Danny Has Some Ups, A Couple Of Downs!
So it's been a while since I've done a recap of Chess.com/TV's The BIG Show, and even though the show was a couple of days ago, I'm doing a recap of it at 2 AM on a Sunday morning, because, well, I can. 
For those of you that don't know what The BIG Show is, IM Danny Rensch plays a LIVE Chess simul of 10 games against members of the chat room at the time of the show at set time controls of 15|30. To date, he's only had a handful of perfect shows, going undefeated at 10-0. He's come very close at times, going 8-2, 9-1 (that "1" being either a loss or draw) or several close combinations of 10.
Usually what I do to recap the games, for those of you that haven't read a recap like this before, is to name the player, give the opening used (thanks to Chessbase 11) and show the games in an embedded PGN. I start with the first game that was completed and go to the last game finished. So with that, let's move along shall we? 
Game 1: vs. WYoung913
The first game of the day didn't take that long to finish, only 17 movesets, but it began in a C57 Two Knights: Wilkes-Barre/Traxler with 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5. Danny disposed of his first opponent with ease.
Game 2: vs. champcb
This game went even shorter, with only 12 movesets, and oddly enough, used the exact same opening as the first game, the C57 Two Knights: Wilkes-Barre/Traxler with 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5. Same opening, same result. A quick win putting Danny at an easy 2-0.
Game 3: vs. perchik1
This game, which began with a B22 2. a3 Sicilian, was a little bit more towards the norm from what we usually expect from a BIG Show game, going 46 movesets. Here's how it played out:
Game 4: vs. GeniusKJ
It was towards the middle of the games where Danny began to hit a rough spot. The opening began in a D02 Queen's Pawn Game - 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3. g3. GeniusKJ was able to close out the game and gave Danny his first loss of the show, quickly ruining any chance for a perfect day. Here's the PGN:
Game 5: vs. christian4000
Halfway through the show, Danny, playing White, had this game begin with a C10 French with 3. Nc3, and as you'll be able to see as you look through the game, it did not turn out too well for White as Danny went +3/-2 in his first 5 games.
Game 6: vs. TheMoonwalker
This game began with a B70 Sicilian Dragon and went 45 movesets as Danny was able to get back on the winning side, starting off the second half of the show with a victory.
Game 7: vs. eg0210
This was one of the longer games of the LIVE Chess session and it started off with a B34 Accelerated Sicilian Dragon with 5. Nc3. eg0210 succumbed after a black pawn to Queen promotion and some hassling from the newly crowned matriarch. Here's the PGN for you to check out:
Game 8: vs. marsiozo
This game saw a D00 1. d4 d5: unusual lines opening so as you look through the game you can get a clearer idea of how this game played out, but in the end, it was a victory for Mr. Rensch.
Game 9: vs. NM Bab3s
Appearing in game 9, the longest game of the day, was another Master, giving Danny some serious competition as the game began in a C56 Two Knights: 4. d4 exd4 5. 0-0 Nxe4. The two Masters slugged it out, but the game ended without a decisive result, giving Danny his first draw of the day. Here's the game:
Game 10: vs. dhistos
In the final game of the day against dhistos, the A45 Trompowsky Attack made an appearance and as the game winded down, Danny was able to secure the victory with some kingside pressure and a possible checkmate in a maximum of 3 moves, according to my Houdini kibitzer. Here's the game:
Danny's overall record for the show was a +7/-2/=1 and I want to congratulate both winners, NM Bab3s on the draw, and everybody who had a chance to play on the show.
Have a good night everyone!
-Mark
