Mike Serovey Defeats Clifford Story

I found an old correspondence chess game played back in 1976. This game was the first time that I had played the Milner-Berry Gambit and was part of the Golden Knights Postal Championships for 1976. I don't remember how well I scored in that postal tournament, but I did manage to win this game. At the point where my opponent resigned I was down 3 pawns! I believed in my attack and kept the pressure up even though I was down material. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Clifford-Story-French.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "1976 Golden Knights Postal"]
[Site "Correspondence Game"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Clifford Story"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-ONxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Nb5 Qxe5 12. Qf3 Bd6 13. g3 Bxb5 14. Bxb5+ Ke715. Bf4 Qxb2 16. Bxd6+ Kxd6 17. Rfb1 Qd4 18. Rd1 Qb6 19. Rab1 a6 20. Ba4 Qa5 21.Qa3+ Ke5 22. Re1+ Kf6 23. Qf3+ {Black Resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses to arrache playing the Benoni Defense

Here is one of my games played at ICC. I missed winning a passed pawn and then had to sacrifice my Knight to keep that pawn from queening. I made several minor errors after that that gave White small advantages and finally walked into a Knight fork on my King and remaining Bishop. It was at that point that I resigned. The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/arrache-Benoni.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC 15 12"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.02.03"]
[Round "-"]
[White "arrache"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1503"]
[BlackElo "1535"]
[Opening "Benoni defense"]
[ECO "A56"]
[NIC "OI.06"]
[Time "20:00:32"]
[TimeControl "900+12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. exd4 Bg7 6. Nf3 d5 7. c5 O-O 8.Be2 e6 9. O-O b6 10. b4 a5 11. Ba3 axb4 12. Bxb4 Re8 13. Nb5 Nc6 14. a3 Nxb415. axb4 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 bxc5 17. bxc5 Ne4 18. Bd3 Bd7 19. Qb1 Qb8 20. Na3 Nc321. Qxb8 Rxb8 22. Nc2 Rb1 23. Rxb1 Nxb1 24. Nb4 Nc3 25. c6 Bc8 26. Ba6 Bxa627. Nxa6 Nb5 28. c7 Nxc7 29. Nxc7 h6 30. Kf1 Kf8 31. Ke2 Ke7 32. Kd3 Kd7 33.Nb5 f6 34. Nc3 Kc6 35. Nd2 e5 36. dxe5 fxe5 37. f3 Kc5 38. h3 d4 39. Nce4+Kd5 40. Nc4 Bh8 41. Ncd2 Bg7 42. Nf1 Bh8 43. Nfg3 Bg7 44. Ne2 Bh8 45. f4 Bg746. fxe5 Bxe5 47. Ng1 g5 48. Nf3 Bg7 49. g4 Bh8 50. Ned2 Bg7 51. Nb3 Bf6 52.Nbxd4 Bg7 53. Nf5 Bf8 54. N3d4 Ke5 55. Ke3 Kf6 56. Kf3 Kg6 57. Ke4 h5 58.Ne6 Ba3 59. Kf3 hxg4+ 60. hxg4 Kf6 61. Ned4 Bc1 62. Ne2 Bd2 63. Neg3 Ke5 64.Ne4 Bf4 65. Nf2 Bc1 66. Nd3+ {Black resigns} 1-0

Mike Serovey Defeats JimGaming Again

I finished my second game with JimGaming about a week ago and am now publishing it with my analysis. My opponent went over on the time limit in this game too and got off with a warning. I almost offered a draw but realized that I could win this game. If this had been a regular OTB game it may have ended in a draw. Fortunately, I was able to analyze this game by moving the pieces around on the board until I found something that worked to my advantage! The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/JimGaming-Sicilian.html. This completes all of my correspondence games at ICC. I am waiting for pairings in the next correspondence tournament. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2006Quad.30.11"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.08.05"]
[Round "-"]
[White "JimGaming"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Nimzovich-Rossolimo attack (without ...d6)"]
[ECO "B30"]
[NIC "SI.31"]
[Time "21:08:44"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. b3 a6 6. Bxc6 Nxc6 7. Bb2 f6 8.d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Be7 10. Qh5+ g6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qh6 Bf8 13. Qh4 Bg7 14. e5O-O 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6 Rxf6 18. Nd2 d5 19. c4 c5 20. cxd5exd5 21. f3 Bf5 22. Rac1 Rc8 23. Rfe1 Re6 24. g4 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Bd3 26. Re5c4 27. bxc4 dxc4 28. Re1 c3 29. Nb3 c2 30. Nc1 Bb5 31. Kf2 Rd8 32. h4 h6 33.Ke3 Rd1 34. Kf2 a5 35. Rg1 Kf7 36. Re1 a4 37. g5 hxg5 38. hxg5 Rxe1 39. Kxe1Ke6 40. Kd2 Kf5 41. Kxc2 Kxg5 42. Kc3 Kf4 43. Nd3+ Bxd3 44. Kxd3 Kxf3 45.Kc4 g5 {White resigns} 0-1

Mike Serovey Defeats JimGaming

I have played several correspondence games at ICC. This is one of my two games against JimGaming. The other game is still in progress. My opponent has exceeded the initial time control in both of my games against him and got off with warnings both times! To me, that is cheating! Anyway, he exceeded the time control a second time in this game and I was thus awarded a win on time forfeit. (The game was adjudicated in my favor.) The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/JimGaming-Benkos-Opening.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2006Quad.30.12"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.08.05"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "JimGaming"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "White declared winner by adjudication"]
[Opening "Benko's opening"]
[ECO "A00"]
[NIC "VO.09"]
[Time "21:08:44"]
1. g3 d5 2. Bg2 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. b3 Bg4 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. O-O e5 7. d3 Be7 8.Ba3 O-O 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nbd2 h6 11. h3 Bh5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. g4 Nxg4 14.hxg4 Bxg4 15. Nh2 Be6 16. e4 d4 17. f4 f5 18. Nc4 fxe4 19. Nxe5 Nxe5 20.fxe5 e3 21. Rxf8+ Rxf8 22. Nf3 Bd5 23. Qe2 Qa3 24. Rf1 Qb4 25. Qb2 Bxf3 26.Rxf3 Rxf3 27. Bxf3 Qe1+ 28. Kg2 Qd2+ 29. Qxd2 exd2 30. Kf2 g5 31. Ke2 d1=Q+32. Kxd1 b6 33. Ke2 {White declared winner by adjudication} 1-0

Mike Serovey Loses To Bob Isaacs

Here is an old game in which I lost to an expert. I played the English Opening and transposed into a Benko Gambit Reversed. I failed to get any advantage in that game and succumbed to a kingside attack. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/BobIsaacs-English.html. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "Lakeland Open"]
[Site "Lakeland, FL"]
[Date "1994.09.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Bob Isaacs"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O d4 6. d3 e5 7. a3 Qc7 8. b4 cxb4 9. Nbd2 bxa3 10. Bxa3 Bxa3 11. Rxa3 O-O 12. Qc2 Rb8 13. Rfa1 b6 14. Ng5 a6 15. Nge4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 f5 17. Bd5+ Kh8 18. Qa4 Bb7 19. Nb3 h6 20. Rc1 Rf6 21. Raa1 Rbf8 22. c5 b5 23. Qa3 Ne7 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25. Na5Qc7 26. Rc2 f4 27. gxf4 Rxf4 28. e3 Rg4+ 29. Kh1 Nd5 30. exd4 Qf7 31. Nc6 Qf3# 0-1

Mike Serovey Draws Mikel Peterson, A Chess Master!

Here is the other game in which I drew a master in tournament play. I haven't been able to draw a master since then, but I haven't played that many masters either! This is a rather long game because the master didn't want to give up a draw to someone rated about 600 points below him! The complete game, with analysis and diagrams can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/MikelPeterson-English.html. I am rather proud of the fact that my opponent was never up by more than a pawn the entire game! Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Lakeland Open"]
[Site "Lakeland, FL"]
[Date "1994.10.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Mikel Peterson"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 Nc6 9. a3 e5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Qc2 Nd4 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Na4 Bd5 15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. Rac1 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qd5+ 18. f3 Rae8 19. Rf2 Re6 20. Qc4 Qxc4 21. Rxc4 Rfe8 22. Kf1 f5 23. Bb4 Rc6 24. b3 Rec8 25. a4 a6 26. f4 b5 27. axb5 axb5 28. Rxc6 Rxc6 29. Ke1 Bf8 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 31. Kd2 Rc3 32. b4 Rb3 33. e4 dxe3+ 34. Kxe3 Rxb4 35. Rc2 Rb1 36. Rc8+ Ke7 37. Rc7+ Kd6 38. Rxb7 b4 39. Rxh7 b3 40. Rb7 Kd5 41. h3 b2 42. Kd2 Rh1 43. Rxb2 Rxh3 44. Rb6 Rxg3 45. Rf6 Kd4 46. Rd6+ Kc5 47. Rf6 Kd4 48. Ke2 Kc5 49. Kd2 Rg2+ 50. Ke3 Kd5 51. Ra6 Rg3+ 52. Ke2 Kd4 53. Rd6+ Kc3 54. Rc6+ Kd4 55. Rd6+ Kc5 56. Rf6 Rg4 57. Ke3 Kd5 58. Rf8 Ke6 59. Re8+ Kd7 60. Re5 Kd6 61. d4 Rg3+ 62. Ke2 Ra3 63. Rb5 Kc6 64. Rc5+ Kd6 65. Re5 Rg3 66. Ra5 Ke6 67. Re5+ Kf6 68. Ra5 g5 69. fxg5+ Kxg5 70. d5 Kf6 71. d6 Rg7 72. Rd5 Ke6 73. Ra5 Rf7 74. Ra6 Rd7 75. Kf3 Rxd6 76. Ra8 Rd4 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Chess Tournament Result English Opening

Mike Serovey Draws Arno Nolting, A Chess Master!

I found an old game played back in February 1992. This is one of two games in which I managed to draw a master in tournament play. In both games I had White. The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, is at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ArnoNolting-English.html. A few months after this game was played I was at another tournament with USCF Life Master Tom Stiers and Tom asked Arno how it was that he managed to draw a 1600. Anro was rated over 2300 at that time. Arno responded that he didn't know. It just happened. In Round Two of this tournament I played another master and lost in 23 moves. In Round Three I played an unrated player and won. In Round Four I played another 1600 and lost. My opponent played the Bird's Opening in that game and I didn't know how to play against it then. It appears that tournament only had four rounds.

Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Orlando Tornado"]
[Site "Orlando, FL"]
[Date "1992.02.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Mike Serovey"]
[Black "Arno Nolting"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Rb1 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rb5 b6 11. d4 Ba6 12. Rb1 Rc8 13. Be3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Na5 15. Re1 Rxc3 16. Nb5 Bxb5 17. Rxb5 Qxd1 18. Rxd1 Rc2 19. Rd7 Rxe2 20. Rxa7 Nc4 21. Rxe7 Bd4 22. Rb3 Re1+ 23. Bf1 Bxe3 24. fxe3 Nd2 25. Rb2 Nxf1 26. Kf2 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 Nxe3 28. Kxe3 Rb8 29. a4 Kf8 30. Kd4 Ke7 31. Kd5 Ra8 32. Rb4 Kd7 33. Rxb6 Ra5+ 34. Rb5 Rxa4 35. Rb7+ Ke8 36. Kd6 Kf8 37. Ke5 Ra2 38. h4 Rf2 39. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Rb3 h5 41. Ke4 Kh6 42. Ke3 Rf5 43. Rb6 f6 44. Rc6 g5 45. hxg5+ Kxg5 46. Rc4 Rf1 47. Ke2 Rf5 48. Rd4 Re5+ 49. Kf3 f5 50. Rd8 Re4 51. Rg8+ Kf6 52. Rh8 Kg6 53. Rg8+ Kh7 54. Rg5 Rg4 55. Rxf5 Kg6 56. Ra5 Rb4 57. Rc5 Ra4 58. Rb5 {Draw Agreed} 1/2-1/2

Chess Tournament Result English Opening

Mike Serovey Defeats Silent Knight

I recently reached one of my chess goals for this year. I have an established rating at Stan's Net Chess, but I still have several points to go until I get that rating over 2200. If I gain 10 rating points per win, then I need 6 wins and no losses or draws to reach that goal. I started two games at Stan's Net Chess last month and recently finished both. Here is the second game that I finished. It is against a player that uses the nickname of Silent Knight. I don't know his real name, but I do know that he is from New Zealand. I have posted the entire game, with analysis and diagrams, at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/SilentKnight-QueensGambitDeclined.html. Here is the game in PGN.

[Event "Game 376824"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2006.12.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Silent Knight"]
[Black "mserovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. c5 c6 4. b4 Nf6 5. e3 Be7 6. a4 O-O 7. a5 a6 8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. Bd3 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Bc2 Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Bb2 Nfd7 14. Nh3 Nc4 15. Bc1 Bg5 16. Nxg5 Qxg5 17. O-O Qf6 18. g4 Qxc3 19. gxh5 Qxa1 20. Qd3 g6 21. hxg6 fxg6 22. f4 Rae8 23. h4 Qg7 24. Rf2 Nde5 25. fxe5 Rxf2 26. Kxf2 Qxe5 27. Qe2 Qh2+ 28. Ke1 Qxh4+ 29. Qf2 Qh1+ 30. Qf1 Qxf1+ 31. Kxf1 Nxe3+ 32. Bxe3 Rxe3 0-1

Queens Gambit Declined

Mike Serovey Defeats TheMissingPawn

Here is a game that I played at Stan's Net Chess. I played the Black side of a Closed Sicilian that got opened up a few moves later. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams, is found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/TheMissingPawn-Siclian.html. Here is the game isn PGN.

[Event "Game 376528"]
[Site "Stan's NetChess"]
[Date "2006.12.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "TheMissingPawn"]
[Black "mserovey"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Be3 d6 4. f4 g6 5. c3 Bg7 6. Nf3 e5 7. d4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bg4 9. Qb3 Bxf3 10. gxf3 exd4 11. Qxb7 Nge7 12. Bb5 Qc8 13. Bxc6+ Qxc6 14. Qxc6+ Nxc6 15. Bd2 Rb8 16. a3 Rxb2 17. O-O Kd7 18. Rf2 Rhb8 19. Rf1 R8b3 20. a4 d3 21. Be3 Re2 22. Nd2 Rb4 23. Rae1 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Rxa4 25. Rb1 Ra1 26. Rxa1 Bxa1 27. Nb3 Bc3 28. Kf2 a5 29. Nc1 d2 {White resigns} 0-1

Sicilian Defense

Mike Serovey Defeats yacboski Playing the Black Side of the English Bremen

Here is a game that I played online at ICC back in December of 2005. I have played the White side of the English Bremen for over ten years. This is one of the rare times that I have played the Black side of that opening. The game is posted in PGN below. The complete game, with diagrams and analysis, is on my chess site at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/yacboski-English.html.

[Event "ICC 15 5"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2005.12.22"]
[Round "-"]
[White "yacboski"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1457"]
[BlackElo "1544"]
[Opening "English: Bremen system, Keres variation"]
[ECO "A23"]
[NIC "EO.12"]
[Time "21:41:27"]
[TimeControl "900+5"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O e4 7. Nd4 d5 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. e3 O-O 10. a3 Nc6 11. b4 Nxd4 12. exd4 Qb6 13. Ne2 Bg4 14. Bb2 Nd7 15. h3 Be6 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. Qa4 Nf6 18. Nf4 Bd7 19. Qb3 Bc6 20. Rc2 a6 21. Rfc1 g5 22. Ne2 Bd7 23. g4 Rxc2 24. Rxc2 Rc8 25. Rc5 Rxc5 26. dxc5 Qb5 27. Nd4 Qa4 28. c6 Qxb3 29. cxb7 Qxb2 30. b8=Q+ Be8 31. Nc6 Qc1+ {White resigns} 0-1

English Opening

My Win Against yacc Playing the White Side of the French Defense

From time to time I play against chess playing programs at ICC. One of these programs is called yacc. I have played several games against yacc and usually win. Posted below is the PGN for my latest win against yacc. The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Yacc-FrenchDefense.html.

[Event "ICC 20 20"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.12.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "yacc"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black checkmated"]
[WhiteElo "1520"]
[BlackElo "1502"]
[Opening "French: advance, Euwe variation"]
[ECO "C02"]
[NIC "FR.03"]
[Time "22:21:40"]
[TimeControl "1200+20"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bd7 4. c3 c5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nb4 8. O-O Nxd3 9. Qxd3 Bb4 10. a3 Be7 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Bd2 Qb6 13. b4 Rc4 14. Rfc1 f6 15. Be3 Kf7 16. Nd2 Rc7 17. Na2 Bb5 18. Qb3 fxe5 19. dxe5 Rxc1+ 20. Rxc1 d4 21. Bf4 d3 22. a4 Ba6 23. b5 Bh4 24. Be3 Qa5 25. bxa6 Qxa6 26. Nb4 Qa5 27. Nxd3 b6 28. Qb4 Qxb4 29. Nxb4 Be7 30. Nc6 a6 31. Bxb6 Ba3 32. Rc3 Bb2 33. Rd3 Ne7 34. Rd7 Re8 35. Bc5 Bc3 36. Nc4 Kg6 37. Nxe7+ Kh5 38. Ra7 Rb8 39. Nb6 Bxe5 40. Nc6 Bd6 41. Nxb8 Bxc5 42. Rxa6 Kg4 43. N6d7 Bd4 44. Rxe6 Kf5 45. Re8 Kf4 46. a5 Ba7 47. Nc6 Bxf2+ 48. Kxf2 h5 49. a6 g5 50. a7 Kf5 51. a8=Q Kg4 52. Qa4+ Kf5 53. Qe4# {Black checkmated} 1-0

French Defense

My Chess Goals For 2007

I just reviewed my chess goals for 2006. It looks like I missed every single one of them! I don't think that I played a single game at Stan's Net Chess all year, so I missed my goals of getting an established rating over 2200.

If I remember right, I only played 2 USCF rated tournaments all year and didn't do very well in those. As a result my USCF OTB rating dropped to 1500. It cannot go below 1500 unless the USCF changes its policy on ratings floors. Otherwise, it would have dropped below 1500 as a result of my last tournament. I lost every game that I played! I didn't play any Quick Chess, Blitz, or USCF rated Correspondence tournaments at all in 2006. I missed my goals of getting my USCF Standard rating over 1600 and winning an Under 1600 prize.

I did play several games at ICC and posted many of those games at my site located at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com. My Standard rating at ICC bounced around in the lower 1500 range and never go anywhere near 1600! I don't remember playing any Blitz or 5 Minute games at ICC this year. My current Standard Rating at ICC is 1520. Here are my statistics at ICC so far:

Statistics for OnGoldenPawn

rating [need] win loss draw total best
Blitz 1394 [8] 14 28 6 48 1441 (13-Mar-2005)
Standard 1520 [4] 60 73 18 151 1674 (03-Jul-2004)
5-minute 851 [8] 1 2 0 3
Correspondence 1551 5 7 2 14

I still have 2 correspondence games going at ICC. Both games are against an opponent who has already gone over the time control and been warned about it. If he exceeds the new, extremely generous, time control in either game I can claim a time forfeit in that game. So far, he is staying within the new time control. So, my goal it to win both of those games if I can.

I did request to be entered into several correspondence events at ICC even though I am irritated that they allow people to violate the time controls and get off with a warning. I need to practice as much as I can in order to improve my chess play. Also, I can learn and practice new openings by using them in correspondence games. When all is said and done, I may have up to 20 correspondence games going on simultaneously. That should give me plenty of practice!

I have some money coming to me from the VA. I got an increase in my service-connected rating with 3 years back pay. I'm not sure when I will actually get the money nor do I know exactly how much I am getting. Even so, I did an estimate and plan to use some of that money to play in a big money tournament in or near Orlando. So, I still have a goal of winning an Under 1600 prize or section and then bringing my USCF Standard rating back over 1600. Eventually, I plan to get my rating back over 1700, but it probably won't happen before the end of 2007.

My sleep cycle is still messed up and I tend to be up late and to sleep in late. That could cause some serious problems with early morning rounds! My plan is to take a 1/2 point bye in the morning rounds, if allowed, and to play in the later rounds. That would make winning the section outright difficult, but second or third place would still be possible if I win all of the games that I actually play in. That should help some with the fatigue problem that I have had in the past.

So, to summarize, my goals for 2007 are to bring my USCF Standard rating up to over 1600, to bring my ICC Standard rating up to over 1600, to get my ICC Correspondence rating up to over 1600, to win some Under 1600 prizes in both ICC and USCF play, and to rejoin Stan's Net Chess and then get an established rating over 2200. I also plan to play in at least one Orlando tournament, which should be for big money.

Chess Goals

Mike Serovey Defeats Phil Curtis With The English Opening

Posted below is the PGN format notation of my game at ICC against Phil Curtis. This game ended up being an English Opening against a Sicilian Defense. I was able to get a passed pawn in the Center and an attack on the f file against a Knight on f6. I then went up the exchange again and was up a Rook instead of just a Knight. Black continued to make errors and finally resigned when I captured his last Rook and queened a pawn at the same time. The entire game, with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/PhilCurtis-Siclian.html.

[Event "ICC 35 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.12.03"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "PhilCurtis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1511"]
[BlackElo "1508"]
[Opening "Sicilian defense"]
[ECO "B20"]
[NIC "SI.48"]
[Time "00:10:14"]
[TimeControl "2100+10"]

1. e4 c5 2. c4 d6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Ne2 Nf6 5. g3 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbc3 Bd7 9. h3 a6 10. Be3 Qb6 11. Rb1 Rfe8 12. f4 e6 13. g4 Kh8 14. d4 e5 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. d5 Nd4 17. Bg5 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Rad8 19. Qf3 Rf8 20. Bxf6 Kg8 21. Bxd8 Qxd8 22. Qe3 b6 23. b4 Qh4 24. bxc5 Bh6 25. Qf2 Qxf2+ 26. Rxf2 Be3 27. cxb6 Bxf2+ 28. Kxf2 Rb8 29. a4 Kf8 30. a5 Ke7 31. c5 h6 32. c6 Be8 33. Bf1 Kd6 34. Bxa6 Ra8 35. b7 Kc7 36. bxa8=Q {Black resigns} 1-0

Sicilian Defense

Mike Serovey Loses to fhunfi

Every month ICC has a standard tournament that is played on Tuesday nights. For this month Round 1 was played on December 5. I got paired against fhunfi (Chien Ming) and played the Black side of an English Opening. The game actually looked more like a Maroczy Bind versus a Sicilian Dragon. I made an error that caused me to lose my Queenside pawns and thus resigned. I forgot to show up for Round 2 until it was too late and thus forfeited that round. I then withdrew from the tournament. The game from Round 1 is quoted below in PGN format. The game, with diagrams and analysis, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/fhunfi-English.html.

[Event "ICC 60 0"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.12.05"]
[Round "-"]
[White "fhunfi"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1969"]
[BlackElo "1522"]
[Opening "English: symmetrical, Benoni formation"]
[ECO "A31"]
[NIC "OI.06"]
[Time "23:14:49"]
[TimeControl "3600+0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 g6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. e4 d6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. Nc2 Bd7 10. Be3 a6 11. f3 Rb8 12. Qd2 Qa5 13. Rab1 Rfc8 14. b4 Qd8 15. Rfd1 Ne5 16. c5 dxc5 17. bxc5 Be6 18. Qxd8+ Rxd8 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Rxb7 {Black resigns} 1-0

Chess Tournament Results English Opening

Mike Serovey On Chess Will Have A New Look

The hosting for two of my domain names has expired. That left these two sites suspended for a few days. Instead of renewing the hosting for two sites that aren't really earning any money I decided to move the hosting over to Go Daddy and use the free hosting that they offer. I get more space and bandwidth than I did with my paid hosting and the only real drawback is that each and every page of these two sites will have Go Daddy's advertising at the top of them. So, the new look will be that there will be new ads at the top of every page. The other change that I am going to make is to remove the server side includes in some of my pages. I will keep the .shtml extension for these pages so that links to these pages will still work. I still have to wait for Go Daddy to complete the set up and then I can upload http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com to the new server. The site should be up and running again by 4 PM EST Tuesday, December 12.

Chess Site

Mike Serovey Draws SlowBo With The Sicilian Defense

I have updated my chess site with a game played in 2005 on ICC. It was against a computer program named SlowBo. I had an advantage in development in the opening and then won a pawn. However, a sacrifice by White left me in an endgame with two passed pawns versus a bishop. I was unable to promote either pawn and had to settle for a draw. Here is the game in PGN:

[Event "ICC 25 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2005.02.19"]
[Round "-"]
[White "SlowBo"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn because neither player has mating material"]
[WhiteElo "1884"]
[BlackElo "1596"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Nimzovich-Rossolimo attack (without ...d6)"]
[ECO "B30"]
[NIC "SI.31"]
[Time "18:45:34"]
[TimeControl "1500+10"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bd3 d6 5. Ng5 h6 6. Qh5 Ne5 7. Be2 Nf6 8. Nxf7 Nxf7 9. Qg6 Be6 10. f4 Kd7 11. f5 Bxf5 12. exf5 Ne5 13. Qg3 Rg8 14. O-O g5 15. Rd1 Qb6 16. Qb3 Qxb3 17. axb3 Bg7 18. Re1 Raf8 19. Bc4 Nxc4 20. bxc4 h5 21. Nc3 g4 22. Re2 Re8 23. Na4 Kc6 24. Ra3 Nd7 25. Rb3 Rgf8 26. d3 Rxf5 27. Be3 Ref8 28. Rf2 Rxf2 29. Bxf2 b5 30. cxb5+ axb5 31. Nc3 c4 32. Rb4 Bxc3 33. bxc3 d5 34. Be3 e5 35. Rb1 Nc5 36. d4 exd4 37. cxd4 Ne4 38. Re1 b4 39. Rb1 Kb5 40. Kh1 Nf2+ 41. Kg1 Ne4 42. Re1 b3 43. h4 gxh3 44. cxb3 hxg2 45. bxc4+ Kxc4 46. Kxg2 Rg8+ 47. Kh3 Rg3+ 48. Kh4 Kd3 49. Bc1 Kxd4 50. Rxe4+ Kxe4 51. Kxg3 d4 52. Bg5 Kd3 53. Be7 Ke2 54. Bf6 d3 55. Bg5 d2 56. Bxd2 Kxd2 57. Kh4 Ke2 58. Kxh5 {Game drawn because neither player has mating material} 1/2-1/2

This game, complete with analysis and diagrams, can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/SlowBo-Siclian.html.

Sicilian Defense

My Chess Store

Amazon.com is now allowing their affiliates to set up online stores, complete with a shopping cart, that can be stand alone sites or incorporated into existing sites. I set up my chess store and included it into my chess site. The store is located at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/ChessStore.html. You can purchase chess books, software, boards and sets, plus other game related stuff, at this web page. If you click on the link near the bottom of the page you can sign up for your own Amazon affiliate account.

Chess Store

ICC Correspondence Chess

I have entered two different correspondence chess tournaments at ICC. I didn't do very well in the first one because I let my ICC membership expire prior to completing those games and lost a few of them on forfeit. I entered another one this year and still have two games left. It is these two games that have me ticked off at ICC right now. My opponent, JimGaming, exceeded the time control in both of my games with him! I sent time complaints to the tournament director both times and it took about 3 weeks for the director to respond to my complaints! In both cases my opponent was given a warning and more time to complete his moves! There was no mention of me getting more time to complete my moves! Why does my opponent, who has already violated the initial time control, get more time to play and I don't when I have been within the specified time control?!? IF my opponent violates the new time control, and I complain about it, then I get a win on time forfeit! I don't think that is fair and that is why I refuse to enter any more correspondence tournaments at ICC. I believe that the USCF has a similar rule about time controls in correspondence chess. In a regular over the board chess game my opponent would lose if I called him or her for exceeding the time control! Why is this different for correspondence chess? No one has given me a good reason for this yet!

Correspondence Chess

Mike Serovey Loses to winerum in an ICC correspondence game

Here is the PGN version of my loss to winerum at ICC. The complete game, with analysis and diagrams can be found at http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com/Winerum-Sicilian.html.

[Event "ICC correspondence 2006SC18QF.02.03"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2006.05.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "winerum"]
[Black "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black resigns"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Nimzovich-Rossolimo attack (without ...d6)"]
[ECO "B30"]
[NIC "SI.31"]
[Time "22:59:49"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O d5 6. d3 Bg4 7. Nbd2 e6 8. c3 Bxf3 9. Nxf3 Qa5 10. c4 Nf6 11. e5 Nd7 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. Qe1 g6 14. Qe2 Bg7 15. Rfe1 O-O 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Rac1 a5 18. d4 Rfb8 19. Rc2 c4 20. b3 Nb6 21. b4 axb4 22. Bxb4 Nc8 23. Qd2 Na7 24. Bd6 Qb6 25. Bxb8 Rxb8 26. Qe3 Nc6 27. a4 Qa7 28. Ra1 Rb4 29. Qd2 Rb3 30. a5 Rd3 31. Qxd3 cxd3 32. Rxc6 Bh6 33. Rb6 d2 34. Rbb1 Qa6 35. Rd1 Bf8 36. Rdb1 d1=Q+ 37. Rxd1 Bb4 38. Rdc1 Kg7 39. h3 h6 40. Rcb1 Bxa5 41. Rb4 {Black resigns} 1-0

Chess Tournament Results

To Be Or Not To Be Decided

Even though my poll results were disappointing I have decided to renew my domain name, http://www.mikeseroveyonchess.com, for another year. I'm not sure what I am going to do after that. The reason that I renewed the domain name is because I have several links from different sources pointing to that domain name. I am also going to renew my hosting for another year when it comes due next month. The hosting is reasonable for what I get. I also am starting to look for work as a website builder, webmaster and website administrator. As such, I need samples of my work and the chess site is one of my better sites.

On the survey, I found out that the one "No" vote was one in which Patrick wanted me to keep the site up but use free hosting instead of paid. I decided to stay with paid in spite of Patrick's advice to the contrary.

Chess Site