The 2005 Michigan Amateur was held once again at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Turnout was typical for this event, with 59˝ players attending (I count myself as ˝, which is being generous, for playing one game as a houseman). Aside from that, however, there was nothing typical about this tournament. In spite of the presence of seven A players, including the defending champion, the top 3 finishers (by tiebreaks) were B players. As if that weren’t enough, two of the top 3 were age 18 or less. Add to that the fact that the U1600 and U1200 trophy winners were all non-voters, and you may begin to appreciate the fine play exhibited by the younger players in this tournament.

John Gattinger was crowned the Michigan Amateur Champion with the only perfect score. Four players tied for second place with 4 points each, with tiebreaks giving the 2nd place trophy to Dan Libby, and 3rd to Jonathan Budzenski. Bob Moore’s 4 points allowed him to walk away with 1st U1800, while the 4 points accumulated by Raymond Hobbs (an A player) went unrewarded. Roy Almasy took 2nd U1800. U1600 honors went to Pat Dellinger (1st) and Atulya Shetty, with 3 points apiece. De Wayne Van Horn and Joseph Meyer took the U1400 trophies, while Michael Vriesman and Prashantha Amarasinghe earned the U1200 hardware. Mike Semerciyan repeated as the Senior Champ, while Tim Moroney settled for Junior Champion honors this year. Timothy J. Stillson was the Unrated Champion.

When describing any tournament, the occurrences of upsets are of major interest. The upsets were too numerous to completely mention in this tournament, starting slowly in the first round, but snowballing out of control by round 2. In round 1, Greg Kilburn (1264) knocked out perennial favorite Les Smith (1800). This was just a prelude to the all-out destruction wreaked in round 2, when Ron Gore (1620) defeated Stan Jarosz (1986), Sebuh Semerciyan (1619) throttled Ray Hobbs (1870), Atulya Shetty (1593) drew I.C. Matias (1800), as did Ashley Carter (1658) against Tim Moroney (1943), and young Michael Vriesman (1100) showed yours truly, Stan Franklin (1643), the door. In round 3, the eventual runners-up asserted themselves, with Dan Libby besting Mike Skidmore and Jonathan Budzenski dashing Tom Evans hopes by exacting a draw. Michael Vriesman continued his upsetting ways by logging the biggest upset of round 4 over Sid Van Dyke (1522) and the second greatest point-spread upset of round 5 over Christopher Schmidt (1462).

Taken in total, it appears that the one-line description of this tournament is “youth will be served”. The venue for this tournament next year is likely to change due to the fact that the Michigan Open will be held in Kalamazoo. Perhaps the trend of the ascent of the young players will continue in Lansing, Detroit, or wherever it is held next.

Gregory Kilburn (1264)
Les Leroy Smith (1800)
Round 1
Dutch, A80

Notes by Tim McGrew (TM) and Tony Palmer (TP)

1.d4 f5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 d5 5.Nf3 c6

TP: The Stonewall Dutch, where Black sets pawns on f5, e6, d5 and c6 to lock up the center. Botvinnik was very successful with this formation.

6.Be2 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.b3

TP: 8.Ne5 Kh8 9.Rb1 Bd7 10.b4 Be8 Tkachiev-Grischuk (New Delhi, 2000) by transposition with equal chances, later drawn.

8...Nbd7 9.Bb2 Qe8

TM: Black could also try 9...Ne4 intending ...Qf6 and ...g5-4. In fact, that is what I'd expect from someone like Les. One recent game continued 10.Nxe4 fxe4 11.Ne5 Qg5 12.Nxd7 Bxd7 13.g3 Rf6 14.h4 Qh6 15.Kg2 Raf8 16.Rc1 Qg6 17.Qe1 Rf3 18.Bxf3 exf3+ 19.Kh2 Qg4 20.Rh1 Be8 21.Qf1 Bh5 22.cxd5 cxd5 23.Kg1 h6 24.Qd1 Bxg3 25.Kf1 Bxh4 0-1, Tziallilas-Kaloskambis, Athens 2005

TP: This maneuver is very common in the Dutch Defense, using the queen to cover e6 and f7 while also looking to attack the kingside on g6 or h5.

10.Qc2 Ne4

TM: There is nothing wrong with Black's position here: the bishop on c8 is a bit buried, but that is the price Black always plays in the Stonewall Dutch. What happens over the next ten moves is a study in how something this solid can come apart.

11.a3 Rf6

TM: 11...Qg6 is a little less committal.

12.Nxe4 fxe4

TM: The correct recapture.

13.Ne5 Rh6

TM: Black still has visions of delivering mate on h2, which isn't going to happen, so the rook looks a bit out of play. Still, nothing drastic has happened. 13...Rf8 is preferable since it would prevent the buildup we witness over the next few moves.

14.f4 exf3 15.Rxf3

TM: There is a fair amount of symmetry in the pawn position, but White is poised to take over the open f-file. This is not a good sign, and alarm bells should be ringing in Black's head. At this point he is probably wishing that his rook were back on the f-file!

15...Nf6

TM: Wishful thinking. Black wants his own knight outpost on e4, but he cannot have it and his knight will simply be a target on f6.

TP: Both sides have employed rook lifts to raid the opponent's kingside along the third rank, yet these rooks are often exposed to attack by minor pieces.

16.Bd3 Qe7

TM: Unfortunately for Black, natural moves for White in this position are good moves. This is Black's last chance to get some counterplay with 16...Qh5 17.h3 c5 18.Raf1 b6 White is better, but Black will not get mated within the next five moves and at least with all that tension in the center there is room for White to slip up.

17.Raf1 Bxa3??

TM: In strict analytical truth, this may not be the losing move; Black may be lost already. But in a practical sense and on general principles it looks wrong to be fishing for material on the a-file -- the a-file! -- while White's entire army is going to war on the kingside.

TP: Free pawn, right!?

18.Bxa3 Qxa3

White to Move

19.c5!

TM: A really fine move. Black's queen is locked out -- in particular, she is cut off from the defense of f8.

TP: Blocks the Black queen from defending the kingside. The threat is 20.Ng4 and the Nf6 is pinned against the mate threat on f8.

19...a5!?

TM: There aren't a lot of great choices. 19...Bd7 has the merit of reestablishing some control of f8. But White has the simple 20.Rxf6 (20.g4 Be8 21.g5+- when Black is losing a piece with nothing resembling counterplay in sight.; 20.Qf2 is also good, e.g. 20...Qxb3 21.Ng4! Rh5 22.Bc2! Qa3 23.Nxf6+ gxf6 24.Rg3+ and White mates quickly.) 20...Rxf6 21.Nxd7.

TP: 19...Bd7 20.Rxf6 gxf6 21.Nxd7 wins two pieces for a rook.

20.Ng4

TM: It's always nice when you can play the move you threatened to play last move -- and it still works!

20...Rh5? 1-0

TP: 21.Rxf6 gxf6 22.Nxf6+ and 23.Nxh5 wins a piece. Strong game by Kilburn.

Brad Beagle (1244)
Jonathan Budzenski (1751)
Round 1
Scotch: Schmid, C45

Notes by John-Marc Ormechea

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6

This is the Mieses variation. When I played e5 and Nc6, this was one of the major lines I played against the Scotch. It has a solid, yet still dynamic, character to it.

6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nc3 d5

One of the major themes in this line is to undouble the pawns and stake a claim to the center.

9.exd5 cxd5 10.Bg5 c6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Qe2 Re8 13.h3 Qd7 14.Qf3 h6 15.Bf4 Bd6 16.Bxd6

16.Ne2 seems a bit more accurate as after 16...Bxf4 the knight can occupy the same square. The position is pretty equal.

16...Qxd6 17.Rad1 Rab8 18.Ne2

18.b3 No need to drop pawns.

18...Rxb2

Much line in the Najdorf poison pawn, this is a pawn you have to look out for. If Black can just take this pawn, then in the words of Kasparov “It will fall like house of cards.”

19.Ra1 c5 20.Bf5 Bxf5 21.Qxf5 Qe5 22.Ng3 Qxf5 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.Nxf5 Nf6 25.Ne7+ Kf8 26.Nc6 a6 27.Rc1 Rxa2

Now, it's gonna get even worse.

28.c3 g6 29.Ne5 a5 30.c4 d4 31.Nd3 Nd7 32.Ne1 a4 33.Rb1 a3 34.Nd3 Rd2 35.Nc1 Ne5 36.Nb3 Rb2 37.Rxb2 axb2 38.Nd2 Nxc4 39.Nb1 Ke7 40.Kf1 Nb6 41.Ke2 Nd5 42.Kd3 f5 43.f3 Ne3 44.g4 c4+ 45.Kd2 c3+ 46.Nxc3 dxc3+ 47.Kxe3 b1Q 48.Kf4 Qc1+ 49.Kg3 f4+ 50.Kh4 Qe1# 0-1

Michael Vriesman (1100)
Roy Almasy (1684)
Round 1
Queen's Pawn: Zukertort, D02

Notes by John-Marc Ormechea

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 Bd6 This is an interesting choice. Black is willing to compromise his pawn structure for the sake of development. I give him bonus points for some daring.

5.0-0 Ne7 6.Qe2 c6

This looks similar to a London system, which White or Black may play the only difference being the knight is on e7 instead of f6.

7.Nbd2 Nd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Bb8 10.Bd2 Bg4 11.h3

Roy and I get together and play Blitz every once in a while and he likes when his opponents put pawns on h3 or a3. He uses them as attacking points.

11...Bh5 12.Qe3 h6 13.Bb4 Nd5 14.Qe1 Bxf3 15.gxf3

This is one of the problems with moves like h3, now the king is a little exposed.

15...N7f6 16.Bd2 h5 17.c4 Qc7 18.f4 Nxf4 19.Qe3 Ne2+!

I wonder how far Black saw through this. To me, it doesn’t really matter, as the combination is rather beautiful.

20.Kg2 Qh2+!

Forcing moves like these all deserve some attention.

21.Kf3 Nf4 22.Rg1

22.Nxf6+ gxf6 23.Rg1 Qxh3+ 24.Rg3 Qh4 makes Black’s life a little harder but White is still worse.

22...Qxh3+! 23.Rg3 Qg4+!!

Beautiful.

24.Rxg4 hxg4+ 25.Kg3 Rh3# 0-1

That’s game!

Stan Jarosz (1986)
Ron Gore (1620)
Round 2
Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical. D29

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4

The Queen's Gambit Accepted gives Black good chances to equalize early with an unbalanced game. One drawback is how White gets the superior center, yet Black usually has good counterplay.

3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Qe2 b5

Black gains space on the queenside with tempo.

8.Bb3

8.Bd3 is also good.

8...Bb7 9.a4 Qb6

9...b4 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.Nc4 0-0 12.Rd1 Qc7 13.Bd2 Nbd7 Yusupov-Anand (Dortmund, 1997) with a tense game, won by Black.

10.axb5 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bc5 12.Rd1

12.bxa6!? Bxa6 13.Qc2 Bxd4 14.exd4 Bxf1 15.Rxa8 Ba6 and the Ra8 is trapped for now. There may be improvements in this line. Yet the text is much safer.

12...0-0 13.Nc3 Bxd4

It's hard to find a good line for Black, which saves the b5-pawn.

14.Rxd4 axb5 15.Rxa8 Bxa8 16.Qxb5

White wins a clear pawn, yet watch how the next few moves prove troublesome.

16...Qc7 17.Rc4 Qd6 18.Qc5 Qa6 19.Qc7?!

The start of White's troubles due to the weak back rank. 19.f3 Nbd7 20.Qd4 might improve.

19...Nd5 20.Nxd5?

20.Qc5 Nd7 21.Qd4 should work better. The text allows the Bd5 to attack the loose Bb3.

20...Bxd5 21.Ra4

As good as any here. 21.Rc3? Qe2 22.h3 Bxb3 23.Rxb3 Qd1+ 24.Kh2 Qxb3 and Black wins.

21...Qe2

The mate threat wins material.

22.h3 Bxb3 23.Ra8 Nd7 24.Rxf8+ Nxf8

Black has a technical win.

25.Qc3 Qc2 26.Qxc2 Bxc2 27.b4 Bd3 28.f3 Nd7 29.Kf2 Kf8 30.h4 Ke7 31.e4 Kd6 32.Ke3 Bb5 33.f4 f5 34.exf5 exf5 35.Bb2 g6 36.g3 Kd5 0-1

Sebuh Semerciyan (1619)
Raymond Hobbs (1870)
Round 2
Sicilian: Barnes (Russian), B46

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6

The Sicilian Taimanov, usually leading to a sharp game. Black accepts weak dark squares to develop the king's bishop, but maybe get ...d5 in early.

5.Nc3

5.c4 with a Maroczy Bind is also good.

5...a6 6.Bc4 Qc7 7.0-0 Bb4

7...Nf6 8.Re1 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4!? Bxd4 11.Bxc7 b5 12.Bb3 Bb7 Cappello-Bobotsov (Bari, 1972) and Black won the endgame.

8.Nce2 Nf6 9.Ng3 b5 10.Bb3 Bb7 11.c3 Nxd4 12.Qxd4 Bc5 13.Qd3 h5!

An alert attack eyeing the target on h2, versus the routine 13...0-0 instead.

14.Re1

14.Bg5 h4 15.Bxf6 hxg3 16.Bd4 gxh2+ 17.Kh1 looks scary but might hold. The text weakens f2.

14...Ng4 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Nxh2!

Hey man, nice shot.

17.Nf1

17.Kxh2 h4 regains the piece while opening the h-file.

17...Ng4 18.Rad1 Nf6 19.Nd2 h4 20.Qd4 h3 21.e5 hxg2 22.e4

22.exf6? Qh2+ 23.Kf2 g1Q#.

22...Ng4 23.Nf3 f5!?

An unclear position. Black is a pawn up after the g2-pawn falls, yet the Ra8 is out of play and Black's king is still in the center.

24.Kxg2 fxe4 25.Rxe4! 0-0!?

25...Bxe4 26.Qxe4 hits the Ra8 and the Ng4.

26.Rf1!?

The exchange sacrifice might be forced, since 26.Rf4 Rxf4 27.Qxf4 Rf8 wins a piece or the queen for rook and bishop.

26...Bxe4 27.Qxe4 Nh6 28.Ng5

Suddenly White has a potent attack!

28...Qc6

Black probably banked on this resource, but there's a hole.

29.Bxe6+! Qxe6

29...dxe6 30.Qxc6.

30.Qh7# 1-0

Exciting game by both sides.

Roy Almasy (1684)
Gregory Kilburn (1264)
Round 2
Caro-Kann: Panov, B14

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4

The Panov-Botvinnik Attack leads to a lively game with chances for both sides.

4...Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.0-0 0-0

This is a stock Isolated Queen Pawn (IQP) position with dynamic equality. Black has the better endgame due to a more sound pawn structure, yet White has more space plus open lines on the c and e-files for the middlegame.

11.Re1 b5 12.Bb3 Bb7 13.Bc2 Nb6 14.Qd3

The crude threat against h7 induces Black to weaken the kingside pawn formation, although the bishop can cover the dark squares.

14...g6 15.Nh4 Nbd5 16.Bh6 Re8

White to Move

17.Rxe6!?

An enterprising sacrifice which succeeds here, although Black has a sound position and broke no rules so far.

17...Nxc3

17...Nb4 18.Qe2 Nxc2 is even better, since now h7 is safe.

18.bxc3 Qd5

18...fxe6 19.Nxg6 Bd6 wins for Black according to Fritz 7, who cruelly assigns 17.Rxe6?? instead. (19...hxg6? 20.Qxg6+ Kh8 21.Qg7#.) Note Black wins if the first sacrifice (17. Rxe6) is accepted but the second one (19. Nxg6) is declined.

19.Re5

White saves the Re6 with tempo, so chances are even. Note the Nh4 protects against mate on g2.

19...Qc6 20.Qg3 Nh5??

20...Bd6 21.f4 Rac8 (Fritz 7) with slight edge to Black. The text drops a piece.

21.Rxh5 Bxh4 22.Rxh4

Now the Qg3 protects g2, so White has an easy win.

22...Re2 23.Bd3 Rd2?? 24.Bxd2 1-0

Fascinating middlegame possibilities here, but White scores the point.

Stan Franklin (1643)
Michael Vriesman (1100)
Round 2
Queen's Gambit Declined, D30

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5

It is interesting to see a young player using Tarrasch's prescription against the Queen's Gambit. Home preparation or inspiration at the board?

4.e3 Nc6 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.cxd5 exd5

This is a classic IQP position where White's options are somewhat limited by the early e3, which prevents a later Bg5 pin. The Black pawn at d5 might be weak if enough minor pieces are exchanged, but in the opening and early middlegame it gives him greater space and some attacking prospects.

7.Bb5 Nf6 8.0-0 0-0 9.h3 Bf5 10.b3 a6 11.Be2 Ne4

Black's active piece deployment makes a pleasing impression, and this move does create the immediate threat of ...Qf6, which would be embarrassing for White. But Black still needs to find a long-term plan.

12.Bb2

Stopping the threat of ...Qf6.

12...Bb4?!

Here Black drifts a little. Probably the objective is to prevent Nc3 hitting e4 and d5. But Black cannot stop White from doing this in the long run, so it would be a better idea to complete mobilization by 12...Re8 or even 12...Rc8.

13.a3 Ba5 14.b4 Bb6?!

Here it makes more sense to bring the bishop all the way back with 14...Bc7 right away. Black would then be prepared to play ...Qd6, achieving without loss of time, a formation we see later in the game.

15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.Bxc3 Be4 17.Qd2 Qd6!

Preparing to line up the bishop and queen against h2.

18.Rad1 h6 19.Qb2 f6 20.Nd2 Bc7!

Now the threat of mate forces White to weaken the castle wall around his king. Experienced players know that positions like this require great precision from the defender.

21.f4

White stops the mate threat, but the structural cost is the grave weakening of e3.

21...Rfe8 22.Nxe4 Rxe4 23.Rf3?

It would be better to play 23.Bf3 , aiming to exchange his weak pawn at e3 for Black's at d5.

23...Rae8 24.Kf2 Bb6!

This pin sets White enormous, probably insuperable, tactical problems.

25.Rd3

Black to Move

25...Rxf4!?

This is one way to exploit the pin, but perhaps it is not the most forcing move.

25...Rxe3! is a clean kill: 26.Rdxe3 Rxe3 27.Rxe3 Qxf4+-+

26.Rxd5??

I was watching the board as the drama unfolded at about this point, and Stan was clearly unhappy (“disgusted” might not be too strong a term) with his position. This sacrifice, however, turns a bad position into a hopeless one.

26...Qxd5 27.Rxf4

Given a spare move now, White could play Bc4 and win Black's queen. But he doesn't have a spare move.

27...Bxe3+! 28.Kg3 Bxf4+ 29.Kxf4

There is, believe it or not, one last trap Black could fall into here, grabbing the g-pawn and losing his queen to 30.Bc4+.

29...Qe4+

Avoiding the final pitfall. Any good move wins here, but 29...Qg5+ forces a pretty mate: 30.Kf3 Qe3+ 31.Kg4 Re4+ 32.Kf5 (32.Kh5 Qg5#) 32...Ne7#]

30.Kg3 Qxe2 0-1

Ever the gentleman, Stan conceded gracefully and shook his opponent's hand. A delightful display of tactics from Michael, who went on to win a well-deserved trophy and clearly will not be seen at the 1100 level again.

Douglas Forsythe (1679)
Mike Semerciyan (1829)
Round 3
French: Exchange, C01

Notes by Tony Palmer

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5

The Exchange French has a drawish reputation since the position becomes symmetrical early.

4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 c6

7...Bg4 8.Ne2!? Bxf3 9.gxf3 c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 Larsen-Garcia Palermo (La Plata, 1997) and Black exploited the kingside holes to win.

8.Re1 Nbd7 9.a3 Re8

Sound development by both sides.

10.Bf4 Nf8 11.h3 a6 12.Qd2 Ne6

A nice centralized post for the knight.

13.Be5 Nd7 14.Bg3 Bf6 15.b4 g6

15...Nxd4 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Nxd4 is an even trade.

16.Ne2 Ndf8 17.c3 Ng7 18.Be5 Bxe5 19.Nxe5 Bf5

Both sides swap their bad bishops for their opponent's good bishops.

20.Ng3 Bxd3 21.Nxd3 Qf6 22.Qf4 Qxf4 23.Nxf4 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Re8 25.Rxe8 Nxe8

The massive trading has led to an ending, which looks perfectly even right now, but better endgame play might prevail.

26.Nd3 Nd6 27.Ne2 Nd7 28.f3 Kf8 29.Nb2

White tries to prevent 29...Nc4 hitting the backward a3-pawn.

29...Nc4!

But Black plays it anyway!

30.Nxc4 dxc4 31.a4 Nb6 32.a5 Nd5

Now the beautifully posted Nd5 threatens the backward c3-pawn, meanwhile the Ne2 is purely defensive. Expert endgame technique by Black.

33.Kf2 Ke7 34.f4 f5 35.g3 h5 36.h4 Kd6 37.Ke1 b5 38.Kd2 Nf6 39.Ng1

White plans Nf3 and Ne5.

39...Ne4+ 0-1

The g3-pawn falls, then the f4-pawn, at which point the Nf4 defends the g6-pawn anyway. Nice game by both sides, with an instructive endgame.

Robert Moore (1600)
Ward Sansone (1275)
Round 3
Sicilian: Najdorf, B98

Notes by John-Marc Ormechea

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6

This is my favorite Sicilian. The potential of this one move is incredible. Used by the likes of Bronstein, Fischer, and Kasparov. It is an aggressive weapon to wield and sometimes it can be come quite hard to handle. As the player who is one move deeper in the theory should win. One mistake and either side can fall apart.

6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7

7...b5 The Polugaevsky variation is one of my pet lines. 8.e5 (8.Qf3 Bb7 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Qb6 if White doesn't want to allow the fun.) 8...dxe5 9.fxe5 Qc7 10.exf6 Qe5+ 11.Be2 Qxg5. It's sharp to say the least.

8.Qf3 Nc6

However, this is not very Najdorf like. It transposes into a Classical Sicilian. 8...h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.fxg5 Nfd7. This is the Gotenberg Variation. In an Interzonal Tournament, three Soviet players played three Argentinean players who were led by Miguel Najdorf himself. It just so happened that all three Soviet players had White against the Argentinean players. All in one round and all three Soviet players play a shocking move in this position which caught every one off guard 11.Nxe6 The Soviet players won all three games and it wasn't until Robert Fischer looked at the position that the opening was resurrected from the dead. Black could breath again.

9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.g4

Ready or not, here comes White.

11...0-0 12.h4 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.g5 Be7 15.gxh6 g6 16.e5 f5 17.exf6

Opening all the lines he can and going for the throat.

17...Rxf6 18.Qg4 Qf8 19.Ne4 c5

19...Rxf4 20.Qxe6+ Kh8 21.Ng5 Qf6 22.Qb3±.

20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.Rg1 Kh7 22.Bd3 Rg8 23.h5 Kxh6 24.hxg6 Kg7 25.Rde1 Rh8 26.Qxe6 Rg8 27.Qxe7+ Qxe7 28.Rxe7+ Kf6 29.Rxb7 Rg7 30.Rxg7 Kxg7 31.f5 1-0

Remember when taking up the Najdorf that it only takes one wrong move and you could lose any chance of living. Scary, yet rewarding.

Brad Beagle (1244)
John Griffin (1529)
Round 3
Sicilian: Labourdonnais, B32

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb3 Bb4+

5...Nf6 looks fine right away.

6.N1d2 Nf6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 Qxd5 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 Be7 11.Re1 Re8 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Qxd1 14.Rxd1 Be6 15.Be3 Rac8 16.Nc5 Bxc5 17.Bxc5 f5 18.Bd5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 b6 20.Be3 f4 21.Bd2 Rcd8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Bc3 Kf7 24.f3 Nd4 25.Bxd4 Rxd4 26.Re1 Ke6 27.Re2 b5 28.b3?

“Rook endings,” Eric Fischvogt said recently during a post mortem session, “are full of subtleties.” How true! Here a seemingly innocent pawn move actually creates a weakness on a3 that Black could have nipped off.

28...g5

28...Rd1+ 29.Kf2 Ra1 and White has very little to show for the pawn that is about to fall.

29.g3 a6

29...Rd1+ 30.Kf2 Ra1 still wins a pawn.

30.Kf2 fxg3+

30...Rd1 is still a plausible winning try since after 31.Re1 Rxe1 32.Kxe1 Kd5 Black's active king may give White some headaches.

31.hxg3 h5 32.Ke3 Rd7 33.Rh2 Rh7 34.f4 gxf4+ 35.gxf4 Kf5 36.fxe5 Kxe5 37.Rh4

The position has clarified. Black has no serious chance of ramming through the h-pawn against good defense since White can switch blockaders, putting his king on the h-file and leaving his rook free to go hunting. Still, Black certainly should not lose.

37...Rh6 38.c4 bxc4 39.bxc4 Kf5 40.Kd4 Kg5 41.Rh1 h4 42.c5 Kf6 43.Re1

White cuts off Black's king from the pawn.

43...h3 44.c6 h2

Despite the fact that Black's rook is behind his outside passed pawn, there is no win here -- and the illusion that there must be a win may have been Black's undoing. Here the simplest draw is 44...Rh7 preventing the further advance of the pawn. A natural sequence then is 45.Kc5 h2 46.Kb6 h1Q 47.Rxh1 Rxh1 48.c7 Rc1 with a draw similar to the one in the note after Black's 49th move, below.

45.c7

Oh dear! What's to be done about this pawn?

45...Rh8 46.Kd5 Kf5 47.Kd6

This wins, but only by a tempo. 47.Rh1! wins easily because White's king is better placed to support his own pawn than Black's is, e.g. 47...Rc8 (47...Kg4 48.Rxh2) 48.Kd6 Ke4 49.Rxh2+-

47...Rh6+

Black decides to try for a barrage of checks from the side. This plan should fail, but it turns out that neither player knows why! 47...Kf4 48.Rh1 Kg3 49.Kd7 Kg2 50.c8Q Rxc8 51.Rxh2+ Kxh2 52.Kxc8+- and Black's king cannot get back quite fast enough.

48.Kd7 Rh7+ 49.Kc8?

Blocking the pawn -- the fundamental mistake White must avoid in this position. Instead, Kc6-b7 wins easily.

49...Rh8+??

Sheer momentum -- Black keeps checking and thereby throws away half a point. Black could draw here, though no more, with 49...h1Q! The point is that after 50.Rxh1 Rxh1 White cannot make a queen -- his king is sitting on c8 in front of the pawn. After 51.Kb7 Black's king is too far away to assist his rook in fighting against the c-pawn, but 51...Rc1 52.c8Q+ Rxc8 53.Kxc8 Ke6 54.Kb7 Kd7 55.Kxa6 Kc8 is a stone-cold draw. Either Black's king gets -- and stays -- in the corner or, if White plays Ka7 to prevent that, Black's king oscillates between c8 and c7, trapping White's king against the edge where it prevents the advance of his own pawn.

50.Kb7

Now all is lost.

50...Kf4 51.c8Q Rxc8 52.Kxc8 Kf3 53.Kb7 a5 54.a4 Kf2 55.Ra1 Kg2 56.Kb6 h1Q 57.Rxh1 Kxh1 58.Kxa5 1-0

Jennifer Skidmore (1878)
John Gattinger (1772)
Round 4
Caro-Kann: Exchange, B13

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Qc7

I used to wonder why nobody plays 5...e5 here. The answer, I now realize, is that after 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Bb5+ Black can avoid losing a pawn only by 7...Nc6 After 8.Nf3, Black has lost a fair bit of time with his knight and White has a comfortable position with better piece activity than one normally gets against an isolated d-pawn.

6.Ne2 e6 7.0-0

7.Bf4 looks fairly natural here.

7...Bd6 8.f4 Nge7 9.Nd2 g5

Wild stuff!

10.Nf3 g4 11.Ng5?

Sending the knight into danger needlessly. 11.Ne5! looks like it should give White a clear positional advantage.

11...f6?!

This isn't horrible, but I'm not sure why Black avoided 11...h6! It doesn't look like the sacrifice 12.Nxf7 comes to anything at all, e.g. 12...Kxf7 13.Ng3 h5-+

12.Nxh7 f5? 13.Ng5

So the knight has escaped with a pawn. Now Black must desperately seek active play before White consolidates and wins on material. For such counterplay to be effective, Black needs a target. Here White's pawn at h2 is the only visible target against which Black has any hope of generating pressure. It isn't much, but in a practical game it may be all one can get. John now demonstrates that he's up to the challenge of making the most of what he's got.

13...Ng6

Getting the knight out of the way so that Black's second rank is clear for the transfer of heavy artillery to the kingside.

14.c4?

This weakens d4.

14...Qg7 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Bb5?

White's attention seems focused on the wrong half of the board. Of course, it's always easier to write a comment like that with the benefit of hindsight! 16.Rf2 Qh6 17.g3.

16...Qh6! 17.Qe1?

Allowing Black's queen to penetrate must be the wrong decision. For better or worse, White had to play 17.h3 gxh3 18.Nxh3 although she could not claim any advantage at that point.

17...Qxh2+ 18.Kf2

Now White has the threat of 19.Ng3+ and 20.Rh1 trapping Black's queen. Unfortunately, Black doesn't have to let that happen.

18...Kf8

Stepping off of the hot file.

19.Ke3

One of the hardest things to do in chess is to find good moves in bad positions. 19.Ng3 fails if it doesn't come with tempo since Black has 19...Nxf4 hitting g2. White can eliminate that threat with 20.Bxf4. But when Black recaptures with 20...Bxf4, the knight itself is under fire, so there is no trap for Black's queen. Probably White's best try is 19.Qc3. The threat to c6 is serious -- after 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.Qxc6 would fork d6 and a8 -- so Black must take time to defend the knight or simply to move it out of the way. After 19...Bd7, White has time to connect rooks with 20.Bd2 and White is threatening -- sort of -- to trap the Black queen anyway with 21.Rh1. “Sort of,” because of course Black can pick up two rooks for the queen in this line. But as White in such a position I would be grateful for any chance to unbalance the game.

19...Bd7?!

Black misses a chance to put White out of her misery. 19...Nh4! more or less ends the game on the spot since there is no defending g2.

20.Bd2??

But this leaves White's king and queen on the same file, which should be fatal. 20.Qf2.

20...Qxg2

Many moves win here, but there is something more thematic. 20...Re8+! 21.Kd3 (21.Kf2 g3+ 22.Kf3 Nh4#) 21...Nb4+ 22.Bxb4 (22.Kc3 Bxb5-+ wins anyway, even without check.) 22...Bxb5+ 23.Kc2 Rxe2+-+.

21.Kd3 Rc8 22.Ba4 Rh3+!

This one is accompanied by the sound of bone crunching. The rook sacrifice pulls the knight away from the control of e4.

23.Nxh3 Qe4+ 24.Kc3 Nxd4+ 25.Bc6 Rxc6# 0-1

Mike Semerciyan (1829)
Dan Libby (1715)
Round 4
Indian: East Indian, A48

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Bd3 0-0 5.0-0 d5 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.b4 b6 13.b5 c5 14.Nxd5 cxd4 15.exd4 Nxd5 16.Qxd5 Nc5 17.Bc4 Qxd5 18.Bxd5 Rad8 19.Bf3 Rxd4 20.Rxd4 Bxd4 21.Rb1 Nd3 22.Be3 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Re8 24.e4 Nc5 25.Rd1 g5 26.Rd5 f6 27.Rd6 Re7 28.a3 h6 29.Kf2 Kf7 30.Bh5+ Kg7 31.Bf3 Rd7 32.Rd5 Kf8 33.Ke3 Ke7 34.Rxd7+ Kxd7 35.g3 Kd6 36.h4 Ke5 37.hxg5 hxg5 38.g4 Nb7 39.Be2 Nc5 40.Bf3 Ne6 41.Be2 Nd4 42.Bd3 Ne6 43.Be2 Kd6 44.Bc4 Nf4 45.Kd4 Nh3 46.Bf1 Nf4 47.Bc4 Ng6 48.Be2 Ne5 49.Bd1 Ke7 50.Bb3 Ng6 51.Bc4 Kd7 52.Be2 Nf4 53.Bc4 Kd6 54.a4 Ng6 55.Be2 Ne5 56.Bd1 Nd7 57.Be2 Nc5 58.Bd1 Ne6+ 59.Ke3 Nc5 60.Kd4 Ne6+ 61.Ke3 Ke5 62.Bb3 Nc5 63.Bc2 Ke6 64.Kd4 Kd6 65.Bd1 Ne6+ 66.Ke3 Kc5 67.Bb3 Nc7 68.e5 fxe5 69.Ke4 Kd6 70.Kf5 a6 71.bxa6 Nxa6 72.Kxg5 Nc5 73.Bc2 Ne6+ 74.Kf6 Nd4 75.g5 Nxc2 76.g6 Ne3 77.g7 Nd5+ 0-1

Jonathan Budzenski (1751)
Sebuh Semerciyan (1619)
Round 4
Caro-Kann: Panov, B14

Notes by Tim McGrew

In the final analysis, more chess games are won and lost on sheer tactical alertness than on any other single factor. Here's a case in point.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 a6 9.Bf4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 b5 11.Bb3 Bb7 12.Bc2 Nbd7 13.Qd3

13.a3 would prevent Black from playing ...b4.

13...b4

This dislodges White's knight...

14.Ne2

...which has to move...

14...Be4

...which allows Black to trade off White's dangerous lightsquare bishop.

15.Qd2 Bxc2 16.Qxc2 Rc8 17.Qd2 Nd5 18.Rac1 Qa5 19.b3 Nxf4 20.Nxf4

As minor pieces gradually come off, White's isolated pawn becomes more and more of a liability.

20...Nf6 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rc1 Rc3

I am not sure what Jon had in mind against 22...Rxc1+ 23.Qxc1 Qxa2 when Black is perilously close to scoring the full point.

23.Ne2 Ne4 24.Qf4 Rxc1+ 25.Nxc1 Nc3 26.Ne5 Bf6 27.Nc6 e5??

Up until now, Sebuh has been outplaying his powerful opponent with solid positional chess. But now a moment's inattention undoes all that hard work. 27...Qb6 28.Qd6 Nd5

White to Move

28.Qxf6! 1-0

Mike Skidmore (1919)
Ron Grzegorczyk (1600)
Round 4
Sicilian: Moscow (Nimzovich), B51

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6?!

This is not a Ruy Lopez: White wants to capture on c6 anyway. So it's not a good idea to spend a tempo to force him to do it.

4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.0-0 d6 6.Re1 g6 7.c3 Bg7 8.d3

Mike plays the opening in restrained style, content to let the fight be decided in the middlegame.

8...Nh6 9.e5 0-0 10.exd6 exd6 11.Nbd2 Bf5?!

Sometimes “natural” developing moves are just losses of tempo in disguise. Black doesn't really believe that White will let his d-pawn drop, so the question is whether this move fits into an overall plan of development for Black that gives decent activity to all of his pieces. Unfortunately, it doesn't: the knight on h6 actually needs the f5-square. 11...Nf5 right away would make better sense.

12.Nc4 Be6 13.Bg5 Qc7 14.Bf4 Bxc4

When to follow a rule of thumb? This doubles White's pawns, which is supposed to be a good thing (from Black's point of view). But those pawns grip important central squares, and meanwhile the opening of the d-file creates even more pressure against d6, which is a bad thing. Chess is not an easy game!

15.dxc4 Qb7?

This is a tactical oversight. Black is counting on 16.Bxd6 Rfd8 when White's pinned bishop creates awkward problems. But White's queen doesn't have to be there to be pinned. 15...Rad8 was more prudent, suffering under the disadvantage but at least holding onto material equality.

16.Qc1! Nf5 17.g4!

Another rule of thumb broken, this one in a good cause. In lots of ordinary-looking positions, this move in front of one's king is suicidal. Here, it wins material without much risk because Black's pieces are not well placed to take advantage of the weaknesses around White's king.

17...Ne7 18.Bxd6 Qd7

Even though White was right to play g4, it still does give Black a target. Fortunately, everything is under control.

19.Qf4! Rfe8 20.Rad1 Qa7 21.Ng5

Ouch! One thing I've noticed in playing over a lot of Mike Skidmore's games is that once he gets the initiative he seems to gain several hundred points in strength.

21...f6 22.Ne6 g5 23.Qf3 Ng6 24.Nc7 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Rd8 26.Qxc6 Qb8 27.Re8+

With a pocketful of extra pawns on the queenside, White decides it's time to cash in.

27...Bf8 28.Qd5+ Kg7 29.Rxf8 Kh6 30.Rxd8 1-0

After 30...Qxd8 31.Ne6, there isn't much left to argue about.

Pat Dellinger (1293)
Ron Gore (1620)
Round 4
French: Exchange, C01

Notes by John-Marc Ormechea

Pat Dellinger is one of the faster rising players in Michigan. He consistantly performs well and I'm sure he will be in Class C or B in a couple of years. Maybe less, if he keeps playing like he does here. I worked with him during the summer and his rating has doubled since. Now it's on the way to becoming 3x that. I'm proud of him for sure, though.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4

Pat has been playing this for a while against the French. It's offbeat but not unseen. It is very similar to a Panov-Botvinik attack against the Caro-Kann.

4...Nf6 5.cxd5

5.Nc3 Bf5 6.Nf3 might me a little better trying to get his pieces out. No need to get rid of Black's isolated pawn though. When either side has an isolated pawn they either have to defend it or trade it off. In this case, exchanging accelerates White's development. But don't think that the isolated pawn is a bad thing. For all its defects, the owner of an isolated pawn more often than not has very smooth development. And indeed in the Exchange French, I often used to accept it as a tool and not a personal torture when I was playing 1...e6.

5...Qxd5 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Nge2 0-0 8.a3

One tempo, ah ah ah.

8...Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 Re8+ 10.Be3 Qd8

Two tempi, ah ah ah.

11.Bc4 Be6 12.d5

Three tempi, ah ah ah. With so many tempi lost, it's not a big surprise that Pat scored the upset here. Time is money in the business world and on the board.

12...Bd7 13.Qb3 b6 14.d6 Be6 15.dxc7 Qxc7 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.Rc1 Rc6 18.h3

Typical Pat, stopping the knight from coming in here. Looking at this game though, I would think that Black might not even bother when he is still behind in development.

18...Nbd7 19.0-0 Qb7 20.Bf4 Nc5 21.Qc2 Rac8 22.Nb5 Ne6 23.Qd2 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 25.Qxc1 Qd7 26.Nc3 Qd3 27.Be3 Qc4 28.Qd2 Ne4 29.Nxe4 Qxe4

Now it's bishop vs. knight which happened to be Fischer's favorite endgame.

30.Qd7 Qa8 31.b4 Qb8 32.a4 a6 33.b5 axb5 34.Qxb5 Nc7 35.Qxb6 Qxb6 36.Bxb6 Na6 37.a5 Kf8 38.Kf1 Ke7 39.Ke2 Kd6 40.Kd3 Kc6 41.Ke4 Nc5+ 42.Kf5 Nd7 43.Bd4 g6+ 44.Kg5 Kb5 45.Bc3 Nc5 46.Kh6 Ne4 47.Be1 Nf6 48.f3 Nh5 49.g4 Nf4 50.Kxh7 Nxh3 51.Kg7 Ng5 52.f4 Ne6+ 53.Kxf7 Nxf4 54.Bd2 g5 55.Kf6 Nh3 56.Bxg5 1-0

Well, that's game. Nice job by Pat.

John Gattinger (1772)
Dan Libby (1715)
Round 5
Grünfeld: Exchange (Classical), D86

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Ba3 c5?

I am no specialist in this opening, but to my eyes this looks like an error. The normal Grunfeld plan is 8...b6 9.Ne2 Bb7 10.Qc2 and only now 10...c5 with pressure against the White center.

9.Bxc5 Qc7 10.Qd3 b6 11.Ba3 Bb7 12.Ne2

White thoughtfully adds another defender to c3.

12...e6??

It's hard to say what happened here. 12...Rc8 followed by ...e6 makes some sense.

13.Bxf8 Bxf8 14.0-0 Nd7 15.Bb3 Rd8 16.f3 Nc5 17.Qc2 Nd7 18.Rfe1 Rc8 19.Qc1

19.Qd2 followed by Rac1 looks more graceful, but it doesn't matter much.

19...Ba6 20.Nf4 Bc4

Unfortunately for Black, 20...Qxc3 21.Qxc3 Rxc3 runs headlong into 22.Nxe6 fxe6 23.Bxe6+ when White recovers the piece and has -- how many extra pawns? Can't count that high? Let's just say “many.”

21.Bxc4 Qxc4 22.Ne2 e5 23.Qe3 Ba3 24.Rab1 Nc5 25.Red1 Na4 26.Rb3 exd4 27.cxd4 Bb2 28.Kh1 Qc2 29.Rf1 Rc4 30.f4 Nc3

This forces White to simplify into an easily won ending.

31.Nxc3 Rxc3 32.Rxc3 Qxc3 33.Qxc3 Bxc3 34.d5 Kf8 35.Rc1 Bd2 36.Rc7 a5 37.g3 Bb4 38.e5 1-0

Stan Jarosz (1986)
Jonathan Budzenski (1751)
Round 5
Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox (Henneberger), D63

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 Be7

I was hoping for 5...c6 6.e3 Qa5 with interesting play in the old-fashioned “Cambridge Springs” defense. But it was not to be.

6.e3 0-0 7.Rc1 a6 8.c5!?

Stan goes for the big clamp on the queenside. We're still in known theoretical territory. 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 is a slightly more common way to play, banking on the advantages of the Carlsbad pawn structure to give White some ideas on both sides of the board, but principally on the queenside.

8...Ne4!?

This move takes us to the theoretical fringes. In Mark Crowther's TWIC database there are only three examples -- not a very big theoretical sample.

9.Bxe7

All three recent games went 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Nd2 when Black's most ambitious idea is 11...f5!? Ostrowsky-Brodowski, Poland 2002 (0-1, 56).

9...Qxe7 10.Bd3 f5

A positionally interesting decision. Black has a stonewall pawn structure -- and therefore, at present, a fair amount of central space -- but no darksquare bishop. 10...Nxc3 11.Rxc3 e5 also comes into consideration, but it leads to a completely different sort of game.

11.0-0 g5!?

I have some doubts about this move, which looks overly ambitious. Surely Black doesn't think he can get in ...g4, ...Qh4, ...Rf6-h6 and ...Qxh2# Or does he?

12.Nd2 Ndf6 13.f3 Nxd2 14.Qxd2 e5

Black gets rid of the Stonewall structure and gives his bishop some breathing space.

15.e4!?

A frightening position. No doubt Jon wished he had his g-pawn safely back on g7!

15...exd4

15...dxe4

16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.exd5?!

This routine move may not be best. 17.Bc4! keeps Black in suspense. It's probably better for White to recapture on d5 with a piece, and Black isn't in a position to stop it since 17...c6 18.exd5 Qe3+ 19.Qxe3 dxe3 20.dxc6++/- is ugly.

17...Qe3+!

With his king badly exposed, Jon makes the right decision and gets queens off the board.

18.Qxe3 dxe3

Now Black's natural plan would be to reinforce his advanced pawn with ...f4, not out of any attacking ambitions but because otherwise the pawn will be weak.

19.f4

Naturally, White stops this plan.

19...gxf4 20.Rxf4

Material is equal, but White stands clearly better. Black's pawns are very weak and it is surprising that more don't fall.

20...Bd7 21.Re1

This routine move is not necessarily bad, but it strikes me as insufficiently sharp. It looks better to break up Black's pawns immediately with 21.c6! bxc6 22.dxc6 Bc8 (22...Be6 23.Re1 Bxa2 24.Rxe3±) and only now 23.Re1± when Black's bishop interferes with the coordination of his rooks.

21...Rae8 22.g3?!

This is a small but definite error. White wants to play Rf3 without having to cope with ...f4 as a reply, but the precaution is needless and presents Black with a tempo that he puts to good use. 22.Rf3 f4 23.g3 seems to win a pawn.

22...Re5 23.Bc4 Bb5

Black can also play more simply with 23...Kg7 intending ...Kf6 when it is difficult for White to make progress.

24.Bxb5 axb5 25.Rd4 Rd8 26.d6? Rxc5! 27.Rxe3 cxd6

After all that excitement, White is a pawn down but Black's pawns are badly fractured. 27...Rxd6 28.Rxd6 cxd6 may offer Black some chances in the ending, e.g. 29.Re7 Rc1+ 30.Kf2 Rc2+ and White will be very reluctant to trade rooks since then he will be outgunned in the pawn ending.

28.Rb3

On general principles I like to have the more active rooks, so I'd vote for 28.Re7 White has nothing to fear from 28...Rc1+ 29.Kg2 Rc2+ 30.Kh3 Rxb2 31.Rh4 when Black cannot hope to avoid a draw.

28...d5 29.Kf2 Kf7 30.Ke3 Kf6 31.Rdb4 Re8+ 32.Kd3 Re7 33.Rxb5 Rxb5 34.Rxb5 Ke5 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.a4 f4 37.gxf4+ Kxf4 38.b4

If there were any winning chances here, which seems doubtful, they would have to be bound up with 38.Kd4 After 38...Rc4+ 39.Kxd5 Rxa4 40.Rxb7 h5 at least White would have a passed pawn that Black cannot blockade with his king. Probably Black would play to pick off the pawn at h2 and then, if forced, sacrifice his rook for White's b-pawn and run the h-pawn for a touchdown. This should suffice to draw. Maybe.

38...Ke5 39.a5 Rf7 40.b5 d4 41.Rh6 Rd7 42.a6 bxa6 43.Rxa6 Kd5 44.Rh6

With the material reduced this far, it isn't surprising that the position is drawn. Jon finds the right plan, which (as usual in rook endings) involves blockading the enemy passer with the king.

44...Kc5 45.Rh5+ Kb6 46.h4

It's almost Zugzwang -- but not quite. Black's pawns and rook cannot move, but his king can.

46...Ka5 47.Re5 Kb6 48.h5 Ka5 49.Rg5 Kb6 50.Rf5 Ka5 51.Rc5 Kb6 52.Re5 Ka5 53.Rf5 ˝-˝

Robert Moore (1600)
Les Leroy Smith (1800)
Round 5
Sicilian: Barnes (Russian), B46

Notes by Tim McGrew

How much can a player get away with in terms of weak square complexes? We don't find out from this game, because Black goes too far and gets murdered on the dark squares. Maybe the moral is not to try...?

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6

In his book Chess Training, Nigel Povah tells about his preparation for the British Junior Championships in 1970. He was looking for an alternative to the ordinary Dragon Sicilian lines, but the Najdorf was too much work and the Taimanov and Scheveningen systems required a level of positional sophistication he knew he did not possess. So he took up Lowenthal's old move 4...e5!? The Lowenthal is officially “discredited” and forgotten. Yet in 45 games over the next four and a half years Povah scored 70% with it, mostly against higher rated players. Food for thought.

5.Nc3 e6

5...e5 has a dodgy theoretical reputation, but it does lead to interesting positions.

6.Be2 Bb4 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.e5 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Nd5 11.c4

11.Qd4 holds the pawn while preparing c4. White looks better here, largely because of the horrific weaknesses on the dark squares.

11...Nc3 12.Qd3 Nxe2+ 13.Qxe2 d5 14.Ba3!

Very nice: White prevents Black from castling and can now concentrate on exploiting the dark squares.

14...a5

This move telegraph's Black's intentions. 15.Rab1

15.Qg4! right away would deny Black the chance to get in Ba6 with the effect it has in the game.

15...Ba6 16.Qg4 g6 17.Rb3!?

Dangling bait in front of Black's nose.

17...Qc7

17...Bxc4 18.Rb7!± makes Black's life very unpleasant.

18.Qf4?

Here 18.Rfb1! is crushing. White plans to invade with Bd6 and Rb8+, and there is very little Black can do about it since curling up in his shell doesn't change the positional dynamics. Note that 18...Qxe5 loses a piece after 19.Bb2+- etc.

18...Bxc4 19.Bd6 Qa7 20.Qf6!

The dark squares are desperately weak. Still -- where's the mate?

20...Rg8 21.Ra3!?

This clever move sets a trap.

21...Bxf1??

Overlooking White's threat. 21...Qb7 was absolutely necessary. After something like 22.Rd1, I cannot see any clear way for White to break through -- but I would be very unhappy playing Black, since his job for the foreseeable future will be purely defensive.

22.Rxa5! 1-0

Black's position is a study in Swiss cheese.

Atulya Shetty (1593)
Gregory Kilburn (1264)
Round 5
Semi-Slav: Anti-Meran, D43

Notes by Tim McGrew

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 Nbd7 7.cxd5 cxd5

This is the sort of position that sends me to sleep.

8.Bd3 a6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Rc1 Re8 11.a3 Nf8 12.b4 b5 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.Qc2 Rc8 15.Qb2 Ne4 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Ne2 Nd6 18.Ng3 f6

18...Nc4 also looks fine for Black.

19.Nf3 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Rc8 21.Nd2 Rxc1+ 22.Qxc1 Qd7 23.Qc5 Qc6 24.Nb3 Nd7 25.Qxc6 Bxc6 26.Nc5 Nxc5 27.dxc5 Nc4 28.Bxc4 dxc4

Not much has happened. Black's bishop is “bad” vis a vis his queenside pawns, but unless White can bring his king into play against them he's unlikely to make progress.

29.Ne2 e5 30.Nc3 Kf7 31.f3 Ke6 32.Kf2 f5 33.h3 e4 34.f4 h6 35.g4 g5 36.fxg5 hxg5 37.Kg3 fxg4 38.Kxg4 Kf6 39.Ne2 Bd7+ 40.Kg3 Kg6 41.h4 gxh4+ 42.Kxh4 Kf6

In this relatively barren position, White has no serious winning chances. Atulya, however, is in no mood to sign a peace treaty. He presses and presses and...

43.Kg3 Ke5 44.Kh4 Kd5 45.Kg5 Ke5 46.Nc3 Bc6 47.Kg6 Ke6 48.Kg5 Ke5

Black makes it plain that he will not let White's king in.

49.Kg4 Bd7+ 50.Kg3 Bc6 51.Ne2 Bb7 52.Kf2 Kd5 53.a4??

This is a serious error that probably should lose the game.

53...bxa4 54.Nc3+ Ke5?

Black flinches. The crux of the position is the Black king's ability to win queenside pawns. Therefore the right move is 54...Kc6! 55.Nxe4 (55.Nxa4 Kb5 56.Nc3+ Kxb4 57.Ne2 Kxc5 with a fairly simple win for Black.) 55...a3 (At first I thought that 55...Kb5 was a horrible error, but in fact after 56.Nd6+ Kxb4 57.Nxb7 Kb5! White still has his hands full because his king cannot get into the square of Black's a-pawn.) 56.Nc3 a5 57.bxa5 Kxc5 58.Ke2 Kb4 59.Kd2 Kxa5 and it's up to White to prove that he can draw.

55.Nxa4 Bc6 56.Nb6 Bb5 57.Ke2 Kf5?

Black's king is headed the wrong way. 57...c3+ 58.Kd1 Bd3= ties down White's king with the chore of babysitting the c1-square.

58.Kd2 Kg4??

A bad case of battle fatigue causes White to miscount the pawn race.

59.Kc3 Kf3 60.Nxc4 Bxc4 61.Kxc4 Kxe3

The pawns are equal distances from their respective queening squares, but (a) Black's king is blocking his pawn and (b) it's White's move.

62.c6 Kd2 63.c7 e3 64.c8Q e2 65.Qd7+ 1-0