Rock Canyon Chess Club

Photo by John Crawley ©John Crawley

Rock Canyon Chess Club
"The Roadrunners"

Rock Canyon Elementary School
Provo, Utah

Welcome to the Rock Canyon Chess Club Web Page!

"This web page has been created by Mary Elizabeth Christensen and Milt Moody for the benefit of elementary school students interested in chess. Although the Rock Canyon Chess Club is being lead by others at this time, we've left this web page up for those who would like to learn a little about chess from some games played by some of the best chess player who ever played the game. We hope you enjoy these short chess games with all their glittering treasures.

This page is designed to help the members of the Rock Canyon Chess Club to develop their chess skills by providing access to the chess games we have studied in preparation for the yearly chess tournaments. We've posted the games from 2010 to 2018. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact us at the email addresses below.

Instructions:

For those games that have links to "Play Game," you can print out the notes and follow along learning possible reasons for the moves, as you play the game on the "Chessgames.com" website, clicking the ">" symbol to make one move at a time. (If the game doesn't work right, try another browser -- they're all a little be different). You can also learn how to read "chess notation" and play the game on a chessboard as you read the comments about the moves. Taking it slow so everything is clear, is the best way to go.

Most of these games are played by Grandmasters of chess, so each move (on the winning AND losing side) has a purpose behind it and you can see the ideas these great players used in these games and hopefully use them in your own games.. Some of the ideas have names like "pin," fork," "sacrifice" (to force a move or gain an advantage), "back-rank attack," "skewer," "discovered attack" and many more. These games are packed full of these ideas so you can learn to recognize them and see how to use them to become a better chess player.

Games form 2018

1. "As You Like it” Black gives White moves that "look good" but definitely are not! (2 Feb 2018)
Rosanes vs Anderssen - Breslau (1862) Kings Gambit Declined	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Look for "three guys in a row" -- .you may have a good "pin," "scewer" or "discovered attack."
2. "A Beautiful Game” White gives a masterful lesson on how to prepare an attack! (9 Feb 2018)
Capablanca vs Mattison - Karlsbad (1929) Nimzo-Indian Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
White sets up one threat after another which forces Black to make undesirable moves.
3. "Royal Horses” This game shows how you can use the Knights for a quick attack! (16 Feb 2018)
Kluger vs Nagy - Budapest (1942) Sicilian Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
White's Knights dance and prance on a magical carousel and end up taking the throne. Really!
4. "Surprise Attack” From a normal-looking position comes an overwhelming attack! (23 Feb 2018)
Aronian vs Anand - Wijk aan Zee (2013) Queen's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Two of the worlds top chess masters are both thinking "attack," but one comes up with a doozy!
5. "Test of the Newcomer” A wily master tries an unusual opening on a newbie. (2 Mar 2016)
Morphy vs Anderssen - Paris (1858) Scandinavian Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Basic principles and pieces working together overcome an attempt to confuse a young player.
6. "The Quiet Move that Roared” Black was on the verge of victory but...not so fast! (10 Mar 2018)
Anderssen vs Dufresne - Berlin (1852) Evan's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Two chess masters battle it out with long distance attacks on files & diagonals and a classic ending.

Games from 2017

1. "Taking Advantage” White presses his first-move advantage...for a while! (10 Feb 2017)
Lichtenhein vs Morphy - New York (1857) Two Knight Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Even when you have an obvious move, look around a little longer for a better one.
2. "Hi, My name is Magnus” I'm 14 years old and became a Grand Master last year. (17 Feb 2017)
Magnus Carlsen vs Atle Groenn - Sandnes (2005) Queen's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
If you follow the basic chess ideas it will set you up for great things -- even a magic ending!
3. "Have a chocolate. ” Two friends play chess. One is the best player in the world. (24 Feb 2017)
Rosanes vs Anderssen - Breslau (1863) King's Gambit Accepted	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
You can sometimes get a good position by providing some time-wasting gifts to your opponent.
4. "Taking the Middle Ground ” Mr. Nimzovich described this game as a "family jewel." (3 Mar 2017)
Nimzovich vs Alapin - Riga, Latvia (1913) French Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
"Get there first with the most men" -- this time there are several men to spare.
5. "Just horse play” Playing several people at a time was second nature to Capablanca. (10 Mar 2017)
Capablanca vs Friedman - Cuernavaca (1933) Queen's Gambit Dec.	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Sometimes a weak pawn is all a good player needs to create a nice checkmate strategy.
6. "Napoleon Blown Apart” Napoleon Morache's aggressive attack fails miserably. (17 Mar 2017)
Morache vs Morphy - New York City (1857) Evan's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Efficient moves to get your pieces in good positions usually beats threatening inefficient moves.

School Year 2013-15 -- Learning Table Games

►Waitzkin vs Frumkin (Fall 2015) Sicilian Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Ten-year old Josh Waitzkin, is thinking ahead catching chess master Frumkin in a brilliant trap.
►Learning Table Exercise (Spring 2015) End Game Ideas (printout only)	\| Set up pieces \| Print Notes \|
There are different ideas that you must know to win in the End Game. Here are some of them.
►Alekine vs Koehlein - Dusseldorf (1908) Queen's Pawn Opening	\| Print Notes \|
Put together some of the "chess tricks" you can see to make a winning combination..
► Koltanowski vs 1 of 30 - Antwerp (1931) Caro Kann	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Look as far ahead as you can on lines that look important.

Games from 2016

1. "When Push Comes to Shove” Black's blistering attack leaves White...in great shape! (4 Feb 2016)
Maczuski vs Kolish - Paris (1864) Scotch Game	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Attack and threaten as you get your "big guys" out quickly.
2. "One Thing Leads to Another” White's King-side attack works like a charm. (11 Feb 2016)
Capablanca vs Jaffe - New York (1910) Queen's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Force your opponent to make moves he doesn’t want to make.
3. "The Quiet Move that Roared” Black was on the verge of victory but...not so fast! (18 Feb 2016)
Anderssen vs Dufresne - Berlin (1852) Evan's Gambit - "The Evergreen Game"	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Using one move to set up another can befuddle your opponent -- and entertain the crowd.
4. "Worth the Sacrifice” Black got his men out faster than White & then kept on goin'! (25 Feb 2016)
Mayet vs Anderssen - Berlin (1851) Spanish opening	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
An open file leading to the enemy King can let the troops walk right in.
5. "Clash of the Titans” Two of the world's top players attacking at the same time. (3 Mar 2016)
Aronian vs Anand - Wijk aan Zee (2013) Queen's Gambit	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
A surprise move reveals a strong "hidden" attack that is overpowering.
6. "Test of the Newcomer” A wily master tries an unusual opening on a newbie. (10 Mar 2016)
Morphy vs Anderssen - Paris (1858) Scandinavian Defense	\| Play Game \| Print Notes \|
Basic principles and pieces working together overcome an attempt to confuse a young player.