The big change in the 2005 Michigan Class Championships was the date. This year, we moved it back to January where it had been previously. Specifically, it was held January 15-16 (Martin Luther King weekend) at the Holiday Inn Select in Auburn Hills. The weather was cold but calm, making travel to the event very easy. The tournament exploded with 128 players, including 77 players between the D/E and Novice sections. This greatly outpaced the 70 players we had last year. The turnout was so good that prizes were added to almost all sections. For those of you relatively new to playing our events, this was not the largest Class Championships ever. Not even close. In 1994, this tournament drew 215 players to Detroit, including 52 players in the Class C section alone.

I had the opportunity to organize this event from scratch and made the push to move it to January. I glad that the event worked out so well and want to thank everyone that attended. You are the ones that made it a success. I also handled directing duties, with my brother, Justin, helping post pairings and making sure that I didn’t miss anything.

The one snafu of the weekend was on Saturday night when there was a Pistons game at the Palace just north of the hotel and a Monster Truck Pull at the Silverdome just to the south. This turned the streets around the hotel into a parking lot. So, any class players that had left after round two had a hard time getting back. Many round three games started late and one player was unable to arrive until three hours after the starting time.

Master/Expert

Six players in the Master/Expert section again this year. This time they all stuck around for the entire tournament. Something needs to be done to rehabilitate this section. I have a couple of ideas, but I would like to hear what you think. If you are in this range, give me a call or send me an e-mail to tell what it would take to get you to play in the Master/Expert tournament.

No surprise with Ben Finegold taking the Master/Expert Championship. Dmitriy Obukhov wins his second consecutive Expert Championship. Seth Homa earned the 2nd Place prize and Bradley Rogers wins the Top U2100 prize.

Seth Homa (2067)
Ben Finegold (2622)
Round 1
Sicilian: Sozin (Benko), B57

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6

This move was the trademark of Pal Benko, who pioneered it in the late 50's. Anthony Saidy and Istvan Csom took it up on the 60's with success, and it has remained a popular sideline down to the present day. Small wonder Ben pulled it out here to shift the game out of the best-known theoretical channels.

7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.0–0 g6 9.Be3 Qb4

This looks like a new move in this position. 9...Qxb2 10.Bd4 is very tricky for Black. 10...Qb4 11.Bxf6 exf6 12.Qd4 with the threat of Bxf7+ and Qxb4 is very uncomfortable, but perhaps Black can hold on with 10...e5 11.Rb1 (11.Qf3!?) 11...Qa3 12.Rb3 Qa5 13.Be3 or 13.Qf3 when a very sharp game is in prospect.

10.Qd3

White could also try 10.Bb3!? since 10...Nxe4? runs into 11.Qf3! when Black is losing because of the weak spots at e4, f7, c6 and a8. These are all connected through the d5-square, so 11...d5 is met by 12.Nxd5! cxd5 13.Bxd5+-.

10...Bg7 11.a3 Qa5

Naturally, Black is not going to fall for 11...Qxb2?? 12.Rfb1+-.

12.f4 0–0 13.Bd4 Rb8 14.b4 Qc7 15.Rae1 a5 16.b5 cxb5 17.Nxb5 Qb7 18.Nc3 Bd7 19.Kh1 Bc6 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Qd7 22.f5 Rfc8 23.fxg6 hxg6

So far Seth's play makes a strong impression, and White has some advantage here. But with his next move he gives away a significant portion of it.

24.Ba2?!

The bishop does little here except defend the d5-pawn. 24.Ba6! Rc7 25.c4 solidifies the queenside, closing files against Black's rooks.

24...Ng4 25.Re6?

White over-finesses the position. 25.Bxg7 Kxg7 26.Qd4+ Ne5 favors Black, whose knight cannot be dislodged. 25.Qf3!? still appears to hold the balance. The main point is that Black has no time for 25...Bxd4?? since his seventh rank is vulnerable: 26.Qxf7+ Kh8 27.Rxe7+-. So Black would have to try something like 25...f5, which is somewhat loosening, or 25...Nf6, which allows White to double on the e-file with 26.Re2 and a subsequent Rfe1.

25...Qe8?

Interestingly, Ben doesn't take the money and run. After 25...fxe6 26.Qxg6 Nf6, I'm not sure what Seth had in mind. For example, 27.Bxf6 exf6 28.dxe6 Qe7 and White hasn't nearly enough for the rook.

26.Bxg7

26.Re2 would leave Black with some edge, perhaps, after 26...Bxd4 27.Qxd4 Ne5. But it is difficult to find a way for Black to break through here. I would have been interested to see what Ben would come up with.

26...Kxg7 27.Qd4+ Ne5

Forcing White to play an exchange sacrifice.

28.Rxe5 dxe5 29.Qxe5+ f6 30.Qd4??

I suspect time pressure may have played a role hereabouts. 30.Qe4 holds the c-pawn, though Black is now better.

30...Rxc2 31.Bc4 Rbb2 0–1

Bad things are happening on g2.

Tom Mazuchowski (2000)
Bradley Rogers (2075)
Round 1
French: Chigorin, C00

1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 b6 3.f4 Bb7 4.d3 Be7 5.Nh3 Nc6 6.c3 d5 7.g3 dxe4 8.dxe4 Nf6 9.Bg2 a5 10.Nf2 0–0 11.Be3 Ba6 12.Qc2 e5 13.Nd2 Bd6 14.Bf3 Qe7 15.f5 Bc5 16.Bg5 Rfd8 17.Be2 Bxf2+ 18.Kxf2 Ng4+ 19.Bxg4 Qxg5 20.Nf3 Qxg4 21.h3 Qh5 22.f6 Bd3 23.Qc1 Bxe4 24.g4 Qg6 25.Rf1 Rd3 26.Ne1 Rxh3 27.g5 Qf5+ 28.Ke2 Qg4+ 29.Kd2 Rd8+ 30.Nd3 Rh2+ 0–1

Ben Finegold (2622)
Dmitriy Obukhov (2179)
Round 2
King's Indian: Yugoslav (Taimanov), E97

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0–0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.g3 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3

This standard position has been seen in hundreds of games. The legendary Yugoslavian GM Svetozar Gligoric was a great artist on the Black side. But now Dmitriy veers off from the main paths.

12...a5!?

This sharp move is not unknown, just somewhat unpopular. But the idea of dissuading White from playing c5 makes perfect sense. 12...c6 is a fairly common way to chip away at the White center before White can organize c5, cxd6, and pressure on the weak d-pawn. 12...f4!? is a popular and sharp pawn sacrifice. The point is that 13.gxf4?! helps to open lines in the center. After 13...exf4 14.Bxf4?, Black can lash out with 14...Nfxd5! and White is in trouble both on f4 and on the long diagonal.

13.bxa5 c5!?

But this appears to be a genuinely new move. The normal continuation is 13...Rxa5 when Black generally holds his own.

14.Rb1

Unassuming moves like this are easy to overlook. But the pressure Ben is putting on b7 turns out to be critical in a few moves.

14...Rxa5

14...Qxa5 is worth a glance.

15.Qd3 fxe4 16.fxe4 Ng4?

But this is too provocative. Black cannot generate enough piece play to make up for the loss of his b-pawn. 16...Ra7 would prepare ...Ng4 next move without allowing a rook on the 7th. White seems, however, to have a comfortable edge since he can drop a knight on e6 in many lines.

17.Bxg4 Bxg4 18.Rxb7 Bc8 19.Ne6! Rxf1+

19...Bxe6 20.dxe6 leaves Black tangled up and facing Bg5.

20.Qxf1 Qe8 21.Rb8

21.Nxg7 Kxg7 22.Rc7 is also very convincing.

21...h6 22.Nb5

Ouch! Forks incoming from every direction!

22...Qd7 23.Rb6 1–0

The last straw. The point is not just that the d-pawn is sensitive but that the rescue attempt 23...Ra6 allows 24.Nxd6 Rxb6 25.Qf7+ Kh8 26.Qxg7#

Morgan Everett (2022)
Tom Mazuchowski (2000)
Round 2
Sicilian: Sozin, B57

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Bd7 7.Bg5 Qa5 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Qd2 Qc5 10.Nxc6 Qxc4 11.Nd4 e6 12.0–0–0 a6 13.Kb1 b5 14.f4 Qc7 15.f5 b4 16.Nce2 e5 17.Nf3 Bc6 18.Ng3 h5 19.Rhe1 h4 20.Nf1 Qb7 21.Qd3 Bb5 22.Qd5 Qxd5 23.Rxd5 Bc6 24.Rdd1 0–0–0 25.h3 d5 26.exd5 Rxd5 27.Rxd5 Bxd5 28.Ne3 Bc6 29.Ng4 Be7 30.c3 bxc3 31.bxc3 Kc7 32.Re2 Bd7 33.Ne3 Kc6 34.Nh2 Bc5 35.Nhg4 Be7 36.Rd2 Rd8 37.Rb2 Ba3 38.Rb3 Bc5 39.Kc1 Rg8 40.Nc4 Bxf5 41.Na5+ Kc7 42.Rb7+ Kc8 43.Rxf7 Bxg4 44.hxg4 Rxg4 45.Rxf6 Be3+ 46.Kc2 Rxg2+ 47.Kb3 h3 48.Rf7 h2 49.Rh7 Bf4 0–1

Bradley Rogers (2075)
Ben Finegold (2622)
Round 3
Sicilian: Closed (Zukertort), B23

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 e6 6.d3 Nge7 7.0–0 d5 8.Bb5 0–0 9.Bxc6 Nxc6 10.e5 f6 11.Qe1 fxe5 12.fxe5 Qc7 13.Qh4 Nxe5 14.Bf4 Nxf3+ 15.Rxf3 Qb6 16.Raf1 Bd7 17.Bh6 Qd6 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Ne2 e5 20.Ng3 h6 21.c4 Rf4 22.Rxf4 exf4 23.Qxf4 Qxf4 24.Rxf4 Bc6 25.Nf1 Re8 26.Kf2 g5 27.Rg4 d4 28.Rg3 Kf6 29.Nd2 h5 30.b4 b6 31.bxc5 bxc5 32.Ne4+ Bxe4 33.dxe4 Rb8 34.Ra3 Ke5 35.Rxa7 Kxe4 36.a4 Rb2+ 37.Kf1 d3 38.a5 Rb1+ 39.Kf2 d2 40.Re7+ Kf5 0–1

Dmitriy Obukhov (2179)
Tom Mazuchowski (2000)
Round 3
King's Indian: Sämisch, E81

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0–0 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 c5 8.dxc5 dxc5 9.Qxd8 Rxd8 10.Bxc5 Nc6 11.Rd1 Be6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.cxd5 Nd7 14.Ba3 Nd4 15.Bd3 Rac8 16.Ne2 e5 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Be7 Re8 19.Bg5 h6 20.Bh4 f5 21.Kd2 Be5 22.Bg3 f4 23.Bf2 Kf7 24.Rc1 Nc5 25.Rc2 a5 26.Rhc1 b6 27.Rc4 Ke7 28.Bxd4 Kd6 29.Bxe5+ Rxe5 30.b3 Ra8 31.Be2 Rh5 32.h3 Rg5 33.Bf1 Re5 34.R1c2 Re7 35.Ke1 Rc7 36.a3 Rac8 37.b4 axb4 38.axb4 Nd7 39.Rxc7 Rxc7 40.Rxc7 Kxc7 41.Kd2 Ne5 42.Kc3 Kd6 43.Kd4 Nf7 44.Bb5 g5 45.Bc6 Ne5 46.Be8 1–0

Tom Mazuchowski (2000)
Ben Finegold (2622)
Round 4
Spanish: Berlin (Benelux), C65

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Bc5 5.c3 0–0 6.d4 Bb6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 d6 9.a4 a5 10.Na3 exd4 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nxd4 g5 13.Bg3 Nxe4 14.Nxc6 Qe8 15.Nd4 f5 16.f3 Nxg3 17.hxg3 Ba6 18.Re1 Qf7 19.Qd2 Rae8 20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.Re1 Kf8 22.Re3 Qd7 23.Kh2 Qxa4 24.Qe1 Rxe3 25.Qxe3 Qd7 26.c4 Bc8 27.b3 Qe7 28.Qd3 Qe5 29.Nac2 Bd7 30.Kh1 a4 31.bxa4 Bxa4 32.Nxf5 Bxc2 33.Qxc2 Qe1+ 34.Kh2 Qg1+ 35.Kh3 h5 0–1

Seth Homa (2067)
Dmitriy Obukhov (2179)
Round 4
French: Advance Winawer (Poisoned Pawn), C18

Notes by Dmitriy Obukhov

Before the last round Ben Finegold had 3 points, I had 2 points, Seth Homa had 1.5, Brad Rogers 1, Tom Mazuchowski 1 and Morgan Everet had 0.5 point. So, in order to win expert prize, I had to draw or win in this game.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 0–0

Another popular option here is 7...Qc7 going for the Poison Pawns variation.

8.Bd3 f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.Bg5 Rf7 11.Qh5 g6 12.Qd1 Qa5 13.Bd2

In case of 13.Qd2, Black should play 13...Nec6! with the idea Nd7 and e5 next. Which will attack White's center and free his bishop at c8.

13...Nbc6 14.Nf3 Qc7

After this move I offered a draw, which was declined because Seth needed to win this game to win the expert prize.

15.0–0 e5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5 18.f4?!

This is the first move out of theory, and not the best one. It looks like White won't be able to play f5, so this move does nothing but block his bishop at d2 and weaken his kingside. Usually White plays 18.c4, which makes a lot of sense because White needs to open the center to free his bishops. After 18.c4, Black should play 18...d4 with unclear play.

18...Qd6 19.Qf3?

This is just a positional blunder.

19...c4! 20.Be2 Bf5 21.Bd1 Be4 22.Qf2

As a result of White's mistake on the 19th move, Black gained a lot of activity. White now should be looking for ways exchange the light-squared bishops. How often do you see that in the French?

22...b6 23.a4 Nc6 24.Be3 Raf8?!

Dubious. Better is 24...Re8 taking control over the e-file.

25.Bf3 Re8 26.Bxe4 Rxe4 27.Rae1 ½–½

A draw was offered by White. Black is clearly better due to more active pieces and better pawn structure. However, I accepted a draw because this was enough to win 1st place in the expert class.

Class A

A competitive Class A section with eleven players led to a four pointer taking clear first. Walt Smith was in command going into the last round. After being a latecomer taking a half-point bye in round one, he reeled off three wins, but was stopped in round five. This allowed Mike Skidmore to sneak by to take the Championship. Walt Smith had to settle for second place. Jennifer Skidmore was the Top U1900.

John Gattinger (1835)
Don Vandivier (1912)
Round 1
Grünfeld: Spassky, D87

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0–0 9.0–0 Qc7

Black looks “through” his c-pawn at the undefended bishop on c4.

10.Qd3

This move is new to me, but it makes sense to defend the bishop on c4. Usually White plays to gain a tempo with 10.Bf4 or simply retreats the other bishop to b3.

10...Nc6 11.Bf4 e5 12.Bg3 cxd4 13.cxd4 Rd8 14.d5 Na5 15.Rfc1 Nxc4 16.Rxc4 Qe7 17.Rac1 f5!?

Black's play is double-edged. If a kingside initiative doesn't materialize, this thrust will leave grave weaknesses in its wake.

18.f3 Qd6 19.Bf2 Qa6?!

It makes a great deal of difference what order one's moves are played in. Here 19...Bd7 20.Bc5 (20.Rc7 Bh6 21.Be3 fxe4 22.fxe4 Bxe3+ 23.Qxe3 Bc6 actually gives Black an edge.) 20...Qa6 keeps a White rook out of c7 for the nonce and leaves a full-blooded game on the board.

20.Qd2 Bd7 21.Rc7! Bf6 22.d6!

Clearing the d5-square for a check. Now Black rues the weaknesses created by ...f5.

22...f4 23.Qd5+ Kf8 24.Nc3 b6??

Black keeps a piece out of c5, but of far greater significance is the opening of the light diagonal leading to a8.

25.Rxd7!

The rook on d8 turns out to be overworked.

25...Qa3

When all else is lost, play for a cheapo!

26.Qf7# 1–0

Jennifer Skidmore (1882)
John Gattinger (1835)
Round 3
Caro-Kann: Exchange (Rubinstein), B13

Notes by Edward Laurin

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5

This just seems to remove all tension from the center very early on. Of course, White has choices such as c4 to create play, but this game goes into a standard exchange variation position.

4.Bd3

This was my old approach to the French Exchange and allows a strong control of the light squares by White. The Caro-Kann Exchange is similar.

4...Nf6 5.Bf4

This is the advantage to this idea in the Caro-Kann. In the French, Black can usually play Bd6 first taking this nice diagonal away from the bishop. The downfall, however, is that Black can play Qb6 here and equalize the position.

5...e6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.c3 Be7 8.0–0 Nh5 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Nbd2 f5

This is really the first large mistake of the game. With the text, Black starts an advance on the kingside but he leaves a severe hole at e5 that will be difficult to protect.

11.Bb5??

White wants to remove Black's control of e5, however...11.Ne5± seems odd since it gives Black a chance to lock up e5 with an exchange. After that Black must take a tempo to protect the hanging knight on h5 and then White may strength the center with f4 leaving Black with a new, and permanent, weakness at e6, not to mention a buried light-squared bishop.

11...Bd7

11...f4µ Oops. Sometimes these tactics just aren't apparent on such an open board. Or perhaps Black thought White could escape with Ne5? However after g6 everything is held and the bishop on e3 is still doomed.

12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Ne5

After all that tension, White gets her knight to the super-outpost!

13...Nf6 14.Bf4 Bd6 15.Re1

Ouch. We can clearly see White plans on living on e-file, she just keeps digging in!

15...h6 16.Qe2 0–0–0 17.Ndf3

Okay, okay, e5 is secure! White should consider breaking through on the queenside with c4 instead.

17...Ne4 18.Be3

This seems to start walking backwards for White. 18.Nxd7 Bxf4 19.Nde5 White's knight returns to his superior location.

18...Be8 19.Nd2?

White unwinds even more.

19...g5 20.f4 Bxe5 21.dxe5

White's monster knight is gone now and the advantage along with it.

21...gxf4 22.Bxf4 Rd7 23.Nb3 Rg7

I like Black better here. He has control of the important g-file. All of his pieces have easy access to attack on the kingside, he has the superior knight, and he doesn't have White's isolated pawn.

24.Nd4 Qb6 25.Be3 c5

Black's powerful center begins to roll forward.

26.Nf3 Bb5

26...Rhg8 just seems automatic. The pawn on h6 is clearly not hanging since the queen is the only thing protecting g2, and White cannot really block up the g-file with g3 given the looming threat of Nxg3 breaking things completely open.

27.Qc2 Rg4

See above notes.

28.a4 Ba6 29.b4

White starts her own attack now. Although objectively it is probably too late.

29...Rhg8

There we go!

30.Ra2 R4g6

I'm not sure. Black suddenly takes a step backward from the attack, just as White did earlier, and loses the advantage as well.

31.bxc5 Qc7 32.h3 Rg3 33.Kh2 Rxf3

This is trying too hard to get something out of a position. Black just needs to make natural moves and not be in a hurry for an instant attack. 33...Bc4 34.Rb2 Nxc5. There doesn't seem to be anything better for Black right now but to keep the pressure mounted. If White exchanges on c5 (which she probably has to), Black can make a massive exchange on g2, trading two rooks for the queen/pawn and should have better changes in the endgame given the bishop/queen and White's shattered pawn structure.

34.gxf3 Qxe5+ 35.f4 Qxc3 36.Qxc3 Nxc3 37.Rb2 Kc7 38.Bd4 Ne4 39.Reb1 Ng3

Black can still put up a decent resistance (due to White's poor pawn structure) with 39...Kc6 or another natural move (h5). This however just loses material.

40.Rg2 Bd3 41.Rbg1 Be4 42.Rxg3 Rb8

This won't help any either.

43.Be5+ 1–0

Joseph Gadson (1970)
Jennifer Skidmore (1882)
Round 4
Philidor, C41

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4

White uses this sidestepping variation when he is not prepared to contest the main lines of the Philidor.

3...Be7

3...Nf6!? is an invitation to a wild gambit line that I've explored in one of my ChessCafe columns. The idea is 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 h6 6.Nf3 e4 when Black gets a good deal of play for the pawn. Notice that, by comparison with the Two Knights Defense, Black has not really lost a tempo since he doesn't have to spend time moving his knight away from c6. Jennifer's move is perfectly solid and avoids all of these complicated lines.

4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 0–0 6.0–0 Bg4

When I sat down to annotate this game, I was astonished to discover that we are following Steinitz-MacDonnell, Dublin playoff 1865.

7.Nbd2

Steinitz kicked the bishop with h3, and MacDonnell, perhaps unwisely, captured on f3. It would be interesting to see whether Jennifer would have backed up to h5, since that line has featured in some recent games.

7...c6 8.a4

This is the last move in book. Now Dimitrova-Petrova, 2001 continued 8...Qc7 9.b4 d5 10.Ba2 Nbd7 11.Qc2 a5 and Black won when White overextended badly.

8...Nbd7 9.Re1 Nc5 10.b4 Ne6 11.Nf1

In hindsight, White would have done better to withdraw the bishop with 11.Bb3 in order to avoid being hit on the nose with Black's next move.

11...d5! 12.Bb3 d4 13.Bxe6 fxe6!

The open f-file is a great asset for Black here. White need to be formulating plans to equalize.

14.Bb2 Nh5 15.Qb3 Bxf3 16.Qxe6+

Though it is tempting to take a “free” pawn, this puts White's queen on an unfortunate square.

16...Kh8 17.cxd4

17.gxf3 Nf4! hits both e6 and d3 -- not good.

17...Nf4! 18.Qxe5 Nxd3

A huge fork.

19.Qg3

White's queen position goes from bad to really bad.

19...Bh4! 0–1

Black mops up after 20.Qh3 Bxf2+ 21.Kh1 Bxe1! when White cannot capture anything due to the threat of 22...Nf2+. An impressive performance by Jennifer!

Don Vandivier (1912)
I.C. Matias (1817)
Round 4
Giuoco Piano: Anderssen, C54

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5!?

Don specializes in these aggressive sidelines, and as a rule they score a lot of points for him.

6...d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4

This line was a favorite of Steinitz's in the 1890's, and Sveshnikov used it a few times in the 1980's. Adolf Anderssen had particular difficulties with the Black pieces, losing half a dozen times from this position.

8...Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Nxd2 10.Nbxd2 0–0 11.0–0 Bg4 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Qc2

White unpins at an opportune moment when there is a weakness on c6 to assail. Sure, Black has a pair of bishops, but if they are condemned to stand guard over his pawns on the c-file then they are not a powerful positional force.

13...Bd7

Black's position is not desperate, but he is not demonstrating a clear and active plan, and that fact -- more than any of the defects in his position -- is a bad sign. I am attracted by the more active approach with 13...c5 14.dxc5 Qe7 whereby Black liquidates his c-file weakness and obtains active piece play for the (temporary) price of one pawn.

14.a3 Bxd2?

This, however, is positional folly. The darksquare bishop was Black's only active minor piece; the knight on d2 was White's worst minor piece, without scope or future. Black should have chosen 14...Be7 to keep the bishops on the board. His position is still unenviable, but at least he can dream about organizing ...f6 or ...c5 under the right circumstances -- both breaks that require at least a little bit of dark square support.

15.Nxd2 Qg5 16.f4

The pawn is a battering ram that must be stopped before it can reach f6, breaching the castle wall.

16...Qf5 17.Qc3 Rab8 18.b4

Of course. White clamps the c5-square. Now Black is probably positionally lost.

18...Rb6 19.Rf3 Rfb8 20.Raf1

White could snuff out any hint of queenside counterplay with 20.Nb3 here.

20...a5 21.bxa5 Rb2 22.a6 Qc2?

Black is trying desperately to swap off pieces to eliminate the pressure. But now the a-pawn is a monster in its own right.

23.Qxc2 Rxc2 24.a7 Ra8?

Overlooking White's next move, perhaps because the attack on the knight at d2 looks like it must be answered. 24...Rf8 is the lesser evil.

25.Rb3!

The mate threat at b8 seals Black's fate.

25...g6 26.Rb8+ Kg7 27.Rxa8 1–0

Mike Skidmore (1850)
Gerard Jendras (1902)
Round 5
Four Knights: Rubinstein, C48

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4

The Rubinstein Variation with 4...Nd4 aims to break the symmetry and unbalance the game.

5.d3 Nxb5

A good choice for Black, grabbing the two bishops. Another solid line is 5...Bb4 and now 6.Bd2?? loses a piece to 6...Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Nxb5. Rokhlin-Botvinnik (Leningrad, 1930) went 5...Bb4 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bb3 d5!? 8.Nxe5 Nxb3 9.cxb3 d4 with a tense game.

6.Nxb5 c6 7.Nc3 d6

Consider 7...Qc7 defending the e5-pawn while trying to advance d7-d5 in one move. Note the closed center allows for slower plans on both sides.

8.Ne2 d5 9.exd5 Qxd5

9...cxd5? 10.Nxe5

10.h3 Bc5 11.0–0 0–0 12.Nc3 Qd6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4

14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Ne4 Qe7 16.Nxc5 Qxc5 17.Re1 is one way for White to chop wood but this endgame is drawish. Keeping pieces on the board increases the chances for a decisive result either way.

14...Bf5 15.Bg3 Bd4

Safer might be 15...Nd7 but this would allow 16.Ne4 and Black still has to mind the e5-pawn.

16.Nxd4 Qxd4 17.Qf3 Be6 18.Rfe1 Nd7 19.Re4 Qc5 20.Rae1 Bd5 21.Nxd5 cxd5 22.R4e2 f6 23.Qf5!

White's queen infiltrates on the weakened light squares with tempo.

23...Rf7 24.c3 Nf8 25.d4!

A good pawn sacrifice exploiting Black's weak back rank, also opening lines so the bishop can reach d6.

25...exd4 26.cxd4 Qxd4?!

Given the game continuation, declining the pawn with 26...Qc6 may have held better.

27.Re8 Rxe8 28.Rxe8 Qa4 29.Qc8 Qc6 30.Qb8 Qc1+

30...Qc5 31.Bd6 Qc1+ 32.Kh2 transposes. White wins a piece.

31.Kh2 d4 32.Bd6 d3 33.Bxf8 Kh7

33...d2 34.Bxg7+! mates e.g. 34...Kxg7 35.Rg8+ Kh7 36.Rg3.

34.Ba3 Rc7 35.Rh8+ Kg6 36.Qe8+ Kg5 37.Qb5+ 1–0

White pockets the d-pawn, ending Black's counter-chances and remaining a piece up.

I.C. Matias (1817)
Will Rhee (1928)
Round 5
Semi-Slav: Meran (Reynolds), D48

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7

The Triangle Defense is a versatile set-up for Black within the Slav Defense. Black can advance ...b5 or else play for ...e5 according to taste.

6.Bd3 dxc4

6...a6 7.0–0 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Bd3 c5 10.Qe2 Bb7 11.Rd1 Qc7 Saemisch-Capablanca (Moscow, 1925) with chances for both sides.

7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.0–0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 12.Bc2 Nc5 13.Re1 Be7!?

Seems to be a natural developing move, but allows a tactic giving White the better game. Black might consider 13...Nfd7 to meet 14.dxe6 with 14...Nxe6.

14.Bg5

14.d6! Bf8 (14...Bxd6? 15.e5 wins a piece) 15.e5 Nd5 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 h6 18.Nd4 Gligoric-Ristovic (Pozarevac, 1995) gave White a huge edge.

14...exd5 15.exd5 0–0 16.Qe2 Re8

Now chances are even, although White must protect the advanced d5-pawn.

17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Qxe8+ Qxe8 19.Rxe8+ Rxe8 20.Rd1 Rd8 21.d6 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Be5 23.Ne4 Ne6!

The b2-pawn is still under attack, but also avoiding 23...Nxe4!? 24.Bxe4 and the bishops of opposite color would help White hold the draw, even down material.

24.b3 Nd4 25.f4?!

Drops a pawn, but White had no good alternative.

25...Ne2+ 26.Kf1 Nxf4 27.d7 Ne6 28.b4 Nd4!

Again the knight cuts communication with the passed pawn. Now Black finishes efficiently.

29.f4 Nxc2 30.fxe5 Ne3+ 31.Ke2 Nxd1 32.Kxd1 Rxd7+ 33.Ke2 Re7 34.Ke3 Rxe5 35.Kd4 Rxe4+! 0–1

The king and pawn endgame is an easy win. Nice technique by Rhee.

Class B

The Class B section returned to a more normal state of affairs after only drawing six players in 2004. There were sixteen this time. My brother was just over 1600 in the December rating supplement. The February supplement had already been posted to the USCF website at the time of the tournament, which put him going back down to Class C. In addition, his work schedule had been keeping him from attending our chess club and playing in weekend tournaments, so he wasn’t expecting to do much in this section. How about three wins, two draws, and the Class B Championship? Yes, Justin Aldrich takes Class B. He had a little help from fellow Kearsley Alum, Kent Hershberger. Kent defeated John Whitworth in the last round. John settles for second place on tiebreaks over Kent. Derek Li also scored three and a half points to take the U1700 prize.

John Whitworth (1768)
Roy Almasy (1674)
Round 1
Giuoco Piano, C53

Notes by Edward Laurin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3

White plays c3 here to actively control the center after moves such as d4. This is a common theme in the Piano systems.

4...d6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2

7.Nc3 is a good alternative to the text. Black's bishop has no real activity since an exchange on c3 would result in increasing White's strength in the center.

7...Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 a6

This is an odd move in the position and doesn't seem to meet the immediate demands of Black's undeveloped kingside or White's superior central control. From having played Roy in this line many times, I'm pretty sure he's worried about Bb5 but in this position that isn't so much of a concern. 8...Nf6 9.0–0 0–0 10.h3 d5 is just one sideline example.

9.0–0 Bg4? 10.h3

10.Qb3 is a common move in these types of positions. Now White wins material from the fork on b7/f7.

10...Bh5 11.Nb3

11.Qb3 is still a powerful move.

11...Nge7 12.Re1 0–0 13.Be2 f5

This is too spunky, serving only to weaken Black's position. Normal moves such as 13...Bg6 or 13...Re8 probably serve better.

14.Ng5 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Rf6 16.d5 Ne5 17.Ne6 Qe8?

Of course, Black must do something about the problem on c7.

18.Nxc7

White finishes the game nicely from here.

18...Qg6 19.Nxa8 f4 20.f3 Qh5 21.Nd4 Rg6 22.Kh1 Rg5 23.Nc7 Qh4 24.Rac1 Qg3 25.Nce6 Rg6 26.Rf1 Kf7 27.Rc7 Rh6 28.Rxe7+ Kxe7 29.Nf5+ Kf6 30.Nxg3 fxg3 31.f4 Ng6 32.Qg4 Nh8 33.Qxg7# 1–0

Harold Steen (1688)
Darrell Turner (1768)
Round 1
Indian: East Indian, A48

Notes by Tim McGrew

This one might have come straight out of a tactics book.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.b3

Positions with opposing fianchettoes can be quite volatile.

4...c5!

Black immediately sets up tactics on the weakened diagonal.

5.Bb2

5.dxc5 could be met by either 5...Qa5+ or 5...Ne4.

5...0–0 6.Nc3 d6 7.dxc5 Qa5!?

This tricky move is based on the vulnerability of White's knight at c3. It shouldn't work, but it does require White to see something that isn't obvious in order to meet it. 7...dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 would be dead equal.

8.cxd6

So far, so good: White takes the extra pawn.

8...Ne4

The moment of truth. Black has an enormous amount of pressure on c3. There is exactly one good move for White here.

White to Move

9.dxe7??

Not this way!! The right move is 9.Nd4! blocking the long diagonal. It looks at first glance like this fails to 9...Nxc3 when Black is momentarily a piece up and threatens a nasty discovered check. But White counter-pins with 10.Qd2!± taking advantage of Black's undefended queen. When the dust settles, White keeps the extra pawn.

9...Bxc3+!

Capturing with check, thus giving White no time to take the rook on f8.

10.Ke2

It would be better -- relatively speaking -- to retain the castling privilege and give up the piece with 10.Bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Nd2 Black is well on top after 11...Re8 but at least White is still in the game.

10...Bxb2

10...Re8 is also simple and overwhelmingly strong.

11.exf8Q+ Kxf8

Now White steps out of a fork...

12.Kd3

...but walks into another one.

12...Nxf2+ 0–1

Heather Swan (1607)
Scott Thach (1764)
Round 2
Dutch: Queen's Knight, A85

Notes by Edward Laurin

1.c4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nc3 e6 4.e3

Playing e3 here passively avoids Black's control of e4. Both are perfectly acceptable ideas.

4...f5

The Dutch Defense. The idea here is to control the central light squares with the f5-pawn. The disadvantage is that Black's kingside is vulnerable, however it is quite difficult for White to take advantage of that.

5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Be2

Although this seems passive it is a decent choice. 6.Bd3 carries the problem that if 6...Ne4 Black cannot exchange knight for knight and thus some flexibility is lost.

6...Be7 7.Bd2

This is a slight positional misunderstanding. White should castle here and follow up with b2-b3. This maintains the center and flexibility. By playing Bd2, White has committed to that position. It is apparent from the text that White's plan is to queenside castle. However, the pawn structure of this position marks that as far too risky of a plan.

7...0–0 8.Qc2

Following the previous plan. White drives forward toward queenside castling.

8...a5

Black pinches space on the queenside in preparation for an attack.

9.0–0–0 Ne4 10.Rdf1 Bf6

10...Na6 is probably only slightly better than the text. It brings another piece closer to the action and attack. However, the text is fine.

11.Bd3 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Na6 13.a3 g6?

This isn't a blunder, however Black seems to have stepped back from the position and made a waiting move. 13...c5 or 13...d5 come to mind as possibilities to continue the attack.

14.Rhg1 c5 15.e4

This is far too brazen. It weakens the square Black just targeted. After Black captures on d4, White will not be able to push through to e5 to blockade the diagonal, and exchanging on f5 does little to weaken Black's position.

15...cxd4 16.Bxd4 fxe4

Black misses his chance to impart some damage. This move just suffices to remove tension from the board. 16...Bxd4 17.Nxd4 Qf6. Black places his queen on a powerful diagonal with a tempo. White cannot protect the knight since then e4 would fall, thus it must move. 18.Nb3 (Ne2 and f3 are similar shapes to the following variation) 18...fxe4 19.Bxe4 d5! 20.Bf3 (20.cxd5 Rac8 is clearly poor.) 20...Rac8. The weakness of White's queenside castle tells. Black will win material and have a powerful attack.

17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Qxe4 Bxd4

Continues to remove the pressure.

19.Qxd4 Nc5

This closes off the c-file. 19...Rc8 seems automatic given the weakened presence of the king. This move makes a one-move threat that isn't very powerful.

20.Kb1 Qc7 21.Ne5 Rad8 22.Ng4

Here goes the castle... 22.Re1. White needs to free up her position otherwise material will fall.

22...Qf4 23.Qxf4 Rxf4 24.Ne3 Ne4

Black wins material. Once again the exposed position of White's king tells a story.

25.Kc2 Rxf2+ 26.Rxf2 Nxf2 27.Kc3 Ne4+

This helps white centralize her king.

28.Kd4 Nc5 29.b4 axb4 30.axb4 Nb7

Far too passive. 30...Na6 forcing White to either weaken her pawn structure with b5 or decentralize her king or knight to protect it.

31.Ra1 Rb8 32.Ra7 Kf7 33.Ng4 Ke7 34.Ne5 Kd8 35.c5

35.Ra3 White's pieces are much more active. No need to keep the rook tied up on the side of the board.

35...bxc5+ 36.bxc5 Kc7 37.Nc4 Rf8 38.Nd6 Rb8 39.Nc4 ½–½

39.Ke5. Although I agree this position is a draw with best play, it seems very complicated. I wouldn't agree to a draw here as White or Black without some considerable thought. The following seems to be the best continuation with this line, although many others are possible. 39...Kc6 Break the pin. 40.Nxb7 Rxb7 41.Rxb7 Kxb7 42.Kd6 Kc8 43.c6 dxc6 44.Kxc6 Kd8 45.Kd6 e5 draws away White's king from the opposition. (45...Ke8 46.Kxe6 Kf8 47.Kf6 Kg8) 46.Kxe5 Ke7=.

Daniel Libby (1745)
Harold Steen (1688)
Round 2
King's Indian: Classical, E91

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0–0

By transposition, we have reached a standard King's Indian position seen in thousands of games. But now Harold Steen tries something very unorthodox.

7...a6?!

There is a reason that books by Fred Reinfeld -- who was, by the way, a strong master and beat Reshevsky in tournament play -- warn us against moves like this. Black hopes to start Benko Gambit style play on the queenside. But if that play doesn't materialize fast enough, he will regret what happens in the center.

8.h3 c5 9.Be3

A practical decision. Black is obviously trying to provoke d5 so that he can counterattack on the queenside. By simply developing and holding d4, White serves notice that he doesn't want to play the sort of game Black is asking for. White could also consider grabbing more central space with 9.d5. Black might then choose the Benko-like gambit 9...b5!? 10.cxb5 axb5 11.Bxb5 Ba6 which has a fairly good theoretical reputation.

9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc5

Sensible play: Black tries to provoke f3, which would leave darksquare weaknesses around White's king.

11.Bf3

White sensibly defends e4 with a piece. Now Black must be on the alert since a move of the b-pawn could be met by e5, unleashing the bishop on the light diagonal.

11...Ncd7 12.Qd2

When you can't think of anything else to do, exchange off the opponent's fianchettoed bishop! This is not a bad plan since the long dark diagonal is open and Black's bishop, in consequence, is strong.

12...Re8

An instinctive response: Black anticipates White's idea.

13.Bh6 Bh8

As advertised.

14.h4?!

A pawn lever like h4-5 makes a great deal of sense when there is a rook behind it. Here it just seems to weaken g4. But will Black find a good way to take advantage of this?

14...e5?

Not this way! In every respect this is an error. Positionally, it walls in the bishop on h8 and leaves the d-pawn desperately weak. It also has a tactical flaw that White exposes incisively. It would have made a great deal of sense to take advantage of the weakness of g4 with 14...Ne5! White has to attend to his weak c-pawn now, but after 15.Be2 Bg4 16.f3 Bd7. White doesn't seem to have any advantage and could easily overreach, e.g. 17.f4?! Neg4! 18.f5? Nxh6 19.Qxh6 Nxe4! Exploiting the fact that the knight on d4 is now undefended. 20.Nxe4 Bxd4+-+.

15.Nf5!

Here is the tactical point. White's knight is invulnerable because of 15...gxf5?? 16.Qg5+ and mate next move. So Black's weak pawn on d6 falls immediately.

15...Nc5 16.Nxd6 Re6

Black didn't have many good options, but this awkward rook lift takes away another square from the knight on c5.

17.Nxc8

17.Rad1 is even more painful, but at this point White has several ways to exploit his superiority.

17...Qxc8 18.b3 Qc7 19.Rad1 Ne8

Losing control over d7. But White doesn't seize the opportunity.

20.Nd5

20.b4! would be painful since the knight has no decent retreat square.

20...Qa5

I have some doubts about the last few moves recorded here but none about the justice of the outcome.

21.Qe3 Ra7 1–0

Derek Li (1695)
Daniel Libby (1744)
Round 3
Sicilian: Accelerated Dragon (Simagin), B34

Notes by Tim McGrew

Derek Li won several nice games in this event with a direct attack against a fianchettoed kingside. Here is the first of two we'll show.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6

Chess Life once ran an excellent multi-part theoretical article by John Donaldson, Jeremy Silman and John Watson recommending openings for ordinary mortals; their recommendation for Black against 1.e4 was the Accelerated Dragon.

5.Nc3

White skips the chance to set up the Maroczy Bind with c4.

5...Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3 0–0 8.Qd2

All of these moves are routine as both players file along the well-worn paths of theory. But now, abruptly, we deviate.

Black to Move

8...Re8?

This is a poor move. It is also extremely instructive. Why did Black make it? And why is it bad? White's last move telegraphed his intention to exchange bishops with Bh6. By itself this exchange is not fatal, but in conjunction with h4-5xg6, it can create serious problems around the Black king. So Black takes a tempo out to make sure that Bh6 is not a pin. Now he can meet Bh6 by ...Bh8 preserving the defender of his dark squares. But all of this misses the point. The really urgent strategic task is not the anticipation and diffusion of attacking ideas -- an inherently passive undertaking -- but the generation of counterplay in the center. For this reason it was imperative that Black lash out now with 8...d5! White is, if only momentarily, uncastled. He has no time to try an exchange on h6, and when the center opens Black's bishop and knights will prove far more active than White's corresponding pieces. In fact, it is largely the possibility of playing ...d5 in a single bound like this (as opposed to playing 2...d6 in a normal Dragon and later nudging the d-pawn forward another square) that makes the Accelerated Dragon an attractive proposition for Black. Witness the following massacre: 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.c3 Bf5 13.Qf2 Bxc3+! Ilves-Kiik (2445), Estonian Club Championship 2000. Having missed this possibility, Black never recovers his balance.

9.Bc4

White clamps down on the d5-square immediately.

9...e6

An ugly move. White must have rejoiced to see the “Swiss cheese” pawn structure with gaping holes on the dark squares.

10.0–0–0 a6 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Bh6 Nxb3+ 13.Nxb3 b5

Black is under the illusion that he has some hope of counterplay on the queenside. The move ...b5 is essential in some lines like the Najdorf, but it is out of place here since Black has nothing with which to attack.

14.h4

The idea of sacrificing a pawn on h5 is attractive, but so is 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.e5! Ng8 16.Ne4! when White's knight threatens to drop in on d6 and choke the life out of Black.

14...Bb7

If ever there was a time for ...Bh8, this was it. Having missed his opportunity for counterplay, Black now misses his chance for defense and gets smashed.

15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.h5 gxh5

A poor choice in a difficult situation. Some people hesitate before making a pawn sacrifice like this, but experience shows that the sac is almost always sound as Black is rarely able to cope with the pressure down the h-file. For example, 16...Nxh5 17.g4 Nf6 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.e5!+- and the knight dare not move because of the weakness of h7.

17.Qg5+ Kh8 18.e5! Ng8 19.Qxh5 h6 20.Qxf7 Qg5+ 21.Kb1 Qxg2

If Black wanted to hobble on, it would be better to choose 21...Re7 and leave the g-file closed. Now White wraps up the attack convincingly.

22.Rdg1 Rf8 23.Qxd7 Qxh1 24.Qg7# 1-0

Roy Almasy (1674)
Jay Carr (1600)
Round 4
Sicilian: Nimzovich, B29

Notes by Edward Laurin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6

The Nimzowitch Variation of the Sicilian. This is very rare in current chess making it an interesting surprise weapon for an opponent.

3.Nc3

3.e5 Nd5 4.Nc3 doesn't really offer White better chances.

3...d5 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.e5

Now is the right time for the push since Black's knight no longer has the d5-square.

5...Ne4 6.e6 Bxb5

6...fxe6. Most games I can find in my database continue with this. 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Qg4². Black's pawn structure doesn't really appeal to me. I prefer the positions the text gives.

7.exf7+ Kxf7 8.Nxb5 Nc6 9.0–0 h6 10.Nh4

This doesn't fit the position well. Knights on the rim are grim (dim). White has a plan to invade the light squares with his queen, but Black can take time to fill in the position with Nf6 making the knight move seem pointless since White cannot get his queen to any suitable squares (g5/h5). Better is just to continue naturally with 10.d3, 10.Qe2, or 10.Re1 furthering development instead of losing a tempo.

10...Nf6 11.Re1 Qd7 12.Qe2 a6 13.Nc3 Re8

13...Nd4 and Black wins material or weakens White's position greatly. 14.Qd3 Qg4 15.Nf3 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 b5µ.

14.Nf3 e5 15.d3 Bd6

Black controls more space and has better squares for his pieces offering him a slight advantage.

16.Nd1 Re7 17.c3 Rhe8 18.Ne3 e4 19.Nh4?? exd3?

Missing the chance. 19...d4 toys with the coordination of White's knights. After the e3-knight moves, g7-g5 would win the other. 20.Nhf5 dxe3 21.Nxe7 exd3 22.Qxe3 Bxh2+ 23.Kh1 Rxe7 24.Qd2 Bc7 is just one of the possibilities.

20.Qxd3 Re4 21.g3

21.Nf3 brings the knight back to safety rather than leaving it hanging on the side of the board.

21...d4 22.Nf1 Rxe1

Black's advantage is decisive since White's attack can be stopped later.

23.Qg6+ Ke6 24.Bxh6 Rxa1 25.Bxg7 Be7 26.Nf5 Ne5

Black continues to press with the best defensive moves. The problem with Black is that it is a difficult situation where he must defend, even though winning. Sometimes this is harder than to be losing and attack.

27.Qh6 Neg4 28.Qf4 Qd6

Oops. Black starts to fall downwards. The game has probably long since slipped into time trouble.

29.Nxd6 Bxd6

Black is still winning, however, as the queen is no match for two rooks and a bishop.

30.Qg5 Kf7 31.h3 Nxf2? 1–0

One last blunder to give White the winning game. Now two minors will come off and White will be up some pawns and a queen for a rook. 31...Ree1 completely wins since: 32.hxg4 Rxf1+ 33.Kg2 (33.Kh2 Rxf2+ 34.Kh3 Rh1#) 33...Rxf2+ 34.Kxf2 picking up White's last chance. 34...Ne4+.

Justin Aldrich (1615)
Randall Brooks (1777)
Round 5
Sicilian: Moscow, B52

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+

I can still recall the year back in the 1970's when this was an overnight sensation, almost rivaling the main lines of the Sicilian in popularity. The commotion has died back down, but it remains a viable alternative to 3.d4.

3...Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Nxd7 5.0–0 Ngf6 6.Re1 e6 7.c3 Be7 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 0–0 10.Nc3

White's center is admirable and Black's minor pieces lack scope. On the other hand, White does not have serious attacking chances against Black's king right now. I'd call it a small edge for White.

10...Nb6 11.Qd3

It isn't yet quite clear where the queen belongs, so I think I would prefer to develop the bishop first. One idea is 11.h3 followed by 12.Be3.

11...Rc8 12.Bf4

The bishop is a little exposed here. White might consider 12.Bg5 instead.

12...Nh5

12...d5 13.e5 Nfd7 yields a French Defense pawn structure where Black should be fine. He doesn't have much pressure on White's d-pawn, but the semi-outpost at c4 compensates for this since White will be reluctant to weaken c3 by playing b3 to chase out a knight.

13.Be3 Nc4 14.b3?!

This is not a blunder, but by weakening c3 White gives Black a target to play against.

14...Nxe3 15.Qxe3 Qa5

Black loses no time focusing on the weak knight.

16.Ne2

16.Rec1 would keep a Black rook off of White's 7th rank.

16...Rc2 17.a3 Rfc8 18.b4 Qa6 19.Rac1 Nf6 20.Nd2 R8c6 21.Rxc2 Rxc2 22.Rc1 Ng4!

This is bad news for White. The rook on c1, the knight on e2, the queen on e3, the pawn on a3 and the pawn on f2 are all under pressure. Something has to give.

23.Qb3?

Objectively, perhaps 23.Qf4 is the least of evils, though after 23...Rxc1+ 24.Nxc1 Qxa3!

23...Rxd2! 24.Nf4 Nxf2??

In Think Like a Grandmaster, Kotov warns against “dizziness due to success.” Here is a classic illustration. White has dropped a piece and clearly Black has the initiative. So Black ceases to think in defensive terms and “wins” another pawn that he does not really need. But... Simply 24...h6 would snuff out White's counterplay.

25.Rc8+! Bf8 26.Nxe6!!

The tables are turned! Black finds himself unable to defend the bishop at f8. This sort of position requires a very swift mental adjustment from offense to defense. Here, as so often, Black doesn't quite make the transition.

26...h5

26...h6 is better. Then after 27.Rxf8+ Kh7, White does not have a knight check at g5. White is still better with 28.b5 Qa5 29.Rxf7±, but the game is not yet over.

27.Rxf8+ Kh7 28.Ng5+! Kh6 29.Nxf7+

Suddenly a mating net appears around the Black king -- a nice illustration of the combined offensive power of a knight and a queen.

29...Kh7 30.Rh8+ Kg6 31.Qe6# 1–0

Derek Li (1695)
Darrell Turner (1768)
Round 5
Pirc: Two Knights, B08

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 d6

A few years ago, Alburt and Chernin (and Al Lawrence) wrote a brilliant and inspiring book entitled Pirc Alert! that outlined Black's strategies in this hypermodern defense. The book is fine and if Black knows the opening thoroughly it is just about playable. Unfortunately, if Black doesn't know exactly what he is doing his position can implode dramatically.

2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3

This simple system is sometimes called the “150 Attack” by the British. A British rating of 150 is roughly equivalent to an 1800 USCF rating, and the idea is that this is the way that an A-player will play for mate. It's not terribly refined, but hey -- it works!

4...Bg7 5.Bc4

This bishop placement is a little out of place in the 150 attack, but Black doesn't take advantage of it in the best way.

5...c6

One option is the immediate fork trick with 5...Nxe4 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Bd3 dxe4 8.Bxe4 This looks nearly equal: White has more space, but his d-pawn is a target for attack with ideas like ...c5, whereas White has no correspondingly exposed target to aim at.

6.Nf3 b5

Here 6...d5 comes to mind, once again taking advantage of the exposure of that bishop. After 7.Bd3 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 Qb6, White's position looks better than it is; he is hampered by the need to defend the pawn at b2. Black should have sufficient counterplay here.

7.Bd3 0–0 8.Qd2

Derek is very straightforward: he wants to swap bishops.

8...Nbd7

Since White's intentions aren't exactly subtle, this might be a good time to hassle the darksquare bishop with 8...Ng4 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bf4 e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 when the intended kingside attack never materializes.

9.Bh6 b4 10.Ne2 c5 11.h4

White's moves are easy to find: he is following a set pattern of attack. The defense is nowhere nearly as easy.

11...Re8

Black hopes to retreat his bishop to h8. But...

12.Bxg7!

White doesn't give him time.

12...Kxg7 13.h5! e5

13...Nxh5? 14.g4! Nhf6 15.Qh6+ Kg8 16.e5! wins a piece for two pawns, just for starters.

14.hxg6

Of course White opens the file immediately. Why not?

14...fxg6 15.Qh6+ Kg8 16.Bc4+!

White's timing is nice. Here the bishop shifts from a useless diagonal to a useful one.

16...Kh8 17.Ng5

Painful!

17...Re7 18.Nf7+ Rxf7 19.Bxf7 Nf8 20.f3

20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Bxg6 looks pretty powerful as well.

20...Ng8 21.Qh2

White is so far ahead in material that he could very well consider 21.Bxg8 Kxg8 22.dxe5 dxe5 23.Rd1 with a crushing position.

21...cxd4 22.Bxg6 Qe7 23.Qh5 Nf6 24.Qh6 Ng8

A defense with a hole in it.

White to Move

25.Qxf8!! 1–0

Class C

We had eighteen players in this section, which isn’t bad. But, I know that we can do better than this. Clint Prong led the charge giving up only a single draw and taking the Class C Championship. Derek Wilder scored four point to take clear second place. The only three and a half pointer under 1500 was Luis Castro.

Clint Prong (1572)
Luis Castro (1403)
Round 5
Sicilian: Richter, B60

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d6 5.Nc3

5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.f3 Bg7 8.Be3 0–0 9.Qd2 Suba-Bello (Ponferrada, 1992) gives White a typical Maroczy Bind formation with good chances since Black can't get ...d5 in easily. With 5.Nc3, White safely transposes to the main lines just fine.

5...Nf6 6.Bg5 e5 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.Nb3

8.Nf5 Bxf5 9.exf5 Nd4 10.Bc4 Rc8 11.Bb3 a6 12.Nd5 Ganguly-Poliakov (Goa, 2002) with pressure against Black's weakened kingside. White sometimes regrets decentralizing the Nd4 to b3.

8...a6 9.a3 Be6 10.Nd5 Bh6 11.Qh5 Bg7 12.0–0–0 Ne7 13.Kb1 Bxd5 14.exd5 Ng6

14...b5 15.Bd3 Qb6 16.Qf3 a5 with active play on the queenside. The g6-knight doesn't have good squares, especially after White plays 15.g3.

15.g3 b5 16.Bd3 Qb6

Same difference, although the knight may coordinate better on e7, also Bxh7?! isn't a real threat since the h7-bishop remains pinned.

17.Qe2 0–0!?

Playing for the win, yet the Black king might be safer in the center.

18.h4 h6 19.Qe4 Rfb8 20.h5 Nf8 21.Qe3 Qxe3

The exchange of queens helps White, thus the immediate 21...a5 might improve.

22.fxe3 a5 23.Rh4 Nh7 24.Bxh7+ Kxh7 25.Rf1 Kg8 26.Nd2 Kf8 27.Rg4 Bh8 28.Nf3 Ke7 29.Nh4

White's knight heads straight toward the weak f5 square, setting up a good knight/bad bishop endgame. Black's h8-bishop has zero scope.

29...Rg8 30.Nf5+ Kf8 31.Rxg8+ Kxg8 32.Nxh6+ Kf8 33.Nf5 Rd8 34.e4 Ke8 35.Rf3 Kd7 36.h6

White has a strategically won game.

36...Rc8 37.b3 b4 38.axb4 axb4 39.Kb2 Rb8 40.c3 Rb6 41.cxb4 Rxb4 42.Re3 Rb8 43.Rc3 Rb6 44.Rc4 Kd8 45.Ra4 Kc7 46.Ra7+ 1–0

White soon wins the f7-pawn and promotes the h6-pawn. Solid play by Prong.

Derek Wilder (1552)
Bill Hazzard (1590)
Round 5
Pirc, B07

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bg4!?

A rare line which gets both sides out of book. Here 3...g6 would lead to the Pirc = Modern Defense.

4.f3 Bh5 5.Be3

5.Bc4 e6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nge2 Nbd7 Hounie Fleurquin-Balparda Muro (Mar del Plata, 1936) with a slight edge in space for White, typical of this opening.

5...Nbd7 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nge2 Be7 8.Qd2 h6 9.0–0–0 a6 10.g4 Bg6 11.Ng3 b5 12.Nf5 Bf8 13.g5 b4 14.Ne2 Ng8!?

14...hxg5 15.Bxg5 Bxf5 16.exf5 Be7 seems more active. Note Black is undeveloping pieces leading to a very cramped position.

15.gxh6 gxh6 16.h4 Bxf5 17.exf5 Ngf6 18.Ng3

Interesting how both White knights used the g3-square.

18...Nd5 19.dxe5 Nxe3 20.Qxe3 dxe5

20...Nxe5?? 21.f4

21.Ne4 f6 22.Bc4 Qe7 23.Be6!

A beautiful post for a bishop.

23...Rd8?!

23...Nc5 24.Nxc5 Qxc5 helps relieve the cramp and Black might hold. The game continuation increases the congested state of Black's game.

24.Qg1 Bg7 25.Qg6+ Kf8 26.Rhg1 h5 27.Nc5 Qe8?

Black had no defense.

28.Qxg7# 1–0

Class D/E

I was very happy to see this section grow. The 36-player section made this one the largest since 1996. I hope that it will only continue to grow. This was the only section for the weekend that produced co-Champions. Charlie Miller and Joshua Ferraivolo both made it to four and a half points to share the Class D Championship. DeAngelo Watkins is the E Champion by scoring four points. Also earning a trophy was Winston Cowans, winning the U1300 prize on tiebreaks over Jaison Oliver.

Winston Cowans (1203)
Ahmad Abdul (1391)
Round 1
Semi-Slav, D43

Notes by Bill Calton

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 c6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 e6 5.c5

It's a tad early for this committal move. Black should be able to blast open the center to his advantage with either a b6 or e5-break.

5...a5

If Black wanted to play b6, he could do it straight away. For example, 5...b6 6.b4 a5 and 7.a3 is not possible because of the loose rook on a1.

6.Bf4 b6 7.cxb6 Qxb6 8.Rb1

8.a3 is actually possible, since taking the b2 pawn is risky for Black. 8...Qxb2 9.Na4 Qb7 10.Rb1 Qa7 11.Nb6 Bb4+ 12.Rxb4 axb4 13.Nxa8 Qxa8 14.axb4.

8...Ba6 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Nd3?

Hangs the d4-pawn.

10...Be7?

Black doesn't bite. 10...Qxd4 11.e3 (11.Be3 Qc4 12.Rc1 e5 and White lacks a good discovery with the c3-knight.) 11...Qb6 12.Be2 Bxd3 13.Bxd3 e5 and White has nothing.

11.e3 0–0 12.Be2 Ne4

12...c5 is thematic. It liquidates the backward pawn, and gives Black a preponderance of center pawns.

13.f3 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Qa7 15.Qa4 Bb5 16.Qc2 f6 17.Kf2?

This really puts White's king in the line of fire. Both the f8-rook and a7-queen for Black eye the White king on f2. Open a few lines and it could be a disaster for White.

17...e5!

Excellent. Black senses it is worth a pawn to try and expose the White king.

18.dxe5 fxe5 19.Nxe5 Nxe5?!

19...Bh4+! would have been the ticket 20.g3 (20.Kf1 Bxe2+ 21.Qxe2 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 Rae8 23.Bg3 Rxe3 with nice initiative. 20.Bg3 Nxe5 21.Bxh4 Ng4+ look at those beautiful pins! 22.Kg3 Nxe3 looks pretty scary for White.) 20...Rxf4 pins everywhere! 21.Nxd7 Re8 with a raging attack.

20.Bxe5 Bg5?

20...Bxe2 21.Qxe2 Rae8 and Black's threats are still dangerous.

21.Bd4 Qd7 22.Bxb5 cxb5 23.Rhd1 Rac8 24.Bb6?!

I think White needs to tidy up a bit more, before he goes pawn hunting. Besides, the bishop on d4 was his best piece.

24...Bh4+ 25.g3

This is a major structural concession. 25.Kg1 is safer.

25...Qh3! 26.Kg1 Bd8?

[26...Bxg3 27.Qg2 (27.hxg3?? Rxf3-+) 27...Qh6 and thanks to the loose bishop on b6, the position is messy enough for Black to have his share of the chances.

27.Rxb5 Bxb6 28.Rxb6 Rxf3=

Fritz 8

29.Rb5 Rcf8 30.Qg2 Qf5?

30...Qh6 it was necessary to tickle the e3-pawn.

31.Rbxd5 Qf6 32.R5d4

32.Rd8 is more incisive, per the computer. 32...Rxe3 (32...Rxd8 33.Rxd8+ Kf7 34.Rd7+ Kf8 35.Rd4) 33.Rxf8+ Qxf8 34.Qd5+ Kh8 35.Qxa5.

32...Rf2 33.Qd5+ Kh8 34.Rf4 Rxf4 35.exf4 Qxc3 36.Kf2 h6

White plays this phase of the game well. My only quibble would the king. I would have tucked it away on g2 at some point.

37.Rd3 Qb2+ 38.Rd2 Qb6+ 39.Kf3 Rc8 40.f5 a4 41.Qd7 Qa6 42.Qe6 Rc3+ 43.Kg4 Rc4+ 44.Kh5?

Amazingly, this is a blunder.

44...Rc6??

44...Qxe6! 45.fxe6 Re4 46.Rd6 Kh7 and White's king is trapped. In fact, g6 next would be mate. White will have to give back one pawn, when Black should hold. 47.g4 (47.Rd7 Rxe6 48.Ra7 Re4=) 47...Re2 and White can choose which pawn to give up.

45.Rd8+ 1–0

With mate next.

Paul Prong (954)
Michael Carter Jr. (1098)
Round 4
Caro-Kann, B10

Notes by Bill Calton

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.h3 Nc6 6.a3 e6 7.Nc3 Bd6 8.Bd3 0–0 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 Bd7 11.Nb5 Be7 12.0–0 a6 13.Nc3 Qb6 14.b4 Nxd4?

Black snatches a pawn...

15.Nxd4 Qxd4?? 16.Bh7+

White bags a queen.

16...Kxh7 17.Qxd4

But stay tuned. Give credit to Black for not giving up, and fighting on.

17...Rac8 18.Rac1 Kg8 19.Rfe1?? Rc4!

This skewer nets Black a second piece for the queen.

20.Qe3 Rxh4 21.g4?

The question mark is for positional reasons. Perhaps White is trying to trap the rook.

21...e5? 22.Qxe5?

22.Qg3! Decidedly annoying. Black will need to give something up to save the rook.

22...Rxh3 23.Qxe7 Rxc3 24.Re3 Re8!

Another skewer. This time, Black picks up a pawn.

25.Qd6 Rcxe3 26.fxe3 Rxe3 27.Rf1 Bxg4

27...Be6!? may have been more prudent. On the other hand, with the bishop on e6, White would have been less likely to toss the exchange as he does next move.

28.Rxf6 gxf6 29.Qf4 Re1+ 30.Kf2 Re2+ 31.Kg3 Be6

After losing a full queen, Black has clawed his way back to at least equality. He may even be a touch better here.

32.Qxh6 Rxc2 33.Qxf6 Ra2 34.Qd8+ Kg7 35.Kf4 Kg6 36.Qh4 Rf2+??

The old cliché, “He who blunders next to last wins.” seems appropriate.

37.Qxf2

A tough break. Now Black is out of firepower.

37...Kf6 38.Qd4+ Ke7 39.Kg5 Kd6 40.Kf6 Kc6 41.Ke7 Kc7 42.Qc5+ Kb8 43.Kd6 Bc8 44.Qc7+ Ka7 45.Qxc8 d4 46.Qc5+ Kb8 47.Qxd4 f5 48.Qh8+ Ka7 49.Kc7 f4 1–0

Christopher Schmidt (1311)
Norman Browne (1104)
Round 5
Pirc: Austrian, B09

Notes by Norman Browne

Missed opportunities, mistakes and giveaways, with some good attacking and defense mixed in.

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f4 Bg4 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 8.Bc4 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 cxd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Nf6 13.Bxb7 Rb8 14.Bc6+ Nd7 15.0–0!?

Loses the bishop to the following double attack but unleashes an attack on the f-file.

15...Qb6+ 16.Be3 Qxc6 17.Qxf7+ Kd8= 18.Bg5+?

18.Rad1 Be7

18...Kc8! 19.Rad1 Bd6?

19...Bc5+ 20.Kh2 Rxb2-+

20.Qd5 Qxd5

Not surprisingly, Black jumps into a materially up endgame, after surviving the attack. 20...Kc7!

21.Rxd5 Rxb2??

Oops! There goes the material advantage. 21...Rb6 22.Rf2 Bc5.

22.Rxd6 Rxc2

Now White's pieces are way more active.

23.Rf7 Rc7 24.Re6 Nc5?

24...Kb7

25.Rxc7+! Kxc7 26.Rxe5 Kc6 27.Be3 Nd7 28.Re7?

28.Re6+ Kb5

28...Kd6 29.Rg7 Ke6

29...Re8

30.Bd4 Rc8 31.Bxa7?!

31.Rxh7!

31...Ra8 32.Bd4 Rxa2 33.Rxh7 Ra4 34.Bc3 Rxe4

Beginning to look like hope is alive for a draw.

35.Rh8 Nf6?!

35...Rc4! Hit and harass, and stay off the dark squares.

36.Rf8 Rf4?!

Allows the trade down to a won pawn ending. Or does it? 36...Nh5 37.Rf6+ Ke7 38.Rxg6; 36...Nd5

37.Rxf6+ Rxf6 38.Bxf6 Kxf6 39.Kf2 Kf5 40.Kf3 Kg5 41.Kg3?

Looks like White keeps the opposition. 41.Ke4! wins.

41...Kh5 42.h4 g5!

The game is theoretically drawn.

43.hxg5 Kxg5

I have the opposition, but White has the option of one or two squares from g2, so I can't keep it. (Editor's Note: This statement is not true. White will need to lead with his pawn no matter how many squares it moves. Black will be able to transpose into the drawing shape as he realizes after the game.)

44.Kf3

44.Kh3 Kh5 45.g3 Kg5 46.g4 Kg6

44...Kf5 45.g3 1–0

Black resigns, believing he has lost the opposition and with it the game. 5...Kg5! After this White can make no progress and will eventually stalemate or lose his pawn. 46.g4 Kg6 47.Kf4 Kf6 48.g5+ Kg6 49.Kg4 Kg7 50.Kf5 Kf7 51.g6+ Kg7 52.Kg5 Kg8 53.Kf6 Kf8 54.g7+ Kg8. If you're not certain, play it out!

Novice

An influx of scholastic players help to take this section to a new attendance record, with 41. Before 1992, it appears the unrated players were lumped together with the D/E section. The previous best was 35 players in 1996. I want to send out a special thanks to all the youngsters that came to play in preparation of the scholastic season. Hopefully, we will see you here next year and other chess tournaments in the future.

I knew that the turnout was going to be excellent because I had plenty of advanced entries. So, I felt that having just four prizes was not adequate and I brought with me some extra medals from my chess club activities. Jennifer Skidmore also gave me an extra trophy she had with her.

The top three players were adults playing in their first USCF rated events. Arthur Taga, of Dearborn, scored a perfect five points to win the section. Paul Mills, from Redford, lost only to Arthur in the last round. The top unrated prize went to Brian Walter of Gaines. His only loss was also to Arthur in round four. The top U1000 trophy went to Andrew Campbell from the Byron chess program. The extra trophy, which we called third place, was won by Andy Balan, also with four points. Medals were given out to second and third place in each U1000 and unrated. U1000 medals went to Andrew Hillaker, Travis Canyock, and Joel Schwiebert. The unrated medals were awarded to Jeff Futrell and Alex Strobehn.

Arthur Taga (Unr)
Brian Walter (Unr)
Round 4
Scandinavian, B01

1.e4 d5 2.e5 Bf5 3.d4 e6 4.Bd3 Bxd3 5.Qxd3 a6 6.Be3 Be7 7.Ne2 Bg5 8.f4 Bh6 9.Nd2 Qh4+ 10.g3 Qh3 11.0–0–0 Ne7 12.Nf1 Qf5 13.Qxf5 Nxf5 14.g4 Nxe3 15.Nxe3 g6 16.g5 Bf8 17.h4 c5 18.h5 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Rg8 20.hxg6 hxg6 21.Ng4 Be7 22.Rh7 Nc6 23.Nxc6 bxc6 24.Rd3 c5 25.Rb3 Kf8 26.Nh6 Rg7 27.Rh8+ Rg8 28.Rxg8# 1–0

Jonathan Maier (379)
Safal Bora (972)
Round 4
Italian, C50

Notes by Tim McGrew

Sometimes the games of beginners can remind us just how complicated a game of chess can be. Here is a miniature filled with instructive moments. Every chess teacher should pause to play it over.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

So far both sides have played admirably. But now things begin to go wrong.

4.Ng5?

White is losing a piece. But why? It would be superficial to say that he has overlooked the fact that this square is attacked -- of course that is true, but it doesn't help us to diagnose what is going on. What really happened is that White saw a pattern that he recognized: converging pressure against f7 with knight and bishop. Patterns are essential to chess: they are easy to teach and improve our play immeasurably. But sometimes, as here, we forget that the pattern is only good under certain circumstances. When we teach our students patterns, we need to tell them when the pattern fails and give them some drill to help them recognize the features that make it a likely success or failure.

4...Qxg5!

Good for Black! He is alert to this opportunity.

5.d4!?

This move is another error, but it also shows White's talent. He is deliberately setting a trap for his opponent. 5...Bxd4?? What sort of blindness is this? The answer is really quite simple: Black is looking only at the pieces that are moved -- in this case the d-pawn -- and not at what the move does for the rest of the position. This sort of focus on the piece last moved is obvious and to some extent unavoidable. Many threats in chess are generated by the last piece to have moved. It is a step up the ladder leading to mastery when we realize that this rule of thumb is not a universal truth. The right move was 5...Qxg2! ignoring the attack on the bishop because White must drop everything and attend to his menaced rook. After 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Kxe2 Nxd4+-+ it is hard to imagine that White could survive.

6.Bxg5!

White demonstrates that he knew exactly what he was doing with 5.d4.

6...Bxb2 7.Qf3

This threat is crude, but that is not necessarily bad.

7...Bxa1

More fixation on the piece last moved -- but this time, on one's own piece. Black is so eager to make up the material lost that he overlooks something more important. It would be fascinating to see whether White would have found the right response to 7...f6, namely, 8.Qb3! Bxa1 9.Bxg8 when 9...fxg5 allows 10.Qf7+! Kd8 11.Qf8#.

8.Qxf7# 1–0