Poly Chess Championship: MtG - Harry Seldon

[Harry Seldon]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8

I think your last post missed my move (11) I put yours on 12 then moved. Can you make sure this is right? If it is, can I be Royal Nonesuch?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Yes, it's right. My bad on the cut and paste.

[MichaeltheGreat]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8
13. Be6+

[Harry Seldon]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8
13. Be6+ Kb8

[MichaeltheGreat]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8
13. Be6+ Kb8
14. Rf8

[Harry Seldon]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8
13. Be6+ Kb8
14. Rxf8 c5

Body blow! Body blow!

[MichaeltheGreat]

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6
4. Bc4 Qf6
5. 0-0 Bg4
6. c3 Qxf4
7. Qb3 0-0-0
8. d4 Qxe4
9. Ng5 Qg6
10. Bf7 Qd3
11. Ne6 Be2
12. Nxd8 Nxd8
13. Be6+ Kb8
14. Rxf8 c5
15 Rxd8+

15 ... Kc7 is forced, after which 16. Rc8++ is checkmate.

[Harry Seldon]

Excellent game. I think I finally found my groove again, although it may not appear that way after being handily defeated. I think I finally get the notation, too, thanks to you and SR. And my wife thinks I'm burning brain cells online...

[MichaeltheGreat]

Thanks. You're definitely improving, but this game should really show you why you should be careful moving your queen into the center early in the opening.

If you're into studying a little, one gem of a book (out of print, IIRC, but widely available used via bookfinder.com or abebooks.com) is called "The art of chess combination" by Eugene Znosko-Borovsky."

He breaks down tactical combinations like the Bh7 sacrifice, two Bishops sacrifice, spears, forks, discovered attacks in a real easy, systematic way, and you can learn to recognize what your opponent is aiming for and how to avoid weaknesses in your position and exploit them in your opponent's.

[Harry Seldon]

I'll see if I can find it. My pride so far has kept me away from books but I've always been good enough among firends to split many series. My biggest two weaknesses are my inability to be patient and my desire to create elaborate plans that fail if one piece falls out of play. The more spectacular the better. I just went rummaging through my Hannah Home box and found a copy of Simon & Schuster Pocket Book of Chess. I'll give it a whirl.