Thanks to Mike Cardinale for organizing NM Sam Schmakel's simul at the Lincoln Square Marbles to publicize the 2013 Illinois Tour, and of course thanks to Sam for generously donating his time.
I pointed out to the participants that I am still undefeated against Sam in tournament play (for an example of Sam's play at age nine(!), see page 6 of this PDF). Sam quietly replied, "There's a board available"; wisely, I chickened out.
Sam scored a perfect 12-0 in the simul (several experienced tournament players, including Paul Kash and Keith Ammann, were among his victims), and played one of the boards blindfold. After the event, I bought a tchotke for the office and a game for a relative: Marbles is a fun place to shop!
I pointed out to the participants that I am still undefeated against Sam in tournament play (for an example of Sam's play at age nine(!), see page 6 of this PDF). Sam quietly replied, "There's a board available"; wisely, I chickened out.
Sam scored a perfect 12-0 in the simul (several experienced tournament players, including Paul Kash and Keith Ammann, were among his victims), and played one of the boards blindfold. After the event, I bought a tchotke for the office and a game for a relative: Marbles is a fun place to shop!
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| Last Sunday at the Lincoln Square Marbles Foreground: Bill Brock, NM Sam Schmakel, ICA Metro VP Mike Cardinale Photo: Eileen Schmakel |
3 comments:
My daughter loves the game Spontuneous, which we bought at Marbles.
Let it be known that "experienced" is not the same as "strong," particularly in my case.
I actually thought I was on pretty solid ground when he played a variation of the English Opening (1.c4 e5 2.g3) that I call "Bill's Opening" after a guy at the Route 20 Chess Club who played it all the time, and which I once devoted some effort to trying to bust. Sam corrected that little misunderstanding of mine.
How on earth could 1.c4 e5 2.g3 be "busted"? It's a Reversed Sicilian where the Sicilian player has the extra move g3. In other words, White plays 1.e4 and Black gets to respond with BOTH 1...c5 and 1...g6. GM Mihai Marin recommends 1.c4 e5 2.g3! in his book "Grandmaster Repertoire 3: The English Opening Vol. 1."
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