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This years Amateur was not without its problems. First,
through a bit of a mis-communication, the main advertisement on
the back of the magazine had the wrong date. In spite of this,
attendance was up from last year with 70 players. The tournament
was held from October 25-26, 2003. Many of these players also
played recently in the Michigan Open that was also held in
Kalamazoo.
The second problem was that due to computer problems, the
tournament had to be paired by hand. A thanks to Mike Skidmore
for helping get the tournament started by looking up player
ratings. Also, a special thanks to Ray Garrison for keeping the
tournament running smoothly by helping with pairings and wall
charts.
Round 1
Where the cut for the tournament comes in makes a big
difference in how the future rounds will play out. The cut here
was at 1447, but that did not lead to too many upsets. Defending
champion Gerard Jendras (1912), whom went a perfect 5-0 last
year, was nicked for a draw right off the bat by Scott Thach
(1416). That is not as big an upset as it seems when you follow
the remainder of Scotts tournament. He is now closing in on
1700. Further down the pairing sheet, board member Tony West
(1761) could not survive the attack of Matt Keefe (1039) and took
out his frustrations on his remaining four opponents.
Here are some games from this round:
Bethel McGrew (1078)
Farnood Farmand (1725)
Caro-Kann, B15
Notes by Tim McGrew
Higher rated player wins quickly. It's the same old story --
except that it isn't.
1.d4 d5 2.e4 c6 3.Nc3
Caro-Kann?
3...e6
Setting up a triangle. Farnood admitted after the game that he
was afraid to enter the main lines of Bethel's preparation. With
this move he steers the game away from the book, but this doesn't
work out well.
4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.00
Sensible play by White so far.
6...Nd7
Black's pieces are not on very good squares and he is going to
have some maneuvering to do to get out of his self-imposed bind.
7.Bf4
But here the bishop is slightly exposed.
7...Ng6 8.Be3 00 9.e5 c5 10.Ng5! cxd4?
This looks good but it has a tactical hole.
11.Nxe6??
One miscalculation throws everything away. After 11.Qh5! White
is practically winning because of 11...h6 12.Nxf7! Rxf7 13.Bxg6
Rf8 14.Bxd4! when White has both a material and a positional
advantage.
11...fxe6 12.Bxd4 Ndxe5 13.Bxe5 Nxe5 14.Qh5
14.Bxh7+ only gets one pawn back, which isn't enough after
14...Kxh7 15.Qh5+ Kg8 16.Qxe5 Bd6+
14...Rf5 15.Qe2 01
A lucky escape for Farnood.
Michael Vriesman (988)
Sherin John (584)
Queen's Pawn: Closed, D04
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3
I can well remember when this deceptively quiet system was my
main weapon with White. What fewer people remember is that the
Colle was also the original weapon of Emil Josef Diemer, before
he moved on to ... other things ...
3...Bg4
A sensible response.
4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 e6
A little tame, though by no means bad. 5...e5 right away would
give the game the flavor of a French with colors reversed.
6.00 Qd6 7.e4?
This is positionally desirable, but it is a tactical slip.
7.c3 e5 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Be2
7...dxe4?
Black misses her chance. 7...Nxd4! nips off a pawn in broad
daylight. 8.e5 Bxf3! 9.Nxf3 Nxf3+ 10.Qxf3 Qxe5 11.Bf4 Qh5! (but
not 11...Qxb2 12.Rab1 Qxa2 13.Bxc7 when White has real
compensation for the pawns.) 12.Qxh5 Nxh5 13.Bxc7 Rc8 and White
hasn't got anything for the pawn.
8.Nxe4 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 Nb4?!
Though it isn't a blunder, this move doesn't meet the needs of
the position.
10.Qd2
A little awkward. 10.c3! would be the most suitable response,
reinforcing d4 and driving Black's knight back to c6 or d5.
10...000 11.c3 e5?
Inexplicably Black leaves the knight hanging. 11...Nd5 would
be preferable when there's a long game ahead.
12.Nxe5! f5 13.Nf7 Qg6 14.Nxh8!
Of course: White buries the knight but takes the rook with a
gain of time.
14...Qf6 15.Bxf5+
White is intent on getting a pawn for this bishop, but he
needn't have worried. 15.Bb1 is sounder. Black hasn't time for
15...Nc6 16.Qg5 Qxg5 17.Bxg5 Be7 18.Nf7 and White emerges with
all of the marbles.
15...Bxf5 16.cxb4 Bd6 17.h3 Rxh8 18.Qg5
One thing Michael understands very well is how to trade down
into a winning endgame.
18...Qxd4?
Demoralized, Sherin switches her priorities and avoids the
trade of queens at the cost of a whole piece.
19.Qxf5+ Kd8?
Wrong way! The king is not only exposed here: he is trapped in
the middle.
20.Bg5+! Be7 21.Rfd1
Now White mates quickly.
21...c5 22.Rxd4+ cxd4 23.Qd5+ Ke8 24.Re1 d3 25.Rxe7+
Kf8 26.Qd8# 10
Round 2
Thirty-three players came into this round unharmed. B-players
hit the top board, but the higher rateds held strong except for
Roy Almasy (1624) upsetting Mark Stefanski (1872).
Mike Skidmore (1828)
Jonathan Budzenski (1613)
Spanish: Closed (Trajkovic), C88
Notes by Tim McGrew
Jon Budzenski is one of the fastest-rising juniors in Michigan
chess. Here he gets a free lesson from one of Michigan's most
experienced coaches.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3
Typical of Mike Skidmore's style. This quiet but sound move
preempts Black's opening preparation and shifts the weight of the
struggle to the middlegame.
5...b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.c3 00 8.00 Bb7
There is a case to be made for the immediate 8...d5 It looks
like White might be able to win a pawn, or at least tangle up
Black's pieces, after 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Re1 But the truth is that
Black has a couple of good ways to meet this, e.g. 10...Bg4 (10...Bf6
is also very solid) 11.h3 Bh5 and now the attempt to win a pawn
with 12.g4 Bg6 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Rxe5 is very risky, e.g. 14...Nb6
15.d4 Bd6 and I would rather not have the White pieces.
9.Re1 Re8 10.Nbd2
Mike continues to maneuver quietly. No need to open up the
game prematurely: everything in its time.
10...Bf8 11.Nf1 g6 12.Bg5 h6
These two pawn moves weaken the Black king-side considerably.
13.Bd2 Bg7 14.Qc1 g5?
Every pawn move leaves weakened squares in its wake. Here, the
f5 square has become desperately weak.
15.Ng3
Mike wastes no time sending a knight to the forward outpost.
15...d5
A brave decision. Black realizes that he's in trouble on the
king-side, so he tries to open the center immediately to divert
attention from the king-side. Unfortunately, White's center is so
solid that he can ignore this.
16.Nf5 dxe4 17.Nxg7
This could probably wait. 17.dxe4 looks very strong.
17...Kxg7 18.dxe4 Ne7
White to Move
19.Bxg5!?
Sound or unsound? This is certainly a brave decision and
proves that Mike's style does not mean he is unwilling to take
risks. Following John Nunn's rule of DAUT (Don't Analyze
Unnecessary Tactics), I would vote for the simple 19.Nxe5 here.
19...hxg5 20.Qxg5+
20.Nxe5 still comes into consideration.
20...Ng6 21.Nh4 Nxe4??
It is always miserable to play under strong pressure. Jon
wants to trade pieces to ease the pressure, and this is indeed
the right idea. But he has forgotten about the f5 square.
21...Nh7! is the proper way to encourage some trades: 22.Nf5+
Kh8! and now there is no mate since Qh6 is not check. White still
has pressure but it is not clear that he has his money's worth.
22.Nf5+ Kg8 23.Qxg6+ 10
The old soft spot -- the knight isn't defended
once the Black king has backed up into the pin.
Jeff Guilfoyle (1419)
Tim Clark (Unr)
Nimzo-Indian: Sδmisch, E24
Notes by Tim McGrew
Know thy openings! Black puts a pawn on the wrong square in
the opening here and never recovers.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c6?
There are some openings that make greater demands on one's
pawn play than others. The Nimzo-Indian is one of them, and this
is not the right square for this pawn. Black should know what he
is going to do in this position before he ever sits down to play
-- perhaps ...c5, perhaps ...d6 and ...e5. But ...c6 does not fit
into any good plan.
6.Bg5 h6 7.Bf4 00 8.Nf3?!
Missing a chance to plug up Black's development. 8.Bd6! would
put an enormous cramp on Black. Experienced players will drop a
bishop on a square like this at once.
8...d5 9.Nd2 b5 10.c5 Bb7
This is the very picture of a prospectless piece. The bishop
sits here doing nothing until it is captured twenty moves later.
11.e3 Nbd7 12.Bd3 Re8 13.Nf3 Nh5 14.Bd6 g6 15.Qc2
Red Alert!
15...a5?
Black does nothing to stop the impending disaster on g6.
16.Bxg6!?
Strictly speaking this isn't necessary: White could just
castle with a great position. But it is hard to resist, and it
certainly makes Black think twice!
16...Nhf6
Unfortunately, declining the sacrifice leaves Black with
nothing -- no extra pawn, a worse king, and less active pieces.
Black can survive temporarily with 16...fxg6 17.Qxg6+ Ng7 18.Be5
Nxe5 19.Nxe5 Rf8 20.Qxh6 Qf6, but after 21.Qxf6 Rxf6 22.g4 the
avalanche of pawns will be very difficult to meet.
17.00 Kg7
Now 17...fxg6 would be a complete disaster because Black can
no longer interpose on g7: 18.Qxg6+ Kh8 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Rf8
21.Qxh6+ Kg8 22.Qg6+ Kh8 23.g4! and there's no good defense
against the threat of 24.g5. I can't resist this chance to point
out the role played by the large pawn on b7(!)
18.Bd3 Ne4
This provokes an exchange of pieces, but it adds another pawn
to White's side of the ledger.
19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.Qxe4 Nf6 21.Be5
A particularly miserable pin.
21...Kg8 22.Qf4! Nd5 23.Qg3+
Now the whole world falls apart.
23...Kf8 24.e4! f6 25.Bd6+ Kf7 26.exd5 exd5 27.Rfe1!
Sealing off the e-file so that Black cannot escape in that
direction either.
27...Rxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Qg8
A vain attempt to swap pieces. But now White comes in on the
other side.
29.Re7+ Kf8 30.Rxb7+ Ke8 31.Qxg8# 10
Derrick Drallette (Unr)
DeWayne Van Horn (1253)
English: Sicilian, A21
Notes by Tim McGrew
DeWayne Van Horn, better known as The Rev, plays a
lot of coffeehouse chess in Kalamazoo. Here he gets into a tight
spot but shows the true coffeehouse spirit and gets back out of
it.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Nge7
An odd square for this knight. 4...Nf6 looks more natural.
5.Bg2 f5 6.d3 00 7.e3 e4
In hindsight it would have been wiser to defend the bishop on
c5 with 7...d6 before opening the center.
8.dxe4
Quick, what is White's threat? A quick scan indicates that
nothing terrible looms. But that does not mean that White will
not have a threat after Black moves!
8...Ng6??
Now do a scan again, paying particular attention to undefended
pieces. 8...d6! 9.exf5 Bxf5 is a plausible pawn sacrifice that
should give Black reasonable play.
9.Qd5+!
Bingo: Black gave up control of d5 and is now losing wood.
Many of us would despair at this point, but the Rev is just
getting warmed up!
9...Kh8 10.Qxc5 d6 11.Qd5 Nb4 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Nd5 fxe4
Mixing things up: the Rev leaves his horse hanging on b4 but
hits another piece instead.
14.Ng1??
It is difficult to overcome one's instinctive reaction to move
a piece when it is attacked. But here this is terribly wrong:
Black's knight on b4 is threatening to come in at d3, and this
threat must be met. Either capture on b4 would have retained the
advantage for White.
14...Nd3+!
Now roles are reversed and White is in dreadful trouble on f2.
15.Kd1 Rxf2
Undefended piece scan, anyone? The bishop on g2 is falling
off.
16.Qc3 Rxg2 17.Bd2 Nf2+
More free food.
18.Kc2 Nxh1 01
The triumph of coffeehouse chess!
Wild, wild openings:
John-Marc Ormechea (Unr)
Steve Dumas (1170)
Irregular King's Pawn: Fred, B00
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 f5!?
I'm sure White's thought was, You must be kidding!
But Steve has been playing this kind of thing for a while and his
games are almost indescribable.
2.Bd3
Black's unusual opening provokes White into something
anti-positional of his own. And this is just the beginning: the
game gets much weirder as we go on! 2.exf5 Nf6 3.Be2!? looks
interesting.
2...d5!? 3.f3?
But this is definitely going too far. The defense of the
strong point e4 isn't worth the positional concession
of taking the knight's best square away. 3.exf5 looks better to
me, though after 3...Nf6, I would really like to get that bishop
off of d3.
3...e6 4.Ne2 Bc5 5.c4?
There's just something about Steve's games and pawns. His or
his opponents -- they always end up on the darndest squares!
5...Qg5?!
Missing his chance to punish White. ...dxe4! 6.Bxe4 (6.fxe4
Qxd3+) 6...fxe4 7.fxe4 e5 and ...Nc6 would give Black an
extra piece and a firm grip on d4.
6.Nbc3
But this just encourages Steve to romp right in. 6.g3 is ugly
but necessary here.
6...Qxg2 7.Rf1 Qxh2 8.Qb3 Qh4+ 9.Kd1 Ne7 10.Qb5+ Nd7
11.b4 c6 12.Qa4 Bd6 13.Ba3 Ne5
This is a knight with big ideas!
14.Qc2
Defending the bishop, but White really needs an extra move of
look-ahead here because...
14...dxc4
...the poor prelate doesn't have any retreat squares.
15.Bxc4 Nxc4 16.Bb2 00 17.Nd4 Be5 18.Nde2 Rd8
Who could resist?
19.d3
When Steve was showing me this game, I found myself hoping
that it would wind up with 19.Bc1 Ne3#. Well, you can't have
everything!
19...Ne3+ 20.Kc1 Nxc2 21.Kxc2 a5 01
White has had enough. More proof that amateurs can have a lot
of fun with almost any opening!
Round 3
With three rounds remaining and sixteen perfect scores gives
us the possibility of more than one perfect score at the finish.
A lot can happen in three rounds.
1. Jarosz 1 Jewell
2. Evans ½ Gattinger
3. Garrison 1 Farmand
4. Balan 0 Skidmore
5. Bolda 0 Dorrington
6. Sawant 0 Jones
7. Almasy 0 Matias
8. Jendras (1.5) 1 Smeckert
Here, the player with the knight (vs. a bishop) gets the
advantage when the position opens up:
Dan H. Bolda (1789)
Eldon Dorrington (1641)
Bird: Dutch (Schlechter), A03
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bg4!
One of Black's simpler and more sensible Anti-Bird ideas.
4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 c6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.g4?!
This looks far too optimistic to be sound.
7...Qa5
I confess that I don't see the point of this move, except
perhaps that it entices White into further over-extension.
7...e5! seizes central territory now, before White can get a grip
on the critical square with d4. After 8.g5 e4 9.Qg3 Ng8, Black
looks very comfortable.
8.g5 Ng8 9.d4
So White has managed to set up a sort of hyperextended
Stonewall after all. But in this sort of pawn formation what he
really wants is a knight to sink on e5, and that is going to be
difficult since the N/c3 is on the wrong circuit to
reach e5.
9...e6 10.Bd2 Bb4 11.Bg2
11.a3 would set some traps, e.g. 11...Bd6? 12.Nb5! and Black
must lose material.
11...Ne7 12.h4 000
Eldon sensibly evacuates the king-side, leaving White's
overextended pawns with nothing to bite on.
13.Bh3 g6 14.h5 Kb8!
A very good move, clearing the c8 square and preparing for
...c5 later.
15.h6
Now there is no tension left on the king-side and the struggle
shifts to the other wing.
15...Nb6 16.a3 Nc4!
Well-timed.
17.Ra2 Nxd2 18.Kxd2 Bxc3+ 19.bxc3 c5 20.Rb1 Rd7
20...cxd4 21.exd4 Rc8 also looks very promising.
21.Qe2 c4?!
Notwithstanding the rule that knights shine in closed
positions, this locking up of the queen-side seems
counter-productive. White has a terrific weakness on c3: why not
pile up on it?
22.e4??
Rules of thumb are all turned on their heads here. With a
bishop, you'd think White should want to open the position -- but
this is really a disaster.
22...Rc8
Black could end it all here with 22...dxe4 23.Qxe4 Rxd4+!
24.Qxd4 Rd8+
23.Bg2 dxe4 24.Bxe4 Rxd4+
So Eldon exploits the pin after all. Now White's pawns simply
evaporate.
25.Kc1 Rd7 26.Rb4 Nd5 27.Bxd5 Qxd5 28.Qe5+ Qxe5
29.fxe5 Rc5 30.Rab2 Rxe5 31.Kb1 Rxg5 32.Rxc4 Rc7 01
Jonathan Budzenski (1613)
Robert Rutkowski (1070)
Scotch, C44
Notes by Tim McGrew
Here, Jon methodically rolls a lower-rated player, not with
flashy tactics but with an eye to the endgame.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f6?
Yes, this is poor -- but why?
4.dxe5
4.Bc4! looks very tempting here. The point is that the pawn on
f6 is in Black's way, blocking the proper development of his
N/g8. So White should leave it there until it becomes
uncomfortable for Black and forces him into playing something
else antipositional like ...Nh6 or ...Nge7.
4...fxe5 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Ng5
Believe it or not, this is all book -- though by a
transposition of moves.
6...Qe7??
But this is a dreadful blunder that leaves Black tied up even
though White misses his chance to punish it. The right move, if
we can speak of a right move in such a strange line, is 6...Bc5!?
intending the Traxler-like idea 7.Nf7 Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 (8.Kf1 Qe7
9.Nxh8 Bb6 leaves White with a huge material advantage, but
if you like his king position then you should take up bungee
diving at the first opportunity.) 8...Nxe4+ 9.Kg1 Qh4 10.g3 Nxg3
11.hxg3 Qxg3+ 12.Kf1 Rf8 13.Qd3 and according to Keres, White has
the advantage. Maybe so, but he also needs heart medication after
this barrage!
7.Nc3
Here and on the next move, Jon misses a chance to end the game
early. This pedestrian developing move is not bad, but it gives
Black a second lease on life that he doesn't deserve. 7.Bf7+! is
very crisp: 7...Qxf7 (7...Kd8 8.Ne6+! forces Black to
give up the queen.) 8.Nxf7 Kxf7 9.00 and Black hasn't got
neat enough material for his queen.
7...h6? 8.Nf3
8.Bf7+! still works.
8...d6
Now White has just a normal edge.
9.h3
This is acceptable since it sets up a tactic next move.
9...a6?
This, by contrast, is a meaningless move.
10.Nd5?!
Congested positions, Tarrasch once quipped,
contain the germs of defeat. Black's position here
certainly qualifies. Conversely, exchanging knights here eases
Black's cramp and reduces his problems. 10.Nh4! would give Black
heartburn. The threat of an invasion at g6 is potent and can only
be met by a serious displacement of Black's pieces, e.g. 10...Qd8
11.Ng6 Rh7 12.Nd5 Na5 (12...Nxd5 13.Nxf8 Kxf8 14.Qxd5! is
fatal because of the twin threats at f7 and g8) 13.Be2 and with
Bh5 coming White has succeeded in tangling Black up like a ball
of string. Note that 13...Nxe4 fails to 14.Bh5 Kd7 15.Qg4+ Kc6
16.Qxe4 when Black will be lucky to get away with just the loss
of a few pieces.
10...Nxd5 11.Bxd5 Bd7 12.Be3 000
Black still has development problems but his disadvantage is
almost manageable now.
13.Rb1!?
Want to see the future of Michigan chess? Look closely at this
mysterious rook move. Jon has noticed the pawn at a6 and it
beckons for a b4-5 thrust to rip open Black's castle wall.
Whether this is absolutely the strongest way to go about it or
not, Jon's move shows a level of understanding that justifies his
high rating.
13...g5 14.b4 Nd4 15.Nxd4 exd4 16.Qxd4 Bg7 17.Qa7?!
Like Bobby Fischer, Jon needs to learn to sit on his hands.
All forcing sequences must be analyzed, and here 17.Bxb7+! Kxb7
18.Qa7+ Kc6 19.Qxa6# leaves no questions.
17...Bc6 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Qxa6+ Kd7 20.Qd3 Ra8 21.a3
Ra4 22.Rb3 Be5 23.Bd4
Realizing that he is hugely ahead in material, Jon simply
trades into a win.
23...Rha8 24.Bxe5 Qxe5 25.00 c5 26.Rfb1 h5
27.Qb5+ Kd8 28.bxc5 Qxc5 29.Qxc5 dxc5 30.f3 Rxa3 31.Rxa3 Rxa3
32.Rb3 Rxb3?
With rooks on Black had an outside chance of scamming a draw,
though I doubt he would have gotten any change out of Jon. With
rooks off, he hasn't anything to swindle with.
33.cxb3 Kd7 34.Kf2 Kd6 35.Ke3 Ke5 36.g3 Kf6 37.h4 gxh4
38.gxh4 Ke5 39.f4+ Kf6 40.Kd3 Ke6 41.Kc4 Kd6 42.e5+ Kc6 43.f5 Kd7
44.Kxc5 c6 45.f6 Ke6 46.Kxc6 Kf7 47.b4 10
Going into the second day of competition the race for the
title is still wide open:
3.0: Jarosz, Garrison, Skidmore, Matias, Jones, Dorrington
2.5 Bambrough, Evans, Jendras, M. Semerciyan, Gattinger
Round 4
1. Skidmore 0 Jarosz
2. Jones ½ Garrison
3. Evans ½ Matias
4. Gattinger ½ Bambrough
5. Jendras ½ Semerciyan
With Dorrington taking a half-point bye.
On the top board, Stan holds off the attack to go into the
last round perfect:
Mike Skidmore (1828)
Stan Jarosz (1984)
Sicilian: Rossolimo, B30
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3
Bobby Fischer used to play 3.d3 here. His rationale was that
Black really wants his pawns on d6 and e5 against the King's
Indian Attack, and having played 2...e6 Black will lose a tempo
trying to reach that ideal pawn formation. As with so many of
Fischer's ideas, this concept has merit but requires deep
understanding of the resulting positions. Mike goes his own way.
3...Nc6 4.Bb5 Nge7
I've always preferred 4...Nd4 here for Black when White has
already dropped a knight on c3. An exchange on d4 now would
discoordinate White's pieces to some extent, though diehard
proponents of this line have been known to put a bishop on d3 and
a knight on e2 and live to tell the tale.
5.00 g6 6.e5!?
Black's play has been very provocative, and I have to cheer
for this gutsy attempt to exploit the Swiss cheese pawn
formation.
6...Bg7 7.Ne4!?
This is consistent but very bold. 7.Re1 00 8.d3 is a
more cautious approach to the position, keeping the pawn on e5
safely defended for the nonce.
7...00
Black might try to snatch a pawn with 7...Nxe5 when it's not
clear what happens. Consider a line like this: 8.Nd6+ Kf8 9.d4
cxd4 10.Bh6!? Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 Nf5! 12.Nxf5 gxf5 13.Bxg7+ Kxg7.
Black has two extra pawns but his king is exposed and it is more
than doubtful that he can hold onto the pawn at d4.
8.Nf6+!?
Yet again the most provocative move. 8.Nxc5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Bxe5
10.d4 Bg7 11.c3² keeps material balanced and gives White an edge
in piece activity thanks to the buried bishop on c8.
8...Bxf6 9.exf6 Nd5
The pawn on f6 is doomed, so White needs to find an aggressive
way of activating his pieces to compensate for the material
deficit.
10.d3
This is just a tad slow and may mark the point at which the
game slips out of White's control. One way to seize the moment is
to sacrifice a second pawn with 10.c4 Nxf6 11.d4 cxd4 12.Bg5!
when the pin is annoying.
10...Qxf6!
Much better than capturing with the knight. Black's dark
square weaknesses are a serious concern and he has no need to
invite the awkward pin with 10...Nxf6?! 11.Bg5! when it isn't
clear how Black is to prevent a pile-up against f6.
11.Bh6 Re8 12.Re1?
This pawn sacrifice is not well-motivated. White cannot trap
Black's queen on the queen-side, and he cannot make use of the
open b-file. 12.c3 or even 12.c4 would be more to the point.
12...Qxb2 13.Bc4 Nc7
13...Nc3! is much more forcing, though it takes strong nerves
to play like this when your king-side pawn structure is so
vulnerable. The point is that after 14.Qd2 d5! 15.Bb3 f6!+
White's queen has no points of entry on the king-side and Black
is preparing to roll forward in the center with ...e5. Meanwhile,
Black's knight on c3 prevents Rb1 ousting the queen. This would
probably have ended the game faster.
14.Ng5 f5 15.Qe2 Qf6 16.Qd2 d5 17.Qf4?
The danger of counterattack is that sometimes you get slapped
with a second threat on top of the first.
17...e5! 18.Ne4
This was supposed to be the tactical justification for White's
last move, but...
18...Qe7
Now White has three pieces in jeopardy and there is no
possible way to save them all.
19.Qg5 fxe4 20.Bb3 Qxg5 21.Bxg5 exd3 22.cxd3 Bf5
Now Stan mops up efficiently.
23.Rac1 b6 24.Ba4 Re6 25.f4 Bxd3 26.fxe5 c4 27.Re3 b5
28.Bd1 Rae8 29.Bf4 Nxe5 30.Kf2 d4! 31.Rg3 Nd5 32.Bh6 Nc3 33.Bf3
Nxf3 34.Rxf3 b4 35.Ra1 Ne4+ 36.Kg1 Nc5 37.h3 Re1+ 38.Rxe1 Rxe1+
39.Kh2 Rf1!
So much for that swindle!
40.Rg3 Rf5 41.Rg4 Ne6 42.Rg3 Nf4 43.Rg4 Ne2 44.h4 b3
45.axb3 cxb3 46.h5 Rxh5+ 47.Rh4 Rxh4# 01
The excitement fizzles out of this game when the major pieces
get traded off the open file:
Thomas Evans Sr. (1922)
I.C. Matias (1786)
Giuoco Piano: Pianissimo, C54
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 d6 5.c3
This quiet treatment of the Giuoco Piano has come to be
favored at the highest levels since theoreticians decided that
the lines with 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ burn out to
equality with best play.
5...Nf6 6.a4 a6 7.b4
White's play is positionally aggressive but within tolerances
for this system.
7...Ba7 8.00 00 9.Bg5 Qe7 10.Qc1 Nd8
I wonder whether 10...h6 would have provoked Tom into
sacrificing with 11.Bxh6?! gxh6 12.Qxh6 But in any event it
shouldn't: after 12...Ng4+ Black appears to have everything
under control.
11.h3 Ne6 12.Be3 Bxe3
It's hard to call this an error, but the open f-file and
greater central control seem to favor White. 12...Nh5!? aiming to
plant a knight on f4 looks like a sensible alternative.
13.fxe3 g6 14.Qe1 Nh5 15.g4
Just occasionally Tom will push one pawn too many. This is by
no means a blunder, but the resulting loosening of White's
king-side means that he will have to be somewhat cautious about
the way he undertakes action on that wing.
15...Nhg7 16.Qg3 Bd7
This bishop isn't doing much for Black (despite the fact that
it is officially a good bishop), and I would be
inclined to trade it off as soon as possible. For this purpose,
16...Ng5 17.Nbd2 ( 17.Nxg5 Qxg5 holds no terrors for Black and
merely delays ...Be6 by a move or so.) 17...Be6 looks like a
better plan. Black eventually gets around to this in the actual
game.
17.Bb3 c6 18.Nbd2 b5 19.a5
19.g5!? fixing dark-square weaknesses looks like a reasonable
plan here.
19...Rae8
There is still time for 19...Ng5 with the idea of ...Be6.
20.Nh4 Bc8 21.Ndf3
Here the thematic sacrifice 21.Nf5!? is a serious option, e.g.
21...gxf5 22.exf5 and now because of the threat of f6 Black
cannot keep the piece. After 22...f6 23.fxe6 Bxe6 24.Bxe6+ Nxe6
25.Rf5 Black may be able to hold, but it is certainly an
interesting position.
21...Ng5 22.Ra2 Be6
Finally!
23.Bxe6 Nxf3+ 24.Rxf3 fxe6
Personally I prefer 24...Nxe6 with the idea that ...d5 is
tactically feasible in many lines because White's queen is tied
to the defense of the N/h4. And if White moves that knight,
another lovely tactical theme comes into play: 25.Ng2 d5 26.exd5
cxd5 27.Qxe5 Ng5! 28.Qxe7 and now with the Zwischenzug
28...Nxf3+! Black nets the exchange for a pawn.
25.Raf2 Rxf3 26.Qxf3 Rf8
Now everything burns out with the heavy exchanges on the only
open file.
27.Qxf8+ Qxf8 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Nf3 h6
Naturally Black is not eager to have White's knight come in at
g5.
30.d4 exd4 31.Nxd4 c5 32.Nc6
The flashy 32.Nxb5? won't work because of 32...axb5 33.a6 Ne8
34.a7 Nc7 and Black stops the pawn in the nick of time.
32...Ne8 33.Nb8
This isn't really going to amount to anything since White
cannot force the win of the a-pawn. 33.e5!? would at least
liquidate White's primary weakness and would be the most
promising way to press for something in this position.
33...dxe5 34.Nxe5 33...Nc7 34.bxc5 dxc5 35.Nd7+
White picks up a pawn after all. But he is left with the
cripples on the e-file, which aren't worth more than a single
pawn in the current position. So Black holds easily.
35...Ke7 36.Nxc5 Kd6 37.Nd3 e5 38.Kf2 Ne6 39.Nb4 Nc5
40.Kf3 Nb3 41.Nxa6 Nxa5 42.Ke2 Nb3 43.Nb4 Nc5 44.Kf3 Nb3 45.Ke2
Nc5 ½½
This game shows why it is important to know what your opening
can do for you or to you:
Farnood Farmand (1725)
Dennis Smeckert (1462)
Robatsch: Lizard, B06
Notes by Tim McGrew
1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.f4 c6
These hypermodern openings are the unicycles of chess theory.
If you can ride one, you can amaze your friends. But if you
can't, you have to prepare for some crash landings!
5.Nf3 Qc7?!
It's too early to say whether the queen belongs here. 5...d5!?
might be playable, with the idea 6.e5 Nh6 when Black's pieces
actually control some good squares from the edges of the board.
Paradoxically, in a line like this Black will often end up
un-fianchettoing his bishop with ...Bf8 at a later point!
6.Be3 Nh6
This is extraordinarily provocative! It is one thing to play
such moves when the center is well and truly locked; but when it
is still fluid they are very risky.
7.h3 e5?
Black is not entitled to this break in the center after his
literally eccentric -- out of the center -- play thus far. The
bishop on g7 is overloaded providing defense for both the pawn at
e5 and the knight on h6.
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Be6 10.Qd2 Ng8
Removing the knight from the line of fire. But White's
position is overwhelming now.
11.000 b5 12.Bc5!?
Now Black's king is under house arrest.
12...Na6?
More anti-central play!
13.Nxb5!
Very crisp.
13...Qd8 14.Nd6+ 10
'Nuff said.
Time to return to the Petroff!
Zach McComb (Unr)
Steve Dumas (1170)
King's Knight: Hungarian, C44
Notes by Tim McGrew
Steve Dumas showed me this game just after he had played it.
If you play through only one game from the Amateur, make it this
one!
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2 f5!?
Steve is fond of ...f5, and he sometimes plays it very early.
Here it makes a great deal of sense as White's bishop is not on a
great square. Think of it as a sort of Vienna Reversed!
4.exf5
4.d4 must be a better response though I don't know whether
White can get any advantage from this now.
4...Nf6
Maybe not the most accurate, but White doesn't punish the move
and so we roll onward. 4...e4!? 5.Ng1 Qf6!? certainly looks
interesting.
5.00
Too tame to cause Black much grief. 5.d4!
5...a6?
This isn't very convincing; White is not threatening Bb5. But
later, when you look at the whole game, you can sort of see how
it makes sense from a certain point of view...
6.b3?!
Hoping for pressure on e5, but now Black starts to roll.
6...d5 7.Bb2 e4 8.Nd4 Ne7 9.Ne6 Bxe6 10.fxe6 d4
I give up trying to punctuate these moves. Yes, Black is
overextended, but these are pawns with attitude! 10...Qd6 would
be normal, rounding up the pawn on e6 and intending
000 at some point.
11.c3
Inviting -- almost begging for -- Steve's next move. 11.d3
would be more prudent.
11...d3 12.Bg4 h5 13.Bh3 g5
Oh yes, we have more pawns to put on light squares!
14.g3 g4 15.Bg2 h4
Good grief!
16.h3??
This is suicidal: White cannot allow the lines to be opened.
16...Qd6
16...gxh3 17.Bxh3 hxg3 looks good to me, but then we would be
deprived of the actual finish.
17.Ba3 Qxe6 18.Bxe7 Bxe7
The exchange hasn't helped White to coordinate any defense on
the king-side. Black rolls in now.
19.b4 gxh3 20.Bh1
Black to Move
20...h2+! 21.Kxh2 hxg3+! 22.Kg2 Qh3+ 23.Kg1 Qh2#
01
Any questions?
All those draws narrows things down a little, but there are
plenty of three and a half pointers to make things interesting:
4.0 Jarosz 3.5 Garrison, Matias, Jones, Dorrington Round 5 The
top three boards are still in the mix:
1. Jarosz Garrison
2. Matias Jones
3. Dorrington Jendras (3.0)
Garrison stops the only perfect score by creating a passed
pawn:
Stan Jarosz (1842)
Ray Garrison (1984)
Dutch, A80
1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bf4 g6 4.c3 Bg7 5.e3 Nc6 6.h3 Bd7
7.Bc4 e5 8.Bh2 e4 9.Nfd2 Nf6 10.a4 Qe7 11.a5 Be6 12.Qb3 Bxc4
13.Qxc4 Qf7 14.Qb5 Rb8 15.a6 Qd5 16.Qxd5 Nxd5 17.axb7 Rxb7 18.b4
Kd7 19.Nb3 a5 20.Nxa5 Ra8 21.Nb3 Rxa1 22.Nxa1 Ra7 23.Nc2 Ra2
24.Kd1 Na7 25.c4 Nxb4 26.Nxb4 Rb2 27.Nd2 Rxb4 28.Kc2 c5 29.Ra1
Nc6 30.Ra8 cxd4 31.exd4 Bxd4 32.g4 Bxf2 33.Rh8 Nd4+ 34.Kc3 e3
35.Rxh7+ Ke6 36.gxf5+ gxf5 37.Rh6+ Kf7 38.Bxd6 exd2 39.Kxd2 Rxc4
40.Kd3 Rc6 41.Rh7+ Kg6 42.Rd7 Ne6 43.Be7 Nc5+ 44.Bxc5 Rxc5 45.Ke2
Bg3 46.Kf3 f4 47.h4 Rh5 48.Rd6+ Kf7 49.Kg4 Rxh4+ 50.Kg5 Ke7
51.Ra6 f3 52.Ra1 f2 53.Rf1 Ke6 01
I.C. Matias (1786)
Gary Jones (1754)
Benko Gambit, A57
Notes by Tim McGrew
In the final analysis, this was the game that decided the
championship.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.a4 b4!
This move shows a good understanding of the relationship
between the Benko and the King's Indian. In the Benko, Black's
principal avenues of play are the open b-file and the diagonals
from a6 to f1 and from g7 to a1. If Black is locked into Benko
thinking, then pushing with ...b4 might seem to be a grave error
that stifles his counterplay. But switch to King's Indian
thinking here and it all becomes clearer: in the King's Indian,
it is White rather than Black who wants to open lines on the
queen-side; Black would like them closed so that he can play on
the long diagonal or roll forward with his king-side pawns
depending on how matters develop. So by jamming the lines on the
queen-side, Gary is showing his flexibility and understanding of
the link between these two very different systems.
5.Nd2 g6 6.e4 d6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.Ne2 a5 9.00 e6
10.Qc2 00
Black could also consider 10...e5 11.f4 exf4 12.Nf3 Ng4
intending to lock down on the e5 square and, eventually, to bring
pressure to bear against the backward pawn on e4.
11.Rb1
White removes his rook from the long diagonal with the
intention, no doubt, of playing b3 and Bb2. Unfortunately, this
is not a very good square for the rook -- a point that becomes
apparent in a few moves.
11...Nbd7 12.b3 Ne5 13.h3?
White may have been thinking stereotypically here -- why would
Black exchange an active knight for my land-locked bishop?
13...Nxd3!
Black, on the other hand, is thinking very concretely. His
willingness to make this trade telegraphs his intention to
exchange on d5 rather than locking things up with ...e5.
14.Qxd3 exd5 15.cxd5
The tactical point behind Black's exchange is revealed after
15.exd5?? Bf5, exploiting the poor position of White's rook.
15...Re8 16.Ng3 Ba6!
A miserable position for White. He has not made any noticeable
progress toward a king-side attack, whereas Black's pieces are
seizing active posts with alarming speed.
17.Nc4 Nd7! 18.f4 Nb6!
Now White's b-pawn is overworked trying to provide defense for
both c4 and a4.
19.Bb2
This exchange will not stem the tide of Black pawns on the
queen-side. 19.Qc2 is relatively best, but White is still losing
a vital pawn after 19...Bxc4 20.bxc4 Qd7! +
19...Bxb2 20.Rxb2 Qh4?!
This is overly refined and gives White an opportunity to hang
onto his a-pawn. 20...Bxc4! 21.bxc4 Nxa4+ is absolutely
convincing.
21.Rbf2?
It is hard to find the proper balance between attack and
defense. 21.Ra2 leaves White struggling, but at least he doesn't
have to fight against connected passed pawns on the queen-side.
21...Bxc4 22.bxc4 Nxa4 23.f5 Re7
Understandable but unnecessary. 23...Nc3 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Rxf7
Qxg3! 26.Qxg3 Ne2+ is very convincing.
24.Rf4 Qh6 25.Rg4 Kh8 26.fxg6 hxg6?
26...fxg6 wins without much fuss thanks to the a-pawn.
27.Qf3
Another serious idea is 27.Rff4 Qf8 28.Nf5! with the point
that 28...gxf5 29.Rxf5 sets up a mating net that Black can only
evade at the cost of his queen: 29...f6 (forced) 30.Rh5+ Rh7
31.Rxh7+ Kxh7 32.Qg3! Qh6 33.Rh4 and roles are abruptly reversed.
27...f5
White to Move
28.Nxf5!?
This gets points for bravery, but it might have posed more
practical problems to capture the other way. 28.exf5! creates
some difficult problems. Black seems to come out on top after
28...Rf8! 29.Rxg6 Qxg6 30.fxg6 Rxf3 31.Rxf3 Rg7 32.Nf5 Rxg6
33.Ne7 Rg7 34.Nc6 Nb6 35.Rf8+ Kh7 36.Nxa5 Ra7 37.Rb8 Nxd5! 38.Nb7
Ra6!! 39.cxd5 Rb6! -- but that is a lot of difficult moves to
find with one's clock ticking!
28...gxf5 29.Qxf5 Rg7 30.Rxg7 Qxg7 31.g4?
Missing his last chance to activate the rook. 31.Rf4 Qd4+
32.Kh2 Qe5 33.Qg4! threatens checks on h4 and g3 winning. Black
can block checks with 33...Ra7 but then he has no control of his
back rank and White can snag a perpetual with 34.Qh4+ Rh7 35.Qd8+
Kg7 36.Qf8+ Kg6 37.Kh1 Qa1+ 38.Rf1 Qe5 39.Rf4=
31...Nc3 32.Kg2 a4 33.Qe6 Rf8! 34.Rxf8+ Qxf8 35.Qg6
Qe7 36.Qh6+ Kg8 37.Qg6+ Kf8 38.Qh6+ Ke8
Black just walks away from the checks to shelter at c7.
39.e5 Qxe5 40.Qg6+ Kd7 41.Qf7+ Qe7 42.Qf5+ Kc7 43.g5
Qe4+ 01
A fine, fighting game that reflects credit on both players and
on the tournament itself.
The defending champion takes out the last remaining title
contender:
Eldon Dorrington (1641)
Gerard Jendras (1912)
English: Ultra-Symmetrical, A38
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg7
6.00 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.d3 00 10.a3 Bd7
11.Rb1 Rac8 12.Bd2 b6 13.Bc3 Rfd8 14.Ne5 Qd6 15.Nc4 Qc7 16.Bxg7
Kxg7 17.Qc1 Nd4 18.Re1 Bg4 19.f3 Be6 20.e3 Nc6 21.Qc3+ Kg8 22.b3
b5 23.Nb2 Na5 24.Nd1 Bf5 25.e4 Be6 26.Nf2 Qb6 27.Bf1 b4 28.axb4
cxb4 29.Qe5 f6 30.Qf4 Bxb3 31.Kg2 Bc2 32.Rbc1 Nb3 33.e5 Nxc1
34.Rxc1 b3 35.Ng4 g5 36.Nh6+ Kf8 37.Qe4 Bxd3 38.Bxd3 Rxc1 39.Qxh7
Ke8 40.Qf7+ Kd7 41.Bf5+ Kc6 42.Be4+ Kc7 43.Qxe7+ Rd7 44.Qf8 b2
45.exf6 b1Q 46.Bxb1 Qxb1 47.f7 Qg6 48.g4 Rc2+ 49.Kg3 Qf6 50.Qb4
Qe5+ 01
So, that leaves Garrison and Jones both with four and a half
points. On tie-breaks, Gary Jones adds the 2003 Amateur title to
go with his Michigan Open Reserve Championship. Ray Garrison
takes the second place trophy and a lot of appreciation for the
effort that he put into keeping the tournament running smoothly.
Stan Jarosz comes out of the glut of four-pointers to take third
place.
Scott Thach (1416)
Kenneth Jewell (1786)
Scotch: Pulling (Steinitz), C45
Notes by Tim McGrew
Scott Thach played one of the most remarkable endgames of the
tournament.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4!?
Steinitz's old move is very tricky and makes a good choice for
a tournament weapon.
5.Nc3
Sensibly foregoing the wild complications that arise after
something like 5.Nb5 Bc5!? even though they may, in theory, be
good for White. Who wants to enter that labyrinth when you know
your opponent has been studying the maps?
5...Bb4 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Ndb5!?
I'm attracted to 7.Nf5!? Qxe4 8.Nxg7+ Kf8 9.Bh6 Kg8
10.00 when Black's king position does not inspire
confidence.
7...Nxe4
This looks too greedy, and Scott's accurate reply shows us
why.
8.00!
Keeping the threat of Nxc7 in hand. Suddenly Black has some
hanging pieces.
8...Nxf2?
Desperation. I know what must have been running through Ken's
mind at this point: There is no way that this kid is a 1400
player! True, but by panicking, Black gives White a
dominating position.
9.Qd5 Ba5 10.Bg5! Qb4 11.Rxf2 00 12.Kh1?
This is understandable (White wants to avoid ...Bb6 pinning
the rook) but it shows a lack of tactical alertness. 12.a3! Qxb2
13.Ra2! traps the queen on an open board.
12...d6 13.Raf1?!
Another lackluster move. White should be forcing queens off
with 13.a3 Qc5 14.Qxc5 dxc5 15.Nd5 when he lives happily ever
after.
13...Be6 14.Qf3 Bb6
14...Ne5!? does a better job of mobilizing, though White still
retains the upper hand.
15.Be3 Ne5 16.Qg3 c6 17.a3
Now this nudge isn't so good; what's worse, it leads White
into a miscalculation. 17.Bxb6 axb6 18.a3 Qxb2 19.Nxd6
17...Qxb2 18.Bc1??
Oh no! With a single move White goes from a winning position
to a losing one. 18.Bxb6 cxb5 (18...axb6 19.Nxd6) 19.Bd4
would still leave White with a winning material advantage.
18...Bxf2! 19.Qxe5
Going desperado, but this should not work if met accurately.
19...dxe5?
This leaves Black better, but not so much better as he
deserves. The right response is the counter-desperado move
19...Qxc1! when White must remove his queen from danger since
Black threatens to grab too much material with ...Qxf1. Nor can
White afford 20.Rxc1 dxe5+ when his rook has been dragged
away from f1 and he cannot pick up the bishop at f2.
20.Bxb2 cxb5 21.Rxf2 Bd7?
This is a serious error. Black needs the pawn on b5 to
compensate for the fact that he is outgunned in pieces by a 4 to
3 margin. 21...a6 keeps a firm grip on the pawn.
22.Nxb5 Bxb5 23.Bxb5 Rad8 24.g3
On paper a rook and two pawns is worth more than two bishops,
but this is the sort of open board on which paper pronouncements
aren't much good -- particularly if you're betting against the
bishops.
24...Rd1+ 25.Kg2 Rfd8 26.Bd3
Scott wants to avoid the exchange of rooks, which is a good
idea in principle. But this is purely defensive thinking. 26.Bc4!
R1d2 27.Bxf7+ Kh8 28.Bb3 e4 29.Bc3 looks very strong here.
26...f6 27.Bc3 b6 28.Re2 R1xd3!?
This is a very daring and dangerous winning attempt. In the
unbalanced position that results Black must mobilize his pawns in
order to keep White busy; otherwise White will simply target them
and pick them off with his rook.
29.cxd3 Rxd3 30.Bb2 Kf7 31.Rf2
Too transparent a threat for Black to miss. 31.Rc2 immediately
looks more to the point.
31...Ke6 32.Rc2 Rd7 33.Kf2 h5 34.Ke3
Sensibly bringing the king over to help cover squares on the
d-file so that White's own rook is free to roam.
34...Kf5 35.h3
Walling out the Black king, though at a cost; the pawns are
looser now.
35...Ke6
35...Rd1!? comes to mind.
36.Rd2 Rc7 37.Kd3 g6 38.Ke3 f5 39.Re2 g5 40.Kf2 Rc5
41.Kg2 g4 42.h4 e4(?)
It is hard to be sure, but this move feels like an error. If I
had the Black pieces I would want to keep open the option of
...f4 later.
43.Kf2 Rd5 44.Ke3 Rb5?
I'm not sure what's wrong with 44...Rd3+! 45.Kf2 Rf3+ 46.Kg2
b5 when Black is getting maximum activity out of his rook.
45.Kf4 a5 46.Bd4
A bit indecisive. 46.Kg5 Rb3 47.Rg2 Rf3 48.Kxh5 and Kg6
followed by running the h-pawn looks like a winning plan.
46...Rb3 47.Re3 a4
Around this time many of the strongest players at the Amateur
were surveying the Thach-Jewell encounter from a discreet
distance, trying to figure out what happens if rooks are
exchanged on various squares. Out in the hallway I was opining
that ...a4 wasn't good because it ruins Black's chances of
forcing a majority on that wing. But I have to admit that it is
not easy to be sure what is good and what is not in this
position.
48.Bh8
Correctly refusing to give Black a passed b-pawn. 48.Rxb3 axb3
49.Ke3 Kd5 should be fine for Black since White is constantly
laboring under the threat of a breakthrough with ...f4.
48...Rxe3
Finally the rooks come off. Is the position drawn or won for
the bishop?
49.Kxe3 Kd5 50.Bc3 Kc4 51.Bb4
Now the queen-side pawns are firmly blockaded. On the other
hand, White has no targets in the Black position unless he goes
after the h-pawn and lets the e-pawn roll.
51...b5 52.Kf4 Kd3 53.Kxf5
Here 53.Bc5 draws comfortably as Black is manifestly unable to
make any progress.
53...e3?
It is hard to refrain from pushing the passed pawn, but
53...Ke3! looks more dangerous to White. For example, 54.Kg5 (54.Bc3
Kf3 55.Be1 e3! and White cannot hold everything: 56.Ke5
Ke2 57.Bc3 Kf1 58.Kf4 e2 59.Kg5 e1Q 60.Bxe1 Kxe1 61.Kxh5
b4+ and Black is much faster than White.) 54...Kf3
55.Kxh5 Kxg3 56.Kg5 Kf3 57.h5 g3 58.Bd6 (otherwise Black queens
with check on g1) 58...e3! 59.Bxg3 Kxg3 60.h6 e2 61.h7 e1Q 62.h8Q
Qe3+ + and with two passed pawns Black should be able to
wend his way to a win.
54.Kg5 e2?
This throws the game away. 54...Ke4! 55.Kxh5 Kf3 56.Kg6 Kxg3
57.h5 Kf3 58.h6 g3 59.h7 g2 60.h8Q g1Q+ 61.Kf7 Qf1 is, at a
minimum, not obviously losing for Black.
55.Kxh5!
Black's problem is that it takes too long for his king to come
around and defend e1, and that means that his breakthrough with
...b4 comes one move too late.
55...Kc2 56.Kxg4 Kd1 57.h5 e1Q 58.Bxe1 Kxe1 59.h6!
Almost a Searching for Bobby Fischer ending! The rest is an
anticlimax.
59...Kd2 60.h7 Kc2 61.h8Q b4 62.axb4 Kb1 63.Qc3 Ka2
64.b5 Kb1 65.Qb4+ Ka2 66.Qxa4+ Kb2 67.Qc4 Ka1 68.Qb4 Ka2 69.Kf3
Ka1 70.Ke2 Ka2 71.Kd2 Ka1 72.Kc2 Ka2 73.Qa4# 10
Ashley Carter (1293)
Harold Steen (1650)
Dutch: Staunton A83
Notes by Tim McGrew
A rising Michigan junior steals a full point from veteran
campaigner Harold Steen.
1.d4 f5 2.e4!
Points for bravery! Ashley often adopts a modified Colle
formation with White, but here she lashes out with a sharp
variation that will test Black's defensive skill.
2...fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5!
Of White's options here, this is probably the best. It also
sets a marvelous trap into which Black tumbles.
4...d5?
This loses material. The standard move is 4...e6, giving back
the pawn but preparing to castle after 5.Nxe4 Be7
5.Bxf6! exf6 6.Qh5+!
Oops! The problem is not just that White is getting the d-pawn
but that after it falls Black will have too many other weak
pawns.
6...g6 7.Qxd5 Qe7 8.Qxe4!
Resolutely heading into the endgame.
8...Bf5 9.Qxe7+ Bxe7 10.Nd5! Bd8 11.c3
11.000 might be even stronger, activating the rook
at once.
11...00 12.Bc4
Developing with a threat!
12...Kg7 13.Ne2 Nc6 14.Ne3 Bc8
Black wants to hold onto the Bishop pair, but they won't do
much good for him on the back rank.
15.00 Ne7 16.Nf4 Nf5 17.Nxf5+ Bxf5 18.Ne6+ Bxe6
19.Bxe6 Be7 20.Rfe1 Bd6 21.g3
Putting pawns on the proper color squares. This is not just a
matter of memorizing a rule of thumb: if the rooks were off,
pawns on dark squares might become targets for Black's bishop.
But this is not a bishops of opposite color struggle -- yet.
21...f5 22.f4 b6 23.Rad1 a5 24.Bd5 Rae8 25.Bc6!
A move that shows good positional understanding. The point is
that Black cannot challenge White's control of the e-file without
the use of an appropriate square.
25...Rd8
Perhaps Black's best hope to draw this game is to try to get
rooks off with something like 25...Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rf7 27.Kf2 Re7
when it is doubtful whether the extra pawn is sufficient to carry
the game.
26.Rd2 h5?
This move is out of place in an endgame, though it would be
understandable in certain middlegames. There is no serious hope
that Black will be able to start any monkey business on the
h-file, and meanwhile the g6-square is seriously weakened.
27.h4 Rf7 28.Rde2!
Now Black cannot easily carry out the exchange of both pairs
of rooks. But because of the weakness of g6, even swapping rooks
is no guarantee of a carefree endgame.
28...Rdf8 29.Kf2 Rf6 30.Re6 Kh6 31.Kf3 Kg7 32.R1e3 Kf7
33.Be8+!
Very fine! In a few moves we will see why.
33...Kg7 34.a3 Rxe6 35.Rxe6 Rf6 36.Rxf6 Kxf6
So the rooks have come off after all. But now White's bishop
presses on the weak pawn at g6 -- remember that in pure bishop of
opposite color endings, it is not an unmixed blessing to have
your pawns on the opposite color squares from your own bishop!
This means that Black's king is severely tied down and White's
king can infiltrate on the queen-side.
37.Bc6 Bf8 38.Ke3!
Ashley has recognized the proper plan of bringing her king to
c6 to support the creation of a passed pawn on the queen-side.
38...Bd6 39.Kd3 Ke6 40.Kc4 Kf6 41.Kd5 Ke7 42.Kc4 Ke6
43.Be8!
Oh, how galling it is! The pawn requires defense, and White's
king walks in.
43...Kf6 44.Kd5 Be7 45.Kc6 Bd6 46.c4 Kg7 47.c5 Bf8
48.cxb6 cxb6 49.Kxb6 Be7 50.d5!
One is all White needs! There is nothing wrong with taking on
a5, but White realizes that the d-pawn will be decisive.
50...Bf6 51.d6 Bxb2 52.d7 Bf6 53.Kc7 10
Young Ashley displayed an astonishing maturity in this game.
If there had been a prize for endgame technique she would have
been a serious contender.
Jason Portis (Unr)
Tibin John (655)
Two Knights: Italian, C55
Notes by Tim McGrew
Two Michigan juniors go at it hammer and tongs.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.00 d6
6.d3 00
Officially this opening is known as the Giuoco Pianissimo --
the very quite game. But our two players quickly mix it up.
7.Be3 Nd4!? 8.a3?!
This is too slow to be directly pertinent to the needs of the
position. 8.Bxd4 Bxd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Ne2 is a more reasonable
plan.
8...Bg4!
Tibin puts his finger on the weakness in White's last move.
9.b4?
9.Bxd4 is forced now, though Black will be happy with the
bishop pair after 9...Bxd4 etc.
9...Nxf3+!?
9...Bb6! is even stronger. White's knight on c3 is now
undefended, so he no longer has the defense recommended in the
last note: 10.Bxd4 Bxd4 forces something like 11.Qd2 and now with
11...Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nh5 and ...Nf4 Black's pieces sail into the
holes in the White position.
10.gxf3 Bh3?!
Very bold -- too bold, in fact. But fortune favors the bold!
11.Re1?
Focusing solely on his rook, White forgets that there are
other things hanging. 11.bxc5 should work, though White needs to
take a few steps to ensure that he doesn't get mated on the
king-side in the ensuing mess.
11...Bxe3
Now everything works: Black hasn't sacrificed any material,
and White's castle is a magnificent ruin.
12.fxe3 Nh5
A misstep, though the right move is admittedly hard to see.
12...Nd5! threatens mate in two with ...Qg5+ and ...Qg2# as well
as hitting c3. White cannot hold onto everything, so he would
have to give up a piece on c3.
13.f4
13.Kh1 is best here with Rg1 coming up, when White may
actually survive the middlegame.
13...Nxf4?
Swashbuckling, but wrong! 13...Qh4! is the proper way to keep
up the pressure without giving up any material.
14.exf4 exf4
Now all White needs to do is to secure his king against the
threat. But Black's threat is with something other than the piece
he moved last, and those are often the hardest threats to see...
15.d4??
Oh no...! 15.Qh5+- would secure everything.
15...Qg5+ 16.Kf2 Qg2# 01
Makes you wonder what the very young Tal played like!
Pictures from the Amateur
Alex Balan |
Mike Semerciyan |
Sebuh Semerciyan |
Matt Keefe |
DeWayne Van Horn |
Scott Thach |
Ray Garrison & Gary Jones |
Ray Garrison & Gary Jones |
Bethel McGrew |
??? |
??? with TD Jay Carr |
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