My 10 Most Memorable Games
Hello and welcome to my chess blog!
Feel free to read with this music on,or without it =)
My adventures in chess and the fights in the chessboard have been intense.
But there are those moments ,games,that cannot be forgotten.
Moments that gave you joy,moments that made you realise you overcame what you thought impossible.Each of those moments has a story behind it,each game has a story behind it until you reach that chessboard,look your opponent and play him. I will here explain all the stories leading to my 10 most memorable games of chess. I will annotate from less memorable to top memorable.
My begginings at chess,age 8,champion of Karpathos island Greece (i am in the middle)
Game 10 Spanos vs Capossela (Perugia,October 2004)
As an 18 year old student,for the first time ever i was playing in a real chess club,where people actually knew how to play chess,Those simple tactics would not work on them and certainly they were much harder than the amateurs i was used to play in the small island of Karpathos-Greece.
The following game was between me and a local club player Capossela Fabio,he was rated 1st National and i was unrated,to me he was very good so i tried to surprise him by using a trap known as the Legal's Checkmate. It was my first game in the club and the game that proved to others that didnt know me,i actually had talent in me.
From left to right,Me,Gianesello,Claudio Romano and Fabio Capossela in the Italian Rapid Championship 2014.
For many in the chessclub i was the player of 'many traps' they knew that if i sacrificed something,i had something in mind,
The following game played in the International Tournament of Perugia was against a very experienced player who travells all Italy for tournaments. One of those sacrifice-traps occured in that game,which many people considered to be an example of great talent. D'orta abbandoned the tournament after this game.
Game 9
Spanos Nomikos vs D'orta Antonio ,Perugia
The best part of chess is when you travel to other cities with other chess friends in order to play tournaments,when i went to Fano in spring 2012 for the Italian tournament it was also the first time i met a GM live,that was many times champion of Italy Igor Efimov rated over 2500. My friend Bighiu introduced me to him saying Efimov Efimov! do you know who this guy is? Efimov looked perplexed had no clue,then Bighiu told him i am Mike Spanos greek champion legend of sacrifices,Efimov raised his hand to shake mine.I looked at him leaving heading in the tournament area,it wasnt until 2 years later i had the honor to play him for the first time.A great game that resulted in a draw he clearly did not want,since he kept playing in a draw position hoping for a mistake.
Game 8
Igor Efimov(GM) vs Spanos Nomikos
Facing off against George Bighiu,the friend that introduced me to GM Efimov
The most beautiful times however ,in chess, is when you go to tournaments with friends and with 2 rounds to go, you face one another,that moment may seem terrific,but deep in you ,you know that one of you will win the tournament or both in case of a draw. Going to this tournament in Montesilvano with one of my chess friends Claudio Romano we found ourselves in the highest chessboard playing each other,the match ended in a draw which made both of us happy and still able to get the 1 and 2 spot in the tournament,the game was also memorable and spectacular
Game 7
Spanos Nomikos vs Romano Claudio -Montesilvano 2014
Spanos vs Romano,the super fight that resulted to a draw!
And Winners!!!
Game 6
Spanos Nomikos- Marcugini Stefano CIS -Perugia
This game remains to my memory ,since it was the first time i had the chance to play against the first team of the chess club.We had 2 teams,The first was considered 'the strong one' and i just wanted to prove to them that there were other players out there,able to play
There is some games,that remain in your mind, when you think about them, you laugh in a good way.In the process of that game,i managed to be winning to then be losing to then miracously draw the game with stunning and intelligent defense. In the process of that game i understood my chess should be more defensive and i also made a very good friend,every time me and german speaking Sinner Armin find each other these days we laugh about that game that was completely crazy!
Game 5
Spanos Nomikos vs Sinnner Armin Montecatini Terme 2013
Game 4
Spanos vs Calisti CIS
A game i clearly remember,since it was the game that made me realise i had some understanding of the endgame. Many people that were watching thought it a draw and told me afterwards they would have gone towards the kingside and not towards the left as i did. But my plan proved to be.....winning! Calisti was sure to draw the game since he offered draw more than 5 times. Fight until the end,it pays out!
Spanos vs Calisti,moments before the end,Victory!
Thanks for reading,to be continued with the 3 most memorable games,with victories over famous chess teacher Tiger lilov, the great tactic game against 2505 Michael Kopylov and the great victory over the Greek Women Champion 5 times,that crowned me individual chess champion of the Aegean Islands 2014!
Champions of the Aegean Championship 2014,Individual Gold medals,from left to right, 5th chessboard,2nd and 1st .
Stay tuned to see how i got there!!!
