Atkins HS Clinches 3rd in State: Coaches Rival on the Sidelines

The local Atkins HS Chess Team coached by teacher Scott Plaster boasts the largest high school chess team in the state. They recently clinched a third-place finish in the state K-12 tournament held in Charlotte the weekend of February 13-15. Read about their finish and a friendly rivalry between coaches in this article in the Camel City Dispatch.

Clever Bishop Sack Wins!

This game between Coach Plaster and Hunter Chen demonstrates the importance of tempo on totally getting your opponent off his game! My fried liver was totally countered with a clever Bishop sack early in the game, which led to an attack that I could not survive:

[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2015.2.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Plaster"]
[Black "Chen"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Here I'm up to my usual opening tactic. } 3...
Bc5 {I disregard the black bishop (a big mistake!)} 4. Nc3 d6 5. Nd5 {Looks
like a great outpost for my knight. } 5... Nge7 6. Ng5 {I see that the knight
on e7 is blocking the queen, so in comes my knight!} 6... Nxd5 {I'm prepared
for this take (at least I think). } 7. Nxf7 {A bold move.....I sack my knight.
The only way to save both the queen and the rook is for the king to take the
knight. When he does this, I'm prepared to take the knight and check the
king!} 7... Bxf2+ {The best laid plans ... OOPs...I had NOT expected this.
Hunter brings in his bishop for the check and the tempo!} 8. Kxf2 {I take,
after weighing the options. } 8... Qh4+ {Here's where black's attack continues
and I am in a very tough spot!} 9. Kf1 Bg4 {From this point forward, I'm too
flabbergasted to recover. I struggle awhile before I finally resign!} 10. Be2
Bxe2+ 11. Qxe2 Nd4 12. Qd3 Qf4+ 13. Ke1 Nb4 14. Rf1 Nxd3+

A Devastating See-Saw!

In this game between Coach Plaster and Daniel Winkelman, the close game gets really exciting on move 17. From there, you will see one of the most devastating "See-Saws" ever!

Play Online Chess

[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2015.2.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Plaster"]
[Black "Winkelman"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 e6 4. Bd3 b6 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. e5 Bc7 7. Nb5 d5 8.
Nxc7+ Qxc7 9. Ng5 g6 10. b3 Nh6 11. Bb2 Bb7 12. O-O a6 13. f5 d4 14. fxe6
Nxe5 15. exf7+ Nhxf7 16. Nxf7 Nxf7 17. Qe2+ Qe5 {Black forces a Queen trade.
} 18. Rae1 {White would rather have Black take, and protects with the rook.
The black queen is pinned, and has no choice. } 18... Qxe2 {Take. } 19. Rxe2+
{Take with Check. } 19... Kf8 {Black walks into the pin (knight)} 20. Bc4
{Here, White exploits the pin with the bishop. } 20... a5 {Black ignores the
pin. Perhaps he's going to move his bishop to a6 to trade bishops, or play b5
to scare the white bishop off the square. } 21. Rxf7+ {Here, the magic
"See-Saw" begins. } 21... Kg8 {Black has only one move. } 22. Rxb7+ {Rook
takes Bishop, with revealed check. } 22... Kf8 {Black has only one move. }
23. Rf7+ {Check with rook again. The see-saw continues. } 23... Kg8 {Black has
only one move. } 24. Ra7+ {Rook attacks black rook, with revealed check. }
24... Kf8 {Again, black has only one move. } 25. Rxa8+ {Rook takes rook, with
check. } 25... Kg7 {Black attempts to protect his rook, but white has another
move up his sleeve. Do you see it?} 26. Re7+ {Check .... winning another rook.
} 26... Kf6 {From here, white could continue. Rf7+, winning the rook on h8,
etc. In total, with a simple "pin" -- the magic "see saw" wins a knight, a
bishop, and two rooks. Watch for this opportunity. It doesn't happen often. It
only occurs with an attacking rook on the 7th or 2nd rank. }