Mr Studen (exclam)

One of the things I don't like about this blog is it does not allow an exclamation mark in the title. That's not good for a chess writer raised on the Informant!
I have just spent hours watching the eight round game of the player carrying the Stars and Bars into battle in Dallas at the US Open, Damir Studen. Although a transplant, Damir has lived here long enough to be an adopted Southerner. After all, he has become a man at our House! Did he ever play like a man tonight! It was a beautiful game, bringing his score to 6-2, with one round to go.
If you are a regular reader of the BaconLOG, you know I've perviously written about the problems with Monroi. Tonight was no exception, I'm sad to report. But, with the game that counted, Studen-Shinsaku, I had no problems, so I watched only that game. I do not know what the Monroi people have on the USCF, but it must really be something that would make J. Edgar Hoover turn over in his grave! Until informed otherwise, it is simply the only explanation as to why anyone in his right mind would use such a bad system when there are many other systems that work fine...
Board member Colin Potts, back from Oxford, came by tonight, bringing me the three BRITISH CHESS magazine's with articles remembering Bobby Fischer that Malcolm Pein put back for me and we got into a discussion ranging from this to that! The professor is always someone with whom the time passes too quickly when having verbal intercourse! In relation to a point of his I mentioned the article by Josh Waitzkin on multitasking on US Chess online ( Waitzkin on the Multitasking Virus ) which led to the July CHESS LIFE. If you notice you will see the future, which has turned into the present, and the past. On the cover you see the winner of the US Senior, IM Larry Kaufman, with a chess set. Inside on pages 30-31 you will see the winning team from the USAT South, all four with their laptops! One of the customers tonight brought his son to join USCF and the House, purchasing a copy of the new CHESS LIFE and the award winning GEORGIA CHESS, so I asked if they would be interested in any chess books and was told that he did not read chess books, learning everything from the 'puter!
While watching the game (not games!), I was listening to Music from the Hearts of Space on the 'puter and I got the idea to put the Stud's game into Fritz. Unfortunately, that proved to be way too much for the 'puter, so something had to go...Can you guess which of the three I jettisoned? I broke out the chessboard and analyzed myself, just like in the pre-'puter daze! The 'puter makes us lazy, if we allow it...
Mr Spinks says he cannot understand anyone just watching anything without "pulling" for someone. I can enjoy the game without caring which team wins, and I can enjoy watching a chess game without "pulling" for one player over another, although I will admit there are some players I like to see go down! Tonight I found myself pumping my fist when Damir made what I thought to be a good move, and slapping my head when he made what to me was a questionable one. After Damir attacked the Queen with 29 Nc4, Mr Shinsaku counter-attacked the Queen with the e-pawn, giving Damir a pawn. But which way to take? I was looking at fxe3 but Damir took with the knight, which looked much better. When his opponent moved his pawn on his 45th move, I thought it was a big mistake, and was sending signals to Dallas for Damir to play 46 Qb2+, which he did. Damir first got his lady into the enemy position, then, after trading Queens, planted his rook on the seventh rank and I thought for sure he would win. But then he played 56 Rc7, going after the c-pawn, in lieu of Ng4 with the idea of Nf6 and rook down to the back rank, tying up the Black army. It was then I realized our rating disparity, and that Damir was doing a fine job of grinding down his opponent, and I had better NOT keep sending subspace signals, as they were capable of messing up his thinking, so I sat back and simply watched the remaing moves with a smile on my face. WELL DONE, MR STUDEN!
Give it everything you've got in the last round, Stud!

Damir Studen- Shinsaku Uesugi 2295
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.0–0 0–0 6.c4 dxc4 7.Ne5 c5 8.dxc5 Qc7 9.Nxc4 Qxc5 10.Nbd2 Nc6 11.b3 Qh5 12.Bb2 Bh3 13.Nf3 Rfd8 14.Qe1 Ng4 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Qc3+ f6 17.Ne3 e5 18.Nxg4 Bxg4 19.Rfd1 e4 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Nd2 Nd4 22.Re1 Qe5 23.Kh1 Rc8 24.Nc4 Qc5 25.Qd2 Re8 26.Ne3 h5 27.h3 Bf5 28.Rc1 Qe5 29.Nc4 e3 30.Nxe3 Be4 31.f4 Bxg2+ 32.Nxg2 Qe4 33.e3 Nf5 34.Qf2 Re7 35.Kh2 Qd5 36.Rc2 Rd7 37.Rc4 Qd1 38.Rc2 Qd5 39.Re2 Qe4 40.Rd2 Re7 41.Rd1 Rc7 42.g4 hxg4 43.hxg4 Nh6 44.Kg3 f5 45.Qb2+ Kh7 46.g5 Nf7 47.Qf6 Qc6 48.Qxc6 bxc6 49.Kf3 Kg7 50.e4 fxe4+ 51.Kxe4 Re7+ 52.Kf3 Re6 53.Rd7 a6 54.Ne3 Kf8 55.Ra7 c5 56.Rc7 Nd6 57.Rxc5 Ne4 58.Rc7 Nd2+ 59.Ke2 Ne4 60.Kd3 Ke8 61.Nd5 Kd8 62.Rh7 Kc8 63.Kd4 Nd6 64.Nb6+ 1-0