Javier

I tried to find the ugliest move ever played in one of my games, but couldn't find any ugly moves, I wonder why? and then I remembered a position I saw during my Singapore-Sydney flight... Look at the position of white's King, I mean, it's so UGLY, isn't it? However, it's white to play and draw! If you can't find the answer, slide your mouse over the black line. That wasn't so ugly, was it? True, but look at this now: The dog above has won the "ugliest dog in the world" award for the second year in a row. Watch the full video here.

Consistency is vital when choosing a training plan. You can avoid all those problems in the Sicilian by simply playing 1...e5!, which is the move which I recommended. Because if you ask me about a move which I did not recommend, then what's the use of my recommending it? So far, no major opening has been refuted, they're all playable. 2.c3, the Alapin variation, has never been played by a World Champion as far as I can remember and most players playing the sicilian would rather play against 2.c3 than against the major lines.

To both questions, my answer would be the same, yes: do some research on your own and see what positions you feel more comfortable in.

That picture above is my Nokia6600. I've always used Nokia phones. Anyway, last week I started getting messages from people in my contact list, they said things like: "What??" "What do you mean??" "?" etc. After some research, I found that I had lost all the credit in my prepaid account (only 20$, lucky I'm not on a contract!). Anyway, to cut a long story short, my phone had a virus and, "on its own" initiative, was sending multimedia messages to everyone in my contact list (including people overseas!). Needless to say I wasn't sending those messages myself, it was my bloody phone!! 9which, by the way, were being sent 24 hours a day, nost just during the day time!.) I went to a vodaphone office and they actually offered me to repair my phone for a "friendly" fee of 80 bucks . After some more googling, I found a site with the key codes to hard-reset a Nokia6600 for... 0 bucks. The virus is gone. How did I catch it? I haven't got a clue, but basically, you should never accept multimedia messages, period. So, why am I telling you this story? well, if you were in my contact list, please be aware that I didn't send that sms, blame it on my Nokia 6600!!

The good thing about the bishop opening is that you don't have to play the main lines of the Gioco Piano. Move order is extremely important and sometimes white can strike with a quick d3+f4 or d4. As for the Vienna game (which is completely different from the Bishop's opening), the main virtue of the Vienna is the possibility of playing an improved version of the King's gambit: in other words, 3.f4! 1...e5 offers lots of good defences against 1.e4, many of them very sharp (And I'm not necessarilly talking about the fried liver!). Learning the Najdorf can take a lifetime and the Dragon... well, everyone knows how to beat the Dragon nowadays! Stick to 1...e5.

There's no "perfect" answer for this. It really depends on your style and experience, but the information you have provided is quite useful. I don't think the Ruy Lopez is the type of opening an agressive tactical player of your level should play... the positions that white often gets are full of strategical subtleties and also some slow maneuvering, which might not appeal to a player of your style. The King's gambit can be fun, yes. Only problem is: at higher levels, it's completely unsound! but if you can live with that, then I guess it's ok. I would consider things like the Bishop's opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4), Vienna game or even the Evan's Gambit. With black, either Benko or Benoni. Avoid the King's Indian though! (too slow, very closed positions...) I feel a bit like a cook at a fast food restaurant, but I hope that helps you.

After tonight's Eropean Champions' League final between Milan and Liverpool, held in Athens, and which the Italian won (2-1) I will not mention the word "soccer" again for a long time. It's Rugby League for me now. Go WARRIORS!!!!!! National Rugby League of Australia Website.

Qantas found my suitcase back (it was somewhere between Singapore and Paris!) which means that I can finally wear a different shirt! So, what's that got to do with chess? why, can't you see it? it's got EVERYTHING to do with chess! now that I got my suitcase back my mood has improved and I can concentrate on chess again. See? Anyway, the following endgame position is one of those where you can tell that there just has to be something... yes, something but WHAT? White to play and win...

My free electronic book, "Learn chess Or Call Me An Idiot!!" has reached the first spot in the free ebooks billboard: Check it out here!. Brought up in a catholic culture, I've been programmed to behave modestly, but life's so short and there are so few things to cellebrate sometimes... what the hell, I'm happy!

Maybe, just maybe I haven't forgotten how to play chess after all. Ok, here's a game I played on-line yesterday on the playchess server against a well known WGM. It's one of those 3 minutes games. The fun happens between moves 20 and 23. White: Woman GM (I'd rather not tell her name) Black: Javier Gil [pgn]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 Re8 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Nf3 Nf8 10. h3 c6 11. Bf4 a5 12. O-O Ng6 13. Bh2 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. a3 Qe7 16. Rab1 Ne4 17. b4 f5 18. Rfe1 Nh4 19. Ne5 Qg5 20. Bf1 Rxe5 21. dxe5 Nf3+ 22. Kh1 Qg3 23. gxf3 Nxf2+ 24. Qxf2 Qxf2 25. Bg2 f4 26. e4 d4 27. Ne2 axb4 28. Nxf4 Qh4 29. Nd3 Rxa3 30. Nxb4 Bxh3 31. Rb2 Qxe1+ 0-1[/pgn] Hmm... if only I could do that regularly in Stardard time controls tournaments!

What's the best move you've ever seen? On my QF6 (that's not Queen to f6! ) flight from Singapore to Sydney this morning, I could not get any sleep and had to switch on my pocket pc to review some great endgame compositions. I then found the following beauty. What would you play here as white and, more importantly, why? btw, either Airfrance or Qantas have managed to lose my suitcase. I only have a pair of trousers and a shirt to wear now...

See that beauty above? It can reach peak speeds of more than 300 Km an hour. It's called "AVE", spanish for "Bird" and also an acronism meaning "Spanish High Speed" (Alta Velocidad Español). Today I travelled from Madrid to Zaragoza (350 km) in 75 minutes. I didn't even have time to take a short nap! But then again, isn't that what's happening all over the world? isn't everything going and happening a lot faster than it ever was? tranport, internet connections, food gets cooked in a matter of minutes in your microwave, marriages last months.... and what not! Yes, what not, even chess! Some masters no longer enjoy 5 minutes chess, they find it "too slow" for casual chess and are now taking on 1 minute chess, an absurd form of chess where just about anything can happen: an 1800 rated player can beat a 2700 GM, being a Queen down is fine provided you can use your mouse faster than your opponent, nothing wrong with blundering, chances are your opponent won't see it... the only thing which is missing is the dice! Here's a game I witnessed the other day on the playchess server between GM Winants (Belgium) and GM David Howell (UK) (yes, I know that annotating a 1 minute blitz game is just about the most ridiculous thing you can do, but isn't playing it more ridiculous still? Anyway, it's all done in good fun and the notes are not very deep at all!) GM Winants - GM David Howell [C28] 1m + 0s, rated, 04.05.2007 [pgn] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Na5 5. f4 Nxc4 6. dxc4 Bb4 7. fxe5 Nxe4 8. Qg4 Nxc3 9. a3 {Apparently a novelty at the time. Only 9.Bd2 had been tried.} Ba5 10. Qxg7 Qh4+ 11. Kf1 Qxc4+ 12. Kf2 Bb6+ (12... Nd1+ $1) 13. Kf3 Qe4+ ( 13... Qf1+ $1 14. Kg3 Bf2+ 15. Kf4 (15. Kh3 d6+ $19) 15... Bxg1+ 16. Kg4 Qxg2+ $19) 14. Kg3 Qe1+ 15. Kh3 d6+ 16. g4 Qf1+ $2 (16... Bxg4+ 17. Kxg4 h5+ 18. Kh3 (18. Kg5 O-O-O $19) 18... Qf1+ 19. Kg3 Bf2+ $19) (16... Qxe5 {Even this is enough for a winning advantage.} 17. Qxe5+ dxe5 18. bxc3 Rg8 $19) 17. Kh4 Qf2+ 18. Kh5 Rf8 19. Bh6 {White has survived the worst!} Bxg4+ 20. Qxg4 f5 21. Qg7 O-O-O 22. bxc3 Be3 23. Bxe3 Qxe3 24. Qg3 f4 25. Qxe3 fxe3 26. Ne2 Rf5+ 27. Kg4 Rxe5 28. Kf3 Rg8 29. Rhg1 Rf8+ 30. Kg3 Rfe8 * [/pgn] And you'd NEVER believe white's next move. NEVER, EVER, EVER!! To tell the full story, most Masters and Grandmasters only play 3+1 fast chess, which is actually fairly close to a 5 minutes chess game, a reasonable speed and often you DO see some pretty good games.

Guests can now post their comments to my blog entries. I don't think there's going to be many, but I'm letting you know just in case. If you do post a comment and you're not a registered user on these forums, the comment will have to be approved first. (you know what spam is like, don't you? ) Anyway, instructions are pretty basic: just click on the "reply button" and then enter your comments. Can't get easier than that!

A few days ago we saw how Seirawan killed Harry Potter, but as you know, anything can happen when you play a 3+1 game of chess. Yes, I do mean anything, for example losing in just 16 moves... (btw, the numbers in brakets are blitz ratings on the playchess server. Accord is one of the strongest blitz players on this server). Accord (3146) - Yasser Seirawan (3127) [b15] 3m + 1s, rated, 02.05.2007 [pgn] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 g6 Javier: Strange that Yasser should choose this line where Black usually struggles... 4.h3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nh6 6.Bf4 f6 7.exd5 cxd5 8.Nb5! Na6 (8...0-0 9.Qd2 is very annoying. However, 9.Nc7 is not so clear after 9...e5! 10.Bxh6 Qxc7 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.dxe5 Qa5+ 13.c3 -13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Kxd2 fxe5 Javier: And Nxe5 can be met by ...Rxf2.- 13...fxe5 14.Nxe5 Re8 15.f4 Nc6 Javier: With excellent compensation for the Pawn.) 9.c4 0-0 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Qb3 dxc4 12.Qxb7 Qa5 [12...Qb6 13.Qxb6 axb6 14.d5 Nb4 (14...Bf7 15.Bxc4 Javier: With a clear advantage to white.) 15.dxe6 Nc2+ 16.Kd2 Nxa1 17.Bxc4] 13.Be2 Nf5 14.0-0 Nb4? (Javier: c7 had to be covered! White could have played 15.Bc7! right now, but he saw it next move.) 15.g4? Nh6? [15...Nd5!] 16.Bc7! 1-0 [/pgn] Anyway, I have to say that GM Seirawan is one of the nicest people around: he'll often play much lower rated players (and I'm talking about people rated 1200-1800). Losing to one of these people can mean dropping 100 rating points, and beating them means you get no elo points. How many other GMs do that on a chess server?

Yes, I'm European and as such, I'm a soccer fan, I can't help it, it's in our blood. Anyway, today was a happy day for me: Liverpool won through to the Champions League final 4-1 on penalties after the semi-final second leg against Chelsea ended 1-0 to the Reds, leaving the aggregate score locked at 1-1. Why did I want Chelsea to lose? No particular reason, I simply can't stand their coach: Mourinho. Needless to say, I'd love Liverpool to win the final in Athens (against either Milan or Manchester) but having made it into the final is already good enough to make me happy.

Engineers at NeuroSky have big plans for brain wave-reading toys and video games. They say the simple Darth Vader game - a relatively crude biofeedback device cloaked in gimmicky garb - portends the coming of more sophisticated devices that could revolutionize the way people play. Technology from NeuroSky and other startups could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts. (Read full article HERE) Here's some more information from their website: NeuroSky has developed a cost effective bio sensor and signal processing system for the consumer market. Their wearable technology unlocks worlds of new applications such as consumer electronics, health, wellness, education and training. The neurons that comprise the brain work on electrical impulses. The last century of neurological research has shown that brainwaves of different wavelengths indicate different emotional states, like a focused awareness, a meditative state, or drowsiness. Brainwaves have been used in medical research and therapy for years. Neurosky is bringing it to the consumer world. ThinkGearTM module with Dry-Active Sensor Brainwave signals, eye movements, and other bio-signals are captured and amplified via our patented Dry-Active Sensor technology. » Non-Invasive » Small Form Factor » Dry active sensors that do not use contact gels » Accuracy eSenseTM Algorithm Library Signal processing unit runs proprietary interpretation software to translate biosignals into useful logic commands. » Neural-signal interpretation (such as emotions) » Based upon established technology from existing databases, algorithms, and new inventions . Before a machine can read your thoughts, how about if you concentrate a little for a change and solve the following endgame study? white to play and.... ?

I was reading the Sydney Morning Herald today and learned that "A large English cheddar cheese has become a star of the internet, attracting more than 1 million viewers to sit and stare at it as it slowly ripens" (Click here Visit the website!) Oh well, what can I say? , if you think perhaps you might have something A LITTLE BETTER TO DO (particularly if you're a chess player!) you might want to watch the following game which I saw last night on the playchess.com server. GM Andreikin - GM Jobava [b12] 3m + 1s, rated, 25.04.2007 [pgn] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 {This variation has always been considered very risky for black. GM Jo bava has his own ideas} 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bc4 exd4 7. O-O Bc5 8. e5 {8.Ng5 This is probably a more dangerous move here.} Nd5 9. Ng5 O-O 10. Nxh7 (10. Qd3 $1 g6 11. Ne4 {Javier: With good attacking chances for white}) 10... Ne3 (10... Kxh7 11. Qh5+ Kg8 12. Bd3 $1 {This looks strong for white.}) 11. Bxe3 (11. Qd3 $1 {This was probably stronger, one of the ideas being:} Nxf1 $2 12. Nf6+ gxf6 13. Qg6+ Kh8 14. Qh6+ Kg8 15. exf6 $18) 11... dxe3 12. Bxf7+ Kh8 $1 13. Qe2 Bg4 (13... Rxf7 14. Rxf7 Qd1+ $3 15. Qxd1 e2+ $19) 14. Qc4 e2+ 15. Qxc5 exf1=Q+ {And white resigned.} * [/pgn]

Harry Potter is dead, I saw it with my own eyes! I guess such a sad loss is not something I should be sharing with others, , but some of the stuff I watch on TV nowadays has taken away all the sensitivity left which I had! Oh, and for the record, Harry Potter WAS NOT WHITE, HE WAS BLACK! [pgn] 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 c5 4.e5 Ng8 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 Nc6 7.Qe4 d6 8.Nf3 dxe5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.Qxe5 Nf6 11.Bf4 Bb4 12.Be2 0-0 13.0-0 Bd7 14.Rfd1 Qc8 15.Nb5 Bxb5 16.Qxb5 Bc5 17.Bf3 Bb6 18.Bd6 1-0 [/pgn] This happened yesterday (April 25th 2007). May he rest in peace! This story is not fiction. It really happened. To find all the details, you know what to do with the black line... For those who care, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released sometime in 2010.

Some friends tell me that it's very unpolite to set the "ignore" flag on all my MSN contacts (this way they can't see I'm connected when I log on). I have to disagree with my friends on this one. I don't have all that many people on my contact list, I don't know, somethng like 50-75, but some people have hundreds. My point is, I'm the sort of person who likes to reply to someone greeting me. I know people who never use the "ignore" flag and simply don't reply whenever someone says something to them. I only remove the ignore flag whenever I have something important to say to that particular person. If I didn't, I'd be spending 24 hours a day simply talking to people. To me, msn is a bit like a phone line. Can you imagine having 100 people a day on the phone every day? And just for the record, I can't recall a single email I haven't replied to (from someone I knew, that is, not talking about spam here!). My advice: get a life, use the "ignore" flag.

Do you play on-line much? Is 2+1 considered bullet or blitz? I wasn't sure, but just today I found out that there is a formula to work it out! : Does bullet have anything to do with chess? probably not, but that's another discussion.

One of the best movies I've seen in recent months has been "The illusionist", with Edward Norton (a most versatile actor) and Jessica Biel. Now take a look at the following position. It's black to play and... win????????? Yes, this is not an illusion, it's not a magic trick. And I really ought to know it because I was black and my opponent resigned after my next move! As usual, avoid tmptation and do not slide you mouse pointer over the black line unless you know the answer! By the way, if you want to know more about "The illusionist", you can check the official website HERE!

I was kibitzing some blitz games on the playchess server last night and was surprised by the unexpected result of this game. There's a couple of errors on move 29 for black and 30 for white, but other than that the game is pretty good. The interesting moment comes on move 41, when Nigel tries to make some progress on the Kingside overlooking black's chances on the Queenside. By means of a nice sacrifice black was able to get a passed pawn and win the game. With a FIDE rating of 2248, 18 year old Kestutis Labekas, from Lithuania (AKA Lordi_forever on the playchess server) is probably no match against a GM like Short, but as they say, "Blitz is blitz!". Nigel Short (2942) - Lordi_forever (Kestutis Labekas, from Lithuania) (2742) [b11] 3m + 1s, rated, 21.04.2007 [pgn] 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.h3 Bh5 5.d4 e6 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.e5 Nfd7 8.g4 Bg6 9.Bxg6 hxg6 10.Ne2 c5 11.c3 Nc6 12.Kf1 Be7 13.Kg2 Rc8 [13...Qc7 Planning 0-0-0 looks safer.] 14.a3 b5 15.Be3 c4 16.h4 a5 17.Qd2 a4 18.Bg5 Bxg5 19.Nxg5 With the Queenside being blocked, white stands better as he has better chances on the Kingside. 19...Qe7 20.Rh3 Ndb8 21.Rah1 Kd7 22.h5 gxh5 23.Rxh5 Rxh5 24.Rxh5 Rg8 25.Rh7 Nd8 26.Ng3 Nbc6 27.Nh5 Qf8 28.f4 Ne7 29.Qc2 Rh8? After this white can simply take on g7, Nxg7. 30.f5 ? 30...Rxh7 31.Nxh7 Qh8 32.f6 gxf6 33.N7xf6+ Kc8 34.Qc1 Ng6 35.Kg3 Nc6 36.Qg5 Kc7 37.Nf4 Nce7 38.Qh5 Kd8 39.Qxh8+ Nxh8 40.Nh3 Nc6 41.Kh4 ? 41...Nxd4 !! 42.cxd4 b4 Sentence: one of black s pawns will be promoted! 43.Nf2 c3 44.bxc3 [44.Nd3 cxb2 45.Nxb2 bxa3] 44...bxa3 45.Kg5 a2 46.Kh6 a1=Q 47.Kg7 Qxc3 48.Kxh8 Qxd4 49.Nh3 Qxe5 50.g5 Qf5 0-1 [/pgn]

Who or what are we in this infinite universe of ours? How meaningless are our daily actions and thoughts? is there any reason to believe that we are any smarter, more creative, artistic, important, relevant, useful (or any other positive adjective that you can think of) than others? Perhaps the answer was found by "Kansas" guitarist Kerry Livgren when he was reading a book of Native American poetry. The line that caught his attention was "For All We Are Is Dust In The Wind..." That might well be true, but in 1932 Holm composed the following study, which, in my opinion, is much more than a bit of dust in the wind! White to play here. Can he save the game? Be honest and slide your mouse pointer over the black line ONLY when you a] think you know the answer or b] give up after having tried! Anyway, Kerry went on to write a wonderful song which you probably know already (and if you don't you should!) : Dust in the wind (Kansas) I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind. Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind [Now] Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.

Hey, how do you like my autobot?: Transformers, the movie produced by Spielberg, premiers worldwide on July 4th. The Decepticons (known as Destrons or on occasion Deathtrons in Japan) are the enemies of the Autobots, and the villains in the fictional universe of the Transformers toyline and related spin-off comics and cartoons. Their best known leader is Megatron. Despite being the villains, the Decepticons are very popular. Part of their popularity comes from having many more memorable personalities within their ranks than their Autobot foes. Examples include the eternally depressed Stunticon Dead End, the 'one robot Black Market' Swindle of the Combaticons, street thug Rumble, the ever-loyal Soundwave and the legendary traitor Starscream. (See Wikipedia) Anyway, there's "more than meets the eye" in the following position too: White to play and... (slide your mouse pointer over the black line ONLY when you think you know the answer!) Click here to visit Tansformers, the movie site. (Wallpapers, movie trailer, etc.)

I was thinking about an old story the other day: An old lady buys a bottle of wine at the bottleshop. She pays 10 dollars for it and then she leaves. She walks for 10 minutes and then, all of sudden, the following questions enter her mind: "do I really want this wine?, isn't alcohol supposed to be bad for me? Shouldn't I have bought an orange juice instead, which is not only healthier but also a lot cheaper?" So, she turns around and walks back towards the bottle shop. When she gets there, the cashier, who happens to be quite a nice man, gives her the 10$ back with no questions asked. Then, when the lady is about to leave the shop, she turns around and walks towards the cashier again: "Excuse me, I've given you 10$ and a bottle of wine worth another 10$, which makes a total of 20$. However, you've only given me back 10$, so I believe you still owe me another 10$. The cashier thinks about it for a few seconds and then, -can you believe it- quickly appologizes and gives the old lady another 10$!! I'm pretty sure the cashier must have felt like an idiot a few minutes later upon realizing the stupidity of his action. GM Daniel Cámpora must have felt something very similar when, back in 1992, at Ponferrada, he resigned the following position: Here GM Ubilava Played ...Nb1 with the idea of ...a3, and Campora... resigned! Think about the position and answer whether you would have resigned too! Only then slide your mouse over the black line. What about you, have you ever been ripped off at the board?