State No. 32 - Idaho

I arrived in Boise on Thursday afternoon & immediately dropped in at Arbor CrossFit. It was one of the most interesting workouts I dropped in on, but Coach Jonathan & my classmates at the 3:15pm local time class made sure they welcomed me in.  I took pictures of the my coach & the workout on my instagram page (The KEC Master's Arbor CrossFit Instagram Post), but here are the pictures of the shirts I bought.

The gray one I will likely keep, the other two go to my sister & brother in law.

It should be noted that Interstate Route 84 runs through the south part of Boise. During parts of I-84, US Route 30 is coincidental. The same US Route 30 that originates just west of Atlantic City is coincidental to I-84 in & around Boise!  

In trying to do some preparation for my trip, I looked up a travel blogger from Boise, Idaho. Katie (Instagram travelingspud) has all sorts of lists for things to do in & around Boise. I will try to remember to give her credit for any activities I do that I believe she suggested through her website/instagram page.

It is quite apparent that two of the restaurants she mentioned in her blog posts are doing well.  I tried to go to Capitol Cellars & Alavita on Thursday night after CrossFit, & both were full!  Alavita was so full that they had a waiting list for the bar!  A Thursday night in the middle of December?? Man these restaurants are good.  I suggest making reservations to go.

So, I drove out of the downtown area & landed at Spitfire craft Pizza & Pints on Vista Avenue.  Pretty good place, the pizza I had (Barbecue Chicken Pizza sans onions shown below) was pretty awesome. I defer the alcohol commentary to others who drink alcohol as you can see my A&W root beer can.

After a stop at Albertsons for groceries, I drove to Meridian to see the Scentsy Lights (thanks Katie! IG travelingspud). I had a bit of initial difficulty as the original address I was given landed me in an industrial park about half a mile to the southwest. After checking the facebook page, I landed at the correct location for Scentsy Lights.  According to a random repeat visitor I saw there, the big tree was new. I posted some pictures on my instagram page (The KEC Master's IG Post on Scentsy Lights), but here are some more I don't think I posted on my instagram down below

Friday

The Mex Insurance Open was a strange tournament. Average lateness of each round was nearly 50 minutes. (53, 83, 37, 50, 18, 56) The Organizer was having severe problems with his computer. On the Friday & Saturday, the place wouldn't open until noon time, 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the first round of the day. Since this is a FIDE Event, the apparent deadline for being late to a game is 30 minutes. With the Barber Park Center not opening until 12pm the first two days, it was a very tight window of 45 minutes with a 12:15pm scheduled start time & a 30-minute lateness allowance.

George Lundy runs a lot of FIDE events in Idaho, & you see quite a few more FIDE rated players than normal, including my 6th round opponent who also has a FIDE rating higher than a USCF Rating (like mine is). All ratings seen in this post will be FIDE Ratings.

In Keeping my promise to A Video Game Con, I dressed up as Knicks Toad for the first day.

I wasn't intending to dress as Knicks Toad, but I left behind all my planned hats!  My Knicks Toad hat was the only hat I had which happened to be in the wrong place, but right time (my jacket). After winning my first round matchup, I went to Boise Fry company for Lunch & gave my name as Toad for the Order. The way they do their fries, you order the type of potato you want & the type of fries they have available that day (regular, hand cut, etc.). They cook the fries unsalted, & then you travel to your left to get the fry sauce & fry salt (or other salt-like substance) you want. So I got sweet potato fries & cinnamon ginger! - A fantastic combination!  Their bbq sauce & their original sauce worked the best, but not the blueberry ketchup & the spicy ketchup. I suspect the last two are better suited for other combinations.

I made a visit to Cravin’s Candy Emporium – Boise before the first round, & made another visit before the second round. They have lots of candy & they have it in different formats, from movie boxes to pez candy packages to candy cards to various other types. The range is so large they even have Moxie Soda that friends of mine last consumed in the 2000s:

There was a long delay for Round 2 as there was a game from Round 1 that had to be adjourned.  Go figure.

I played GM Fidel Corrales in Round 2. I had a small conversation with him before the round started.  He's a nice guy, I hope to see him in future tournaments soon.  He did wipe me out in 23 quick moves. I tried to open up a positionally losing game, only for a mating attack to develop.

On Saturday, I drove over to the Big Idaho Potato Hotel & Dolly the Cow (thanks Katie! IG travelingspud).

It was built in 2012 for the 75th anniversary of the Idaho Potato Commission & toured until 2018.  It can't travel anymore.

When taking pictures of the hotel, I was actually scared of Dolly the Cow since she noticed me & walked toward me!

On my way back, I noticed my electric vehicle that I rented had only about 45 miles of range left.  so I had to look for a charger.  I stopped at Boise Stage Stop & ate breakfast while trying to let it charge.  The charge for 40 or so minutes was pathetic, as I think I only gained like 20 miles of range. I was initially told at the rental car counter that if I didn't leave the Boise area that I would be okay.  Yup, never trusting that judgment again. I had to omit a stop to Bonneville Point on the Oregon Trail since I was concerned I might get stuck there! (Road was snow covered in addition to my car range problem)

I suffered a draw in Round 3 in which I had a Rook & Knight vs. Rook & Bishop that eventually evolved into a Knight vs. Bishop ending. Unfortunately, I have not finished evaluation of this game, where I think I had winning chances but am having a hard time pinning where. The game ground to a halt when I had only one pawn left but no way to avoid the Bishop sacrificing itself for the pawn if I advance it & no way to force white's King away from its excellent defensive position.

That 3rd Round game was a long game, & it was already 4:45pm when I had to search for lunch. I went to Papa Murphy's, hoping to pick up a pizza I can eat myself. 

Unfortunately, they don't cook it.  So I had to get lunch from a nearby Subway & hope that I could find someone to take this from me.

Luckily, my friend Eric from the Utah State Open 2014 was here, living in Idaho & playing the reserve section. His games were ending earlier than me, & his 4th round game ended before my 4th round game started, so I offered him my pizza & he took it.

My fourth round opponent took forever to show up.  I had been in constant conversation with Chief Organizer George Lundy & he asked me to wait for an hour as my opponent had an even later finish than I had in the 3rd round.  An hour passed & I had told the chief that I was going to take a forfeit win, but before I could remove my stuff, he shows up, 1 hour, 5 seconds late. Since I am there, I play the game, & then lose. I did switch the opening from the Alekhine to the four knights, but I misplayed the 10th move & my game went downhill from there.

[Event "MexInsurance FIDE Open"] [Site "Boise, ID"] [Date "2022.12.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Krienke, NM Makaio"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C48"] [WhiteElo "1883"] [BlackElo "2116"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2022.12.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 {My opponent was an hour & 5 seconds late. He could technically have been forfeited (FIDE 30 minutes late, USCF 1 hour late), but I opted to play the game instead.} Nf6 2. Nc3 {I have been terribly uncomfrotable in the Alekhine, so I opted to transpose into a different opening.} e5 3. Nf3 (3. f4 { A lot of players play the transposition into the King's Gambit, but I have not studied this, so I go into a four knights game instead.}) 3... Nc6 (3... Bb4 { transposes into a variation of the petroff I play as Black.}) 4. Bb5 a6 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nxe5 Nxe4 {this move surprised me. My reaction to it was terrible.} 7. O-O {This seemed correct, setting up the e-file for some tricks, but Stockfish says Black can get out of them. Stockfish preferred grabbing the knight & then castling.} ({Stockfish 15:} 7. Nxe4 Qd5 8. O-O Qxe5 9. d4 Qf5 10. Ng3 Qg4 11. Re1+ Be7 12. Bd2 Qxd1 13. Raxd1 Be6 14. Nh5 Kf8 15. h3 Bd6 16. Rc1 Rd8 17. c4 h6 18. Re2 Kg8 19. g4 Kh7 20. f4 Rhe8 21. Rce1 Bd7 22. f5 Rxe2 23. Rxe2 c5 24. d5 Re8 25. Rxe8 Bxe8 26. Bc3 {0.42/38}) 7... Nxc3 8. Qf3 Qf6 9. Re1 Be6 10. dxc3 (10. Qxc3 {was the only way to keep pressure in this game, but now my opponent has the two Bs working with the Queen if he can castle.}) 10... Qxf3 11. Nxf3 O-O-O 12. Bg5 Rd5 13. Rad1 Bc5 14. a3 Bf5 15. Rxd5 cxd5 16. Re2 f6 17. Bc1 Bd6 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. h3 c5 20. Nf3 Kc7 21. Ne1 h5 22. Nd3 g5 23. Be3 Re8 24. Kf1 b6 25. f4 g4 26. h4 g3 27. Bd2 Rg8 28. Be1 a5 29. Re3 c4 30. Nc1 Bxf4 31. Rf3 Bxc1 32. Bxg3+ Kb7 33. Bf2 f5 0-1

Back to my car charging problem - I had to find another car charging station, & it is clear that ChargePoint can not be trusted. I did find one, but the machine told me it would take 80 minutes to fully charge the car or so (or at least get from 8% to 80%). So, I did a quick search of walkable eating places within my car charger, & end up eating at Twin Peaks Boise in the middle of a Boise St. Broncos football game & the Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins game.

I never saw a Meatball sub in my previous visits to Twin Peaks, so I went for it.

On Sunday, I ate at Addie's Diner. The food was good, but I thought the portions were a bit small. I felt full after eating it, so I guess I just eat less on occasion now, but I guess I was surprised.

There were many markers for the Oregon Trail in & around Boise, but it was too cold & my car charge was too low to chase them all. I did get a picture of one of them for you.

After my third visit to Cravin's Candy Emporium, I just told myself to forget about the third + fourth rounds from Saturday & just play well.  My fifth round opponent wasn't particularly aggressive, & just made non-impactful moves. I started winning pawns early & eventually had a 5-pawn advantage, but he made me play it out from move 27 to move 66.

[Event "MexInsurance FIDE Open"] [Site "Boise, ID"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "5"] [White "Beck, Andrew"] [Black "Chen, Kevin E."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [BlackElo "1883"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "2022.12.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Nbd2 Bd6 6. Bg3 O-O 7. Be2 c5 8. c3 Nc6 9. O-O Bxg3 10. fxg3 $2 (10. hxg3 Qd6 {contemplating ...e5 or a queenside pawn storm.}) 10... Ng4 11. Qb3 Nxe3 12. Rfe1 Qb6 ({I missed that my Bf5 is protecting the ...Nc2 invasion winning an exchange.} 12... Nc2) 13. Rac1 h6 { I didn't see the clear shots yet, so I provided an escape for my Bishop.} 14. h3 Qxb3 15. axb3 (15. Nxb3 {felt better for White}) 15... Nc2 16. Rf1 cxd4 17. Kf2 Rac8 18. b4 a6 19. g4 Bh7 20. Nb1 d3 21. Bd1 N6xb4 22. cxb4 Nxb4 {I missed that ...d2 was double prevented. Still, with four pawns for the Knight & the more aggressive position, I figured I was still in a great position here.} 23. Nc3 Rc7 24. Bb3 d2 25. Rcd1 Nd3+ 26. Ke3 Nxb2 27. Rxd2 $4 Rxc3+ {My opponent can resign here, down a piece & four pawns} 28. Kf4 Rxb3 29. g5 Rb4+ 30. Nd4 Nd3+ 31. Ke3 hxg5 32. Rxd3 Bxd3 33. Kxd3 Rc8 34. Nf3 f6 35. Nd4 Kf7 36. Re1 Rb6 37. g3 g6 38. Rf1 e5 39. Ne2 Rb3+ 40. Kd2 Rb2+ 41. Kd3 Rxe2 42. Kxe2 b5 43. Ra1 Rc6 44. Ra5 Ke6 45. Kd3 e4+ 46. Ke2 (46. Kd4 Rc4+ 47. Ke3 Ra4 {should induce instant resignation.}) 46... Ke5 47. Kd2 Kd4 48. Ra3 b4 49. Ra4 Kc4 50. Ke3 Kb5 51. Ra1 Rc3+ 52. Kf2 d4 53. Re1 Rc2+ 54. Kf1 f5 55. g4 a5 56. Rd1 d3 57. Ke1 b3 58. Rb1 b2 59. Kd1 Rc1+ (59... e3) 60. Rxc1 bxc1=Q+ 61. Kxc1 e3 62. gxf5 gxf5 63. Kd1 Kc4 64. Ke1 d2+ 65. Kd1 Kd3 66. h4 e2# 0-1

In my 6th round, My opponent played a Caro-Kann defense, & then tried an interesting bishop for two pawn sacrifice as he didn't want to play two long hours behind my central passer. It eventually fails, but there was only one move that forced it to fail. I found it & he resigned.

[Event "MexInsurance FIDE Open"] [Site "Boise, ID"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "6"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Semancik, Zachary T."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1883"] [BlackElo "1507"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2022.12.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ {I love trading the Knights here so that I have a 4-on-3 queenside.} exf6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be2 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 Bxf3 {this is rare - maybe 10% of the time I have seen Black do this.} 10. Bxf3 Nd7 11. Be3 Nb6 12. Qd3 g6 13. c4 Be7 14. Rad1 Qc7 15. Qb3 Rad8 16. Rfe1 Rfe8 17. d5 cxd5 18. cxd5 Bd6 19. Rc1 Bh2+ {He wanted to try a kingside attack rather than suffer multiple more hours suffocated by the passed pawn.} ( 19... Qe7 20. Bxb6 $4 Qxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Rxe1# {is an interesting trap to set, but I am sure you can see g3 or Bd2 thwarting this & eventually Black has to move the Queen.}) 20. Kf1 Qd6 21. g3 Bxg3 22. fxg3 Qxg3 23. Bg2 Nxd5 $2 24. Bxd5 Re5 (24... Qxh3+ 25. Bg2 Qf5+ 26. Kg1 Rd3 27. Rc3) (24... Rxd5 25. Qxd5 Rxe3 26. Rxe3 Qxe3 27. Rc3) 25. Bf2 {Guards h3, stops ...Rf5+, & attacks the Queen simultaneously.} 1-0

Because my last game ended early, I was able to eat dinner with my friend from Utah Eric. When I did my Utah post over 8 years ago, the game I selected was the third Round, so it wasn't against my friend Eric. (I played him in the 5th round of that tournament.)

I don't know if I won a prize at 3.5/6, but if I did they will tell me & I can update the first map picture by changing Idaho from green to blue.  These maps I generated from mapchart.net

And that concludes State No. 32 - Idaho for #fiftystatesofchess.

State No. 31 - West Virginia

I apologize for this post being nearly a week late - I suffered some headaches on my day off between vacation & returning to work & was unable to finish the post until now. Any missing pictures may be on my instagram @thekecmaster.

After previewing the drive from NJ to Huntington West Virginia, & realizing that it could take as long as 11 hours driving (which is not something I originally wanted to do), I opted to fly into CVG (the airport near Cincinnati), visit a friend in Covington, Kentucky, & then make the 2.5+ hour drive to Huntington, West Virginia where the tournament was held.

In CVG, as I was making my way to the rental car counter, I noticed there were four decorative sidewalk slabs on display.  I made my way over & realized that they were sidewalk slabs for the inaugural Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame!  I hope that I can return to Cincinnati in the future to the Interactive Park on the Banks to see these walk of fame slabs there, but I considered myself very lucky that I got a chance to see these before installation. I know the second picture says Summer 2022, but unless they installed it since this picture was taken (September 8) or they install it before Fall starts this week, there may be a delay not anticipated when the explanation sign was posted.

Before I visited my friend in Covington, I drove around to the Roebling Statue & the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. You may remember that I briefly walked across this bridge (which is the prototype of the Brooklyn Bridge) from Cincinnati to Covington & back in the summer of 2016.  I didn't know or notice at the time that there was a statute of John A. Roebling himself, so I walked over to it.

After visiting my friend, I drove down 2.5 hours southeast to Huntington, West Virginia. There were a few oddities in this drive, including double digit references to the Licking River &/or any bridges crossing this river, & 4-digit Kentucky state highways crossing Kentucky State Route 9. I remember longing for lunch so I tried to visit a random place in Augusta, KY but the interior smelled like cigarette smoke (the hostile stares by everyone inside & outside for no reason would also have been sufficient on their own to get me to leave*) so I walked out & drove to some random chain named Fazoli's in Maysville, KY. 

*I don't know with 100 percent certainty if it was a racist incident, as no words were said. It should be noted that if that was a racist incident, it would not be the first time it happened to me, especially as an Asian man traveling the country.  I just never previously talked in my blogposts about any of my racist incidents I have encountered. I bring it up now because the last hostile stare I received as I was getting back into my car induced a flashback to the most horrifying one 4.5 years ago. It took me quite a while timewise before I could calm down.*

After consuming spaghetti, meatballs, salad, apple juice (the soda machine didn't have the drinks I wanted), I resumed the journey.

Wild & Wonderful Welcome Sign, I-64 East Mile 10 Welcome Center

 

So, for my sightseeing portion of the trip, I went to New River Gorge National Park.   This is about 2 hours southeast of Huntington, & the drive does have some sharp elevation curves as you get closer to the park.  (Side note: How anyone can go the speed limit on those curves is beyond me.  I definitely drove a few miles under the speed limit as I didn't want to crash or fall. That would be bad at a minimum.)

There are some interesting statistics about the New River Gorge Bridge, the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the U.S.  It was the longest steel arch bridge in the world until 2003 with the construction of China’s Shanghai’s Lupu Bridge. (nps.gov)

Picture of the Bridge Dimensions found in the Canyon Rim Visitor Center.

Information Placard along the Fayette Station Road Path

The Height of 876 feet of the bridge was claimed to be high enough for the Statue of Liberty to stand twice above the Washington Monument with 20 feet to spare. I did some digging this afternoon on nps.gov to do some number checking (similar to what I occasionally do for the i80 Sports Basketball Talk Podcast) & found that with the Washington Monument 555 feet 5 1/8 inches tall & the Statue of Liberty from the top of the base to the top of the torch being 151 feet 1" tall, you get 857 feet + 7 & 1/8" tall, with the resulting spare room being slightly less than 20 feet (I guess 18 feet, 4 & 7/8"). This is still a dizzying height statistic, but you could easily modify this information placard to say just under 20 feet to spare for an improvement in accuracy.

(All measurements taken from nps.gov)

Another interesting statistic is that prior to the New River Bridge, it took 45 minutes (!!) to cross the New River along Fayette Station Road on the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge (more on this bridge in a moment). The New River Bridge was finished in 1977, prompting the closure of the other bridge until it was reopened to traffic in 1998.

So to take photos of the New River Gorge Bridge, there's a little wooden walkway that gives you views from the side of both the New River Gorge Bridge & the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge (the small silver color bridge). Then, you take your small car (road not suitable for large vehicles) through Fayette Station Road (Most of it one way). There are two parking lots past the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge that allow you to park so you can walk out & take pictures of the New River Gorge Bridge from the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge.

New River Gorge Bridge, View from the Wooden Walkway near the Canyon Rim Visitor Center.

Tunney Hunsaker Bridge, view from the Wooden Walkway

Warning sign that tells you that larger vehicles cannot take this road.

Unique No Parking Sign near Fayette Station Road

There is an audio tour while driving Fayette Station Road available for free.  However, if you are going to listen to it, please download it before starting the driving tour. Once my connection cut out between the information placard & the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge, I could never get it back.

View of the New River on the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge on the opposite side of the New River Gorge Bridge

View of the New River Gorge Bridge from the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge

You may be wondering, "Why is the small bridge named after Tunney Hunsaker?" Tunney Hunsaker fought against Muhammad Ali in Ali's first professional boxing match. Hunsaker also became the Fayetteville police chief for 38 years & was the youngest police chief in state history.

After the New River Gorge National Park Visit, I drove back to Huntington to visit Kinfolk Fitness.

This is a good size location. Coach Kyle was pretty awesome & my workout partners were pretty good as well.

WOD for Sept. 9.  

My partners were JR & Sam, so shoutout to both of you. JR & I went at the same time, & Sam followed second. We finished this at 16:14.

Interesting Rules of Engagement Posting

Apparently they share a building with media outlets.

Side Note: The state fruit of West Virginia is the golden delicious apple, my favorite.  Unfortunately, all the good orchards mentioned in the travel sites are on the eastern edge of the state. If you are near enough to any of them, go during apple picking season.

Places I ate in Huntington:

Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe, Friday night.  I liked the food, service was pretty good.  Price may seem a little high, but I did order a fantastic dessert & enjoyed it.

Hall of Fame Cookie Dessert

Cam's Ham, Saturday after Round 1. Tried the Shaved Ham Sandwich off a recommendation from a local. It was okay.  I am not sure I would eat it again, but that is strictly only because I don't know if I like shaved ham.  It was made pretty well & I had zero stomach issues, so that was a plus.

Frostop Drive-In, Saturday after Round 2. Root Beer Float ain't bad, but I don't know how to rate it since I don't normally consume root beer floats.

Jim's Steak & Spaghetti House, Saturday after Round 3. Interesting place. Service was good, I would come back. With Marshall upsetting Notre Dame 26-21 earlier in the day, there were a lot of people wearing Marshall gear in plain sight.

Gino's Pizza & Spaghetti House, Sunday after Round 4. This place was highlighted on a quick map for the chess tournament players, maybe for walking distance. The pizza was okay, service was good.

I wanted to go to a Chinese place in the Downtown area after Sunday Round 5, but I didn't get any good vibes when the one I chose was not only empty, but they were already cleaning despite it only being 7:30pm with closing 2 hours away. I am disappointed looking back that I didn't try to find another place, but I was hungry & disappointed in thinking I did not win a prize. I ended up going back to Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe for kicks.  

The West Virginia Chess Association ran a smooth tournament. Chief TD Craig Timmons kept all the rounds running on time, made everything clear for the players.  No real hiccups during the tournament.

[Event "83rd WV Chess Championship"] [Site "Huntington, WV"] [Date "2022.09.11"] [Round "5"] [White "Robarts, Weston"] [Black "Chen, Kevin E."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E40"] [WhiteElo "1651"] [BlackElo "1800"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2022.09.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 e5 {I have been playing this ...d6 & ...e5 setup more often recently online, so I chose to test it out here.} 9. e4 b6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Re8 12. Bc2 Ba6 {I remember in some Nimzoindian variations that Black puts pressure on the c4-pawn, but this is not the variation for it.} 13. Nd2 g5 {Without a Nxg5 sacrifice, I feel comfortable breaking the pin.} 14. Bg3 Kg7 15. h4 {I didn't like this move for White as I was preparing to swing my Rook back if the h-file opens.} Qe7 ({I didn't like ...Nf8 because of Ba4, but Stockfish 15 saw this differently:} 15... Nf8 16. Ba4 Re7 17. Bc6 Rb8 18. Nf3 Ng6 19. hxg5 hxg5 20. Qd2 Bxc4 21. Qxg5 Nh7 22. Qe3 Bxf1 23. Rxf1 Re6 24. Bd5 Re8 25. Bc6 { 0.00/34}) 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Ba4 Rh8 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Qg4 f6 20. f4 exf4 21. Bxf4 Rh4 22. Qg3 Rah8 23. Rae1 Rh1+ 24. Kf2 Rxf1+ {I made this trade because I thought during the game that White's position was far better, but new engine Stockfish 15 (I put this in last week on my return home) is evaluating that White's position isn't great as his attack is not landing, which I thought it would.} 25. Rxf1 Kf8 26. Be3 Ke8 {all this time I thought he had something with an e5 & then eventual Bxg5.} 27. Ke1 Qh7 28. Qf3 Qh4+ 29. g3 Qh3 30. Bg1 Qe6 $5 (30... Ke7) 31. e5 Ke7 32. d5 Qxe5+ 33. Kd1 (33. Kf2) 33... g4 $8 34. Qxg4 Qh5 {I actually thought about offering a draw here. I am glad I did not.} 35. Qxh5 Rxh5 {In this ensuing endgame, My light bishop will eventually crack free.} 36. Bd4 Rh2 37. Be3 Ne5 38. Bd4 Nd7 {I didn't think freeing the Bishop right away was worth giving him an outside passed pawn.} (38... Nxc4 39. Bxf6+ Kd7 40. Nxc4 Bxc4 {Stockfish 15 likes this for me because of White's unhealthy pawns, but I didn't want to take a chance at falling asleep on the outside passer & thus I waited for a better opportunity in the ending.}) 39. a3 Rh3 40. Rf3 Rh6 41. Rf2 Rg6 42. Rg2 Rg4 43. Kc2 Bc8 44. Nf1 Ne5 45. Bxe5 dxe5 {This is not a common ending for me, Rook + Bishop vs. Rook + Knight, but I think I can do something here.} 46. Ne3 Rg5 47. Kd3 Bg4 {just out of curiosity to see if he is willing to trade Knight for Bishop.} 48. Rf2 Bh3 49. Rf3 f5 50. Kd2 Kf6 ( 50... e4 {I didn't like playing ...e4 because of the f4-square, but he can't get there any time soon.}) 51. d6 {this sacrifice is to open the d5-square for the knight.} cxd6 52. Nd5+ Ke6 53. Re3 Kd7 54. Nf6+ Kc6 55. Kc2 Bf1 56. Kb3 Rg6 57. Nd5 Bxc4+ (57... Kc5 {is a beautiful option here, but I already had the Bishop for Knight trade in mind.}) 58. Kxc4 b5+ 59. Kb4 Kxd5 60. Kxb5 e4 61. a4 Ke5 62. Ka6 Rg7 63. a5 d5 64. Re1 Rxg3 65. Rc1 Rg7 66. Rb1 e3 67. Rb7 Rxb7 68. Kxb7 e2 (68... e2 69. Kxa7 e1=Q 70. a6 Kd6 71. Kb7 Qb1+ 72. Ka8 Kc7) 0-1

When Chief TD Craig Timmons announced the results, he didn't realize that I also won a prize. He sent me a message the following day & I am just awaiting for the check to arrive. As of the time of the blogpost publication, it has not come in yet, but I hope it comes in soon.

On Monday, before I left Huntington, I made a quick stop at Marshall University Statue & Fountain. You may very well remember the Marshall University Football team members, coaches, staff that perished in 1970 when the plane crashed.  They erected the fountain as a memorial to that football team.

On the drive back to CVG, I noticed a very weird traffic signal arrangement.

I don't think I have seen two horizontal red lights arranged like that for a traffic signal, but I could be mistaken.

Here are the updated #fiftystatesofchess maps

And that concludes State No. 31, West Virginia.

State No. 30 - Minnesota + Bonus Trip for the 50th World Open

This was an interesting trip. Normally, I fly out Thursday, do sightseeing Thursday/Friday, Play Friday (if necessary), Saturday, Sunday, & then fly home Monday. However, I opted to fly out Friday & do the majority of my sightseeing between the rounds on Saturday/Sunday & then all day on Monday. 

I opted to stay at a Marriott a distance away from the chess playing hotel rather than the chess playing hotel (Cambria) itself. On these trips, it tends to be the flip of a coin whether the chess hotel will be a good one or not. I try to stay at a Marriott when possible so I can eventually reap a Marriott reward, & my Marriott account was started in 2016 when the US Chess Federation gave the players 800 reward points as partial compensation for the terrible dorm-like but worse hotel rooms in Indianapolis at the US Open. (See my 2016 Indiana trip post for further explanation) 

However, this was a terrible decision. I happened to pick a Marriott that was in the middle of a renovation. The faucet knob was switched (cold was hot & hot was cold) & the telephone in my room never worked! I had to call the front desk from my cell phone, & they ignored my problems for a couple of days. 

I did get to see one of my friends in town. I know him from playing pickup Ultimate Frisbee in Van Saun & Weehawken & I think even played in the same Cranford Ultimate Frisbee Association Summer League at least once. We went to Guavas Cuban Cafe to catch up on various matters. The food was pretty good, I would repeat the visit. Then, he & his girlfriend drove me around Lake Nokomis on the way to ice cream. Lake Nokomis appears to be approximately 2.8 miles in circumference, and a characteristic of many of the lakes in this state is that one can do all sorts of activities - swimming, kayaking, paddling, etc. in the lake. We saw all those activities, along with people doing early evening picnics & early evening alcohol consumption as we drove/rode around Lake Nokomis. 

We then drove to Pumphouse Creamery to get ice cream. I tried their Five Flavor Flight, & they had an interesting way of showing the ingredients on the board.

Cookies & Cream, Fresh Banana, Strawberry, Madagascar Vanilla, & Chocolate

They had an interesting way of showing the ingredients on the wall.

I opted to visit Mall of America between rounds as much as possible as I could cover both quick eating & sightseeing in multiple trips, doing roughly a floor between rounds. Mall of America was huge, with a miniature golf course & a Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park on the interior & three full floors of stores with a partial fourth floor for more stuff.

Rare to see the Masters as a side event in a Chess Tournament,

Decorative Mall of America Display

Getting into MOA by foot isn't straightforward.

A sign that tells you how many parking spaces are available.

Random shot of the interior.

At the beginning of the long underground walkway from the transit area of MOA.

I suspect the Hammer Brothers Family would approve of this store.

The TMNT Framed Picture.

I went mini-golfing between Rounds 4 & 5 at Moose Mountain Adventure Golf.

I lipped out a hole-in-one on this hole.

Just like in the Bugs Bunny episode "My Bunny Lies Over the Sea", I tried a cue shot when my ball landed in front of the left wheel with the hole on the other side. I lipped that shot in the hole of 6 lol.

I somehow still met the speed limit lol.

This was the first time I saw a store for anime fans.

I believe similar to laser tag, though I did not have time to confirm.

This game is from my fourth round game at the US Amateur North.  This was the only game I won, but I think I proved to myself that I can still attack when I recognize the opportunity is there.

[Event "US Amateur North"] [Site "Minneapolis"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Khachatryan, Gabriel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1624"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.06.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 {It's been a long time since I could enact a 4-3 queenside majority in the Caro-Kann, so I opted to go for it without hesitation.} 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Nf3 (6. Bf4 Qb6 {exposes White's premature development of his dark Bishop.}) 6... Bd6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O Re8 9. h3 Nd7 10. c3 Nf8 11. Be3 a5 12. Qd2 b5 13. Bb3 Ba6 {I didn't get ...Ba6. I thought his Bishop was better served at b7 or e6} 14. Rfe1 Qc7 15. a3 {I had a gut feeling that f7 was where the action was going to be.} Rad8 16. Rad1 f5 17. Qc2 {provide space vs. the ...f4 trap of the dark Bishop.} f4 18. Bc1 c5 $2 ( 18... h6 {stops all the Ng5 to f7 nonsense.}) 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Ng5 {I just got a sense that I could win this game now & opted to pursue a king attack rather than patiently angling for an endgame. The next few moves are messy, but it is harder to defend than attack.} Rxe1+ $2 (20... Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Re7 { & I don't have access to d8. Fritz prefers Nxf7 while I prefer Qf5} {Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 22. Nxf7 ({Fritz 11 SE: 2)} 22. Qf5 Bc8 23. Qxf4 Qxf4 24. Bxf4 h6 25. Rd5 Re1+ 26. Kh2 Bxf2 27. Nf3 Re4 28. Bd2 Be6 29. Rxb5 Bxb3 30. Rxb3 Ne6 31. Rb7 a4 32. Rd7 Re2 {0.92/19}) 22... Rxf7 23. Qf5 g6 24. Bxf7+ Kg7 25. Bxf4 gxf5 26. Bxc7 Kxf7 27. Bxa5 Bb7 28. Bb4 Bxb4 29. cxb4 Ke6 30. f3 Ng6 31. Kf2 Bd5 32. Ke3 f4+ {2.14/20}) 21. Rxe1 Rd7 {Re8 is open when I need it.} 22. Qf5 Ba7 23. Bxf4 Qb6 $4 (23... Qb7) 24. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 (24... Rxf7 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 26. Qxf8#) 25. Be3 $4 {I am annoyed that I missed the checkmate, but absent of the immediate checkmate, stopping enemy counterplay isn't a bad idea when ahead.} ( {This is the continuation I referred to in my instagram post that I totally missed as I can force checkmate now.} 25. Qxh7+ $3 Nxh7 26. Re8+ Nf8 27. Rxf8#) 25... Qd8 $2 (25... Qf6 $1 26. Qxf6 (26. Qg4 Rxf7 27. Nxf7+ Qxf7 28. Bxa7 Qxa7 29. Re8 Qf7) 26... gxf6 {keeps Black alive, even though White still has an advantage.} {Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 27. Be8 ({Fritz 11 SE: 2)} 27. Be6 Nxe6 28. Nxe6 Re7 29. Bxa7 Bc8 30. Bd4 Rxe6 31. Bxf6+ Kg8 32. Be5 Kf7 33. f3 Bb7 34. Kf2 Bd5 35. g4 Re8 36. f4 h6 37. Rd1 Rd8 38. f5 {2.77/21}) 27... Re7 28. Nf7+ Kg8 29. Nd6 b4 30. cxb4 axb4 31. a4 Ng6 32. Bb5 Bxb5 33. Nxb5 Bc5 34. Kf1 Re5 35. g3 f5 36. Bxc5 Rxc5 37. Nd6 Kg7 38. Kg2 f4 39. Ne8+ Kh6 40. Nd6 fxg3 {2.92/22}) 26. Bxa7 h6 (26... Rxa7 27. Re8 {sets up both Rxf8# & Qxh7#. I don't think Black can defend both.}) 27. Re8 Rd1+ (27... Qxg5 28. Rxf8#) 28. Kh2 Qd6+ 29. f4 hxg5 30. Qxg5 (30. Bg6 $1 Kg8 (30... Qxf4+ 31. Qxf4 gxf4 32. Rxf8#) 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Rxf8+ Qxf8 33. Qxf8#) 30... Kh7 31. Bd4 {Once you're winning, there are usually multiple ways to win. I chose to use all my pieces.} ({Fritz 11 SE:} 31. Rxf8 Qh6 32. Qf5+ g6 33. Bg8+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Qg7 35. Qh4+ Qh6 36. Qxh6# { #6/13}) 31... Ng6 (31... g6 32. Rxf8 Qxf8 33. Qxg6#) (31... Qh6 32. Qf5+ Ng6 ( 32... Qg6 33. Bxg6+ Nxg6 34. Qh5#) (32... g6 33. Bg8+ Kxg8 34. Rxf8+ Kh7 (34... Qxf8 35. Qxg6+ Qg7 36. Qxg7#) 35. Rh8#) 33. Bg8+ Kh8 34. Bxg7+ Kxg7 35. Qf7+ Kh8 36. Bh7+ Qf8 37. Rxf8+ Nxf8 38. Qg8#) 32. Qh5# 1-0

This game is from my fifth round game at the US Amateur North.  For those of you from my instagram page, see the position after my 51st move.

[Event "US Amateur North"] [Site "Minneapolis"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Wasserman, Edward"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1984"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.06.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 {I lost a previous game to veteran Fred Wilson after he turned a Ruy Lopez to a King's Indian Defense.} 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. d5 Nce7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. Qd3 Nf6 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Be3 c6 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Rad1 Rfd8 15. Bd4 (15. h3) 15... Qb7 {this move changes the complexion as the pin is removed & now my d-file tactics are gone.} 16. b3 Rac8 17. h3 a5 18. Rfe1 Qb4 19. Qe3 c5 20. Bxf6 {I don't mind this trade as I don't think he can generate enough with Queen + Bishop vs. my Knight vs. Bishop.} Bxf6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 a4 {If I can trade all the queenside pawns off, my Knight's Endgame should get stronger.} 23. Red1 axb3 24. axb3 Re8 25. Rxd6 Rxe4 26. Qd3 Bg7 27. Qd5 {looking at f7 again, & maybe c5.} Rce8 28. Rd7 R4e6 29. g3 (29. Ng5 Re1+ 30. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 31. Kh2 Qf4+ 32. g3 Qxf2+ 33. Qg2 ({Fritz 11 SE:} 33. Qg2 Qe3 34. Rd8+ Bf8 35. Rd2 Qxg5 36. Re2 Rxe2 37. Qxe2 Qd5 38. Qe3 Bd6 39. h4 Kg7 40. Qc3+ Qd4 41. Qxd4+ cxd4 42. Kg2 f5 43. Kf3 Kf6 44. Kf2 Ke6 45. Kf3 { -5.96/21}) 33... Qxg2+ 34. Kxg2 {where Black is up a pawn.}) 29... h6 30. h4 ( 30. Kg2) 30... Qe4 31. Qxe4 Rxe4 32. R7d5 (32. Rc7 Bd4 33. b4 {looks right.} ({ Fritz 11 SE:} 33. Kf1 Rb8 34. Rd3 Rb5 35. Kg2 Rb8 36. Nxd4 cxd4 37. Rc4 Kg7 38. b4 Rd8 39. Kf3 f5 40. b5 Rb8 41. Rb4 Kf6 42. b6 Rb7 43. Ra3 {0.17/18}) 33... Rd8 34. Nxd4 Rdxd4 35. Rxd4 cxd4 36. Rc4 Re1+ 37. Kg2 d3 38. Rd4 Rb1 39. Kf3 d2 40. Rxd2 Rxb4 {is drawish, so my game move was probably better.}) 32... c4 33. bxc4 Rxc4 34. R1d2 {I am trying to swap Rooks to achieve Knight vs. Bishop position, buyt my pawns on dark squares are a concern.} Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Re7 36. Rd7 Rxd7 37. Rxd7 Rc2 38. Rd2 Rxd2 39. Nxd2 f5 40. f3 Kf7 41. g4 {I am trying to place my pawns on light squares. I also want to split the f & h pawns so that I have a Knight takes f-pawn sacrifice for an easy draw. Black should be trying to trade h-pawns somehow.} Ke6 42. Kg3 Be5+ 43. Kh3 Bf4 44. Nb3 (44. Nf1 {traps the Knight.}) 44... Kd5 45. gxf5 gxf5 46. Na5 Bc7 47. Nb3 Kc4 48. Nc1 Kd4 49. h5 {This is critical to force Black's King to take the h-pawn.} Ke3 50. Kg2 Kf4 51. Ne2+ Kg5 52. Nd4 $1 {I offered a draw here.} Bb6 (52... Kxh5 53. Nxf5 {and Only White has practical winning chances, if any.}) (52... f4 $4 53. Ne6+ Kxh5 54. Nxc7 {And White is just plain winning.} Kg5 55. Ne6+ Kf5 56. Nd4+ Ke5 57. Ne2 {Black can't leave defense of the f-pawn, where White can swallow the h-pawn first & then tag team the f-pawn.}) 53. Nxf5 $1 Kxf5 54. Kh3 Kg5 55. f4+ Kxf4 56. Kh2 Kg4 57. Kg2 Kxh5 58. Kh1 1/2-1/2

I then went to one of the restaurants of Top Chef Justin Sutherland called the Handsome Hog.  It is an interesting place with his spin on southern cooking. I thought the food tasted good & his special butter for the muffin had a bit of hidden flavor (& spice) to it. I think it is worth a visit to try it out.

If nothing else, Combo #5 reminded me of the parody of Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5

Combo #5, with KEC's FAD as its drinking partner.

I did a lot of walking on Monday, even though there were a few ubers, a few buses, & even a train mixed in. I first found my way over to Minnehaha Falls.

Minnehaha Falls

& pass through a frisbee golf course

F. Golf Basket #7 for Kevin

Ford Dam on Mississippi River, view from Ford Parkway

Ford Dam on Mississippi River, view from Mississippi River Boulevard at Ford Dam Scenic Overlook in St. Paul

There were a lot of Sparky Statues.

I wonder if there was a hunt for the Sparky Statues available similar to the Hunt for the Garfield Statues, the Ndy Statues, & the Cowboy Boot Statues, because there were a lot of these around.

There was a Minneapolis River Walk Self-Guided Audio Tour Available, but I didn't bring my headphones on the walking trip, so I skipped the audio portion & just kept walking. Found some cool things along the way:

I would eventually walk across the Stone Arch Bridge.

on the St. Anthony Falls Dam Site looking at the Stone Arch Bridge

On the Stone Arch Bridge

I eventually crossed back on the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, & eventually found a bus to take me to the Uptown District, where I ate at a little french restaurant called Barbette. I had the Croque Monsieur sandwich (Beeler’s ham, Mornay, Gruyere), which tasted good & gave me enough time to rest for the final walk.

I walked over to the eastern part of Lake Bde Maka Ska.  There is another name for this lake, but I didn't remember it at the time and I'm not going to cheat by looking it up now. This is I think the largest lake in Minnesota, 3.1 miles around, enough to do a 5K run. Unfortunately, since I had already tacked on over 9 miles at this point in the day, I didn't think I had enough energy to walk the circumference & the remaining 1-2 miles to my last walking stop.  So, I just quickly walked the northern edge of the lake, & then continued northward around the western edge of Lake of the Isles on my way to Birchbark Books.

By the way, I did not expect to see so many signs for the Cedar Lake Trail Detour Path. This could also have been a hunt for these signs, as I feel like I saw 20 between Lake Bde Maka Ska & Birchbark Books.

After picking up 4 Books (The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart; The Fault in Our Stars - John Green; How to Resist Amazon & Why - Danny Caine; & Counting by 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan), I arranged for either an uber or lyft to take me back to the hotel, which ended up being highly convenient as I attempted to do the Deck of Cards Fitness WOD while watching the old men from Pardon the Interruption. (One hour back of Eastern Standard Time does wonders for timing.)  By the way, Deck of Cards did not go too well - I guess over 11 miles of steps does have an effect on athletic activities.

Being in Minnesota, I learned about the local food favorite, the Juicy Lucy, & was directed by my friend to go to Matt's Bar & Grill. This place advertises itself as the originator of the Juicy Lucy & to distinguish itself from other places, they spell theirs Jucy Lucy.  

Because I was foolish & forgot to take a picture of my dinner, you'll just have to read my description. The Jucy Lucy is a burger with two patties & a slice of cheese in the middle. Be very careful as the middle cheese is HOT!!!  I almost burned my thumbs while eating this. That being said, this was extremely delicious & I highly recommend you visit if you can.  Please note that Matt's Bar & Grill takes cash & local checks only, no credit cards. There is an ATM on site.

Got an end of trip scare when I thought I lost my sunglasses as I did not have them for the Monday Walk Minneapolis Trip. I tried to contact the chess hotel, my hotel front desk, & the Handsome Hog. Luckily, I recovered the fumbled sunglasses when I got home as I had inadvertently packed them into the large suitcase.

That concludes State No. 30 - Minnesota.

#fiftystatesofchess

As this post is late in publishing (We're already past July 10), I decided to add a few tidbits from my trip to the 50th Annual World Open.

The World Open has improved its Round Starting Times from years (a decade, almost) ago. 

The air conditioning in the main playing hall was malfunctioning & there was a ban on spectators for the first 4 hours in Rounds 7 & 8.  

Just like in other World Opens, if you try to leave your hotel room with less than half an hour before the round, the elevator may be full.

This was my second round game at the World Open, under the G/60 D10 time control.

[Event "World Open"] [Site "Philadelphia"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "2"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Wang, Bohan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1628"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.06.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {I really like this Bishop check as it alters the position of the Sicilian defense immediately.} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Re1 g6 7. b3 {This is an idea I don't try often...fianchettoing my Bishop vs. his Bishop.} Bg7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. c4 {I am fairly certain he's not playing ...e5 as that kills his dark Bishop.} a6 10. Nc3 e6 11. d4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nb6 13. Qd2 d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Rad1 (15. exd5) 15... dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Rxe4 Qf6 { The pins on the d4-knight are annoying.} 18. Qe1 Rad8 19. Re2 Qf4 20. Nf3 Rd5 ( 20... Rxd1 21. Qxd1 {& I think I will be okay with control of the d-file.}) 21. Rxd5 Nxd5 22. Re4 Qc7 23. Ba3 {I thought this was forcing as Black has lots of problems here.} Bc3 (23... Rd8 24. Re8+ Bf8 25. Bxf8 Rxe8 26. Qxe8 Qc1+ 27. Ne1 {As Bh6+ either wins the Queen or forces checkmate, & Black has to try a Queen trade to go into an ending only down a piece.}) 24. Qe2 Rd8 25. Re8+ Kg7 26. Bf8+ Kf6 27. Qe4 {I played most of the rest of this game looking for the checkmate. I wanted no business of trying to convert a single pawn up endgame or similar.} Rxe8 28. Qxe8 Ba5 29. g3 Qc3 30. Qe4 Nc7 31. Qe7+ Kf5 32. Qxf7+ ( 32. Nh4+ Kg4 33. Kg2 Qc6+ 34. f3+ {if I had seen this move during the game, I would have led this variation.} Kh5 (34... Qxf3+ 35. Nxf3 Ne6 36. Qxf7 Ng5 ( 36... Nxf8 37. Qf4+ Kh5 38. g4#) 37. Qf4+ Kh5 38. Qxg5#) 35. g4#) 32... Ke4 ( 32... Kg4 33. Qf4+ Kh5 34. Qh4#) 33. Qf4+ Kd3 (33... Kd5 34. Qd6+ Ke4 35. Ng5+ Kf5 36. Qf4#) 34. Qe3+ Kc2 35. Nd4+ Kb2 36. Qe2+ Kb1 37. Nf3 Nb5 38. a4 Nd4 39. Qd1+ Kb2 40. Qxd4 Kxb3 41. Qd1+ Kc4 (41... Qc2 42. Nd4+) 42. Bd6 Qb3 43. Ne5+ ( 43. Qd4#) 43... Kc3 44. Qd3+ Kb2 45. Nc4+ Ka2 46. Qe2+ Kb1 47. Nxa5 Qxa4 48. Be5 Qc2 49. Qxc2+ Kxc2 50. Nxb7 {I actually apologized to my opponent for not finding the mate sooner, but time pressure wasn't my friend. I knew for certain that an endgame up two pieces with pawns for me still on the board means I will most likely win, so he resigned here.} 1-0

I didn't play very well here either, blowing a pawn up position in the Ruy Lopez (& then losing) & then giving up a draw in the 8th Round when I could have won the position had I not traded the second pair of Rooks. Oh well, see you after my next state!