Also, of note, Steve Vinson, over-the-board, in a tournament, defeated IM Michael Brooks, of Kansas City in the 1990's.. We hope we can locate that game score and add it to the site. I believe Steve played a Caro-Kann against Brooks, if memory serves me correctly. (Click here to view the game.)
Another offering, this one from my hyper-modern period. I think we all go thru those phases, looking for those chess openings and defences that interest us and/or suit us stylistically. I dabbled in the flank openings ie; English, etc. later returning to the more direct 1.) P-K4. While culling through some old games to present for our web-site, I decided to select games that meet the criteria of being played at the park board center, against local club members, and hopefully present some aspect of quality in terms of our level of play.
OK, now a little background info...this game was played in our Ladder League, in what Roger Pagel and I dubbed "the Second Golden Age" of Springfield chess. During the pre-Internet chess days, the club's roster was swelling with members. The A class was well represented, and epic struggles would ensue each and every Friday evening.
Now for the scouting report on Steve: Mr. Vinson is a very seasoned (A level) player, known for being extremely solid. Steve is well versed on Caro Khan/Slav type defense systems and plays them exclusively. Needless to say wins don't come easy when playing Vinson, and I have numerous draws along with several black eyes in my many encounters with him. The game that follows typifies the trench warfare, fraught with maneuvering, as every square is fought over, lasting 77 moves and several time controls. It's never fast and easy when dealing with Steve!
10)a3 ...a5
Springfield's A players garnered a reputation for being booked up! The years of weekly ladder play (a.k.a. running the gauntlet) provided the incentive to hone one's repertoire, and to think we did this all for fun?
