A.J.'s Game Of The Month   


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  This site was started out of my desire to analyze current chess games, and made possible by the patronage of a few very nice people.    
  I hope you enjoy my efforts and will tell your friends about this site.  THANKS!! 
   (Site created Aug, 2003.)  

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 NOTE 

(March - 2004)  Several organizations - to include (at least one) official state (chess) magazine - and several individuals ... have all asked if they could use my  "Game of the Month"  in their magazine and/or newsletter. Thus far I have said a very emphatic:   "NO!"   to all of these requests. (Absolutely, positively not!!)  

So if you see these games being copied anywhere, in  ANY  magazine or newsletter, or ANY state chess magazine ... this is absolutely a violation of my copyright protections as provided for by both Federal and State laws. (And I will pursue such violations to the maximum extent of penalties ... both civil and criminal ... that I can find and enforce under International, Federal and State Law!)  

If you see anyone using this material, please be sure to  drop me a line  and let me know. 


Announcement:  (Friday; February 24th, 2006.)  

Several people have made pledges/promises of monthly support. Therefore, as a result, I have decided to make this a "paid" site, i.e. I pay the monthly fee to Yahoo/GeoCities, and you don't have to put up with pop-up ads, hourly limits, etc. (And I get more disk space.) This is NOT a permanent step, I can switch this back to a free site any time I want. (If you enjoy this, and see this development as an improvement, can let me know in the proper way.)  


Every month I will now feature a link or game right  HERE.  This is a game that I have already annotated, but I feel has not received much attention. Some of these are bonus games or supplementary games ... that have very few hits. Interesting efforts, good stuff, so (please) check it out!! 


  Symbols that I use in annotating a game.  

Explanation of symbols:  The symbols I use are the standard ChessBase/Informant ones. 
 (Except they are more-or-less turned on their sides, and with a few modifications.) 

A "plus-slash-minus" ("+/-"), means that, "White is winning."  (CLEARLY winning!)  
A "plus-over-a line" ("+/"),  means that White is much better. 
A "plus-over-an equal sign" ("+/="),  means that "White is just slightly better." 
An equal sign ("=") means the game is level or the play is roughly balanced. 
An "unclear symbol" ("~") means that the play is unclear, but should be roughly close to equal. 
A "minus-slash-plus" ("-/+") means that, "Black is winning."  (CLEARLY winning!)   
A "plus-under-a-line" ("/+"),  means that "Black is much better." 
A "plus-under-an equal sign" ("=/+"),  means that "Black is just slightly better." 
The symbol  "<=>"  (or 'cp')  means,  "with good counterplay."  (For either party.) 
The symbol  "~"  (or "comp") means,  "good compensation"  (i.e. active play), for the material invested.  
The symbol  " ---> "  means, with a strong attack. (For the player who made the last move.) 
The symbol  "/\"  means,  with a strong initiative. 
(This is not quite the same thing as an attack, but means basically the ability to greatly dictate the course of play.) 

 "[]" or "box"  This signifies that this move is probably forced. (The only move.)    

 "TN"  - A theoretical novelty or a move that is new to opening theory. 

  ">/="  The continuation that follows this symbol is better than or superior to what was actually played 
            in the game or the given continuation. 
             (Or the annotator has discovered an improvement over a line that had been given earlier.) 
  "</="  The continuation that follows this symbol is worse than or inferior to what was actually played in 
            the game  or the given continuation. 
             (Or the annotator has discovered an improvement over a line that had been given earlier.)  

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  "(>/=)"  This symbol means that the continuation that is given immediately after it could be better 
                than the game, (or the analysis line being considered at the moment);  ... but it is  NOT 
                completely certain. (You are free to judge for yourself.) 

  "(</=)"  This symbol means that the continuation that is given immediately after it could be inferior 
               to what was actually played in the game, (or the analysis line that is currently being 
               examined);  ...  but again, this is NOT 100% certain, and you are free to judge for 
               yourself. ( This is needed sometimes because A.) Chess IS an extremely complex game, 
               and one should not be too quick to jump to a conclusion; or B.) Because time does not 
               permit a search of hours - or even days - to try and determine the exact truth. )  

 "ICT"  -  An International Chess Tournament. 
   "Inv."   -  A tournament that is by invitation only ... as opposed to an "OPEN" tournament, which 
                  anyone (who meets the entry requirements) is free to join. 

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'!'  -   a very good or exceptional move. 
'!!'  -  an extremely good move, of great or rare brilliance.   (Not to be used lightly or often!)   
'?'  -  a bad move or a mistake. 
'??'  -  a very bad move  ...  or a blunder/gross oversight. 
'!?'  -   A very interesting move.  (I also use this to show that there might be a  very  wide range   
           of move choices at this point
.)   (Some authors use this to mean some risk is involved.) 
'?!'  -   A very (extremely) risky move. (Or) A move of highly doubtful value(DUBIOUS.) 
           (Or) A move that is very much inferior to some of the alternatives.  (Less than best.)  
            Most books use many more symbols than this, but these are the most common-place ones. 

***

      I also use the mark, (appellation)    '!?'    a lot.     

The normal interpretation of this mark (after a move) is interesting, but perhaps associated with a great deal of risk. I do  not  agree with this interpretation and prefer just interesting.  I also use it to show a divergent path in the analysisor  a departure from normal opening theory.  This does NOT mean the move is good or bad, just interesting ... and there are possibly   MANY   different alternatives  at this particular juncture of the game!!! (Also if another author used this symbol - which may imply some risk - I will pass this along without any change, modification or comment. I do this many times when quoting 'book' analysis.) 

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  (A  glossary  of opening terms.)  


This feature has turned out to be  VERY  popular ... the first game has generated more e-mail than I care to count. I appreciate all the comments - good and bad. (Thus far it has been mostly very positive.)

No one is perfect - if I make an occasional mistake, please don't be too hard on me. (Dec. 07th, 2003.) 


    Copyright Notice    

 ALL writings, analysis, and any other work on this web site are the SOLE PROPERTY of the author!!  
 (Author = A.J. Goldsby.)  

NOTHING from this site can be used, saved to any computer, transmitted or re-transmitted in any form, copied, or used in any other fashion not desired by the author. Anyone who wishes to do so must have the express, written permission of the author.  (For each and every use!)   Anyone who violates this copyright notice will be the subject of whatever penalties that are available under the law(s) of the applicable country. 

I allow anyone who wishes to study these games to print ONE (1) copy of each game ... if this copy is strictly for their own personal use. (Do NOT make copies for a friend!!)  Printing more than one copy is NOT allowed and will be considered a violation of my copyright protections, even if these copies are given away at no charge. I will vigorously pursue any and all violations of this copyright. 


August 14th, 2004:  All my major sponsors - for this particular project - have all abandoned me ... for one reason or the other. (To be fair, at least two of these were caused by extenuating circumstances.)  But the whole reason - originally, anyway - for doing this feature was twofold: A.) I would have an outlet for my skills, and chess fans everywhere would get a nicely annotated game; B.) I would gain a little extra income, but one that I could depend on. Under the current circumstances, I no longer feel bound to any type of deadline. (I am not even sure - at this point - that I will continue this feature ... or for how long.)  

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August 15th, 2004:  I talked it over with my wife, and she feels that I should go forward with this feature. She said she saw a picture in her head ... maybe someone who was housebound ... who looked forward to my game every month. I should not disappoint my fans. 

  *******  

June, 2005:  I now have the new program, ChessBase 9.0.  You may  {or may not} notice an improvement in the quality of the pages. 


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 NOTE:   If you are one of these persons who sign a guest book to a popular website ... trying to get your URL noticed, don't bother! 
(I get to review all submissions before they are posted, potential entries that read like an advertisement will NOT be allowed!) 


Check out  my own, personal domain. (Check out my other domain.)  

My big,  Geo-Cities  web site. (Some have called this the biggest and best private chess web site there is!) 

Click  HERE  to go (or return) to my  GC  page for  "The Game of The Month."  

Go to this  site ...  make sure you visit my ENDGAME SCHOOL!! 

If you need it, use the  INDEX ('04) PAGE   ...  to find the games for the year, 2004.  

If you need it, use the  INDEX ('05) PAGE   ...  to find the games for the year, 2005.  

If you need it, use the  INDEX ('06) PAGE   ...  to find the games for the year, 2006.  

If you need it, use the  INDEX ('07) PAGE   ...  to find the games for the year, 2007.  

If you need it, use the  INDEX ('11) PAGE   ...  to find the games for the year, 2011.  

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 COPYRIGHT (c) (LM) A.J. Goldsby I;   
  Copyright (©) LM A.J. Goldsby;  1975 - 2014, & 2015.  

  Copyright (©) A.J. Goldsby, 2015. All rights reserved.  

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  This page/web-site was last updated on: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 04:54 PM .  


 (Free/second counter deleted: September 21st, 2005.)
  (I hate stuff that does not work!)