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A Fun Simul for a Good Cause

A Fun Simul for a Good Cause

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NM CoachJKane
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 Happy new year Chess Friends,

I was honored to receive an invitation recently to partipate in a simul at a tournament to benefit the children of a recently deceased local chess parent. It was great to see over 100 participants play in a tournament that had only been organized a few days in advance.

After the tournament I played a simul on nine boards at a time against all comers. As each game ended, a new opponent replaced the previous one for a few rounds. I think I ended up playing about 40 games overall, but that's just a rough estimate. In the end I won every game, but not without a few scares. In my experience, it's impossible to play a big simul without blundering at least a few times, so it's important that the mistakes come against opponents that you're able to beat anyway. Here are a few of the more memorable moments. 

One of my stronger opponents, rated around 1800, missed a tactic that cost a piece, and allowed a pretty finish. See if you can find the best play for white.

 

The nicest checkmate tactic of the day was this one against a team of two girls. I really wanted Qxg6+ to lead to a brilliant mate, but it doesn't quite work out as well as it did in another memorable game. Can you find the winning line?
My narrowest escape of the day occured after I blew my winning advantage to a simple tactic. I ended up in this losing rook endgame, but my opponent's next two moves gave away, first a win, then a tricky draw, allowing me to complete my perfect score.