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Mark Finegold annotates his game with Alex
Yermolinsky from ten years ago. Do you have good
old games versus famous players? Any brilliant
victories or interesting losses against a GM or
IM? I would love to put them in the magazine
also. Here is Mark’s game: Alex
Yermolinsky (2690)
Mark Finegold (2240)
King's Island Open, Round 2
Mason, OH, March 1993
Sicilian: Rauzer (Classical), B63
Notes by Mark Finegold
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3
d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.0–0–0 0–0
This is the only Richter-Rauzer I can remember
playing in my entire tournament career! I figured
that a slower, conservative opening was not a
good idea against a strong GM.
9.Nb3 a6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.h4 Kh8 12.g4 b5
13.g5 b4 14.Ne2!?
Although I didn't realize it at the time, the
players are following the critical final game of
the 1992 Candidates' match between Nigel Short
and Anatoly Karpov. Short played 14.Na4 in that
game. Yermo is funneling both knights to the
king-side for an attack.
14...a5 15.Nbd4 Bb7
Perhaps 15...Bd7 is better, retaining more
influence on the important e6 and f5 squares.
16.Ng3 Rg8 17.f4
Black has conceded a lot of space and now
faces a typical Sicilian pawnroller on the
king-side. I knew I had to punch my way out of
this somehow, but Yermo continued to play quite
rapidly as my counterplay seemed to make no
impression.
17...Nxd4 18.Qxd4 e5 19.fxe5 fxe5 20.Qe3
Black to Move
20...a4
I wasn't sure about 20...Rxg5 21.Qf3 with Nf5
coming.
21.Kb1 a3?
Talk about gutless. I saw but was too timid to
play 21...b3!? 22.cxb3 axb3 23.Qxb3 Qa5! and it's
getting hairy -- White is behind in development
and Black is mobilizing rapidly against the enemy
king. Now the queen-side closes up and Black has
little to bite on.
22.b3 Bc8 23.Bc4 Be6 24.Rhf1 Rc8 25.Bd5 Qc7
Now, instead of a typical defensive move like
26.Rf2, Yermo chose a rather surprising approach
to defending c2....
26.c4!? bxc3 27.Kc2
Putting the king to work! Steinitz would have
appreciated this maneuver.
27...Bxd5 28.exd5 Qd7
Thinking about ...Qg4 or ...Qh3.
29.Ne4 Rgf8 30.Rf3 Qb7 31.Qd3 Qd7
Black is moving aimlessly in time pressure. I
needed to get in ...Kg8 about this time, but
couldn't determine how dangerous Nf6+ was.
32.Rdf1 Bd8? 33.Rf6!
Oops. Now Black is forced into a very poor
ending with backward pieces and weak pawns.
33...Qg4 34.Qf3 Qxf3 35.R6xf3 1–0
Black overstepped the time limit. There's
still some fight left after 35...Be7 36.Rxf7 Kg8
but White will gather up those weak pawns in due
course.
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