Shira Chess Challenge for Charity: Postscript

First of all - THANK YOU SO MUCH - to:

• GM Susan Polgar for her encouragement in undertaking this "quest" and the publicity she provided to us at the Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information blog.

• Chessdom.com, for giving us front-page publicity on its website the day before our match began, and their private kind words of support and encouragement.

• Current Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk for her kind words and the publicity she provided to us at her chessblog.com.

• Chessville - who began it all with an article published on June 23, 2009 from sometimes columnist JanXena :)

• Kelly Atkins a/k/a Chessdaddy (whom I met eons ago at the message board now affiliated with Chessville), who volunteered to be my coach, despite knowing what a difficult femme I am - kiss my foot, Chessdaddy! He tried hard to whip me into shape, and I resisted every step of the way :) Despite his own fully-booked family and work schedule, he found time somehow to teach me some good stuff, and I found his analysis of Game 2 invaluable - not in preparing for Game 3, but in providing a template for patterns in my own play. I'm going to study that game a lot more.

• Laura and Dan Sherman of Your Chess Coach, who spent a lot of hours with me via email and on the telephone giving me pointers on how to play and analysis of two of my prior "practice" games from redhotpawn.com. I cannot tell you how much I learned from that time on the telephone with Dan, wow! Dan, I was even able to use "c3" in my game today - and it worked just as you said it would :) Unfortunately, I blew the game, but not because of that move. Laura, thanks for that sweet supporting shoulder to cry on!

• Don McLean, my long-suffering fiance. He's not keen on playing chess - and neither had I been until I cooked up this Chess Challenge for Charity with Shira a few months ago. Mr. Don indulged me and while he was here a few weeks ago for my 58th birthday (we were going to Las Vegas to celebrate with our friends) he willingly played four games to help me with my training. Two here at the house, and one each to and from Las Vegas. I love you with all my heart, mon homme, and I'm soooo glad I won that game at 35,000 feet flying back from Las Vegas :)

• Phil Innes and Rob Mitchell. Your enthusiasm at the beginning of this "project" was invigorating and inspirational. Rob, thanks for the practice games :)

Shira, I hate you! LOL! I hate you so much I donated $100 to your Cause at Facebook. I hope this will spur some donations. Interest in the Chess Challenge for Charity was high. Traffic at this blog where I did daily updates on the Challenge games increased substantially over average. Thank you all for your support! Donations to Shira's Foundation are 100% tax deductible to qualifying taxpayers and the Foundation accepts donations in cash and in kind - that is, if you have a working in good order laptop you'd like to donate, you can contact Shira at the Foundation for further information. If your laptop is accepted by the Foundation, you get to write off its value as a charitable deduction. Shira and I are very sorry that our plan for playing "live" games did not work out. Neither of us realized that the live play interface at chess.com is a "beta" model still a work in progress, prone to malfunctions. Oy! We are sorry that anyone who wanted to follow along with our play was not able to do so while we were playing them. You missed all of our sparkling repartee :) A summary of the action over the past several days: Game 1 http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2009/09/shira-chess-challenge-for-charity-game.html Update for Game 2 – Technical Difficulties http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2009/09/shira-chess-challenge-for-charity.html Game 2 http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2009/09/shira-chess-challenge-for-charity-game_06.html Game 3 http://goddesschess.blogspot.com/2009/09/shira-chess-challenge-for-charity-game_07.html In tribute to Chessdaddy's hard work on my behalf, I post his analysis of my Game 2: Event "Online Chess"] [Site "Chess. com"] [Date "2009. 09. 06"] [Round "1"] [White "JanXena"] [Black "shirae"] [Result "0–1"] [WhiteElo "979"] [BlackElo "1421"] No time control we played in real time but without clocks game lasted about hours] [Termination "shirae won by resignation"] 1.d4 d6 2.e4 e5 3.Be3 Not a blunder by any means, but it is fundamentally wrong as it is way too passive & defensive instead of using White's advantage of having the first move to maintain the initiative and create threats. Be3 just gives Black equality and hands the initiative to her. Nf3 or dxe5 were better. 3...Be7 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.d5 [5.dxe5 Bxf3 (5...dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Bxd8 7.Nxe5 and you've won a pawn, have a big lead in development and a much better position.) 6.Qxf3 dxe5 with a nice lead in development.] 5...f5 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 f4 8.Bd2 you're still in good shape here, but your dark-squared bishop has been pushed back to an ineffective square and will have a hard time getting active - on reason putting it on e3 wasn't so hot. OTOH, Black has gained some space and pushed the bishop away, but has really opened up her kingside 8...Nf6 9.Bd3 Again, not a blunder, but putting a piece on a square where it's ineffective and unlikely to have any scope. Remember, the opening is not just about developing pieces, but developing them to effective squares, anticipating what they'll be able to do from those squares, developing them to work with the rest of your pieces, etc. It's also about creating threats and causing your opponent problems she must address that compromise her position. If you really want to castle short and needed to get that bishop out of the way in order to do so, putting it on e2 to back up the queen, have access to the more open d1–h5 diagonal, and not be staring into the back of one of your blocked center pawns would've been better.Here, you needed to do some planning and assess the future of the game. With Black being very open on the kingside, she likely won't (or at least shouldn't) castle to that side. Also, with Black having penetrated to f4 with a supported pawn, you are gonna need to bust that up or suffer a very cramped position and be vulnerable to attack if you castle there. A rule of thumb is to attack in the direction your center pawns are pointing, meaning Black is probably going to have better attacking chances on the kingside and you on the queenside. Since Black is gonna need to castle long and you are gonna be vulnerable on the kingside, you should too, and all this means that if you both castle long, you should have the better attacking chances against your opponent's king. This also means you can afford to play g3 in the near future and start busting up Black's advanced pawns on the kingside. Moves like Nc3, Rg1, or g3 were better than Bd3. This is a good position to learn how to evaluate and assess and plan correctly. 9...Nbd7 10.Nc3 0–0 11.0–0–0 Very good! You obviously realized you would be vulnerable after 0–0. With opposite side castling, a pawn storm is almost always in order. It gets very nasty and the first one who push their pawns into the opponent's king's position and open it up usually wins. Time is VERY important here and you must make every move count. 11...c6 This is a great position to stop and assess the strengths & weaknesses of both sides, then make a plan for how to make the most of your strengths and take advantage of your opponent's weaknesses. Doing this well isn't as easy to learn as tactics, but it's not all that hard either. ALL plans MUST be based on objective analysis of the position, not on what you just WANT to do.Here, you have a very solid, secure castled king, the bishop pair, more space on the queenside, and an opportunity to launch a pawn storm on the kingside. Your weakness is that your bishops have very little range or scope, and your knight doesn't have a good advanced square to go to. A very helpful rule of thumb is that when you have bishops, open the position... usually by forcing pawn swaps in and around the center. If you have knights, or your opponent has the bishop pair, keep the position blocked and closed. You can almost put an automatic 1 in the win column in this position by simply pushing pawns in the center and on the kingside to open the position up.Shira's king is castled, but the position around him is a little loose. Her only bishop is bad (on the same color squares as her center pawns, meaning it doesn't have much scope), her knights don't have many good squares to go to, and she's behind in development.The plan for you here should be to immediately play g3, bust up Black's advanced K-side pawns, open lines for your rooks to attack down the g and/or h files, and push any remaining pawns on the K-side to attack Black's castled king. This will also open up the c1–h6 diagonal for your bishop; after you remove Black's f4 pawn you can play f4 to remove her e5 pawn then advance your own e-pawn to open the diagonal for your light squared bishop, or maybe have to reposition it to e2. Also you may need to play Ne2 to bring the knight over to the kingside to put extra pressure on f4 and g3 and perhaps on to directly assisting in the kingside attack. In a nutshell, open up lines on the kingside, throw your kingside pawns at Black's king, and throw all your pieces at him also. 12.Bc4 Unnecessary and not helpful. You're responding to Shira's threats instead of taking the initiative. You don't want to recapture here with your bishop anyway, as that gives up the bishop pair unnecessarily. Let her capture then retake with your knight or e-pawn. Best was to ignore the threat since it didn't really hurt you at all, and play g3, forcing Shira to respond to you, then follow the plan of opening up the center & K-side and flooding it with your pieces in a direct attack. 12...b5 13.dxc6+ Not a huge blunder, but a mistake nonetheless. It doesn't lose material, but it gives up your bishop (and the bishop pair, and opens up attacking lines for Black against your king. Much better was preserving your bishop and keeping the Q-side closed with Bb3. It's these little subtle things that make the difference in a good position that's easy to win from, and a hard-to-defend bad position where you become overwhelmed with problems. This move took you from having a very solid position with a decent advantage, to a position that was just about dead even, but with some potential problems. 13...bxc4 14.cxd7 Qxd7 15.g3 fxg3 16.Qxg3 Nh5 17.Qg2 Qg4 here forces a Q trade, removing most of Black's attacking chances, making you much safer and pretty much assuring you of a draw. Not necessarily better than Qg2, but would have given you an almost certain draw. 17...Rab8 18.Rdg1 Not a losing move, but I think you failed to anticipate Black's direct attack on your king and take steps to defend. Moving your king to b1 to bring your bishop to c1 in order to defend b2 was good. b3 will work, but it will also weaken the area around your king, though you should still be able to fight off and attack. 18...Bh4 19.Bh6 Looks good at first glance, but doesn't work due to Black's threats at f2 and his solid defense of g7. Easy to see why you'd play this though and it's not easy to calculate this accurately and see if it works or not. [19.Qg4 Black either has to give up the attack by trading queens, or play Qb7 and take a pawn or two and run your king around while letting you get a free piece, leaving you with a nice advantage.] 19...Rxf2 20.Qxg7+ [20.Qg4 was your only decent move here. Everything else loses the queen. Even with Qg4, you're still in some trouble, though not really lost... just down a pawn and under some pressure.] 20...Nxg7 21.Be3 [21.Rxg7+ MUCH better. You get a Q & N for a R & B. Still leaves you a pawn & rook down, but...] 21...Rf7 22.Rg2 Rbf8 23.Rhh2 Kh8 24.Kb1 Rf1+ 25.Bc1 Re1 All in all, you played MUCH better than expected. Shira by NO means ran over you. In fact, you had the advantage throughout most of the game and played well with no big mistakes until a small miscalculation near the end. Until then, all your mistakes were very small, minor things that are easily corrected. Although you lost this game, you have a LOT to be proud of and you played quite well. 0–1 Thanks, Chessdaddy :)

Shira Chess Challenge for Charity: Game 3

Hola darlings! It's another gorgeous day here, but that didn't help my chessplaying today, oy! I fell flat on my face nearly out of the gate and it went downhill from there. My only consolation is that I managed to play enough defense to make Shira chase me halfway around the board before she was finally able to close in on checkmate :) I even teased her about it, saying I was making her work for it. Naughty JanXena! For whatever reason, I just had nothing today! I'm embarrassed to post this game here, I played so poorly. Oh well. Here goes - don't laugh too hard at me! [Event "Online Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2009.09.07"] [Round "1"] [White "shirae"] [Black "JanXena"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1455"] [BlackElo "945"] [TimeControl - none - we played without clocks and finished in about 1.5 hours] [Termination "shirae won by resignation"] 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 f6 3.Bf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.e3 e6 6.Bd3 Qd7 7.a3 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qxd6 9.Bxf5 O-O-O 10.Bd3 g6 11.Nbd2 g5 12.h3 h6 13.c4 Nge7 14.Rc1 f5 15.b4 Qd7 16.b5 Nb8 17.Ne5 Qe8 18.c5 Rf8 19.c6 Nexc6 20.bxc6 Nxc6 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Qa4 Rd6 23.Qxa7 Kd7 24.Bb5 Ke7 25.Qxc7+ Kf6 26.Qxd6 cxb5 27.Rc7 Rf7 28.Qe5+ Kg6 29.Rxf7 Qxf7 30.O-O g4 31.Rc1 Kg5 32.Rc7 Qg6 33.Rg7 1-0 I am sooooo glad the match is over! Now I can relax! It was fun, but exhausting. I sincerely doubt now that I would ever be able to play in a tournament, even if I could get my game up to snuff. I don't have the physical stamina. Right now I feel like a wrung-out dishcloth, although I feel better now than at 11:30 a.m., about when the game finished, because I walked down to the store to relieve some of the built-up stress and tension almost immediately after I signed off to Shira. At least today my head didn't ache! It just wasn't working at all, LOL! I think I must have left my brain in bed this morning. My faithful coach Kelly Atkins a/k/a Chessdaddy, did an analysis of Game 2 for me, and I even understand it! That's rather scary, actually :) He was very encouraging too, about the level of my play in Game 2. He said something to the effect of "you played better than you led me to believe you could." Alas, Chessdaddy, not today! I'm sorry. I will sit down soon and play over Game 2 the slow way on a real board (I get too confused trying to do it online), and also Game 1 when I have that analyzed. I can't stand the thought of looking at Game 3! Here is a picture of Shira (again at Starbucks) taken during our game today. Of course she looks happy! She won all three games, boo hoo hoo. Part of me wants to get REVENGE! The rational part of me is saying "Oh for goddesssake, Jan, concentrate on something you do well, like writing and researching. Forget chess." Oy - now I've to listen to good angel/bad angel battle it out on my shoulders for the next couple of days. Geez!

Shira Chess Challenge for Charity: Game 2

Hola darlings! Well - I had Shira on the run for awhile, sort of. LOL! I resigned at the end while both of us still had quite a bit of material on the board - my head aches something fierce. I don't know if it's tension - or too much attempted use of atrophied parts of my brain - or staring so intently at the computer screen for an hour and a half. Or all three! My attacking plan didn't work, alas. I struggled along for a bit after losing my queen without being able to take Shira's in exchange - I overlooked her knight and perhaps there was a move in there that could have still salvaged something but I didn't see it. The story of my chessplaying! I hope I get props for giving it the old college try! I don't have patience when it comes to playing gradual kill-my-pieces-off-one-by-one-defense and lose the game anyway. Shira makes mistakes in her play, but I haven't been able to capitalize on them while I always get punished for mine. NOT FAIR! Boo hoo hoo. For what seemed like such a long involved smash-mouth type of game, though, I was shocked that we only played 25 moves! Wow! I feel like it was at least 100! Or maybe it's that I feel 100... Now I've got to go cut the grass in the other part of the yard and I've already got the sprinkler going. I'm going to nurse my bruised chess ego and aching head out on the deck this afternoon and enjoy this beautiful weather with my feet up, a BIG glass of cheap wine and listen to smooth jazz on the radio until I fall asleep and get a sunburnt face. There's more laundry to do but that can wait! Here is the PGN from Game 2: Event "Online Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2009.09.06"] [Round "1"] [White "JanXena"] [Black "shirae"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "979"] [BlackElo "1421"] (No time control - we played in real time but without clocks - game lasted about 1.5 hours] [Termination "shirae won by resignation"] 1.d4 d6 2.e4 e5 3.Be3 Be7 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.d5 f5 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 f4 8.Bd2 Nf6 9.Bd3 Nbd7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.O-O-O c6 12.Bc4 b5 13.dxc6+ bxc4 14.cxd7 Qxd7 15.g3 fxg3 16.Qxg3 Nh5 17.Qg2 Rab8 18.Rdg1 Bh4 19.Bh6 Rxf2 20.Qxg7+ Nxg7 21.Be3 Rf7 22.Rg2 Rbf8 23.Rhh2 Kh8 24.Kb1 Rf1+ 25.Bc1 Re1 0-1 Let me tell you, I'll be SO glad when this is over tomorrow. Playing competitive chess is draining. Right now, in addition to my aching head, I feel chewed up and spit out - I think I need a ham sandwich. Shira sent along a photo of a screen shot of this game in progress from Starbucks, where she settled into play once again. Same time, same place, tomorrow! Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow...

Shira Chess Challenge for Charity: Update for Game 2

Last post of the night! Shira, playing as "shirae" and I, playing as "JanXena", will be meeting tomorrow morning (Sunday September 6) at 10:00 a.m. CST (Wisconsin time) at http://www.chess.com/ to play Game 2 of our 3-game match! Because of the technical difficulties that we experienced earlier today when we started our game using the "live play" feature at the chess.com website (Shira got disconnected about 8 minutes into our game), we will be playing Game 2 using the regular "online chess" feature. As I posted earlier (the first post under this date) , Shira and I ended up using the regular "online chess" feature to play Game 1, since all moves from Game 1 were lost when Shira's computer lost the internet connection to our "live" game. In a time crunch and not knowing what else to do, we played Game 1 using the "online chess" feature instead. Honestly, I do not know if anyone will be able to follow along as we play Game 2 - and we apologize for this. This particular interface at chess.com is not designed for "real-time" play -- it jumps on my screen when either of us makes a move, for instance (Shira reported the same phenomenon when I asked about it), and then I have to scroll up to get back to the playing board, but the website does update once each of us hits the "submit move" button! It's just that sometimes we forget to hit the "submit move' button. And whether folks who are not playing the game can actually view it as we play, we do not know. We had considered switching our forum to another site (such as ICC), but given the pre-match publicity that said our games would be played at chess.com, we concluded it would be best to continue playing the games at chess.com - just not in the "live game" format we had envisioned. Once again - our apologies. We had not envisioned this problem! So, if you are not able to follow along while Shira and I play Game 2 tomorrow, I will publish the PGN of our game here. And hopefully a photo or two. I do not think you will want to see me at 10 a.m. without make-up and combed hair, and in my yard-work junk clothes - but Who knows, maybe someone out there will like a funky JanXena.

Shira Chess Challenge for Charity: Game 1

Hola! Shira and I played the first game of our match this morning! What a fiasco! Even though I signed in 15 minutes early at chess.com, I couldn't figure out how to use the thing - not exactly intuitive for my level of computer incompetence! I should have tried a practice game at chess.com with Shira before D-Day. Live and learn. Finally, with emails and a telephone call from Shira, we were able to get on the same live gameboard and the game started. I thought it was going okay for me - I was white starting out, but then disaster struck! Shira, who was playing from a Starbucks because she doesn't have internet where she's staying, got disconnected. All of a sudden a message flashed up on my screen that I'd won by resignation, which I misunderstood at first thinking that it had meant Shira had won because I'd resigned, but I hadn't! I had no idea what was going on and was panicking and really upset (I could use other words to describe my emotional state at the time, but I am attempting to be restrained) at that stupid interface! Resign - me? On like move 17? No way! I'd at least play to move 20. Phone rings - it's Shira - she got bounced off the internet! Oh @!%$&^$$*@! And a few more $%@*%">$%@*%@ just for good measure. What to do? We ended up playing a game on the regular chess interface at chess.com - without clocks. This time I'm black. We started right about 10:30 a.m. and the game ended shortly before noon - I was checkmated! Ach! My poor nerves. Still, that's no excuse. I made some REALLY DUMB MOVES - particularly the last one, LOL! Oh well. Here's our game in PGN - at first I couldn't even figure out how to lift THAT from chess.com! When I clicked on the PGN link to "open" - all that happened is that my Chess Base Lite opened up (a tool that I've no real idea how to use). By trial and error I eventually discovered that at chess.com I can actually do a copy of the Moves List and paste it into a document. [Event "Online Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2009.09.05"] [Round "1"] [White "shirae"] [Black "JanXena"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1361"] [BlackElo "1039"] [TimeControl "1 in 1 day"] [Termination "shirae won by checkmate"] 1.d4d5 2.Nf3Nf6 3.Bg5Nc6 4.e3Ne4 5.Bh4Bf5 6.Bd3Qd6 7.Nbd2O-O-O 8.O-Og6 9.Qe2h6 10.a3g5 11.Bg3Qd7 12.Ne5Nxe5 13.Bxe5f6 14.Bxe4Bxe4 15.Nxe4dxe4 16.Bg3h5 17.h3h4 18.Bh2Kb8 19.Qg4Qxg4 20.hxg4Rc8 21.c4e6 22.Rfd1Bd6 23.Rd2Bxh2+ 24.Kxh2b6 25.Rad1Rhd8 26.d5b5 27.dxe6Re8 28.cxb5Kb7 29.Rd7Rxe6 30.R1d4Kb6 31.a4Kc5 32.b4+Kb6 33.R4d5c6 (c6? Ohmygoddess, JanXena! What were you thinking? Actually, I totally missed the fact that Shira could/would advance the h file pawn, which is exactly what she did. Now how stupid am I? That's a hypothetical question, darlings!) I might have perhaps been able to stave off the inevitable for another move or two if I hadn't committed hari kiri on move 33. I honestly lost sight of the forest for the trees. As far as I can tell, though, with my limited knowledge, the game-turner was much earlier when I misplayed something - now I cannot remember what - on the right side of the board. I will take a look at this game and the other two that Shira and I will be playing the next two days, but not until this is all over! My heart can't take it. I suppose I should have a second and pour over the game to try and spot Shira's weaknesses and hunt down and eliminate all the myriad of mine - but honestly darlings, I need to vacuum, go to the supermarket, put the next load of laundry in, and then cut the front lawn. And just about the time the mosquitoes are coming out at 6 p.m., I might be able to sit down on the deck (after scrubbing off all the bird poop from the lawn chairs), put my feet up, and drown my sorrows in White Zinfandel :) Here are two photos that Shira took of her chess-playing nook at Starbucks! The first photo is a screen shot of our game in progress, I received it via email at 10:58 a.m. See you tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. - probably at chess.com because that is where all the information said we would be playing. Drat!

Shira Chess Challenge: GAME ON!

Hola darlings! The time has counted down, my 3-game chess match with Shira is nearly here! (Photo right: Shira Evans, taken at Ashkelon, Israel, 2009. Photo left: Jan Newton, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July, 2008) My training is nearly at an end - I have one last game going on - with my coach, Chessdaddy a/k/a Kelly Atkins. I made a really STUPID move two moves ago to grab a piece - ACH! I should have known it looked too easy. It wasn't a poisoned pawn - it was a poisoned Bishop. ACH! But I still have hopes of coming out ahead material-wise when the slaughter of exchanging pieces is done because, in the final analysis (NO guarantee my final analysis is correct, mind you), I have a Knightess placed just where she can grab a pawn once the slaughter is done. Since Chessdaddy does NOT read this blog, I feel fairly confident in sharing this interim strategy with you :) Tomorrow (Friday) I'm taking a day off from chess (except for my final training game - wth Chessdaddy). Here are the particulars about the SHIRA CHESS CHALLENGE FOR CHARITY MATCH: DATES: September 5, 6 and 7, 2009 TIME: 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time (Wisconsin time, USA) PLACE: http://www.chess.com/ HANDLES: Jan Newton of Goddesschess plays as JanXena and Shira Evans of Computerlabs for Kids Foundation plays as shirae. Shira and I will be playing one game each day, starting at 10:00 a.m. CST, over the Labor Day weekend. Each of us will have one hour on our clocks, no increment. Membership at chess.com is free. I honestly have no idea how this works - my guess is that if you are not already a member at chess.com you will have to sign up if you want to watch our games, and then you search under one or the other of our "handles" - JanXena or shirae, to find our games. I hope you will check in and watch some part of one or more of our games! I've been practicing, darlings, training really hard! Well, okay, I haven't won a game yet in my online training games but I DID win that game against Mr. Don when we were coming back from Las Vegas last week :) Cheer on your favorite - the unrated undergoddess or the Chess Goddess with peak USCF rating of 1727 (EEK!) And, if you should be so inclined, please make a contribution to Shira's Foundation and help the kids that she helps. Thanks once again to Laura and Dan Sherman of Your Chess Coach for their help in my training. Wish I could have you sitting as little angels on my shoulders while I'm playing against Shira :)

Shira Chess Challenge: Match and Training Update!

Hola darlings! The time is fast approaching - this weekend, starting on Saturday September 5th and concluding on Monday September 7th, Shira and I will be playing out match - one game each day, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I'll let you know the TIME soon! Shira and I will be playing in real time using clocks - 1 hour each - at chess.com. Shira plays under the name "shirae" and I play under "JanXena". We invite you to kibitz. I don't recall if I posted this link earlier - but if I didn't - here is the link to Shira's "Movie Channel" at You Tube. She's posted a lot of videos there of her 2009 projects with the kids - worth watching! The kids and Shira's work with them is what this is all about. On the training front, some updates. First, Chessdaddy, I done you wrong, darling. I thought he had abandoned me, but it turns out he had not received the email notice that I had made a move in our one and only training game, and he hadn't gone back to redhotpawn.com to check the game status. Our game has since resumed and right now, according to CD, I am ahead in piece development and slightly ahead in material. Second, I have received help from an unexpected source! A little background: Back on July 6th I did a post, sounding in dismay and depression, about how my chess training was going, and I posted an article I'd found about "beginner" chess and a couple who are training mostly young ones (but some older ones too) chess beyond the fundamentals. After all, it isn't that hard to learn how the pieces move. It's what comes afterward that is the brain-slayer for moi! At that point in my training, having hit near despair that I could even play again (paralysis had set in), Shira and I bumped back the match date from the end of July to the end of August, and settled upon Labor Day weekend. Lo and behold. Laura Sherman, one of the dynamic duo who is Your Chess Coach, posted a comment to that dreadful lament and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. After learning more about Shira's Computer Labs for Kids Foundation, Laura and her husband Dan are contributing free time to help me with analysis and zeroing in on my weakest spots. I'm not too hopeless a case after all, darlings! First session is tomorrow night (I scheduled it for AFTER Hell's Kitchen - can't miss Chef Gordon Ramsay yelling and screaming at his contestants, heh!) Dan and Laura Sherman met through chess in Los Angeles in 1992. Both were strong tournament players in their youth and developed a passion for the game. Now that they are parents they feel it is time to start teaching the next generation. To that end they are working on e-courses and books to teach parents and educators how to teach children to play chess. They also teach over 50 student in 6 schools locally, starting as early as age 4. I'm looking forward to my first session with Dan and Laura. We'll be working via telephone and simultaneously online. Thank you, Laura and Dan Sherman, for caring, and for your time. I will try my bestest not to disappoint.

Shira Chess Challenge: Final on Portugal!

Shira is back in the USA now and is already busy planning her next trips for the Foundation, Computer Labs for Kids. You can find a photo album of the Portugal kids at the Foundation's website (visit website, then click on "Photos" to be taken to the page with the albums). There are also photo albums from Shira's prior visits to orphanages in India and Israel. On August 9, 2009, Shira was interviewed on radio in Portugal by Sir Owen Gee on his show Solid Gold Sunday Show on KISS FM. Click here to hear the interview that went on the air!!!! You can read more about Kiss FM @ http://www.kissfmalgarve.com/kissfm Kiss FM has about 500,000 listeners during the summer time in the Algarve (location of the orphanage Shira visited) I don't understand how all this You Tube video stuff works, but follow this link - I hope it takes you to lots of Shira's videos. By the way - I have challenged Shira to a second training game. I think we still have time to get one in prior to the beginning of our three-game match over Labor Day Weekend :) I'll let you know if she accepts!

Shira Chess Challenge: Update!

Shira and I finished our first training game. It was a slaughter (Shira slaughtered me): [Event "Challenge"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com/"] [Date "2009.08.02"] [EndDate "2009.08.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Shakerjan"] [Black "shira"] [WhiteRating "1109"] [BlackRating "1518"] [WhiteELO "1109"] [BlackELO "1518"] [Result "0-1"] [GameId "6569788"] 1. e4 d6 2. Ng1f3 Bc8g4 3. Bf1e2 Ng8f6 4. Nb1c3 c6 5. d4 e6 6. O-O Bf8e7 7. Be2d3 O-O 8. Qd1e2 d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Bc1f4 Nb8c6 11. a3 Nc6xd4 12. Qe2e3 Nd4xf3 13. gxf3 Bg4h5 14. Kg1g2 d4 15. Qe3d2 dxc3 16. bxc3 Qd8d5 17. Qd2e3 Be7c5 18. c4 Bc5xe3 19. cxd5 Be3xf4 20. d6 Bf4xd6 21. Bd3e2 Rf8c8 22. Rf1d1 Rc8d8 23. Rd1c1 Nf6d5 24. c4 Nd5f4 25. Kg2f1 Nf4xe2 26. Kf1xe2 Bd6f4 27. Rc1b1 Rd8d2 28. Ke2f1 Bh5xf3 29. Rb1e1 Rd2c2 0-1 I resigned rather than attempt to fight on, as checkmate was inevitable. I hope to be better prepared in our next game! I have been training hard - just not making any headway against people who are higher rated than I am. When I got back from Las Vegas I took a good hard look at my ongoing games with Frog Breath and PrincessChess and decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and continue to play. I was down too much material and hadn't a clue. Sure, I could have tried to eek out a few more moves, but to what purpose? I thank them for their games. I believe I have improved in my play from the lessons learned from those games -- In the meantime, Chessdaddy has dropped off radar. While Mr. Don was here for our Las Vegas Gambit we played four OTB games - two on the deck during a lovely afternoon, and two while traveling back and forth to Las Vegas on Midwest Airlines. Now those were games! As a match arranged by the Great Goddess, Mr. Don and I are truly evenly matched in all ways, including our relative chess skills. That led to hard fought drawn out games with hearts beating and adrenalin pumping. Amazingly, in 3 of our 4 games, Mr. Don managed to bungle away his Queen, much to my relief! I'm not laughing though, because I managed to bungle away some good positions and pieces too. Geez! Mr. Don conceded three reluctant - extremely reluctant - draws to me - after we'd battled each other to standstills and exhaustion in our three prior games. And then there was Game 4! Game 4 was fought on the jet ride from Las Vegas back to Milwaukee. We were both tired and worn out after three days of walking endless miles around Las Vegas. After boarding our flight we'd both tried to sleep/rest for the first hour and more. But when fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and coffee were offered by an engaging flight attendant, a now wide-awake Mr. Don challenged me to a game of chess and I said okay. Out came the little magnetized travel set I'd received as a bonus gift back in 1999 for becoming a member of the U.S. Chess Federation. That little travel set has seen some interesting games, let me tell you. Mr. Don came out swinging hard. He was going for a win, no question in my mind. He was frustrated over our three prior draws - he wanted to prove his masculine and/or chess superiority over my (according to his way of thinking) relative feminine weakness - he felt he should have won all three games. No slow development of pieces during this opening for him. He went right for my jugular vein in an attempt to win by overwhelming force. Ha! I do not like being forced. Mr. Don seems to have forgotten that little lesson (I have to remind him every now and then about how stubborn I can get when I feel pressured to do something I do not want to do...) It was perhaps move 8 and Mr. Don had wiped out every piece that I had developed into the center of the board, as I was attempting to be a good Chessdaddy student and develop my pieces into the center while protecting my King. And so, I returned the favor. Our queens were openly exposed. I was black, and up a pawn. Mr. Don seemed intent on forcing a queen swap. As he had his fingers on the tiny magnetized travel set chess piece, I looked into his eyes over my glasses, and said to him "Do you really want to do that?" I do not think he realized at that moment just what he was letting himself in for. He made the move anyway. It was like something out of a movie, LOL! Guess what, Mr. Don. SWAP! Queens were off the board. It took about 10 seconds for that fact to sink in. I believe at that point Mr. Don realized he had made a very bad mistake. Not only had he sacrificed his queen for nothing (only my queen, but I was still up a piece and had better development), he had really pissed me off. The game went on, the battle back and forth, back and forth. At a crucial moment I blundered away a Rook - oh goddess I can't believe how Stupid that move was, totally overlooked! But I was absolutely determined and battled my ass off. And then, later in the game, Mr. Don blundered away a Bishop by moving it to a square opposite from where he'd intended to move it - right into the arms of my remaining Rook which had been protecting a pawn about to promote. If he had played to the left instead of the right, he would have gobbled up the pawn, but I would have taken the Bishop. As he played it, I ate the Bishop and also promoted my pawn :) OH, SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE AT LAST I FOUND YOU... You can imagine the look on his face when I once again looked into his eyes over the top of my glasses as I promoted my pawn and asked for my Queen back, please. Alas, Mr. Don and I do not write down our moves, as our games our purely for leisure purposes only (yeah, right). So I cannot give you the moves of this game for the ages :) It did, however, seem to attract a great deal of attention whilst we were playing away. Our seats were 22 A and B, the last seats at the end of the plane on the left side. The bathrooms are just behind. Across from us (going to Las Vegas and back), on the right side of the plane are three seats and on both trips those seats were occupied by parents with small human-like creatures that I believe are called children. Noisy, smelly creatures with soft-looking skin and bare feet, given to screaming outbursts and throwing food and other things about for no discernable reason. The little smelly, noisy creatures seem to be particularly fascinated by chess, and during Game 4, so were a myriad number of people who lingered over our seats watching the game between Mr. Don and I as they waited for the bathrooms to become available :) Thus goes my chess training...

Shira Chess Challenge: Graduation Day for Class 2!

Photo: Some of the kids at the Portugal orphanage during a lesson with Shira about the Leapster. IT'S GRADUATION DAY!!!!! The children of the second class at the orphanage in Portugal have reached graduation day after completing the classes on how to use their Leapsters. Every child gets a certificate for her/his accomplishment. While it's a brief video and choppy - mine lost sound toward the end (don't know if it's a computer thing or a video thing) - it is evident that the children cherish receiving their certificates of graduation, even if they try to act cool like they don't care. (You Tube video) I admit it - I'm a softy. This video chokes me up. Portugal was the last stop on the calendar for the Computer Labs for Kids Foundation this year. But a whole new schedule is being put together for 2010. As you can imagine, there is more need out there in that big old beautiful world of ours than there are Shiras to help fill those needs. Where will Shira go? Which kids, out of so many with so much need, will be visited by the Computer Labs for Kids? Stay tuned. Shira hasn't realized it yet but I've permanently attached her to my left hip! So when she knows, I'll know, and I'll pass the information along to you, darlings! AND ----- Shira and I are cooking up something -- don't know if anything will come of it, we'll see. I'll be meeting with my primary Goddesschess partners next week in Las Vegas (celebrating my birthday - I'm officially turning 39 again) and I'll put forth my ideas to them. If they approve (I will relentlessly browbeat them until they do) then we'll be researching for some suitable opportunities -- I will soon be starting a third full-time career. OY! In the meantime, that three-game chess match between Shira the Relentless and JanXena the Chess Incompetent is coming up fast!

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Class 2 Nearly Finished

It's getting close to the endof Shira's Portugal classes, darlings! Here is a You Tube video that Shira forwarded from the orphanage, an overview of the work she has done with the children. Tomorrow I'll post the video of the graduation of Class 2! Soooo- how is my training going for the three games Shira and I are going to play? In a word - okay, I'm not going to type that here, LOL! My coach, Chessdaddy (a/k/a Kelly Atkins of Chessville.com fame), has - I think - temporarily called a truce in our respective styles of playing chess. Not, of course, that I have a "style" per se, I only think I do :) Be that as it may, Chessdaddy and I have traded enough barbed communiques in the short course of our first training game (I believe we're now on move 6?) to blow up the house wherein a certain person is rumoured to reside - well, never mind. I must stay cool, calm and collected, and play chess with my substantial (ahem) intellect rather than my even more abundant (gross understatement) emotional instincts. In which case, the Earth would have long since been reduced to a burnt out cinder... It is not for nothing The Chief called me "Patton." I'm losing three of my current games and I'm certain that Chess Daddy has some nefarious scheme up his sleeve to crush me into minced garlic or something similar in our (my fourth) game. If I were not such an ethical person, I'd cheat against him! Oh yes, I would. That's an awful thing to say, isn't it. I'd do three Mea Culpas if I felt guilty about the thought - BUT I DO NOT. However, I do not own any chessplaying programs since my 1999 bootlegged copy of a certain very popular progam that shall remain nameless died after I upgraded to this now six year old desk-top. Oy! I'm too cheap (may as well be blunt about it) to purchase a new chessplaying program that I can use to cheat. I do, however, look back fondly on playing a certain chess entity identified as "Bobby Fischer" in that old program and actually lasting 19 whole moves. To quote Miss Elizabeth Bennet from the fabulous 1995 A&E production of "Pride and Prejudice", "So you see, it's a hopeless case." LOL! Please visit Computer Labs 4 Kids. Check out the Foundation's work and if the spirit behooves ye, please make a contribution to a most worthy cause.

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Class 2 Day 3

Direct from Shira -- Hello, Today we had our last official class and graduation for our second group of children at the orphanage here in Portugal! (Video at You Tube) I will be back next week to answer their questions and help a few children who couldn't make it today. Before I leave Portugal, I'll be sending out a summary video of the project which will tell more about the children here and my plans for next year. Thank you very much for following along. Sincerely, Shira

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Class 2 Day 2

Hola! Regular followers know that my chess friend, Shira Evans, is currently visiting an orphanage in Portugal, teaching the children there so many amazing things! Shira has put up a new You Tube video showing some of the events surrounding Class 2 on Day 2. The joy of discovery (the Leapster devices) and the joy of discovering how to use the Leapster is evident in the face of each and every child as they work through the lessons Shira leads. Please follow along as the children learn how to express themselves by drawing a picture on a Leapster screen -- Shira is the founder and President of Computer Labs for Kids, a non-profit organization, that provides laptops and age-appropriate electronic tools, as well as lessons on how to use them, to indigent children around the world. Shira hasn't played "serious" chess for awhile, but a few years ago, she had a rating in excess of 1700 and was one of the highest-rated (maybe the highest-rated) female players in the state of Wyoming. And then, she made a decision to quit playing, except for an occasional pick-up game, as she focused on her career. That career led Shira to Chicago where she was involved in a program that provided computers to schools serving under-privileged children. Out of that experience grew Shira's desire to do more for kids in need. The same drive and determination that compelled Shira to excel in chess have been applied to the Computer Labs for Kids Foundation. Since January, 2009, Shira has visited orphanages in India (Agra), Israel (Ashkelon), and now she is in Portugal. At each of these places Shira has provided lessons to the children on how to care for and use the lap-top computers and Leapsters she has distributed to them, free of charge. Needless to say, the program has been a big hit with the children! You can read more about Shira's Foundation and how I first met Shira (and then reconnected with her after several years) by clicking on the labels for this post. By the way, that photo is of the Cheyenne Chess Club, 2005. Shira is the tall, fashionably attired chess femme wearing the checkerboard-patterned jeans on the right in the group photo. That year she finished in a solid 9th place (out of 19 players) in the 2nd Tri-State Championship with 2.0/4. Shira and I are going to play a three-game chess match - just for fun for ourselves, and also we hope to raise some money for Shira's Computer Labs for Kids. Please follow along as our chess match looms ever closer - I'm blogging about it.

Shira Chess Challenge: Portgugal Class 2 Begins

Shira Evans has sent news from the Pirilampos orphanage in Olhos D’Água, Portugal. The class for the second group of the children has begun! Here's a video. The kids are so cute :) Shira's endeavor warranted an article in the local English-language newspaper, too. Shira sent a pdf of the article, I copied it here (since I have no idea if I can or how to post a PDF here): From the Algarve Resident (local English-language newspaper) American charity working with Algarve orphanage Friday, August 7, 2009 by LIZ GRIFFITHS liz.griffiths@mmspublishing.com Charity Computer Lab for Kids, which introduces young children to technology, has arrived in the Algarve. Computer Lab for Kids is currently working with children at the Pirilampos orphanage in Olhos D’Água, where the orphans will work with a children-friendly laptop, Leapster, on which they will be able to learn English and basic computer skills. Founder and president of Computer Lab for Kids, Shira Evans, told the Algarve Resident: "I selected the Leapster because of its popularity with children in the United States. The Leapster’s activities have built-in tutorials and adapt automatically to the child’s skill level. "Orphans, unlike other children, have limited access to expensive toys and computers, so we feel the need to provide something fun and educational," she said. The course is also aimed at helping the children become more confident and responsible."Our course is especially designed to increase self-esteem and responsibility," Shira Evans said. "Each child learns to be responsible for their own equipment by carefully going over how to handle the Leapster, troubleshooting techniques and other basics." On completion of the course, each child receives a certificate and their own Leapster computer, which enables them to continue to build on their skills and confidence in technology. Shira has been able to bring Computer Lab for Kids to the Algarve with the help of translator Reinier Hoeke, local advisors Hilde West and Pauline Van Wees and photographer Orlando Soria. Shira, who has previous experience working for Microsoft as a Regional Lead in California, decided to create the charity while setting up computer labs in the poorest schools in Chicago. "I noticed how much putting computers into the hands of children brightened their faces. I decided at that time it would be wonderful to set up a charity organisation that did just that – give technology to children who otherwise wouldn’t have it." Shira has also worked with two other orphanages this year in the Gaza strip in Israel and at an orphanage in Agra in India. "Everywhere I’ve been, the children have loved the programme and been very excited about participating and earning their computers," Shira Evans said. "The best feedback I’ve had has been the smiles and laughter. It’s a truly rewarding cause and I hope to do many, many more." Please visit Computer Labs for Kids at Facebook and the Computer Labs for Kids website. Details soon about the upcoming three-game chess match between Shira and Yours Truly.

Shira Chess Challenge: Training Update!

Ohmygoddess, I'm exhausted, darlings! I have four chess training games currently going on. One of those games is with Chessdaddy, our first training game - barely started. That man is mean! MEAN! Ah, the first move of the Petrov defense... You MUST memorize some opening lines otherwise you'll never stand a chance of getting to a middle game, let alone an end game... Do you want to lose... The Petrov allows you to equalize taking each other's pawns and clearing out the center of the board, but THAT move was off-book. It is a mistake...(I only took the fricking pawn and he moves his Queen out like her shit doesn't stink. Read my lips - I'm not scared.) He paid no attention to my tentative opening comments, I made this move because of this (x-y-z). We're up to like four moves? And I thought I was the one who had watched "Searching for Bobby Fischer" too many times! OY! I think Chessdaddy is a BAD teacher. His approach is to to attempt to beat me down into nothingness (as dramatized by the Bruce Pandolfini character in the movie relentlessly beating down the Josh Waitzkin character) and then he'll try to recreate me out of whatever ashes are left. I tell ya, Chessdaddy, THAT AIN'T GONNA WORK ON THIS CHESS CHICK. I'm thinking now I am going to throw this game and then fire Chessdaddy's butt once and for all for yelling at me. Mean Chessdaddy, MEAN!

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Class 1 Graduates!

Shira has sent news (very early this morning) about her latest undertaking at Pire Lampo Orphanage in Olhos D' Agua, Portugal where she is giving a two week course to the kids on behalf of her Foundation, Computerlabs for Kids! The first group of kids (Class 1) has graduated from Shira's tutorledge! Check out the video at You Tube. This photo: Shira giving a lesson to the kids. How intent they are! Even the fellow I assume is the translator (the older gentleman in the back) is paying rapt attention! Here is a photo of the happy graduating class! You can check our more photos of the kids in Class 1 at this photo album posted by Shira. Enjoy! Training Update: Errr, I am not doing too well (what's new, heh?) LOL! S76 did not respond to my invitation to play a second game - probably thought it wasn't worth his or her time/effort to play me! My probational rating is currently 1075 (one starts out at 1200). I will not receive a permanent rating until I have completed 20 games. Frog Breath has reappeared - we are now on move 22 of our game. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing in this game. I think I am pressing - overthinking. Usually I don't think at all when I play chess, I just play. Probably not a good idea, though. Duh, Jan! To all you kids out there - THIS IS NOT THE WAY YOU SHOULD BE PLAYING CHESS! Take it from me. I'm a grown up, I know. Oh, the irony, the irony... I need to hustle up some new games. Chessdaddy has gone underground (I think he has now realized just exactly the extent of what it was he so cavalierly volunteered to undertake a scant month ago and is now hiding from me). Well - he says he's working 14 hours a day. Now honestly, in this economy, WHO is working 14 hours a day? Geez! Darling, the least you can do is come up with a more original fib :) (Since Chessdaddy doesn't read this blog, he'll never know I said that, tee hee).

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Day 4

Hola darlings! Email from Shira, providing more details about Computer Labs for Kids' latest charitable assignment and background information. Enjoy! Hello Everyone, I thought I'd send out a little more information about what I am doing here in Portugal. For those of you who just want a quick look at today's class, here is the You Tube link. I am in Olhos D' Agua, Portugal giving a two week course to the Pire Lampo orphanage. The course is on the Leapster, which is a handheld learning device designed for young children. My goal is to introduce young children to technology which will help them learn English and basic computing skills. I use computers that are age appropriate. For the Pire Lampo orphanage, I selected the Leapster because of it's popularity with children and in United States. The Leapster's activities have built-in tutorials and adapt automatically to the child's skill level. Orphans, unlike other children, have limited access to expensive toys and computers, so we feel the need to provide something that is both fun and educational. Our course is especially designed to increase self-esteem and responsibility. The course topics include what it means to be an owner. Each child learns to be responsible for their own equipment by carefully going over how to handle the Leapster, troubleshooting techniques, and other basics. At the end of the course they receive their own Leapster and a certificate of completion. The Pire Lampo class is divided into two groups. The first group graduates tomorrow, July 31st. The second group starts on August 10th nd will graduate on August 13th. More information on the Leapster Computer Labs for Kids Computer Labs for Kids at Facebook You Tube links: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 I have also finished two other projects this year - one with a group of children near the Gaza Strip in Israel and another at an orphanage in Agra, India. Israel Video India Video Thank you very much for following along with the Computer Labs for Kids projects. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the replies I've received, and I appreciate so much your encouragement. Shira

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Day 3

Hola everyone! Shira has posted a new video at You Tube. The lessons have commenced! Photo: Shira giving a lesson to the kids using her laptop (from Day 3). If you look at the video, you'll see that Shira speaks in English, and what she says is translated into Spanish for the kids. These children look a little older. The lessons for the kids are geared toward their ages - it's not one size fits all. Training Update: Well, I know I shouldn't be posting this information - the ENEMY is reading it! But - what the heck. Here is the "best" game (I use that term advisedly) that I have had so far at Red Hot Pawn. This is the one that I resigned from last night: [Event "Open invite"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2009.06.24"] [EndDate "2009.07.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Shakerjan"] [Black "soheil76"] [WhiteRating "1075"] [BlackRating "1530"] [WhiteELO "1075"] [BlackELO "1530"] [Result "0-1"] [GameId "6445332"] 1. e4 d5 2. Nb1c3 d4 3. Nc3d5 c6 4. Nd5f4 e5 5. Nf4d3 Bf8d6 6. a3 Bc8e67. Ng1f3 Be6g4 8. Bf1e2 Nb8d7 9. b4 Ng8f6 10. Nf3xe5 Bg4xe2 11. Ne5xf7 Be2xd112. Nf7xd8 Ra8xd8 13. Ke1xd1 Nf6xe4 14. Rh1e1 Nd7f6 15. f3 O-O 16. fxe4 Bd6xh217. e5 Nf6d5 18. Nd3c5 b6 19. Nc5e6 Rd8e8 20. Ne6xf8 Kg8xf8 21. e6 h522. Bc1b2 c5 23. b5 Bh2g3 24. Re1e4 Nd5f4 25. d3 Nf4xe6 26. a4 Ne6f427. Re4xe8 Kf8xe8 28. Kd1d2 h4 29. c3 dxc3 30. Bb2xc3 g5 31. a5 Nf4xg2 32. axb6 axb6 33. Ra1a8 Ke8d7 34. d4 Bg3d6 35. d5 h3 36. Ra8g8 h237. Rg8h8 Ng2h4 38. Rh8h7 Bd6e7 39. Kd2e3 h1=Q 40. Bc3e5 Qh1xd5 0-1 My game with PC (last night I erroneously posted PC's name as CP, I corrected it without comment in that prior post) is going forward. PC has already rolled out a bishop. I believe this is - er - usual - in this position? LOL! Well, I looked at the board (we're on like move 4) and I thought I should roll out my bishop too - but then I realized that THAT move would be totally mirroring what PC is doing. So - did I do it, just for the heck of it? You know, psychology of chess and all that jazz. Or just maybe because it was the best move I could find with my limited understanding of the game? Noooooooo. I moved out my other knightess instead. LOL! BTW, I messaged Soheil76 (see game above) and asked if he or she would be interested in another game - I desperately need more practice! Honestly, I've no idea how many games I can fit in between now and when Shira and I will face off (Labor Day weekend) - but I need them all. Studying data bases doesn't do it for me. Hands on (and repeating the same mistakes over and over and over until something finally something clicks - or snaps and I go totally insane) is the way I work when it comes to chess. My training regime now includes watching "Searching for Bobby Fischer" every Saturday evening. Poor Mr. Don - he has no idea what he's going to be in for when he arrives here on August 15th. I'm going to have him tied up to a chessboard every single second! Oooooh, that kind of sounds kinky :)

Shira Chess Challenge: Portugal Day 2

Shira has posted a new video at You Tube! Fourteen photos Shira posted at her MobileMe Gallery from Day 1 at the orphanage. As you can see from the photos, the kids at the orphanage are all ages and all races. Training Update: Tonight I resigned my game with Soheil76. S76 had succeeded in promoting a pawn - I tried but failed to get mine moving despite sacrificing two (I had 4 going into the end game). S76 promoted to a Queen and promptly sucked up a pawn. My remaining pieces were misplaced, the Queen was ready to grab my remaining bishop and, frankly, I didn't want to waste any more time on that hopeless game. I may have been able to prolong things for a few more moves but I was outgunned and don't have the skills to pull some game-saving moves out of my hat (if there were any). Looking back, I'm actually amazed it lasted as long as it did! I would post the moves here, but unfortunately I do not have the ability to copy the moves from the review board - I believe it is because I have not subscribed to a premium membership at Red Hot Pawn. That really sucks! That means I have to write them down - and I ALWAYS make transcription errors so I don't bother to do that, it's a hopeless cause with my bad eyesight and developing old age dyslexia. Frog Breath has not moved in his or her game, but my new game with PC has started. Tonight I made my second move - I moved a knight out. Last time I did that - oh how painful it is to remember, yech! - I got slaughtered. But it still seemed a natural move to make, and so I made it. Data bases be damned! This is supposed to be fun, and I'm not going to kid myself into believing that I can turn from a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-patzer into a chess star :) LOL! Actually, I have been having some fun, so I'll suck it up and gird my ego and continue down my chosen path. TO MY CHESS DESTINY....OY! I've been thinking about dying my hair Flame Orange for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Wonder if I can find a pick-up game outside the Rio? I know money is tight, things are BAD out there in the real world. But I ask you to please consider donating to Computer Labs for Kids. Shira is doing good work, one kid at a time.

Shira Chess Challenge: Update

Hola darlings! More news from Shira at the orphanage in Portugal: The Lessons Have Begun! Check out Shira's Day One video at You Tube. The kids are so cute! After successfully learning the parts of the Leapster, they each receive a Leapster of their own in a special ceremony. The final few seconds is very special - one of the older girls is showing a younger girl how to use the stylus. Here is Shira's Chesslabs for Kids' Facebook Cause site, where you can find the Day 1 Photo Album. Note - I got a script error message when I clicked on the Photo Album page, but after clicking on it a few times it went away and the photos showed up. I don't know if it's just this balky computer (it's practically an antique now, I got it in 2003). There are 14 of them, you can get a pretty good idea of the kids, the place where they are, and some of the caretakers. There are wee little babies, too. Training Update: I am in serious trouble in my end game with Soleil76. Crap! I am just so STOOPID sometimes. I overlook the most elementary moves that the other side can make to block all my best made plans. I have no strategic skills whatsoever. BIG SIGH. On a happier note, although I feel badly rejected by the no response from the third person I had earlier invited to a game (I conclude I wasn't enough of a challenge, heh!), I received a new invitation from another person who has been following the story here, at the blog! Yippee! So I am very happy to play, although this person will probably use me to wipe up the computer screen. Hey - practice is practice, right? LOL! My game with Frog Breath is totally out of my control. I just moved my Queenside rook (now I'm minus my Queen) to a center file in a bid to threaten suicide penetration. It seems we're in an end game and we didn't even get out of the beginning. I definitely think Frog Breath is Shirov. I think I may throw a little of my "Moro" at him and play something totally crazy. Well, on second thought, that won't work. I already play crazy as it is. Hmmm, back to the drawing board... Liz Vicary - do you read this blog? Can you HELP me??? You teach kids about chess. Surely you can take on a woman of a certain age (ahem) who has delusions of grandeur (me). Do I really need to study those blasted data bases Chessdaddy sent me??? Oh Goddess!