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Canada  Darby

Lightning Chess Player
Age:  56
Occupation:  Retired
Country:  Canada
Region & Visiting
Time for a new photo. The hat is a type of derby, which in England is often called a darby. This particular specimen is a top-of-the-line number (like yours truly, heh heh) made with only the finest of materials and construction techniques.

My mother taught me to play chess when I was four. Just over 50 years later I am still learning the game. I'll never be the next Bobby Fischer but if I can keep my ratings high enough to start with 2's then at least I'll be in the same time zone as that greatest of players (sorry, Mr. Kasparov, but I'm too old to switch favourites).

The players I fear most on this site aren't the ones who are clearly at Master level or better, but the 800-pound gorillas whom I have the misfortune of getting pounded by just as they are starting to work their way up the rankings.
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On Sunday, May 27, 2012, I had the extraordinary good luck to finally take down the nearly invincible Daniel Flores. In the Gold-medal final of the 95th Olympic Open Blitz Tournament, we played a 2-game match. Up to this time I had lost every game in every category I'd ever played against him. On this day, however, the first game ended in a draw and I won the second on time, even though my position on the board in each game was in trouble. This is by far the best victory I've ever achieved in chess. It is the highlight of my otherwise miserable relationship with this most mentally demanding of games. Thank you, Mr. Flores, for making my year!
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On Thursday, August 30, 2012, I achieved a goal I had previously thought impossible... 2100+ ratings across all categories. I held this particular honour for all of about 12 hours, then the next day promptly lost a couple of Lightning games to C-class players and I've been struggling ever since to recover. C'est la vie. Makes me respect all the more those players who achieve 2300 or better and hold those numbers with authority. [Addendum: yesterday, September 22, 2012, I finally returned to 2100+ glory. Now I've set my default search parameter to unrated games only so that I can concentrate on tournaments.]
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On Friday, September 14, 2012, I finally reached the #8 position in the all-time tournament winners list. This accomplishment is significant only because InstantChess has this peculiar way of recognizing only the top EIGHT in certain lists, i.e., the one just mentioned, and the 30-day tournament winners list found on the General page. Getting to the #8 spot has earned me another one of those badges they put on your profile. The #7 spot should be mine in a few days, but after that it's hard slogging. And never mind trying to catch Mike58 for the top position. That's like a Porsche trying to catch a Bugatti Veyron. Ain't never gonna happen in this lifetime. [Addendum: the #7 spot is now mine, but #6 is another 1,000 points away... I should live so long.]
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So now InstantChess is awarding profile badges for how many games we've played, i.e., 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000. I've got all four of those badges, as do several other players I know. I suspect the next badge in this series is for 100,000 games, and who knows? Maybe I'll be first to get it. But I suspect those who stick primarily to 1-minute Lightning games will have the edge in that department. My Gosh, what a glorious waste of time this all is! And I love every minute of it. [Addendum: I just discovered today, Sunday, September 23, 2012, that anatolij of Russia has played over 165,000 games!! And counting! And yes, the next badge is for 100,000. His Lightning count alone exceeds 150,000. So I guess the NEXT badge in the series is... 200,000? I don't think IC has come with the next badge yet -- maybe they think nobody has even cracked 100,000.]


30.1.2006
5.2.2006
Since
24.12.2003
Experts


All Tourney
Winners


2004
2004
2005
2012
Ratings & Games
Overall • Classic • Rapid • Blitz • Lightning
Rapid Rating
2141  1
Class:  Experts
Position:  5 of 53
Timeline • Calculation
Rating progress
Highest:  2141
March 19, 2013  
Played games:  2369
Won:  1748
Lost:  300
Draw:  315
Adjourned:  6
Personal Games
Favorite Games
Commented Games
Openings
Last 90 days • Last 365 days
Known
99
Usage Ratio • Games • Effectiveness
B00 Owen defence: 
31.3%  
C45 Scotch game: 
 5.9%
C00 French defence: 
 4.4%
B01 Scandinavian (centre counte...: 
 4.2%
B50 Sicilian: 
 3.1%
D00 Queen's pawn game: 
 3.1%
C41 Philidor's defence: 
 2.9%
Others: 
 45.1%
Never played:  D71 Neo-Gruenfeld, 5.cd
Openings Report
Tournaments
Tournament Points
3805
Position:  6 of 3552
1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place Team Tournaments Wins
x 676 x 661 x 427 x 28
TPs  = 3x676+2x661+1x427+1x28 = 3805
Tournaments:  2433
1st Place:  676
2nd Place:  661
3rd Place:  427
Team Tournaments Wins:  28
Other places:  634
Unknown:  7
Tournaments Folder
Premium Competition
Points
7025
League:  I
Position:  #6
At 2:00 AM GMT Sunday May 19, 2013:
Leaderboard Position Points
All Lightning
Players & Ratings		 101 of 863 863-101 = 762
All Blitz
Players & Ratings		 19 of 910 910-19 = 891
All Rapid
Players & Ratings		 24 of 947 947-24 = 923
All Classic
Players & Ratings		 10 of 820 820-10 = 810
Tournament
Winners		 6 of 3549 3549-6 = 3543
Known openings – 96
 pts = 762+891+923+810+3543+96 = 7 025 
The next recalculation: 1:59 AM GMT Sunday May 26, 2013
Top League:  I
12:00 AM GMT Sunday July 1, 2012
Canada Darby
vs
0
 Classic
wins
0
0
 Rapid
wins
0
3
 Blitz
wins
0
0
 Lightning
wins
0
3 : 0

a. Classic Rating

b. Rapid Rating

c. Blitz Rating

d. Lightning Rating

e. Medals

f. Tournaments

g. Games

h. Time


  Openings Report   Close


Last 90 days • Last 365 days

 Position   Opening  Usage Ratio   Games 
  Win     Lost     Draw     Win     Lost     Draw  
1 B00 Owen defence
31.3%
444 13 0 0 382 41 8
2 C45 Scotch game
 5.9%
84 69 13 2 0 0 0
3 C00 French defence
 4.4%
63 56 5 2 0 0 0
4 B01 Scandinavian (centre counter) defence
 4.2%
59 50 5 4 0 0 0
5 B50 Sicilian
 3.1%
44 35 8 1 0 0 0
6 D00 Queen's pawn game
 3.1%
44 0 0 0 36 6 2
7 C41 Philidor's defence
 2.9%
41 38 2 1 0 0 0
8 B30 Sicilian defence
 2.7%
39 31 6 2 0 0 0
9 A00 Van't Kruijs opening
 2.5%
36 0 0 0 36 0 0
10 D10 QGD Slav defence
 2.5%
35 0 0 0 32 3 0
11 B10 Caro-Kann defence
 2.2%
31 23 6 2 0 0 0
12 C44 Scotch opening
 2.0%
29 28 1 0 0 0 0
13 C42 Petrov's defence
 1.9%
27 27 0 0 0 0 0
14 B00 King's pawn opening
 1.5%
22 18 2 1 1 0 0
15 C41 Philidor: exchange variation
 1.5%
21 20 0 1 0 0 0
16 C40 King's knight opening
 1.4%
20 19 1 0 0 0 0
17 C40 Greco defence
 1.3%
18 17 1 0 0 0 0
18 D02 Queen's pawn game
 1.3%
18 0 0 0 8 9 1
19 B00 Corn stalk defence
 1.1%
16 15 1 0 0 0 0
20 A10 English opening
 1.1%
15 0 0 0 12 3 0
21 D10 QGD Slav defence: exchange variation
 1.1%
15 0 0 0 14 1 0
22 D00 Queen's pawn, Mason variation
 1.0%
14 0 0 0 11 3 0
23 C40 Damiano's defence
 0.9%
13 13 0 0 0 0 0
24 C45 Scotch game
 0.9%
13 13 0 0 0 0 0
25 C41 Philidor: exchange variation
 0.8%
12 10 2 0 0 0 0
26 C42 Petrov: Damiano variation
 0.8%
12 12 0 0 0 0 0
27 B06 Robatsch (modern) defence
 0.8%
11 9 2 0 0 0 0
28 B00 KP: Nimzovich defence
 0.8%
11 10 1 0 0 0 0
29 C44 King's pawn game
 0.8%
11 4 6 1 0 0 0
30 A00 Benko's opening
 0.7%
10 0 0 0 9 1 0
31 B40 Sicilian defence
 0.6%
9 7 2 0 0 0 0
32 D00 Queen's pawn: Chigorin variation
 0.6%
8 0 0 0 8 0 0
33 A00 Mieses opening
 0.6%
8 0 0 0 7 1 0
34 D11 QGD Slav: 3.Nf3
 0.5%
7 0 0 0 3 3 1
35 C45 Scotch: Schmidt variation
 0.5%
7 5 2 0 0 0 0
36 C42 Petrov: Paulsen attack
 0.4%
6 5 1 0 0 0 0
37 A00 Grob's attack
 0.4%
6 0 0 0 6 0 0
38 C45 Scotch: Meitner variation
 0.4%
6 1 5 0 0 0 0
39 A00 Anti-Borg (Desprez) opening
 0.4%
5 0 0 0 5 0 0
40 A00 Saragossa opening
 0.4%
5 0 0 0 5 0 0
41 C40 QP counter-gambit (elephant gambit)
 0.3%
4 4 0 0 0 0 0
42 C40 Latvian counter-gambit
 0.3%
4 4 0 0 0 0 0
43 C41 Philidor: Hanham variation
 0.3%
4 4 0 0 0 0 0
44 C40 Gunderam defence
 0.3%
4 4 0 0 0 0 0
45 A00 Anderssen's opening
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 4 0 0
46 A01 Nimzovich-Larsen attack: classical variation
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 3 0 1
47 A02 Bird's opening
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 3 1 0
48 A03 Bird's opening
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 4 0 0
49 A06 Reti opening
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 3 0 1
50 B03 Alekhine's defence
 0.3%
4 4 0 0 0 0 0
51 B28 Sicilian: O'Kelly variation
 0.3%
4 3 1 0 0 0 0
52 A00 Polish (Sokolsky) opening
 0.3%
4 0 0 0 4 0 0
53 C44 Scotch: Lolli variation
 0.2%
3 3 0 0 0 0 0
54 B27 Sicilian defence
 0.2%
3 3 0 0 0 0 0
55 A00 Ware (Meadow Hay) opening
 0.2%
3 0 0 0 3 0 0
56 A00 Clemenz (Mead's, Basman's or de Klerk's) opening
 0.2%
3 0 0 0 3 0 0
57 B01 Scandinavian: Pytel-Wade variation
 0.2%
3 2 1 0 0 0 0
58 A00 Gedult's opening
 0.2%
3 0 0 0 3 0 0
59 D00 Blackmar gambit
 0.2%
3 0 0 0 3 0 0
60 C41 Philidor: Nimzovich variation
 0.2%
3 3 0 0 0 0 0
61 C44 Ponziani: Jaenisch counter-attack
 <0.1%
2 1 1 0 0 0 0
62 C50 Giuoco Pianissimo
 <0.1%
2 0 2 0 0 0 0
63 B27 Sicilian: Hungarian variation
 <0.1%
2 1 1 0 0 0 0
64 B54 Sicilian
 <0.1%
2 2 0 0 0 0 0
65 C41 Philidor: Nimzovich (Jaenisch) variation
 <0.1%
2 2 0 0 0 0 0
66 C45 Scotch: Steinitz variation
 <0.1%
2 0 1 1 0 0 0
67 A13 English opening
 <0.1%
2 0 0 0 1 0 1
68 D15 QGD Slav: 4.Nc3
 <0.1%
2 0 0 0 2 0 0
69 A00 Dunst (Sleipner, Heinrichsen) opening
 <0.1%
2 0 0 0 1 1 0
70 C41 Philidor's defence
 <0.1%
2 2 0 0 0 0 0
71 B02 Alekhine's defence: Maroczy variation
 <0.1%
2 2 0 0 0 0 0
72 B20 Sicilian defence
 <0.1%
2 1 1 0 0 0 0
73 B27 Sicilian: Stiletto (Althouse) variation
 <0.1%
2 2 0 0 0 0 0
74 C20 KP: Indian opening
 <0.1%
2 0 1 1 0 0 0
75 C50 Giuoco Piano
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
76 C55 Two knights defence (Modern bishop's opening)
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
77 D30 Queen's gambit declined
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 0 1 0
78 D11 QGD Slav: 4.e3
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 0 1 0
79 D10 QGD Slav defence, Alekhine variation
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 1 0 0
80 D00 Levitsky attack (Queen's bishop attack)
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 1 0 0
81 D06 QGD: Marshall defence
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 0 1 0
82 A07 Reti: King's Indian attack (Barcza system)
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 1 0 0
83 A40 Modern defence
 <0.1%
1 0 0 0 0 1 0
84 B00 Fred
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
85 B00 Carr's defence
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
86 B01 Scandinavian gambit
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
87 B10 Caro-Kann: closed (Breyer) variation
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
88 B12 Caro-Kann defence
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
89 B27 Sicilian: Katalimov variation
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
90 B29 Sicilian: Nimzovich-Rubinstein variation
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
91 B32 Sicilian: Labourdonnais-Loewenthal variation
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
92 C00 French defence
 <0.1%
1 0 0 1 0 0 0
93 C02 French: advance variation
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
94 C41 Philidor: Lopez counter-gambit
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
95 C41 Philidor: Philidor counter-gambit
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
96 C44 Ponziani opening
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0
97 C45 Scotch: Pulling counter-attack
 <0.1%
1 0 0 1 0 0 0
98 C46 Three knights game
 <0.1%
1 0 1 0 0 0 0
99 C50 King's pawn game
 <0.1%
1 1 0 0 0 0 0

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