Here are more great games from the Michigan Junior:

Douglas Fick II (1700)
Brad Beagle (885)
Round 1
Italian: Hungarian, C50

Notes by Tim McGrew

Brad Beagle had a tremendous tournament, making an even score against opposition that outrated him by an average of more than 500 points. This fine effort was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7!

At this level of chess, the Hungarian Defense is an excellent practical choice. Black cuts out all of White's threats based on Ng5. True, if White knows what has happened and reacts briskly he can achieve a small advantage with no risk. But he usually doesn't know how. Would you?

4.0–0

Not this way!

4...Nf6

Now Black has no worries.

5.d3 0–0 6.Nc3 Bb4?!

Moving this piece twice isn't such a great idea.

7.Bd2

But this is a passive reaction that vindicates Black's move. White could disorient Black a bit with 7.Nd5 here.

7...Bxc3 8.Bxc3 d6 9.h3 h6

A needless exchange of pawn pushes: neither player had anything to worry about that would make these moves worth playing. But surely they can do no harm? Think again -- keep your eye on White's king-side!

10.Bd2 d5

Given that Black has already spent one tempo moving this pawn, it would make better sense to develop another piece with 10...Be6.

11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Re1

Now White gets to exert a little pressure on e5. This is moderately uncomfortable for Black, but it is nothing he cannot withstand if he is willing to play ...f6 if necessary.

12...Re8

It might be a little more natural to defend the pawn with 12...Qd6 This has the merit of moving Black one step closer to the connection of his rooks.

13.c3 Nb6 14.Qc2?

This error marks a definite turning point in the game. White loses his most active piece and his pawns are crippled on the queen-side.

14...Nxc4 15.dxc4 b6

A meaningless move. 15...Qf6! is strong right away.

16.Rad1 Qf6!

This move sets up a threat that White overlooks.

17.Re2? Bxh3!

It is remarkable how easily one can overlook this combination! Now White loses a pawn and -- more importantly -- his king-side is opened wide.

18.gxh3 Qxf3 19.Re3 Qf6 20.Rg3 Rad8 21.Qc1 Ne7 22.Rg2

22.Bxh6 fails to 22...Rxd1+! 23.Qxd1 Qxh6–+

22...Nf5 23.Kh1 Qc6 24.Kh2 Nh4! 0–1

A check on f3 will win more material.

Aaron Kahn (2013)
Ashley Carter (1443)
Round 4
King's Indian: Schwarz (Kramer), E70

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Nge2

As GM Joseph Gallagher notes in Beating the Anti-King's Indians, this variation was popularized by Hungarian players in the 1960's and revived in the 1980's. Today its most prominent advocate is probably GM Igor Novikov, who sometimes uses this as a transpositional path into the Saemisch variation. Like so many offbeat systems, this one has real sting when met unwarily. Black must not continue with bread-and-butter King's Indian moves but must change gears to meet White's attacking plan. All well and good -- but what is White's plan? Keep your eyes peeled!

5...0–0

Though this move is playable, Black will now have to be very alert to counter White's attacking ideas on the king-side. The immediate 5...e5 6.d5 c5 looks reasonable, deferring castling until White has made some commitments regarding piece placement.

6.Ng3 e5 7.d5 c5 8.h4

Here's the key move in White's attacking scheme: he wants an open h-file, and the knight on g3 assists him in this beautifully.

8...Na6?!

Needlessly bold. Black could stop the coming lever with 8...h5 and then proceed with queen-side operations.

9.Be2

White should seize the opportunity to push forward with 9.h5 immediately.

9...Nc7

Last chance for 9...h5!

10.h5

Now the h-file comes open and Black is condemned to defend against whatever White throws at her on the king-side.

10...Bd7 11.hxg6 fxg6 12.Bg5 Qc8

Since Black's maneuvering has clearly been designed to enforce ...b5, perhaps 12...Qe8 makes more sense.

13.Qd2 Rf7

A mysterious rook move? Not really. Black understands that White would like to make a “St. George Swap” with Bh6. (The lineup with Bg5 and Qd2 against a fianchettoed bishop is characteristic of the so-called St. George Attack in the Dragon Sicilian.) With this delicate shifting of the rook, Black is prepared to meet Bh6 with ...Bh8 keeping the fianchettoed bishop for defense of the dark squares.

14.0–0–0

This is a turning point in the game. Black needs an active plan, and because White has opened the h-file and castled queen-side that plan will not be the typical King's Indian king-side expansion. Instead she needs to seek counterplay on the queen-side as rapidly as possible. The natural way to achieve that counterplay is to open the b-file.

14...Ng4?

This is not a tactical error, but it is positionally suspect on two counts. First, the king-side is the wrong place for Black to be playing, as we saw above. Second, with the center locked a knight is worth more than a bishop; but in this position Black is losing her best knight for White's worst bishop. The right way to find counterplay is to play 14...b5! as a pawn sacrifice. For example, 15.cxb5 Rb8 16.Bh6 Bh8 17.Qg5 Bxb5 18.f3 Bxe2 19.Ngxe2 c4 and with ...Na6-c5-d3 Black should have adequate counterplay.

15.Bxg4 Bxg4 16.f3 Rxf3??

This is a serious error. Though Black gets back almost enough material “on paper,” the net effect is to reduce the pieces Black has available for king-side defense while opening all of the king-side lines. The modest retreat 16...Bd7 may not look impressive, but it puts the bishop where it belongs -- aimed at the b5 square so that Black can generate some counterplay with a quick ...b5. After 17.Rh2 b5! 18.Rdh1 Bh8! Black's rook renders good defensive service right where it stands.

17.gxf3 Bxf3 18.Qh2 Bxh1 19.Rxh1

Materially Black has two pawns for a knight, which isn't quite enough -- particularly in a middlegame where the pawns are a long way from becoming useful. But the tactical situation is far worse. With a rook still on f7 Black could now play ...Bh8 and defend h7 laterally. But Black exchanged that rook off on f3.

19...h5 20.Nxh5!

Very crisp. Aaron doesn't hesitate to give back the material in order to create a position where Black's pieces on the queen-side are completely irrelevant.

20...gxh5 21.Qxh5 Ne8 22.Qh7+ Kf8 23.Rf1+ Nf6 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Rxf6+ Ke8 26.Qg8+ Kd7 27.Rf7# 1–0

Aaron Kahn (2013)
David Whatling (1505)
Round 2
English: Agincourt (Kurajica), A13

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 e6 5.0–0 Bd6 6.d4

Black has adopted a very sturdy “Colle Reversed” setup in response to White's Catalan formation. The road to equality now lies in completing development and then capturing on c4 followed by a quick, well-timed ...e5 or ...c5 to eliminate White's central space advantage.

6...c5?

But this move is completely out of step with the plan of development just outlined. Black needs to complete development before starting active operations in the center; and when he is ready to go toe-to-toe with White, ...c5 will only come (if at all) after ...dxc4.

7.cxd5 exd5 8.Nc3

Now the pressure against d5 will rapidly become acute.

8...0–0

Perhaps Black should try 8...c4 so that White cannot open the d-file with an exchange on c5. Even so, his position is undoubtedly miserable.

9.Bg5

Increasing pressure against d5.

9...Be6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Nxd5

So Black has lost a pawn. For a player of Aaron's caliber, the remainder is not difficult.

12...Bxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc6 14.Ne5!

A nice touch: when the queens come off, White's minor pieces will be activated and his pawn on b7 will be vulnerable.

14...Qxd5 15.Bxd5 Nc6 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Nd7

And there goes the exchange. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this phase of the game is merely dull. What Aaron is demonstrating is the technique that separates experienced players from inexperienced ones. If both players were rated below 1000, it might be nearly even money who would win from the position at move 15: with players above 2000, White's winning percentage will be so close to 100% that it is not really worth either player's time to carry on.

17...Be7 18.Nxf8 Kxf8 19.Rac1 c5 20.Rfd1 a5 21.Rd7 h6 22.Rb7 g6 23.Rd1 Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Bxd8 25.Kg2 Bf6 26.Rb5

More material is falling.

26...Ke7 27.Rxc5 Bxb2 28.Rxa5 Bd4 29.Rd5 Bc3 30.a4 Ke6 31.e4 f5 32.f3 g5 33.a5 fxe4 34.fxe4 Bxa5 35.Rxa5

Now Black is carrying on from sheer momentum.

35...Kd6 36.Kf3 Ke6 37.e5 h5 38.Ke4 h4 39.Ra6+ Ke7 40.Kd5 Kf7 41.e6+ Kf6 42.Kd6 hxg3 43.hxg3 g4 44.e7 Kf7 45.Kd7 Kg7 46.e8Q Kh7 47.Qf7+ Kh8 48.Ra8# 1–0

Roland Samuel (1520)
Ashlee Payne (1123)
Round 5

Notes by Tim McGrew

Black lost a piece in the opening, but for fifty moves she has fought back hard. With a mere two pawns for White's two pieces she must be losing but there is one last trap...

55...f4+ 56.Kxf4

Forced. Now it's two pieces against that one pawn.

56...Kg1 ½–½

But the pawn is threatening to become a new queen! And White can only prevent this by giving up his rook for the pawn while it is still on f2. Shocked by the turn of events, White agreed to a draw here. But is the position truly drawn? Look closely...