Gravity & Magnetic Interpretations
Chess
My father taught me how to play chess when I was five years old. I had a natural sense for the game and by the time I was in junior high (middle) school I was one of the top players in the southern Michigan county where we lived.
But I drifted from chess as I grew older; however, I still played a little when I could, and I continued to follow chess events. As the years passed, I often wondered how good I could have been if I had continued to study and play as much as I did as a child — it became a “bucket-list” item.
So, in 2010 I decided to check this item off the list. Between then and 2016 I began studying and playing weekly — sometimes more. I even hired a chess coach to help me improve. I played in 17 rated tournaments, as well as many informal events with friends, including a total of 82 rated games with 34 wins, 30 losses, and 18 draws. Over this period my rating rose 400 points to my current rating (1707), which is in the center of the U.S. Chess Federation’s Class B range. I am not even close to an Expert or Master, but I still love the game even though I no longer play competitively (the bucket-list item has been checked and mated).
Like many chess enthusiasts (fanatics?), I have a collection of about a dozen nice chess sets; although they’re not worth a great deal of money, they are important to me (note that most quality chess sets come with two sets of Queens). Chess set backdrops on the pages of this website are actual game positions from tournaments that I played between 2011 and 2016. The games were played under various time controls — rated tournament games were roughly four to six hours each, and the informal games were about two hours each.
Chess pieces can vary widely in design, including thematic designs like Civil War, Medieval, or Superheroes sets. But variations also exist in the “standard” Staunton design, which are displayed in chess books and magazines as well as sets used by players in tournaments.
The rules of the game itself have changed over the years. Today game variants exist, such as fast time controls like “Blitz” or “Bullet”, where each player is given just five minutes or even one minute (respectively) to play the entire game! Other variants include Fischer-random, where the starting position of the pieces can change from game to game.
In addition to the above variants, some have experimented with adding squares and new pieces to the game. About a century ago, Jose Raul Capablanca, who lived from 1888 to 1942 and was the World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927, introduced a variant that added two “columns” of squares which allowed the addition of two extra pieces: a Chancellor and an Archbishop.
Just like the Queen moves as a combination of Rook and Bishop, the Chancellor moves as a combination of Rook and Knight, and the Archbishop moves as a combination of Bishop and Knight. The Chancellor starts between the King's Knight and Bishop, and the Archbishop starts between the Queen's Knight and Bishop.
Home page &
Non-Exclusive Studies: Western Caribbean
Chess set: Zagreb
Tournament:
2016, Houston Chess Festival, Houston, Texas
Players:
Gray (White) vs. Bird (Black)
Game:
July 23, Round 2, 66 moves
Opening:
Caro Kann, Exchange Variation
Score:
0-1, Black won
Position:
Black has just played 12…. Ne4, White to move. White won a Knight-for-Rook exchange and was winning by Move 36 with a strong King-side attack, but then lost (on time) after a series of inaccurate moves with Black’s C-Pawn threatening to promote to Queen.
Chess set:
The Zagreb ’59 chess set is distinctive. The design is thought to be the most popular set used at major tournaments in the 1950s — 1960s. It was used in the 1959 World Championship Candidates Match, Zagreb (Croatia).
Game download:
Profile & Contact page
Chess set: Ebony
Tournament:
2014, 80th Southwest Open, Dallas, Texas
Players:
Dong (White) vs. Bird (Black)
Game:
August 30, Round 3, 78 moves
Opening:
Caro Kann, Exchange Variation
Score:
0-1, Black won
Position:
White has just played 12. Bh4, Black to move. White blundered a Bishop on Move 29, but defended well, yet lost after a long endgame.
Chess set:
This is one of two with the same design. The Black pieces are lacquered ebony.
Game download:
Training page
Chess set: African
Tournament:
2013, 41st Annual World Open, Arlington, VA
Players:
Burke (White) vs. Bird (Black)
Game:
Round 9, July 7, 52 moves
Opening:
Tarrasch Defense
Score:
0-1, Black won
Position:
White has just played 12. e4, Black to move. White lost a Rook-for-Knight exchange on Move 28 and went on to lose the endgame: Bishop vs Pawn and Rook.
Chess set:
This is a thematic African set that my brother gave me several years ago.
Game download:
Publications page &
Non-Exclusive Studies: SE Asia
Chess set: Jacques
Tournament:
2014, 80th Southwest Open, Dallas, Texas
Players:
Bird (White) vs. Capuccino (Black)
Game:
Round 2, August 30, 21 moves
Opening:
Queen’s Gambit Declined
Score:
1-0, White won
Position:
Black has just played 13.… Qc6, White to move. Black lost a Rook-for-Knight exchange on Move 16, then blundered his other Knight on Move 21 and resigned in this miniature (a Miniature game is one that ends before Move 26).
Chess set:
This set is similar to Jacques (London) classic Staunton design.
Game download:
Non-Exclusive Studies: Geothermal
Chess set: Rosewood
Tournament:
2016, An informal tournament with friends in my home, Houston, Texas
Players:
Bird (White) vs. Martinez (Black)
Game:
Round 1, March 9, 41 moves
Opening:
Slav Defense, Exchange Variation
Score:
1-0, White won
Position:
Black has just played 9…. a6, White to move. A solid game with Black pressing a slight advantage from early in the game, but then blundered his Queen-side knight pawn on Move 33.
Chess set:
This is one of two with the same design. The Black pieces are rosewood.
Game download:
Non-Exclusive Studies: Gulf of Mexico
Chess set: Crystal
Tournament:
2013, 41st Annual World Open, Arlington, VA
Players:
Bird (White) vs. Shelton (Black)
Game:
Round 3, July 1, 37 moves
Opening:
Modern Benoni
Score:
1-0, White won
Position:
White has just played 11. e5, Black to move. White won this double-edged tactical battle by protecting then advancing the isolated Queen’s Pawn, ultimately to the seventh rank, threatening promotion to Queen.
Chess set:
This is a “crystal” (glass) set I saw advertised in a local community newspaper.
Game download:
GST-1 page &
Non-Exclusive Data, GEODAS
Chess set: Dreuke
Tournament:
2016, An informal tournament with friends in my home, Houston, Texas
Players:
Ybarsabal (White) vs. Bird (Black)
Game:
Round 2, March 9, 36 moves
Opening:
Caro Kann, Main Line
Score:
0-1, Black won
Position:
White has just played 24. Nf4, Black to move. Black has an edge with a Queen-side space advantage, and after several exchanges on f4 and d4 White blundered a Knight (Move 30).
Chess set:
When I was young, plastic version of this Dreuke design were used at many tournaments. Now the plastic sets are hard to find. This set is a wooden version of the “classic” plastic design.
Game download:
What are Geology and Geophysics
Chess set: Egyptian
Tournament:
2011, U.S. Senior Open, Houston, Texas
Players:
Bird (White) vs. Mings (Black)
Game:
Round 6, July 23, 29 moves
Opening:
Kings Indian Attack
Score:
1-0, White won
Position:
White has just played 11. e4, Black to move. Black lost a Rook-for-Bishop exchange on Move 23, then resigned after blundering a Bishop on Move 29.
Chess set:
This is a thematic Egyptian set that belonged to my parents; they gave it to me years ago.
Game download:
Gravity & Magnetics List-server
Chess set: Stone
Tournament:
2012, U.S. Chess Championship – Class C, Houston, Texas
Players:
Bird (White) vs. Ogunfuwai (Black)
Game:
Round 3, September 22, 54 moves
Opening:
Benoni
Score:
1-0, White won
Position:
Black has just played 11… b5, White to move. White won after a long King-and-Pawn endgame.
Chess set:
This set was a gift from one of my daughters.
Game download: