2001-03-08 - 11:59 p.m.

Finally Done

Yeeeeeha! Trailing clouds of glory, I'm done! I've put in the last of the games from the U.S. Amateur Team East, cleaned them all up, cross referenced them and sent them out.

I don’t recollect it taking so long last year, but there were a lot of things happening at the same time here: the snow, the other tournament and so on.

But who cares! I'm done! I'm free!

Now, I all I have to do is my taxes!

Oh... crap.

Anyway, here's another very short game from the event where the black queen kicks the white king out of his own house. It's kind of a Jerry Springer sort of game.

Johnson - Sugar

US Amateur Team East, Round 1

Parsippany,NJ 2/17/2001

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5

Uh oh. It's the Latvian Gambit! Only CRAZY PEOPLE play that!

3.exf5

White decides to accept the gambit, which is not best. Myself, I prefer 3.Bc4.

3...e4 4.Ng1 d5 5.f3?

White wants to attack black's advanced pawns, but now is not the time for this. He should play something like 5.Qh5+.

5...Bxf5 6.fxe4?

Opening himself up like this is a very bad mistake for white.

6...Qh4+ 7.Ke2?

Now white is really asking for it. Better was 7.g3 but black is still on top after 7...Qxe4+.

7...Qxe4+ 8.Kf2 Bc5+ 9.Kg3

White's only hope of survival was 9.d4. Now he gets checkmated.

9...Qe5+ 10.Kh4 Be7+ 11.Kh5 g6, mate.

Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.