When I was a younger man, I didn’t need to take a day off to rest on my birthday (December 18th). I much preferred going to work, which for most of my adult life, means playing chess with young people.
I turned 35 on December 18th 2012 and went to my after school chess class in Cupertino, California. There, my birthday took second honors to recognizing the recent tournament achievements of Collins Elementary School chess players at the CalChess Grade Level State Championship. One student in particular, Andrew Peng finished top five in his section. (See my report on the 2012 CalChess Grade Level State Championship for more California chess history.) Additionally, Andrew played a most interesting game in my Birthday Simul, which for 2012, consisted of 7 boards where I played at rook odds against my elementary school-aged opponents.
[Event “Chris Torres Birthday Simul”]
[Site “Collins Elementary School in Cupertino, Ca”]
[Date “2012.12.18”]
[Board “1”]
[White “Chris Torres”]
[Black “Andrew Peng”]
[Result “1-0”]
[FEN “rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/1NBQKBNR w Kkq -“]
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 Qa5 6.d4 Nf6 7.Bc4 Bb4 8.Qe2+ Be6
9.O-O Nc6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Qxe6+ Kf8 12.Bxf4 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qxc3 14.Bh6 Re8
15.Qxf6+ Kg8 16.Qxg7#
1-0
This year, I am taking my birthday off to recharge my batteries. My only birthday wish is that fans of this chess blog consider making a donation to The Eade Foundation so that they can continue to build communities through chess.