The price of greed, or: let us roar at Fritz

Let us roar at Fritz. The Gabridoodle is white here, and obviously it isn't looking good for him.

Gabridoodle to move... He snaffles up Fritz's b4 pawn with his queen, hoping that Fritz will get greedy and then pay the price.

And it works, roar ! Instead of moving a rook to the 8th rank to protect his king from a back ranker (or advancing a pawn to create an escape square for his king), Fritz grabs the unprotected rook at d1. The Gabridoodle's queen then goes to b8, roar, roar, roar. Check, snaffle one rook, check again, snaffle the other rook: checkmate. Roar.

20 Oct 2013: a sub-miniature !

While an on-line game with la Marmotte des Echecs can take months, the Pink Queen provides much faster action.  This game at Chess.com took only two days and it took the Gabridoodle only 13 moves to snare the Pink Queen in a brutal MATING NET.

Gabridoodle - Pink Queen, 1-0

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 a6 3.a3 b5 4.Nc3 h5 5.Be2 e5 6.O-O Qf6 7.Nd5 Qd6 8.d3 f6 9.Nh4 g5 10.Nf5 Qc5 11.Nxc7+ Kf7 12.Bxh5+ Rxh5 13.Qxh5# 1-0

Here we are at move 7.  The Pink Queen has just brought her queen out early and will pay the price ! The Gabridoodle moves his horse to a nice, centrally-located OUTPOST and chases the impetuous queen away.

Move 9: the real mischief begins.  They say "a knight on the rim is grim," but h4 is just a stepping stone to f5...

...and indeed it's 10. Nf5 after the Pink Queen's pawn move forces him to do what he was going to do anyway.  The Gabridoodle is aiming to drive the black queen away, allowing his other horse to capture the pawn on c7, FORKING the king and rook.

Move 11 goes according to plan.

In response, the Pink Queen moves her king to f7.  Another thing they say is, "If you see a good move, look for a better one."  With this in mind, the Gabridoodle changes his plan.  Rather than snaffle up the a8 rook, which would have been good, he delivers check with the bishop.  Thanks to those pesky horses, the Pink Queen's only legal move is to capture the bishop with her rook.  The noose has just gotten a lot tighter.

And with 13. Qg5#, it's all over.

21 Jul 2013: the amazing double rook snaffle

The Chess Pirate remains on her absurd summer "haitus."  But not to worry !  The famous Highlands Clubhouse served as a venue for a brutal game between the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle.  Naturally, the Gabridoodle offered a game to the Townie, but he remains coy.

While no CLUB business was discussed, the Gabridoodle did engage in a burping contest with two children in a minivan.

Pink Queen - Gabridoodle, 0-1

Here we are 8 moves into the game.  Commanding the white pieces, the Pink Queen has employed a highly... unorthodox... opening.  Yet again, she was trying to rattle the Gabridoodle with an early assault on the kingside.  The Gabridoodle could only adopt a wait-and-see posture while making some necessary defensive moves.

On move 13, the Pink Queen advanced her c-pawn.  This made an instant monster of the Gabridoodle's dark-squared bishop, allowing it to snaffle up her rook.

Hilariously, and just two moves later, the Gabridoodle made the same error, advancing his b-pawn.  The Pink Queen's light-squared bishop then snaffled up the a8 rook.

Moving right along... At move 33 we have the Pink Queen put in this brutal position.  There's really no way out.

And indeed, a couple moves later, the Pink Queen is finished off by the Gabridoodle's lesbian queens.

11 Jul 2013: Exhibition game at Damata's

The Chess Pirate is on her summer "hiatus" -- some lame excuse about the heat affecting her brain -- so there hasn't been much action at CHESS CLUB of late.  But thanks to an early arrival at a Salem Social Cards cribbage event at Salem's inimitable Damata's, the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle were able to stage an exhibition game ! It was definitely a coffeehouse atmosphere, complete with children tormenting fish and repeatedly spilling beverages.

Pink Queen - Gabridoodle, 0-1

Fully 24 moves in, the Pink Queen and the Gabridoodle were at a bit of an impasse, having erected a forest of pawns in the middle of the board.  The Gabridoodle has managed to rob the Pink Queen of her castling rights and gotten her king terribly exposed.  She, however, has stuck a bone in his throat on the h-file.

But then there was some action !  Here, at move 27, the Gabridoodle is about to achieve his key breakthrough of the game, moving the bishop to c8, skewering the Pink Queen's rook at h3.  Her queen retreats and the Gabridoodle exchanges his bishop for her rook.

Move 35 truly ushers in the Pink Queen's final collapse.  She's made a game attempt to threaten the Gabridoodle with the battery on the g-file.  But his move of Qe3+ solves two problems at once, simultaneously removing the bone in his throat at h6 and dealing with the g-file threat.

The rest was mopping up and by move 43, the Pink Queen had had enough and resigned.

14 Jun 2013: A long, tricky game

Thanks to a series of vacations, this was the first CHESS CLUB meeting in several weeks.  Perhaps inspired by the fine weather, the Pirate suggested that we find someplace where they have a giant outdoor chess set.  The Gabridoodle will look into this, though he isn't optimistic.  Even if we find one, there's no guarantee we won't be banned.

In official CLUB business, the Freshman (a member of the Pink Queen's entourage who took part in this year's jamboree) was appointed candidate member.

In non-CLUB business, the Gabridoodle was called on to assist the Pirate with various personal and professional administrative tasks.

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

This game went on for more than the customary length of time.  Not only were the Pirate and Gabridoodle playing at a leisurely pace but the game took 63 moves.  That's not a CLUB record but it's not so far from one, either.

Sneaky bishops can be monsters !  Here, at move 8, the Pirate has just moved her g-pawn, not seeing that this would allow the Gabridoodle to grab her rook.  This he did to which the Pirate barked, "You piece of crap !"  However, she was subsequently able to trap the Gabridoodle's bishop, which he sent into desperado mode, remarking, "Well, if you want hideously doubled pawns."  The Gabridoodle loses a bit of material but with positional compensation.

Lots of action in the early going.  By move 14, the Pirate snared the Gabridoodle in a clever trap, forcing him to simultaneously lose castling rights and a rook.

...however, the Gabridoodle had a decent reply, attacking the Pirate's queen with a pawn, allowing him to snag her bishop.  Later, at move 25, the Pirate made a capture, exclaiming, "Check !  Oh wait, that's not a bishop." (it was a pawn)  The Gabridoodle replied, "Ya moron !"

Here we are at move 33.  The Gabridoodle is ahead a pawn and also has a very slight positional advantage. At this point, the Pirate went to her computer, logged on to a well-known social network, and poasted that she was trouncing the Gabridoodle.

By move 46, the Gabridoodle had finally forced the exchange of queens, though not before the Pirate mounted a scary kingside attack with her queen. A race to promote has begun, the Gabridoodle having advanced a pawn to h5.  He won the race...

...and subsequently the game (as usual, the Pirate was a sport and played on in the hope that the Gabridoodle would make a hideous blunder).

10 May 2013: in which a civil Pirate almost wins The Shiny

This fine spring day, Salem CHESS CLUB was the venue for a remarkably civil game.  However, as usual there were a few choice remarks:

Gabridoodle: "You're being suspiciously civil today."
Chess Pirate: "My nails are wet."

Chess Pirate: "That's right, back up bitch !"

Gabridoodle (referring to himself): "If you can't play well, play angry."
Chess Pirate: "Did you say Amish ?"

Chess Pirate: "Your turn,                         ."

Of interest to our friends at Salem CRIBBAGE CLUB, the Pirate and the Gabridoodle played three brisk games of cribbage.  The Pirate won the first game by about 5 points.  Game two went the Gabridoodle's way, also by about 5 points.  In the third game, the Gabridoodle waltzed away with it, winning by a wider, though not skunk-level, margin.

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

The Pirate was on her way to winning this one, but some fancy footwork by the Gabridoodle and a Piratical blunder turned things around. The Gabridoodle retains The Shiny.

The Gabridoodle got into trouble in the early going.  Although he did a reasonably good job managing the Pirate's frenzied opening attack, he made a key blunder at move 8.  Instead of moving the e4 bishop somewhere or advancing the d-pawn, he castled.
     8. O-O Nxe4
     9. Nxe4 Qxe4
left him was down a horse and this led him into a severe crisis in the middlegame.

Here we have move 22, Rxg7.  At first blush, it might seem that the Gabridoodle didn't have his priorities straight.  With the middlegame crisis unresolved, he goes and snatches a pawn.  However, this was a vitally important move for him.  The Pirate had a 4-to-1 pawn majority on the kingside.  If something wasn't done about it, things might well have gotten stormy.

By move 37, the Pirate was down to only 1 kingside pawn.  Between that and the hideously doubled pawns on the b-file, the Gabridoodle was in slightly better shape, although still down a horse.  And now we have the move that turned the whole thing around.  The Pirate blundered away a rook (as shown in the diagram).  The Gabridoodle eventually sent the horse to the glue factory and also dealt with the h-pawn.  The rest was mopping up.

Finally, at move 56, we have a classic king-and-rook versus king checkmate.

Tactics corner: vicious triple play

In this game at Chess.com, the Pink Queen captured the wrong horse (with her king at f6; the h-pawn might have been better).  This allowed the Gabridoodle to move his other horse,  getting a discovered check, fork, and skewer combined.  The Pink Queen was shortly queenless.

2 May 2013: an audience !

Today we had an audience !  The Chess Pirate's lodger was present.  While the Pirate went shopping for a door for the Fish Room, the Gabridoodle photographed the lodger.  The lodger then went out for lunch.  Much to our surprise, she actually returned and rather than making excuses or simply barricading herself in her room, she opted to observe the chess action.  In a move that could only warm the Nixonian heart of la Marmotte des Echecs, the lodger chose Checkers as her CLUB nickname.

As usual, the Pirate didn't have a full grasp on relative exchange values, insisting that the queen is worth 10 and, nonsensically, that the king is worth 20.  The correct values: king = priceless; queen = 9; rook = 5; bishop = 3 or 3¼; knight = 3; pawn = 1.  A non-kingly piece that moved like the king would be worth about 4.

In CLUB business, the Gabridoodle has decided that if Checkers attends another CHESS CLUB session, she will be appointed prospective candidate member.  After that, we'll see.  She has to learn the game first.

Game 1
Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

Need it even be said that the Pirate began the game with the sort of crazed, frenzied attack made by someone who never set the textbook aside because she never picked it up in the first place ?  The Gabridoodle parried these thrusts, managing not to suffer any real positional damage in the process.  The Gabridoodle, in a Steinitzian mood, accumulated a series of small advantages.  By move 16, the Pirate already was making the empty boast, "Let's see what I can do to fuck you over."

While the game went 50 moves, the definitive turning point came at move 23 (see diagram at left). The Gabridoodle's Be5+ left Rd6 as the Pirate's only legal move.  The Gabridoodle thus picked up a rook at the cost of a bishop and as an added bonus, damaged the Pirate's pawn structure thanks to her exd6 recapture.

The rest of the game was a methodical grinding down of the Pirate, her only hope being that the Gabridoodle would make a ghastly blunder.  No blunder was forthcoming and the Pirate surrendered at move 50 (diagram at left) rather than suffer needlessly.

Game 2
Chess Pirate - Gabridoodle, 1-0
Time control: 10 minutes each

This speed game was played just for fun, not for The Shiny.  Incredibly, the Pirate decided to call this an "exhibition game" because Checkers was watching.  The Gabridoodle achieved an edge in position and eventually also material.  However, despite using most of her time to prattle with Checkers, the Pirate won when the Gabridoodle's flag fell first (though the Pirate had scarcely more than 20 seconds left on her clock).

26 Apr 2013: the game with five blunders in a row

A day off from CHESS CLUB last week meant that the Chess Pirate got to enjoy two weeks of possession of The Shiny.  That came to an end today in a game that featured an incredible sequence of five, count 'em, five blunders.

Once again, the Pirate questioned the existence of the en passant rule, claiming that it isn't played in the United States and asking, "Do you see brie on this table ?  Do you see a baguette ?"  The United States Chess Federation agrees with the Gabridoodle, of course.  Fortunately for his physical safety, the Gabridoodle didn't want to exercise his en passant rights in that particular instance.

Chess Pirate - Gabridoodle, 0-1

The game began with the Pirate's usual thrusts being successfully parried by the Gabridoodle ("Parry that !" as the Pirate put it).  On move 9, the Pirate boasted, "It's gonna be a short game !" (it actually went 55 moves).  By move 23, crankiness was setting in, the Pirate asking herself, "What can I do to make your life a living hell ?" and then two moves later, "Can't have the pawn, bitch !"  On to the five blunders...

First blunder !

36. Qb5 ??

Here the Pirate moves her queen en prise.

Second blunder !

36. ... Rd8 ??

But instead of simply doing an obvious, sensible move, either capturing her queen (or perhaps better, moving his queen to safety; or even better still, rook to b8), the Gabridoodle moves his rook to d8, leaving his queen en prise !

Third blunder !

37. c5 ??

Now the Pirate does it !  Instead of simply capturing the Gabridoodle's queen, which would haved given her an easy win, she pushes her c pawn.  Now her queen is en prise again !

Fourth blunder !

37. ... Rd2 ??

For the second time, the Gabridoodle fails to either: move his queen to safety, capture the Pirate's queen, or (and maybe this would have been the best move of all) rook to b8.  Instead, dazzled by the prospect of a quick mate, he moves the rook to d2.  At least he finally saw his queen was in jeopardy !

Fifth blunder !

38. c6 ??

The Pirate could have captured the Gabridoodle's queen, leaving herself down a rook.  Instead, she pushes the c pawn again !  After
38. ... Rd8+
39. Qf1 Rxf1
40. Kxf1The Gabrioodle is up a queen instead and goes on to an easy win.

12 Apr 2013: the Gabridoodle gets waxed !

The Chess Pirate's subtropical vacation -- in which she's said to have wrecked at least one boat -- was clearly refreshing.  In a game that was something of a marathon (64 moves), she managed to win back The Shiny, although the Gabridoodle made sure she had to work for it.

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 0-1

As anyone who knows anything would have expected, the Pirate opened with her usual slashing attacks.  The Gabridoodle parried them, although losing his castling rights in the process.  The game was close, the Pirate even being put on the run at one point.  However, the hoggishness of the Pirate's rook paid off and she was subsequently able to promote a queenside pawn.  Rather than instatresign, the Gabridoodle held out hope that the Pirate would be so overwhelmed by her impending victory that she'd goof and deliver stalemate.  However, the Pirate kept her cool, delivering checkmate as shown in the diagram.  Although it turned out not the be relevant to this game, the Gabridoodle, did -- yet again ! -- have to explain the fifty move rule.

The game featured several choice verbal outbursts:

12. Pirate: "So, you fuck up my castle."

22. Gabridoodle: "The king is a fighting piece." ; Pirate: "Yeah, whatever."

31. Gabridoodle: "I like it when you make the puzzled chimp expression."  [Pirate flips the bird.]

57. Pirate: "It's like a little mouse... eee eee eee !"

63. Pirate: "Slink to the corner little mouse !  eee eee eee !"

15 Mar 2013: the first annual Salem CHESS CLUB jamboree !

Although only four players showed up, the first annual Salem CHESS CLUB jamboree managed to set the CLUB record for attendance !  What's more, we had three observers: two of the Pink Queen's small fry and an unnamed personage who responded to the declaration of a chess emergency.  The emergency was declared when it looked like there was some chance the Gabridoodle and Chess Pirate might be the only attendees.

Top prize was a medal, which, unlike The Shiny, is actually the property of the winner.  The Gabridoodle may eventually wind up looking like a North Korean general.

The jamboree took place at the Jaho Café on Derby Street in Salem.

The results:

   1st place: Gabridoodle
   2nd place: Pink Queen
   3rd place: Chess Pirate
   4th place: Pink Queen's guest

Round 1

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

The Gabridoodle was zapped for a rook in the wild and wooly opening but he didn't let this distract him.  He found his way to a quick checkmate (at left), the Pirate's adventure having won her a rook but left her king terribly vulnerable.  Sometimes it's all about position, not material.

Pink Queen's guest - Pink Queen, 0-1

Putting some of what she's learned in the school of hard chess knocks to work, the Pink Queen shredded her opponent, achieving a massive material advantage.  The Gabridoodle was quite astonished when he ambled over and saw the veritable forest of white pieces she'd collected.

Round 2

Gabridoodle - Pink Queen, 1-0

Thanks to some rather odd early moves, the Pink Queen's position collapsed quickly.  Rather than being the cat that plays with the mouse before finishing it off, the Gabridoodle was able to bring the game to a crashing conclusion by lining up a quick mate, seen in the photo at left.

Third place:

Chess Pirate - Pink Queen's guest, 1-0

The losers of the first round slunk off to a corner to vie for 3rd place.  The pirate wasn't kidding about being battered by the previous night's adventures.  Either that or the Pink Queen's guest was somehow inspired by his loss in the first round.  While the Pirate did eventually win, there were surprisingly few pieces left on the board at the end.  This is in sharp contrast to the shockingly sudden mates in two of the event's other games.

The invincible Bulgarian gambit

Once again, the Explorer and the Gabridoodle did battle at an event hosted by our friends at the Salem Boardgames Meetup.  This time the event was at the storied Highlands Clubhouse.  The main level was chock full of proprietary games.  We chess players and our decidedly non-proprietary Mexican equipment were exiled to the hot tub room and had a strip search been necessary, we might well have wound up hopping in.  However, our clothes stayed on and the Explorer exacted his revenge, winning both games.

Game 1: Explorer - Gabridoodle, 1-0

In this game, the Explorer uncorked the infamous Bulgarian gambit, which consists of some very, very strange yet profound king moves in the early going.  In addition to being distracted by the presence of the hot tub, the Gabridoodle was clearly rattled by this gambit.  What followed for him was kingside torment and eventual checkmate.

Game 2: Explorer - Gabridoodle, 1-0

Our next game featured a subtle variation on the Bulgarian gambit.  While not as effective as the orthodox version, it was effective enough.  In the end, a hot-tub-distracted Gabridoodle fell victim to an elementary trap thanks to his fixation on his criminal (passed pawn).  With the Explorer up a rook and about to execute the criminal, the Gabridoodle resigned.

Firing Alekhine's gun at Fritz !

The Gabridoodle, with the black pieces, went on to win after successfully employing the famed "Alekhine's gun" formation.

1 Mar 2013: kind of like a back-ranker

Thanks to great confusion earlier in the afternoon, the Chess Pirate was kind enough to serve lunch at today's meeting.  Her cooking repertoire is evidently not limited to Italian quiche.

While the Gabridoodle retained The Shiny, the real news of the day is that we have the First Annual Salem CHESS CLUB Chess Jamboree planned !  There may be a tournament of some sort, perhaps even awarding a shiny object (though not The Shiny).  New players are welcome and lessons can be given for the benefit of the inexperienced.  Stay tuned in case the arrangements change, but the current plan is that it will take place at Salem's Jaho Café on Friday March 15th at 2:00 pm.

In other CLUB business,                                                       .                        .                                                    .  However, the Pirate failed to truly grasp the reference to Catholic practices.

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

Today was one of those days when the Pirate was determined to exchange pieces.  There were indeed a number of exchanges but the Gabridoodle was careful to hang onto his queen.  The Pirate made a valiant effort at putting him in a jam but he wriggled away and then sailed on to the victory shown at left -- a back-ranker but in the middle of the board.


The Pirate did at least get a number of choice comments in over the course of the game, notably:

"To the killing fields !"

"Big fucking deal.  It's a bishop."

"So chickenshit crawls away."

Just for fun, the Gabridoodle and the Chess Pirate next played a game of chess 960, aka Fischer Random with only 10 minutes each on the clock.  The starting position is shown in the diagram at left.  The game was neck-and-neck until the Pirate robbed the Gabridoodle of a bishop.  The Pirate then ground him down but much to her consternation, the Gabridoodle managed to lose on time before she could deliver mate.

25 Feb 2013: Jaho field trip !

Another field trip for Salem CHESS CLUB !  This time the destination was the Jaho café on Derby Street.  As if that wasn't unusual enough, this happened on a freakin' Monday !  Even our old friend the Chess Visionary expressed astonishment when she heard about this.  News still travels, even when you're on double-secret probation.

We started with the Shiny game, which the Gabridoodle won in short order (details below).  The reader will note the absence of the usual sharp commentary -- being at Jaho definitely promoted a certain decorum.

The Pirate didn't let this defeat get her down, however.  She proposed an experimental blindfold game !  Well, not true blindfold: the Gabridoodle was to keep his eyes open while the Pirate would keep hers closed but be allowed to feel the pieces.  The Gabridoodle was characteristically patient, for example, reminding the Pirate that the king doesn't jump over other pieces nor move three squares forward at once.  The Pirate became increasingly frenzied, impatiently demanding that the Gabridoodle move.  She then began making more than one move per turn, wildly tossing her pieces around, sending the game into a complete state of collapse.

But wait, there's more !   An attempt was made at playing Chess 960.  The Gabridoode had only a partial grasp on the rules for 960 but this game actually moved in a controlled fashion (unlike the "blindfold" game), with the Pirate eventually winning (the Gabridoodle blundered his queen away at one point).  The CHESS CLUB clock can generate Chess 960 starting positions, so this is something we may mess around with again in the future.

Chess Pirate - Gabridoodle, 0-1

The initial battle for the center in today's "serious" (ie, Shiny-awarding) game reached a brisker than usual conclusion.  In the middle game, the Gabridoodle fell behind in material but gained significant positional compensation.  So much so that he quickly regained the material edge while simultaneously bringing the game to a crashing conclusion on move 25 (see diagram).

Mowing the lawn at Gulu

It's not often that our friends at Salem Boardgames have back-to-back Mondays at Gulu Gulu, so you can bet that Salem CHESS CLUB made the most of the opportunity.

This time it was just the Gabridoodle and the Explorer who clashed over the chessboard.  Little Rhody, la Marmotte, the Pink Queen (and her consort the Townie), Crazy Joe, the Chess Genius, Scoot, and el Greco were present but involved in other (non-chess) games.

With help from Scoot, the Explorer learned about prophylaxis, drapes, and carpets.

Game 1: Gabridoodle - Explorer, 1-0

The Explorer began with an unusual knights-on-the-rim approach but soon demonstrated an obsession with the f2 square.  The Gabridoodle had to deal with that while simultaneously avoiding a nasty forking.  Once some debris was cleared off the board, the Gabridoodle's active rooks became very active indeed, delivering a lawnmower checkmate.

Game 2: Gabridoodle - Explorer, 1-0

The highlight of this game was a lengthy stalking of the Explorer's king.  Someone else might have found a quicker win, but even a woodpusher like the Gabridoodle was eventually able to deliver mate.

15 Feb 2013: "Horror show from the first moment"

A horror show for the Chess Pirate, anyway !

CHESS CLUB's afternoon began with a field trip !  The Gabridoodle was initially led to believe that this would involve a trip to the library but in a cruel change of plans -- perhaps she just wasn't willing to face Miss Susan -- the Pirate instead took him to a going-out-of-business sale at the Black Paw on Pickering Wharf.  The torment suffered amid all the steeply discounted candles, fairies, and other girly items evidently sent the Gabridoodle into a "put your anger into your work, my boy" frame of mind.  When they finally did return to CLUB headquarters, he ripped the Pirate and retained the Shiny.

Gabridoodle - Chess Pirate, 1-0

The horror show began with the Pirate's usual game of chase-the-Gabridoodle's-horse-all-around.  This was abruptly halted by the Gabridoodle on move 4 thanks to a surprise horse placement.  The Pirate gradually shed material over the course of the game, eventually falling behind by 2 pawns, 1 horse, 1 bishop, and 1 queen ... combined !  By move 19, the Gabridoodle was doing well enough to say, "It's like a garroting.  It just gets tighter and tighter."  Two moves later, his horse stepped aside, uncorking a devastating discovered check. This shortly cost the Pirate a bishop, to which she said, "This game is so very, very, very wrong in so many ways."  Not long after that, she flipped him the bird. On move 27, the next to last one, the Gabridoodle did give the Pirate a chance to make an en passant capture (she declined, as she always has).  It didn't matter at this point anyway, as the Gabridoodle's freshly unleashed bishop ended the game as shown in the diagram.  The Pirate's closing remark was, "Good game.  Shitty game, actually."

11 Feb 2013: moar exhibitions at Gulu Gulu

CHESS CLUB staged a couple of exhibition games at a gathering hosted by our friends at the Salem Boardgames Meetup.  Salem's inimitable Gulu Gulu served as the venue.

Although he claims to be inexperienced, el Greco stunned the Gabridoodle, winning his maiden game at CHESS CLUB.  The Gabridoodle put his anger into his work, though, and he then won a 48-move marathon against the Explorer.

In CLUB business, el Greco was appointed candidate member.

Game 1: el Greco - Gabridoodle, 1-0

This game began in orthodox enough fashion.  El Greco, with the white pieces, began mounting an impudent kingside attack.  At move 13 (see illustration at left), the Gabridoodle made what turned out to be a key blunder, moving the horse to d4; it was promptly grabbed by el Greco's queen.  This greatly complicated the Gabridoodle's management of el Greco's impudent kingside attack.

Here we are at move 23.  El Greco's impudent kingside attack has become a major crisis for the Gabridoodle.  However, thanks to some fancy footwork and a befuddling move or two, he actually managed to survive it, although at the cost of The Exchange.

They don't call it a poisoned pawn for nothing !  At move 27, el Greco got greedy and grabbed the Gabridoodle's a7 pawn.  This allowed the Gabridoodle to suddenly go on the offensive, unleashing his queen, eventually relieving el Greco of a horse and a rook !

After quite a bit of dancing around, el Greco finally got the situation under control, delivering checkmate at move 40, as shown at left.  Lessons learned...  For the Gabridoodle: don't slack off when there's an impudent kingside attack.  For el Greco: never, ever give the Gabridoodle a chance to wriggle out of the noose.

Game 2: Gabridoodle - Explorer, 1-0

The first two dozen moves of this game featured all the thrust and parry we expect from a confrontation between the Gabridoodle and the Explorer.  A decisive moment came at move 25.  The Explorer seemingly scored a coup, forking the Gabridoodle's rook and queen (it had been at e3).  However, the Gabridoodle came up with a response, moving his queen to b6 and demonstrating that sometimes the best reply to an attack is a new attack !  Now if the Explorer took the rook (he didn't), he'd lose a bishop and a horse.

Move 33 brought a key event: the Explorer blundered away a bishop by impulsively moving his rook to attack the Gabridoodle's queen.  The Gabridoodle simply snatched the bishop with his queen, gaining an ultimately decisive material advantage.

The Gabridoodle probably had a faster, more elegant way to win, but being a mere woodpusher, he didn't checkmate the Explorer until move 48.