Game 1: Mackenzie vs. Pruess, Western States Open, 2006.
An easy pick for the best game of my life. It was
the first time I ever played the Queen Sacrifice Variation against a really
strong human player (International Master David Pruess). It was only my
fourth career victory over an International Master, and it came at an
incredibly opportune time: the last round of a big tournament, with more
than $500 in prize money at stake.
Game 2: Shipman vs. Mackenzie, CalChess Labor Day
Championship, 2002.
Another win over an International Master. There are
no really spectacular moves, but this game flowed just like poetry: Every
piece seemed to be in the right place at just the right time. By the way,
Walter Shipman once beat Sammy Reshevsky, who beat Bobby Fischer,
therefore...
Game 3: Mackenzie vs. Hayes, Columbus (Ohio)
Invitational, 1992.
This game features the most unusual and non-obvious
game-winning move I ever played. Sadly, today's chess computers find the
move in about a microsecond, which takes away some of the fun. That's
because they are programmed to evaluate every move, no matter how silly it
looks. However, I think that for a human player it still poses quite a
challenge.
Game 4: Mackenzie vs. Waymouth, U.S. Open, 1998.
Fischer included a couple losses in his book, My
60 Memorable Games, and so shall I. This one gets my vote for the best combination ever
played against me. After a somewhat dubious opening, my teen-aged opponent
roars back with a stunning double-rook sacrifice. A wonderful and creative
combination, worthy of any grandmaster.
Game 5: Harris vs. Mackenzie, North Carolina
Championship, 1985.
When I won my first North Carolina title, this game
was one of the key victories. I had dreamed of winning a state championship
for a long time, but never really expected it to happen. Now I had to come
up with a new dream!
Game 6: Mackenzie vs. Belle, U.S. Amateur Team
Championship, 1983.
Did I ever tell you about the time I beat a world
champion? Well, it was like this... It was actually the world computer
champion, and it was back in 1983 when computers weren't nearly as good as
today. Still, Belle was a formidable opponent: It had recently become the
first computer ever to achieve a master rating. So I'm very proud of this
game.
Game 7:
Richter vs. Mackenzie, Thanksgiving Festival, 2008.
[From dana
blogs chess, 12/2/2008.]
Beginning now I'm going to start using this page as
a repository for games discussed in my chess blog. Well, at least the better
ones. This game features lots of interesting piece play, a pretty winning
move that I missed, and an equally pretty winning combination a few moves
later that I didn't miss.
Game 8: Mackenzie vs. Rand, Reno Far West Open,
2009.
The title
of my blog entry on this game says it all: "Wild middlegame, exquisite endgame."
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