14 Jan 2013: Bulgarian-American exhibition at Gulu Gulu

Our friends at the Salem Boardgames Meetup were treated to the spectacle of not one, not two, but three exhibition games at Salem's inimitable Gulu Gulu.  As if that wasn't wild enough, the first two were miniatures !  CHESS CLUB got quite an introduction to the Explorer !

In addition to all the chess action, the Explorer and the Gabridoodle played two games of backgammon, each winning one.

In CLUB business, the Explorer has been promoted from prospective candidate member to candidate member.

Game 1
Gabridoodle - Explorer, 0-1

This game was an 18 move miniature.  The Gabridoodle pontificated about pawns and how the older one gets, the more one appreciates them.  The Explorer put this knowledge to use, making clever use of his h-pawn, delivering checkmate as shown in the diagram.

Game 2
Gabridoodle - Explorer, 1-0

The Explorer was offered the white pieces but demonstrated a marked affinity for sticking with black.  The shock received in the first game woke the Gabridoodle up and like a raging bull (or pony, in this case), he found a weakness in the Explorer's defenses and ruthlessly exploited it, delivering checkmate in only 14 moves.

Game 3
Gabridoodle - Explorer, 1-0

The evening's final game was a relative marathon, lasting 33 moves.  After some initial jousting, the Gabridoodle began a lengthy and ultimately successful stalking of the Explorer's king.  The Explorer, however, did make the Gabridoodle work for it, uncorking new kingside threats whenever the opportunity presented itself.