Banff Mysteries

[Hans Jung]

After an early morning flight we were happy to leave Calgary into the sparkling sunshine and to continue driving towards the vast column of the Rockies in the distance. About twenty five miles from Banff we entered a spectacular valley with mountain views continuous on both sides and a gorgeous river with ice patches running beside us. Six hours of travel and alot of waiting we were particularly happy to arrive at Douglas Fir resort on the top side of Tunnel Mountain. The resort consisted of about 50 alpine cottages. Our cottage was the furthest into the woods and our balcony looked down a pine covered mountain slope about a quarter of a mile and across a valley a spectacular view of a granite massif which glowed wonderfully in the fading late afternoon sunset.
The cottage itself had a lovely loft, high peaked ceilings, fireplace, a large pile of logs and kindling and most importantly was very quiet.

On the second day I got up early and went out and took pictures of the various woodcarvings around the resort. There were more than a dozen with motifs of eagle and hare, eagle and bear cub, brother wolves, bear and bear cub, raven and fox, wolf and coyote etc. While I was taking pictures a raven landed and started to peck at something buried in the snow. I had not seen a raven before (what a huge bird) and was eager to get close and take a picture. The raven only let me get so close and then hopped away, looking at me with one eye over its shoulder and calling what sounded like "who you, who you, who you"
Eventually I left to go back to the cottage to get ready to go to the tournament. When I and my wife Anne left to walk to the tournament there were peals of bell like sounds coming from the top of nearby trees. Anne thought it was an owl but I knew instinctively it was the raven. To be continued.

[Hans Jung]

We started walking down tunnel mountain road with pines marching up the mountain on the left and many granite outthrusts and a nice view of the beautiful stone and wood beamed houses of Banff down the slopes on the right. After half a mile the road blended into Otter Street, then a left at Moose and a block later Moose hit Grizzly. Grizzly traversed St Julien Way and here we discovered "the long and winding way that leads to your door" (thats how I like to remember it in the song from the Beatles ) On the left was a hiking trail that led up the mountain to the famous "Tunnel" with incredible views of Banff and surrounding area. In less than half a mile we arrived at the Kinnear Building of the Banff Art and Cultural Center where the tournament was being held. Google does strange things sometimes. It recommended the road along the Bow River from downtown to get to the playing site (even from the resort) The total distance was well over two miles. Doing it the back way was under a mile.
Whether it was the mood brought on by the raven or the memories of many readings of Duncan Suttles collection: Chess on the Edge or a combination of both, I played the following incredible (for me) game. Rd 3 Black: Paris Dom. My opponent had beaten Ian Findlay in the first round and drew GM Joel Benjamin in the second. 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3 Be6 5.Bb5+ c6 6.Ba4 Na6 7.Bb3 Bxb3 8.axb3 d3 (this pawn will become a bone in the throat in whites position) 9.c3 Nc5 10.Nf3 f6 11.0-0 g6 12.Ne1 The second of many "to the edge" moves. 12....Ne6 13.b4 Nh6 14.Nh1 looks like a beginner move gone wrong but the beginning of a deep plan. 14...Nf4 15.g3 Ne2+ 16.Kg2 Qd7 17.f3 c5 18.Nf2 c4 19.b3 b5 20.bxc4 bxc4
21.Bb2 Nf7 22.Ra5 Another move on the edge with implications towards the center 22...Ng5 23.Rd5 Qe6 24.Qa4+ Kf7 25.h4 h6 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Qd1 Bd6
28.Nxd3 cxd3 29.Rxd3 Nxg3 30.Kxg3 Rh4 31.Rh1 Rah8 32.Rxh4 gxh4 33.Kh2 f5 34.Qa4 the queen heads back on her final mission 34....g5 35.Qc6 Rd8 36.Qd5 g4 37.Qxe6+ Kxe6 38.fxg4 1-0 The knight heads to the outpost on f5 via g4 and e3 and the bishop finally to a3 and opening up with b5. Together with the rook they will squeeze the black king and bad bishop. I would like to call this game " an ode to Duncan Suttles" or "Subtle moves on the edge of Suttles"
The next morning we woke to a herd of 50 elk nibbling on bushes and limbs of surrounding trees. They stayed for about an hour. We really enjoyed the wildlife and magnificent views and quiet. I would like to thank Ian Findlay for organizing this fantastic tournament and the tournament team for their efficiency and friendliness. and I would like to thank God for His overview and the many blessings of the trip.

[Francis Rodriguez]

We started walking down tunnel mountain road with pines marching up the mountain on the left and many granite outthrusts and a nice view of the beautiful stone and wood beamed houses of Banff down the slopes on the right. After half a mile the road blended into Otter Street, then a left at Moose and a block later Moose hit Grizzly. Grizzly traversed St Julien Way and here we discovered "the long and winding way that leads to your door" (thats how I like to remember it in the song from the Beatles ) On the left was a hiking trail that led up the mountain to the famous "Tunnel" with incredible views of Banff and surrounding area. In less than half a mile we arrived at the Kinnear Building of the Banff Art and Cultural Center where the tournament was being held. Google does strange things sometimes. It recommended the road along the Bow River from downtown to get to the playing site (even from the resort) The total distance was well over two miles. Doing it the back way was under a mile.
Whether it was the mood brought on by the raven or the memories of many readings of Duncan Suttles collection: Chess on the Edge or a combination of both, I played the following incredible (for me) game. Rd 3 Black: Paris Dom. My opponent had beaten Ian Findlay in the first round and drew GM Joel Benjamin in the second. 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3 Be6 5.Bb5+ c6 6.Ba4 Na6 7.Bb3 Bxb3 8.axb3 d3 (this pawn will become a bone in the throat in whites position) 9.c3 Nc5 10.Nf3 f6 11.0-0 g6 12.Ne1 The second of many "to the edge" moves. 12....Ne6 13.b4 Nh6 14.Nh1 looks like a beginner move gone wrong but the beginning of a deep plan. 14...Nf4 15.g3 Ne2+ 16.Kg2 Qd7 17.f3 c5 18.Nf2 c4 19.b3 b5 20.bxc4 bxc4
21.Bb2 Nf7 22.Ra5 Another move on the edge with implications towards the center 22...Ng5 23.Rd5 Qe6 24.Qa4+ Kf7 25.h4 h6 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Qd1 Bd6
28.Nxd3 cxd3 29.Rxd3 Nxg3 30.Kxg3 Rh4 31.Rh1 Rah8 32.Rxh4 gxh4 33.Kh2 f5 34.Qa4 the queen heads back on her final mission 34....g5 35.Qc6 Rd8 36.Qd5 g4 37.Qxe6+ Kxe6 38.fxg4 1-0 The knight heads to the outpost on f5 via g4 and e3 and the bishop finally to a3 and opening up with b5. Together with the rook they will squeeze the black king and bad bishop. I would like to call this game " an ode to Duncan Suttles" or "Subtle moves on the edge of Suttles"
The next morning we woke to a herd of 50 elk nibbling on bushes and limbs of surrounding trees. They stayed for about an hour. We really enjoyed the wildlife and magnificent views and quiet. I would like to thank Ian Findlay for organizing this fantastic tournament and the tournament team for their efficiency and friendliness. and I would like to thank God for His overview and the many blessings of the trip.

Hans,
Your travelogues have always been fabulous!
Thank you for whisking us away into the wonderlands
of the wild, the magical, and the immortal Caissa!

[David Ottosen]

Banff is one of those rare tourist trap destinations that lives up to it when you get there.

[Aris Marghetis]

Banff is one of those rare tourist trap destinations that lives up to it when you get there.

Totally agree, incredible area!!

[Frank Dixon]

Wonderful writing, Hans!! And a very nice game. Must just be so much fun to play an actual tournament once again!! Congratulations to the organizers for finding a way to make this happen!!! And attracting GM Joel Benjamin is a real coup; he has usually performed very well in Canadian events, winning the Saint John World Chess Festival Swiss #1 in 1988, for example, and I believe second place at the 1990 Croatia International In Toronto.

From my years in Calgary, I've played a lot of golf at the famous Banff Springs course, which is world class, and enjoyed the scenery and ambience of the town and surroundings very much. Stayed in the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, an elegant Gothic castle, dating from over 100 years ago. The course and hotel were in that era the host of the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists' Open; slang name 'Doodlebug'. Also, I believe that the Banff area is Canada's first National Park, and one of the first in the world, in fact. If hiking there, it pays to be careful of wildlife; there are bears around, and other large creatures such as moose, stags, mountain sheep, mountain lions, and so forth.

Never played chess in Banff, though; put that on my list for the future!!

[Hans Jung]

[Hans Jung]

Chess board in the Banff Springs Hotel - black had a bad game.
Carving of brother wolves.
Our alpine cottage in the woods - Douglas Fir resort in Banff.