Maria's Chess Adventures

Funny stuff :) Thanks Maria.

2012-02-15T10:40:35.012Z

Funny stuff :) Thanks Maria.

Glad you like it Peter.

2012-02-14T11:07:39.352Z

Glad you like it Peter.

Thanks for the translation Maria.

2012-02-14T09:47:29.309Z

Thanks for the translation Maria.

Hi jello, You made me laugh about the monkey. I gu...

2012-02-12T22:59:06.143Z

Hi jello,
You made me laugh about the monkey. I guess everyone sees pictures differently! And thanks for your support.

Good definition of Girl power :) Whoa. What a tru...

2012-02-11T07:02:57.662Z

Good definition of Girl power :) Whoa. What a truly inspiring performance by Hou Yifan! I would very much like to see a match between her and Judit - soon, before either of them gets too much older and it doesn't make sense any more. Shoot, if I was one of those eccentric millionaires with money coming out of my **** I'd be trying to set it up right now! Of course, even if Hou won she

Hi Jello, Thanks for your nice comments. I was qu...

2012-02-07T19:43:34.438Z

Hi Jello,

Thanks for your nice comments. I was quite lucky with the whole chess thing when I was young.

Writing is a strange thing, I never thought I'm any good at it but decided to write to improve my writing skills if nothing else. And now I'm delighted to have regular readers following the blog.

There are probably a few more girls in chess these days,

Hi jello, Yes, Simon W was very good as the commen...

2012-02-07T19:35:06.442Z

Hi jello,
Yes, Simon W was very good as the commentator and there were plenty of exciting games for him to analyse. I did take my new camera, so maybe I should do a photo report!

Interesting bio! Think its pretty cool that you w...

2012-02-07T06:09:39.824Z

Interesting bio! Think its pretty cool that you went for and, got to have those experiences with chess at such an early age (wish I'd discovered chess as a child, as it happens it didn't happen till I was in my thirties, but better late then never :)

I'm glad you decided to continue with it and to share about your travels and encounters in the sport, you write well and

"I actually prefer listening to commentary by...

2012-02-07T03:51:54.838Z

"I actually prefer listening to commentary by strong players who don't use computers, like they had in the World Cup with GM Shipov for example."

Was please to see that this was the method used by Simon Williams, in his interesting and at times very entertaining live coverage of the rounds at Gibraltar. Your likely already aware but, for anyone who isn't you can

Hi. Thanks! And I'm glad you like the chess nu...

2012-01-22T11:21:03.653Z

Hi. Thanks! And I'm glad you like the chess nuggets.

Hi Maria, enjoyed the update and chess nuggets as ...

2012-01-22T10:59:31.746Z

Hi Maria, enjoyed the update and chess nuggets as usual. Sorry to hear about the t-shirt. That sweater looks comfy anyway :)

Hope you have a wonderful time at Gibraltar!

Hi James, thanks. I'll find out what it is bef...

2012-01-17T14:29:27.712Z

Hi James, thanks. I'll find out what it is before deciding whether to dismiss it.

Hi Maria, I think Chess and Bridge have some sort...

2012-01-17T14:14:46.389Z

Hi Maria,

I think Chess and Bridge have some sort of job vacancy at the moment, you'd probably be massively over qualified for it though!

James

Thanks! I'll see what I can do :)

2012-01-17T11:38:57.114Z

Thanks! I'll see what I can do :)

Happy New Year 2012 and all the best! Good luck i...

2012-01-17T11:36:03.237Z

Happy New Year 2012 and all the best!

Good luck in Gibraltar! (hope you'll achieve at least a WIM or WGM norm there)

We'll continue to read the blog,it's quite interesting.Keep it up!

Thanks Kevin. I will try to keep the blog up when ...

2012-01-16T21:15:09.087Z

Thanks Kevin. I will try to keep the blog up when there's something to write about, but I may not play too much chess this year.

Hope all goes well in 2012. Keep up the blog Maria...

2012-01-16T19:05:46.557Z

Hope all goes well in 2012. Keep up the blog Maria, Kevin.

Thanks everyone! Rob, I don't do any regular p...

2012-01-14T09:08:51.955Z

Thanks everyone!
Rob, I don't do any regular physical training at the moment but I feel like I should. I keep thinking I should do yoga at home as I enjoyed it when I went to a few classes in December. And I agree with you about the last position!

Maria Well done for escaping the corporation. Do...

2012-01-13T21:29:05.114Z

Maria
Well done for escaping the corporation.
Do you do any physical training to help cope with the long games? Some say it helps.
That last position was ghastly. A cramped board after 50 is about as enjoyable as chewing a piece of tin foil.

Rob

Interesting post, good luck at Gibraltar

2012-01-08T21:33:23.251Z

Interesting post, good luck at Gibraltar

Play well maria. Best regards.

2011-10-30T13:44:06.302Z

Play well maria. Best regards.

Thanks Peter :)

2011-10-30T13:17:45.057Z

Thanks Peter :)

Morning Maria, Good luck in Greece! Regards, Pe...

2011-10-30T07:59:21.847Z

Morning Maria,

Good luck in Greece!

Regards,

Peter

I haven't considered 26.Qd3, but it has an int...

2011-10-14T17:09:42.354+01:00

I haven't considered 26.Qd3, but it has an interesting variation behind this. Your variation doesn't make sense from move 30 as you're leaving white queen en prise, but also white has a better option earlier to force the draw by 28.Bxd5+ cxd5 29.Qxd5+ Kg6 and 30.Qg5+ with perpetual.

After 26.Qe3 Qd7 I would personally exchange rooks and queens with 27.Rxe8 Rxe8 28.Qxe8+

Actually Speaking It is Black who is the winning i...

2011-10-14T16:20:31.179+01:00

Actually Speaking It is Black who is the winning if following varaition is played.

26 Qd3? Re6! 27 Qf5+ Rf6
28 Qe5 Qd7 29 Rd1 Re8 30 Rb1 Re3 31 Bh3 Qe7 32Bh3 Qe7 33 Kf2 g6
34 Qg4 h5 35 Qc8+ Rf8 36 Qb7 Re2+
37 Kf1 Qe3 -/+ There is no defence against an impending mate.

If
26 Qe3 Qd7 27 Re5 Bc2 28 Bh3 g6
29 Qe2 Be4! Blocking the way
30 Qd1