W---8 2.0

12681478 7 CROUSE, DENNIS JA FL 1209* 1197* L---2 L---4 D---8 L---5 0.5

12636628 8 COLANGELO, DOMINIC FL 1150* 1144* L---3 L---5 D---7 L---6 0.5

Prepared November 1, 2011 17:50:15

Event
ID: 199612072930

Event
Name: HCC FALL OPEN

Location: BRANDON FL 33619

Event
Dates: 1996-12-07 - 1996-12-07

Stats: 1 Section, 19 Players, 33 Games

Affiliate: G6013346 HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE CC

Chief
TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Asst
Chief TD:

Section: 1

Section
Dates: 1996-12-07 - 1996-12-07

Sec
Chief TD: 10235278 MICHAEL R SEROVEY

Sec
Asst Chief TD:

Stats: 4 Rounds, 19 Players, 33 Games, Swiss

Rating
Stats: Regular Ratings Full K

Dates: Received: 1996-12-17, Entered: 1996-12-30, Rated: 1997-01-02

USCF ID
PAIR NAME ST PRERATE PSTRATE 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

-------- ---- ----------------- -- ------- ------- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

12600066 1 SANCHEZ, ROBERTO FL 2163* 2173* W--15 W--16 W---3 W---2 4.0

12603751 2 BORGES, LAURO R 2033* 2024* W--10 W---4 W---5 L---1 3.0

10240387 3 HIERS, JAMES MICHAEL FL 1744* 1743* W--12 W--11 L---1 W---7
3.0

12603968 4 JACOBS, DAVID G HI 1404* 1415* W--19 L---2 W--11 W--12 3.0

12605052 5 BIEZUNSKI, JEFFREY FL 1219* 1301* W--13 W---8 L---2 W--10 3.0

12641186 6 ANGLEN, GREGORY FL 1019* 1071* L--14 B---0 W--15 W--17 3.0

12674954 7 ANDERSON, BRADLEY FL 890/15 1040/18 B---0 W--14 W---8 L---3 3.0

12627922 8 COSTIN, J FL 1811* 1753* W--17 L---5 L---7 W--16 2.0

12536018 9 HARD, ANDREW M FL 1524* 1477* L--11 L--12 B---0 W--15 2.0

12628581 10 GALBRAITH, SCOTT FL 1330* 1332* L---2 W--19 W--14 L---5 2.0

12636628 11 COLANGELO, DOMINIC FL 1107* 1157* W---9 L---3 L---4 W--14 2.0

12627156 12 LEE, JOSHUA C MA 1104* 1153* L---3 W---9 W--16 L---4 2.0

10312914 13 TRAPP, RICHARD G FL 1840* 1800* L---5 D--17 X---0 U---0 1.5

12641826 14 FULP, WILLIAM J FL 1426* 1353* W---6 L---7 L--10 L--11 1.0

12624652 15 LOUCHTCHIK, TARAS FL 1402* 1364* L---1 W--18 L---6 L---9 1.0

12628690 16 CROOKSTON, STEPHEN FL 1383* 1355* W--18 L---1 L--12 L---8 1.0

12605018 17 BIEZUNSKI, EMANUEL FL 1330* 1315* L---8 D--13 U---0 L---6 0.5

12695538 18 BASHLINE, JASON FL 763/04 840/06 L--16 L--15 U---0 U---0 0.0

12697135 19 GREENWALD, CHRIST FL 0/00 967/02 L---4 L--10 U---0 U---0 0.0

Mike Serovey, MA, MISM

Scholastic Chess Tournament – Over/Under 800 Sunday, October 23 @ 12-5 pm

2011-10-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

Rated USCF Chess Tournament – Scholastic Grades K-12 Only PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND

Tampa Chess Centre at Busch Commercial Plaza, 5035 E. Busch Blvd, Suite 10, Tampa, FL 33617

Entry fee is only $20 if registered three days in advance. $25 on-site (pre-register and save $5).

USCF membership required. You may join on-site. Please bring your own clocks and sets if you have them.

2 Sections by USCF rating: 1. Over 800; 2. Under 800 (includes Unrated)
Time control: GAME 30 minutes for each player, four round Swiss System - no elimination

Registration starts at noon; First round begins (times approximate): 1 pm; R2 2 pm; R3 3 pm; R4 4 pm

Prize money: $200 based on 20 entries per section. Prizes for each section: 1st $100, 2nd $60, 3rd $40

Future Dates: November 13; December 18; January 29; February 26; March 11; April 15; May 13

We have a new feature for our splendid chess parents and siblings while you are waiting for your child’s games to be completed. Vendors will be present outside our tournament area to showcase their products and services for your browsing, including consultation with a Physical Therapist for pain, sports safety, and ergonomics, Massage therapists with chair massage, an Acupuncturist and cold laser treatment, behavioral health/psychological treatment for smoking cessation, Mary Kay makeup, Avon, jewelry & accessories, sports drinks, website services & development, publishers of children's books, etc. They will not impose if you prefer not to receive services. Parents can also schedule ahead of time for Massage Therapy or Acupuncture. The discounted rate for Chess families is $50/hour, $70/1.5 hour for full body massage. Please schedule ahead of time to reserve your space. Any families with your own business, who are interested in having a table, please contact Ginger at for more information or call 813-631-7790. Thank you.

Tampa Chess Centre Club & Classes by Hoffer’s Chess Academy
Official Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation
Push Pawns Not Drugs! Say Yes 2 Chess!

Thursday Nights 6:30-8:30 PM @ Tampa Chess Centre
Busch Commercial Plaza, 5035 E. Busch Blvd., Suite 10, Tampa, Florida 33617
www.Yes2Chess.com - (813) 526-2257 –

Hosting Company Server Down

2011-10-12T13:48:00.000-04:00

I discovered early this morning that the server for HostingRevolution.com is down and that all of my web sites hosted with them are down as well. That means that my chess site is down. I can't contact them about this because I can't get access to the help desk or send them an email as long as their server is down. However, I do have a phone number for the owner that he may answer and will call that number if the server is still down tomorrow. If he went out of business then all of the money that I paid him for web site hosting will have been wasted if I can't get a refund!

More on Bad Behavior in Chess

2011-10-06T05:59:00.000-04:00

I have copied and pasted below an email from Mike Hoffer about Face Book flaming of a handicapped chess player whose behavior is unacceptable.

Rob Clark's apology for his annoying behavior, written well before the Facebook post in Tampa Bay Chess, is at the bottom of this message. While USCF had requested a day to arrive at a resolution, they now want until next Wednesday in order to contact and receive replies from all of their tournament officials to arrive at their recommendation for Rob's sanctions. The way I see it, we may either feel good about terminating the chess career of an annoying player, or we may feel good about helping someone with a disability become the best he can be by realizing he must observe boundaries if he wants to be a part of things, otherwise there will be heavy consequences. In the future, let's please handle our dirty laundry privately. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS OR CALL ME! For those of you who may have missed my FB reply, I have also added it directly below this note:

We deeply appreciate the support all of you have given to our tournaments. We are indeed very sensitive to the concerns, needs, and desires of our treasured clientele. The situation will be handled appropriately. Those of you who really know me realize that I can be at least as assertive as Francisco Guadalupe. That very evening, immediately after the tournament, I had a long private talk with Rob. He humbly and remorsefully apologized for his part in the conflicts. Yesterday, long before this post on Facebook, Rob had already written a formal apology via email to me promising to everyone this sort of thing will never happen again. I will forward his email to everyone who is involved.

Termination is an extreme measure and sets a dangerous precedent. This is still America. We could easily be sued for a capricious and wrong decision. After conferring with USCF, we propose a suspension, a written apology, and zero tolerance of future inappropriate behavior. USCF told me they will meet today to arrive at a final decision.

Rob suffers from a serious medical condition which is the root of the issue. Jeff stated in the beginning of this thread that Rob will not act out if he consciously realizes they may be heavy consequences. Rob loves competitive chess and said that he would rather die than lose the privilege of playing in chess tournaments because it is one of the few things that gives him joy. Our goal is to help others. Hopefully, we can all help Rob become the best he can be.

Meanwhile, "Tampa Bay Chess on Facebook" is a family-oriented and very public forum intended for event schedules, mirth, merriment, and encouragement. Our endeavor is to increase our following and not to scare people away. In the future, if you have ANY concerns, you all know how to contact me 24/7: Phone 813-526-2257; Email - coachmike@Yes2Chess.com ; Website - www.Yes2Chess.com

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: RC
To: Michael Hoffer
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 4:03 PM
Subject: In regards to tournament ettiquette and recent events-Att. to J. York, Timo and other parties

Hello, I am replying to recent events that have put me, Robert Clark, in an uncomfortable position. Mike brought it to my attention that people have been complaining about me at the tournament. As to my behavior I will take full responsibility and offer apologies for my mistakes. In the future I promise to act proper and behave as well as anyone at tournaments. To play without disturbing others and only talk OUTSIDE the playing room while matches are in progress. I would sincerely like to start fresh and put all the bad stuff behind us. I know the TD experiences were very uncomfortable for me and I will handle it better without getting upset. I apologize to any of the players who were disturbed by it. I promise to act according to rules on conduct and good behavior- and no cussing. I want to stay on good terms with everyone and practice good sportsmanship. We play for fun but making friends is part of the fun. Be courteous to me and I will return the courtesy. I know the rules and will abide. I hope to see everyone at tournaments and we are there to improve, have fun and interact hopefully as friends. I will stay quiet in playing room and not disturb others concentration- I am serious about chess and want to improve at it. Kindest regards and sincere apologies for any transgressions on my part, your friend in chess and otb, Robert Clark (Tampa resident)

I think that we can all work together to keep chess enjoyable to everyone who plays and learn to help those who need a little extra help with their behavior problems.

Mike Serovey, MA, MISM

Poor Sortsmanship in Chess

2011-09-09T17:49:00.000-04:00

I have a game still in progress at Stan's Net Chess. The game can be found at http://www.stansco.com/cgi-bin/nc_game.cgi?500674???. My opponent, ZorMaster a.k.a Natacha Agafya Svetlana Burkov, is refusing to accept a draw in a game the neither of us can win because she is upset with me and is trying to aggravate me as much as she can. She is upset with me for two reasons: 1) She thinks that I used a chess engine against her, and 2) she thinks that my flirting with her was too dirty!

Most of the people that I have played there are so weak that a ten year old with a pocket calculator can beat them! The fact that this game is a draw would indicate that my chess engine is weak, that she is wrong and I did not use an engine, or she used one too! You decide. However, she is one of the few players there that actually gave me a challenge!

I find it so hysterical that a little brat who lives in a country where prostitution is legal thinks that I am "dirty" for saying that she looks good in a bikini that my sides are hurting from laughing! Her understanding of American men and the English language is so poor that she cannot tell the differences between flirting and dirty talk! She also seems to be unaware of the fact that flirting involves a little sexual innuendo! What makes my conversations with her flirting is the fact that what I said would be inappropriate if said to a straight man. I guess that she is too ignorant to get that! Read the conversations between us for yourself and decide if you think that either one of us went too far.

Because two of my last three opponents there have accused me of using a chess engine I will not be renewing my membership in December when it expires!

Mike Serovey on Chess Updated

2011-08-30T16:02:00.000-04:00

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!

Mike Serovey Defeats Michael Cui

2011-08-30T01:08:00.001-04:00

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

Mike Serovey Wins Class "C" Prize in FCA Quick Chess Regional Championship

2011-08-21T15:09:00.000-04:00

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.

Location of Hoffer's Chess Acadamy & Tampa Chess Club

2011-08-21T14:40:00.001-04:00

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.

Mike Serovey Draws Jamie Calvin

2011-08-15T20:00:00.000-04:00

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

Press Rerlease from My Friend Michael Hoffer

2011-07-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

A 10-year-old boy from Valrico, Roshan Jayaraman, tied for first place in his very first chess tournament on July 23, defeating two experienced adults, and garnering a provisional rating of 1696, ranking Roshan 43rd in the US for his age! This was a truly remarkable result because Roshan, whose family hails from southern India, only learned how to play chess a mere four months ago! While he did play some games online, Roshan had never played face-to-face with a live player until his first trip to a chess club! His opponent that night was 10-year-old Truman Hoang, another promising young player who also has been beating much higher-ranked adults lately. Before joining the club, Roshan had trained himself over the Internet, primarily through YouTube and Wikipedia. The club resembles a kids’ version of the United Nations, sporting yet another 10-year-old, a girl, Hailey Nguyen, who recently won the State Championship! Another member is the bright and adorable 8-year-old Alexandra Roberts of Brandon.

Roshan has already been tagged with the nickname, "Young Anand", for the current World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, of India. Roshan is a nice looking kid with a large, quick smile and terrific personality. He is a straight ‘A’ student, the only one at Lincoln Elementary to get perfect FCAT scores in math & reading, and he plays the piano. Roshan plays baseball, loves the Green Bay Packers & the Bucs, and watches all three televised NFL games on Sunday. Truman, Hailey, and Alexandra are all very normal, appealing and engaging. These kids are totally the opposite of how many people expect chess players to be milquetoast bookworms.

Roshan’s story shares some striking similarities to Sultan Khan (born 1905 at Punjab in India), famous for becoming a great chess player without formal training. Due to his prowess at chess, he was chosen to be a manservant for Sir Umar Hayat Khan, the provincial ruler who brought him to England in 1929. Sultan Khan astonished the world by winning the British Championship three times in four tries (1929, 1932, 1933). During an international chess career of less than five years, his results placed him among the top ten players in the world. Due to customs at the time, when Sir Umar returned to India in 1933, Sultan Khan had to go with him, where he gave up chess and returned to his humble life. Sultan Khan was "perhaps the greatest natural player of modern times", according to authors David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld who wrote: "When Sultan Khan first traveled to Europe his English was so rudimentary that he needed an interpreter. Unable to read or write, he never studied any books on the game, and he was put into the hands of trainers who were also his rivals in play.”

The benefits of chess for children are well-documented, particularly how they carry over to other activities in life. It’s no surprise that chess kids get better grades, pay attention in class, have better self-esteem, better time management, and a sense of responsibility for their actions.

The Tampa chess club, Hoffer’s Chess Academy [www.Yes2Chess.com; (813) 526-2257], is organized by TrongAn Hoang, who designs websites, and Michael Hoffer, who has coached numerous State and National Champions. Players of all levels get to compete in friendly games followed by excellent and entertaining training at a large demonstration board by Coach Mike. Club members range from age 7-adult, because age, size, gender, religion, race or nationality do not matter when it comes to chess. All are equals when they meet over-the-board at the club or in its Tampa Bay Area tournaments. They are all very quick learners, and have to be to keep up with each other! The cost is only $10 per session. They meet on Tuesday nights from 6:30-9 PM at 5035 E. Busch Blvd. As Coach Mike states, “We try to pass on to the next generation what one of my mentors taught me. If you make the right moves, you get the right results! You can do anything you want if you stop and think. Successful people learn how to use their minds. They are patient and delay instant gratification. Hoffer's Chess Academy’s goal is to cultivate great minds, and along the way, create great memories!”

I was one of Roshan's victims. I lost to him in Round 4 due to a combination of fatigue and over confidence. I will post that game later. Personally, I think that his rating will drop because he isn't really that good, he just was good enough to spot my blunders.

According to an email that Michael Hoffer sent to me afterward, here are the rating results for the US Open Prep tournament:

Roshan Jayaraman 1696
Rob Clark 1736
Lybo Godspodinov 1775
Mike Serovey (me) 1567
Cijo Paul 1545
Terry Feeney 1406

Mike Serovey Loses to us54186606

2011-06-17T19:38:00.000-04:00

Here is one of my fairly recent losses at ICC. This is one of the games that brought my ICC Standard rating below 1500. I blundered early on and loss quite quickly. This game shows hot not to play the Reti Opning! The entire game, with diagrams and analysis, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/us54186606-Reti.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "ICC 15 0"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2011.05.13"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "us54186606"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White checkmated"]
[WhiteElo "1490"]
[BlackElo "1463"]
[Opening "Réti opening"]
[ECO "A09"]
[NIC "EO.64"]
[Time "19:28:22"]
[TimeControl "900+0"]

1. c4 d5 2. Nf3 Bg4 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qa5 5. Qa4+ Qxa4 6. Nxa4 Nc6 7. Nc5
O-O-O 8. d3 Nb4 9. Kd2 e6 10. Ne4 Bxf3 11. gxf3 f5 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. a3 Nbd5
14. Nxd5 Rxd5 15. b4 Nh5 16. Bb2 Rg8 17. Ke3 Bd6 18. h4 Bf4# {White
checkmated} 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws Robert Clark

2011-05-07T20:17:00.000-04:00

This game is from Round Two of the Tampa Bay Spring Open. I drew Rob Clark with White. In a previous, unrated, game I beat him with Black. We both missed moves in this game and the analysis of all of that can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RobClark-English.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Tampa Bay Spring Open"]
[Site "Perkin's Restaurant"]
[Date "2011.04.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Bob Clark"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. c4 c6 2. g3 d5 3. b3 e5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. Bb2 Bd6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. d3 O-O 8. Nf3
Nc6 9. O-O Re8 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. h3 Qd7 12. Kh2 Rad8 13. Ng5 Bf5 14. e4 dxe4 15.
dxe4 Bg6 16. Nc4 Bb8 17. Qxd7 Rxd7 18. Rad1 Red8 19. Rxd7 Rxd7 20. Nf3 Bxe4 21.
Nfxe5 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Rd2 23. Nc4 Re2 24. Bxf6 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 gxf6 26. Ra1 Be5 27.
Nxe5 fxe5 28. Kf3 Rc2 29. Ke3 Kg7 30. h4 Kf6 31. g4 Ke6 32. f3 f6 33. h5 h6 34.
Kd3 Rf2 35. Ke3 Rc2 36. Kd3 Rf2 37. Ke3 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Matt Register

2011-05-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

This game isn't anything to brag about because of how weak my opponent was. It is here for the benefit of beginners who want to know how not to play against decent opponents.

This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/MattRegister-Reti.html. This is from Round One of the Tampa Bay Spring Open. I got it wrong in my previous post. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Tampa Bay Spring Open"]
[Site "Perkin's Restaurant"]
[Date "2011.04.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Matt Register"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be2 c5 5. O-O Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Bxc6 Bxc6 8. b3
Nf6 9. d3 O-O 10. Ba3 a6 11. d4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. dxc5 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Bxa1
15. Rxa1 Qa5 16. cxd6 Qxa3 17. dxe7 Qxe7 18. a3 Rfe8 19. Qd1 Rad8 20. Qc1 Qe2
21. h3 Rd2 22. Qf1 Qxf1+ 23. Kxf1 Ree2 24. g3 Rxc2 25. Rc1 Rxf2+ 26. Ke1 Rxc1+
27. Kxf2 Rc3 28. b4 Rxa3 29. h4 a5 30. bxa5 Rxa5 31. g4 f5 32. g5 Ra4 33. Kg3
Rg4+ 34. Kh3 b5 35. Kh2 b4 36. Kh3 b3 37. Kh2 b2 38. Kh3 b1=Q 39. Kh2 Qg1+ 40.
Kh3 Qg2# 0-1

Tampabay Winter Open

2011-05-05T18:20:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure why this tournament was called a Winter open when it took place in the Spring and the temperature outside was in the eighties! I beleive that we had a total of eight players in the tournament and it was held at Perkin's, which is an unususl location for a chess tournament.

I won Round One against some little boy with a 687 rating. Because this kid is provisionally rated he will actually gain rating points just for playing me! I did take the time to explain that to him and also went over the game with him to show him his mistakes. I usually will go over a game with my opponents afterward if they want me to.

In Round Two I drew Rob Clark (1746) and in Round Three I drew Mike Hoffer (1713). I'm still trying to reconstruct the missing moves from my score sheet in the game against Mike. I'll probably have to guess at some of them.

I lost the last round to Richard Sloan (1635) but found a winning continuation at home that I missed during the game. The wrong move order in that game caused me to lose at a point where I could have won.

I'll post these games eventually. First, I need to get some work done on my (new to me) car and find a place to move to. I'm doing chess stuff during my not busy times.

Update on Recent Events

2011-04-17T16:17:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I last updated this blog and my chess site. On 3-31-2011 a tornado came through my area and tore up several trees. Half of an oak tree was knocked onto my roof and I had to move out of my house on short notice. I have moved back in with my mom temporarily and have gotten all of the paperwork into Citizens insurance company. I had to send them the title because the house is totalled and I'm not going to rebuild it. They will eventually haul it away and the park owner will put a new one on that lot. I am still awaiting the insurance settlement money and I am also trying to figure out the best use for that money. I am tempted to sell as much of my stuff as I can and give away everything else that won't fit into a van and then travel around the country playing in chess tournaments. I would like to play a tournament in each of the 50 states.

I took a 89 day leave of absense from Northcentral University so that I have time to get settled into a new place before I resume work on my Ph.D. in Psychology. However, I'm not sure that I am actually going to finish this degree because I have lost interest in it. I just don't see that completing this degree will get me a job that I would actually want. I just know that I want a doctorate in something.

I'll post more games here soon.

Mike Serovey, MA, MISM

Mike Serovey Defeats GMThomas

2011-02-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I completed a chess agame at Stan's Net Chess. I decided to play an unusual opening so that I can add more games with them to this blog and my chess site. This agme with the Gedult-Gunderam can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/GMThomas-Gedult.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Game 495676"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2011.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "GMThomas"]
[WhiteElo "2362"]
[BlackElo "2365"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. f3 d5 2. c3 e5 3. e4 dxe4 4. Qe2 Nc6 5. fxe4 Nf6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. b4 a6 8. Na3
O-O 9. Nc4 Bg4 10. a4 b5 11. Ne3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Rb8 13. axb5 axb5 14. Ra6 Qd7 15.
Nf5 Rfe8 16. Bh3 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses to kato

2011-02-04T19:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a miniature played last year at ICC. I was up material and got over confident. I didn't pay attention for one move and dropped my Queen! Considering how weak my opponent was I probably should have played this one out some more.

The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Kato-Sicilian.html. Here is teh game in PGN:

[Event "ICC 45 15"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.06.26"]
[Round "-"]
[White "kato"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1061"]
[BlackElo "1377"]
[Opening "Sicilian: closed, 2...Nc6"]
[ECO "B23"]
[NIC "SI.44"]
[Time "18:08:34"]
[TimeControl "2700+15"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 g6 5. Ng5 e6 6. b3 Qxg5 7. Qf3 Ne5 8.
Qh3 Nxc4 9. d3 Ne5 10. Bxg5 {Black resigns} 1-0

I have also added new chess books and chess boards and sets at my new chess shop.

Mike Serovey Loses to Terry Kay

2011-01-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

I entered a thematic tournament in which we are to play both the White and Black sides of the Reti opening. In tis game my opponent chose to break form this and to transpose into a Queens Gambit Declined instead of staying with the Reti like he was supposed to. I blundered and lost in 25 moves.

This game, with analysis and diagram, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TerryKay-QueensGambitDeclined.html. I still have my game as White against Terry still playing. Here is this game in PGN.

[Date "2011.01.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Terry Kay"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3.d4 c6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 a6 10.Re1 h6 11.Bh4 b5 12.h3 Bb7 13.Qe2 b4 14. Na4 Qa5 15.b3 Bd6 16.Rac1 Rfc8 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Bxe5 19.f4 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Bc3 21.a3 Rc8 22.Kh2 Rc6 23.axb4 Qxb4 24.Nxc3 Rxc3 25.Be1 {Resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats BobbyFisher Again

2010-12-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

Tim Kraus uses the name BobbyFisher at Stan's Net Chess and this is the second time that I have defeated him playing there. This time he chose to play Philidor's Defense. He got out of "book" on move number three and I have no idea what he was thinking with that move. This win brought my rating at Stan's Net Chess to 2328, my highest one yet.

The game, complete with diagrams and analysis, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/BobbyFisher-Philidor.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Game 492847"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2010.12.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "BobbyFisher"]
[WhiteElo "2328"]
[BlackElo "1909"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Qe7 4. dxe5 dxe5 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O Nd4 8.
h3 Bxf3 9. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 Nf6 11. Bg5 Qd6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxf6 gxf6 14.
Bc4 O-O-O 15. Bxf7 Rd7 16. Be6 c5 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. Rfd1+ Kc6 19. Rd8 Kc7 20.
Rad1 a5 21. c4 Kb6 22. R1d7 Kc6 23. Rf7 b5 24. cxb5+ Kxb5 25. Rxf6 a4 26. Rfxf8
Rxf8 27. Rxf8 c4 28. Rc8 Kb4 29. Kf1 h5 30. Ke2 h4 31. Kd2 a3 32. bxa3+ Kxa3 33.
Rxc4 Kxa2 34. Rc5 Kb3 35. Rxe5 1-0

Chess Goals for 2011

2010-12-19T17:55:00.000-05:00

Once a year, around this time, I review my goals for the year just ending and post my goals for the coming year on this blog. I think that I missed most of the goals for 2010! I can remember playing in only two USCF rated events and my losses were enough to put me back to 1500 even.

Here are my stats from ICC:

Information about OnGoldenPawn (Last disconnected Sat Dec 18 2010 18:40):

rating [need] win loss draw total best
Blitz 1375 [7] 19 30 6 55 1441 (13-Mar-2005)
Standard 1478 177 181 54 412 1674 (03-Jul-2004)
5-minute 851 [8] 1 2 0 3
Correspondence 1749 29 15 10 54 1749 (26-Mar-2010)

As you can see, there is not much improvement over the past year. The only thing that improved was my correspondence chess rating.

Here are my stats from Stan's Net Chess:

My current rating is 2328 and my overall win-loss record is 34-11-3.

I have entered into a USCF electronic mail tournament and am awaiting my pairings. I have also entered into some thematic correspondence chess tournaments and am also awaiting the starts of those. So, my goals for 2010 are to play in some USCF rated OTB tournaments and get my standard rating back up over 1600, which will be difficult because I no longer own a car. I may not play at all if I can't catch rides to the tournaments next year.

For some reason that I don't understand, I have been unable to get ICC to pair me in any more correspondence chess quads. They have ignored my last three requests to be paired with no reply at all! How rude of them!

In my USCF rated corresponence chess tornament, Electronic Knights, I hope to do well enough over time to not only get my USCF Correspondence Chess rating back over 1900 but also over 2000. With my databases of games sorted by opening I should be able to do that.

Non chess goals include doing well enough in my Ph.D. level courses to eventually graduate. Right now I am behind where I should be in my homework and will need an extension on the time to complerte all of my assignments.

Tampa Bay Thanksgiving Championship

2010-11-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

My friend, Mike Hoffer, sent me an email about some chess activities that he is running. Here is the majorty of the information that he sent to me:

We have a 4SS, G/40 tournament this Saturday. If you want to save $5 on your entry fee, please mail it by tomorrow or pay Coach Mike at our Tuesday night club. Regardless, please RSVP whether or not you intend to play. This saves significant time in entering the pairings for the first round. IF you RSVP by tomorrow about Saturday’s tournament AND our proposed GM Nigel Short simul, you may pay your discounted $25 entry fee at the tournament.

We recently sent everyone an email requesting your opinion of us hosting a lecture and simultaneous exhibition with GM Nigel Short to see if I can afford to guarantee Nigel’s fee out of my own pocket. Considering how I only got three replies, I will have to tell him to forget it unless I hear otherwise from our clientele. I deliberately left out that this event would take place in May 2011 because I feared it would inhibit our responses. This is no ordinary GM. Nigel played Garry Kasparov in 1993 for the World Championship! I can promise you this is an event you and your children would never forget. The fee to play GM Short is $60 per board. Please respond soon if you would like for us to bring such events to the Tampa Bay Area.

Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010 Tampa Bay Thanksgiving Championship

4SS, G/40. Perkins Family Restaurant, 5002 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33617. OPEN TO ALL. EF: $25 in advance and for HCA students, $30 on site. USCF Membership required. (You may join & pay at the site.) $$b/30: $150-90-60. K-12 90; K-6 60; K-3 50. Reg.: Sat., 11/27/10, 1:15-1:30 PM. Rds.: Rd. 1 at 1:45; Other rds. follow immediately. Parents welcome! Awards ceremony 7:00 PM. Please bring your own clocks and sets if you have them. ENT: Michael Hoffer, 10801 Myrtle St., Tampa, FL 33617. INFO: Coach Mike 813-526-2257, mjh99us [at] yahoo.com. NS. W.

Tampa Chess Club & Enrichment Classes by Hoffer’s Chess Academy

Official Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation

Push Pawns Not Drugs! Say Yes 2 Chess!

Tuesday Nights 7-9 PM @ Busch Commercial Plaza, Ginger Fitness & Rehabilitation

5035 E. Busch Blvd., Suite 5, Tampa, Florida 33617

www.Yes2Chess.com - (813) 526-2257 - mjh99us [at] yahoo.com

Mike Serovey Defeats nat1010

2010-10-03T19:21:00.000-04:00

Here is a game recently played at ICC. A series of draws and losses to lower rated opponents has caused my Standard rating at ICC to take a beating! This game is a win, which helps a little in my rating.

The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/nat1010-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC 15 5"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.09.30"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "nat1010"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1307"]
[BlackElo "1420"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[ECO "A20"]
[NIC "EO.24"]
[Time "20:18:44"]
[TimeControl "900+5"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e4 g6 6. Nge2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8.
d3 Be6 9. h3 Qd7 10. Kh2 Ne7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. f4 exf4 14. Nxf4
Bg7 15. Nxe6 Qxe6 16. Rb1 c6 17. Ne2 Be5 18. Nf4 Qd7 19. d4 Bg7 20. d5 Rae8
21. dxc6 bxc6 22. b4 Rb8 23. c5 Nc8 24. cxd6 Nxd6 25. a3 Be5 26. Nd3 Qe7 27.
Nxe5 Qxe5 28. Qc2 Rfd8 29. Qxc6 Rbc8 30. Qd5 Qxd5 31. exd5 Nf5 32. Rfc1 Ne3
33. Rxc8 Rxc8 34. Rb2 Rc2 35. Rxc2 Nxc2 36. d6 Kf8 37. Bc6 Nd4 38. b5
{Black resigns}
1-0

Mike Serovey Loses to Jose Rodriguez

2010-08-18T16:10:00.000-04:00

This game is from the last round of an Under 1800 chess tournament played in Tampa on 25 July 2010. If I had won this game I would have won the Under 1600 prize. Thisw game is one of two losses with White. Let's see if I can win the rematch when it comes.

The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Rodriguez-English.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Under 1800"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.07.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Jose Rodriguez"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 d6 4. Bg2 c6 5. d3 Qc7 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nge2 O-O
8. O-O Nbd7 9. h3 Re8 10. Be3 e5 11. f4 exf4 12. gxf4 Nh5 13. f5 Ne5
14. fxg6 hxg6 15.Rb1 Be6 16. b3 c5 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Qe7 19. Qd2
Rac8 20. Bg5 f6 21. Bh4 g5 22. Bf2 Bh6 23. Ng3 Nxg3 24. Bxg3 Kg7
25. Qe2 Rh8 26. Rf5 Kg8 27. Rbf1 Bg7 28. Bxe5 dxe5 29. Qf2 Rh6 30. Qg3
b5 31. Rc1 a5 32. Qe3 Bf8 33. Qd2 b4 34. Rc4 Rc7 35. Qf2 Qg7 36. Qg3
g4 37. hxg4 Rg6 38. Bf3 Qh6 39. Qf2 Rcg7 40. Kf1 Qh3+ 41. Ke2 Rh7 42.
Rh5 Rxh5 43. gxh5 Rg3 44. h6 Bxh6 45. Rxc5 Qh4 46. Rxa5 Qg5 47. Ra8+
Kg7 48. Ra7+ Kg6 {And Black eventually checkmated White} 0-1

Mike Serovey Loses to Nathalie van der Lende

2010-08-12T19:28:00.000-04:00

I played only one Round of the 18th Annual Southern Open and that was a loss to Nathalie van der Lende of Holland. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/VanDerLende-Sicilian.html. There is a picture of her on that page that is a few years old. Here is a video that shows her near the end of it and you can see what she looks like now. She is the 17 year old girl with the long brown hair.

Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "18th Annual Southern Open"]
[Site "Orlando, FL."]
[Date "2010.07.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nathalie van der Lende"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 e6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e5 Bd7 7. Nf3 f6 8. Bd3
fxe5 9. dxe5 Bb4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Nge7 12. Re1 O-O 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Ng5+
Kg8 15. Qh5 Rf5 16. Qh7+ Kf8 17. g4 Rxg5 18. Bxg5 Qe8 19. Re3 Qf7 20. Kg2 Qg8
21. Qh5 g6 22. Qh6+ Qg7 23. Rf3+ Kg8 24. Qxg7+ Kxg7 25. Bf6+ Kg8 26. Rh3 Rc8 27.
Rd1 Rf8 28. Rdd3 Kf7 29. Rh7+ Ke8 30. Rdh3 Bc8 31. Rg7 Rg8 32. Rhh7 Rxg7 33.
Rxg7 b5 34. h4 a5 35. h5 gxh5 36. gxh5 Nf5 37. Rh7 b4 38. cxb4 axb4 39. h6 Nce7
40. Rxe7+ Nxe7 41. Bxe7 {Black resigns} 1-0

18th Annual Southern Open

2010-08-03T11:03:00.000-04:00

The weekend of July 30 to August 1 I played in the 18th Annual Southern Open in Orlando, Florida. In Round 1 I lost to a 17 year old girl from Holland. I'll write more about her later.

In Round 2 I took a half-point bye and then withdrew from the tournament prior to the start of Round 3 because of insomnia. I can't play decent chess on only 4 hours of sleep.

I played in the Under 1700 Section along with Mike Hoffer, Robert Clark, Nathalie van der Lende, and Christine Fuller. Mike Hoffer won 4 out of 5 games, Robert got 3 points defeating Nathalie, and Nathalie and Christina each got 2 points. Christine told me that she is going to college in Maryland and only vacations in Florida now. Nathalie is from holland and has done well in tournaments there. Her family has a vacaton home in the Orlando area. Mike Mason got 3 points in the Under 2100 Section.

What I learned from this experiance is that if I can't afford to stay in the hotel room by myself for the length of an out of town tournament then I should just skip it. I also need to get my sleep cycle straightened out and get back on a day schedule so that the byes are not necessary.

The kids that are under 21 have an advantage over some guys my age in that they have much more endurance than I have and don't tire as easily as I do. It sucks to spend over 3 hours playing a game only to lose it!

Mike Serovey Loses to nithin

2010-06-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to back up my chess site I accidentally deleted several pages so some of the links in previous posts no longer work. I will need to recreate all of those missing pages.

Now that I have finished my online Java class with a solid "A" I can now spend more time on chess. I decided to play a game at ICC yesterday and won a pawn due to an opening trap and kept the material advantage throughout this game. However, one blunder cost me this game! Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "ICC 45 5"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.06.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "nithin"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black checkmated"]
[WhiteElo "1445"]
[BlackElo "1404"]
[Opening "Sicilian defense"]
[ECO "B33"]
[NIC "SI.34"]
[Time "19:31:31"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Bb4 7. Be3 Nxe4
8. Qd3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Bf3 d5 12. c4 Bf6 13. cxd5 exd5 14.
Nxc6 bxc6 15. Bd4 Be6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qa6 Qc3 18. Rad1 Rfb8 19. Rd3 Qxc2
20. Bd1 Rb6 21. Qxb6 Qxd3 22. Qxc6 Rc8 23. Qb7 a6 24. Re1 Qb5 25. Qa7 Qa5
26. Re3 Qxa2 27. Qb7 Qa1 28. Qxc8+ Bxc8 29. Re8# {Black checkmated} 1-0

This complete game, including diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/nithin-Sicilian.html.

Mike Serovey Loses to Stephen Crookston

2010-04-26T16:12:00.000-04:00

Here is Round Three of the unrated open chess tournament that I played last Saturday. This game was my only loss of the tournament and resulted in my taking second place. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/StephenCrookston-English.html. Here is part of the game in PGN:

[Event "TCC Open"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.04.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Stephen Crookston"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. a3 d6 5. Nc3 Be6 6. d3 Bg7 7. e4 Nge7 8. Nge2 f5
9. O-O O-O 10. f4 Qd7 11. Nd5 Nc8 12. Rb1 Nd8 13. b4 c6 14. Ndc3 fxe4 15. Nxe4
Ne7 16. Bb2 Nf5 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. c5 Ne3 19. Rxf8+ Kxf8 20. Qd2 Nxg2 21. Kxg2
Nf7 22. Rd1 Re8 23. Nf2 Bd5+ 24. Kg1 Bh6 25. Qe1 Ng5 26. Qc3 Nh3+ 27. Nxh3 Qxh3
28. Rf1+ Kg8 29. Rf2 Be3 30. Nf4 Bxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qxh2+ 32. Kf1 {White was eventually checkmated} 0-1

Mike Serovey Wins His First Chess Trophy Since 1986.

2010-04-25T15:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I played in an unrated open chess tournament in Tampa that was run by the
Tampa Chess Club. There were only 8 people in this section and all but one were adult men. I got the only boy in Round One and that game is posted below. I won both games with Black and lost in Round Three with White. That was good enough to win the second place trophy.

This game against Daniel Arbel can be found with analysis and diagrams at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Arbel-Modern_Defense.html. I usually play either 1... Nf6 or 1... f5 against 1. d4 but in this game I decided to get an unknown opponent out of what he wanted to play by transposing into the Modern Defense. Here is as much of the game as I have been able to reconstruct, in PGN:

[Event "TCC Open"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2010.04.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Daniel Arbel"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Bc4 c6 5. Nf3 Nd7 6. Be3 b5 7. Bb3 Bb7 8. Ng5 e6
9. Nf3 Ngf6 10. Qd2 O-O 11. h4 a5 12. a4 b4 13. Ne2 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. e5 Nxb3
16. cxb3 dxe5 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18. O-O e4 19. Nfd4 Ng4 20. Nb5 Nxe3 21. fxe3 Bxb2
22. Ra2 Bf6 23. Rxf6 Rd3 24. Nbd4 Rxe3 25. Rc2 Kg7 26. Rf2 Bd5 27. Rc7 Rf8 28.
Ra7 Bxb3 29. Nxb3 Rxb3 30. Rxa5 Ra3 31. Nc1 Ra1 32. Rf1 Rc8 33. Ra7 Rcxc1 34.
Rxc1 Rxc1+ {And Black eventually won on time} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Kadriye in rematch

2010-04-11T16:45:00.000-04:00

This is one of my ICC correspondence chess games and is the last one that I completed there. This brings my record for ICC correspondence chess to 29-15-10 and my rating to 1749. I played 2 games against Kadriye in this section and lost the one where I had Black so I needed to win this one in order to even up the score with him. This entire game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Kadriye-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2009Quad.08.02"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2009.09.12"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "Kadriye"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "English: Bremen, Smyslov system"]
[ECO "A22"]
[NIC "EO.10"]
[Time "00:11:15"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 O-O 6. Bg2 h6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8.
c5 d6 9. cxd6 cxd6 10. O-O Be6 11. Re1 Qd7 12. e4 Nh7 13. Qd3 Rad8 14. Be3
b6 15. Rad1 Bh3 16. Bh1 Bg4 17. Rc1 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Ng5 19. Bg2 Ne6 20. Rcd1
Qc7 21. b4 Ne7 22. Re2 Rc8 23. Rc2 Rfd8 24. a4 Qc4 25. Qxc4 Rxc4 26. Rcc1
Rdc8 27. Rxd6 Rxc3 28. Rxc3 Rxc3 29. Rd7 Rc7 30. Rxc7 Nxc7 31. b5 Nc8 32. f4
f6 33. Bf1 Nd6 34. Bd3 Kf7 35. f5 Ke7 36. Kf1 Kd7 37. Bd2 Nb7 38. Bb4 Nd6
39. Ke2 Nce8 40. Ke3 Nc7 41. g4 Nce8 42. Bc2 Nc7 43. Bb3 Nce8 44. h4 Nc7 45.
Kf3 Nce8 46. Bd2 Nc7 47. g5 hxg5 48. hxg5 Nce8 49. gxf6 gxf6 50. Bd5 Nc7 51.
Bc6+ Kd8 52. Bb4 Nc8 53. Kg4 Ne7 54. Bxe7+ Kxe7 55. Kh5 Kf7 56. Kh6
{Black resigns}
1-0

(show chess board)(hide chess board)

Goals for 2010

2010-04-11T13:45:00.000-04:00

Normally, I post my goals for the new year around January 1 of each year. I haven't posted here in quite a while so I'm just now getting around to it. This time I'm not posting just my chess goals. I'm going to include other goals too.

Last year I didn't play in any USCF rated events so all of those rating stayed the same. I plan to play in some this year and bring my standard rating up to over 1600 again. It hasn't been there in about 20 years now.

My rating at Stan's Net Chess is now up to 2304. My goal for this year is to get it over 2400.

My ratings at ICC are as folows:

rating [need] win loss draw total best
Blitz 1400 [8] 15 28 6 49 1441 (13-Mar-2005)
Standard 1438 [2] 75 86 19 180 1674 (03-Jul-2004)
5-minute 851 [8] 1 2 0 3
Correspondence 1749 29 15 10 54 1749 (26-Mar-2010)

I had some losses in standard play as a result of careless play and my rating dropped so I need to get it back over 1500. Then, I'll work on getting it over 1600.

I got accepted into a Ph.D. program at Northcentral University and start my first class in June. One of my goals is to eventually finish that degree and find a job teaching somewhere.

Another goal is to update several of my web sites and promote them consistently so that they produce steady income.

Chess Opening Wizard

2009-07-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

I have the professional version of Chess Opening Wizard and there is an upgrade coming out soon. It features photo learning of chess positions. I don't know how to use photo learning so I probably won't get much out of this new feature. The author, Mike Leahy, has a video that explains it and it can be found at

Links to My Chess Site

2009-07-16T11:19:00.000-04:00

I don't remember how but I got signed up for Google Alerts some time ago. They notify me whenever someone posts a link to my chess site. It seems that the page that gets linked to the most often is my beginner's page. It has the basic rules of chess and some diagrams to help out new players. Occasionally, I will find links to other pages.

I do have some recently finished correspondence chess games to post but I haven't felt up to doing that lately. For most of this week I have had mild to moderate headaches. I'm told that I don't have allergies but I still have allergy symptoms and I think that these are sinus headaches. Maybe this weekend I will feel up to updating this blog and my chess site but there are no guarantees on that.

Mike Serovey Defeats Sean McKinney Again

2009-06-15T18:53:00.001-04:00

I just added another win against Sean McKinney to me chess site. The game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/SeanMcKinney-English.html. This game started off as a symmetrical variation and then ended up as a Botvinnik system. The final position was one in whch I forced the exchange of queens leaving two Black pawns en prise. This win raised my ICC correspondence chess rating to 1709 getting me over 1700 for the first time. My record for ICC correspondence chess games is 23-14-8. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2009Class.01.08"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2009.02.26"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "az2112"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "English: symmetrical variation"]
[ECO "A34"]
[NIC "EO.64"]
[Time "19:55:11"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. d3 Be7 6. e4 O-O 7. Nge2 b6 8.
O-O Bb7 9. h3 d6 10. Be3 e5 11. Nd5 Nd4 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Bg5
h6 15. Bd2 a5 16. f4 Rac8 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Rf5 Nd7 19. Qg4 Kh8 20. Raf1 Rc6
21. Qf3 Rf6 22. Rxf6 Nxf6 23. Bxh6 Nxe4 24. dxe4 gxh6 25. Qf6+ {Black
resigns} 1-0

English-Opening/Serovey-McKinney.pgn

Privacy Policy

2009-04-30T14:56:00.000-04:00

Any comments posted to this blog are available for the whole world to see. Do not put anything in a comment that you don't want the world to know. I will probably never contact you directly if you do post a comment but I reserve the right to do so if I wish to.

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My Chess Site Is Back Up Now

2009-04-30T14:48:00.001-04:00

My chess site located at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com was down for a few days because I switched hosting companies. I was using the free hosting provided by Go Daddy and then they changed the features offered. They no longer provide FrontPage extensions with the free hosting and I need those extensions in order to make the navigation on my site work. They charge too much for my small site so I switched to hostingrevolution.com because they will let me pay about half of what I would pay at Go Daddy. Also, with paid hosting I no longer have those annoying ads at the top of every page. I have several games in progress and will be adding new games in the near future.

Mike Serovey Defeats AntonioMendonca Again

2009-01-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Here is my game with Black against Antonio Mendonca Silveira. This win puts my ICC correspondence chess rating at 1698. My record at ICC is 22-14-8. This makes me 5.5-0.5 in this Quad, which should be clear first place. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/AntonioMendonca-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.03"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "AntonioMendonca"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Sicilian defense"]
[ECO "B33"]
[NIC "SI.34"]
[Time "19:53:04"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5
8. Ne4 Qc7 9. f4 Qb6 10. c4 Ne3 11. Qd3 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Rb8 13. b3 O-O 14. Bxb4
Qxb4+ 15. Kf2 Ng4+ 16. Ke2 f5 17. Nd6 Qc5 18. Qf3 Nxe5 19. Qe3 Qxd6 20. Qxe5
Qxe5+ 21. fxe5 c5 22. Ke3 f4+ 23. Kf2 Bb7 24. Rg1 Rbd8 25. Rd1 Rf5 26. Rd6
Rxe5 27. Be2 Kf7 28. Rgd1 Ke7 29. Bg4 h6 30. h4 g6 31. R1d2 g5 32. h5 Bc8
33. Rd1 Re8 34. R1d2 Re3 {White resigns} 0-1

Sicilian-Defense/AntonioMendonca-Sicilian.pgn

My Chess Goals for 2008 - 2009

2009-01-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of 2009. Looking back on 2008 I realize that I made some of my goals while missing others. I got my correspondence chess rating at ICC over 1600 but missed 1700 by 2 points! My standard rating is still somewhere in the 1500's so I missed my goal of getting that one over 1600. The main reason is because I haven't really played any standard games at ICC this past year. I don't remember playing in any regular USCF rated tournaments last year. If I did it was only one. My rating at Stan's Net Chess is still over 2200 but nowhere near 2300. I have one game in progress there but winning it will not put me over 2300.

My goals for 2009 are to get my correspondence chess rating at ICC over 1700, my standard rating over 1600 and my rating at Stan's Net Chess over 2300. If I play in any regular USCF rated tournaments I want to get that rating over 1600 and pick up at least one class prize while doing it.

Mike Serovey Defeats AntonioMendonca

2008-12-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Here is my first win against Antonio Mendonca Silveira in this quad. I believe that I have played him before and won, but I'm not sure of that. This game started off as a Reti and transposed into a Kings Indian defense. This win brings my ICC correspondence chess rating up to 1682 and my record to 21-14-8.

This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/AntonioMedonca-KingsIndianDefense.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.04"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "AntonioMendonca"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "King's Indian: fianchetto, classical variation"]
[ECO "E67"]
[NIC "KI.65"]
[Time "19:53:04"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O e5 7. d4 Nbd7 8.
dxe5 dxe5 9. e4 c6 10. Qd6 Re8 11. Rd1 Bf8 12. Qd3 Qc7 13. h3 Nc5 14. Qe2 a5
15. Bg5 Nh5 16. Be3 b6 17. Rd2 Bd6 18. Rad1 Bf8 19. Nh2 Be6 20. Ng4 Bxg4 21.
hxg4 Nf6 22. Bxc5 Bxc5 23. g5 Nh5 24. Rd7 Qc8 25. Na4 Qb8 26. Nxc5 bxc5 27.
Qf3 Rf8 28. Qc3 Ng7 29. Bh3 Re8 30. R1d6 Ra6 31. Rf6 Rf8 32. Qd2 Ra8 33.
Rxc6 {Black resigns} 1-0

Kings-Indian-Defense/Serovey-AntonioMendonca.pgn

Mike Serovey Draws HoldemRulzOK

2008-12-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

This is my second game with this opponent. This is my only non win in this quad so I should have taken clear first place. This draw brings my ICC correspondence rating up to 1664 and my record to 20-14-8.

This complete game, with diagrams and analysis, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/HoldemRulzOK-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.07"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "HoldemRulzOK"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "English: Anglo-Dutch defense"]
[ECO "A96"]
[NIC "HD.14"]
[Time "19:53:08"]

1. c4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 Kh8 8.
Qc2 Nc6 9. a3 d5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. e4 fxe4 12. Nxe4 Rf5 13. b4 a6 14. Bb2
Qf8 15. Nfd2 a5 16. b5 Na7 17. a4 c6 18. bxc6 Nxc6 19. Nc4 Bd7 20. Ne5 Nxe5
21. dxe5 Rc8 22. Qb3 Rb8 23. Bd4 Bb4 24. f4 b5 25. axb5 Bxb5 26. Rfc1 Bd7
27. Qa2 Rb5 28. Bf1 Rb8 29. Bc5 Qd8 30. Bh3 Rh5 31. Bg4 Rh6 32. Nd6 Kg8
{Game drawn by mutual agreement} 1/2-1/2

English-Opening/holdemrulzok.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats HoldemRulzOK

2008-10-28T19:14:00.000-04:00

Here is another correspondence chess game played at ICC. This win makes me 3-0 in this section and brigs my ICC correspondence chess rating up to its all time high of 1664. My over all record at ICC is 20 wins, 14 losses and 7 draws. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/HoldemRulzOk-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.08"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "HoldemRulzOK"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Blackmar gambit"]
[ECO "D00"]
[NIC "QP.08"]
[Time "19:53:08"]

1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 Bg6 8.
Ne5 Nbd7 9. Qf3 c6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. g5 Nh5 12. Bc4 e6 13. Rf1 Qe7 14. Bd2
Nb6 15. Bb3 Rd8 16. Ne2 Qd7 17. O-O-O Bd6 18. c4 Bc7 19. Bb4 Ra8 20. d5 Nxc4
21. dxc6 Qxc6 {Black resigns} 1-0

Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit/Serovey-HoldemRulzOK.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats surebus

2008-10-04T17:37:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest win from Stan's Net Chess. This win brought my rating there up to 2224. Too bad my USCF rating is nowhere near that high! This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Surebus-Pirc.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 435036; Tournament: Numerical Analysis; Match: H"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2008.06.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "surebus"]
[Black "mserovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nb5 Nxe4 6. Qf3 Nf6 7. Bg5 c6 8. Nc3
O-O 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. O-O-O d5 11. Bb3 e5 12. Nge2 Re8 13. Kb1 exd4 14. Nxd4 Na6
15. g4 Nc5 16. h3 a5 17. a4 Ra6 18. Rd2 Rb6 19. Qd1 Bxd4 20. Rxd4 Nxb3 21. cxb3
Qf6 22. Rd2 Qf4 23. Ne2 Qxf2 24. Nd4 Qg3 25. Qc2 Bd7 26. Rd3 Re3 27. Rxe3 Qxe3
28. Qc5 Rb4 29. Rd1 Qxh3 30. Qxa5 Qxg4 31. Qxb4 Qxd1+ 32. Ka2 Bh3 33. Qb6 h5 34.
a5 Bf1 35. Ka3 Qa1+ 36. Kb4 Qxb2 37. Kc5 Qc3+ 38. Kd6 Kg7 0-1

Pirc-Defense/Surebus.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats Stahlberg Again

2008-10-03T17:17:00.000-04:00

Here is my second win against Stahlberg and my second win in this section. This win gives me my highest ICC correspondence chess rating to date of 1663. A few more wins and I'll make it over 1700. This game was a Modern defense. The game was even until my opponent made a blunder that left a key square unguarded. After that, he could not prevent checkmate and resigned. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Stahlberg-Modern.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.12"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Stahlberg"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Robatsch (modern) defense"]
[ECO "B06"]
[NIC "KF.05"]
[Time "19:53:08"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 c6 5. f4 d5 6. e5 Nh6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Qd2
Ng4 9. O-O-O Nxe3 10. Qxe3 Qa5 11. Kb1 b5 12. Nd2 b4 13. Nb3 Qc7 14. Na4 Nd7
15. Be2 Nb6 16. Nbc5 Nxa4 17. Nxa4 a5 18. b3 Bf5 19. Bd3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 e6
21. g3 Rfc8 22. Kb2 Bf8 23. Rc1 c5 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. dxc5 Qxc5 26. Rhd1 a4
27. Ra1 Ra6 28. Rdc1 Qa7 29. Qb5 a3+ 30. Kb1 Qd4 {White resigns} 0-1

Modern-Defense/Stahlberg-Serovey.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats Stahlberg

2008-09-29T16:55:00.000-04:00

Here is a recently finished ICC correspondence chess game. I believe that this is the second time that I have played Stahlberg and the first time in correspondence chess. This is my first game finished in this section. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Stahlberg-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.08.11"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.08.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "Stahlberg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "English, 1...Nf6 (Anglo-Indian defense)"]
[ECO "A15"]
[NIC "EO.64"]
[Time "19:53:08"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. d3 d6 6. e4 c5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8.
O-O Ne8 9. Be3 Nd4 10. f4 f5 11. Qd2 a6 12. Bf2 Nxe2+ 13. Qxe2 Rb8 14. exf5
gxf5 15. Bd5+ Kh8 16. Rfe1 Bf6 17. Bg2 Nc7 18. Rad1 Bd7 19. d4 Qc8 20. dxc5
dxc5 21. Bxc5 Ne6 22. Ba3 Re8 23. Rxd7 {Black resigns} 1-0

English-Opening/Serovey-Stahlberg.pgn

Mike Serovey Draws Sean McKinney

2008-08-14T19:27:00.000-04:00

Here is my last game to finish at this ICC quad. My final score in this section was 4 wins and 2 draws. That should give me clear fist place. This game, along with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/SeanMcKinney-DutchDefense.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.06.06"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.05.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "az2112"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "Dutch defense: Dutch-Indian (Nimzo-Dutch) variation"]
[ECO "A90"]
[NIC "HD.03"]
[Time "11:13:08"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Ne4 8.
Bxb4 axb4 9. Qb3 Qe7 10. Nbd2 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 c5 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. e4 f4 14.
Rae1 Nc6 15. Nf3 Na5 16. Qd3 fxg3 17. hxg3 Qxc4 18. Qd6 Nc6 19. a3 Qb3 20.
axb4 Ra2 21. Nd4 Nxd4 22. Qxd4 Rxb2 23. Rc1 Qxb4 24. Rc4 Qb3 25. Rfc1 Rb1
26. Bf1 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 b5 28. Rc5 Qa4 29. Qxa4 bxa4 30. Ra5 d5 31. Rxa4 Bb7
32. e5 Ra8 33. Rd4 Bc6 34. Bh3 Ra1+ 35. Kg2 Kf7 36. f4 Bb5 37. Kf2 Bc4 38.
Rd2 Ra2 39. Rxa2 Bxa2 40. Bg4 Bb1 41. Ke3 h6 42. Kd4 Ke7 43. Kc5 g5 44. fxg5
hxg5 45. Be2 Bg6 46. Bg4 Kd7 47. Bf3 Bf5 48. Be2 Kc7
{Game drawn by mutual agreement} 1/2-1/2

Dutch-defense/McKinney-Serovey.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats Sean McKinney for a Second Time

2008-07-18T19:33:00.000-04:00

Here is another ICC correspondence chess game I recently finished. I attempted to play the Max Lange attack but got steered into a Two Knights defense instead. Black played a Queen sacrifice that turned out to be unsound and was down material when he resigned. This win gives me a plus record at ICC and my highest correspondence chess rating so far.

This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/SeanMcKiney-Italian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.06.05"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.05.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "az2112"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Two knights defense"]
[ECO "C56"]
[NIC "KP.02"]
[Time "11:13:08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5
8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Rxe4+ Be6 10. Nxd4 O-O-O 11. Be3 Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Bb4 13. Ne4
Rxd4 14. Qxd4 Rd8 15. Qxg7 Qd5 16. Ng3 h5 17. Qh7 Qd1+ 18. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 19.
Nf1 Bc4 20. Qf5+ Kb8 21. h4 Bd6 22. g3 Rxf1+ 23. Kg2 Rd1 24. Qxh5
{Black resigns} 1-0

Italian-Game/Serovey-McKinney.pgn

Mike Serovey Defeats ThreeofSeven Yet Again

2008-07-04T20:19:00.000-04:00

I finished my third game with ThreeofSeven yesterday. This is an interesting game because my opponent was threatening a mate in one for about 10 moves but never got to play the mating move because his own King was too exposed to my checks. He made me play this one out to checkmate instead of resigning. This is my third win against ThreeofSeven and it gives me my highest correspondence rating so far.

The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ThreeofSeven-Pirc.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.06.04"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.05.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "ThreeofSeven"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White checkmated"]
[Opening "Modern defense: Averbakh system"]
[ECO "B06"]
[NIC "KF.04"]
[Time "11:13:08"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 c6 5. b3 c5 6. Nge2 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Qa5 8.
Bb2 Nc6 9. Ne2 Nf6 10. f3 O-O 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 Ng4 14. Qd2
Bh6 15. f4 e5 16. g3 exf4 17. gxf4 Rfe8 18. Be2 Qh5 19. Bxg4 Qxg4 20. Qd4
Qg2 21. Ne2 Qxh1+ 22. Kd2 Bxf4+ 23. Nxf4 Qxh2+ 24. Kd1 Bg4+ 25. Ke1 Qg3+ 26.
Kf1 Qxf4+ 27. Kg1 Qe5 28. Qf2 Qxe4 29. Qf6 Qe3+ 30. Kh2 Qh3+ 31. Kg1 Qg3+
32. Kf1 Bh3# {White checkmated} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats ThreeofSeven Again

2008-07-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

Here is an ICC correspondence chess game that I just finished. This is my second win against ThreeofSeven (AKA Dave from Castle Rock, CO). I still have one more game against Dave going and I am winning that one too. This win put my ICC correspondence chess rating over 1600 (1611), which was one of my chess goals for this year. It also gives me a plus score in ICC correspondence chess for the very first time!

This game, along with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ThreeofSeven-Reti.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.06.03"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.05.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "ThreeofSeven"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Réti opening"]
[ECO "A04"]
[NIC "QP.10"]
[Time "11:13:08"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8.
Ne1 Bd7 9. h3 Rc8 10. f4 b5 11. Nef3 Qb6 12. Kh2 a5 13. a4 b4 14. e5 Ne8 15.
Re1 e6 16. exd6 Nxd6 17. Ne5 Nf5 18. Nxd7 Qc7 19. Nxf8 Rxf8 20. Nc4 Ncd4 21.
c3 bxc3 22. bxc3 Nc6 23. Bd2 Rd8 24. Qc2 h5 25. Rab1 h4 26. gxh4 Nxh4 27.
Be4 g5 28. Rb6 Nb8 29. Rb7 Qc8 30. Nb6 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Draws Paul Farb

2008-07-01T19:04:00.000-04:00

This is the second game I found in which I drew an expert. This appears to be the first time that I did that. This game was played in Germany back in 1986 when I was in the Army stationed there. The analysis and diagrams for this game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/PaulFarb-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Rhine Main March Swiss"]
[Site "Rhine Main AFB, Germany"]
[Date "1986.03.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Paul Farb"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. Nf3 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. d3 O-O 8. a3 a5
9. Rb1 f5 10. b4 e4 11. Nd5 exf3 12. Bxf3 axb4 13. axb4 Ne5 14. Bg5 Nxf3+ 15.
exf3 Nxd5 16. Bxd8 Nc3 17. Qb3 Nxb1 18. Rxb1 Rxd8 19. Kg2 Be6 20. Qc2 Bf7 21.
Re1 Bf6 22. b5 Ra3 23. Re2 Rda8 24. h4 Ra2 25. Qxa2 Rxa2 26. Rxa2 d5 27. Ra8+
Kg7 28. Ra7 dxc4 29. dxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxb7 Kh6 31. Rxc7 Bxb5 32. Rb7 Be2 33. Rb6
Kg7 34. Rb7+ Kg8 35. Rb8+ Kf7 36. Rb7+ Be7 37. Rb2 Bc4 38. Rc2 Be6 39. Rc7 Kf6
40. Ra7 h5 41. Ra5 f4 42. gxf4 Bb4 43. Rb5 Bd6 44. Kg3 Bd7 45. Ra5 Ke7 {Draw agreed}
1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Nieuwoudt

2008-06-28T19:20:00.000-04:00

Here is a game played back in 1986 while I was stationed in Germany. This appears to be the second time that I played the Grob attack (aka the Spike). I beat a provisionally rated 1900 player. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Nieuwoudt-Grob.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Rhine Main March Open"]
[Site "Rhine Main AFB"]
[Date "1986.03.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Nieuwoudt"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. g4 h6 2. Bg2 Nf6 3. e4 e5 4. h3 Bc5 5. d3 b6 6. c4 Bb7 7. Nc3 c6 8. Nf3 Qc7
9. Qe2 d5 10. exd5 cxd5 11. Nb5 Qe7 12. Qxe5 Na6 13. Qxe7+ Bxe7 14. O-O dxc4 15.
dxc4 O-O 16. Nfd4 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Rfc8 18. b3 Nc5 19. Nf5 Bf8 20. Bf4 Rc6 21. Rad1
a6 22. Nc7 Ra7 23. Nd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rd7 25. Rfd1 Rxd5 26. Rxd5 g6 27. Nxh6+
Bxh6 28. Bxh6 Ne6 29. Kg3 f6 30. Be3 Kg7 31. Rd7+ Kf8 32. Rb7 Nc5 33. Bxc5+ bxc5
34. a4 Kg8 35. a5 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Draws Richard Trapp

2008-06-26T18:32:00.000-04:00

Here is another game from 1990. This one appears to be the second time that I played against Richard Trapp in a tournament. This time I drew him while up a Bishop. I was threatening mate in one but could not avoid his perpetual checks! The game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RichardTrapp-KingsIndianDefense.html.

[Event "Seventh BCC Open"]
[Site "Brandon Chess Club"]
[Date "1990.07.20"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Richard Trapp"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4
Nc6 9. O-O Bd7 10. Re1 Qb6 11. Nb3 Nb4 12. a3 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bb5 14. Qd1 Ba4 15.
Re3 Nh5 16. Bg5 Rfe8 17. g4 Nf6 18. Nfd2 Qb5 19. h4 e5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. d5 Bxh4
22. Rh3 Bg5 23. Qf3 Bxb3 24. Nxb3 Qd7 25. Kg2 Rac8 26. Rah1 h6 27. Nc1 Rxc1 28.
Rxh6 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 f6 30. Qh3 Qg7 31. Qb3 Rc8 32. Qb4 Qd7 33. f3 Rc2+ 34. Kf1
Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Rxh1 36. Kxh1 Qh7+ 37. Kg2 Qc7 38. Qa4 Kf7 39. b4 a6 40. b5 axb5
41. Qxb5 b6 42. Qa6 Be3 43. Qd3 Bd4 44. Qa6 Qc2+ 45. Kh3 g5 46. Qb7+ Kg6 47. Qd7
Bg1 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Loses to Pirella

2008-06-24T19:14:00.000-04:00

Here is another chess game from 1990. This is one of my many losses with the Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit. I no longer play this gambit because I have a much better record with other openings for White. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Pirella-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Seventh BCC Action"]
[Site "Brandon Chess Club"]
[Date "1990.07.20"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Pirella"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. Be3 e6 8.
Bb5+ c6 9. Bc4 Bd6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Qd2 Qc7 12. Ng5 O-O-O 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nxe6
Qa5 15. Nxd8 Qxd8 16. d5 Nb6 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. b3 Qd7 19. Qf2 Qc7 20. Bxb6 axb6
21. Rae1 Bc5 22. Re3 Re8 23. Rfe1 Rxe3 24. Rxe3 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Harry Ball

2008-06-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

Here is another chess game from 1990. I played the Botvinnik system against a closed Sicilian. Things were pretty even until my opponent blundered away his Bishop on move number 18. He compounded his error on move number 33 and ended down a Rook and pawn. This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/HarryBall-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Brandon We're Back Open"]
[Site "Brandon Chess Club"]
[Date "1990.05.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Harry Ball"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Be3 d6 7. h3 Nge7 8. Qd2
O-O 9. Bh6 Na5 10. Bd5 Nxd5 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Nxd5 Nc6 13. c3 Be6 14. O-O Qd7
15. Qg5 f6 16. Qh4 Qf7 17. g4 Bxd5 18. g5 Be6 19. gxf6+ Qxf6 20. Ng5 h6 21.
Nxe6+ Qxe6 22. Kh2 Rf4 23. Qg3 Raf8 24. f3 Ne7 25. Rf2 Qf6 26. Raf1 Qh4 27. Qg2
g5 28. b4 Ng6 29. Rb1 b6 30. a4 Qh5 31. bxc5 dxc5 32. Rbf1 Rh4 33. f4 Nxf4 34.
Rxf4 Rfxf4 35. a5 Rxf1 36. Qxf1 Rf4 37. Qg2 Qf3 38. axb6 axb6 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats J. Foote

2008-06-19T18:56:00.000-04:00

Here is another game from 1990. This appears to be when I had a hot streak going. It is too bad that I have been in a slump for the last ten years as far as OTB play goes! This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Foote-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Third Brandon Action"]
[Site "Brandon Chess Club"]
[Date "1990.03.02"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "J. Foote"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. dxe5 Nxe5 7. Qxd5 Qxd5 8.
Bxd5 Nf6 9. Bg2 Bc5 10. Bf4 Nfg4 11. e3 Nd3+ 12. Ke2 Nxf4+ 13. gxf4 O-O 14. Nc3
Nf6 15. Nf3 Bf5 16. Nh4 Bg6 17. Nxg6 fxg6 18. Na4 Bb4 19. Rhd1 Rfe8 20. Bxb7
Rad8 21. Bc6 Rf8 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Rd1 Ba5 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Nc5 Ng4 26. h3 Nh6
27. Kd3 Nf5 28. e4 Nd6 29. Bd5+ Kf8 30. Ne6+ Ke7 31. Nxd8 Kxd8 32. e5 Nf5 33.
Bg8 h6 34. Ke4 Ne7 35. Bf7 Kd7 36. Kd4 Nf5+ 37. Kc5 Ne7 38. e6+ Kc7 39. b4 g5
40. fxg5 hxg5 41. a4 Nc8 42. a5 a6 43. Bh5 Nd6 44. Kd5 Nf5 45. Be2 Ne7+ 46. Kc5
Kb7 47. Kd6 Nf5+ 48. Kd7 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats H. Ross

2008-06-18T20:45:00.000-04:00

Here is another game from the Florida Class Championships of 1990. This is a long game and I ended up grinding him down in the endgame. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Ross-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Florida Class Championships"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.02.25"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "H.Ross"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 e6 4. d3 Bc5 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. O-O
Bg4 9. Qc2 Bb6 10. a3 Rb8 11. d4 Ne7 12. Nc3 c6 13. Bd2 Bf5 14. Qb3 Bd3 15. Rfc1
Bc4 16. Qd1 Nf5 17. Ne5 Ba6 18. b4 Nd6 19. Na4 Bc7 20. Nc5 Bc4 21. Nxc4 Nxc4 22.
Bf1 b5 23. Qc2 Bd6 24. Bd3 Bxc5 25. dxc5 Nxd2 26. Qxd2 Nd7 27. Qc2 g6 28. Bf1
Ne5 29. Bg2 Nc4 30. Rd1 Qf6 31. Ra2 Rfd8 32. Re1 Ne5 33. f4 Nc4 34. e4 dxe4 35.
Bxe4 Rd4 36. Qg2 Rbd8 37. Bf3 Rd2 38. Rxd2 Rxd2 39. Qh3 Qd4+ 40. Kh1 Ne3 41.
Qc8+ Kg7 42. Qe8 Nd5 43. Qe5+ Qxe5 44. Rxe5 f6 45. Re6 Rd3 46. Bxd5 cxd5 47.
Re7+ Kh6 48. Rxa7 d4 49. Rd7 Rd1+ 50. Kg2 d3 51. c6 Rc1 52. Rxd3 Rxc6 53. Rd5
Rc3 54. Rxb5 Rxa3 55. Rb8 Rb3 56. b5 Kh5 57. Kh3 f5 58. b6 g5 59. fxg5 f4 60. b7
f3 61. Rf8 Rxb7 62. Rxf3 Kxg5 63. Rf8 Rg7 64. g4 Rg6 65. Rf5+ Kh6 66. Kh4 Kg7
67. h3 h6 68. Kh5 Rc6 69. h4 Rd6 70. Ra5 Kg8 71. g5 hxg5 72. hxg5 Rd1
73. Ra7 Rh1+ 74. Kg6 Rf1 75. Ra8+ Rf8 76. Rxf8+ Kxf8 77. Kh7 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses to Reynolds Sampson

2008-06-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

Here is another old game played back in 1990. I was wining this game until I blundered away my Queen on move #36! Some day I am going to figure out how to blunder proof my chess games! This was a Benko Gambit declined. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ReyoldsSampson-BenkoGambitDeclined.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Florida Class"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1990.02.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Reynolds Sampson"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 b5 4. b3 Bb7 5. Nc3 bxc4 6. bxc4 g6 7. Rb1 Ba6 8. e4 d6
9. Nf3 Nbd7 10. Qa4 Qc8 11. Bd3 Bg7 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. Ne2 e6 15. O-O
exd5 16. exd5 Re8 17. Nc1 Qg4 18. h3 Qd7 19. Nd2 Rab8 20. Ncb3 Nh5 21. Bxg7 Kxg7
22. Na5 Nf4 23. Nc6 Rbc8 24. Rfe1 Nbxd5 25. cxd5 Bxd3 26. Qc3+ f6 27. Rxe8 Rxe8
28. Qb3 Bxb1 29. Nxb1 Re1+ 30. Kh2 Nxd5 31. Qxd5 Rxb1 32. Na5 Rb2 33. Nc4 Rxf2
34. Nxd6 Rf5 35. Qd3 Qc7 36. Kg1 Rf4 37. Ne8+ {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats Richard Trapp

2008-06-16T18:31:00.000-04:00

Here is a game played back in 1990. This is from one of the chess tournaments played in Brandon, FL against someone that I had know for years. I think that this is my only win against him. I think that he is the only one to use this strategy against my English opening. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RichardTrapp-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Second Brandon Action"]
[Site "Brandon, FL"]
[Date "1990.02.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Richard Trapp"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 Nc6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 Ne5 5. d3 Nxf3+ 6. Bxf3 Bxf3 7. exf3 e5 8.
O-O Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Nc3 Nf6 11. Re1 exf4 12. Bxf4 O-O 13. Qf3 Re8 14. b3 Qd7
15. Re2 g6 16. Rae1 Bf8 17. Bg5 Nh5 18. g4 Ng7 19. Nd5 Rxe2 20. Rxe2 Qc8 21.
Nf6+ Kh8 22. Qh3 h5 23. Qh4 Ne6 24. gxh5 Nxg5 25. hxg6+ Kg7 26. Qxg5 fxg6 27.
Nh5+ Kh7 28. Nf4 Qf5 29. Qxf5 gxf5 30. Nd5 c6 31. Nb4 Rc8 32. Re6 Kg7 33. Kg2
Kf7 34. Re2 d5 35. Nc2 dxc4 36. dxc4 Bd6 37. Nd4 Rg8+ 38. Kf3 c5 39. Nxf5 Bxh2
40. Ng3 Kf6 {Black Resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats ZiggyStardust

2008-06-15T17:14:00.000-04:00

I recently started playing a quad at ICC. I wanted to even up my score in correspondence chess at ICC and get my cc rating over 1600. In my first game from this quad that I completed I drew ZiggyStardust in 12 moves with White. This is the second game completed. This was a rather easy win playing the Black side of a Sicilian defense, Grand Prix attack. This win brings my cc rating up to 1596, my highest so far and my score in cc to 14-14-6. The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at
http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ZiggyStardust-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2008Quad.06.02"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.05.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "ZiggyStardust"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Grand Prix attack"]
[ECO "B23"]
[NIC "SI.44"]
[Time "11:13:08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 d6 4. Nf3 f5 5. Bb5 fxe4 6. Nxe4 Nf6 7. d3 Nxe4 8.
dxe4 Qa5+ 9. c3 Qxb5 10. Ng5 e6 11. f5 exf5 12. Qd5 Ne5 13. Bf4 Nd3+ 14. Kd2
Nxf4 15. Rae1 Qxb2+ 16. Kd1 Nxd5 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws Carlisle Clewis

2008-06-06T21:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a game from February 1990. I drew an expert with White. The thing is, though, that I was up a Rook, a Bishop and a passed pawn when I had to settle for a draw due to perpetual check! The game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Carlisle-Clewis-Kings-Indian-Attack.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Second Brandon Action"]
[Site "Brandon, FL"]
[Date "1990.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Carlisle Clewis"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 4. c4 Nc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2 d4 8. d3 Bd6 9. Na3 a6 10. Nc2 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Bxb7 Ra7 13. Bc6+ Nd7 14. f4 Bd6 15. Qe1 O-O 16. e3 Qb6 17. Bg2 Bf5 18. Qe2 Be7 19. exd4 Bf6 20. Qf2 Bxd3 21. dxc5 Qxc5 22. Bxf6 Bxc2 23. Bd4 Qf5 24. Bxa7 Nf6 25. Rfe1 Qd3 26. Rac1 Ng4 27. Qxc2 Qd728. Bb6 Rb8 29. c5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 Nf2+ 31. Kg1 Ng4+ 32. Kh1 Nf2+ 33. Kg1 {Draw by repetition of position} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Carrigan

2008-06-06T20:12:00.000-04:00

Here is a Benko Gambit Declined that I played back in December 1989. I beat a player rated 122 points above me with Black. The game was even until move number 38 when I won an isolated pawn. On the very next move White blunders away his Bishop! The complete game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Carrigan-BenkoGambitDeclined.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Orlando December Tornado"]
[Site "orlando, FL"]
[Date "1989.12.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Carrigan"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Nf3 d6 5. Qc2 bxc4 6. e4 g6 7. Bxc4 Bg7 8. Nbd2O-O 9. O-O Ba6 10. Rb1 Bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nbd7 12. Re1 Ng4 13. h3 Nge5 14. Nfxe5 Nxe515. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Be3 Qa5 17. b3 Rfc8 18. f4 Bg7 19. Bf2 Qb4 20. Rbc1 Rc7 21.Qc4 a5 22. e5 Qxc4 23. Rxc4 Rb7 24. Ree4 Rb4 25. exd6 exd6 26. Kf1 Kf8 27. Be1Rxc4 28. Rxc4 Bf6 29. Ra4 Bd8 30. Ke2 Ke7 31. Kd3 Kd7 32. b4 cxb4 33. Bxb4 Rb834. Bd2 Rb5 35. Kc4 Rc5+ 36. Kd4 Bb6 37. Ke4 f5+ 38. Kf3 Rxd5 39. Bc3 Rd3+ {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Dave Pierson

2008-05-24T18:29:00.000-04:00

Here is an old game played back in 1988. My opponent dropped a couple of pawns ad then his Knight and it was over after that. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/DavePierson-BenkoGambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "St. Pete Quad"]
[Site "St. Petersburg, FL."]
[Date "1988.11.20"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Dave Pierson"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 d6 4. c4 b5 5. cxb5 a6 6. bxa6 Bxa6 7. Nc3 g6 8. Bd2Bg7 9. g3 O-O 10. Bg2 Nbd7 11. O-O Qc7 12. Re1 Rfb8 13. b3 Nb6 14. Rb1 Nbxd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16. e4 Nb4 17. Bxb4 Rxb4 18. e5 Bb7 19. exd6 exd6 20. Qc2 f5 21. Ng5Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qc6+ 23. Kg1 Be5 24. Qd2 Rd4 25. Qc2 Qd5 26. Rbd1 Rxd1 27. Rxd1Rxa2 28. Qxa2 Qxd1+ 29. Kg2 Qd5+ 30. Kh3 h6 31. f4 Bf6 32. Nf3 Qxf3 33. b4+ Kf834. b5 Qf1+ 35. Qg2 Qxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Bd8 37. Kf2 d5 {White resigned} 0-1

Mike Serovey Loses to Yossue Leyva

2008-05-23T22:08:00.000-04:00

Here is Round 4 of the tournament mentioned in previous posts. I found a combination that would win material but misplayed it on move number 22 and lost instead. The game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/YossueLeyva-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornado"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.04.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Yossue Leyva"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Be2 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. O-O O-O 11. Ne2 a5 12. c3 Be7 13. Bf4 Ba6 14. Bc2 Qb615. Rb1 Rfc8 16. Re1 Bd6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. h3 Bc4 19. a3 Rab8 20. Nd4 Ba2 21.Ra1 Rxb2 22. Qc1 Qxa3 23. Nb5 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats Tek Ajao

2008-05-23T19:38:00.000-04:00

Here is Round 2 of the tornado played in Tampa on April 20, 2008. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TekAjao-DutchDefense.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornado"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.04.20"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Tek Ajao"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e6 7. Nc3 d6 8. Bg5 h69. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. e3 c6 11. Qb3 Nd7 12. Rad1 e5 13. d5 e4 14. dxc6 Nc5 15. cxb7Bxb7 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. Qc2 exf3 18. Rxd5 fxg2 19. Kxg2 Rfd8 20. b3 a5 21. Rfd1Ne4 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Loses to Radek Laburda Again

2008-05-22T23:21:00.000-04:00

On April 20, 2008 I played in a tornado at the Tampa Chess Club. I won one game and lost three so my rating is going down after that one. This game is the second time that I played Radek Laburda on Board 2 in Round 1. There were only 8 people in the open section so I ended up on Board 2 for Rounds 1 and 3 and on Board 4 for Rounds 2 and 4. I didn't sleep well the night before and it affected my play in the last 2 rounds.

This game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RadekLaburda-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornado"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.04.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Radek Laburda"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. d4 c6 6. Bg2 Bd6 7. e3 O-O 8. Nge2Re8 9. O-O Bg4 10. a3 Qd7 11. Re1 Bh3 12. Bh1 Qf5 13. Nf4 Bxf4 14. exf4 Nbd7 15.Be3 Ng4 16. Qd2 Ndf6 17. f3 Nxe3 18. Rxe3 Rxe3 19. Qxe3 Re8 20. Qd2 h5 21. Bg2Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qe6 23. Rd1 a5 24. h4 b5 25. b4 axb4 26. axb4 Qe7 27. Rb1 Nd7 28.Rb2 Nb6 29. Qe2 Nc4 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. Re2 Rxe2+ 32. Nxe2 Ne3+ 33. Kf2 Nc2 34. f5Nxb4 35. Ke3 g6 36. fxg6 fxg6 37. Nf4 Kf7 38. g4 hxg4 39. fxg4 Na6 40. Nd3 Kf641. Ne5 Nb8 42. Kd3 c5 43. Nf3 c4+ 44. Kc3 Nc6 45. Kc2 Nb4+ 46. Kb2 Nd3+ 47. Kc3b4+ 48. Kc2 Nf2 49. Ne5 b3+ 50. Kc3 Nd1+ 51. Kd2 Nf2 52. Kc3 Ne4+ 53. Kb2 Ng354. Nd7+ Ke6 55. Nf8+ Kf7 56. Nh7 Ne2 57. Ng5+ Ke7 58. Nf3 Nf4 59. Kc3 Nd3 60.Nd2 Nf2 61. h5 Nxg4 62. hxg6 Kf6 63. g7 Kxg7 64. Nb1 Kf6 65. Kb4 Kf5 66. Kc5 Nf667. Nc3 Ne4+ 68. Kxd5 Nxc3+ 69. Kxc4 b2 70. Kxc3 b1=Q 71. Kc4 Ke6 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Lord Haw Haw

2008-05-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest game played at Stan's Net Chess. This win put my overall record at 23-10-3. It also brought my rating at Stan's Net Chess up to 2216. This game is an English: ultra-symmetrical variation that transposed into a Botvinnik system. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/LordHawHaw-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 431210"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2008.04.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "Lord Haw Haw"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-OBg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. g4 Nxg4 11. hxg4 Bxg4 12. f3 Bd7 13. Be3 f5 14. Qd2 f4 15.Bxf4 Nd4 16. Bh6 e5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Nd5 Bc6 20. f4 Bxd5 21. exd5Qh4 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. c5 Rac8 24. Qb4 Qg3 25. Qxb7+ Kh8 26. Qe7 Qe3+ 27. Kh2Qh6+ 28. Bh3 Qd2+ 29. Kh1 Rfe8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Be6+ Rxe6 32. Qxe6+ Kg7 33. Rf7+Kh6 34. Qh3+ 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats joblack

2008-04-19T20:13:00.000-04:00

Here is my most recent game completed at Stan's Net Chess. This game helped me to reach one of my goals set last year. This win put my rating at Stan's Net Chess over 2200 points. Keep in mind that the ratings at Stan's Net Chess are inflated. My highest USCF correspondence rating was 1940 and highest OTB rating was 1793. My new rating is 2203 and my opponent's rating dropped to 2210. This game was my second time playing the Dutch defense and my first win with it. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/joblack-DutchDefense.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 429544"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2008.03.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "joblack"]
[Black "mserovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. c4 Bg7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. Bg5Nbd7 9. e3 h6 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Rc1 Qe8 12. b4 e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Qb3 e4 15.Nd4 Qf7 16. Rfd1 Ng4 17. Nce2 Ne5 18. Nf4 a5 19. b5 g5 20. Nfe2 a4 21. Qc2 Nd322. Rxd3 exd3 23. Qxd3 Qe7 24. c5 Qf7 25. e4 fxe4 26. Bxe4 Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 Bg4 28.Bg2 Rae8 29. Rf1 Bxe2 30. Qg6 Bxf1 31. Bd5+ Kh8 32. Ne6 Bg2+ 33. Bxg2 Qe1+ 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats richcavalier

2008-03-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Here is another one of my wins played at Stan's Net Chess. In this one I played the White side of an A23 English: Bremen system, Keres variation. From there I transposed into my usual Botvinnik system. For part of the game my opponent's rating was over 2400, but it dropped to 2358 at the conclusion of this game. My rating went up to 2190. I am only 11 points away from reaching my goal of going over 2200 at Stan's Net Chess by the end of 2008! Depending on the rating of my opponents I can go over 2200 with one or two more wins and no losses.

This entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/richcavalier-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 425751"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2008.02.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "richcavalier"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. e4 d6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. d3 O-O 7. Nge2 Bg4 8. f3 Be69. O-O d5 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Be3 Nc6 14. a3 Bf6 15.Nc3 Be6 16. Ne4 Be7 17. f4 exf4 18. Rxf4 Re8 19. Qd2 Ne5 20. Nf2 Ng6 21. Bxb7Rb8 22. Bc6 Nxf4 23. Bxf4 Rb6 24. Bxe8 Qxe8 25. Be3 Rd6 26. Bxa7 Bf6 27. Ne4Bd4+ 28. Bxd4 Rxd4 29. Nc5 Bh3 30. Re1 Qc6 31. b4 h6 32. Qe2 Rd8 33. Qe4 Qf6 34.Qh4 Qxh4 35. gxh4 Rd6 36. Kf2 Rd4 37. b5 Rxh4 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. b6 Rh5 40. b7Rxc5 41. b8=Q Rc2+ 42. Ke3 {Black resigned} 1-0

I have decided that I am going to play another quad at ICC because I can play for free because I have my membership paid up until December. I just need one more win to get my ICC correspondence chess rating over 1600. Yes, I may have to put up with someone going over on the time limit and getting away with just a warning, which irks me to no end, but I really do want to play more correspondence chess.

Mike Serovey Defeats James the II

2008-02-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Here is another chess game played at Stan's Net Chess. This game was a B22 Sicilian: Alapin's variation (3.c3). White played some moves that I wasn't expecting but many of those moves turned out to be blunders. You can see the entire game, complete with analysis and diagrams, at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/James-the-II-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 425740"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2008.02.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "JAMES THE II"]
[Black "mserovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 e5 4. a3 Nf6 5. Bd3 d5 6. Bb5 Bd6 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. O-OO-O 9. Bc4 Nb6 10. Be2 e4 11. Ne1 c4 12. f4 Qc7 13. b3 cxb3 14. Qxb3 Bxf4 15.Qc2 Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Re8 17. d4 Bg3 18. Be3 Qe7 19. Nf3 exf3 20. Rxf3 Qh4+ 21. Kg1Qh2+ 22. Kf1 Qh1+ 23. Bg1 Bh2 24. Ke1 Qxg1+ 25. Rf1 Qxg2 26. Ra2 Bg4 0-1

New Software Available at My Chess Site

2008-02-10T17:06:00.000-05:00

I know how some people hate to give out their email addresses to websites because they are afraid of spam. Well, I have a small solution to that problem. If you want to be notified when I update my chess site you can do so without giving me your email address. I just uploaded a small application that you can get for free. Once installed on your computer it will check my site once a day for updates. If it finds that the site has been updated it will display a small message on your computer screen that tells you that my chess site has been updated. You can get this application by going to http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ and scrolling down near the bottom. The link to click on is just above the button that allows you to make a donation to my site. If you would like to make a similar application for one of your own web sites you can buy the application making software from me for a measly $5.95 for personal use and $19.95 if you want master resell rights. I will upload the application making software and sales page to http://www.mikeseroveyenterprises.com/ later on today. Check my Products page for more information.

My Hugpage on Chess

2008-01-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

I recently found out about something called hubpages. They basically give you some web space so that you can publish articles on any topic that you want, as long as it is not on their list of forbidden topics. We can get paid for publishing articles there. I set up a hubpage on how to win at chess. It can be found at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Win-at-Chess. I plan to publish other related articles there as well and they will go into a group on chess. Please check it out and leave some nice comments for me to read.

Mike Serovey Draws Eric Lang

2008-01-21T00:41:00.000-05:00

Here is one of my games from an OTB tournament played in 2005. I haven't played that much OTB chess in the last 3 years so I don't have that many recent games to publish. In this game I missed a couple of winning moves and had to settle for a draw. As a rule, if the game goes more than 60 moves and ends in a draw then I have probably missed a win somewhere. The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/EricLang-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "SPCC July open"]
[Site "St. Pete Chess Club"]
[Date "2005.07.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Eric Lang"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 Nbd7 7. Bb2 c5 8. d3 b69. cxd5 exd5 10. Nbd2 Bb7 11. Ne5 Qc7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe415. dxe4 Qe6 16. Qc2 Bf6 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. f4 Rfe8 19. e5 Qe7 20. Rfd1 Bxg2 21.Qxg2 Rad8 22. Qc2 Rd7 23. Rxd7 Qxd7 24. Rd1 Qc7 25. Qd3 h6 26. Qd7 Qxd7 27. Rxd7Ra8 28. Kf2 Kf8 29. Ke3 Ke8 30. Rc7 g6 31. g4 a5 32. Rb7 Ra6 33. Kd3 a4 34. f5axb3 35. axb3 Ra2 36. fxg6 fxg6 37. Rxb6 Kf7 38. h3 Rh2 39. Rf6+ Kg7 40. Rf3 Ra241. e6 Ra7 42. Rf7+ Rxf7 43. exf7 Kxf7 44. Kc4 Ke6 45. Kxc5 Kd7 46. b4 Kc7 47.b5 h5 48. gxh5 gxh5 49. h4 Kb7 50. b6 Kb8 51. Kc6 Kc8 52. Kd6 Kb7 53. Ke6 Kxb654. Kf6 Kc6 55. Kg6 Kd7 56. Kxh5 Ke7 57. Kg6 Kf8 58. Kh7 Kf7 59. h5 Kf6 60. h6Kf7 61. Kh8 Kf8 62. h7 Kf7 {Stalemate} 1/2-1/2

ICC and Me

2008-01-19T21:03:00.000-05:00

Last month I did renew my membership in ICC even though I am a little unhappy with them. I got the student discount rate because I am now in graduate school. I had one correspondence chess game still going and didn't want to lose it on forfeit. I had that happen to a few games years ago when I failed to renew my ICC membership. It hurt my ICC correspondence chess rating and my correspondence chess win-loss ratio. Also, ICC does have some lectures and training programs that can help me improve. Overall, I think that the money that I spent to renew my ICC membership was worth it and I will get enough value for my money over the course of 2008. We will see about renewing for 2009 when the time comes. As for playing any more correspondence chess games at ICC, I may, but right now I am leaning toward not playing any more at ICC. I am still having a problem with the fact that they don't enforce the time controls.

Mike Serovey Draws Slowstar9

2008-01-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

Here is the last game I started in 2007. It is one of the games I played at Stan's Net Chess. Although the game started off as a Benko's opening I tried to transpose into a Catalan. It didn't work because my opponent steered us into Indian lines and we ended up transposing into an off line of the Bogo Indian defense. I went up 2 passed pawns and had to settle for a draw because I left weaknesses around my King that allowed the Black Queen to check my King. Black had a draw by perpetual check. Any attempts to get out of this would lead to a bad position for White. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Slowstar9-Benkos-Opening.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 415561"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2007.11.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "slowstar9"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. g3 e6 2. Bg2 d5 3. c4 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 O-O 7. Nf3 dxc4 8.a4 Ne4 9. Qe3 Nd6 10. O-O Nc6 11. Na3 Nb4 12. Rfc1 a6 13. Nxc4 Nxc4 14. Rxc4 a515. Qc3 Nd5 16. Qc1 c6 17. e3 f6 18. Ne1 b6 19. Rxc6 Bd7 20. Rd6 Qe7 21. Rxd5exd5 22. Bxd5+ Kh8 23. Bxa8 Rxa8 24. Qc7 Rc8 25. Qxb6 Qe4 26. b4 axb4 27. Qxb4Bc6 28. f3 Qxe3+ 29. Kg2 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Sean McKinney

2008-01-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

This is the last of my correspondence chess games played at ICC. It was this game, and 3 others like it, that caused me to decide not to play anymore correspondence chess games at ICC. This is the fourth game that I should have won on time forfeit and the fourth time that my opponent got off with just a warning and extra time to play the game! I believe that is cheating and I am not going to put up with it anymore! My opponent's rating at the start of this game was 1590 and it dropped to 1541 by the end of this game. Mine went up to 1595, only 6 rating points away from reaching my goal of going over 1600 rating points! I need one more win and no losses to reach my goal. However, if I continue to play correspondence chess games at ICC I am going to continue to have this problem of people getting away with cheating!

I got outplayed in the opening and went down the exchange and 2 pawns. Then a few moves later my opponent gave back the material. Then I blundered away 3 pawns only to have White return them in a sacrifice. I managed to win the endgame and White resigned. This game is one of the few times that I have won playing the Black side of the Réti. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/az2112-Reti.html. Here is the game in PGN. My record in this section is 2 wins and 4 losses.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.21"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "az2112"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Réti: King's Indian attack"]
[ECO "A05"]
[NIC "EO.26"]
[Time "18:02:54"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. c4 c5 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nc6 8.Nc3 a6 9. c5 Ne8 10. Bxc6 dxc6 11. Nxc6 Qc7 12. Nd5 Qd7 13. Ncxe7+ Kh8 14.Nb6 Qxe7 15. Nxa8 Bh3 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Be3 Qc6 18. f3 Nf6 19. Rc1 Qe6 20.Bf2 Rxa8 21. Rc7 b5 22. Qc2 Qxa2 23. g4 h5 24. g5 Nd5 25. Rxf7 Be6 26. Qxg6Bxf7 27. Qxf7 Rf8 28. Qxh5+ Kg8 29. g6 Nf6 30. Qh4 Qxb2 31. Bd4 Qc2 32. e4Qd3 33. e5 Qxg6+ {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws Richard Booher

2007-12-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

I have found what appears to be the very first correspondence chess game in which I played the Blackmar-Diemer gambit. This is the last of the old correspondence chess games that I will publish here. All things considered, it is doubtful that I will play this gambit ever again unless I chose to transpose into it from the Scandinavian defense and use it as a surprise weapon. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RichardBooher-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "89CC390"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "Game A"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Richard Booher"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 Bf5 5. Bf4 e6 6. g4 Bg6 7. g5 Nd5 8. Nxd5Qxd5 9. Bg2 c5 10. c3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Qxd4 12. cxd4 Bb4+ 13. Kf2 exf3 14. Bxf3 Nc615. Ne2 O-O 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. d5 exd5 18. Bxd5 Rfe8 19. Ng3 Bd3 20. a3 Ba5 21.Be3 Re5 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Rhd1 Bb5 24. h4 a6 25. b3 c5 26. a4 Be8 27. Rd6 Bc728. Rxa6 Rxe3 29. Kxe3 Bxg3 30. Rc4 Rb8 31. Rxc5 Rxb3+ 32. Ke4 Rb8 33. h5 f6 34.gxf6 gxf6 35. Rxf6 Bh4 36. Ra6 Rb4+ 37. Ke5 Bg3+ 38. Kf6 Bh4+ 39. Ke6 Re4+ 40.Kf5 Rxa4 41. Rxa4 Bxa4 42. Kg4 Be7 43. Rc8+ Kf7 44. Rc3 Bd1+ 45. Rf3+ Kg7 46.Kg3 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats John I. Bean

2007-12-25T22:30:00.000-05:00

Here is another win from section 99SS7. I have yet to find a game from this section that I haven't won. The opening resembles a closed Sicilian so that is what I am calling it. White sacrificed a lot of material for a Kingside attack that failed. He was still down material after my Queen sacrifice so he resigned. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/JohnIBean-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "90SS7"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "John I. Bean"]
[Black "Mike serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. Bc4 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O d6 6. d3 Nf6 7. Ng5 O-O 8. Bxf7+Rxf7 9. Nxf7 Kxf7 10. Be3 Bg4 11. f3 Be6 12. Bg5 Qb6 13. b3 c4+ 14. Rf2 cxb3 15.cxb3 Nd7 16. f4 Bxc3 17. f5 gxf5 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. exf5 Bxa1 20. Bh6 Bf7 21. Qg5+Kh8 22. Kf1 Qxf2+ {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Michael T. McCloskey

2007-12-25T21:06:00.000-05:00

Here is another old correspondence chess game. This time I beat a lower rated player with the Benko Gambit. My opponent declined the gambit in an unusual way and I managed to get a good position with even material as a result. So far, it still looks like I won every game in this section. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/MichaelTMcCloskey-BenkoGambitDeclined.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "90SS7"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Michael T. McCloskey"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. b3 d6 5. Bb2 Nbd7 6. e3 bxc4 7. bxc4 g6 8. Nf3Bg7 9. Bd3 Rb8 10. Bc3 Nb6 11. O-O O-O 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. a4 Nxa4 14. Rxa4 Bxa415. Qxa4 Qc7 16. Ba5 Qd7 17. Qxd7 Nxd7 18. Rb1 Rxb1+ 19. Nxb1 Rb8 20. g3 Rb3 21.Bc2 Rb2 22. Bd3 Ra2 23. Bd8 Kf8 24. h3 Ne5 25. Nxe5 Bxe5 26. f4 Bf6 {White resigns}0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Robert L. Eisert

2007-12-22T22:47:00.000-05:00

I found an old correspondence chess game in which I deliberately chose to play the Black side of the French defense. Although the French has a reputation for being drawish I did manage to win this one. Even so, I rarely play the Black side of the French because I think that I have better winning chances with the Sicilian or Modern defense. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RobertLEisert-French.html. So far, it looks like I won every game in this section. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "90SS7"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1991.10.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Robert L. Eisert"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Nf3 d4 8. Ne2Qa5+ 9. Qd2 Qxc5 10. O-O O-O 11. Rac1 e5 12. c3 Qd6 13. cxd4 exd4 14. Bf4 Qd815. e5 Nd5 16. a3 Be6 17. Bg3 Nb6 18. Nexd4 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 Bg5 20. f4 Qxd4+ 21.Rf2 Rad8 22. Rd1 Be7 23. Kh1 g6 24. h3 Bc4 25. Rf3 Bxd3 26. Rxd3 Qxd3 27. Qxd3Rxd3 28. Rxd3 Rd8 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Mark J. McClaughry

2007-12-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

I finally found an old correspondence chess game that I won playing the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. This game was also a Teichmann defense. That seems to be the most popular reply to the gambit so far. In this game a low rated player freaked out over my kingside attack and resigned prematurely. Oh, well. I'll take a win any way that I can get one! The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/MarkJMcClaughry-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "90SS7"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1991.09.09"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Mark J. McClaughry"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. f3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. Nc3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 c6 8.Be3 e6 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O Be7 11. Rf2 Qa5 12. Raf1 O-O 13. Qg3 Nh5 14. Qf3 Nhf615. Ne4 e5 16. Bg5 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses To William R. Killion

2007-12-21T22:42:00.000-05:00

This is the third loss in a correspondence chess game using the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit that I have found so far. In this one I again lost to a lower rated player. So far, it looks like I lost every game that I played in this section. This game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/WilliamRKillion-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is is in PGN.

[Event "96RT25"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.10.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "William R. Killion"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 d5 2. d4 dxe4 3. f3 e5 4. Be3 exd4 5. Qxd4 Qxd4 6. Bxd4 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd7 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. O-O-O O-O-O 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. fxe4 f6 13. Nf3 Bxe4 14.Rhe1 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Bd6 16. h4 Rhe8 17. c3 c5 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Bg1 Bf4+ 20. Kc2b6 21. a4 Bg3 22. h5 Re5 23. h6 gxh6 24. b4 h5 25. Kb3 Re1 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Loses To Lawrence D. Gladding

2007-12-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here is another old correspondence chess game played in 1996. After looking over this game I am amazed that I was able to obtain a 1940 rating playing this badly! Obviously, I had better games than this one! This is another Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, Teichmann defense. I had a couple of missed opportunities in this game, but my loss was due mainly to the strong kingside attack that Black mounted against me. My opponent had a higher OTB rating than I did at the start of this but I had the higher correspondence chess rating. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/LawrenceDGladding-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "96RT25"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.10.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Lawrence D. Gladding"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. Bd3 Bb4 8.O-O O-O 9. Qe1 Nbd7 10. Qh4 Be7 11. Bxh7+ Nxh7 12. Qxg4 f5 13. Qg3 g5 14. Ne5Nxe5 15. dxe5 Qe8 16. Ne2 Kh8 17. Bf2 c5 18. Be1 b6 19. Bc3 Qb5 20. Nc1 Kg7 21.a4 Qe8 22. b3 Qh5 23. Nd3 Kh8 24. Rf3 Rac8 25. Nb2 g4 26. Rd3 Rcd8 27. Rad1 f428. Qf2 Rxd3 29. Rxd3 Ng5 30. Rd7 Ne4 31. Qe1 f3 32. Nd1 fxg2 33. Kxg2 Qh3+ 34.Kg1 Bh4 35. Qe2 Nxc3 36. Nxc3 Bf2+ 37. Kh1 Bd4 {White resigned} 0-1

Mike Serovey Loses To David Buckley

2007-12-21T00:23:00.000-05:00

This is yet another old correspondence chess game from 1996. In this one I lost to a 1909 rated player with the White side of a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. This game is a perfect example of how not to play the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. The entire fiasco, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/DavidBuckley-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN

[Event "96UA15"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.10.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "David Buckley"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 exf3 5. Qxf3 Qxd4 6. Be3 Qd6 7. h3 Nc6 8.Bd3 Ne5 9. Qe2 Nxd3+ 10. Qxd3 Qxd3 11. cxd3 Bf5 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. d4 e6 14.Nf3 Bb4 15. Ne5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rhf8 17. Rhf1 Nd5 18. Bd2 f6 19. Nf3 Rd6 20. Kb2Bd3 21. Rf2 Rb6+ 22. Ka1 Rd8 23. Ne1 Bc4 24. Rb1 Rxb1+ 25. Kxb1 e5 26. dxe5 fxe527. Nc2 Nf6 28. Bg5 Rd6 29. Ne3 Bd3+ 30. Ka1 h6 31. Bh4 g5 32. Bg3 Rb6 33. Rb2Re6 34. Rb4 Nh5 35. Be1 Nf4 36. h4 Bg6 37. Rb3 Be4 38. hxg5 hxg5 39. g4 Rh6 40. Bd2 Rh1+ 41. Kb2 Nd3+ 42. Ka3 Rh6 43. Rb5 Ra6+ 44. Kb3 c6 {White resigned} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Timothy A. Nalepa

2007-12-20T01:04:00.000-05:00

Here is another one of my old correspondence chess games from 1996. My opponent was about 100 points higher rated than I was and he resigned on move 20 for reasons that I have no clue about. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TimothyANalepa-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "96UA15"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"
][Date "1996.10.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Timothy A. Nalepa"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Ne2 c5 6. O-O O-O 7. Nbc3 Nc6 8. f4Be6 9. Nd5 Qd7 10. d3 Bh3 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. Bxh3 Qxh3 13. f5 g5 14. Nc3 Bd4+15. Kh1 h6 16. Qe2 Be5 17. Qg2 Qxg2+ 18. Kxg2 Nb4 19. Rd1 e6 20. h4 {Black resigned} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses To Fanevil Adams Jr.

2007-12-18T23:51:00.000-05:00

Here is another old correspondence chess game played in 1996 to 1997. I lost this game by misplaying a Benko Gambit Accepted. We transposed into this from an Old Benoni Defense. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/FanevilAdams-BenkoGambitAccepted.html. Here is the game in PGN. After analysing this game some I realized that my resignation was premature. I had winning and drawing chances in this game that I failed to see at the time I resigned. Oh well, live and learn!

[Event "96CA283"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.11.04"]
[Round "Game A"]
[White "Fanevil Adams Jr."]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. Nf3 d6 8. g3Bg7 9. Bg2 Nbd7 10. O-O Nb6 11. Re1 O-O 12. Bf4 Nh5 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bd2 Nc4 15.Qc2 Qa5 16. Rac1 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 Nf6 18. e4 Nd7 19. b3 Rfc8 20. Bf1 Bxf1 21. Kxf1Bxc3 22. Rxc3 Qxa2 23. Qxh6 Qb2 24. Ng5 Nf8 25. Ree3 f6 26. Ne6 Nxe6 27. dxe6 {Black Resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Draws Tom G. Schrade Again

2007-12-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Here is my second game with Tom G. Schrade. This one also ended in a draw despite my many errors. I feel lucky to have drawn this game all things considered. Drawing this game brought my USCF correspondence rating down to 1903. The game was a Queen pawn opening that transposed into a Pirc defense, Byrne variation. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TomGSchrade-Pirc.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "96CA283"]
[Site "Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.11.04"]
[Round "Game B"]
[White "Tom G. Schrade"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. Bg5 Bg7 5. f4 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Bd3Bg4 9. e5 Bg7 10. Be4 c6 11. O-O d5 12. Bd3 e6 13. Qe1 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 Nd7 15. g4c5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Rd1 Qb6 18. Kg2 d4 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 f5 21. exf6 Rxf622. g5 hxg5 23. fxg5 Rxf3 24. Kxf3 Rf8+ 25. Kg2 Rf5 26. h4 Qd6 27. Rf1 Rxf1 28.Kxf1 Qf8+ 29. Kg2 Qf5 30. Qxf5 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Stephen D. Cohle

2007-12-09T00:34:00.000-05:00

I just finished another correspondence chess game at ICC. This win leaves me with 2 wins, 0 losses and 2 draws in this section. I don't know how I placed in this section because ICC hasn't updated the cross table in quite a while. At the start of this section my opponent was rated 1622 and he dropped to 1596 as a result of this game. My rating increased to 1580. It is very unlikely that I will finish my remaining correspondence chess game by the end of the year so I still won't make my goal of getting my rating over 1600 by the end of the year.

The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/sdcohle-Sicilian.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Class.01.08"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "sdcohle"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Sicilian defense"]
[ECO "B30"]
[NIC "SI.31"]
[Time "19:40:17"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nc3 Qe6+ 6. Qe2 Qxe2+ 7. Nxe2g6 8. Bg2 Bg7 9. O-O Nf6 10. c3 O-O 11. b3 Bd7 12. Bb2 b6 13. c4 Rac8 14.Rfe1 e6 15. Rad1 Rfd8 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. Bxe5 Bc6 18. Bh3 Ne8 19. Bxg7 Kxg720. Nf4 Bf3 21. Ne2 Rd6 22. Bg2 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Rcd8 24. d4 cxd4 25. Rd3 e526. Red1 Nc7 27. f4 f6 28. fxe5 fxe5 29. g4 Ne6 30. Kf3 Nc5 31. R3d2 e4+ 32.Kg2 d3 33. Nc3 e3 34. Rb2 e2 35. Nxe2 dxe2 36. Rxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxe2 Re6 38.Rc2 a5 39. g5 h6 40. gxh6+ Kxh6 41. h3 Kh5 42. Rf2 g5 43. Rb2 Kh4 44. b4 Nd345. Rb3 Nxb4 46. a3 Na6 47. Rd3 Nc5 48. Rd4+ Kh5 49. Kf3 Rc6 50. Ke3 Ne6 51.Re4 Nf4 52. h4 Kxh4 53. Kd4 Rd6+ 54. Kc3 Rd3+ 55. Kb2 Kg3 56. Re5 g4 57. Rb5Rd6 58. Rb3+ Kf2 59. Kc2 g3 {White resigns} 0-1

Chess Goals For 2008

2007-12-08T18:06:00.000-05:00

Upon reviewing my chess goals for 2007 I see that I failed to meet all of them! I only played in one USCF rated chess tournament in 2007 and I went 2.5 out of 4. That brought my USCF regular rating up to 1537. My goal was to get over 1600 by the end of the year. I won't make that goal. I did manage to win my class prize in that one tournament, though. My current rating at Stan's Net Chess is 2162. My goal was to get over 2200 by the end of the year. I have one game in progress now, but even if I do manage to win this game by the end of the year, that won't put my rating over 2200. I haven't played in any quick chess tournaments, so that rating remains 1588. I haven't played in any USCF rated correspondence chess tournaments, so that rating remains 1893. I had a goal to get both my standard rating and my correspondence chess rating over 1600 at ICC. I still have two correspondence chess games going at ICC, but unless I win both of them by the end of the year my correspondence chess rating will not go over 1600. Currently, it is at 1562. My standard rating at ICC is 1540. I would have to start playing a whole bunch of rated games at ICC and win most of them in order to get my standard rating over 1600 by the end of the year. I don't see that happening right now.

So, what are my chess goals for 2008? I will be starting back to college in January to finish my masters degree in information systems management. Because classes are only 8 weeks long I cannot afford to get behind in my homework or to miss any classes. That may not leave me with enough time for chess. Even so, I do plan to play in some rated tournaments and thus get my USCF standard rating over 1600 by the end of 2008. I also want to win at least one more class prize. I plan to enter into an USCF rated correspondence chess tournament and to get that rating over 1900 by the end of the year. That may not happen because of how long it can take to complete correspondence chess games. I plan on getting my rating at Stan's Net Chess over 2200 by the end of 2008.

I am owed some money by the VA. Eventually, I will receive that money. When I do, I want to buy the latest version of Fritz so that I can really train and improve my game.

I Am Unhappy With ICC

2007-12-01T16:21:00.000-05:00

As mentioned in a previous post I still have 2 correspondence chess games going on at ICC. In Game #23 my opponent went over the time limit on move number 11. I complained about this twice and it took about 3 weeks for the tournament director to issue a warning! What I don't get is why ICC issues warnings when players exceed the time limit! Why have a time limit if you are not going to enforce it? My opponent was warned and given an extra 20 days to play the game! I really do not believe that this is fair! Why let someone get away with cheating? I wasn't given an extra 20 days to play the game! Why let a cheater have extra time? If this was an over the board game my opponent would have lost! There would have been no warning and extra time given. Why allow this bull shit in a correspondence game?

My ICC membership expires on December 23 if I remember correctly. I have no intention of renewing it if I can finish these 2 games by then. I am up a knight and a pawn in one game, so I know my opponent will accept a draw if I offer one just to get the game over with. In the other game I am down material but about to get it back. With even material I may be able to get a draw out of that game too. I would like to win that one on time forfeit, but we will see.

Stan's Net Chess has the server keep track of time used just like ICC does. However, at Stan's Net Chess the server will award a time forfeit win if one player exceeds the time control. It is done automatically and thus there is no need for me to submit a time complaint. I will us Stan's Net Chess for correspondence games and let my ICC membership expire. Again, this is contingent upon my being able to finish these 2 games in time.

Mike Serovey Loses To Hakka

2007-11-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

Here is a non rated game played at ICC. This game was my very first attempt at playing the Dutch Defense. I lost because I misplayed the opening. That often happens when I don't have a good feel for the opening that I am playing. With more practice and study I should start winning some games with this opening. The game started off as an English opening and transposed into a standard Dutch Defense. I am glad that this game was not rated because I got some practice without losing my rating points. The entire game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Hakka-DutchDefense.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC 15 12 u"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.11.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Hakka"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1624"]
[BlackElo "1540"]
[Opening "Dutch with c4 & Nc3"]
[ECO "A85"]
[NIC "HD.05"]
[Time "18:30:02"]
[TimeControl "900+12"]

1. c4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e6 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Nf3 Be6 7. Bb5+ c6 8.Bd3 g6 9. a3 Bg7 10. b4 a6 11. Na4 O-O 12. Bd2 Nbd7 13. O-O h6 14. Nc5 Nxc515. bxc5 Ne4 16. Rb1 Rb8 17. Rb6 Nxd2 18. Qxd2 Qc7 19. Rfb1 g5 20. Qb2 f421. Rxb7 Rxb7 22. Qxb7 Qxb7 23. Rxb7 fxe3 24. fxe3 Ra8 25. Rb6 Bd7 26. Bxa6Kf7 27. Ne1 h5 28. Nc2 Bc8 29. Bxc8 Rxc8 30. Nb4 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Draws GrandPoobah069 Again

2007-11-09T18:58:00.000-05:00

This is my third game with GrandPoobah069 and the third time that he has overstepped the initial time control and got off with just a warning! Why have a time control if you are not going to enforce it? Why let a repeat offender off with just a warning and more time to play the game? I am really irritated by this and have decided that when I finish the last two correspondence games that I am still playing I will not play any more correspondence games at ICC! I am quite tired of them letting people get away with cheating! This is my second draw with GrandPoobah069 and the second time that I got robbed of a win on time forfeit! With this draw I now have 1 win, 0 losses, and 2 draws in this section. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/GrandPoobah069-English2.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Class.01.06"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "GrandPoobah069"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[ECO "A20"]
[NIC "EO.18"]
[Time "19:40:17"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 Nc6 6. Nge2 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8.d3 Be6 9. Bg5 h6 10. Be3 Qd7 11. Nd5 Kh7 12. Rb1 f5 13. f4 Rab8 14. b4 a615. a4 Bxd5 16. cxd5 Nd8 17. b5 axb5 18. axb5 Nf7 19. b6 c6 20. dxc6 Nxc621. d4 Rfd8 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. d5 Ne7 24. Nc3 Nd6 25. Qd3 Rbc8 26. Rfc1 fxe427. Nxe4 Nxe4 28. Bxe4 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Nxd5 30. Rd1 Nf6 31. Qxd7 Rxd7 32.Rxd7 Nxd7 33. Bxb7 Bf8 34. Be4 {Game drawn by mutual agreement} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Loses To Antonio Mendonca Silveira

2007-11-04T17:43:00.000-05:00

I just finished another ICC correspondence game. I lost and this now makes me 1-4 in this section. I have been playing in chess tournaments off and on since November of 1974. That is a total of 33 years! Not once during that time have I played the Black side of a Catalan, until now. I used MCO 14 as my guide and tried a line that should have given White only a slight advantage. He varied from the "book" line on move 13 when he captured the pawn on c6. MCO 14 says that he should have played 13. Qc2 with a slight advantage. I was curious about what would happen if White took that pawn and I found out. I thought that I would get a decent position, but it didn't work out that way. His 16th and 17th moves surprised me and thus were not in my analysis of this position after recapturing my pawn on b6. I thought that I effectively countered White's threats but I overlooked a Knight fork and went down the exchange on move 22. After that my plan was to keep my remaining Rook on the board and to trade off the queenside pawns. That plan failed. On move 33 I considered playing Kf6 but then found an interesting line with a trap. My original analysis failed to find the one move that saved White from this trap! It was only after playing 33... b4 that I found the one move that saves White from either checkmate or a Knight fork on his King and Rook that won the Rook and blockaded his passed pawn. White found his saving move on move 36 and played it leaving me down the exchange and a passed pawn. I resigned shortly afterward. My ICC correspondence rating dropped to 1557 after this loss. White's rating went from 1670 to 1681. This is yet another chess game in which I intended to play the Cambridge Springs defense and White avoided it! I'm giving up on that and will be looking at the Gruenfeld defense. I'm not posting this game to my chess site because I don't plan on playing the Catalan as White but may find myself transposing into it from an English opening or Reti. I shouldn't see it again as Black because I don't intend to answer 1. d4 with 1... d5 again. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.18"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "AntonioMendonca"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Catalan: closed, main line"]
[ECO "E09"]
[NIC "CA.04"]
[Time "18:02:53"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 b5 9. c5 a5 10. e4 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Nf6 13. Qxc6 Bd7 14. Qb6Qxb6 15. cxb6 Rab8 16. Bg5 Rxb6 17. Rac1 Bc6 18. Ne5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Nd5 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21. Nd7 Rc6 22. Nxf8 Kxf8 23. Kf3 g6 24. Ke4 Rb6 25. Rc5 a4 26.Rfc1 Nd5 27. Rc8+ Kg7 28. Ra8 Nb4 29. a3 Nc6 30. f4 h5 31. Rc8 Ne7 32. R8c7Nd5 33. Ra7 b4 34. Rxa4 bxa3 35. bxa3 Rb3 36. Ke5 Re3+ 37. Kd6 Re2 38. Ra7{Black resigns}1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats Stahlberg

2007-11-01T18:09:00.000-04:00

Here is another one of my ICC correspondence chess games. When I realized that my opponent wanted to go into the Alekhine's defense I had a choice of allowing this or transposing into something else. Because this was a correspondence game I was able to use MCO 14 as a guide to this opening. I have been wanting to learn Alekhine's defense because I may play it as Black as a surprise weapon. Playing the White side of it gave me a chance to look at one line in that defense. I got a slight positional advantage out of the opening, but definitely not enough of an advantage to win. My opponent blundered away a Bishop on move 29 and resigned. Stahlberg's rating at the start of this game was 1626 and it dropped to 1589 at the end of it. My ICC correspondence chess rating went up to 1568 as a result of this win. My score in this section is now 1 - 3. I need a couple of more wins to reach my goal of going over 1600 by the end of the year. I also need 2 more wins to even up my overall score in ICC correspondence chess. I'm not posting this game to my chess site because I don't plan on playing either side of the Alekhine's defense any time soon. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.20"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "Stahlberg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: modern, Larsen variation"]
[ECO "B04"]
[NIC "AL.05"]
[Time "18:02:54"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 g6 6. Bc4 c6 7. O-O Bg7 8.Re1 O-O 9. Bb3 a5 10. a3 a4 11. Bxd5 cxd5 12. Nc3 Be6 13. Bf4 Qc8 14. Qf3Rd8 15. Rad1 Nc6 16. Qe3 Nxe5 17. Bxe5 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Qd7 19. h4 Bg4 20. f3Be6 21. Na2 Qd6 22. Nb4 Qxe5 23. Rxe5 Rac8 24. c3 Rd6 25. Rde1 Kf8 26. g4Rc7 27. Kg2 Kg8 28. Kg3 Kf8 29. f4 f5 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats Renato Dacany

2007-10-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

Here is Round 3 of the tornado played on 14 October 2007. This is my longest game of the tournament and the highest rated player that I beat in that tournament. I made a blunder on move 32 and got away with it. Time pressure caused my oponent to make some weak moves and I was able to easily win the endgame. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/RevatoDacany-QueensGambitDeclined.html. The opening was D37 QGD: 4.Nf3. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornados"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.10.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Renato Dacany"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 e6 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. a3 c6 6. e3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3b4 9. axb4 Bxb4 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 a5 12. Ne2 Ba6 13. Bd2 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 c5 15.Bxb4 cxb4 16. b3 Qb6 17. h3 Rfc8 18. g4 Qc6 19. Ne5 Qc2 20. Rfc1 Qxd3 21. Nxd3Rxc1+ 22. Ndxc1 h6 23. Nd3 Nb6 24. Nc5 Kf8 25. Kf1 Ke7 26. f3 Kd6 27. e4 Nfd728. e5+ Kd5 29. Nxd7 Nxd7 30. Kf2 Kc6 31. Ke3 Nb6 32. Kd3 a4 33. Rc1+ Kb7 34.Rb1 a3 35. Ra1 Nd5 36. Kc4 Rc8+ 37. Kd3 Nc3 38. Nc1 Kb6 39. Kd2 Kb5 40. Nd3 Nd541. Nc5 Rxc5 42. dxc5 Kxc5 43. h4 Kd4 44. g5 hxg5 45. hxg5 Kxe5 46. Kd3 Kf4 47.Ke2 Kxg5 48. Kf2 Nc3 49. Ke3 f5 50. f4+ Kf6 51. Kd3 g5 52. fxg5+ Kxg5 53. Ke3 e554. Rg1+ Kf6 55. Kd2 e4 56. Ke3 Ke5 57. Kd2 a2 58. Ra1 f4 59. Ke1 e3 60. Kf1 f361. Ke1 Kd4 62. Rc1 Kd3 63. Kf1 Kd2 64. Ra1 Kc2 65. Re1 Kb2 66. Rxe3 a1=Q+ 67.Re1 Qxe1+ 68. Kxe1 Kxb3 69. Kf2 Ka2 70. Kxf3 b3 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Ankit Aggarwal

2007-10-21T18:47:00.000-04:00

This game is from Round 2 of the Tampa Chess Club Tornado played on 14 October 2007. My opponent played much better than his rating of only 723. He made some minor errors that lead to my having connected passed pawns on the Queenside. That was enough to win the endgame. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/AnkitAggarwal-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornados"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.10.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Ankit Aggarwal"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 e6 5. e4 Be7 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O b6 8. d3Bb7 9. h3 Nd4 10. Be3 Nxe2+ 11. Qxe2 Bd6 12. f4 e5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 exf415. Bxf4 Bxf4 16. Rxf4 Qg5 17. Qf3 Rac8 18. Rf1 Qg6 19. b3 Ba6 20. Qe3 b5 21.Rg4 Qd6 22. e5 Qe7 23. d6 Qe8 24. Rc1 f6 25. Rxc5 Rxc5 26. Qxc5 fxe5 27. Qxa7Bc8 28. Qb6 Qe6 29. Qxb5 Qxd6 30. Qd5+ Qxd5 31. Bxd5+ Kh8 32. Kg2 d6 33. Rc4 Ba634. Rc3 g6 35. Be4 Rb8 36. Rc6 Bb7 37. Rxd6 Bxe4+ 38. dxe4 Ra8 39. a4 Rb8 40.Rd3 Kg8 41. Rf3 Kg7 42. Kf2 Kg8 43. Ke2 Kg7 44. Kd2 Kg8 45. Kc2 Kg7 46. Kb2 Kg847. Ka3 Kg7 48. b4 Kg8 49. b5 Kg7 50. Kb4 Kg8 51. a5 Kg7 52. b6 Kg8 53. Kb5 Rb754. a6 Rxb6+ 55. Kxb6 Kg7 56. a7 Kg8 57. a8=Q+ Kg7 58. Qf8# 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses To Radek Laburda

2007-10-20T23:18:00.000-04:00

Here is my game from Round 1 of the tornado played on 14 October 2007. This was my only loss in the tournament. My opponent was rated 2009 and was the second highest rated player in the tornado. So far I have lost every time that I have played an expert in OTB tournaments! I need to find a better strategy for playing the Black side of both the Réti and the Kings Indian Attack. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Radek-Laburda-Kings-Indian-Attack.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornados"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.10.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Radek Laburda"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d3 d6 6. c4 e5 7. Nc3 c6 8. Rb1 h69. b4 b6 10. b5 Bb7 11. Nd2 Qc7 12. Nde4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 cxb5 14. Ba3 Rd8 15. cxb5d5 16. Rc1 Qd7 17. Nd6 Bf8 18. Nxb7 Qxb7 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. Qb3 Rd6 21. Qb4 Qe722. Rc8+ {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Draws Robert Franz

2007-10-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

Here is Round 4 of the Tampa Chess Club Tornado that I played on 14 October 2007. This game ended in a draw after a wild time scramble. See my previous post to see how I did in each round of this tournament. The opening is a Réti (ECO A04). I don't like playing the Black side of the Réti or the English and I faced both in this tournament. In this game I decided to play the Botvinnik system a tempo down. I got outplayed in the middle game but was able to come back in the time scramble. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Robert-Franz-Reti.html. Actually, the game on that page is only as far as I can remember it because I stopped recording moves at move 51. Here is most of the game in PGN.

[Event "Tampa Chess Club Tornado"]
[Site "Tampa Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.10.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Robert Franz"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O e5 6. d3 d6 7. Nc3 Nge7 8. a3 O-O9. Qc2 h6 10. Bd2 Be6 11. Rfb1 Qd7 12. b4 Rab8 13. b5 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 15. Na2b6 16. Nb4 Bh3 17. Bh1 f5 18. Nc6 Nxc6 19. Bxc6 Qe7 20. Bd5+ Kh8 21. Bg2 Bxg222. Kxg2 g5 23. Rh1 f4 24. f3 Rf6 25. g4 Kg8 26. a4 Kf7 27. a5 Rb7 28. axb6 axb629. Ra6 Kg6 30. h4 gxh4 31. Rxh4 Rf8 32. Rh5 Qc7 33. Bb4 Rd8 34. Qa2Bf8 35. c5 dxc5 36. Qe6+ Kh7 37. Be1 Qd6 38. Qf5+ Kg8 39. Bh4 Rf7 40. Qe4 Rc841. Rxe5 Kg7 42. Re6 Qd7 43. Qg6+ Kh8 44. Raxb6 c4 45. Bf6+ Rxf6 46. Qxf6+ Bg747. Qe7 Qxe7 48. Rxe7 c3 49. Ree6 c2 50. Rec6 c1=Q 51. Rxc1 Rxc1 52. Rc6 Rxc653. bxc6 Be5 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Loses To John3v16

2007-10-18T19:25:00.000-04:00

I just finished another one of my correspondence chess games played at ICC. This loss makes me 0-3 in this section. My overall score for correspondence chess games played at ICC is 10 wins, 13 losses and 4 draws. I need to start playing much better than I have been if I want to get this record back to even! As a result of this loss my ICC correspondence chess rating dropped to 1549. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/John3v16-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.11"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "John3v16"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "English: Carls' Bremen system"]
[ECO "A22"]
[NIC "EO.10"]
[Time "18:02:53"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Be7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. d4 Nbd7 7. b4 c6 8.O-O exd4 9. Qxd4 Qb6 10. b5 c5 11. Qd1 Qc7 12. Bb2 Rb8 13. Qc2 b6 14. Rfd1Bb7 15. Ng5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 h6 17. Nge4 Rbd8 18. f4 Rfe8 19. h3 Bf8 20. Nd5Nxd5 21. Rxd5 Re6 22. f5 Ree8 23. g4 f6 24. Bc1 Ne5 25. Bf4 Be7 26. Rad1 Kf727. Kg3 Rg8 28. h4 Rh8 29. g5 hxg5 30. hxg5 fxg5 31. Nxg5+ Bxg5 32. Bxg5 Rd733. Qe4 Re8 34. Qh4 Kg8 35. Rh1 Nf7 36. Qh7+ Kf8 37. f6 Nxg5 38. Rxg5 d5+39. Kf3 dxc4 40. fxg7+ Rxg7 41. Qh8+ {Black resigns} 1-0