Although you’ll be hard-pressed to find many pastors (or people) out there who would admit that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is their favorite film of all time, I am not your typical pastor nor do I like to think of myself as your typical person. When it comes to chess, there is much evidence to support the position that I might be the world’s worst chess player. I have become accustomed to losing just in some of the most interesting and depressing ways over the past few years and I thought I have learned to deal with the trauma that can arise from such an experience, but last Wednesday’s tournament OTB game reminded me of how devastating it can be to make a mistake in a game where I put so much time, effort, energy, and focus. In essence, Wednesday night was an opportunity for me to experience my own Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
As many of you know, I have been playing in my first series of OTB tournaments a few months back, but had to take a break to finish some school and other personal projects. These projects also contributed to the lack of posts here on Campfire Chess, but I digress. Playing in the July edition of this tournament was a last-minute decision, so there was a little bit of hesitation on my part for returning. However, I know that the best way to improve is to continue to play. Unfortunately, my return to OTB play was the stuff of nightmares. Rarely do I go into these situations expecting a win because very few of the players involved in these tournaments are rated anywhere near where I perform. Most of them are the master level or higher including a resident International Master and occasional visits from Grandmasters, which I have written about in the past. However, I can say that I never expected what happened this past Wednesday night. To say that it was traumatic betrays the depth of the experience.
I lost a game in eight moves although I played through to 12 moves for a combined total board time of around 14 minutes. Looking back on things, I realized that it was a simple mistake that ended the game so quickly whether it was rushing or simply not surveying the more properly. It has taken me a few days to get over it, but I have written some commentary on this atrocious game and decided to share it with my Campfire Chess audience. Now, for your viewing pleasure I present to you around one of MHCC July 2016.
[pgn]
[Event “MHCC July 2016”]
[Site “Methodist Hosp”]
[Date “2016.07.06”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “Gary Zintgraff”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C63”]
[WhiteElo “100”]
[BlackElo “1727”]
[PlyCount “24”]
[EventDate “2016.??.??”]
[Source “Campfire Chess”]
[SourceDate “2014.10.11”]
1. e4 {Nothing really special here. Typical opening move for me.} e5 {A
typical response. Nothing really going on here.} 2. Nf3 {Playing for a Ruy
Lopez opening. Not terribly exciting. I was not interested in trying anything
crazy since I had not played an OTB game in a couple of months.} Nc6 {Black
responds in kind.} 3. Bb5 {Ruy Lopez opening now in full-force. Again, not too
much going on here at this point. I believe that only 5 minutes or so had
elapsed on the clock.} f5 {I liked this move. It was tempting to take with the
e-pawn, which is well within the book. However, I wanted to develop a little
more before lunging into some crazy attack considering that my opponent was
rated some 4-billion percent higher than me.} 4. Nc3 {Reinforcing my e4
position.} Nf6 {Now we’re starting to get somewhere. Black doubles down on my
e-pawn. This made the f5 pawn look much more appetizing at this point.} 5. exf5
{This is a very nice position. I felt confident about moving forward, but was
also cautious…or so I thought…} e4 {Another good move. I liked the way in
which my opponent pressed for advantage but was not forcing anything. This
move was something I had considered when planning exf5 and I had devised a
counter to protect the knight long enough to get out of the way.} 6. Qe2 {
The pawn is pinned to the King and the knight is protected for now.} Qe7 {
The pin is countered and the knight is no longer protected. There are several
options here, but Black is slowly gaining an advantage.} 7. Ng5 {Given the
circumstances, this seemed to be the best way to counter an attack on the f3
knight without retreating to the first rank.} Nd4 $1 {I missed this move and
it shocked me because it is deadly in a number of ways. I was on the cusp of
losing a rook and possibly more if I did not find a way to counter it. I
thought for a few minutes, focusing on a way to avoid the upcoming assault
while trying to execute my continued development plan.} 8. Bc4 $4 {I cannot
imagine a single move in the years I have been working on my chess that I wish
I could take back more. This is the KING OF BLUNDERS. I can see myself making
a move like this if I were in diapers or something, but this was simply
unacceptable. What’s worse is that I STILL did not see the blunder after I
moved the bishop until my opponent made his next move.} Nxe2 $3 {My heart
stopped. I started sweating, and I felt an intense urge to run out of the room
screaming at the top of my lungs. Less than 12 minutes had elapsed on the
clock and this game was over before I even had a chance to crack the lid on my
Diet Coke. The subsequent moves are a case study in the deterioration of chess
playing ability following a significant psychological trauma.} 9. Nd5 {A
desperate play for c7+.} Nxd5 {Nope. The knight is gone. I was just looking
for a good point to end it all at this time.} 10. Bxd5 {Hoping to push to f7+.}
Qxg5 {Nope. Another KNIGHT is history and my NIGHT is almost over.} 11. h4 {
Pointless pawn development. Just looking for a reason to move pieces.} Qxg2 {
I would have made this move when I was 600 on Chess.com. The end is nigh.} 12.
Kxe2 {Trading the rook for the knight is not something I would normally do,
but this game was over on move 8…} Qxh1 {I resigned after approximately 14
minutes of total gameplay and 12 moves. The worst chess performance I can ever
remember. Although it was devastating, it was a reminder not to get complacent
and most importantly, not to give up because I left the room prepared to burn
everything I owned related to chess.} 0-1
[/pgn]
Unfortunately, my desire to try again this week has been postponed because of a sick child. As always, family comes first. Therefore, I will have to wait until next week for an opportunity to redeem myself with a reasonable loss.
