For example, a game like Legend of Zelda might last, to the uninitiated, about 60 hours(pfft. yeah right.). There's a lot to explore in a game like that. But one week and your done. Period. Consider, however, just how much time has gone into people exploring and pondering Chess. It's a simple game. And yet, no one can say that they've "completed" Chess. It just doesn't work that way.

Traditional board games like Chess, Parcheesi, and my favorite: Go, consume far more entertainment time than Gears of war ever could. Even the longest lasting games, roguelikes such as NetHack and Stonesoup, can't compare to Go.

Still, youngins are gravitating towards video games more than ever, even while creativity and originality is on the low. Allow me to explain the differences between Chess and Go, which has been touted as the game with the most strategy involved of all time.

Most people in America are familiar with Chess, though not that many people play it. It's that game with the king, and the queen, and you're trying to kill each other on a chess board. Oh, and then there's that castle thingy...

Not quite. In chess, the board is an 8x8 set of squares, with each square allowing one piece to sit on.

picture:

This is the beginning of a chess game. Players command opposing armies, the battle atop the chessboard about to begin!

But what about Go? If co can be compared to chess at all, then where chess is a battle, Go is a full fledged war. Go was invented in China thousands of years ago, and had spread all over the east by the time the western world was in the renaissance. In china it was known as Wei'qi, but the game spread to the west from Japan, in which the game was known as Igo, thereafter shortened to "Go".

Basiclly it's like this: There are two types of pieces, called stones, because they look like round, flat stones. Each player places stones down on the board, one by one, turn by turn, and tries to form territory. A stone is like a platoon of soldiers, and, wherever you place your stone, is where your soldiers have influence. You want to form the borders of you country with your soldiers, as does your opponent with his soldiers.

That's rule number 1.

You also want to surround your opponents stones(soldiers), completely. If you manage to do this, they are "captured", and are your prisoners. The more prisoner's you have, the more territory, as well.

Those are the two basic rules of Go: Create territory and capture prisoners. Here's a picture of a small, 9x9 board:

A List of Differences Between Go And Chess:

1. In Chess pieces move. In Go, pieces don't move.

2. In chess, there are a variety of types of pieces, each with different abilities. In Go, there is only one type of piece, a stone.

3. In Chess, the aim is to capture the king. In Go, the aim is to carve up the board into your own territories.

4. In chess, winning is absolute. In Go, you can win by .5 a point.

5. In chess, a single piece captures a single piece. In Go, groups of stones capture groups of stones.

6. A surefire strategy in Chess is to take control of the center, and kill as many pieces as you can, without getting your pieces killed. In Go, that is probably the worst way to play. You want to start in the corners, spread out to the sides, and finally, fight over the center.

7. In Chess, there are less pieces on the board as the game progresses. In Go, there are more pieces on the board as the game progresses.

This might seem a bit confusing. But both games are a great way to pass the time while you are saving up to buy that next video game. You might not have 60 dollars to by the next great videogame, but it's worth it to check out one of these games. They've kept people busy for  centuries, so you'll never get bored. Plus, it's fun when you get good, and start beating the snot out of your enemies. heheh...:D

That's it for today. I'll leave you with two links: one for chess, the other for Go:

USChess Federation

USGo Association

That's it for today, 

--This is Plumalion.

Below is the description of my chess activities from ten years ago:

The Chess Coach

Teacher of Champions

I am Chris Torres, a scholastic chess coach who lives in San Jose California. I am the Supervisor of Instructors for Success Chess and also teach private lessons. Currently, I am the head coach for Warm Springs(Fremont), YoYo Chinese School (Fremont), and Challenger Schools(Pomeroy/Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale campuses), and a teacher at the prestigious Weibel Chess Club (Fremont). I also teach at Argonaut(Saratoga) and Gomes School (Fremont). My students have many success stories including both team and individual national and state championships. As a chess coach, I aspire to introduce children to the wonderful game as well as give them a taste of success. Students range from kindergartners to sixth graders. If you are interested in expanding a child's logic, self-esteem, and creativity please email me at chesslessons@aol.com to find out the rates for private, semi-private, and group lessons.

In the game Johngonzaga-springbok white got a big advantage in the beginning and he can finish the game in style. How?

Solution of the last position:

The black queen moved to h1 to give a pretty checkmate :)

Did you give a nice checkmate and want to show it to your friends? Please email the game number to dailymate@chesspark.com and maybe your checkmate will be the next on this page!

]]> http://mychessfamily.wordpress.com/?p=5 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:28:38 +0000 Dmitri http://mychessfamily.ro.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/touch-down-pawn-game/

Hello Chess Family!

    I would like to introduce to you one of my favorite games to start chess education and it is a Pawn touchdown game!

Have fun, hope you love it!

Both sides have only 8 pawns . We replace them on a chess board exactly on their beginning position.On the second row white, and on the sevenths black.

Moves:

Pawn move straight one square or at the beginning has a choice to move two squares. Each pawn can move one or two squares at the beginning , but only straight forward.

Captures:Pawn can capture only on diagonal which is to the closest square on diagonal.As well there is a complicated rule "in passing" that possible only if the pawn cross the diagonal line of the opponents pawn while moving two squares .I will illustrate it later in my sample video for this game.

Goal: to touch down the last line.The base of your opponent. The first touching the last line wins.

If there are no possible moves for both  sides there is a draw.

At the same time this game might be played with more strict rules , which is if there is no possible moves than the one who need to move loses the game.

Enjoy!

Vitorino Ramos

   Anand and Kramnik both enjoy playing the Petroff Defense(1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6) and I would be very surprised not to see it used in their 2008 World Championship Chess Match. Both players know the theory very well in this opening, so any game they play could lead to new ideas for the world to use.
   In the game below, Kramnik plays 17... Qf5 in order not to repeat a loss he had suffered against Anand when he used 17... Bf5. Anand's choice for move 24 seems odd and could be inaccurate if you are playing for a win. 24.Rxe7 Rxe7 25.dxe7 Nf6 seems more natural and White maintains a small edge. However, Anand's 24. dxe7 is very interesting and he used a great deal of his time finally deciding on this move. Kramnik responded very quickly with 24... f6 and seems to have a well conceived plan as to how to take the advantage from his opponent. In fact, by the time Kramnik plays 29... c5 he is considered to be winning by all my chess engines. Don't be fooled by your computer's later assessment however. I have seen many esteemed chess players proclaiming various ways for Kramnik to win the endgame. After Anand plays 42. Kf2 there is no opportunity for Kramnik to turn his advantage into a win. Kramnik does his best to entice a blunder from his opponent but Anand will have none of that. I have spent many hours studying the endgame from this game and I would encourage any serious student of the game to do the same. 
[Event "WCh"]
[Site "Mexico City MEX"]
[Date "2007.??.??"]
[White "Anand,V"]
[Black "Kramnik,V"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2792"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[ECO "C42"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4
d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2
O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1
Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. Qa4 Bd7 17. Qc2
Qf5 18. Qxf5 Bxf5 19. Bb5 Bd7 20. d5 Ne5 21. Bxd7
Nxd7 22. Bxc7 Rxc7 23. d6 Rxc3 24. dxe7 f6 25. Rad1
Rc7 26. Nd4 Ne5 27. f4 Nc6 28. Nxc6 bxc6 29. Rd6
c5 30. Ree6 c4 31. Rc6 Rexe7 32. Rxc4 Rxc4 33. Rxe7
Ra4 34. Rb7 h6 35. f5 Rxa3 36. Kf2 h5 37. g3
a5 38. Ra7 a4 39. h4 Ra2+ 40. Kf3 a3 41. Ke3
Ra1 42. Kf2 Kf8 43. Kg2 a2 44. Kh2 Ke8 45. Kg2
Kd8 46. Kh2 Kc8 47. Kg2 Kb8 48. Ra3 Kb7 49. Ra4
Kb6 50. Ra8 Kc5 51. Ra7 Kd5 52. Ra4 Ke5 53. Ra5+
Ke4 54. Kh2 Kf3 55. Ra3+ Kf2 56. Ra4 Kf1 57. Kh1
Ke1 58. Kg2 Kd1 59. Ra7 Rc1 60. Rxa2 Rc2+ 61. Rxc2
Kxc2 62. Kf3 Kd3 63. g4 hxg4+ 64. Kxg4 Ke4 65. Kh5
Kxf5  1/2-1/2

went shopping today, getting those few things i might need.  a pack of pepto bismol tablets, a small notebook, some purell hand sanitizer, and of course....

i play against pieces by svetozar gligoric.

cause, you know, you can't backpack across south america with only zurich 1953 and 500 master games of chess.    damn, even when my whole damn life is about to change significantly, i stlil end up buying another damn chess book.

but this one looked so good.  it has interesting comments that explain certain moves, like "this is the right moment to open the position" or "this is bad becuase it creates a hole on c3."  im thinking i could learn how certain moves do certain things and affect certain squares.    i never thought much of gligoric, but i dig his explanations and notes, and, well, he plays better chess than i ever will, so i can learn from him.

so there is that.  i'm hoping to play some chess while travelling, or at least studying.  not like i'll be in a rush to get anywhere.  this might be just what i need.  alone time with my chess set.

i'll endeavor to write updates as i travel, i might even maybe get to post some pics.

a few days to go.

In an era where young people are less likely to be in church and more likely to be influenced by hustlers, rappers and movies like Scarface, things have changed. The 48 Laws of Power by author Robert Greene, has emerged as the hustlers Bible in hip hop. I have personally met people in the rap game that can quote Robert Green's Laws by number, more readily than they can quote any other book intended to refine their life. Any independent would be music mogul without The 48 Laws of Power is a pawn of those around him. Robert Greene replaced The Autobiography of Malcolm X as the book of choice on the block. Busta Rhymes, Bruce George, T-KASH, Jay-Z and 50 Cent are just a few hip hop icons that consult this book when battling on wax, the block or the boardroom. 50 Cent could easily be considered its most adept student. 50 has not only left peoples reputation and bank accounts in shambles, he has made more money arguably than any other rapper in the history of the art.

Which is why it makes sense that Greene's next book is entitled The 50th Law, co-authored by none other than 50 Cent. In this  interview, Adisa Banjoko talks with Greene about how his book became today's street Bible, and how The 50th Law can help you step up your game.

FULL STORY:

http://www.vibe.com/news/interviews/2008/10/the_50th_law_strategy_expert_robert_greene_and_the_hustlers_mind/

PS. You can purchase that set at www.thechesspiece.com

(anonymous player) - US:

1.b4?! ... Nf6,
2.Bb2 ... d6,
3.c4 ... e5,
4.e3 ... Nc6,
5.b5 ... Ne7,
6.d4 ... exd4,
7.Qxd4 ... Nf5,
8.Qd1 (a strange move, and certainly not the best. Qd2 seems like the obvious move to me) ... Be7,
9.Nf3 ... 0-0,
10. Be2

... d5 (I was spending quite a bit of time on that move, I'll admit that),
11. cxd5 ... Nxd5,

Before move 10, I was wondering if 12.e4 would be 'a killer' or not. I found that it wasn't; white hasn't castled yet! If 12.e4 then Bb4+ followed by 13.Nbd2 (or Nc3 or Bc3, but then white doesn't gain anything by the e4-move) and black has 13...Nf4! followed by 14...Re8 if white takes with the pawn. This position is not materially balanced, no, but it looked to me as if the attack was worth it:

Fritz agrees, and for instance gives this (quite complicated) line: 14.exf5 ... Re8, 15.Be5 ... Nxe2, 16.Qxd2 ... Bxf5 (black shouldn't play ...f6? yet of course, as this is refuted by 17.Qc4+!, after which black is dead), 17.0-0

... Bxd2, 18.Rad1 (if Nxd2 ... f6 follows. The check on c4 doesn't help white after ...Be6) ... Bg4, 19. Rxd2 .... Bxf3, 20.Qe3 (the b-pawn is hanging if he takes with the rook) ... Qe7. White can in other words not hold on to his material advantage if he plays e4 even if he plays correctly, so my intuition about the d5 move and the resulting complications was correct. Besides, complicated games are more interesting ;)

I couldn't use my calculations regarding 12.e4 to anything, however, as white decided not to sharpen the game by e4, but instead chose to play a completely different move:

12. Bc4 ... Bb4+,
13. Ke2 (Nbd2 is probably better) ... c6,
14. Qb3 ... Nfe7,
15. Rd1 ... Ba5,
16. e4

... Nf5+,
17. Kf1 ... Qc7?? (I was starting to feel that I had to move my pieces a bit faster or I'd soon be in time trouble. So I played a bit faster and threw away the game by completely missing 18.Be5! Luckily, so did my opponent)
18. g3? ... Ne6,
19. Be5 (one move too late...) ... Qb6,
20. Nd4 ...

...Nc5,
21. Qf3 ... cxb5,
22. Nxb5 ... Qg6! (threatening to take on e4 as well as threatening ...Bg4),
23. Bd6 ... Bg4
24. Qa3 ... Bxd1,
25. Bxe7 ... Qxe4!,

Black's position is winning, but that I'd win as fast as I did I had no idea (even if my opponent was nearing the one minute mark and severe time trouble I did not think he'd miss a mate in one. He did)

26. Bxf8?? ... Qh1++

0-1

In the game Dmattson-ImpioFuror white tried to escape, but this gave a chance for black for a pretty checkmate. How?

Solution of the last position:

The knight captured the h2 pawn to win the game!

Did you give a nice checkmate and want to show it to your friends? Please email the game number to dailymate@chesspark.com and maybe your checkmate will be the next on this page!

]]> http://thrashalot.wordpress.com/?p=113 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:05:49 +0000 Thrashalot http://thrashalot.ro.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/weekly-karazhan-followup/ Yesterday was our followup night in Karazhan. With only the Prince, the dragons and chess left, it promised to be a short night.

First up was the chess event, which can be described as "free epics" time. Not much to say about it, apart from the fact that the boots I'd really like to have didn't drop.

After that we went to the prince. After an intense fight, Malchezaar gave up the goodie I've been hunting for months now, the Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix.

I packed my Truestrike Crossbow in my pack and equipped the Sunfury for the next fight, Netherspite. This is one fight I do not like. Why? I suck at capturing the beam when they show up. Make me second on the beam, and I'll be fine, make me first and I break out in a sweat. In order to get past this snag, I'll be volunteering for first on the beam from now on though.

My new bow performed very well on Netherspite and for the first time I pushed a sustained 1250 dps on a boss. Now if I could do that on all bosses...

Last up was Nightbane, apart from losing our main dps quite early in the fight, it went quite well and we downed him in one go as well.

All in all, a great run. Like blue team last friday, we remained wipe-free. I think a first for both teams.

1) Kramnik plays “boring” chess.

   Kramnik has a very solid style that sometimes receives criticism for being boring. The fact that he can draw at will as black actually makes hims very exciting to admire in chess matches. If he gets ahead of Anand in the match, Anand will have to try radical ideas to make a come back. In this way, Kramnik's solid play actually inspires exciting games.

2) Kramnik consults a computer in the bathroom.

   This is simply not true. From what I've seen there's no conclusive evidence to support cheating by Kramnik, just circumstantial tid-bits that seem important out of context and are perpetuated by Topalov's fans.

3) Kramnik refuses to recognise Anand as the World Chess Champion.

   Those critical of Kramnik enjoy taking his comments in the interview quoted below out of context. Perhaps to some deranged minds creating controversy where it does not exist adds excitement to the match.

EURO: You reach arguable better results during matches then in tournaments. Traditionally, the World Champion title was to be won in matches. A challenger had to beat the reigning World Champion in the direct fight in order to become the new World Champion. The only historical exception was the situation just after the end of the Second World War, when Alexander Aljechin had died during his reign and so a tournament was played.

KRAMNIK: You can call me an old- fashion guy, but I still believe that the real chess championship is actually a match between the best players, not a tournament. So that is going to be the match which will take place between me and Vishy Anand this autumn in Bonn. The tournament in Mexico which you are asking me about was from my point of view a huge compromise.

The problem was that the situation around the World Champion title was still difficult even after my unification match against Top alov. There was a need to find an acceptable compromise. After the unification my aim was to come back to a final match contest for the world champion crown under the umbrella of FIDE. In all the years after defeating Kasparov I felt this responsibility. Anything else would not have been in accordance with chesshistory, and also not with the desire of the overwhelming majority of chess fans all over the world.

It was always my goal to end the unhappy period when the World Chess Federation organised their ridiculous knock-out or round robin tournaments for the title. The problem was that the tournament in Mexico had already been agreed and I was informed that if I had refused to play there, the event would not have taken place at all. This would have ended in another impasse. So in order not to cause another split I, in the end, agreed to compromise and played the tournament, which FIDEcalled World Championship. The truth is I did not win in Mexico, the winner was Anand, and I will compete against him this year in the real contest for the chess crown. I attach ten times more attention to the coming match in Germany – consequently this event is ten times more important to me than the tournament in Mexico. 

EURO: So d o you consider Vishy Anand to be the World Champion or not?

KRAMNIK: It is not a question of simply yes or no. Anand won the tournament, which was called the World Championship Tournament, and I competed in that tournament as well. The I nternational C hess F ederation FIDE agreed to do it this way, so I have no right not to consider him the World Champion. A question is, however: what is the value of such a title? Similary I considered Kasimdzhanov to be a FIDE Champion, after winning the knock-out tournament in Libya. However I did not consider him to be the real champion. He had won a tournament and by FIDE’s definition he was a FIDE World Champion . But the value of this title was lower compared to the classical title won in a one-to-one match by Champions like Lasker, Spasski , Kasparov or me. The winner of the match Kramnik -Anand won’t be World Champion only from a legal point of view , he will be considered to be the World Champion and best chess player by the entire public.

The interview was published in the magazin "Weekly Euro".

It's been awhile since I posted any thumbs, so I figured I'd sneak a few of my favorite recent shots in tonight. Hope you like them. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.) 

Many thanks to those who've stopped by and taken a look at the photos posted here. I hope you get the chance to swing buy again. If you like any of the photos you see on this site please feel free to visit my albums with additional photos over at Shutterpoint. Comments are also welcome here on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Smh

Sell your photos online

Buy my art at Imagekind!

In the game Glory2God-DrCheck the attack arrived to the final stage :) What is the best move for black?

Solution of the last position:

The rook moved to b3 to give the checkmate.

Did you give a nice checkmate and want to show it to your friends? Please email the game number to dailymate@chesspark.com and maybe your checkmate will be the next on this page!

The chess center is still here and I am not sure if there are other chess clubs.  I am sure that they probably still do tournaments.  My kids had to quit their private chess lessons because we just didn't have the money to continue.  I'm not quite sure when we stopped the tournaments but there was really not a good excuse.  I loved what it taught my children.  It taught them that they can win some and lose some and it is all still okay.  It gave them great confidence.  They learned so much etiquette and how to be "gentlemanly" to their opponent.  Chess also teaches a great amount of foresight, strategy and critical thinking.  You can find statistics that show how learning to play chess has helped countless numbers of children with their academic achievements.  The links between chess and positive things in a child life are limitless.

Together with our online school teacher I am started a chess club that will meet at the 4H building.  While I am not the best chess player by any means (by this I mean that I have probably played six games total).  I know a few basics, have wonderful books, great software and of course, two tween boys who will keep me on the straight and narrow regarding rules and such.  Thank heavens for them.  I also hope to be able to call on other parents and locals who have the skills to share with the kids.  Overall, I don't really strive for a classroom of champion chess players but of children who are competent at chess and most of all have been exposed to one more thing that makes them a more well rounded person.  After all, the world could use a few more "well rounded" people.

Comparing tai chi to bjj:

OTM: What benefits from Tai Chi do you bring to BJJ and vice versa?

JW: Well, the learning process begins from different places but arrives, ideally, at a similar feeling. In BJJ, you tend to begin with technique, and through repetition you come to a smooth, efficient, unobstructed body mechanics. In Tai Chi, you begin with body mechanics, get a certain internal feeling over months and years of moving meditative practice, and then you learn the martial application of what you’ve been doing all along.

The essence of Tai Chi is sensitivity to intention. Turning force against itself, overcoming power without meeting it head on. Of course these principles are at the heart Jiu Jitsu as well. In my mind, the arts are completely intertwined and to be honest, the purest Tai Chi I’ve ever felt has been getting my ass handed to me, over and over, by John Machado and Marcelo Garcia.

Philosophy in martial arts:

Also, could the absence of the philosophy in Brazilian jiu jitsu serve as the direct link to the blueprint of the essence of martial arts?

JW: That last point is deep, man. Alright, this is how I feel. I'm a student of philosophy and engage that element of my being in everything I do. As individuals, we have the choice to go down this road or not. I think the vast majority of people, in all disciplines, tend not to. You asked if there were any spiritual/internal limitations to BJJ. My feeling is that BJJ is a beautiful martial art that can take an individual as far as he or she is prepared to go.

I don't think that BJJ imposes any limitations—some practitioners might, but the art itself does not. I've met plenty of meat heads in the Jiu Jitsu world, but I've also known them in chess, tai chi, academia, science, religion…we can screw anything up. And there is no easy answer. If there is too much of a spiritual structure in an art, we may become dogmatic and not take responsibility for our beliefs. If too little, we can fail to even consider the critical questions.

Chess and martial arts:

What would you say are the core similarities between chess and martial arts?

JW: People tend to answer that question with clichés. They talk about the need to think ahead, to combine strategy and tactics--those parallels are critical but obvious. To my mind, the interesting connections reside in the learning process. Both chess and the martial arts involve internalizing tremendously complex information into a sense of flow—I call this the study of numbers to leave numbers, or form to leave form. I love the play between the conscious and unconscious minds in the creative moment, and for me chess and the martial arts are both about developing a rich working relationship with your intuition.

Wow, he really has a way with words, too. These arts seem more interesting and inspiring after reading his chessmaster and ph-master perspective. I also blogged some posts about Josh Waitzkin here, here, and here earlier. Here is a link to his book, The Art of Learning, on Amazon.

Seven Days until the Anand vs. Kramnik 2008 World Championship Match. I am revisiting a game they played in 2007 at the request of several fans of my blog.

Kramnik-Anand 9/13/2007 was a Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav Defense. The Moscow variation which starts after 5...h6 can lead to very sharp play especially because Anand gambits a pawn by playing 6. Bh4. This game was identical to a 2006 game between Radjabov and Anand for 16 moves. Then Kramnik played 17. Qh5. Anand answers by sacrificing an exchange to achieve a position where he obtains a powerful knight and an extra pawn with move 21. Rxd6. If Kramnik had played 29. Qg5 play would have continued 29...Ne2 30. Kh1 Qh2 31. Kh2 Rh8 32. Qh4 Rh4#. Another example of the difference between the chess elite and the rest of the world. The resulting end game shows how a powerfully placed knight can equal a rook. Kramnik missed 35 Qh6! after 35...Qd6 36 Qxg5 f6 37 Qg8 Rd8 38 Qh7 Rd7 39 Qh4. After running computer analysis on that line I feel Kramnik would have had much better winning chances.  

 
[Event "WCh"]
[Site "Mexico City MEX"]
[Date "2007.09.24"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2769"]
[BlackElo "2792"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2007.09.13"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5
9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bd6 a6 14. Bh5 Bf8 15.
Bxf8 Rxf8 16. e5 Qb6 17. b3 O-O-O 18. bxc4 Nxe5 19. c5 Qa5 20. Ne4 Qb4 21. Nd6+
Rxd6 22. cxd6 Nd7 23. a4 Qxd6 24. Bf3 Nb6 25. axb5 cxb5 26. Bxb7+ Kxb7 27. Qh5
Nd5 28. Qxh6 Nf4 29. Kh1 Qd5 30. f3 Rd8 31. Qg7 Rd7 32. Qf8 Ne2 33. Rfe1 Nxd4
34. Red1 e5 35. Rac1 Qd6 36. Qg8 f6 37. Rc8 a5 38. h3 a4 39. Qe8 Kb6 40. Rb8+
Ka5 41. Ra8+ 1/2-1/2

By just a couple ranks higher, we narrowly missed out on facing the top ranked team (Russia, 2756 ELO)  in the opening round and instead will meet a middle ranked federation, possibly the Dominican Republic (or Malaysia or Tajikistan, depending on whether or not all of the listed teams suit up, or if there be additional teams).

Expecting a top twenty finish from the team whose average ELO is 2529 (the second strongest Philippine lineup ever) could very well be nothing short of a miracle even with all your conjured mythical roster, considering the overwhelming strength of the competition’s lineups. At least twenty-three competing teams have an average ELO of no less than 2600.

Our Female squad is ranked 51st among the 119 participating teams in the Women Section.

2008 Olympiad Starting Rank (Full Listing)

FIDE October 2008 Top Federations (Full Listing)

Dresden Olympiad: Russia Sending Strongest Ever Lineup

So, now I get an excellent chance to demonstrate my knowledge.  OK, I carefuly move the bishop pawn with the king,  all games were finished and a few people are watching.  Here I am, proud of myself, doing all by the book and reaching the position, where my nice bridge is almost built.  There is "still" about 5 minutes on the clock. Instead of checking my king and allowing me to finish my bridge ( Rf7+ Kg4  Rg7+ Rg5 ) he suddenly plays Kd2-d3. 

I think, how I should proceed and see Re4. There is something that I don't like about it, but time goes, I have to move, so I do it. Suddenly he with a little "boom" takes my pawn ...

I was humiliated, I came home and felt sick. The worst draw I ever had.  I spoiled my Lucena.

I think I was concentrated too much on the "bridge" part of the board and forgot about the pawn.  Maybe time was the factor too, having let's say 20 minutes I would probably see it. Also, simple things like this I see OK in the middlegame having a little time (pattern recognition), but this is an endgame pattern (with the king), there are no such positions in the middlegame. 

So, somehow I should get that experience of playing endgames.  And of course, I should study them, this game was a pretty convincing argument.