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The 2004 Michigan Class Championships was at the Holiday Inn
Select in Auburn Hills for the third straight year. The
tournament was held April 17-18, 2004. The turnout of 70 players
was a major disappointment. To be fair this was a very busy
weekend. The High School National Championships was this weekend,
so none of the top junior players that would normally play in the
tournament were present. There were also two good-sized one-day
events on both Saturday and Sunday. Then there was another big
money tournament the next weekend. And to top things off, the
weather was absolutely gorgeous, probably leading some players to
enjoy the weather rather than being cooped up for the weekend. I
took over the directing duties as I have been looking to get some
experience in running these types of events. The tournament ran
smoothly, if I say so myself.
Masters/Experts
Only six players showed up for this section. We talked about
converting the section into a round-robin, but in the end I was
concerned about how a withdrawal might affect the pairings and I
did not want to shorten the time-control to accommodate the extra
round. Thanks to Bill Calton for his annotations.
Calton and Davidovich played a complicated game where the
risks of playing for the win were just too great:
Bill Calton (2240)
Manis Davidovich (2047)
Round 1
Queen’s Gambit: Chigorin, D07
Notes by Bill Calton
1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 5.gxf3 Qxd5
6.e3 e5 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qd6 10.Qb3
This move worked out nicely in the game, but I don’t like
it. For one, Black anticipated this move with Qd6. Further, the
main point is to capture on b7, which I did not intend. Now was
the time to develop thoughtfully, with an eye towards the coming
middlegame struggle. King-side castling, for example, would be
very risky now with the queen far away on b3. 10.Rb1 b6 11.f4
exf4 12.e4 Nge7 13.Qf3 0–0 14.Bxf4 as in Kasparov-Smyslov,
Vilnius 1984 is more thematic. 10.Bd3 I think this unpopular move
is also worthy of consideration. The light-square bishop often
finds good work on e4.
10…Nge7 11.Bd3
Fritz8 says grab the booty, though I can’t believe it. It
worked out OK for White in the only example I could find between
players of even a modest rating. 11.Qxb7 0–0 12.Bd3 Rfd8
13.Rd1 Rab8 14.Qa6 exd4 15.cxd4 Ne5 16.dxe5 Qxd3 17.Qxd3 Rxd3
18.Ke2 Ra3 19.Rb1 Rb6 20.Rxb6 axb6 21.Ra1² (Lentrodt
2290–Schlager 2292 Germany 2001)
11…0–0 12.Bc1
Trying to make a virtue out of the queen on b3. I did not fear
any Black sacrifice to open the center at this stage.
12…Rfd8
The king’s rook seems misplaced here. I would prefer
12…Rfe8, leaving d8 vacant for the queen’s rook.
13.Ba3 Qf6 14.Be4 exd4 15.cxd4 Rab8
Ben Finegold observed that if this is the right move for
Black, then something has gone wrong.
16.Bb2 Qg5 17.0–0–0
17.f4 is a clear advantage per Fritz8. I would feel nervous
leaving my king in the center. On the other hand, if Fritz
can’t calculate anything, then there is no danger.
17…Nd5 18.Rhg1 Qh5 19.h4 h6 20.Rg3
20.Bxd5! would have wrapped up a clear advantage (Fritz8). For
example, 20…Qxd5 21.Qxd5 Rxd5 22.e4 Rh5 23.d5+-
20…Nce7 21.Rdg1 g6 22.Ba3
Played with an eye towards the pinned pawn on g6. If I had
this position again, I would try 22.Bc2, with e4 and d5 to
follow.
22…Kg7 23.f4 b5 24.f5
24.Bc5!? (Fritz8). I did not consider this positional move,
plugging the hole on c5.
24…b4 25.Bb2 Rd6 26.fxg6 fxg6 27.Kb1?
Sloppy. The move itself isn’t that bad, but I played it
with exactly zero analysis. I had directed my thoughts 27.Bxd5. I
ultimately rejected this move, thinking the position offered
more. Upon punching the clock, I immediately noticed …Nc3+.
Luckily for me, the simplified position that follows is at least
equal for White. Instead, White could have pressed for an
advantage with 27.Bxd5!? Qxd5 28.Qxd5 Rxd5 29.e4 Rh5 30.d5+ Kf7
31.Rf3+²
27…Nc3+ 28.Bxc3 bxc3 29.Qxb8 Rb6+ 30.Qxb6 axb6
31.Kc2
31.Bxg6? Qb5+ 32.Kc2 Qb2+ 33.Kd3 c2 34.Bh5+ Kh8 35.Rf3 Ng8
36.Rf7 Qb1–+
31…Qa5 32.Bxg6 Qxa2+
32…Qa3!= Fritz, as 33.Rb1 would fail to 33…Qxa2+
33.Kxc3 Nd5+ 34.Kd3 Kf6 35.Rf3+
35.Be4 (Fritz) Centralizing is a better try for advantage. I
was reluctant to take this square away from my king.
35…Ke7 36.Rf5 Qa6+ 37.Kd2 Qa2+ 38.Kd3 Qa6+ 39.Kd2
39.Ke4 This move simply looks too risky, but Fritz likes it. A
sample line 39…Nc3+ 40.Ke5 Qb5+ 41.Kf4 Ne2+ 42.Kg4 Qc6
43.Re5+ Kf6 44.Be4+- and White escapes from the danger with
advantage.
39…Qa2+ ½–½
Hahn got his pieces a little tied down and then he made a
couple of positional mistakes that spelled doom:
Doug Walker (2007)
David Hahn (2170)
Round 1
Pirc: Two Knights (Quiet), B08
Notes by Bill Calton
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0–0
6.0–0 c5 7.h3
7.d5 is the theoretical move, steering play to Benoni waters.
7…cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nbd7 9.Be3 a6 10.Qd2 Qc7 11.Nd5
11.Bh6!? I would be tempted to eliminate Black’s
dark-square bishop.
11…Nxd5 12.exd5
I would say the position is about equal here.
12…Nf6 13.Bf3 Bd7 14.Rac1 Rfc8 15.c4 a5 16.Rc2
Qd8 17.Rfc1 Be8 18.c5
Having placed all his pieces on good squares, White decides to
press forward. Of course, White does not need to rush. He could
opt to play it slow with something like 18.b3
18…dxc5 19.Rxc5 Rxc5 20.Rxc5 Nd7 21.Rb5 Ne5?
Black is in trouble after this move. White bags a pawn and
keeps the initiative.
22.Rxb7 Nxf3+ 23.Nxf3 Ra6 24.Bf4 Ra8
Ugh.
25.Ne5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Bc6?
26…f6 is ugly, but the game would continue.
27.Qh6 1–0
Hahn had a good game going until time pressure set in:
David Hahn (2170)
Bill Calton (2240)
Round 2
English: Agincourt, A13
Notes by Bill Calton
1.c4 e6 2.e4 b6 3.d4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Nc6
This positional approach to the English Defence is the main
line according to Daniel King in his 1999 book English
Defence. Of the alternatives, he describes 4…f5 as
great fun but risky, 4…Bb4+ as wet but sound, and 4…Qh4
as mad.
5.Nf3 Nb4 6.Nc3 Nxd3+ 7.Qxd3 Ne7
7…Bb4!? as played by Miles, may be the most accurate.
Black seizes the opportunity to trade, lessening the cramping
influence of White’s space advantage.
8.0–0 Ng6 9.a3
Grabbing space. Ben Finegold did not like this move.
9…Be7 10.b4 d6 11.d5 e5 12.Be3 0–0 13.c5 Bc8
The game takes on character of a King’s Indian. Ehlvest
has played several games as Black with this type of pawn
structure.
14.Nd2 f5 15.exf5 Bxf5 16.Nde4 dxc5?
But I bet Ehlvest would never consider this anti-positional
move! 16…Qe8
17.Qc4 Kh8 18.bxc5 Bxc5?!
18…Nf4
19.Nxc5 bxc5 20.Bxc5 Qg5!?
Dave is already low on time (surprise!), with about 10 minutes
to go until move 30. I was displeased with my game at this point,
and decided to offer some time pressure complications.
20…Rf6 must be objectively a better move.
21.Be3
And Dave declines. Some possibilities courtesy of Fritz8.
Black’s attack quickly fizzles. 21.Bxf8 Nf4 (21…Nh4
22.Bxg7+ Kxg7 23.g3 Nf3+ 24.Kg2 Qh5 25.h4 Nd2 26.Qc5 Qf3+ 27.Kh2
Nxf1+ 28.Rxf1+-) 22.g3 Rxf8 23.Ne4 Qg6 24.f3+
21…Qh5!?
Pressing on. Better is 21…Nf4 with slight disadvantage.
22.f3 Qh4?!
Fearing g4. But this was nothing to worry about. 22…Rac8
23.g4 Qh4 24.Bf2 Qh3 25.gxf5? Nf4–+
23.Qxh4 Nxh4 24.Rfc1+- Rab8?
Keeping the initiative at all costs, and challenging Dave to
grab some material.
25.Bf2?
Dave’s play is marred by time-pressure. He has about a
minute remaining until move 30. 25.Bxa7 After this cold move,
White’s a-pawn turns into a real monster.
25…Ng6 26.Bg3?
Still 26.Bxa7
26…h5 27.Ne4 h4 28.Bf2 h3?
Stronger was 28…Nf4! and if 29.Rxc7? Bxe4 30.fxe4 Ne2+
31.Kf1 Rb2–+
29.gxh3?
29.Rxc7 Bxe4 30.fxe4 Rb2 31.Bc5 Rxg2+ 32.Kh1 Rc2 33.d6+-
29…Nf4 30.Bxa7 Ne2+ 31.Kh1 Nxc1 32.Rxc1 Rb7
With each move, White’s pieces become more paralyzed.
33.Bc5 Rd8 34.Nc3 Rb2 35.Bb4 Bxh3 36.Kg1 Rg2+ 37.Kh1
Kg8 38.Bc5 Rb8 39.Bb4 Rd2 40.Rg1 Bf5?!
Loosening the grip. Better was 40…Rf2
41.d6?
Dave was in time pressure again. Just a few minutes left for
the rest of the game. 41.Re1
41…cxd6 42.Nb5 Rf2 43.Nxd6 Rxf3 44.Re1 Bh3
0–1
Calton took the initiative right from the opening:
Dmitriy Obukhov (2140)
Bill Calton (2240)
Round 3
Tarrasch, D32
Notes by Bill Calton
1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.e3 c4
Ambitiously avoiding the isolated pawn. Black is playing the
Panov Caro-Kann reversed, advance system, where this line is
harmless for Black. Here, White has the extra move Nc3 in. This
is probably why database search shows no strong players choosing
...c4, ever!
7.Qa4?
But this move accomplishes nothing.
7...Bd7 8.Qc2
Dimitriy intended 8.Nxd5, but simply missed Black's reply
8...Nb4.
8...Bb4 9.g3?!
e3 and g3 do not mix well together.
9...Nge7 10.Bg2 0–0 11.0–0 Bf5µ
Black has achieved a dream variation of the Swedish Tarrasch.
12.Qa4 a6 13.Ne5 Bxc3 14.Nxc6 Nxc6 15.bxc3 b5 16.Qa3
Be4 17.f3 Bd3 18.Re1 f5 19.Qc5 Qd7 20.Ba3
20.a4!? For better or worse, White had to try this move.
20...Rfe8 21.Qd6 Rad8
Never trade.
22.Qf4?!
22.Qxd7 Rxd7 23.Bc5 a5³ is the lesser evil.
22...h6 23.h4 a5 24.e4?
White has a difficult position in any case, but this opens the
game to Black's advantage.
24...fxe4 25.fxe4 dxe4 26.Bxe4 Bxe4 27.Rxe4 Rxe4
28.Qxe4 Re8 29.Qg2 Re3
The text leads to a large positional advantage and should be
“good enough.” The tactical blow 29...Nxd4! would have
led to an overwhelming advantage. 30.Rd1 Re2 31.Qa8+ Kh7 32.cxd4
Qg4 (I only considered 32...Qh3 in my analysis. 32...Qf5
instead is also strong.) 33.Bd6 Rxa2–+
30.Rf1 b4 31.d5 Qg4 32.Rf4 Qd1+ 33.Rf1 Qd3 34.dxc6
Rxg3 35.c7 Rxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Qg6+ 37.Kh2 Qd6+ 38.Kg1 Qc5+ 0–1
Davidovich is great at whipping up an attack right out of the
opening. This game is no exception:
Manis Davidovich (2047)
Doug Walker (2007)
Sicilian: Chekhover, B53
Notes by Bill Calton
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4
The off-beat Hungarian variation. White brings the queen out
early, then immediately gives up the bishop to keep her there.
Can this simplistic approach to the opening be viable? Well,
White does enjoy smooth development, and his king-side attacks
are still quite dangerous.
4...Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bg5 e6
9.0–0–0 Be7 10.Rhe1 0–0 11.e5
This feels premature. van der Sterren calls for 11.Kb1 in his
survey for New In Chess (#62). All featured games stem from that
move.
11...dxe5 12.Qh4 Qc7 13.Nxe5 Rac8
Missing the coming tactical blow. More sensible would be
13...h6 14.Bf4 (or 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Bd2 Nd5) 14...Nd5
14.Ng4 Nd5 15.Rxd5 Bxg5+?
Still, Black may survive the complications following 15...f6.
16.Rxg5
Oops.
16...f5 17.Ne5 Bd5 18.f4 b5 19.Re3 Rf6 20.Rh3 h6
21.Rxg7+ Kxg7 22.Rg3+ 1–0
Nice technique.
Tom Mazuchowski (2000)
Bill Calton (2240)
Round 4
Réti: King's Indian (Keres), A07
Notes by Bill Calton
Three Blacks in a row, how unfair! But the alternative, giving
Tom three Blacks would have been even less fair. At least I got
one White.
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 c6 4.d4 Nd7 5.Nbd2 Ngf6 6.h3
Bf5
Keeping material on the board. A simpler route to equality
would have been 6...Bxf3.
7.g4 Bg6 8.Nh4 e6 9.Nxg6
Black's bishop was not worth this much effort.
9...hxg6 10.c3 Bd6 11.Qc2 Qe7 12.Nf3?!
Inconsistent. Qc2 and Nd2 are aiming for the e4 break.
12...Ne4 13.Be3 a5
Dithering indecisively. Queen-side castling would have been
sensible. Alternatively, Ben Finegold's suggestion 13...f5,
cementing the knight, seems logical.
14.a3?! a4 15.Nd2 Nxd2
15...f5
16.Bxd2 e5 17.0–0–0 exd4 18.cxd4 Kf8
Not wanting to castle into an attack.
19.e3
19.e4 opening up the position feels like the right way to
exploit ...Kf8
19...Kg8 20.Kb1 g5?!
An unforced error, creating weaknesses. More purposeful would
have been 20...Nb6 21.Bf1 Qe6 22.Bd3 Rf8 still aiming for ...f5.
21.Bf1 Rh6 22.Bd3 Rf6?
A careless move. played to stop f4.
23.f4!
Of course, ...Rf6 did not stop f4 at all. 23.h4!? is also
possible.
23...c5 24.f5?
Tossing the advantage away. 24.fxg5 is much better than the
game move.
24...c4
Also good is keeping the tension with 24...Rh6.
25.Be2 Rh6 26.Bf3 Nf6 27.Bc1?! b5 28.Qg2 Ne4 29.Bxe4
dxe4–+ 30.Qc2 Qb7 31.Bd2 Qd5
31...b4 immediately is also possible. I prefer the slow build.
32.Rc1 Be7 33.Bc3 Rb6 34.Qd2 b4 35.axb4 Rab8 36.Kc2?
White understandably wants to get out of Dodge, but this only
hastens the end.
36...Bxb4 37.Kd1 Bxc3 38.Qxc3 Rb3 39.Qxc4 Rd3+ 40.Ke2
40.Ke1 Qd6–+
40...Rxb2+ 0–1
This game was for the Expert Champion:
Dmitriy Obukhov (2118)
Manis Davidovich (2047)
Round 4
Irregular Queen's Pawn: Nimzovich, A40
Notes by Bill Calton
1.d4 Nc6 2.d5
White takes up the challenge. In my game with Manis, I
preferred 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4, transposing to the Chigorin.
2...Ne5 3.e4 e6 4.Nc3
MCO 14 (1999) gives 4.f4 Ng6 5.dxe6 dxe6 6.Bd3 Bc5 as equal.
4...Nf6 5.f4 Ng6 6.dxe6 fxe6
Provocative. 6...dxe6 seems more prudent.
7.e5 Ng8 8.Be3
8.Bd3 This simple move would have forced another concession
from Black.
8...Bb4 9.Qd3 N8e7 10.0–0–0 0–0 11.g3
Relying on superior central control for a small but stable
advantage. I would have found it hard to resist 11.Nge2, looking
towards an all-out king-side blitz.
11...d5 12.exd6 cxd6 13.Bg2 Qa5 14.Nge2 e5
The pawn charges forward bravely, inviting tactical piece
play. Care is required, as the advancing pawn duo can leave weak
squares in its wake.
15.Nd5 Bg4 16.Nxb4 Qxb4 17.a3 Qa5 18.Rdf1
Awkward. 18.h3 Bf5 (or 18...Bxe2 19.Qxe2 exf4 20.gxf4
with two bishops against two knights.) 19.Qb3+ Kh8 20.g4 looks
more natural.
18...d5 19.Bd2 Qd8 20.fxe5 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Nxe5 22.Qe3
Nc4 23.Qf2 Nxd2 24.Kxd2 Nf5
This move backfires, as Black loses the d5-pawn shortly.
Perhaps 24...Rc8 instead, to activate his last piece.
25.Nf4 Qg5 26.Bxd5+ Kh8 27.Kc1 Rd8 28.Kb1 Qf6 29.Bf3
White may be able to munch another one. 29.Bxb7!? or 29.Qxa7!?
29...Bxf3 30.Qxf3 Nd4 31.Qf2 h6 32.Nd3
32.h4
32...Qd6 33.Rd1 Qd5 34.Nc1 Qe4? 35.Nb3 Nxb3 36.Rxd8+
Kh7 37.Qf1 Nd4 38.Qd3 Qxd3 39.cxd3 Ne6 40.Rd6 Nc5 41.d4 1–0
So in the end, we have four players and four prizes. Bill
Calton is the Masters/Experts Champion. Dmitriy
Obukhov is the Expert Champion. Manis Davidovich
takes the 2nd Place prize and Tom Mazuchowski is
Top U2100.
Class A
This year, Randy Ho, rolled through the
section by winning his first four games before giving up a draw
with very little doubt of the tournament outcome. The only other
two players with plus scores, Sal Chehayeb and Dushyanth
Reddivari, took 2nd Place and Top U1900, respectively.
Ten players competed in the section. Here are some selected
games.
Ho starts off by finding a tactic to win a couple of pawns:
I.C. Matias (1816)
Randy Ho (1915)
Round 1
Modern, A41
Notes by Bill Calton
1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 dxe5 4.Qxd8+ Kxd8
This type of game is comfortable for Black. The king is cozy
on c7, his pieces find good squares. Meanwhile, White's c4 pawn
is weak. And without an invasion point, the d-file is
meaningless.
5.e4 c6 6.Nf3 f6 7.Be3 Kc7 8.Nc3 Na6 9.a3 Bc5 10.b4?!
Stereotyped development has already led to difficulties for
White.
10...Bxe3 11.fxe3 Nh6 12.Bd3 Be6 13.Ke2 Rad8 14.Rhd1
Rd7 15.Na4 Rhd8 16.b5? Rxd3! 0–1, 55
Fine play from Randy. We can see why he has broken into the
expert ranks.
Don Quixote would be proud:
Randy Ho (1915)
Gary Jones (1835)
Round 4
Alekhine: Scandinavian, B02
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3
This is a bit of a “spoil-sport” line against the
Scandinavian. If White is content to play quietly, then this
variation leads to a pretty calm game. Of course, White gets no
advantage this way either. But sometimes the psychological issues
trump the purely strategic ones.
3...Nxd5
I've experimented a bit online with the crazy 3...Bg4?! But it
isn't really very good.
4.Bc4 e6
Sound, but not very enterprising. In fact, some years ago it
was discovered that this move “loses” a pawn! The
slightly more enterprising approach is 4...Nb6 5.Bb3 c5!? 6.Qh5
c4!? 7.Bxc4 Nxc4 8.Qb5+ Nc6 (8...Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 is
another possibility.) 9.Qxc4 e5 and perhaps Black has sufficient
compensation for his pawn. At least the center is somewhat open!
5.d4
White proceeds serenely. White can “win” a pawn with
the counter-intuitive sequence 5.Bxd5 exd5 6.Qe2+ Be6 (6...Be7
7.Qe5 forks d5 and g7.) 7.Qb5+ Nc6 8.Qxb7. But having proved
that he is a complete materialist, White will now suffer ample
indigestion after 8...Nb4! 9.Qb5+ c6 10.Qa4 Bd7 when his queen's
poor position and the sensitivity of c2 give Black outstanding
compensation.
5...Nxc3
Tarrasch would definitely disapprove of this move. Though it
doubles White's c-pawns, the resulting White pawn structure is
quite resilient; it is hard for Black to undermine White's
central space with ...c5 later.
6.bxc3 Be7 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.0–0 0–0 9.Re1 Bf6?!
It isn't clear what wonderful prospects the bishop will have
on this diagonal. The d4-pawn is fabulously reinforced: even
...c5 and ...cxd4 will not weaken it much since White has a
second c-pawn in reserve. An immediate 9...c5 comes into
consideration.
10.Qe2 Nb6 11.Bd3 Nd5 12.Bd2 c6
Black's position is compact but utterly lacking in dynamism.
Where are his pawn breaks?
13.Ne5 Qc7 14.Qe4!
It must be correct for White to provoke weaknesses in the
castle wall.
14...g6 15.c4! Ne7
White to Move
16.Qf4!
Excellent chess! The tactical point here is that Black's queen
is undefended, and this makes the natural reply unplayable.
16...Bxe5
Unhappily, Black is more or less forced into this move. Now
the dark-squares around his king require constant defense.
16...Bg7? 17.Nxg6! Qxf4 18.Nxe7+! Kh8 19.Bxf4 leaves White plenty
of material ahead.
17.dxe5 f6 18.Qg3 Nf5
Gary is trying hard to recover from his opening play, but it's
an uphill struggle.
19.Bxf5 exf5 20.Bc3 fxe5?
Voluntarily opening the long dark diagonal is suicidal.
20...Be6 is not beautiful, but at least with a move like this
Black can keep the long diagonal closed for a little while.
21.Bxe5 Qf7 22.Bb2!
The threat of Qc3 is crushing.
22...h6
This meets the threat of Qc3 (23...Qh7), but by weakening g6
Black falls into something just as bad.
White to Move
23.Re7!! f4
Of course 23...Qxe7 allows 24.Qxg6+ and mate next move.
24.Rxf7 fxg3 25.Rg7+
Now White has a classic windmill and he cleans up everything
in sight.
25...Kh8 26.Rxg6+ Kh7 27.Rg7+ Kh8 28.Rxg3+ Kh7 29.Rg7+
Kh8 30.Rxb7+ Kg8 31.Rg7+
Here 30.Re1 actually forces mate, but who's counting?
31...Kh8 30.Rxa7+ Kg8 31.Rxa8 1–0
White feels the pressure of castling into it:
I.C. Matias (1816)
Tony West (1848)
Round 4
Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox (Rubinstein), D61
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 0–0
6.e3 c6 7.Qc2
Why is White delaying the “obvious” move Bd3? It's
all about time. White doesn't want to play Bd3 when Black can
respond ...dxc4, forcing White's bishop to move for a second
time; Black doesn't want to play ...dxc4 before White has moved
that bishop, or else White will develop in a single bound.
7...Nbd7 8.a3
8.Rc1 looks like it might be more useful.
8...a5 9.Bd3
White blinks first.
9...dxc4
And Black immediately takes the pawn, as advertised.
10.Bxc4 Nd5
Now Black wants to exchange some pieces to ease his cramp.
11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Bd3
With this third move of the bishop White focuses on the
king-side. This is all well and good, but it does represent a
loss of time.
12...h6 13.0–0–0?!
There are times in the Queen's Gambit when White should -- or
at least may -- castle queen-side. This is not one of them. With
the moves a3 and ...a5 thrown in, the queen-side is a more
dangerous place to build a castle than it would be without those
moves. The pawn at a3, in particular, invites ...b5-4 as a lever
to open lines against the White king.
13...Nxc3
There's a case to be made for 13...b5 right away, losing no
time in launching that attack.
14.Qxc3 c5 15.g4?
White desperately wants to get something going on the
king-side. But this is a very risky proposition now. In
particular, the knight on f3 is vulnerable to various tactical
ideas.
15...cxd4
Reasonable but not incisive. 15...b5! 16.Bxb5 Bb7! causes
White a lot of problems.
16.Qxd4 Nc5 17.Bc2 b5
Now Black's attack is well launched and White will have to
look out.
18.Kb1?
This king move is a luxury White cannot afford.
18...Bb7 19.e4 Rfd8 20.Qe3 b4!
The attack plays itself. How White must have rued his decision
to castle queen-side!
21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.axb4 axb4 23.Nd2 f5
Black misses a shot here. 23...Rxd2! 24.Qxd2 b3! catches White
off balance since the bishop is not free to leave the defense of
e4. After 25.f3 bxc2+ 26.Qxc2 e5 Black will maneuver his knight
to d4 (via, say, e6) and Black's two minor pieces should be more
than a match for White's rook and pawn.
24.gxf5 exf5 25.Re1 fxe4 26.Nxe4?
This capture is based on a miscalculation.
26...Bxe4! 27.Bxe4 Nxe4 28.f3
Too late, White realizes that 28.Qxe4 fails to 28...Rd1+!
29.Kc2 Rxe1–+
28...Rd1+ 29.Kc2 Rxe1 30.Qxe1 Qc5+ 31.Kb3 Qd5+ 32.Kxb4
Qd4+ 33.Kb3 Nc5+ 34.Ka2 Qxb2+!
Black wraps things up with a nice simplifying combination.
35.Kxb2 Nd3+ 36.Kc3 Nxe1 37.f4 Nf3 38.h3 Ng1 0–1
White sacrifices an exchange to open up the king-side and a
king hunt ensues:
Edward Laurin (1811)
Darrell Turner (1804)
Round 4
Caro-Kann: Classical, B18
Notes by Edward Laurin
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4
e6 7.N1e2 Bd6 8.0–0 Nf6 9.f4 0–0 10.f5 exf5 11.Nxf5
Bxf5 12.Rxf5 Qc7 13.Rxf6! gxf6 14.Bh6 Re8
14...Bxh2+ misplaces the bishop for the coming battle. 15.Kh1
Bd6±. Now White gets to move in the position. The h-pawn isn't
critical to the game.
15.Ng3 Qd7
Preventing Qg4+. The best try for Black is 15...Kh8 16.Qh5 Rg8
(16...Qd7 17.Nf5 Rg8 18.Bxf7+-) 17.Bxf7 Rd8 18.Nf5+-
15...Bf8 16.Qg4+ Kh8 17.Qf5. Now the threats of Qxf6+, and Bd3
hitting h7 are too much for Black who will have to sacrifice his
queen to escape.
16.Nh5 Be7
16...Qf5 17.Bd3 Qe6 18.Ng7 Qe1+ (18...Qd7 19.Nxe8+-)
19.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1
17.Qd3
17.Qf3 Qxd4+ 18.Kh1 Qh4
17...Qg4
17...Qd6 18.Bf4 Attacking the queen, and threatening Qg3-g7.
18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Qxh7+ Ke6 20.Re1+ Kd6
20...Kd7 21.Nxf6++-
21.Bf4+ Kd5
21...Qxf4 22.Nxf4 Black's best chance at staying alive.
22.Qe4+ Kc4 23.Qd3+ Kb4
23...Kd5 24.c4#
24.Bd2+ Ka4 25.Qb3# 1–0
Ho wraps up the tournament by taking the draw after getting a
solid advantage:
Sal Chehayeb (1961)
Randy Ho (1915)
Round 5
Pirc: Czech, B07
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6!?
Tartakower experimented with this offbeat idea in the 1930's,
and the Russian master Anatoly Ufimtsev developed its theory a
bit. But its most ardent advocate is undoubtedly Josef Pribyl,
who has used it (according to my database) about 40 times from
1986 onward. It is really Pribyl who has worked out the
fundamental strategic ideas in depth.
4.Nf3
Surprisingly, this natural developing move allows Black to
equalize without difficulty. Most theoreticians agree that
White's only hope for an opening advantage against this setup is
4.f4.
4...Bg4
Black's position is very flexible. In some lines he will play
for ...e5, in some for ...e6 and ...c5, and in some for the
simple ...e6 and ...d5 -- a French without a locked-in bishop. We
get this last formation in the present game.
5.Be2 e6 6.0–0 Be7 7.h3 Bh5 8.Be3 d5 9.exd5 cxd5
The pawn structure has resolved itself, unexpectedly, into a
“Carlsbad” formation where Black has the
“White” side of an Exchange QGD. The one sour note in
the position is White's knight at c3; normally in the Carlsbad
formation the knight would come out at d2 and White would have
(or would be able to put) a pawn at c3 instead. What this means
from a practical standpoint is that b2 is weak and a bit
difficult to defend.
10.Ne5 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 0–0 12.f4
White sensibly seeks play on the king-side before Black can
generate queen-side pressure.
12...Nc6 13.Rad1
This move seems a little aimless. Perhaps an immediate 13.f5
is better.
13...Rc8 14.Kh2
Here again the immediate 14.f5 offers White better chances of
whipping up counterplay.
14...Qb6
Finally Black probes at the weakness on b2.
15.Nxc6 Rxc6 16.Bc1 Rfc8 17.f5 ½–½
Drawn here, apparently on White's offer. This is a pity since
Black has a clear advantage now. 17...Bb4! That misplaced knight
causes real trouble now! 18.fxe6 Rxe6! 19.Qf3 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Qc7+
21.Kg1 Qxc3 and White is falling apart. A cautionary tale for
White -- know your unorthodox openings!
Class B
The Class B winner for the last two years, I.C. Matias, had to
play in the Class A section this year, but that is how it should
be. This section, though, would have to be considered the biggest
disappointment, as there were only six players, down from a nice
seventeen last year. I have to thank the six players that did
attend as they all stayed around for the entire event and allowed
the section to be a complete round-robin. For the second year in
a row, four points made for a clear champion, as Wei Li gave
up two draws as the only marks against his score. Kent
Hershberger took the 2nd Place trophy on tie-breaks over
Kevin Gregory. This allowed the Top U1700 trophy
to fall to Raymond Burwell.
White allows a pawn weakness and Black plays off of it:
Raymond Burwell (1695)
Kevin Gregory (1741)
Round 1
Sicilian: Dragon, B72
Notes by Tony Palmer
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6
The Sicilian Dragon always leads to an exciting game with
chances for both sides.
6.Be3 Bg7 7.Qd2
White typically plays 7.f3 -- before 8.Qd2 to preserve the
Be3, as shown by the game continuation.
7...Ng4
Note this works because White's queen left the d1–h5
diagonal, so the Ng4 is safe. Everyone knows that 6 ... Ng4?? 7.
Bb5+ wins outright.
8.Be2
Blatov-Alekseev (Togliatty, 2001) continued 8.Bg5 Nc6 9.Nb3 h6
10.Bh4 a5 11.a4 Be6 12.Be2 Nge5 13.Nd5 and White had a slight
advantage in space. The Be3 is very useful against the weak dark
squares around Black's king, so preserving it makes sense.
8...Nxe3 9.fxe3!?
An interesting idea, using the half open f-file for attack,
yet 9.Qxe3 Qb6 10.0–0–0 Nc6 and White gets doubled
e-pawns anyway 11.Nxc6 Qxe3+ 12.fxe3 bxc6.
9...Nc6 10.0–0–0 Qa5 11.Rhf1 0–0 12.Bc4
Defending the a2-pawn and freeing the Nc3 (12.Nd5!? Qxa2), but
perhaps 12.Kb1 might have been better, planning to push the
king-side pawns (13.g4).
12...Bf6 13.Nd5 Bg5 14.Qf2 Bg4 15.Rd3?!
Note the bishop can't retreat 15.Be2 due to 15...Bxe2 16.Nxe2
Qxa2 again, but the text invites trouble after 15...Ne5.
Relatively best was 15.Nf3 Ne5 16.Bb3.
15...Ne5 16.Ra3?!
Missing Black's next. Better was 16.Bb3 Nxd3+ 17.cxd3 Rac8+
and Black is winning.
16...Qc5!
The double attack on Bc4 and Nd4 wins material. Note the
e3-pawn is pinned because of the Kc1, so an earlier Kb1 might
have avoided this.
17.h3 Qxc4 18.hxg4 Qxd4 19.Nxe7+ Kg7
When you're down material, play for traps! Black avoided
19...Bxe7?? 20.exd4.
20.Kb1 Qxe4 21.Nf5+ gxf5 22.gxf5 f6 23.Qd2 Nc4
0–1
White gambits a pawn in an aggressive opening, but
doesn’t get enough play and just ends up down in endgame:
Kevin Gregory (1741)
Wei Li (1756)
Round 2
Sicilian: Smith-Morra, B21
Notes by Tony Palmer
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3
The Smith-Morra Gambit, sacrificing the c-pawn for attacking
chances. However, Black scores well against it with simple
straightforward development and a sharp eye for tricks.
4...e6 5.Bc4 a6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Qe2 d6
9.Rd1 Qc7 10.Bf4 b5
If instead 10...Nf6, we would have Plasman-Hamelink (Dieren,
2001) by transposition which went 11.Rac1 0–0 12.Bb3 Rd8
13.Nd5!? exd5 14.exd5 Bg4 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Rac8 17.dxc6 bxc6
and Black won. The text is good, provided Black minds the open
c-file.
11.Bb3 Bb7 12.Rac1 Rd8 13.a3
If 13.Nd5!? Qb8 holds, but 13.a4 is much more in the spirit of
the opening.
13...h6 14.Rc2 Nf6 15.e5 Nh5 16.Be3 dxe5 17.Rxd8+ Bxd8
18.Ne4 0–0 19.Bc5
Too bad there's no good discovery on the Nh5 (19.Nxe5?? Qxe5),
but the d6 square is inviting.
19...Nf4 20.Qe3 Be7 21.Bb6 Qb8 22.Bc5 Rd8 23.Rd2 Ba8?!
23...Nd5! hits the Qe3, blocks the d-file, defends the Be7,
prevents 24.Bb6 and keeps the e5-pawn in one stroke (24.Ba7 Qc7).
The text soon removes the Nc6 and the Qb8 from the e5-pawn.
24.Bxe7 Nxe7 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Nxe5 Nfg6
So White regains the e5-pawn but remains a pawn down for the
endgame.
27.Nxg6 Nxg6 28.Qd2?!
When you're behind in pawns, trade pawns but not pieces. When
you're ahead in pawns, trade pieces but not pawns. Think about it
until you get it.28.f3 was better, freeing the pieces from
worrying about the back rank.
28...Qxd2 29.Nxd2 Nf4!
The attack on g2 plus the threat of 30...Nd3 and 31...Nxb2
wins material.
30.Bc2 Bxg2 31.Be4?!
Same comment as before - you cannot trade down into a lost
endgame. Better was 31.Nb3 Bd5 32.Nc5.
31...Bxe4 32.Nxe4 Nd3 33.b3 Kf8 34.Kf1 f5 35.Nc3 Ke7
36.b4 Kd6 37.Ke2 Nf4+ 38.Ke3 Nd5+ 0–1
Black smartly exchanges knights into an easily won king and
pawn endgame.
White gives up the exchange and it does not work out so well:
Harold Steen (1721)
Kevin Gregory (1741)
Round 3
Slav: Rubinstein, D11
Notes by Tony Palmer
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.e3
One of the few openings which favors Black (statistically
speaking at least) off the bat, because White's Bc1 gets locked
in whereas Black's Bc8 gets out easily. White scores better with
3.c4 or 3.Bf4, although chess is also a matter of style.
3...Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.cxd5
Nakonechny-Bondarchuk (Nikolaev, 2001) went 6.c5 Qxb3 7.axb3
Bxb1 8.Rxb1 Nd7 9.Ra1 a6 10.b4 Rc8 11.Bd3 g6 with an equal game,
later drawn.
6...exd5 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bd2 Bd6 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.0–0 h6
11.Ne1 0–0 12.f4 Rfe8 13.Nf3 Qxb3
So after all that, Black blinked first! But this position
favors Black, due to the backward e-pawn on a half open file,
plus active bishops on f5 and d6 versus passive bishops on d2 and
e2.
14.axb3 a6 15.Ne5 Rad8 16.Na4 Ne4 17.Ba5 Rb8 18.Nb6
Nxb6 19.Bxb6 f6 20.Nd3?!
Seemingly more active than 20.Nf3, but this allows the Ne4 to
invade at d2.
20...Nd2 21.Kf2!?
White decides the e-pawn is more important than the exchange,
a reasonable judgment call. Note 21.Rfd1 Nxb3 and the White rooks
can't trap the knight because the Bd6 prevents Ra3, and the Nb3
prevents Rc1-c3.
21...Nxf1 22.Bxf1 Re7 23.Nc5 Rbe8 24.g3
If 24.Re1 Bxf4! wins material.
24...Bxc5 25.Bxc5 Rxe3 26.b4 Rb3 0–1
26...Rb3 and the b2-pawn falls after 27.Ra2 Bb1 28.Ra1 Rxb2+
and 29...Be4, then Black mops up in the endgame.
White wins a couple of pawns and Black accommodates him by
quickly trading into the king and pawn endgame:
Raymond Burwell (1695)
Harold Steen (1721)
Round 4
French: Open Tarrasch, C07
Notes by Bill Calton
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Ngf3 Qb6?!
Inaccurate. The queen does frequently go to b6, but only after
White fixes the pawn structure with e5. Both 5...cxd4 or 5...Nf6
are book moves.
6.exd5 exd5 7.Qa4
7.Qe2+ followed by 8.dxc5, sticking Black with the isolated
pawn, looks right.
7...Bd7 8.Bb5 c4
After this move, Black ends up pitching a pawn to remove his
king from the center. How about developing the king-side instead?
Perhaps 8...Bd6 followed by Nge7.
9.0–0 Nf6 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Bxc6
11.b3 aiming to open the game, and/or sneak in Ba3 may have
been more precise.
11...Bxc6 12.Qc2 Ne4 13.Ne5 0–0 14.Nxc6 Qxc6
15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4 Qxe4 17.Rxe4± Bf6 18.Bf4 b5 19.Rae1 h6
20.Be5 Bd8 21.Bd6+- f5 22.Re8
22.Re6 picks up some more material 22...Rf7 23.Re8+ Kh7 24.Be7
22...Rxe8 23.Rxe8+ Kf7 24.Rf8+ Ke6 25.Be5 g5 26.Bf6
Kd7 27.Bxd8 Rxd8 28.Rxf5 Re8 29.Kf1 a6 30.Rf6 Re6 31.Rxe6 Kxe6
32.a3 a5 33.Ke2 Kd5 34.Ke3 h5 35.f3 h4 36.g3 h3 37.g4 1–0
Class C
Anthony Holden was another player in this
tournament who took clear first with only four points. Anthony
was defeated in round two by 2nd Place finisher James
Kelly, who came all the way from Alpena to compete in
the tournament. James finished ahead of Justin Aldrich
and Tony Scioly on tie-breaks. The Top U1500
trophy went to Tianyi Liu. The section had
twelve players compete.
Robert Smith (1500)
Justin Aldrich (1570)
Round 2
Slav, D10
Notes by Tony Palmer
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6
The Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defense, a solid and
flexible line for Black.
3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bf4
More common is 4.Nf3, then Black can choose between the quiet
4...e6 or the loud 4...dxc4. After 4.Bf4 Bf5 is good, but
4...dxc4 freeing the d5-square is the most direct way to exploit
the Bf4. Koliada-Shirov (North Bay, 1994) went 5.Nf3 e6 6.g3 b5
7.Bg2 Nd5 8.0–0 Be7 9.Ne5 0–0 10.Qc2 Bb7 and Black won.
Kiefer-Ackermann (Recklinghausen, 2001) went 5.a4 Bf5 6.f3? Nd5
7.Bxb8 Ne3 8.Qc1 Qxd4 9.Qd2 Nc2+ 10.Kd1 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2 Nxa1 12.Bf4
Nb3+ and Black won.
4...Bf5 5.Nf3 h6
Creating an escape square on h7 for the Bf5.
6.e3 Nbd7 7.Bd3
White challenges the Bf5, although this trade should benefit
Black. If 7.Be2 e6 and Black might play for 8...Ne4 and 9...Ndf6.
7...Bxd3 8.Qxd3 e6 9.0–0 Be7 10.cxd5!?
This release of the central tension typically helps Black, due
to 10...exd5 and the half-open e file proves useful. 10.e4 is a
consideration 10...dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 Nf6 13.Qe3 (13.Qd3!?
c5) planning 14.Rfe1 and 15.Rad1.
10...cxd5?!
Symmetric but less freeing than 10...exd5, plus there are now
tactics on c7.
11.Rac1
11.Nb5 0–0 12.Bc7! wins the exchange 12...Qe8 13.Nd6 Bxd6
14.Bxd6 or 12...Qc8 13.Rac1 a6 (13...Re8 14.Bg3 Qd8 15.Nc7)
14.Nd6. So instead 11...Rc8 12.Nxa7 wins a pawn.
11...0–0 12.a3 a6
Now it's too late for c7 tricks.
13.e4!? dxe4 14.Nxe4 Nd5
The character of the game has changed completely into an
Isolated Queen Pawn position, which favors White in the
middlegame but Black in the endgame. See how effective the Nd5
becomes, an ideal centralized blockader often reinforced with
...N7f6.
15.Bd2 Qb6 16.b4 Rac8 17.Nc5 Nxc5
The Nc5 looks nice but doesn't really threaten anything, so
maybe 17...N7f6 18.Ne5 Rfd8 19.Nc4 Qa7 (20.Na5 Rc7)
planning 20...b6.
18.dxc5 Qc7
Now the endgame favors White.
19.Rc4!?
An enterprising way to double/triple on the c-file, but a
knight would be far better placed on c4. 19.Rfe1 Rfd8 20.Qe2 is
good, intending 21.Ne5.
19...Rfd8 20.Qc2 b6 21.c6?
21.Rc1 bxc5 22.bxc5 and the c5-pawn becomes all important for
both sides. The text drops a pawn.
21...b5 0–1
White lost on time, otherwise 22.Rg4 threatens 23.Bxh6; and if
22...Kf8 23.Rc1 Rd6 24.Ne5 holds for the moment. Best play is
22.Rg4 Nf6 23.Rd4 Qxc6 24.Rxd8+ Bxd8 25.Qxc6 Rxc6 26.Rc1 with
fine drawing chances.
This games gets a bit double-edged when the players decide
that playing into the perpetual is the right way to proceed:
Justin Aldrich (1570)
James Kelly (1494)
Round 3
Italian: Four Knights (Pianissimo), C50
Notes by Edward Laurin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0–0 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6
5...d6 is a normal move in this position, developing the
light-squared bishop. The text is a bit awkward.
6.a3
Once again, d3 is probably an improvement, however a3 is
playable in light of a possible b5, giving the bishop the
a2-square.
6...0–0 7.d3 d6 8.h3
8.b4 Ba7 9.Bg5=
8...h6 9.Re1 Be6 10.Bxe6
Gives Black a better control of the center, and possibilities
on the f-file. Better to just do nothing. 10.b4 Ba7 11.Nd5=
10...fxe6 11.Be3
The return move doesn't do as well for White given the rook
isn't on the f-file.
11...Nd4
11...Bxe3 12.Rxe3 (12.fxe3 Without the rook on the
f-file this looks silly.) 12...Nd4 With a slightly awkward
position for White.
12.Nh2
Seems a bit odd.
12...c6 13.Ne2 Nxe2+ 14.Rxe2 Bxe3 15.Rxe3 Rf7 16.Ng4
16.Nf3 is necessary to secure the f-file, now Black gets some
decent chances.
16...Qb6 17.Rb1 Raf8 18.Rf3
White's gotten himself into somewhat of a bind. 18.Nh2 seems
forced. 18...Nh7 19.Rf3 Rxf3 20.Nxf3 Ng5³
18...Nh5
18...Nxg4 Black missed it! 19.hxg4 Rxf3 20.gxf3 Qd8 21.Kg2 Qf6
22.Qe2 d5³
19.Rxf7 Rxf7 20.Nxh6+ gxh6 21.Qxh5 Qxf2+ 22.Kh1 Qxc2
23.Qg6+ Rg7 24.Qxe6+ Kh8
24...Kh7 Playing for the draw is Black's only decent option
here.
25.Qxh6+ Kg8 26.Qe6+ Kh8 27.Qe8+ Kh7 28.Qh5+
½–½
After plenty of missed opportunities, Black finally gets it
right:
Derek Li (1521)
Justin Aldrich (1570)
Round 4
Two Knights: Italian, C55
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7
With this order of moves Black absolutely rules out any funny
business on the f7-square. That makes it a great line if you
don't want to spend much time on opening preparation. For those
who want to go for more and are willing to risk a little to go
for it, I can recommend 3...Nf6 4.Ng5 d5!? 5.exd5 h6 6.Nf3 e4
when Black has a fair amount of compensation for the pawn. I've
discussed this variation in one of my online columns, which
readers might want to look up in the archives at www.chesscafe.com.
4.h3?
This preventative move is needless, adorning his position with
a “little ear” rather than developing more briskly with
(say) 4.d4.
4...Nf6 5.Nc3 0–0 6.0–0 Nc6 7.d3 h6?!
Black, too, loses time with a pointless preventative move.
7...Na5! would pick up the bishop pair immediately and give Black
some strategic imbalances around which to form a middlegame plan.
8.Be3
8.d4 still looks good.
8...Na5
Black takes his chance the second time around and picks up the
bishop pair.
9.Bb3 Nxb3 10.axb3 a6 11.Nh2
This move can mean only one thing: White wants to play f4. I
still prefer the direct 11.d4 here, although White's advantage
will be rather minimal now that Black has managed to swap a pair
of minor pieces.
11...Nh7?!
This looks far too decentralizing to be good. Black should
take advantage of the fact that White has released the pressure
on e5 and strike in the center himself with 11...d5! After
12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5. White will not want to carry out his
original plan since 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 drops a pawn to 15...Bc5+
16.Kh1 Bxh3!µ
12.f4 exf4 13.Bxf4 f5
Tit for tat. One gets a strong feeling that Black is simply
copying White's moves.
14.exf5 Bxf5 15.Ng4 Bg5
Exchanging this bishop for its White counterpart is a sensible
idea. Very often, exchanges are comparisons; the player who knows
when his own pieces are inferior to his opponent's pieces and
exchanges accordingly can often turn roughly equal positions into
superior ones. To the uninitiated eye, it looks like magic!
16.Nd5 c6
In line with the previous note, Black misses a chance here to
exchange his inactive rook on a8 for White's active one on f1.
Does this seem preposterous? Then look at the line 16...Be6!
17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.Rxf8+ Rxf8µ when, sure enough, Black's rook is
missing from a8 and White's is missing from f1! To talk about
this as the exchange of the Ra8 for the Rf1 is not just a
“manner of speaking”; this is the only sense in which
we can reasonably speak of the trade.
17.Bxg5 Nxg5
17...Qxg5 may be slightly more accurate here because it
connects Black's rooks. In some lines this leads once again to
that favorable rook swap, e.g. 18.Nde3 Bd7! and the knight on e3
is a “hostage,” as I tell my students -- a piece that
is defended just barely as often as it is attacked. Black
threatens ...h5 here, and he cannot move the knight on e3 without
allowing the crippling of his king-side pawns. So he may very
well opt for 19.Rxf8+ Rxf8 20.Qc1 when the balance of piece
activity has shifted quite definitely in Black's favor.
18.Nde3 Qb6 19.Kh1 Bxg4 20.Nxg4 Qd4 21.c3 Qd5
Black is playing a curious cat-and-mouse game with the White
king. But there is not really a threat of 22...Nxh3 here since
White's queen could then be driven off of the pinning diagonal
with 23.c4.
22.Kg1 Ne6
Here again Black misses an opportunity for a favorable trade
of rooks: 22...Rxf1+! and after either recapture, 23...Rf8.
23.d4 Nf4 24.Qd2 Qg5!
This excellent quiet move sets up a threat to White's
undefended queen “through” Black's knight.
25.Kh2 Rae8
Black misses his first chance for a shot. 25...Nxh3! would win
a pawn by exploiting the undefended White queen.
26.Rf2 h5 27.Raf1
Now the rook on f2 has to look in two directions, so the
tactic at h3 is back “on.”
27...Nxh3 28.Rxf8+
After 28.gxh3, Black forces the rook on f2 to discharge one of
his duties with 28...Qxd2! when the weakness at f1 is laid bare:
29.Rxd2 Rxf1–+
28...Rxf8 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8
If White had a decent check here -- say at d6 -- then Black
would not have everything his own way. Unfortunately, he doesn't.
30.Qe2?
But this lets Black pick up a piece for nothing. 30.Ne3
shields the queen while getting the knight out of danger, keeping
White in the game for a while. Such multi-purpose moves are very
important but are not often covered in standard tactics manuals
because they are difficult to classify. Or is it just a bias in
the direction of offensive rather than defensive tactics? Who
wants to buy a book entitled Critical Defensive Weapons for
Inferior Positions?
30...Nf4!
With two threats.
31.Qf2 Qxg4 32.g3 Qe2 0–1
This is good enough to win, good enough in fact to force
resignation. But it seems a pity that Black did not end it all
with a glorious simplification by 32...Qh3+ 33.Kg1 Qxg3+! 34.Qxg3
Ne2+! 35.Kh2 Nxg3 36.Kxg3 g5 and the endgame is a clean and
simple win. Oh well!
Trace Dillabough (1597)
Anthony Holden (1566)
Round 4
Queen's Pawn: Zukertort, D02
Notes by Tim McGrew
Holden likes to mix things up tactically from the very outset.
This game is an excellent example of his style.
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 g6!? 3.c4 Bg7?!
Very daring, and even a little unsound. Black's reasoning is
that White cannot hold the pawn on d5 -- and this is strictly
correct -- so if White takes the pawn, Black can transpose into a
Grunfeld with a later ...Nf6.
4.Bf4
This calm reaction does not take maximum advantage of Black's
unusual move order. The right move is 4.cxd5! and now the way
divides according to how Black replies. 4...Qxd5 regains the pawn
immediately, but it does so at a loss of time: 5.Nc3! Qa5 6.e4!±
gives White a strong center under favorable circumstances. On the
other hand, 4...Nf6 can be met by the intermezzo 5.Qa4+ and Black
has to make some concession. 5...Kf8 would give up castling ,
5...c6 is a dubious pawn sacrifice, and 5...Bd7 cuts off Black's
pressure on White's front d-pawn, so with 6.Qb3! (incidentally
hitting b7) followed by Nc3 and e4, White can keep the extra
material.
4...c5!?
Very sharp play, setting the entire center on fire.
5.e3
Here again White selects a calm but unambitious reply to
Black's daring and unorthodox play.
5...Bg4 6.Qb3 Nd7 7.Qxb7
Suddenly White shifts over to the “ambitious” mode
of play. 7.Ne5 is very solid.
7...Bxf3 8.gxf3 e5
This move almost defies punctuation. Objectively it probably
deserves a “?”, but for psychological impact we should
add “!!” to that.
9.dxe5 Rb8 10.Qxd5?!
White doesn't really want his queen on d5. It would therefore
be better to play 10.Qxa7 Rxb2 11.Nc3 Bxe5 (11...Nxe5
12.0–0–0! is devastating.) 12.Bxe5 Nxe5
13.0–0–0! Rb8 14.Rxd5+-
10...Rxb2
Now the position is very tense and dangerous because of the
“hot” diagonal leading down to the undefended rook at
a1.
11.e6??
White underestimates the danger and voluntarily opens that
blistering diagonal. 11.Bh3! allows White to keep an advantage,
e.g. 11...Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qxd5 13.Bxb2!? (13.cxd5 Bxe5 14.f4 Bg7
15.Nd2 gives White hardly anything, but it is the safe way
to go if you don't like obscure queen sacrifices!) Now White may
be better whether Black accepts the Queen sacrifice or not,
though it gets very hairy: 13...Qxf3 14.Bxg7 Qxh1+ 15.Bf1! Nf6
16.Bxh8 Ng4 17.h3 Nh2 18.Nd2 Nxf1 19.Nxf1 Qxh3 20.Rb1 and White
should be better though it's difficult to be sure in such an
unbalanced position.
11...fxe6 12.Qxe6+ Ne7
White's initiative has burned itself out, and there is still
that undefended rook locked in on a1.
13.Bh3 Rb6!
Now everything works in Black's favor. The rest requires
little comment.
14.Qe4 Bxa1 15.0–0 Nf6 16.Qc2 Nh5 17.Rd1 Qa8
18.Bg5 Bf6 19.Qa4+ Kf7 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.e4 Rd8 22.Rxd8 Qxd8 23.Nc3
Nc6 24.Nd5 Nxd5 25.cxd5 Qg5+ 26.Kf1 Rb1+ 27.Ke2 Nd4+
27...Rb2+ forces mate.
28.Kd3 Nb5 29.Qc4 Rd1+ 0–1
White takes control of the center and the rest, as they say,
is history:
Ron Gore (1588)
Robert Smith (1500)
Round 4
Sicilian: Closed, B24
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3
An interesting path into the Closed Sicilian. White refrains
from f4 until Black commits himself a bit further.
3...Nf6 4.d3 Nc6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.f4 d6 7.Nf3
Now we have quite a typical Closed Sicilian position, though
one might argue that Black's pieces have not ended up on their
ideal posts. In any event, White's additional space gives him
king-side chances.
7...0–0 8.0–0 a6
Black's queen-side play is going to come a lot slower than
White's king-side attack.
9.h3 Qc7 10.Be3 b5 11.Ne2 Bb7 12.g4
Typical: White's pawns roll forward and his minor pieces
dominate enough squares to keep his own king protected.
12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.c3 f6 15.d4 f5 16.gxf5
An interesting decision. White could consider 16.Ng5!? here,
since 16...Bxg5 17.fxg5 gives him the f4 square for his remaining
knight.
16...exf5
This weakens the d-pawn drastically, but it is hard to come up
with good recommendations for Black. 16...Rxf5 looks better at
first glance, but White can lift the blockade and sac a pawn with
17.Ng3 Rf7 18.f5! exf5 19.Ng5! Bxg5 20.Bxg5 when I don't like
Black's position.
17.dxc5 Na7
White's point becomes visible after 17...Bxc5?? 18.Bxc5 Nxc5
19.Qxd5+! and Black is losing not just a pawn but a whole piece.
18.b4
Cementing his gains.
18...Rfe8 19.Ned4
Now White exploits his material and positional superiority in
an impressive fashion.
19...g6 20.Ne6 Qc6 21.Nfd4!
Ouch! The d4-square is a pivot for anything White wants to do
in the center.
21...Qc8 22.Qb3 Nf8 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.Qxd5 Nxe6 25.Qxe6+
Of course: White simplifies now that he is two pawns ahead.
25...Qxe6 26.Nxe6 Rac8 27.Nd4 Kf7 28.a4!
Cracking open the queen-side creates new weaknesses.
Eventually, when they are properly supported, the White
queen-side pawns will roll forward like an avalanche in slow
motion.
28...Nc6 29.axb5 axb5 30.Nxb5 Kf8 31.Rfd1 Red8
32.Rxd8+ Rxd8 33.Nd6!
What's a strong square for if not to occupy?
33...Bh4 34.b5!
Here comes that promised avalanche.
34...Ne7 35.c4 Nc8 36.Ra8! Nxd6 37.Rxd8+ Bxd8 38.cxd6
1–0
The final position doesn't really leave any unanswered
questions.
The big battle for the section championship:
Justin Aldrich (1570)
Anthony Holden (1566)
Round 5
Sicilian, B30
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3
There just haven't been many Smith-Morra's in Michigan Chess
lately. Someone needs to pull David Moody back into active play!
2...Nc6 3.Nc3 a6!?
This move can be seen as a clever trap.
4.d3
If White heads into the normal Open Sicilian lines with 4.d4
cxd4 5.Nxd4 Black may try 5...e5!? Then knight retreats leave
White with a difficult position (...Bb4, ...Nf6, etc.) while
6.Nxc6 bxc6 leads to a position where White has to be constantly
vigilant against the possibility that Black will get in ...d5
under favorable circumstances. Still, the move ...a6 plays little
role in this last position, so perhaps this was White's best
option.
4...b5 5.Be3 e6 6.Ne2?!
This time-consuming redeployment of the knight looks like the
beginning of White's troubles. 6.Be2 d5 7.exd5 exd5 8.d4 would be
a better way to get White's pieces out of the box.
6...Bb7 7.Ng3 d5 8.exd5 Qxd5 9.c3 h5?!
This thrust makes sense against Ng3 when the knight has
nowhere to go. Here, however, the e4 square beckons. So ...h5 is
just a weakening loss of time.
10.Qb3 Qd8?!
A second poor strategic decision. Holden is a basically
aggressive player and he wants to keep queens on the board. But
by retreating he has given White a chance to recover some central
space. 10...Nf6 is better, intending to meet 11.Qxd5 with
11...Nxd5³ when the asymmetrical pawn structure leaves Black
with an edge thanks to his greater space.
11.Ne4!
White is recovering nicely from his earlier play.
11...Qb6
This defends c5, but it puts Black's queen on a
“hot” diagonal.
12.Qc2 h4?
This is truly pointless.
13.d4
It is hard to criticize this move, which frees White from the
central cramp he's suffered. But he's overlooking something.
13.b4! wins a pawn here.
13...0–0–0?
This is too daring and should give Black a lost game in short
order. Black should be trying to trade off some pieces with
13...cxd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Qc7 when he doesn't stand too
badly despite his eccentric opening play.
14.Nxc5! Bxc5 15.dxc5 Qc7 16.Bd3?!
This move is not bad in itself, but it doesn't strike where it
ought to. Both offensively and defensively, there are better
things to do. 16.a4 pries open some lines on the queen-side,
which White would find very useful in the coming middlegame.
16.h3! would also be a very useful move, stopping Black's next
move and keeping more control of the long diagonal.
16...h3!
With this push, Black turns a liability (the lost tempi with
his h-pawn) into an asset.
17.g3
More or less forced, but now Black's bishop looks very
menacing on the weakened diagonal.
17...Nb4
Holden doesn't have to be asked twice! Yet it isn't clear that
this sacrifice is the best way to exploit the new weakness at f3.
18.cxb4 Bxf3 19.Rg1 Nf6 20.Be2 Be4 21.Qb3 Qc6 22.Bd2
Timing is important! With 22.a4! bxa4 23.Qxa4 White could
retain a substantial advantage since Black is practically forced
to trade queens, e.g. 23...Qxa4 24.Rxa4 and Black cannot hold the
pawn at a6.
22...Rd7 23.a4
Now this is not so forceful.
23...Rhd8
Compare the pieces here. White's rook on g1 is a bystander,
while Black's rooks dominate the open file. White should still be
ahead thanks to the queen-side pawn majority, but it is difficult
to keep one's balance when a major piece is locked out.
24.axb5 axb5 25.Bg5 Bd3 26.Rd1?
After this tactical lapse, White cannot recover. White can
still keep a small edge with 26.Qa3 Bxe2 27.Qa8+ Qxa8 28.Rxa8+
Kc7 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Kxe2 and the strong c-pawn gives White a
modest plus in the endgame.
26...Qe4!
Not just threatening mate on e2 but also aiming at the fork on
c2.
27.Be3 Bc2! 28.f3 Rxd1+ 29.Bxd1 Rxd1+ 30.Ke2 Rxg1
There are many ways to wrap things up here. 30...Bd3+! 31.Kxd1
Qxf3+ 32.Kd2 Qe2+ 33.Kc1 Qxe3+ cleans up everything.
31.Qa3 Qc4+ 32.Kd2 Rd1# 0–1
Class D/E
The 21 players in this section made this one the largest
section of the weekend, but this was still down from last year.
As usual, it was a very competitive section. This year’s
Class D Champion, Kevin Jackson, was also the
Class D Champion in 2001. There were six players right behind
with three and a half points. Matthew Gant had
the best tie-breaks of the bunch is the Class E Champion. 2nd
Place went to Kevin Crist. The Top U1300 prize
was awarded to Charlie Miller. Also in the mix
at three and a half was James Hendricks, Tony
Wingett, and Don Poniatowski.
Matt Keefe (1123)
Don Poniatowski (1354)
Round 2
Réti: King's Indian, A07
Notes by Edward Laurin
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e5?
An early mistake. Usually I play c6 or Bg4/e6 here.
4.Nxe5 Bd6 5.Nf3 Nc6
Black usually wants to play c6, so placing the knight here can
be a problem.
6.0–0 0–0 7.d3 h6 8.Nbd2 b6 9.Re1 Re8 10.e4
dxe4 11.dxe4 Bb7 12.c3 Ne5 13.Qc2 c5 14.b3 Rc8 15.c4 Bb8 16.Nxe5
Bxe5 17.Rb1 Qe7 18.f4?
18.Bb2 Develop, attack the center.
18...Bb8
Black misses the chance to take advantage of White's exposed
king. 18...Bd4+ 19.Kh1 (19.Kf1 Ng4 20.Bh3 (20.Nf3 Bxe4–+)
20...Ne3+ 21.Rxe3 Bxe3 22.Bxc8 Rxc8 23.e5 Qd7=)
19.Bb2 Rcd8 20.Rbd1 Qe6 21.h3 Nd7 22.Qc3 f6 23.Kh2 a6
24.a4 Bc6 25.Qc2
The queen doesn't seem too active from here. There really
wasn't a need to move her from c3.
25...b5 26.axb5 axb5 27.cxb5 Bxb5 28.Nf1 Bc6 29.Nd2
Bc7 30.Bf1 Kh8 31.Bc4 Qe7 32.e5
This breaks things open too quickly. White is better to
improve his position with Ra1 or Bd3.
32...fxe5 33.Qg6 Qf6 34.Bd3 Qxg6 35.Bxg6 Re7
Creates an unnecessary pin. 35...Rf8 is stronger, e5 is
already well defended.
36.Nc4 Rf8 37.Nxe5 Nxe5 38.Bxe5 Bxe5
38...Ba5 keeping more pieces on the board keeps the position
complicated and offers more chances for fighting.
39.Rxe5 Rxe5 40.fxe5 Rb8 41.e6
This passed pawn is death for Black.
41...Be8 42.Bc2
42.e7!! and Black cannot stop Rd8 winning material! 42...Bxg6
(42...Rb7 43.Bxe8+-) 43.Rd8+ Kh7 44.Rxb8+
42...g5
42...Kg8 Bringing the king closer to the passed pawn is best.
43.g4
43.e7 Must push passed pawns!
43...Kg7 44.Rf1 Rb6 45.Re1?
The rook was preventing the king from being active. The pawn
was going to fall anyway. 45.Rf5 Rxe6 46.Rxc5 and White has a
passed pawn far away from Black's king.
45...Kf6 46.e7 Re6 47.Rxe6+ Kxe6 48.Kg3 Kxe7 49.Kf3
Kd6 50.Ke3 Ke5 51.Bh7 Bb5 52.Kd2 Kd4 53.Bg8 Bc6
53...Bf1!! White can't save all of his pawns!
54.Kc2 Be4+ 55.Kb2 ½–½
The idea with Bg2 is still there! Never accept or offer a draw
in a position with so many pawns. Fight on! That is what chess is
all about.
Charlie Miller (1085)
James J. Osebold (1347)
Round 2
Spanish: Steinitz, C62
Notes by Edward Laurin
Charlie Miller is one of the best young players I have seen
from the Flint area in the last few years. His rating definitely
does not do him justice, but he won't be 1000 for long!
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Bxc6+
5.Nxd4 is superior to exchanging the bishop for the knight.
The important aspects about this position to remember are: 1)
Don't trade on pinned pieces unless it gives you a clear
advantage. In this case when Black recaptures he actually gets
better control of the center, 2) Attack the pin again, and 3)
Admire how much stronger the knight is here on d4, rather than
f3.
5...bxc6 6.Nxd4 Bb7
6...c5 protects the pawn, and re-controls the d4 square with
tempo.
7.0–0 Nf6 8.Nc3 Be7 9.Re1 0–0 10.Bf4 Re8
11.Qf3 Rb8 12.Qg3
12.Rad1 It is best to develop the last remaining piece.
12...Bf8
12...Nh5 13.Qg4 Nxf4 14.Qxf4 Bf6 Black gets untangled.
13.Nf5 Nh5?
Oops, a move too late. 13...Kh8 Sometimes the best thing to do
when you know someone is going to force you to move to a square
is to simply move there first.
14.Nh6+ Kh8 15.Nxf7+ Kg8 16.Qf3
White flinches! 16.Nxd8 Nxg3 17.Nxb7 and suddenly White is up
material. 17...Rxb7 18.Bxg3 Rxb2 19.Re2+
16...Qf6 17.Qxh5 Qxf4 18.Ng5 h6 19.Nh3 Qf6 20.Re3 Re5
21.Qg4
Moving the queen to this square allows Black to get back into
the game, although Black misses the opportunity.
21...Rbe8
21...Bc8 and Black is now attacking the queen and the b2-pawn.
22.Rf3 Qe7 23.Nf4 Rg5 24.Qh3 Bc8 25.Qh4 Qe5
25...d5 taking advantage of White's pinned pawn.
26.Nd3 Qe7 27.Qf4 Rg4 28.Qe3 Qg5 29.Qxg5 Rxg5 30.a3
White should get his other rook into the game.
30...Bg4
One move attacks in chess usually don't work. Best is to play
for a plan, a suggestible one here is: ...g6 and ...Bg7 getting
the dark-squared bishop into the game.
31.Rg3 Re6?
31...Bd7 Admitting the mistake is best.
32.f4! Rh5 33.Rxg4 Re8 34.Nb4 c5 35.Nbd5 c6 36.Nf6+
Kf7 37.Nxh5 a6 38.e5 dxe5 39.fxe5 Rxe5 40.Rf1+ Ke8 41.Nxg7+ Ke7
42.Nf5+ Kd7 43.Rd1+ Kc7 44.Ng3 Kb6 45.b4 a5 46.Na4+ Kb5 47.bxc5
Rg5 48.Rb1+ Ka6 49.Rf4 Bxc5+ 50.Nxc5+ Rxc5 51.Rf8 Rb5 52.Ra8+ Kb7
53.Rxb5+ cxb5 54.Rxa5 Kb6 55.Ra8 Kc5 56.a4 b4 57.a5 Kb5 58.a6 Kb6
59.a7 Kb7 60.Rb8+ Kxa7 61.Rxb4 Ka6 62.Kf2 Ka5 63.c3 Ka6 64.Ke3
Ka5 65.Kd4 h5 66.Nxh5 Ka6 67.Kc5 Ka5 68.Kc6 Ka6 69.Ra4# 1–0
Kevin Crist (1244)
Charlie Miller (1085)
Round 3
Queen's Pawn: Torre, D03
Notes by Edward Laurin
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bg5 Bg4 4.e3 Nbd7 5.Be2 h6 6.Bxf6
Nxf6 7.Nbd2 e6 8.0–0
8.c4 is an interesting alternative.
8...c5 9.Ne5
9.h3
9...Bxe2 10.Qxe2 Bd6
10...Qb6³ and Black is hitting b2 and d4. Qb6 is always an
interesting idea in these lines.
11.Qb5+ Nd7 12.Qxb7 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Bxe5 14.Qb5+
14.Qc6+ allows White to pick up a pawn. 14...Kf8 (14...Qd7
15.Qxa8++-) 15.Qxc5+²
14...Qd7 15.Qxc5 Rc8 16.Qa3 Rxc2 17.Rad1 Bxb2 18.Qb3
Qc7 19.Qa4+ Rc6
19...Qc6 No need to walk into a pin.
White to play and regain the advantage.
20.Nb3?
Nope! White misses his chances this time. 20.Rb1 Bc3 (20...Bf6
21.Rbc1 hitting the pin again. 21...Kd7 22.Nb3 Rc8
23.Na5 Qxa5 24.Qxa5 Rxc1 25.Qxa7+²) 21.Rb8+ Kd7 (21...Qxb8
22.Qxc6+ and the fork on the king/bishop is bothersome.)
22.Rxh8 Bxd2 and White's up the exchange, but Black has a pawn
for it. White's rook is a little out of play, but he should be
able to hold the position for a winning advantage with careful
play.
20...0–0 21.Nd4 Rc4 22.Qb3 Rb8 23.Nb5 Qe5 24.Rb1
Bc3
24...a6 is a slight improvement. Black's bishop is not
extremely well placed and White's knight is bothersome, with the
material advantage a trade seems prudent here.
25.Qc2 d4?
25...Bb4 Black needs to realize the bad placement of his
bishop and reposition it.
26.Nxd4
26.exd4 and Black now has no way to hold onto all his
material.
26...Rxb1
26...Rbc8 seems the best way to hold the initiative.
27.Rxb1 Bxd4
27...Rb4 Although Black's lost his massive edge this move
keeps at least some advantage on his side. The text simply loses.
28.Qxc4 Bb6 29.Rc1 a6 30.Qd3 g6 31.g3 h5 32.Rc8+ Kh7
33.Qc3 Qxc3 34.Rxc3 Kh6 35.Rc6 Bd8 36.Rxa6 g5 37.Kg2 Kg6 38.a4
Kf5 39.f3 f6 40.a5 Bxa5 41.Rxa5+ Kg6 42.e4 f5 43.Ra6 Kf6 44.Kf2
f4 45.gxf4 gxf4 46.h4 1–0
Black does not properly test the soundness of White’s
attack:
Mark Imasa (937)
Matt Keefe (1123)
Round 3
Pirc: Two Knights, B08
Notes by Edward Laurin
1.e4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Bc4 0–0
6.0–0 Nxe4 7.Qe2
7.Nxe4 White should not be afraid of the coming fork, Black
has sacrificed material to get it anyway. 7...d5 8.Bxd5 Qxd5
9.Nc3=
7...Nxc3 8.Bxf7+??
This just is an unsound sacrifice.
8...Rxf7 9.Qc4
White really should be recapturing the lone knight on c3.
9...e6 10.Ng5 Re7
10...Nd5 11.Nxf7 Kxf7–+ Better to lose the exchange than
to lose a full piece. Plus, Black is still winning.
11.Qxc3 c5 12.Rd1 cxd4 13.Qf3 Nc6 14.Ne4 Rf7 15.Qg3 e5
16.Bg5
Now White's getting some counterplay. Black is still winning,
but needs to be careful not to give White too much play.
16...Qc7 17.Rd3 Bf5 18.Qh4 d5 19.f3 dxe4 20.fxe4 Be6
21.g4 Bc4 22.Rh3 Rf1+??
This throws away most of Black's advantage, but not all.
22...Bh8 protecting h7 and removing White's only real way of
winning in this position.
23.Rxf1 Bxf1??
This gives White back the game! h7 is totally unprotected.
24.Qxh7+ Kf7 25.Rf3+ Ke6 26.Qxg6+ Kd7 27.Rf7+ Kc8
28.Rxc7+ Kxc7 29.Qxg7+ Kb6 30.Kxf1 a5 31.h4 Nb4 32.Qxe5 Nxc2
33.Qd6+ Ka7 34.Qc5+ 1–0
A critical game:
Kevin Jackson (1390)
Kevin Crist (1244)
Round 4
Alekhine: Two Pawns (Lasker), B02
Notes by Bill Calton
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Bc4 c6 6.Bxd5
This trade is premature.
6...cxd5 7.d4 e6 8.Ne2 b6
Nice move, undermining the center.
9.cxb6 Qxb6 10.0–0 Ba6 11.Nbc3 Bb4
I think Black is better in this advance French type game.
Black is active on the queen-side, and should be safe on the
king-side (White misses his light bishop).
12.a3 Bxc3 13.bxc3 0–0 14.Re1 Nc6 15.Bg5 Qb5
Now White gets all the play. 15...Qa5 instead, and Black's
counterplay arrives in time (I think!). The b-file is cleared for
the rooks, while he also discourages the knight from leaving the
c-pawn.
16.Nf4
Stopping ...Qd3. Now White's pieces gather round the Black
king very quickly, generating irresistible threats.
16...Rab8 17.Qg4 d6?
But Black may already be lost. 17...Kh8 18.Nh5 Rg8 19.Nf6.
18.Bf6 g6 19.Qh4+- Ne7 20.Bxe7 f6 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.Nxe6
Rf7 23.exf6 Qd7 24.Rab1 Bb7 25.Qg5 a6 26.h4 Kh8 27.Ng7 Rxg7
28.fxg7+ Kg8 29.Rxb7 Qxb7 30.Qd8+ 1–0
Novice
Scholastic player Joe Sansone is the new
Novice Champion, giving up only one draw in five games. Ben
Farrell lost only to the section champion and took the
2nd Place prize. The Top Unrated, Manfred Schier,
was alone at three and a half points. The Top U1000, Jalen
Smith, score three points in the section.
Below are two games from the Novice section. Games from this
section often have the makings for instructive annotations:
Leonard Crosby (822)
Desia McCann (338)
Round 3
Philidor, C41
Notes by Tim McGrew
The old weak spot at f7 proves decisive in this miniature. But
there are a few adventures along the way...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nh6?
Black is already spooked by the threat of ... well, of
*something* on f7, anyway!
4.d3 Be7 5.Bxh6 gxh6 6.Bxf7+?
But White is not satisfied with a nice positional edge and has
to throw a full piece into the attack before he is ready with
reinforcements.
6...Kxf7 7.c3
Aiming to get the queen out at b3, presumably.
7...Ke8 8.0–0 d5??
Here is the decisive error: Black, who is ahead in material
but badly behind in development, has no business opening the
center. And of course the move also drops a pawn.
9.Nxe5 Bd6?
Now it's all simple.
10.Qh5+ Kf8 11.Qf7# 1–0
Skanda Palanirajan (Unr)
Yosef Moore (548)
Round 4
Queen's Pawn: Chigorin, D00
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 Ne4
Officially it cannot be good to move this piece twice in the
opening, but as strategic missteps go it isn't too bad either.
3...Bf5 is a more reasonable way to meet White's irregular
opening.
4.Nxe4 dxe4 5.Bc4 c5
This thrust is positionally correct but a little risky in the
timing. It would be safer and sounder to play 5...e6 first.
6.Ne2 e5
Bolder and bolder! But Black is not doing much to get his
minor pieces out or to get castled.
7.0–0 Qf6
Queen development isn't what Black really needs. Now any lines
that come open are very likely to favor White. Meanwhile, the
Black pawn on e4 is quite vulnerable. 7...Nc6 is a better idea,
hoping that White will lock the center and slow down the pace of
play so that Black's lack of development will not matter so much.
8.dxc5
8.Ng3! hits the e-pawn and gives Black a headache, e.g.
8...Bf5 9.f3! and when the f-file opens Black will be in a world
of trouble.
8...Qg6 9.b3
This is not a particularly effective way for White to take
advantage of his superior development.
9...Bh3
This should not work, but it prompts a curious exchange of
errors. 9...Nc6 would come close to equalizing, despite Black's
reckless earlier play.
10.g3?
Why should White give up material? 10.Ng3!± blocks the
g-file, threatens gxh3, and hits the pawn on e4.
10...Qf6?
Needlessly throwing away the chance to win material, perhaps
in the hopes of engineering a quick mate on g2. But this is
“hope chess.” 10...Bxf1 is simple and gives Black a
clear advantage.
11.Re1??
But White vindicates Black's decision by allowing the
infiltration after all!
11...Qf3! 12.Bb5+
Flailing, White tosses in a check...
12...Ke7??
...and Black walks straight into the trap. 12...Nc6 is still
winning for Black since White has to give up a piece with Nf4 to
stop mate.
13.Qd6# 1–0
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