Mike Serovey Draws Sean McKinney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My First OTB Tournament In Over a Year

Yesterday, Sunday, 14 October, 2007 I played my first OTB tournament in about a year and a half. Fortunately, because I have been playing online I wasn't that rusty. In Round 1 I got paired against a guy rated 2009 and had Black. I lost in 22 moves. In Round 2 I got paired against a kid that looked like he was 8 years old. I was told that he was from India and he looked like he was. His rating was 723. I haven't played someone rated that low since I was in high school! Obviously, I won but it took me 58 moves to mate him. In all fairness to my opponent he played more like a 1300 than a 723. I am guessing that he is provisionally rated and that his rating will go up just from having played me. Unfortunately, I wasted my only White on him. In Rounds 3 and 4 I got Black both games. In Round 3 I got paired against a guy I kind of know and won in 71 moves. Normally, if I have a game go that long I believe that I missed a win earlier in the game. This game would have lasted another 20 moves if he had made me play it out to checkmate.

My opponent from Round 2 was about to lose on time when I checkmated him. He had about a minute left on his clock in a sudden death time control. Part of the reason that he ended up in time trouble is because he kept forgetting to punch his clock after making his moves. I let the clock run on some obvious moves and it cost him about 10 minutes. His lack of experience showed in his forgetting to punch the clock and in how he played the endgame.

My opponent from Round 3 also got into some time trouble and had less than 5 minutes remaining when he resigned. In the final round I got Black again against a guy rated 1654. I kept score of the game up to move 50. I got outplayed and was down material when my opponent had about a minute left on his clock. I knew that if I could avoid checkmate I could run him out of time. In the time scramble he let me win back some material and it ended up with him having four pawns versus my Bishop and pawn. If I remember right, he had 8 seconds left on his clock when he offered me a draw. I accepted the draw because we were playing with a 5 second delay on the clock. As long as he moved instantly he would never run out of time. I was saved from losing by the blunders he made during the time scramble and he was saved from time forfeit by the 5 second delay. I ended up with 2.5 out of 4 and won the Under 1600 prize. I got my entry fee and gas money back, but that was about it.

I will post the actual games from this tournament in the near future.

Miscellaneous Thoughts On Chess

I just found out that there is a chess club in Brandon, Florida and it meets on Wednesday nights at the library on Vonderberg Road. I plan to start attending now that I know about it. Also, there is a chess club in Tampa that is on North 56th Street. So, now I can play chess without having to drive all the way to St. Pete.

The October issue of Chess Life has a picture of Irina Krush on the cover and a few more of her inside. I think that she is pretty and if I figured her age out right she is 23 years old. She is an international master (IM) and the current US Womens Champion. I will probably never get to meet her but I would definitely like to date her if I could. Or, I would pay her for chess lessons just to get to spend some time with her. I suppose that most people think that chess masters are big nerds and that the women who play chess are ugly and nerdy. I have seen pictures of Irina Krush and Susan Polgar and I think that both of them are good looking. I also think that some of the other women masters that I have seen in Chess Life are pretty. Over the past 21 years I have seen a few attractive young girls and women at various tournaments in Florida. Back in 1986 Carla Sutphin was a 1700 rated player and a very good looking young woman. She stated back then that she would not marry a chess player because they don't earn enough money. I haven't seen here since then so I have no idea whom she married. I met a girl from the Miami area named Sashi Luna. She was 11 or 12 when I first met her and really cute. The last time I saw her she was 15 and gorgeous. I believe that her rating was only around 1300 then. Her father and brother are much better players than she is. At the state championship of 2006 I saw 4 rather pretty girls there. One I knew from the St. Pete Chess Club and her name is Christina Fuller. I have only played her once and lost because I was trying to force a win out of a dead drawn endgame and walked into a checkmate. I won't underestimate her again! I am looking forward to a rematch with her. The last time that I saw her was over a year ago and she was really cute back then. Another cute girl that I saw at the State Championship was a 1600 rated teenage girl named Rita Merchandani. She was with someone I believe to be her older sister. Both were gorgeous. I saw a rather pretty blond that didn't appear to be in the tournament, just there to watch. My hope is that these pretty teen aged girls will continue to play chess as adults and after they turn 18 years old I might be able to get a date with one of them. My main point in all of this is that there are a few good looking girls and women who play chess and some of them are even good at chess!

Mike Serovey Loses To sdo1

Here is another one of my correspondence chess games played at ICC. I just resigned today because the only way to avoid checkmate was to sacrifice my Queen for a Rook. I am now 0-2 in this section. My new correspondence chess rating is 1551 and my opponent's is 1959. I ended up in an opening that I don't know against a much higher rated player. I used MCO 14 as my guide to the opening but my opponent got me out of book early when he prevented my Knight from going to b5. My opponent's first name is Steve. I don't know his last name. He lives in TN. I am not posting this game to my chess site because I don't normally play either side of the Caro-Kann. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.06"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "sdo1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann: anti-anti-Caro-Kann defense"]
[ECO "B10"]
[NIC "CK.01"]
[Time "18:02:52"]

1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5 Qxd5 5. Nc3 Qd6 6. d4 Nf6 7. Bc4 e68. Nf3 a6 9. O-O Be7 10. d5 b5 11. Bb3 b4 12. Ne2 Nxd5 13. Bg5 Bb7 14. Bxe7Qxe7 15. Ned4 O-O 16. Re1 Rd8 17. Qc1 Nd7 18. Qd2 Rac8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20.Bxd5 Nc5 21. Bxe6+ Nxe6 22. Qe3 Bxf3 23. Qxf3 Qf7 24. Qe2 Nf4 25. Qxa6 Nxg226. Kxg2 Qd5+ 27. Kg1 Rc6 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats Okie901 Again

I just got my third win against Okie901 at Stan's Net Chess. This is my second win on time forfeit against him. I was down a passed pawn at the point where I won. This game brought my rating up to 2162, so I am getting closer to my goal of getting my rating over 2200 by the end of the year. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/okie901-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 402696"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2007.06.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "okie901"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d3 Bb4 4. Bd2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3 6. Bxc3 d6 7. g3 Nc6 8. Bg2Re8 9. e3 Bg4 10. f3 Bh5 11. Ne2 d5 12. b4 d4 13. exd4 exd4 14. Bd2 Ne5 15. O-ONxd3 16. Nf4 Nxf4 17. Bxf4 b6 18. c5 d3 19. cxb6 cxb6 20. Re1 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Bg622. Qd2 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats uncle-dummy

Here is on of my games that I recently finished at Stan's Net Chess . My opponent had a rating over 2300 at the start of the game and dropped to 2240 after losing this game. This game brought my rating up to 2155. I played the English opening and got into the Botvinnik system. I was winning by move 30 but my opponent made me play this game out all the way to checkmate! I felt somewhat insulted by this fact. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/uncle-dummy-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 402695"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2007.06.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "mserovey"]
[Black "*uncle-dummy*"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Nge2 Ne5 7. d3 d6 8. O-OO-O 9. f4 Nc6 10. h3 e5 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. cxd5 Ne7 13. fxe5 Bxe5 14. Rb1 f5 15.Bf4 Bf6 16. b3 Kg7 17. Qd2 Ng8 18. h4 h6 19. Rf2 Kh7 20. Rbf1 Bg7 21. d4 cxd422. Nxd4 Qb6 23. Be3 Qd8 24. exf5 Bxf5 25. Nxf5 gxf5 26. Rxf5 Qe7 27. Rxf8 Rxf828. Rxf8 Qxf8 29. Bxa7 Qf6 30. Bf2 Ne7 31. a4 Kg8 32. Qe3 Nf5 33. Qe6+ Qxe6 34.dxe6 Kf8 35. Bxb7 Bc3 36. g4 Ng7 37. Bd5 Ke7 38. Be3 Bb4 39. Bxh6 Ne8 40. Bg5+Kf8 41. e7+ Kg7 42. Bc6 Kf7 43. Bxe8+ Kxe8 44. Kf2 d5 45. Ke3 Bc5+ 46. Kd3 Kf747. h5 Bb6 48. b4 Ba7 49. h6 Bb8 50. Kd4 Kg6 51. e8=Q+ Kxg5 52. h7 Ba7+ 53. Kxd5Kxg4 54. h8=Q Kg5 55. Qf7 Kg4 56. Qhg8+ Kh4 57. Qfh7# 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats t-hobbes

Here is another one of my ICC correspondence chess games. This win leaves me with one win, no losses, and one draw in this section. My opponent made several errors in this game which allowed me to win material. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/t-hobbes-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Class.01.10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "t-hobbes"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[ECO "A20"]
[NIC "EO.24"]
[Time "19:40:17"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. e3 O-O 6. Nge2 d6 7. O-O Bf5 8.d4 exd4 9. exd4 Bb6 10. Be3 Qc8 11. Re1 Ne7 12. a3 Ng6 13. b4 c5 14. bxc5dxc5 15. dxc5 Ba5 16. Qa4 b6 17. cxb6 axb6 18. Qc6 Qd8 19. Qxa8 Qd3 20. Qc6Bxc3 21. Nxc3 Qxc3 22. Rec1 Qe5 23. Qxb6 Rc8 24. Qd4 Qe6 25. a4 Be4 26. Bxe4Nxe4 27. Qd5 Qg4 28. h3 Qf3 29. Qd1 Qf5 30. Qg4 Qxg4 31. hxg4 Ne5 32. c5Nxg4 33. Kg2 h5 34. c6 g5 35. Bb6 Nd2 36. Ra2 Ne4 37. f3 {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses To jonesey

Here is another one of my ICC correspondence chess games. This is my first game finished in this section so my score in this section is 0-1. I tried some stuff that didn't work and need to come up with some better ways to play for White if I ever face what Black played again. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/jonesey-English.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Seven.02.15"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.25"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "jonesey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "English: symmetrical, Rubinstein system"]
[ECO "A16"]
[NIC "EO.36"]
[Time "18:02:53"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 Nc7 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8.d3 Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Na4 b6 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Bxa8 Nxa8 13. d4 Ng4 14. dxc5Nxe3 15. fxe3 Qe8 16. cxb6 Bg5 17. bxa7 Qxe3+ 18. Rf2 Rd8 19. Qc2 Qxa7 20.Kf1 Bh3+ 21. Rg2 Qb7 22. e4 Rd2 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws David Smith

I played an online correspondence chess game with Fegary, a.k.a David Smith. The game was played at ICC. I played the Modern defense a.k.a the Robatsch defense: two knights variation. I have listed all of my games that started off as Modern defenses under the Pirc because they usually transpose into the Pirc. This game can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/David-Smith-Pirc.html and is complete with diagrams and analysis. This is my first game finished in this section. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2007Class.01.03"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.07.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Fegary"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "Robatsch defense: two knights variation"]
[ECO "B06"
][NIC "KF.05"]
[Time "19:40:17"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. Be3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Bxb5 10. Nxb5 Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 Bxe5 12. f4 Bd6 13. Bd4 f614. O-O a6 15. Nxd6+ cxd6 16. Rfe1 O-O-O 17. Bb6 Rd7 18. Re6 h5 19. Rde1 Rh720. R1e3 Kb8 21. c4 Rf7 22. Rg3 Rg7 23. Rd3 Kc8 24. b3 Nh6 25. Rd5 Nf5 26.g3 Rf7 27. Kf2 Ng7 28. Re1 e5 29. Kf3 Ne8 30. Red1 Rfe7 31. R5d2 e4+ 32. Ke3f5 33. Ke2 Rh7 34. h4 Rhe7 {Game drawn by mutual agreement} 1/2-1/2

Mike Serovey Defeats Edward L. Addis II

I see that I need to correct my previous post. I won both games against Edward L. Addis II and thus my score in this section is 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws. I got an even score. This game here brought my USCF Correspondence rating up to 1940, and I believe that is my highest ever USCF rating in any kind of chess. My win against Ed in Game "A" can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Edward-Addis-Italian.html. This is Game "B" and can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/EdwardLAddis-Pirc.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "96CA283"]
[Site "USCF Correspondence Chess"]
[Date "1996.11.04"]
[Round "Game B"]
[White "Edward L. Addis II"]
[Black "Mike Serovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. f4 c5 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Nb3 Qb6 8. Nc3Nf6 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Na5 12. Nxa5 Qxa5+ 13. Bd2 Qb6 14. Rb1 f515. Bd3 fxe4 16. Bxe4 Bf5 17. Qe2 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 Rae8 19. g4 e6 20. dxe6 d5 21.Qb4 Qxe6+ 22. Kf2 Qe2+ 23. Kg3 Qd3+ 24. Kh4 Bf6+ 25. g5 Bxg5+ 26. Kxg5 Rf5+ 27.Kh4 Rh5+ 28. Kg4 Qh3# 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws Tom G. Schrade

Here is an old USCF correspondence chess game. This is one of two games that I played against Tom in this section. It appears that I ended up with 2 losses and 2 draws in this section. This game is one of my correspondence games in which I played the White side of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. I no longer play this gambit because I no longer remember how to. If I were to play it now it would be as a surprise weapon against someone who does not know it. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TomGSchrade-Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit.html. Here is the game in PGN.

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

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 dxe4 4. f3 exf3 5. Nxf3 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. Bd3 Bb4 8.O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nbd7 10. c4 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Be2 Qxd1 13. Raxd1 Nxf3+ 14.Bxf3 Bxf3 15. Rxf3 O-O 16. Bf4 c6 17. Bd6 Rfe8 18. Rb3 b6 19. a4 Re4 20. c5 bxc521. Rb7 Rxa4 22. Bxc5 a5 23. Ra7 Re8 24. Rb1 Rc4 25. Rxa5 Rxc2 26. Bd4 Ree2 27.Rg5 Kf8 28. h3 h6 29. Rb8+ Re8 30. Rxe8+ Nxe8 31. Bc5+ Kg8 32. Re5 Nc7 33. Bd6Ne6 34. Ra5 c5 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Rc8 c4 37. Be5 Ng5 38. Rc7 Kg6 39. Rc6+ f6 40.Bd4 Ne4 41. Kh2 c3 42. Rc7 Re2 43. Bxc3 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

A Couple of Quick Wins

Last night I decided to play a couple of games at ICC. It just so happened that both of my opponents had the exact same rating! I beat both of them in under 20 moves each. In the first game I was actually planning to throw the game in order to get my rating under 1500 because I wanted to play in the under 1500 section this month at ICC. However, when my opponent dropped his Queen I just had to take it! Game over. That is the only time that I have ever played the White side of a Center Counter Gambit. In the second one I played an English opening and my opponent dropped a Rook for a Bishop. A few moves later he resigned. I am not posting either game to my chess site, just here. Here are the games in PGN.

[Event "ICC 20 0"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.09.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "us54186606"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1515"]
[BlackElo "1449"]
[Opening "Scandinavian (center counter) defense"]
[ECO "B01"]
[NIC "SD.01"]
[Time "21:19:17"]
[TimeControl "1200+0"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O Nc6 7. d3O-O-O 8. Bd2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Nd4 10. Ne4 e6 11. Bxa5 {Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "ICC 15 12"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.09.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "dkinla"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1528"]
[BlackElo "1449"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[ECO "A13"]
[NIC "EO.64"]
[Time "21:23:58"]
[TimeControl "900+12"]

1. c4 e6 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Nf3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 7. O-O O-O8. d4 b6 9. e3 Ba6 10. Nd2 Na5 11. Bxa8 Qxa8 12. Qa4 {Black resigns} 1-0