"Heart-Rensching" And Nearly Perfect!!
An Official Chess.com/TV Group Blog Entry
Hello again and welcome to another recap of the two latest Chess.com/TV Shows: yesterday's Your Games Analyzed (YGA) and today's BIG Show. They are hosted, respectively, by GM Magesh Panchanathan and IM Danny Rensch, and have two totally different, yet successful, formats.
The first one I will be recapping is YGA, in which Magesh asks a trivia question of the chat room participants or has them solve a chess puzzle. Whoever wins gets to have one of their games thoroughly analyzed.
But this episode was different!
A while ago, as the TV Group was just starting out, we had an idea to have an internal tournament in which the top 3 players would win prizes relating to Chess.com/TV and its hosts. So Cruiseylee78, the third place winner, was automatically entitled to have one of his games analyzed without having to solve the puzzle or answer the trivia question. Here's the game he picked:
The game started off in an A89 Dutch Defence w/Leningrad System 5. Nf3 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. Nc3 Nc6 then 8. Bg5 was played, and the heavy analysis began.
Now, Magesh analyzed this game in Chessbase 11, to offer even more clear and precise analysis. I will be making this game available with today's BIG Show PGN, so those of you who have Chessbase 11 or any Chessbase product will be able to see all Magesh's analysis and annotation.
Congrats again to Cruiseylee78 for placing third in the TV Group Internal Tournament, winning his free game analysis. I know you've been waiting for it for a while. 
Now here's the recap for today's BIG Show, which made its return after a long sabbatical. A lot of pressure was on Danny today to see if he still had what it takes to play a 10-game simul on Chess.com/TV with almost 540 viewers watching.
The games were played at 15|30 time controls, rated, as a random color. The challenges were taken--first come, first serve--and the show started rolling. Here are the 10 games in the order in which they were completed. Once again, I will be making these available in the Chess.com/Downloads section. So here we go...
Game 1 - vs. CaptainBlunderpants - B77 Sicilian Dragon Yugoslav Attack 9.Bc4: sidelines
Game 2 - vs. Mean-Mr-Mustard - C45 Scotch Game
Game 3 - vs. gmt769 - B34 Sicilian Accelerated Dragon with 5.Nc3: sidelines.
Game 4 - vs. visor841 - E30 Nimzo-Indian: Leningrad Variation
Game 5 - vs. The_AlphaWolf - C55 Two Knights: 4.d3, 4.d4 and 4.exd4 5.e5 and the Max Lange Attack
Game 6 - vs. Abhishek2 - B20 Sicilian
Game 7 - vs VeryIntellgNUT - A45 Trompowsky Attack
Game 8 - vs. MissionAssassin - B72 Sicilian Dragon: 6.Be3, lines with h3+Bc4 and sidelines
Now, by this point, Danny was 8 out of 8, with his 4th perfect show looming overhead. It was these last two games that would give him a run for his money:
Game 9 - vs. archmage81 - C45 Scotch Game
Game 10 - vs. chessfa1 - B84 Sicilian Scheveningen 6.Be2 a6, lines without early Be3
Danny came SO close to having his 4th perfect show, but chessfa1 ripped it from Danny's hands in a very well-played game, as the two games before it. So, congrats to all the BIG Show players, and also to the chatters for a well-behaved time during the show. Only a few banhammers went out which made everything about the show a "good time!"
The next BIG Show is in February, and be ready for a special Pardon our Blunders tomorrow!. The show airs at 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern/6 PM London time when a special guest host gets together with IM David Pruess.
Till then everyone! And as a reminder--yes, the games for The BIG Show will be made available.
Also, thanks to Petrosianic for his clever and appropriate "heartrensching" comment during the chat. He inadvertently named the headline for the blog! Thanks Matt.
-Mark
