[Event "Morra Gambit master norm"]
[Site "SchemingMind.com"]
[Date "2009.09.14"]
[Round "-"]
[White "john1960uk"]
[Black "TimeOnTarget"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B21n"]
[WhiteCountry "ENG"]
[BlackCountry "USA"]
[WhiteElo "1995"]
[WhiteRD "79"]
[BlackElo "1833"]
[BlackRD "107"]
[GameID "219491"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4
{
TimeOnTarget: I just got back into town and saw you made it into the mini tournament.  Excellent.  I took three books on the Smith Morra and the c3 Sicilian with me this weekend.  I planned to sit down somewhere really peaceful with a board and read through them.  Once we got there, I decided I should go running and screaming after the 12-year old boy with no judgment on the the ATV instead.
}
3. c3
{
john1960uk: Sounds like fun though :-) so you back here refreshed with a clear head ;-)
}
3... e5
{
TimeOnTarget: It was fun.  Although I was a bit displeased with the boy, I couldn't find it in myself to lower the hammer and not let him drive the thing--he was having too much fun and I found myself thinking what I would be doing if it were me at that age.  Plus, the biggest safety concern was flipping.  I gave him a pretty good lesson on when they flip, why, and how to avoid doing it. (It also had a pretty good roll bar system.) He actually seemed to remember and follow what I told him.  Since normally him listening is rare and doing what he is told rarer still,  I was willing to overlook the more minor offenses-- like chasing cows and deliberately going through puddles to splash his cousins (and it did look kind of fun).  I was kind of braced for the type of behavior I was going to be seeing from him at this age.  It is some of the unexpected little things that have really galled me.  A couple of weeks ago I was going to take out the recycling and noticed a Dr Pepper can appeared to be mostly full.  Not wanting to pour a bunch soda pop with sugar into the big recycling container --thereby attract ants, bees, etc. -- I took the can back inside to rinse out in the kitchen sink.  I'm looking out the window as I start pouring and a very peculiar and unpleasant smell hits me--the smell of 3 day old urine.  I look down to see that I am pouring aged urine all over a sink full of dirty dishes.  My reaction was less than smooth--I jerked and some of it sloshed in the next sink over-- which had clean dishes that just needed rinsing and one bit landed on the clean dishes drying on the counter.  Doing dishes is not something I enjoy nor that I do very often.  (Rule of Cohabitation No. 6:  The less you pretend you know how to do, the less you will have to do.)  In this case, the reason for all the dishes in the sink was the dishwasher was full.  I'm so disgusted by this I wind up putting up all the dishes in the dishwasher, then loading and running 2 more dishwasher loads --everything on the counter and in the sinks-- twice each.  He has his own bathroom--probably less than 20 steps away.  I'm pretty outraged and I call my wife and she is totally unconcerned and just laughs.  I remind her that she was plenty mad at him when she found a bottle of frozen urine in our freezer--that was "different" because it was with the food--hah!  The only reason it was different was because I cleaned up the piss dishes.  I wouldn't have been mad about the frozen urine at all:  It would have just brought back fond memories for me.  When I was in college, shortly before the winter break, my roommate returned drunk at about 2 am and proceeded to ralph in our trash can.  The horrible smell wakes me up, so I take the thing outside.  There it stays for several days.  I'm one of the last ones to leave for break because of the way my exam days fell.  Shortly before I am going to leave, I happen to observe a guy I didn't like leave for break (his nickname was "Noah" because he had called the guy who was paid to keep order in the dorm without first just asking them to turn down there music, hence the large metal trash can filled with water against his door--his descriptions of the "Great Flood" to anyone who would listen resulting in the nickname "Noah.")  Anyway, after Noah leaves, I decide to clean up a bit before I take off.  No trash can.  I remember and go to get it from outside.  In the bottom of it is an inch to an inch and a half of frozen puke.  It just so happens that Noah's door has a pretty good sized gap between it and the floor.  So, I knock out the frozen puke, which stays in a nice circle, and slide it under Noah's door, way back into his room (no carpet).  We called that one the "Pukesicle."  It was funny--Noah was very quiet and innocuous all spring semester--never caused anyone any problems. 
}
4. Nf3
{
john1960uk: Sounds like a potentially great weekend. I always found that despite the odd 'wind up' the fun I can get watching kids enjoy their selves makes up for most things :-)The Student stories can be horrific to people who haven't experienced that environment :-0 The way we lived at that stage of our lives it's sometimes suprising that we survived without longterm illness or disease ;-)
}
4... Nc6
{
TimeOnTarget: If I had known how much fun kids were, I would have wanted them a lot sooner.  An occasional break from the always having to be responsible mode would be nice--given that was my normal mode until a few years ago . . . .
Thinking back on those years from the late teens through the mid-20s, you just kind of shake your head and simultaneously laugh, wipe your brow with relief that you are not still in prison, and wish you could go back, kind of.  I think there is a very good reason that all armies want 18 year old boys--they will do anything and not give it much thought beforehand.  
}
5. cxd4
{
john1960uk: Now we can play reckless chess!! :o)
}
5... exd4
{
TimeOnTarget: Reckless chess is good, but I do occasionally miss the thrill and challenge of doing stuff like "steam tunneling."  At my college they had their own pretty big boiler plant and all these tunnels for steam pipes (primarily) that ran everywhere.  When you showed up as a Freshman, as a part of your orientation you got a big lecture from the Disciplinary Dean, who informed everyone that if you were caught in the steam tunnels, the penalty was permanent expulsion.  Of course, I immediately thought, "those things must be damn fun!"  Within a week I had found a way to get into one of the tunnels.  Most of the entrances (really a terminal point in a building) they had what literally looked like prison bars, locked, and chained and locked, behind an already locked door in the basement of some of the buildings.  I finally found a way in--through through the medical and nursing school quarantine lab (they didn't like you going in there either), at the back and in kind of a loading or maintenance area it had a kind of a waist high square hole in the wall that you had to step through (high enough where there would not be any accidental traffic).  The square hole in the middle of the wall had a "door," but it wasn't locked.  As you probably surmised, it took a bit looking to find an entrance that I could get through (I later found others).  But, I was on a mission . . . .  I worried about the risk just long enough to deduce that it was actually a virtually risk free activity.  If someone caught me in one of the steam tunnels, well, what exactly were they going to do then?  Because if I didn't go willingly, there wasn't anybody that could possibly make me go with them  (their security guards didn't have guns).  So, I figured if I got "caught" it would be, whichever way you go, I'm going the other way.  By the end of my sophomore year, I knew them like the back of my hand and was shameless about using them.  If it was raining and I had a straight line tunnel (didn't have to go through plant operations to another tunnel) I would use the tunnel and just pop up out the manhole cover nearest the building my class was in--this was of great interest to the other students walking along.) By the end of my senior year, I had developed a certain amount of notoriety and even gave a couple of "group" tours, one of which turned out unbelievably well--eight of us, all quite drunk, had to squeeze past the operator at plant operations who had decided to take a nap with his feet up and a chair tilted back right at the top of the stairs  going from the tunnel to the plant operations main floor.  (The stairs which were perpendicular to the tunnel direction with a concrete barrier to keep vehicles from accidently finding the drop to the tunnels. Most of the tunnels were straight runs to plant operations, where you had to sneak through to another tunnel entrance--they spread out in all directions along the wall of the main floor of plant ops.)  There was quite literally only an inch or two to spare between the sleeping operator's head and the wall, so we did it one by one, everyone fighting back laughing the whole time, and made it over to the entrance to another tunnel--ran about 100 yards down it and then we had to stop and just laugh for about 15 minutes before we got enough of a grip to move on.  I would absolutely kill to have a video tape of it now.  Talking about it right after we got past, we all had the same thought--it was like we were in a cartoon.  Oh well, maybe I should go back to the next big class reunion and do it again-- getting expelled worries me even less now!  Have a good one.
}
6. Nxd4
{
john1960uk: Sounds like fun,as well as the basis for a good book. ;-)
}
6... Bb4+
{
TimeOnTarget: I really wish I could come up with something like "Candid Camera" where it was my job to sit around and think up mischief all day.  I didn't even have to think up the steam tunnels though--it was almost like they handled it the way they did for the express purpose of getting people like me to seek them out and use them as much as possible.  As far as covering distance, they were about the most inefficient way you could possibly do it, but being forbidden and all . . . . , it was like an especially cool playground for 4 years, open only weekends after 2am until 5am.  Makes me wonder about the intelligence of those running the place to handle it like that . . . . Let's make sure they know about them and make them incredibly alluring . . . . Once some friends and I saw a funky (square) door overhead rather than the normal  manhole cover.  I slipped it back, poked my head up and almost got it taken off.  They had this giant pendulum with an arm at rooftop level (7 or 8 stories), a big wire rope, and a steel ball secured at the end of it (noticeably bigger than a bowling ball, but that general size--but steel).  It swung back and forth in this kind of narrow, totally enclosed courtyard.  There were no doors to the courtyard, but it had a giant glass window inside the Science building near the entrance so that you could look at it.  Or, if you happened to find how to get to the metal door directly beneath the ball, stop it, take turns sitting on the ball, and having your friends push you. (We kind of got lucky, we really weren't looking for it, just saw the odd door.) I'm thinking it was probably the world's most sophisticated swing.  We later guessed they might have been using it for something other than as a swing, perhaps something involving measurements (well, OK, we kind of suspected it at the time too, however we were rather buzzed, and not particularly interested in  measurements or data at the moment).  When we left, we tried to start it back up like it was going before.  We went to check how it looked on Monday morning and we thought it looked just fine, but they seemed to notice a difference.   Shortly after we did our late night swinging, the door/access beneath it disappeared--either they got rid of it entirely or they covered it with a bunch more of the golf ball size stone that was everywhere else in the courtyard--which would have made opening it from below difficult, or in any event, painful.  Plus, you couldn't find it anymore--you would often spot stuff like manhole covers overhead by the tiny bit of light let in.  The tunnels were not conducive to gazing overhead as you walked along--for one thing the lighting was just bulbs that stuck out periodically and that you could easily hit if you weren't watching where you were going.  So, unfortunately, we only got to do that once. I bet college administrators at times feel like I did when I emptied the Dr Pepper can with my 12 year old boy's little yellow surprise inside all over the dishes--"Why in the hell would they/he do that???"  I know at graduation, they felt the same kind of bewildered disgust that I felt at while emptying the Dr Pepper can--I could see it in their eyes as they shook hands with me.  It was actually nothing dirty like piss--I just had a very healthy amount of Vaseline on my hand.  But, I know that they were wondering what it was the rest of the graduation ceremony--I did have the courtesy to warn my fellow students behind me to not be unduly alarmed when they shook hands after me--much dramatic groaning, but they were good sports.  Watching the very sudden change in facial expressions was genuinely funny, so funny that I decided to do it for Law School graduation too.  It so happened that the Chancellor of the University at that time, Donna Shalala, went on to to become one of President Clinton's Cabinet Members.  I had great fun explaining to anyone that would listen that she knew me--might not remember my name, but she would definitely remember me.  She was the first handshake (and therefore got the most Vaseline) and the change in her expression was so dramatic you would have thought she had been shot or something.  Apparently she was not expecting it.  This twit sitting next to me saw me greasing my hand up and felt compelled to ask me "Do you really think it is appropriate to shake the Chancellor of the University and Dean of the Law School's hands with Vaseline in yours?"  So, for a moment I acted a bit puzzled, then reflective, and then asked him back trying to act genuinely interested in the issue and in his answer-- "When would it ever be appropriate to shake anyone's hand with Vaseline in yours?" I was sure sorry he was the person in front of me rather than the person behind.  . . . . .This game looks like it is going to have some major league tactical stuff going on right from the get go.
}
{
TimeOnTarget: Sorry about the windy stories on the Steam Tunnels--I still get a kick out of them.  I had a chance to meet the Texas Governor.  Turns out that his son was going to the same school I went to, so the Governor got to hear about the steam tunnels too (he declined my offer to tell his son how he could get into them).  My wife fared even worse.  While we were still dating, I not only gave her a detailed blow by blow description, I dug out one of my yearbooks that has a picture of one (and a description of the expulsion admonishment) to help her visualize better--I finally quit when I noticed her head nodding and her eyes closing and snapping back open--she was so polite to me back then!
}
7. Nc3
{
john1960uk: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... uhh?? oh it's check :o) really sorry I couldn't resist it after your comment about your wife's reaction :o)It actually sounds great could have had loads of fun with those tunnels!
}
7... Nf6
{
TimeOnTarget: I got myself curious describing them to you.  I started looking on the internet for stuff, but haven't found anything yet.  I did find a that the Science Center now has a helpful "ask a librarian" service.  So, I asked a question-- I'm an old alum, remember this pendulum thing, what in the hell was that for?  Is it still there?  etc.
}
{
TimeOnTarget: You can see the little courtyard place where it swung in an areal photo--It it basically just an enclosed gap in the building.  But, you can't really see anything.  If I had a swing that good, I'd be putting pictures of it up to lure the prospective college students . . . . 
}
8. Nxc6
{
john1960uk: It wasn't Foucault's Pendulum was it? :-)Here goes nothing with my knight! ;-)John.
}
8... Bxc3+
{
TimeOnTarget: It sure sounds like it might have been.  I wasn't familiar with Foucault's Pendulum, so I looked it up online.  What I found said: "This book has it all! Mystery[yes], thriller[yes], suspense[yes], world history [none that I found, but I didn't look everywhere], masons [of course to build the tunnels], world conspiracy[to keep me out of the tunnels], voodoo[that curse they tried to put on them didn't scare me], magic [it must have seemed like magic to those doctors when at about 4am on a Friday or Saturday night my buddy Dave and I went up a flight of stairs that led only to a door we had never seen before in the basement of the Old Hospital (we usually took the series of ramps that they had connecting all the lower levels) and found ourselves in the middle of this room of like 20 doctors-- all sitting around the perimeter, it was kind of weird--after a few moments of us contemplating each other, one of them said "can we help you" and I said "yeah, where is the exit?"], computers trying to reproduce the true name of God, jewish mysticism , druids of the forests [Perhaps if I had looked harder for these], underground tunnels that connect strategic points of the planet [yes-- this pretty much cinches it] . . . .  , Is this a good book?
}
9. bxc3
{
john1960uk: Difficult to say about the book as I don't know you? Umberto Eco is a very literary author. This makes the first 2 chapters of the book a bit heavy going, if you get through them I think you'll enjoy the book. It was actually advertised as an 'antidote' to all the Da Vinci Code / conspiracy theory books that were appearing at the time. There's an air of 'highbrow' satire about it. It isn't Dan Brown or James Patterson at all. After all that I really enjoyed the book, it did take two attempts to get through those first two chapters though! :-)John.
}
9... dxc6
{
TimeOnTarget: Sounds interesting.  I can think of several books that I started, stopped, started, stopped and then ultimately read that were quite good.  I have found that Chess is eating into my reading time quite a bit--When I do have spare time, I usually find I want play, practice, or read a chess book.  I have this vague feeling that some of the missing pieces are about to drop, of course, I've had that feeling for about 9 months now and they haven't dropped yet .  . .   You will think from my next move that I actually know how to play endgames--do not be alarmed--I don't!  But, it seems like it will give me better pawn structure and I have to figure them out at some point . . . . .
}
10. Qxd8+
{
john1960uk: I have to be careful sometimes that chess doesn't become obsessive. It's definitely cut into my reading time. Living the single life, as I do (when the teenage daughters aren't staying over)It would take days and days and days from me if I let it :-)The trouble is I enjoy intellectual challenges and with chess it seems the more you learn the more you realise you don't know! :-)Two quotations for you; 'After all my chess study, I'm still confused, but at a much higher level!' and, 'chess is too much for just a game, but not enough for a way of life' :-) All the best, John.
}
10... Kxd8
{
TimeOnTarget: It really does get in your blood.  I got into safe cracking a while back and for about 18 months it was all I wanted to do in the evenings.  But I got to a point where I felt like I pretty much had it conceptually--you have to stay in practice to have the hand-eye "feel" for it, but conceptually once you get the basic idea, it is more or less just different problems you solve the same way.  No danger of that with Chess, that is for sure.  I feel like I see so much more just at a glance than I used to, and I'm sure I do, but I keep expecting that next big "flash" of understanding.  Some days it feels close and some days I feel more like a shrimp inspecting a passing nuclear submarine.  It is amazing that a game with such simple basic rules and a relatively small number of pieces can be so difficult.  I find myself thinking if I had just practiced 10 minutes a day all those years . . . .But I am sure I wouldn't enjoy it as much now if I had.  Have a good one!  Glenn  PS--When I was playing the computer, virtually none of the games ever made it to the endgame--I got it or it got me usually within 30 moves, rarely would the games go to 40 moves.  Now that I am playing games against people, all of a sudden it would be nice to know that I could convert a small advantage in the late middle game to a win (not that I am convinced I have one in our game here . . . . it's not an advantage unless you see it and know what to do with it!)
}
11. f3
{
john1960uk: This is an early endgame approach here move 11?! ;-) John. 
}
11... b5
{
TimeOnTarget: Hi John-- sorry about the premature endgame.  I kind of wish I could have come up with something better last move--I did look--but I really couldn't find anything else I liked worth a hoot.  How many daughters do you have?  I have a three year old little girl and she has been such a joy--never imagined myself willingly lying on the floor watching "Barney" and playing with little stuffed animals.  (Did doing stuff like that almost seem surreal to you?--I would think about me watching myself from a few years earlier, with a cigar and bottle of Scotch in hand, and almost laugh out loud.)  I actually never imagined just me taking care of her, but she and I do just great together.  My favorite time of the day is when it is just her and me for about an hour and I feed her and get her ready for her  (pre-kindergarden, I guess) school.  Fortunately, on the TV front she has progressed to Scooby Doo--downright sophisticated compared to Barney.  And now she has gotten to the age where she is scolding me for being impatient with other drivers--she gives me this "Oh, Daddy!"  I tell you, if it wasn't her . . . . I'm sure she will get more challenging as she gets older, but I just hope it stays half this fun.  .  .  .  .  .  I am missing taking her to the University of Texas football game, which she loves (she loves bacon and the outdoors too--that's my girl!). I wasn't sure I was going to be feeling good enough so I gave my ticket up so the 12 year old boy could invite a friend.  Oh well, this actually has a real silver lining!  I can get a bit caught up on my moves and relax while doing so.  Not often I lucky enough to get this nice a chunk of uninterrupted time in the middle of the day to really concentrate.  Have a good one, Glenn
}
12. a4
{
john1960uk: I have two drains on my resources........ sorry I mean daughters :-) Make the most of Barney and Scooby Doo it's over all too quickly. That sounds trite I know, but believe me that 'little girl' will be 'grown up' faster than you can possibly imagine! I always paid attention to everything my oldest daughter found interesting and watched repetitively, 16 years on I can still quote verbatim from two hour long Postman Pat videos and have many of Barney's songs in my repertoire. ;-)I didn't get quite as much time with the younger one as divorce got in the way a bit. I did manage to stay part of their lives as much as possible though and I'm still there for them at all costs (and believe me teenage girls do cost! ;-))now. Don't apologise for the quick endgame. Endgames can be fascinating. More than any other part of the game a single 'poor' move can be fatal. John.
}
12... bxa4
{
TimeOnTarget: Barney songs do have a nasty habit of sticking in your head, don't they?  I used to think it was funny to go up to friends who were really into music and say "Hey, do you remember that Barry Manilow song "Mandy?"  They would look at me suspiciously and say "yeah, why?"  And I would say "just wanted to give you something to sing to yourself today."  That was pre-Barney for me--now I am really sympathetic about unwanted songs in the head--that "I love you" unctuous mess is a killer.    But, as bad as Barney is, watching how much the kids like it does make it OK.  I would have bet a lot of money in the past against me ever watching an hour of Barney . . . . I believe you about it being over all too quickly--I think I am experiencing the start of that now.  Last football season she had just recently learned to talk.  One game early in the season she and I were alone and watching the game on TV.  Texas made a good play and all of a sudden I started yelling at the TV.  After the play is over, she is looking at me and asks "Why did you do that, Daddy?"  Not scared at the yelling, just plain old curious.  I thought it was as cute as can be.  This year, she is asking if we got the ball after a big play-- it is still really cute--partially because it is not always right on point, but she knows getting the ball is good--but I do miss her talking like she did just after having learned to talk.  I'm going to have to do more to get ready for the resource drain--I'm guessing a helium balloon with a picture of a hampster on it doesn't get quite the same reaction when you get past about 7 or so.  And I do remember being in awe of the money my little sister could get my Dad to cough up--six week trip to Europe for the little girl?  Sure no problem.  For the boy?  Why, so you can drink yourself from bar to bar?  I don't think so . . . . I don't care if he was right--it still wasn't just . . . . .  I can see why they recommend learning the endgame first--but, I haven't gone about it that way--I chose the "What is kicking my ass first" approach.  So now I am decent at openings--usually, this is a tough crowd in this mini-tournament.  I have a book called Chess Endings (or End Games) Made Simple - by Ian Snape (Gambit is the publisher).  It is really a pretty easy and enjoyable read--no excuse for me not having finished any more of it than I have.  I mentioned to Joel that I liked the idea of trading lists of books we each found particularly good or helpful-- would that interest you?  Hell, I'll even throw in my views on politics, the educational system, religion, and chopped liver for free!
}
13. Rxa4
{
john1960uk: To be fair my two are really good. Life just isn't 'cheap' now days, ;-) and my desire to give them everything is massive! :-)I always find it interesting to here other peoples views about books. It can be a dissapointing way of building a library though, until you find a person / reviewer that you 'click' with. The other topics I usually go to other forums to view......... chopped liver is such a personal thing. ;-)I rarely post, I just enjoy watching others, flame and hack theirselves to pieces! I prefer the quieter, more 'grown up' approach that is here at SM which is why I shelled out for membership. 
;-)John.
}
{
TimeOnTarget: I agree about chopped liver--it is one of those things that you don't need much help from others deciding if you like it or not--kind of like the rest of the things on my list.  I'm amazed that so many people make a living telling other people what to think about things.  I'm offended the way they usually try to do it--slight tilts of the head, etc.  I remember the "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon from the 1980s where he raised his hand and told his teacher (Ms. Wormer, or something like that):  "My generation doesn't absorb information this way.  We like to get our information through "Factoids." It was funny at the time; now it is merely prophetic.  I now try to only follow news in print--preferably the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, in the past, The Economist (one of yours, isn't it?  shames all American magazines--I'll never forget the cover they had with a picture of Clinton and the caption "Now Tell the Truth!") and I admit, I do have to buy the local paper.  But, my new hobby for helping me through these tough times, is learning how to tell when people are lying.  I now read books like "How to Spot a Liar" "Never be Lied to Again" and things like that -- as well as some FBI stuff I found on the internet.  So, when I do have to watch television, it is now so much more rewarding.  Rather than saying "I think he's lying or hiding something" I get to say "Do you know how you can tell he's lying or hiding something?"  This hobby greatly endears me to other people who are watching with me.

.  .  .  .  . But, as far as people you can trust, I have come to trust Carsten Hansen and his Column "Checkpoint" at ChessCafe.com.  He strikes me as someone who is singularly honest and, based on what I have read of his personal efforts, a writer who genuinely tries to make sure you "get it." And, of all the books that he had given a 4 or 5 star rating to, I have never been disappointed.  I also very much like John Watson, both as a reviewer and a writer.  I didn't fully appreciate him when I first got back into Chess ("Understanding the Chess Openings, V. 1" was one of the first books I got) but now I have gotten enough better that I do.  I'll send you more on chopped liver later . . . .  you are right about the endgames-- I almost went h6, then I said, "wait a minute, I think John is smarter than this, I bet I am the one missing something . . . ."  My Dad was a military officer and he was used to dealing with sloppy 18-25 year old kids--in a big way.  Made my life a bit hard at times, but I still remember some of the stuff he would spit at me, like if I said "Well, I assumed . . . . "  I would get "ASSUMPTION IS THE MOTHER OF F%$@#*"  Or, if I hadn't thought things through and planned properly, I would get the rule of "Seven Ps"  :  "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!"  The rule of "Seven Ps" seems particularly applicable in Chess.  .  .  .  .  I understand about the desire to provide being massive.  I kind of feel like if I don't leave my little girl the Biltmore House, I will be remiss . . . . . I mean, I think that is where I deserve to be living, how could she deserve less???
}
13... a5 14. Kf2 Be6
{
TimeOnTarget: Hi John-- what you said about the endgame appears all too prophetic to me.  It seemed like I has a slight advantage, at least to me, now it seems like I have a slight vise around my private parts.  I have a feeling that my 11. . . . b5 was, how shall we say it, sub-optimum.  Of course I could have been in trouble before that but too dense to see it . . . . .
}
15. Bg5
{
john1960uk: It's really difficult to say. I'm not experienced enough to be totally sure in these situations. I'm happy playing white here, little things like the bishop pair in a position that's opening up, my kingside majority, and your isolated pawns on the queenside look good to me. However, the biggest advantage in the world is useless if you don't really know how to prosecute it! ;-) John.
}
{
TimeOnTarget: A chess master looking at how I handle situations like this (where I don't know how to proceed best and haven't figured out how to figure that out--yet) would probably grimace worse and feel more pain than I did when I found TJ amusing himself using my best Japanese saw as a "machete" on some scrub bushes in our back yard. Not only was it inappropriate and ineffective, it was so ugly and wastefully inefficient it almost made me cry.  I did get some consolation later when he decided that construction adhesive looked like silly putty and, despite being warned to stay away from it,  squirted a bunch of it in his hands.  It took my wife and I each with a pumice bar and working on one hand 30 minutes to get it all off.  That is a mistake he has not repeated.  But if he ever touches one of my good saws again, I will walk him to the school bus in that little bathrobe of my wife's that he liked me in so much. 
}
15... c5 16. Bb5 Re8 17. Bxe8
{
john1960uk: Mmmmm either I'm missing something here or....... you could've had a couple of beers? ;-)John.
}
17... Kxe8
{
TimeOnTarget: I was hoping you would conjure up some reason not to take my rook.  What it actually was caused by was lack of beer.  I was up working really late on work last night--4am and 10 minutes after I lay down, my wife's alarm clock goes off, she leaves, but before I have even a chance to try to sleep, the boy gets up and then he leaves and in less than 10 minutes, the little girl gets up--no preschool today, my parents only live 6 miles away, and usually my Mom happily babysits when there isn't preschool, but couldn't today, and she was really fussy all day, I haven't been able to finalize what I was almost through with at 4am, popped to our game to break the block, was thinking about making a "killer move" and tore a big old hole in the ground and broke my club--to compare it to the very similar "swing as hard as you can and don't forget to pick your head up so you don't lose the ball in the distance" way I play golf.  So, those most noble concepts, human compassion and equity, urge that you now behave with stupidity . . . .   Actually, I got so excited about my cool move that my mind's last second "stop" signal didn't quite reach my hand before "confirm" was sent--I was saying "aww poop" before the flash of light from the confirm button was even gone.  I had looked at Re8 with the idea that you were waiting to take my knight until I did h6 and figured you would respond to what I thought (and wrongly so) would be perceived as a threat to double rooks instead of taking the knight, at which point, I was going to move Bg4 and if fxg4, Nxe4 with a fork, exchange, pawn, a more exposed king, threat to c3, etc.  ; if fxg4 were declined, then Nxe4+ etc. . . . .it might not have been better, but it stood a shot at helping and was going to be fun to try . . . .  However, the threat of doubled rooks proved a bit illusory, and it was lack of beer and the inevitable degradation of performance all experience without the restorative wonders of drunken slumber that was responsible for this tragedy . . . . 
}
18. Rha1
{
john1960uk: :-) Sounds like me trying to talk myself out of trouble with the headmaster (high school principle) years ago ;-)John.
}
18... Rb8
{
TimeOnTarget: You probably did a much better job though!   I just got got up a little while ago--at 2:30 pm.  I did need the sleep.  In "Vacation," Chevy Chase's wife could have been talking to me when she said "Clark, you get weird when you get tired!"  Of course she would have had to add, "stupid" and "windy" too in my case.  Hopefully in my other games I didn't shoot myself in the foot while practicing fancy six-shooter twirls. Did that link I sent you in one of our other games work?  Wait--it was in a message, I think.  
}
{
john1960uk: Just a quick thank you for the link(s) they raised a smile, No move yet as I'm at work on a public computer. Night shift :-( and I find I do stooopid stuff when I make moves at work! :-)cheers, John.
}
19. Rxa5 Rb2+
{
TimeOnTarget: Hi John-- I don't know why, but the "No, he wasn't hurt, but he was in a pretty ugly mood" totally hits every funny bone I have.  Maybe I can imagine my mood--you know the guy didn't land feet first in the 3 feet of muck.  I hate bad smells-- I ralph easily when I get hit with them--If that had happened to me, I would have probably caused the whole outhouse to spontaneously combust I would have gotten so hot about it.  Found an interesting article on using neuropsychological principles in training for chess.  I thought parts of it were interesting.  It talks about older players coming back to Chess, so I am going to get it uploaded and send a link to you, Joel, Sean, and Andre.  
}
{
TimeOnTarget: Yeah, I'm with you on that--no more moves when it is late at night, I am tired or distracted.  The other night I got all happy in one of my S-M games against Peterm.  I was practically dancing--finally somebody besides me blundered, so my little bishop flew down and took f7 with check, my queen then swooped to give the follow up check, after which I was going to recapture his bishop (e.g, Qh5+ was the direct way, other things were possible that worked too.  Now, his "blunder" and my tactical prowess was going to make it an even bishop and pawn trade, but me having seized the initiative.  Or so I thought when I went to bed, and  before he retreated his bishop to e6 to block my check and remove his bishop from danger--which I had totally overlooked.  Sigh.  Well it was nice to feel good about it overnight anyway . . . . I kind of wish I had a video of my face when I pulled the game up, so I could at least laugh at myself . . . . 
}
20. Kg1 Kf8
{
TimeOnTarget: Hi John-- No need to be shy, you can send your King out to play.  What do you think I am going to do, bleed on him? . . . . I'm actually about to win one game that I started right after I joined the site and I have actually played pretty well.  This is notable--but admittedly not interesting--because lately it seems like the only thing I have been doing is desecrating the Chess board.  In fact its been so bad I am starting to wonder if my lone aberration game is perhaps due to my opponent missing my blunders which I also missed so completely they never even dawned on me later. . . .   I haven't had a chance to check the other games in our tournament, but I hope you are faring as well against the others as you have been doing against me.  Our other game still looks quite close to me, but the way I have been uglying up everything I touch . . . . .  Have a good one.  Glenn  PS-- If I hadn't already been aware that I am not on the most solid ground, trying desperately to find something good this last move and winding up feeling compelled to make the move I did--it kind of gives me the willies.  I wrote the first couple of sentences of this note before I decided what move I was going to do.  I was going to go back and erase them, but perhaps you will enjoy the irony more than I did. 
}
21. Ra8+
{
john1960uk: I think you're trying to use psychological tactics here ;-) I will show no sympathy. Just drive the knife in and twist it harder........ Chess makes people violent! ;-) don't tell the government they'll ban it!! :-) All the best John.
}
21... Ke7
{
TimeOnTarget: oh yes, this beauty . . . 
}
22. R1a7+
{
john1960uk: My rooks are enjoying your hospitality
:-) 
}
22... Bd7
{
TimeOnTarget: Oh yes, my guys are very hospitable -- they are showing that they are willing to just hand the house over to you in fact.
}
23. e5
{
john1960uk: Thanks for the game Glenn All the best, John.
}
{
Game Over: Damn John-- that was surgical.  It has been maybe five moves since my blunder and you have got me to the no hope and impending doom point already.  Congratulations.
}
1-0

