Great result in Chess.com USCF Online rated blitz tournament

Because of so many high rated players I am used to getting beat up in this weekly 3+2 speed chess tournament.  My online rating had suffered and I was down to 1758.

Tonight I lost to a 2352 and a 2595.

However, I scored 4.5 out of 5 against five opponents rated from 1989 to 2211.  I think that I was winning a game against a 2050, but took a draw by repetition because I was very low on time.

Two things worked in my favor:

1.  I was very focussed.

2.  I was trying very hard to get active pieces.  Normally, I am more cautious and strategic, but given the fast pace of the games I was throwing caution to the wind. 

The games are not going to be perfect.  They never are at speed chess.  I am sure that there are many errors on both sides.  But the games were exciting...

[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]

[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "clevelandguards"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2211"]
[BlackElo "1758"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "1:07:06 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "john2001plus won by checkmate"]

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. f4 Qe7 6. Nf3 f6 7. fxe5 fxe5 8.
Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Nxe5 Nf6 10. Nxc6 Qf7 11. Qf3 Bg4 12. Qf2 O-O 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14.
Qxf6 Rxf6 15. Nd4 c5 16. Nb5 Be5 17. N5c3 d4 18. exd4 cxd4 19. Ne4 d3 20. Nxf6+
Bxf6 21. c3 Re8+ 22. Kf2 Re2+ 23. Kg3 Bf5 24. Na3 Be5+ 25. Kh4 Rxg2 26. Rag1 g5+
27. Kh5 Bg6+ 28. Kh6 Bg7# 0-1


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "SpikyOil2"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2082"]
[BlackElo "1788"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "1:20:36 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "john2001plus won by resignation"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Qd2 Qb6 11. Nd5 Qxd4 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Qxb2 14. Qa5+ b6
15. Qxb6+ Qxb6 16. Nxb6 Bxa1 17. Bc4 Be6 18. O-O Nd7 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. Nxd7 Kxd7
21. Rxa1 Rb8 22. h3 Nf6 23. e5 Nd5 24. Rd1 Nc3 25. Rd3 Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Nxg3+ 27.
fxg3 Rb2 28. exd6 Rxa2 29. dxe7+ Kxe7 30. c4 Rc2 31. Ra3 Rxc4 32. Rxa6 Re4 33.
Kf2 Re5 34. Kf3 Kf6 35. g4 Rb5 36. g3 Rb3+ 37. Kf2 Ke5 38. Ra8 Ke4 39. Ra4+ Ke5
40. Ra6 Rb2+ 41. Kf3 Rb3+ 42. Kf2 Rb2+ 43. Kf1 Kf6 44. h4 Ke5 45. Ra5+ Kf6 46.
Kg1 Rb1+ 47. Kf2 Rb2+ 48. Ke3 Rb3+ 49. Ke4 Rxg3 50. hxg5+ hxg5 51. Ra8 Rxg4+ 52.
Kf3 Rf4+ 53. Ke3 e5 54. Rf8+ Kg6 55. Ra8 g4 56. Re8 Kf5 57. Rf8+ Kg5 58. Re8
Rf3+ 59. Ke4 Rf1 60. Rxe5+ Kh4 61. Ra5 Kg3 62. Ke3 Re1+ 63. Kd2 Re7 64. Ra3+ Kg2
65. Kd1 g3 66. Ra2+ Kg1 67. Ra8 g2 68. Rg8 Re5 69. Kd2 Kf2 70. Rf8+ Kg3 71. Rg8+
Kf3 72. Rf8+ Kg4 73. Kd3 g1=Q 74. Rg8+ Rg5 75. Rxg5+ Kxg5 0-1


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "RrabbitHole"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1815"]
[BlackElo "2595"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "1:27:50 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "RrabbitHole won by resignation"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2
Nxc3 9. bxc3 f5 10. Nd2 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 d5 12. Nf3 dxc4 13. Bf4 Bd6 14. Ne5 Bxe5
15. Bxe5 Nc6 16. Rfd1 Qd5+ 17. Kg1 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qxe5 19. Rd4 b5 20. f4 Qc5 21.
Kg2 Rad8 22. Rad1 Rd6 23. e4 Rfd8 24. exf5 exf5 25. Qe2 Qc6+ 26. Qf3 Qxf3+ 27.
Kxf3 Rxd4 28. cxd4 c5 29. Ke3 cxd4+ 30. Rxd4 Rxd4 31. Kxd4 Kf7 32. a4 a6 33.
axb5 axb5 0-1


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "TanMiniGoat"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1989"]
[BlackElo "1815"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "1:39:27 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "john2001plus won by checkmate"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 Nc6 6. Bb2 Bd6 7. a3 O-O 8. O-O Qc7
9. Nbd2 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Bxe5 Qxe5 13. Nf3 Qh5 14. c4 dxc4 15.
Bxc4 Bg4 16. Be2 Rfd8 17. Qc2 Qf5 18. Qxf5 Bxf5 19. Rac1 Ne4 20. Bc4 Nd2 21.
Nxd2 Rxd2 22. Rfd1 Rad8 23. Be2 b6 24. Rxd2 Rxd2 25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Kf8 27.
Kf1 Ke7 28. Ke1 Kd6 29. Kd2 b5 30. Bc2 Bxc2 31. Kxc2 Ke5 32. Kc3 g5 33. a4 a6
34. axb5 axb5 35. b4 c4 36. f3 h5 37. g3 g4 38. fxg4 hxg4 39. h4 gxh3 40. g4 h2
41. g5 h1=Q 42. e4 Qxe4 43. g6 fxg6 44. Kb2 Qd3 45. Ka2 c3 46. Ka1 Qd2 47. Kb1
Qb2# 0-1


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "john2001plus"]
[Black "laurengoodkindchess"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1837"]
[BlackElo "2050"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "1:50:20 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "Game drawn by repetition"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 c6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 b6 8. O-O
Bb7 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 O-O 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Bxe4 Nf6
15. Bd3 c5 16. d5 exd5 17. Rfe1 Qd6 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Rad1 Qc6 20. Ne5 Qb7 21.
f3 Rfe8 22. Bb5 Red8 23. a4 a6 24. Bc4 Bxc4 25. Qxc4 Rac8 26. b3 Qc7 27. Rxd8+
Rxd8 28. Qxa6 Re8 29. Nd3 Rxe1+ 30. Nxe1 Qe5 31. Kf1 Qxh2 32. Qxb6 Nh5 33. Qxc5
Ng3+ 34. Kf2 Nh1+ 35. Ke2 Ng3+ 36. Kf2 Nh1+ 37. Ke2 Ng3+ 38. Kf2 1/2-1/2


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "LilyFlowerBuds"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2352"]
[BlackElo "1845"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "2:02:32 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "LilyFlowerBuds won on time"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h4 Nc6 7. f3 e6 8. Be3 d5
9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Nd7 11. Na4 Nxe5 12. Nb6 Rb8 13. Nxc8 Qxc8 14. f4 Nd7 15. b3
Bc5 16. Bxc5 Nxc5 17. Qd4 Ne4 18. Bd3 Qc7 19. Qxg7 Qxf4 20. Qxh8+ Kd7 21. Qd4 e5
22. Qa7+ Ke6 23. Bxe4 Qxe4+ 24. Kd1 Qg4+ 25. Kc1 Qxg2 26. Rd1 Rg8 27. Qc7 d4 28.
Kb2 Rg3 29. Re1 f6 30. Rg1 Qf3 31. Raf1 Qc3+ 32. Kb1 d3 33. Qc8+ Kd5 34. Qd7+
Kc5 35. Qe7+ Kb6 36. Qd8+ Kc5 37. Qf8+ Kb6 38. Qb8+ Kc5 39. Qf8+ Kb6 40. Qd8+
Kc5 41. cxd3 Rxd3 42. Qf8+ Kb6 43. Rc1 Qd4 44. Qb8+ Ka5 45. Qc7+ Kb5 46. Qxc6+
Ka5 47. Qc5+ 1-0


[Event "*** US Chess 3|2 Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.01.14"]
[Round "7"]
[White "VroomVroom5"]
[Black "john2001plus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2081"]
[BlackElo "1843"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]
[EndTime "2:13:35 GMT+0000"]
[Termination "john2001plus won by resignation"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. Bd2 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Nc6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Be2 e5 11. O-O d4 12. exd4 exd4 13. Na4 Qa5 14. Bxb4 Qxb4
15. a3 Qd6 16. b4 Re8 17. Bf3 Ng4 18. g3 Ne5 19. Bg2 d3 20. Qc3 Bg4 21. f3 Bf5
22. f4 Ng4 23. Nc5 Ne3 24. Rfd1 Nxd1 25. Rxd1 a5 26. Nxd3 axb4 27. axb4 Re3 28.
c5 Rxd3 29. cxd6 Rxc3 30. d7 Rd8 31. Ra1 Bxd7 32. Bf1 Kf8 33. b5 cxb5 34. Ra7
Ke8 35. g4 b4 36. f5 b3 37. Ra5 b2 38. Re5+ Kf8 39. Bd3 Rxd3 0-1

Final rating: 1866

My blogs get many hits

https://neeeeews.blogspot.com/

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https://politics4thought.blogspot.com/

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Let's hope that it is not just AI chatbots reading my blogs.

Name one thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpGItHEo6ho

This caused me to look up "ineradicability"

I told my late step-dad that whenever I hear a word I don't know, I look it up.  His response was that he would be looking up words all day long.

Early chess programs

FYI.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Subject: 
To: Jeff Chronologically Gaming

Forty years ago I reached the "Class A" ranking in chess and many years later the "Expert" rating, which is one category below "Master".   Outside the United States, the "Expert" category is called "Candidate Master."

In the 1980s I was playing a few chess programs on the Timex Sinclair 2068 and the Atari ST.   I entered a contest from a British Sinclair magazine where you had to solve a chess problem to enter the contest.  The prize was the top chess program for the Sinclair Spectrum, so I sent a postcard to England with my solution.  I mostly forgot about it, but two or three months later I received a copy of the chess program from the British magazine with no explanation.  I guess I won the contest.  Unfortunately, I could beat the program.

Fortunately, I had a Spectrum Emulation cartridge.  I used it to play a couple of Spectrum games.  I don't think that Boulder Dash runs on the Timex Sinclair 2068 and I didn't even know that it was available for the Spectrum, which is why I wrote my own version called "Diamond Mike".

I had a couple of chess programs on the Atari ST I could beat.  At the time, the best chess programs were mostly on dedicated chess computers that cost hundreds of dollars.  I wrote a primitive chess program on the Atari ST, but I didn't put much effort into it.  By that point, I was looking to get a real job.

There was a program called Psion Chess on the Atari ST and the Sinclair QL.   I didn't have it, but it would likely have been better than me.  It was comparable to dedicated chess computers.  I met someone who had a Sinclair QL with the program and I was impressed with it.

Years later I got early versions of ChessMaster, like 2000 and 3000, and at the time I ran them on my work computer after hours.  I didn't have an Intel PC yet, but I would get one in the mid 90's, and it cost around $1200 just for a 486-33mhz.

For the last couple of decades, Fritz chess has been the most popular, although the open source Stockfish engine available for free is the strongest.  I use this engine with Fritz 10 to analyze my chess games.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

Fwd: My Chess Tactics problems.

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Subject: My Chess Tactics problems.
To:

https://www.entertainmentjourney.com/1w.htm

https://www.entertainmentjourney.com/1b.htm

I have mentioned before that I use my performance on the chess problems I created roughly 29 years ago as a proxy for measuring my current tactical strength.  This is usually a good indicator.

I have been accused of simply memorizing the answers and not really challenging my brain.  This is partly true.  The challenge is to see how quickly I can get through them.  My goal is to memorize the patterns rather than the problems themselves, although in reality I am doing some of both.

These problems form the foundation of my pattern recognition.  My goal was always to be able to see simple tactics quickly—if not instantly.  Most one-move problems are instantaneous for me.  This is usually not true for the two- and three-move problems, but I would like it to be.

I have these goals because I play a great deal of speed chess and need to recognize tactical patterns very quickly.

After Christmas, I suddenly started doing worse on these problems.  This led me to believe I was in a slump.  There could be a variety of reasons for this, but my concern is that my skill might deteriorate as I get older.

At least for the moment, I seem to have worked my way out of the slump.  In chess, hard work has always paid off for me, and I love the game so much that I enjoy the effort.

--

Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

20 Essential Science Fiction Books

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RavzF4Itlh0

I used to read a ton up to the 1990s, then it seemed like I got too busy.

I've read 7 of the 20 books...

War of the Worlds.

Foundation (trilogy)

Stranger in a Strange Land (I've read most of Robert Heinlein)

Dune (I read all the sequels in the 1970s.)

The Mote in God's Eye

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and sequels)

Hyperion (and sequel)

He does not include the "I Robot" novels.  Asimov would eventually merge these into his Foundation novels.

Lately I have been listening to a ton of Star Wars audiobooks.