[Event "Smith-Morra Training"]
[Site "SchemingMind.com"]
[Date "2013.07.26"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Louis Lima"]
[Black "white bishop"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22q"]
[WhiteCountry "ESP"]
[BlackCountry "PHI"]
[WhiteElo "1911"]
[WhiteRD "75"]
[BlackElo "2251"]
[BlackRD "85"]
[GameID "335467"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4
{
white bishop: Hello, Louis! It would be nice to practice this opening with you and learn from our 2 games. I was wondering why you started a lot of tournaments all at once! In the other tournaments you started, so far there were no 2nd players yet. 
}
{
white bishop: You look like a Latino in the picture in your profile. ¿Habla usted español?
}
{
Louis Lima: Hi! Thank you for joining the tournament, very much appreciated.  For some reason I tend to learn openings better this way, with a combination of thematic tournament and post-analysis. I get to play the lines I like and then learn from the practical experience.  I just started them, so it takes time for players to join. If no one joins the tournament gets deleted after two months I believe.  
}
3. c3
{
Louis Lima: Si, hablo espanol, creci en Guatemala :-)   El Tagalog so oye mucho como el espanol verdad? 
}
3... Nf6
{
white bishop: Actually, in the Filipino language, there are a lot of borrowed words, from Spanish, Chinese, Malay, and English. 
}
{
white bishop: In the whole Philippines, aside from Filipino (locally as Pilipino) being our national language, there are a lot of local dialects being spoken in different regions and provinces. Among the mostly widely spoken dialect is Cebuano. This dialect is spoken in Visayas and certain parts of Mindanao.
}
{
white bishop: Among the dialects spoken in Philippines, the one that closely resembles Spanish is Chabacano, which has several varieties.
}
{
white bishop: Chabacano is the only Spanish-based creole in Asia. Since it has survived more than 400 years, it is one of the oldest creole languages in the world.
}
{
white bishop: The different Chabacano dialects spoken in Philippines are creoles based on Mexican Spanish & Portuguese. In some Chabacano dialects, most words are common with Andalusian Spanish, but many words in its vocabulary come from Nahuatl, which is spoken in Central Mexico.
}
{
white bishop: Among the different Chabacano dialects, 6 variants or varieties have been identified, of which 1 of the 6 has already become extinct. From the remaining 5 variants, the most widely spoken is
Zamboangueño (Zamboangueño Chavacano/Chabacano de Zamboanga), which is spoken by more than 600,000 people in Philippines, mainly in Zamboanga City and Basilan.
}
{
white bishop: In Spanish, you say "¿Adónde vas?", but in Zamboangueño, it is said differently, "Donde tu hay anda?" Another example would be in Spanish, you say "La persona con quien estás hablando es muy alegre", but in Zamboangueño, its native speakers will tell you "El persona con quien tu ta conversa, bien alegre gayot".
}
{
white bishop: So, from Guatemala, how did you end up in New York? Did your family migrate there? Or did you go to NY to study and continuously stayed there to work, ... until it became your new home.
}
4. e5
{
Louis Lima: Thanks for the insights, this is so interesting! I lived in Taiwan for several years, and sometimes I would get excited in the bus when I would overhear a couple of folks speaking what I thought was Spanish, only to then realized they were Filipinos living in Taiwan and speaking Tagalog. 
}
{
Louis Lima: I was born in NY, but grew up in Guatemala with my maternal family from age 3 thru 17. Thus my cultural uppringing is Guatemalan. My mother is Guatemalan, and my father's side is from the Virgin Islands/Puerto Rico - don't know much from that side of my family.  
}
4... Nd5
{
white bishop: I am actually of Chinese descent, but was born and grew up in Philippines. I have never been to China. Actually, I spent most of my life here in Philippines. When my father was younger, he applied for naturalization and became a Filipino citizen. My mom got her Filipino citizenship after her marriage with my dad. 
}
{
white bishop: I am a 4th generation Chinese here in Philippines. It was my great grandfather from my father's side who first arrived and settled in Philippines. Since my dad is a naturalized Filipino citizen, I am considered a "natural-born Filipino citizen".
}
{
white bishop: We do speak our Chinese dialect at home. In the Chinese community, there were Chinese schools established by various Protestant groups, so my parents had sent me to a Chinese school here in Philippines. My family and I, and also my parents, attend our Sunday worship services in a Protestant Chinese church each Sunday.
}
{
white bishop: Btw, what were you doing in Taiwan? You mentioned that you lived there for several years. We have relatives in the southern part of Taiwan. My aunt (dad's sister, lives there with her family). Recently, my uncle in Taiwan had passed away, so my parents flew to Taiwan to attend the funeral service last month. 
}
{
white bishop: From what you wrote, it seems your parents separated a few years after you were born, so you were sent to Guatemala to be cared for by your maternal grandmother, probably because your mom had to work full-time and may find it difficult to care for you. That was just an assumption, but may not be the real or actual case. Since that time, it seems there was no communication with your father or his side of the family or relatives.
}
5. Qxd4
{
Louis Lima: I wanted to travel at the time, and had friends from Taiwan, so decided to go study Chinese there.  
}
5... e6
{
white bishop: So can you still speak, read, write and understand Mandarin? You spent years studying it in Taiwan. :) 
}
{
white bishop: ??????????
}
6. Nf3
{
Louis Lima: I can still speak a little. 
}
6... Nc6 7. Qe4 f6
{
white bishop: Language, just like any skill, once you don't use it, you lose it!
}
{
white bishop: So you only studied conversational Mandarin before? Even though I'm not reviewing it, I can still remember the phonetic symbols. When we were in grade school, memorizing these phonetic symbols is compulsory in our Chinese class. I studied in a Chinese school in Philippines, remember?
}
8. Bc4
{
Louis Lima: I studied with phonetic symbols (bo-po-mo-fo), used to speak Mandarin fluently but not anymore.  
}
8... fxe5 9. Bxd5 exd5 10. Qxd5 d6
{
white bishop: I know there are a lot of Filipinos there in NY. You may be able to see some of them. A cousin's son just graduated with an MBA from the Univ. of Rochester and is now working in the financial sector there.
}
{
white bishop: Ever since you were based there in NY, have you ever gone back to Guatemala? To visit the place or town where you spent your formative years? To spend time with relatives from your mother's side? Btw, is your mother now in Guatemala or there with you in NY?
}
{
white bishop: I think Guatemala may have a lot in common with Philippines. The first one that I can think of would be that they were both occupied by the Spaniards.
}
{
white bishop: With the arrival of the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, who led a Spanish expedition, the Spainish occupation began, with 2 primary objectives: To colonize and to evangelize.
}
{
white bishop: Correction: 3rd word in 3rd line should be Spanish, not Spainish.
}
{
white bishop: It was only in 1898 when Spanish rule officially ended.
}
11. O-O
{
Louis Lima: I visit about once a year. 
}
11... Qe7 12. Bg5 Qe6 13. Qxe6+ Bxe6
{
white bishop: Do you play in other sites? Any good ones you can recommend?
}
14. Re1
{
Louis Lima: I play ocassionally on ICC, and on an app for iTouch/iPad/iPhone called "Social Chess". I love the Social Chess app, is quite addictive. ICC I don't frequent very often so don't know much about it. 
}
14... Kd7 15. Nbd2 h6 16. Bh4 g5 17. Bg3
{
Louis Lima: Do you recommend any sites? Also, I wanted to ask you - I imagine you are probably a FIDE Chess Master or beyond. My USCF rating is 2005 (FIDE is only 1992). I'd like to reach the master level, but not sure at my age 42) is possibl + with family responsibilities... what would you recommend for me to reach my goal? (I did stopped playing in OTB tournaments for a year, but planning to start competing regularly in OTB USCF events again in October). Thank you in advance for any insights. 
}
{
white bishop: Actually, while playing games with strong players here, I have also asked them the question on how I can improve on my chess playing. 
}
{
white bishop: Your FIDE and USCF ratings are actually not bad. To be able to reach that level, you have already attained a certain level of proficiency. I will share with you an article I found last year to give you ideas on how to improve your chess skills further: http://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/hw2-mprv.htm .
To prepare myself for the chess tournament organized by our church, I focused on tactics training and I would suggest you practice face-to-face, online with humans and play also with computers of varying strength. 
}
{
white bishop: I have not tried using any other sites aside from SchemingMind. I wish you success in achieving your goal of improving your chess skills further to become a master. Age is no hindrance to the attainment of your goals. It's the commitment and discipline you must develop to reach your dream of becoming a chess master.
}
17... a5 18. Rad1
{
Louis Lima: Thank you for the link and encouragement. The list is right to the point and succint, will use it to plan my self-training. 
}
{
Louis Lima: I hadn't thought of playing against computers of varying strength. Are there any settings you recommend? I don't have any latest engines. My PC laptop has Fritz 12, and my Mac laptop has Shredder for Mac. On my iTouch I have Fritz, Shredder and Stockfish. The reason I ask about appropriate settings is that whenever I try to play against the engines (i.e. on the plane) I lose very quickly, so not sure how much I get out of the effort and experience. 
}
18... Rd8
{
white bishop: You have enough chess engines for your training. No need to look for add'l ones. What you have, i.e. Fritz 12, Shredder, Fritz on your iTouch, Shredder and Stockfish is enough. You just have to be organized. Begin finding out which of your chess engines has the lowest ELO rating. Start training from there! When you lose quickly, it's all right. Don't easily lose hope. If your chess engines is programmed to point out your mistakes, learn from it. If not programmed with such a function, try to replay your game, analyze it and see what you should watch out for, and what you should try to correct in your playing so you will not keep on repeating the same mistakes. Remember the saying: Winners never quit, and quitters never win! 
}
{
white bishop: When you can win your games (as both White and Black) over the engine with the lowest ELO rating, it's time you move on to the next highest level, and so on. That's the way to train!
}
{
white bishop: Perhaps you can learn something from the computer, such as how it takes advantage of a certain position. 
}
{
white bishop: Good luck in your quest and in your training to become a chess master! :)
}
19. a3
{
Louis Lima: Thank you for your recommendations! I do find engines useful for post-analysis. It points out moves and lines that show I was not developing, controlling squares, or followng wrong plan, etc.  Thanks again for taking the time to write the advice, I'll incorporate it computer training then with incremental Elo settings. 
}
19... b5
{
white bishop: You're welcome! :) Try to create a suitable training plan, on how you will train yourself, based on the list. Which ones of your chess engines I can download for free? Will try them.
}
{
white bishop: I am still inviting people to join me in this tournament. Most of them signed up only for the Munich Chess960.
}
{
Louis Lima: I purchased them here and there throughout the years (The ones on for iPad are under eight dollars, but you need to have a iPad). The man that knows all about free engines on this site is JPT, if you ask him he can send you a link. He knows about the subject. 
}
20. Ne4 Kc8
{
white bishop: I think that if you plan to join the big event (your upcoming USCF tournament) in Oct, play standard chess and chess960 only during your training period. Skip all other variants at the moment, because they don't help you improve your chess skills, but rather distract your mindset from your goal as they have different sets of playing rules. Chess960 is okay to play at this time especially if you want to focus on the middle and endgames. You can also see from your screen that after our 20th move, nobody can tell by looking at the position alone whether it's standard chess or chess960. You can practice your tactics and strategy also on chess960. The only thing you can't practice in chess960 are the openings, but you get good practice of them through the thematic tournaments you created. 
}
21. Nf6
{
Louis Lima: Thanks for the advice. I actually don't have a big event in October. What I meant to say was that I was preparing to get back into playing once a week on tournament events in my local aread. - I never thought of Chess960 that way, certainly look forward to trying it out when the Munich event start. I tried a couple of games in the past but it was quite a while ago. 
}
21... Bb3
{
white bishop: Are you a member of a local chess club there? I actually didn't know much about other variants, except for chess960 because I haven't actually tried them yet, but I know they have a different set of rules from standard chess, so it is a bit useless to train with those if your aim is to play better standard chess. Except for chess960, the others you may disregard at the moment.
}
{
white bishop: It would be helpful as well to play a few games at your local chess club, if you are a member in one. However, the most important thing is that you analyze your games afterwards, so you'll know where you are weak, and what mistakes you often make that need correcting if certain positions arise.
}
{
white bishop: In case you want to replay our games or your games with other people up to a certain move, say move no. 10 for Black, and try a different line or approach, or change a certain move in the actual games and see what the outcome will be, I'll be happy to practice it out with you here. Just let me know through "Comments", but if we are no longer playing any games, you may contact me through "Private Message". We can do it also through Unrated Standard Chess, so our ratings won't be affected, as this is ideal for training purposes. We can both study  and analyze it.
}
22. Rd2
{
Louis Lima: I used to be a member of the Queens Chess Club, and occasionally some other clubs around here - but it's been a while. I'll definitely take you up on the analysis offer in the future when I am done with most of my games. Thanks! - I already don't like my position here - u got bishop pair and center pawns, so just looks like a matter of time, but I'll try to make the best of it :-) 
}
22... Ne7
{
white bishop: Hey, you changed the picture in your profile! I think this is a more handsome picture of you. You also changed some of the wordings in the write-up about yourself.
}
{
white bishop: You got two rooks guarding my center pawns. Although knight maneuvers can be useful in the middle game, but bishops will come in handy once you reach the endgame. It can move longer distances in the endgame.
}
{
white bishop: There is one thing I noticed in the picture in your profile. The chess pieces in front of you, they looked red rather than black. I hope I'm not becoming color-blind. 
}
23. h3
{
Louis Lima: Yes, put a recent one in there. It has some special effect on it, hence the vibrant red color on the pieces. The set is actually made of maple wood and the pieces were red-stained. 
}
{
Louis Lima: I meant to say the pieces are red-stained (similar process to ebonized pieces but using red rather than black). 
}
23... a4 24. Nh2 Nc6
{
white bishop: Those were nice pieces! Must be expensive! 
}
25. Nf1 Na5 26. Ne3 Be6 27. Nfd5 Nb3 28. Rdd1 Na5 29. f3 Kb8 30. Bf2 Rc8
{
white bishop: Have you begun preparing for your workshop? You should be, considering that time passes very quickly.
}
31. Rd3
{
Louis Lima: Yes, just finished preparing the materials last week, now have to prepare for the facilitation - probably will slow down on moving till after September 22nd. 
}
31... Rh7 32. Red1 Nc4 33. Nxc4 bxc4 34. R3d2 Rb7 35. Nb4 Kc7 36. Na6+ Kc6 37. Re1 Rb5 38. Bg3 Kb7 39. Nb4 Be7 40. Ree2 h5
41. f4 gxf4 42. Bxf4 h4 43. Bh2 Rf8 44. Rf2 Rxf2 45. Rxf2 Kc7 46. Kf1 Kd7 47. Ke1 Rb7 48. Rd2 Bf6 49. Re2 Rb5
{
white bishop: I will see if I can invite people to join us in this tournament, for we are practically the only two people playing. Emvarela did sign up, but never made a move. 
}
50. Kd1 Bf7 51. Kc1 Bg5+
{
Louis Lima: I really don't have anything to play for in this game, nice job
}
{
white bishop: Thanks for the game!
}
{
white bishop: Thanks for the game!
}
0-1

