Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

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Date: 06 Jul 2006 13:23:06
From: Sam Sloan
Subject: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Yes. It is true. Sam Sloan finished in Last place in the Open Section
of the World Open Chess Championship in Philadelphia, held June 30 to
July 4, 2006.

Take a look at:
http://www.worldopen.com/2006Results/open.html

The way this happened was that due to a pairing error, an
International Master was left out of the pairings. He had received a
half-point bye the round previously and had been left out of the
pairings this round.

The tournament director had a choice: Either give him a full point bye
or find a real opponent to play him.

Since I am always available to play filler games, I was summoned to
the board.

My problem was that I have a baby with me to take care of.
Fortunately, a lady was there who was the girlfriend of a Nigerian
player, Chikwere G. Onyekwere. She had two daughters with her who were
about the same age as my daughter. My daughter always likes to play
with kids her own age, so this lady agreed to take care of my daughter
while I was playing the game.

My opponent was an International Master from Kazakstan, with a FIDE
rating of 2411. He had just arrived in America one week before. Only
18 years old, he had competed in the World Youth Championships in
Greece. This was his first USCF rated tournament.

I figured that I had a good chance to beat him, in spite of the fact
that he was rated 600 points higher than me. The reason I felt this
way was that he did not know me. All of the strong US players now know
the way I play and are prepared for it. However, this player with no
knowledge of me or of how I play or of the strengths and weaknesses of
US players, would be thrown off because of my style.

I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. g4. With black, I
play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
Black wins due to his material advantage.

I figured that with these two openings, he would never know what hit
him and I would wipe him out in no time.

His FIDE Rating card is at
http://fide.com/ratings/card.phtml?event=13703102

Unfortunately, perhaps somebody had tipped him off about me. (I wonder
if Bill Goichberg said anything.) So, fearing my Damianos Defense, he
played the insipid Vienna Game. I was deeply disappointed. Actually, I
have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.

He seemed to be playing weakly, so I started my attack almost
immediately with 5. . . . Ng4. After 6. O-O, perhaps I should have
continued my attack with 6 . . . h5. However, that might run in
trouble with 7. Na4, grabbing my active bishop.

I think the move I played, 6. . . . Be6, was weak, as the bishop does
almost nothing there. Perhaps, I should have played 6. . . . Nc6
instead.

After 7. h3, I should have just retreated my knight. Taking a rook and
pawn for two pieces did not turn out well.

Although material remained even, this gave him a slight advantage.
After that, he just slowly ground me down. I do not think I made any
mistakes after that.

Since this is a new player in America, naturally the other strong
players will be interested in learning about him. My impression was
that he did not seem to be grandmaster strength. However, I showed
this game to two grandmasters and they felt that he had not done
anything wrong, so perhaps he is that strong after all.

Sam Sloan

[Event "World Open Championship, Open Section"]
[Site "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"]
[Date "2006.07.03"]
[Round "07"]
[White "Iskakov, Albek"]
[Black "Sloan, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C26"]
[WhiteElo "2511"]
[BlackElo "1920"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nge2 Ng4 6.O-O Be6 7.h3
Nxf2 8.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 O-O 10.Kg1 Nc6 11.d4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4
13.Qxd4 Qd7 14.Kh2 Rae8 15.Bf4 f5 16.Re1 fxe4 17.Rxe4 Bf5 18.Qd5+
Kh8 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.Ne4 h6 21.c4 b6 22.b4 Be6 23.Qd4 Kg8 24.Bxh6
c5 25.bxc5 dxc5 26.Qxd7 Bxd7 27.Bf4 Bc6 28.Nc3 Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Re1
30.Kf2 Rh1 31.h4 Kf7 32.Ke3 Ke6 33.Bb8 Rg1 34.Ne2 Ra1 35.Bxa7
Rxa2 36.Bxb6 Kd6 37.Nc3 Ra3 38.Kd3 Rb3 39.Bd8 Kc6 40.Bg5 Ra3
41.Kc2 Ra1 42.Be3 Re1 43.Kd2 Ra1 44.Kd3 Ra3 45.Bc1 Ra1 46.Kc2 Ra8
47.Ne4 Ra7 48.Kd3 Ra1 49.Bb2 Rd1+ 50.Ke2 Rd7 51.h5 Ra7 52.Kf3 Re7
53.g4 Rf7+ 54.Ke3 Rb7 55.Bc3 Re7 56.g5 Ra7 57.h6 gxh6 58.gxh6 Re7
59.Bg7 1-0

Date: 12 Jul 2006 10:33:00
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:

> Anyone with an internet connection and an ICC membership can set up a demo
> board on ICC and input the moves as they're played. I'm not sure how to set
> it up but it has to be trivial.

Whom do you propose that "anyone" to be.

Vince Hart performed that service during the grudge match against Bill
Brock in Chicago and Larry Cohen served as the referee. However,
although Hart is a rated 1900 player, he messed up the moves, reporting
that I had played O-O-O, whereas I had actually played Rd8.

Do you know anybody who is willing to do this?

The alternative might be to use a Mon Roi board. Do you know anybody
who has one?

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jul 2006 04:53:26
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
>
>
> I've named three places already: Ken Thomas's house, the shall, and the
> Hoboken Chess Club. Problem is Ken's is very far for you and you don't
> drive. Plus I don't know anyone to ask at the shall. Since we began this
> charade the Hoboken CC has lost its storefront, so that place is out. No
> point naming a time if we can't agree on the place. If you keep stalling
> maybe the shall will go out of business as well. Or perhaps they'll have
> changed the number of squares on the board to 81, and the Damiano will be a
> forced win. Is that what you're waiting for Sam?

You first suggested the Hoboken Chess Club but then almost immediately
reported that they were out of business.

The shall Chess Club under new management is enforcing its "members
only" policy so it seems unlikely that they would let us play there.

Part of the deal is to broadcast the games on ICC as they are being
played and I am not sure that that could be done at Ken Thomas's house.

So, I am not evading at all. I am anxious to spend your money. We just
need a place to play.

Sam Sloan

Date: 12 Jul 2006 11:55:20
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"samsloan" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
>>
>>
>> I've named three places already: Ken Thomas's house, the shall, and
>> the
>> Hoboken Chess Club. Problem is Ken's is very far for you and you don't
>> drive. Plus I don't know anyone to ask at the shall. Since we began
>> this
>> charade the Hoboken CC has lost its storefront, so that place is out. No
>> point naming a time if we can't agree on the place. If you keep stalling
>> maybe the shall will go out of business as well. Or perhaps they'll
>> have
>> changed the number of squares on the board to 81, and the Damiano will be
>> a
>> forced win. Is that what you're waiting for Sam?
>
> You first suggested the Hoboken Chess Club but then almost immediately
> reported that they were out of business.
>
> The shall Chess Club under new management is enforcing its "members
> only" policy so it seems unlikely that they would let us play there.
>
> Part of the deal is to broadcast the games on ICC as they are being
> played and I am not sure that that could be done at Ken Thomas's house.
>
> So, I am not evading at all. I am anxious to spend your money. We just
> need a place to play.
>
> Sam Sloan

Anyone with an internet connection and an ICC membership can set up a demo
board on ICC and input the moves as they're played. I'm not sure how to set
it up but it has to be trivial. I'm an ICC member and Ken has a computer in
the room he uses for chess. Whether it's connected to the 'Net I do not
know. If you want to play there I'm nearly certain Ken would host. He
believes in the Damiano and thinks I'll be trounced, which I'm sure is
something he'd like to witness first hand. I can't wait to take Ken's side
bet as well as your stake, Sammy.

Date: 11 Jul 2006 03:40:17
From: Skeptic
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Chess One wrote:

> > It is hard to believe that Sam, an "A" an not an "E" player after all,
> > would actually believe that he has a "good chance" of beating an
> > International Master by playing two trick openings which are among the
> > weakest possible choices for white and black, respectively.
>
> I think this is a missaprehension about OTB play. In a relative sense its a
> shock to be confronted with an unusual or 'weak' opening. Do you remember
> what to do or how self evident is it to proceed, while the clock ticks? One
> mistake or weak move will advantage the other guy to the point where he is
> better... so, tick tick tick :)

Sure, Sam's method of "book yourself completely in an obscure opening"
often works on the class level, or if he's playing blitz. But in a
standard time control tournament game against an IM? Not bloody likely.

Date: 11 Jul 2006 16:35:47
From: Chess One
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Skeptic" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Chess One wrote:
>
>> > It is hard to believe that Sam, an "A" an not an "E" player after all,
>> > would actually believe that he has a "good chance" of beating an
>> > International Master by playing two trick openings which are among the
>> > weakest possible choices for white and black, respectively.
>>
>> I think this is a missaprehension about OTB play. In a relative sense its
>> a
>> shock to be confronted with an unusual or 'weak' opening. Do you remember
>> what to do or how self evident is it to proceed, while the clock ticks?
>> One
>> mistake or weak move will advantage the other guy to the point where he
>> is
>> better... so, tick tick tick :)
>
> Sure, Sam's method of "book yourself completely in an obscure opening"
> often works on the class level, or if he's playing blitz. But in a
> standard time control tournament game against an IM? Not bloody likely.

Tal's dead, or I would tell him.

Just before Fischer emerged he was unbeatable in the world - and he rather
famoulsy said that OTB his adventures worked, even though they were mostly
flawed, as any ful could figure out a few hours later, or next day or next
week - but OTB, no one.

I beat an IM who had published 4 books on the Sicilian - I looked up his
Pelikan lines, saw very slight attention to the Larsen, which was very outre
at the time, played it. 0-1 24 moves. At one time this too was a weird line,
even the entire Pelikan var.

Overall I do not want to keep disagreeing with you since what you speak has
an essential truth - that sound openings get better results than unsound
ones. But I ask you to accept [Hopper?] who said that the opposite of one
profound truth is not necessarily a falsehood, but can be another profound
truth.

So if you play these 'monstrosity' openings - not as some matter of theory -
but in actual OTB challenge, then the other profound truth is being
combative at the board, and your opponent may not have much confidence out
of his book or his habits or beyond known lines in wildly unbalanced
positions.

I think that the art of chess playing contains much of this sort of thing -
maybe the most exciting American player in the past two decades is Larry
Christianson - he comes right for your throat, no? And who is to say that
this strategy has not done him extremely well.

The trouble with Sam Sloan is that he, admittedly at a lower level than
Spassky[!], has developed bad habits in his youth - and they are now
difficult to shirk. If he ever had a chess mentor, the bloke wasn't brutal
enough. To some extent I can identify with this bad-habit behavior, never
having enough discipline to study chess openings more than wanting to than
have a big brawl at the board, and I sometimes think - O to hell with it! -
and play the some old baloney from my youth, full of tricks and traps, and
loaded with outragous 'non-chessic' elements which break normal rules.

I suppose it works because it is so combative that it is actually shocking
to the other player, combined with the factor that to play 'normally'
against such stuff is to acquiese to it's charms :)

Therefore, to my own understanding of playing chess, I see a sort of ker
somewhere between point A on the left, and point B on the right, where A is
theoretical knowledge, and B is Genghis Khan. Players are more or less
oriented to either polarity, and therefore this is a relative factor of
knowledge :: fight.

What do you think of this idea?

When I watch kids play they are obviously far more towards 'B' since they
don't have much knoeledge. And obviously people recommend that they
increment it. I am sometimes unhappy that this becomes the only
recommendation, since it would seem to overconcentrate on A to the neglect
and even atropy of B.

[I'm glad Nakamura hasn't lost his 'B-factor' - he is a right pugilist!]

Cordially, Phil Innes

Date: 10 Jul 2006 19:23:43
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
> "Randy Bauer" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> >> Sam, I have suggested the shall CC. About an hour's drive for me, and
> >> 40 minuts' subway ride for you. Surely you know someone there who could
> >> serve as arbiter and transmit the games to ICC. If they input the moves
> >> directly then they could phone them in.
> >>
> >> adp
> >
> > My money is on Angelo, and I would point him to the threads here where I
> > busted Sloan's lines over and over. The only reason he suggests it's
> > playable is he is delusional.
> >
> > I'll toss $100 into the pot, plus I'll take Sloan's bets up to another
> > $1,000, based on the terms of Sloan playing as black 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6
> >
> > Randy Bauer
>
> It's obvious he doesn't want to play this match. My satisfaction is in
> having spent a few days going through lines as white. There aren't even any
> tricks in there for Black. It's all bad, and quite obvious.
>
> By the way, the deal was the game would have to go 3.Ne5 fe5.
>
> Sam has another reason to fear me now though: my rating is two points higher
> than his.

Who says? I am ready to play the match. I always have been.

You just need to name the time and place.

Sam Sloan

Date: 11 Jul 2006 02:15:02
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"samsloan" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ange1o DePa1ma wrote:
>> "Randy Bauer" <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>> >> Sam, I have suggested the shall CC. About an hour's drive for me,
>> >> and
>> >> 40 minuts' subway ride for you. Surely you know someone there who
>> >> could
>> >> serve as arbiter and transmit the games to ICC. If they input the
>> >> moves
>> >> directly then they could phone them in.
>> >>
>> >> adp
>> >
>> > My money is on Angelo, and I would point him to the threads here where
>> > I
>> > busted Sloan's lines over and over. The only reason he suggests it's
>> > playable is he is delusional.
>> >
>> > I'll toss $100 into the pot, plus I'll take Sloan's bets up to another
>> > $1,000, based on the terms of Sloan playing as black 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6
>> >
>> > Randy Bauer
>>
>> It's obvious he doesn't want to play this match. My satisfaction is in
>> having spent a few days going through lines as white. There aren't even
>> any
>> tricks in there for Black. It's all bad, and quite obvious.
>>
>> By the way, the deal was the game would have to go 3.Ne5 fe5.
>>
>> Sam has another reason to fear me now though: my rating is two points
>> higher
>> than his.
>
> Who says? I am ready to play the match. I always have been.
>
> You just need to name the time and place.
>
> Sam Sloan

I've named three places already: Ken Thomas's house, the shall, and the
Hoboken Chess Club. Problem is Ken's is very far for you and you don't
drive. Plus I don't know anyone to ask at the shall. Since we began this
charade the Hoboken CC has lost its storefront, so that place is out. No
point naming a time if we can't agree on the place. If you keep stalling
maybe the shall will go out of business as well. Or perhaps they'll have
changed the number of squares on the board to 81, and the Damiano will be a
forced win. Is that what you're waiting for Sam?

Date: 10 Jul 2006 05:36:18
From:
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

X-No-Archive: Yes

> I figured that I had a good chance to beat him, in spite of the fact
> that he was rated 600 points higher than me. The reason I felt this
> way was that he did not know me. ... I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. > g4. With black, I
> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
> Black wins due to his material advantage.

It is hard to believe that Sam, an "A" an not an "E" player after all,
would actually believe that he has a "good chance" of beating an
International Master by playing two trick openings which are among the
weakest possible choices for white and black, respectively.

> I figured that with these two openings, he would never know what hit
> him and I would wipe him out in no time.
> Unfortunately, perhaps somebody had tipped him off about me. (I wonder
> if Bill Goichberg said anything.) So, fearing my Damianos Defense, he
> played the insipid Vienna Game.

Or, what is more likely, he just figured that--in a lousy tournament
when he has scoring 2/6 and completely out of the running for any prize
money anyway--that he'd just use his next round's game against a far
weaker opponent to have a bit of fun with an opening that is considered
weaker for white, as a training game.

> I was deeply disappointed. Actually, I
> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.

Yes, Sam, your opponents for some reason prefer to play the moves THEY
want to play and win, instead of playing the moves YOU want them to
play and lose. I can't imagine why.

> Although material remained even, this gave him a slight advantage.
> After that, he just slowly ground me down. I do not think I made any
> mistakes after that.

Actually, by move 15 at the latest, white had an overwhelming advantage
and what--for an IM at any rate--is a won position.

Date: 10 Jul 2006 14:54:34
From: Chess One
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

<[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> X-No-Archive: Yes
>
>> I figured that I had a good chance to beat him, in spite of the fact
>> that he was rated 600 points higher than me. The reason I felt this
>> way was that he did not know me. ... I have two powerful openings. With
>> white I play 1. > g4. With black, I
>> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
>> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
>> Black wins due to his material advantage.
>
> It is hard to believe that Sam, an "A" an not an "E" player after all,
> would actually believe that he has a "good chance" of beating an
> International Master by playing two trick openings which are among the
> weakest possible choices for white and black, respectively.

I think this is a missaprehension about OTB play. In a relative sense its a
shock to be confronted with an unusual or 'weak' opening. Do you remember
what to do or how self evident is it to proceed, while the clock ticks? One
mistake or weak move will advantage the other guy to the point where he is
better... so, tick tick tick :)

If the previous comment relates to the relativity of chess as performance
art, rather than theoretical one with no pressures of audience and time, an
absolute factor must be that Karpov [was !surprised! to have it chosen for
him] won with it recently, and was able to negotiate his win against a
player with a current activity rating of 2700.

At a slightly higher level of play than Sam, Spassky was admonished not to
play the 'weak' King's gambit. "But I am beating EVERYBODY with it' replied
Bad Boris. They did have a good point - that it made him lazy, and he would
not develop his chess sufficiently to play in the first tier.

If this is your point I would agree that if you can survive with the Damiano
and Grob/Borg opening, you could probably score 100-150 points higher
playing something else, and rather than use it as standard repetoire, use it
as shock weapon against tired IMs later in a tourny or during 'blitz
opportunities'.

I've used the Sokolski this way, and people's over confident laugh is often
stilled at move 6 or 7 when they realise they are not better ;)

Phil Innes

>> I figured that with these two openings, he would never know what hit
>> him and I would wipe him out in no time.
>> Unfortunately, perhaps somebody had tipped him off about me. (I wonder
>> if Bill Goichberg said anything.) So, fearing my Damianos Defense, he
>> played the insipid Vienna Game.
>
> Or, what is more likely, he just figured that--in a lousy tournament
> when he has scoring 2/6 and completely out of the running for any prize
> money anyway--that he'd just use his next round's game against a far
> weaker opponent to have a bit of fun with an opening that is considered
> weaker for white, as a training game.
>
>> I was deeply disappointed. Actually, I
>> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
>> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.
>
> Yes, Sam, your opponents for some reason prefer to play the moves THEY
> want to play and win, instead of playing the moves YOU want them to
> play and lose. I can't imagine why.
>
>> Although material remained even, this gave him a slight advantage.
>> After that, he just slowly ground me down. I do not think I made any
>> mistakes after that.
>
> Actually, by move 15 at the latest, white had an overwhelming advantage
> and what--for an IM at any rate--is a won position.
>

Date: 07 Jul 2006 01:30:09
From: help bot
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

jr wrote:
> Sam Sloan wrote:
>
> "With black, I play my trusty Damiano's Defense,
> which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+
> Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
> Black wins due to his material advantage."
>
> Sam,
>
> It may be time for you to refresh your repertoire.
>
> White has three pawns for the piece and a winning
> advantage according to Fritz which now continues:
> 8.h4 h5 9.Bxb7 Bd6 (if 9...Bxb7 10 Qf5 mate) 10 Qa5.

Who cares what Fritz thinks -- is Fritz a real GM? No,
this is the sort of position which requires a human eval.,
not some bumbling computer which, as a famous near-IM
has demonstrated, is hopeless without its opening book.

Hey, since when did Evans need to consult Fritz when
all this is published in "authoritative" books on openings,
like ECO, BCO, and MCO?

Hey, anyone can finish dead-last *once*, Sam. The real
achievement is doing this again and again, despite strong
competition from others like myself. Please note that I
missed the World Open this year, so you weren't really
tested to the max.

-- help bot

Date: 07 Jul 2006 02:33:56
From: Sam Sloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

I have discovered that in a subsequent game, my opponent in this game
played the more standard 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3.

This leads me to believe that somebody really did tip off Albek
Iskakov to my powerful Damiano's Defence and therefore he played the
Vienna Game to avoid this.

Picture this: Somebody whispers into the ear of Albek Iskakov, "Beware
this Sam Sloan. He plays the dreaded Damiano's Defence and will get
you with it. Play something else!"

I wonder who was the dirty rat who ratted me out.

Here is the subsequent game:

[Event "34th Annual WORLD OPEN"]
[Site "Philadelphia United States"]
[Date "2006.07.04"]
[Round "09"]
[White "Iskakov, Albek"]
[Black "Bick, John D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2511"]
[BlackElo "2198"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6
7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.O-O O-O 10.Bg5 c6 11.Qf3 Bd6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6
13.Qxf6 gxf6 14.Ne2 Kg7 15.Ng3 Bxg3 16.hxg3 Be6 17.f4 Rab8 18.b3
Rfe8 19.Rfe1 h6 20.Kf2 Kf8 21.Re3 c5 22.Rae1 Bd7 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8
24.Rxe8+ Kxe8 25.Ba6 Bf5 26.c3 Ke7 27.a3 Kd6 28.b4 Be4 29.g4 Kc6
30.Bf1 Bc2 31.Be2 Kb6 32.Bf3 Bb3 33.Kg3 d4 34.bxc5+ Kxc5 35.cxd4+
Kxd4 36.Kh4 Kc3 37.Kh5 Kb2 38.Kxh6 Kxa3 39.Kg7 Kb4 40.Bc6 Kc5
41.Be8 a5 42.Kxf6 Kd4 43.g5 a4 44.Bxa4 Bxa4 45.Kxf7 Ke4 46.g3 Kf5
47.g6 Bb3+ 48.Kg7 Bc2 49.Kf7 Bb3+ 50.Kg7 Bc2 51.Kh6 Kf6 52.g7 Kf7
53.g4 Kg8 54.f5 Bb3 55.f6 Bf7 56.Kg5 Bg6 57.Kxg6 1/2-1/2

Sam Sloan

Date: 07 Jul 2006 08:03:06
From: Blind Frank
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

X-No-archive: yes

"Sam Sloan" < > I wonder who was the dirty rat who ratted me out.
>

Maybe it was you. You post thousands of messages about it all the time.
Somebody must have read one.

Date: 06 Jul 2006 13:04:59
From: LiamToo
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam Sloan wrote:
> Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

And Gata Kamsky is still very strong. I thought that someone said a few
days ago that he's done with chess?

Date: 06 Jul 2006 12:21:10
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam Sloan wrote:
> He seemed to be playing weakly, so I started my attack almost
> immediately with 5. . . . Ng4.

A misevaluation.

I checked an openings database. 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 d6
5. Nge2 scores 50% win, 26.5% draw, and 23.5% loss for White.

> After 6. O-O, perhaps I should have
> continued my attack with 6 . . . h5. However, that might run in
> trouble with 7. Na4, grabbing my active bishop.

> I think the move I played, 6. . . . Be6, was weak, as the bishop does
> almost nothing there. Perhaps, I should have played 6. . . . Nc6
> instead.

I found a game where the Scottish champion William Fairhurst played
this position as Black. Play continued 5. ... Ng4 6. O-O Nc6 and
Fairhurst managed a draw.

Rybka (depth=15) says 6. ... O-O (-.17) is Black's best move. 6. ...
Nc6 (+.16) and 6. ... h5 (+.16) are better than 6. .... Be6 (+.37).

Date: 06 Jul 2006 11:13:55
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam Sloan wrote:
> 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nge2 Ng4 6.O-O Be6 7.h3
> Nxf2 8.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 O-O

This exchange hurts you. In the middlegame, a bishop and knight are
stronger than a rook and pawn. They only become equal in the endgame.
At least, that's what I learned when studying the Two Knights Defense.

> 10.Kg1 Nc6 11.d4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Qxd4 Qd7

These exchanges, then, should not be harmful.

> 14.Kh2 Rae8

You hang a pawn. White declines the a7 pawn?

> 15.Bf4 f5 16.Re1 fxe4 17.Rxe4 Bf5

White builds a space advantage, and Black made a tactical mistake.

> 18.Qd5+ Kh8 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.Ne4

White declines the b7 and a7 pawns?

> 20. ... h6 21.c4 b6 22.b4 Be6 23.Qd4 Kg8 24.Bxh6

Black hangs a pawn. This time, White accepts the h6 pawn.

> c5 25.bxc5 dxc5 26.Qxd7 Bxd7

Black is behind. He has a rook for a bishop pair.

> 27.Bf4 Bc6 28.Nc3 Bxg2

Black is still behind. He has a rook for a knight and bishop.

> 29.Kxg2 Re1 30.Kf2 Rh1 31.h4 Kf7 32.Ke3 Ke6 33.Bb8 Rg1 34.Ne2 Ra1
> 35.Bxa7 Rxa2 36.Bxb6 Kd6 37.Nc3 Ra3 38.Kd3 Rb3 39.Bd8 Kc6 40.Bg5 Ra3
> 41.Kc2 Ra1 42.Be3 Re1 43.Kd2 Ra1 44.Kd3 Ra3 45.Bc1 Ra1 46.Kc2 Ra8
> 47.Ne4 Ra7 48.Kd3 Ra1 49.Bb2 Rd1+ 50.Ke2 Rd7 51.h5 Ra7 52.Kf3 Re7
> 53.g4 Rf7+ 54.Ke3 Rb7 55.Bc3 Re7 56.g5 Ra7 57.h6 gxh6 58.gxh6 Re7
> 59.Bg7 1-0

Your opponent knows minor piece vs rook endings. I wonder why you hung
some pawns, and why he passed some up. At 1900 and 2500, respectively,
I thought the days of hanging pawns would be long gone. You held a
close game with someone rated 600 points higher than you. That's cool.

Date: 07 Jul 2006 11:32:48
From: Ray Gordon
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

>> 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nge2 Ng4 6.O-O Be6 7.h3
>> Nxf2 8.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 O-O
>
> This exchange hurts you. In the middlegame, a bishop and knight are
> stronger than a rook and pawn.

This is true only if the side with one rook keeps it on the board.

--
"Google maintains the USENET." -- The Honorable R. Barclay Surrick, Eastern
District of PA Judge
From Parker v. Google, E.D.Pa. #04-cv-3918

Date: 06 Jul 2006 14:04:01
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Sam Sloan" <[email protected] > wrote

> I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. g4. With black, I
> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
> Black wins due to his material advantage.

These openings are also known as "White to play and lose" and "Black to play
and lose."

>Actually, I
> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.

You are correct, but only because you chickened out of our match.

Angelo DePalma

Date: 07 Jul 2006 02:42:34
From: Sam Sloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 14:04:01 -0400, "Ange1o DePa1ma"
<[email protected] > wrote:

>"Sam Sloan" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. g4. With black, I
>> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
>> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
>> Black wins due to his material advantage.
>
>These openings are also known as "White to play and lose" and "Black to play
>and lose."
>
>
>>Actually, I
>> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
>> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.
>
>You are correct, but only because you chickened out of our match.
>
>Angelo DePalma

Not true. I have always been ready to play you. We just need to name
the time and place.

The big problem has been to find someone to watch the games and
broadcast them on ICC. Vince Hart in Chicago did that for my Grudge
Match against Bill Brock.

With the new Mon Roi Technology such as was used at the World Open,
perhaps we can use that.

I have a better idea. Why don't you just give me your money? Everybody
says that I will easily smash you, grind you into the dust and you
have no chance at all against the Great me.

That should get you going.

Sam Sloan

Date: 07 Jul 2006 08:21:37
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Sam Sloan" <[email protected] > wrote

>>> I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. g4. With black, I
>>> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
>>> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
>>> Black wins due to his material advantage.
>>
>>These openings are also known as "White to play and lose" and "Black to
>>play
>>and lose."
>>
>>
>>>Actually, I
>>> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
>>> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.
>>
>>You are correct, but only because you chickened out of our match.
>>
>>Angelo DePalma
>
> Not true. I have always been ready to play you. We just need to name
> the time and place.
>
> The big problem has been to find someone to watch the games and
> broadcast them on ICC. Vince Hart in Chicago did that for my Grudge
> Match against Bill Brock.

Sam, I have suggested the shall CC. About an hour's drive for me, and 40
minuts' subway ride for you. Surely you know someone there who could serve
as arbiter and transmit the games to ICC. If they input the moves directly
then they could phone them in.

adp

Date: 10 Jul 2006 02:57:19
From: Randy Bauer
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Ange1o DePa1ma" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Sam Sloan" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>>>> I have two powerful openings. With white I play 1. g4. With black, I
>>>> play my trusty Damiano's Defense, which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
>>>> Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+ Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
>>>> Black wins due to his material advantage.
>>>
>>>These openings are also known as "White to play and lose" and "Black to
>>>play
>>>and lose."
>>>
>>>
>>>>Actually, I
>>>> have not been able to get anybody to play 3. Nxe5 in a long time, as
>>>> they are so utterly terrified of my strong defense.
>>>
>>>You are correct, but only because you chickened out of our match.
>>>
>>>Angelo DePalma
>>
>> Not true. I have always been ready to play you. We just need to name
>> the time and place.
>>
>> The big problem has been to find someone to watch the games and
>> broadcast them on ICC. Vince Hart in Chicago did that for my Grudge
>> Match against Bill Brock.
>
> Sam, I have suggested the shall CC. About an hour's drive for me, and
> 40 minuts' subway ride for you. Surely you know someone there who could
> serve as arbiter and transmit the games to ICC. If they input the moves
> directly then they could phone them in.
>
> adp

My money is on Angelo, and I would point him to the threads here where I
busted Sloan's lines over and over. The only reason he suggests it's
playable is he is delusional.

I'll toss $100 into the pot, plus I'll take Sloan's bets up to another
$1,000, based on the terms of Sloan playing as black 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6

Randy Bauer

Date: 10 Jul 2006 15:54:19
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Randy Bauer" <[email protected] > wrote

>> Sam, I have suggested the shall CC. About an hour's drive for me, and
>> 40 minuts' subway ride for you. Surely you know someone there who could
>> serve as arbiter and transmit the games to ICC. If they input the moves
>> directly then they could phone them in.
>>
>> adp
>
> My money is on Angelo, and I would point him to the threads here where I
> busted Sloan's lines over and over. The only reason he suggests it's
> playable is he is delusional.
>
> I'll toss $100 into the pot, plus I'll take Sloan's bets up to another
> $1,000, based on the terms of Sloan playing as black 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6
>
> Randy Bauer

It's obvious he doesn't want to play this match. My satisfaction is in
having spent a few days going through lines as white. There aren't even any
tricks in there for Black. It's all bad, and quite obvious.

By the way, the deal was the game would have to go 3.Ne5 fe5.

Sam has another reason to fear me now though: my rating is two points higher
than his.

Date: 07 Jul 2006 08:03:57
From: Blind Frank
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

X-No-archive: yes

"Sam Sloan" <Why don't you just give me your money? Everybody says that I
will easily smash you, grind you into the dust and you have no chance at all
against the Great me. >

You lack a certain amount of polish that may be the source of the animosity
against you.

Date: 06 Jul 2006 06:58:24
From: jr
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam Sloan wrote:

"With black, I play my trusty Damiano's Defense,
which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+
Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
Black wins due to his material advantage."

Sam,

It may be time for you to refresh your repertoire.

White has three pawns for the piece and a winning
advantage according to Fritz which now continues:
8.h4 h5 9.Bxb7 Bd6 (if 9...Bxb7 10 Qf5 mate) 10 Qa5.

Date: 06 Jul 2006 16:56:40
From: Sam Sloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

On 6 Jul 2006 06:58:24 -0700, "jr" <[email protected] > wrote:

>
>Sam Sloan wrote:
>
>"With black, I play my trusty Damiano's Defense,
>which goes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nxe5 fxe5 4. Qh5+
>Ke7 5. Qxe5+ Kf7 6. Bc4+ d5 7. Bxd5 Kg6 and now
>Black wins due to his material advantage."
>
>Sam,
>
> It may be time for you to refresh your repertoire.
>
> White has three pawns for the piece and a winning
>advantage according to Fritz which now continues:
>8.h4 h5 9.Bxb7 Bd6 (if 9...Bxb7 10 Qf5 mate) 10 Qa5.

I am indeed thankful to my dear friend Mr. Fritz, who keeps playing
blunders for Black, thereby leading almost everybody to think that my
Damiano's Defense for Black can be easily defeated.

8. ... h5 is a blunder that loses immediately.

I was greatly disappointed that this game would have been my first
chance to play Damiano's Defense against a Grandmaster strength
player, to see what he would do about it. Since he did not know me, he
probably would have immediately grabbed the pawn with 3. Nxe5 and then
we would have seen what he was going to to do when he got into
difficulties.

For example, I played my Damiano's Defense against USCF rated Master
James West. I was beating him and had at least a forced draw, but he
came up with a fantastic swindle and won.

In a later tournament, he was paired against me again and again had
white.

This time, he started the game with 1. b3, not willing to risk playing
against the power of my Damiano's Defence.

Sam Sloan

Date: 06 Jul 2006 14:05:38
From: Ange1o DePa1ma
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

"Sam Sloan" <[email protected] > wrote

> In a later tournament, he was paired against me again and again had
> white.
>
> This time, he started the game with 1. b3, not willing to risk playing
> against the power of my Damiano's Defence.

Evidently West has played Steve Ferrero one too many times.

Date: 06 Jul 2006 20:49:37
From: Sam Sloan
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 14:05:38 -0400, "Ange1o DePa1ma"
<[email protected] > wrote:

>
>
>"Sam Sloan" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> In a later tournament, he was paired against me again and again had
>> white.
>>
>> This time, he started the game with 1. b3, not willing to risk playing
>> against the power of my Damiano's Defence.
>
>Evidently West has played Steve Ferrero one too many times.

Here is my second game against West. As you can see he was too chicken
to play 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nxe5 against me again.

The previous game has already been posted here:

[Event "4 Rated Games Tonight"]
[Site "shall Chess Club, NYC"]
[Date "2006.03.30"]
[Round "03"]
[White "West, James R."]
[Black "Sloan, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "1938"]

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Bc5 4.e3 d6 5.a3 Nf6 6.b4 Bb6 7.d3 O-O
8.Nf3 Bg4 9.Be2 Qd7 10.Nbd2 a5 11.b5 Ne7 12.a4 Ng6 13.h3 Be6
14.Ng5 c6 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Qb3 d5 17.O-O Bc7 18.Ba3 Rf7 19.Rab1
Rb8 20.b6 Bd8 21.Qc3 Ne8 22.Qxa5 Qc8 23.cxd5 exd5 24.Bg4 Ra8
25.Qc3 Qb8 26.a5 Rf6 27.Nb3 Nd6 28.Nc5 Nb5 29.Rxb5 d4 30.Qb3+ Kh8
31.Nd7 cxb5 32.Nxb8 Rxb8 33.Qxb5 1-0

Here is a recent game I played in which I unsuccessfully attempted to
provoke my opponent into playing 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3. Nxe5.

[Event "4 Rated Games Tonight"]
[Site "shall Chess Club, NYC"]
[Date "2006.04.13"]
[Round "04"]
[White "Ginzburg, Anna"]
[Black "Sloan, Sam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C40"]
[WhiteElo "1747"]
[BlackElo "1938"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Be2 e4 6.Nd4 c5 7.Nc2 Nc6
8.O-O f5 9.d3 Nf6 10.c4 Qe6 11.Nc3 Bd6 12.dxe4 fxe4 13.Ne3 O-O
14.Nb5 Be5 15.Nd5 Qf7 16.Rb1 Be6 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.Be3 Nd4 19.b3
Rad8 20.Qe1 a6 21.Nxd4 cxd4 22.Bd2 Qh4 23.f4 Qxe1 24.Rbxe1 Bd6
25.a4 Rd7 26.Rc1 e3 27.Be1 Bxf4 28.Bb4 Rff7 29.Rcd1 b6 30.g3 Be5
31.Rxf7 Bxf7 32.Bd3 a5 33.Be1 Bh5 34.Rb1 Kf7 35.b4 Bg6 36.Rb3 0-1

Sam Sloan

Date: 07 Jul 2006 00:48:21
From: Sol
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

X-No-archive: yes

"Sam Sloan" <As you can see he was too chicken to play 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f6 3.
Nxe5 against me again. >

Isn't that called strategy? Why would he want to play to your perceived
strength; presuming that he was aware of that?

Date: 06 Jul 2006 18:03:45
From: Chess One
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

Sam, how about writing a general view of the event, apart from your own
games? I would like to publish something on it, but apart from pictures and
the crosstable the site doesn't say much. Write something up I can use by
end of day tomorrow? Phil

Date: 06 Jul 2006 22:02:18
From: Jerzy
Subject: Re: Sam Sloan finishes Dead Last In World Open

U�ytkownik "Chess One" <[email protected] > napisa� w wiadomo�ci
news:5gcrg.4653$0V1.2623@trndny06...
> Sam, how about writing a general view of the event, apart from your own
> games? I would like to publish something on it, but apart from pictures
> and the crosstable the site doesn't say much. Write something up I can use
> by end of day tomorrow? Phil

Yes, it would be interesting to read e.g. about Yoshiharu Habu results from
Sam`s point of view. However I understand that usually players while playing
are interested only in their own play ;-)