Chess
I learned how to play chess when I was six years old, but I didn't appreciate it until sixth grade, during the Kasparov-Deep Blue rematch. Ever since then I have been an avid chess player. I sometimes play in tournaments, and my USCF rating is currently 1572. I also like to play chess on ICC, and my handle there is ComplexZeta. Below you can see some of my favorite games from my tournaments, as well as some of my favorite games from the world's best players. Enjoy!
My Best Chess Games
This is my best game from an early tournament. I got a nice positional advantage and used it to win. This was probably my first real positional victory. My previous games were really much more tactical. I finished with 3.5/6 in the state championship in 2001.
[Event "California Scholastic Championship"]
[Site "Santa Clara"]
[Date "2001.03.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Alepin, Phillippe"]
[Black "Rubinstien-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[BlackElo "1013"]
[PlyCount "96"]
1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 d5 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Be3 Rd8 8. Be2 e6 9. O-O Nf6 10. Nc3 Qd7 11. Qd2 Bb4 12. a3 Bd6 13. Rad1 O-O 14. h3 Bf5 15. Bb5 a6 16. Bxc6 Qxc6 17. Bf4 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Qe3 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Bxf4 21. Qxf4 Rd5 22. Qe4 Rfd8 23. Kh1 Qb6 24. Rg1 Qxb2 25. Qe3 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Qxd4 27. Rc1 Qxe3 28. fxe3 g6 29. Rc3 b5 30. Kg2 a5 31. f4 b4 32. Rb3 bxa3 33. Rxa3 Ra8 34. Kf3 Kg7 35. e4 h6 36. h4 f6 37. Kg4 e5 38. Rb3 exf4 39. Kxf4 a4 40. Rb7+ Kg8 41. e5 fxe5+ 42. Kxe5 a3 43. Kf6 a2 44. Rg7+ Kh8 45. Kxg6 a1=Q 46. Rh7+ Kg8 47. Rxh6 Ra6+ 48. Kg5 Qc1+ 0-1
In this game, I was paired against an opponent nearly 700 points above me. However, I was able to get a winning position. Back then, I was not too confident about my endgame skills, so I took a draw, although I had good winning chances. The county championship in 2002 was not a good tournament for me except for this game. I ended up with only 2.5/5.
[Event "Santa Clara County Chess Championship"]
[Site "Santa Clara"]
[Date "2002.02.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Pisarsky, Lev"]
[Black "Rubinstein-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "1888"]
[BlackElo "1193"]
[PlyCount "77"]
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Qd8 7. Nf3 e6 8. Be3 Bb4 9. Qa4+ Nc6 10. Ne5 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Bd7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Be2 O-O 14. Bf3 Nd5 15. c4 Nxe3 16. fxe3 Rfd8 17. Rb1 Nxd4 18. Qxd7 Nxf3+ 19. Ke2 Rxd7 20. gxf3 Rad8 21. Rb2 b6 22. f4 Kf8 23. a4 Rc8 24. Rc2 Rdc7 25. Rhc1 Ke7 26. e4 a6 27. Ke3 f6 28. Rg2 Kf7 29. Rcg1 g6 30. f5 g5 31. h4 h6 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Rh2 exf5 34. exf5 Rxc4 35. Rh7+ Kg8 36. Rgh1 Rc3+ 37. Kd4 R3c4+ 38. Kd3 Rc3+ 39. Kd4 1/2-1/2
This was an extremely complicated game. I had an advantage from the opening, but I missed some winning lines and then sacrificed some material for less-than-sufficient compensation. However, he sacrifices all the material back, and I end up with a technical but difficult winning position. However, he flags after attempting a failed call of insufficient losing chances.
[Event "California Scholastic Championship"]
[Site "Monterey"]
[Date "2002.04.06"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Rubinstein-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Black "Petty, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "1193"]
[BlackElo "1772"]
[PlyCount "143"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 g6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. O-O-O Na5 11. Bb3 Nxb3+ 12. axb3 Qc7 13. g4 b5 14. h4 h5 15. gxh5 Nxh5 16. Rdg1 Bb7 17. Bh6 b4 18. Nb1 Rfc8 19. Bxg7 Nxg7 20. h5 e5 21. h6 Ne8 22. Nf5 Kh7 23. Ng7 Nf6 24. Ne6 fxe6 25. Rxg6 Kxg6 26. Rg1+ Kh7 27. Rg7+ Qxg7 28. hxg7 Kxg7 29. Qg5+ Kf7 30. Nd2 Rc7 31. Nc4 Rc6 32. Qd2 Rg8 33. Qxb4 Ba8 34. Nxd6+ Kg6 35. Nc4 Rxc4 36. Qxc4 Re8 37. Qxa6 Nh5 38. Qf1 Nf4 39. Qg1+ Kf6 40. Qh2 Ke7 41. Qh7+ Kd6 42. Qa7 Ne2+ 43. Kd2 Nd4 44. Qa3+ Kd7 45. Qa7+ Kd6 46. c3 Nxb3+ 47. Kc2 Nc5 48. b4 Nxe4 49. fxe4 Bxe4+ 50. Kb2 Ra8 51. Qb6+ Kd7 52. Qb5+ Kd6 53. Qc5+ Kd7 54. Qxe5 Bd5 55. Qg7+ Kd6 56. Qg3+ Kd7 57. Qd3 Rc8 58. Qb5+ Kd6 59. Qa6+ Rc6 60. Qa7 Rc4 61. Qb8+ Kd7 62. b5 Rc8 63. Qa7+ Rc7 64. Qa4 Rc4 65. Qa6 Rc7 66. b6 Rb7 67. Ka3 Bc6 68. Kb4 Bd5 69. c4 Bc6 70. c5 Bd5 71. Qd3 Ke7 72. Qh7+ 1-0
This game was much easier than the previous one. I simply got a really good position, and then my opponent blundered into a mate. I had a great tournament at the state championship in 2002, scoring 4/6.
[Event "California Scholastic Championship"]
[Site "Monterey"]
[Date "2002.04.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Rubinstein-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Black "Smith, Andrew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1193"]
[BlackElo "1705"]
[PlyCount "43"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Nbxd2 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 O-O 12. O-O Ne7 13. Rac1 c6 14. Bd3 Bf5 15. Nh4 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qd7 17. Qg3 a5 18. f4 Ng6 19. f5 Nxh4 20. Qxh4 Rfe8 21. f6 Re6 22. Qg5 1-0
I had another good tournament at the Berkeley People’s Tournament in 2003. My best game was against Nelson Sowell.
[Event "People’s Chess Tournament"]
[Site "Berkeley"]
[Date "2003.02.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Rubinstein-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Black "Sowell, Nelson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B05"]
[WhiteElo "1392"]
[BlackElo "1711"]
[PlyCount "77"]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. 0-0 Be7 7. c4 Nb6 8. b3 0-0 9. Bb2 c5 10. exd6 Bxd6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. Nc3 Qe7 13. Qc2 Nc6 14. a3 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Nd4 16. Qd1 a5 17. Ne4 Nf5 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 19. Be4 Rad8 20. Qg4 f6 21. Rad1 Kf7 22. Qh5+ Kg8 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Bxb7 a4 25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 axb3 27. Qxb3 Nd6 28. Ba6 Qa5 29. Bc3 Qa4 30. Qxa4 Nxa4 31. Bb4 Nf7 32. Bb5 Nb6 33. a4 Ne5 34. c5 Na8 35. c6 Nc7 36. Bd6 Nxb5 37. axb5 Nc4 38. Bc5 Ne5 39. c7 1-0
The 2003 state scholastic championship didn’t go very well for me. I lost a fascinating game in round 2 to Robert Chan, and, despite the result, I am pleased with my fearless play against a much higher-rated player.
[Event "California Scholastic Championship"]
[Site "Santa Clara"]
[Date "2003.04.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Rubinstein-Salzedo, Simon"]
[Black "Chan, Robert"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B35"]
[WhiteElo "1572"]
[BlackElo "2021"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. 0-0 d6 9. Kh1 0-0 10. f4 Ng4 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qe1 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Qb4 14. Bb3 Ba6 15. Rfd1 Qa5 16. Re1 e6 17. Rad1 d5 18. e5 c5 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Rxd5 Rac8 21. e6 fxe6 22. Rd7 Rfe8 23. Bxe6+ Kh8 24. Rxg7 Bc4 25. f5 Bxe6 26. fxe6 Kxg7 27. Qe5+ Kg8 28. e7 Qc7 29. Qe6+ Kg7 30. h4 Qc6 31. Qe3 Qf6 32. g3 Rc7 0-1
Historical Best Chess Games
[Event "Match"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1834.??.??"]
[Round "62"]
[White "McDonnell, Alexander"]
[Black "Bourdonnais, Louis Charles de la"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B32"]
[PlyCount "74"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Qe2 d5 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Bb3 O-O 11. O-O a5 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Rd1 d4 14. c4 Qb6 15. Bc2 Bb7 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bd8 18. c5 Qd6 19. f3 Be7 20. Rac1 f5 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Ba4 Qh6 23. Bxe8 fxe4 24. c6 exf3 25. Rc2 Qe3+ 26. Kh1 Bc8 27. Bd7 f2 28. Rf1 d3 29. Rc3 Bxd7 30. cxd7 e4 31. Qc8 Bd8 32. Qc4 Qe1 33. Rc1 d2 34. Qc5 Rg8 35. Rd1 e3 36. Qc3 Qxd1 37. Rxd1 e2 0-1
[Event "Immortal Game"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1851.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Black "Kieseritzky, Lionel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C33"]
[Plycount "45"]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5 5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. d3 Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5 9. Nf5 c6 10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 cxb5 12. h4 Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3 Ng8 15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5 17. Nd5 Qxb2 18. Bd6 Qxa1+ 19. Ke2 Bxg1 20. e5 Na6 21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+ Nxf6 23. Be7# 1-0
[Event "Evergreen Game"]
[Site "Berlin"]
[Date "1852.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Black, Dufresne, Jean"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C52"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Re1 Nge7 11. Ba3 b5 12. Qxb5 Rb8 13. Qa4 Bb6 14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Ne4 Qf5 16. Bxd3 Qh5 17. Nf6+ gxf6 18. exf6 Rg8 19. Rad1 Qxf3 20. Rxe7+ Nxe7 21. Qxd7+ Kxd7 22. Bf5+ Ke8 23. Bd7+ Kf8 24. Bxe7# 1-0
[Event "International Tournament"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1883.05.05"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Zukertort, Johannes"]
[Black "Blackburne, Joseph"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[Plycount "65"]
1. c4 e6 2. e3 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Be2 Bb7 5. O-O d5 6. d4 Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Qe7 10. Nb5 Ne4 11. Nxd6 cxd6 12. Nd2 Ndf6 13. f3 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 dxc4 15. Bxc4 d5 16. Bd3 Rfc8 17. Rae1 Rc7 18. e4 Rac8 19. e5 Ne8 20. f4 g6 21. Re3 f5 22. exf6 Nxf6 23. f5 Ne4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. fxg6 Rc2 26. gxh7+ Kh8 27. d5+ e5 28. Qb4 R8c5 29. Rf8+ Kxh7 30. Qxe4+ Kg7 31. Bxe5+ Kxf8 32. Bg7+ Kxg7 33. Qxe7+ 1-0
[Event "International Tournament"]
[Site "Lødz"]
["Date "1907.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rotlewi, Georg"]
[Black "Rubinstein, Akiba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D40"]
[PlyCount "50"]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. a3 a6 8. b4 Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Qd2 Qe7 11. Bd3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. O-O Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. f4 Bc7 18. e4 Rac8 19. e5 Bb6+ 20. Kh1 Ng4 21. Be4 Qh4 22. g3 Rxc3 23. gxh4 Rd2 24. Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25. Qg2 Rh3 0-1
[Event "International Tournament"]
[Site "Teplitz-Schöneau"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Maroczy, Geza"]
[Black "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A85"]
[PlyCount "70"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. a3 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 d5 7. Nf3 c6 8. O-O Ne4 9. Qc2 Bd6 10. b3 Nd7 11. Bb2 Rf6 12. Rfe1 Rh6 13. g3 Qf6 14. Bf1 g5 15. Rad1 g4 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Nd2 Rxh2 18. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Re2 Qxg3 21. Nb1 Nh5 22. Qd2 Bd7 23. Rf2 Qh4+ 24. Kg1 Bg3 25. Bc3 Bxf2+ 26. Qxf2 g3 27. Qg2 Rf8 28. Be1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 e5 30. Kg1 Bg4 31. Bxg3 Nxg3 32. Re1 Nf5 33. Qf2 Qg5 34. dxe5 Bf3+ 35. Kf1 Ng3+ 0-1
[Event "USSR vs. Rest of the World"]
[Site "Belgrade"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Larsen, Bent"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A01"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 Bc5 6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qc2 Qe7 9. Be2 O-O-O 10. f4 Ng4 11. g3 h5 12. h3 h4 13. hxg4 hxg3 14. Rg1 Rh1 15. Rxh1 g2 16. Rf1 Qh4+ 17. Kd1 gxf1=Q+ 0-1
[Event "Credit Suisse"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "1997.07.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Lautier, Jöel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[PlyCount "49"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Ne5 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. h4 Nbd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. h5 Be4 12. Rh3 Bg2 13. Re3 Nb6 14. Bd3 Nd5 15. f3 Bb4 16. Kf2 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Qxc3 18. Rb1 Qxd4 19. Rxb7 Rd8 20. h6 gxh6 21. Bg6 Ne7 22. Qxd4 Rxd4 23. Rd3 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. Bd3 1-0
[Event "Hoogovens"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[PlyCount "87"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7+ Kb6 26. Qxd4+ Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2 35. Qb2+ Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7 Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 1-0