CDCL Matches in Saratoga

Sunday last saw a gathering of local chess “names” that has been rare in recent years. The Saratoga club hosted matches for both its “A” and “B” teams. Saratoga A faced off against Schenectady’s B team, more well known as the Geezers - a comment on the somewhat advanced years of some of the team members. Saratoga B did battle with the formidable Albany A team.

Playing on the various teams were Matt Katrein, Steve Taylor, Jonathan Feinberg, Peter Michaelman, Michael Mockler, Alan LeCours, John Phillips and Bill Little, your humble correspondent. In the 1980’s seeing all of us at some event was pretty common. Such has become far less usual in the years since. It was a pleasant beginning to an evening of chess to see so many old friends playing again.

The formidable Albany A team won quickly. Saratoga B was over-matched on ratings by several hundred points on each board, and this time form held. I believe Albany won the match 4-0. I can’t be certain as Jonathan Feinberg kept me very busy in our game.

Saratoga A won over the Geezers 3-1. Mockler, Phillips and I were not able to hold off the efforts of Taylor, Gordon Magat and Feinberg. We all lost. The only glimmer of light for us Geezers was Richard “The Giant Killer” Chu. Richard’s rating has been between 1600 and 1700 for a long time, however, every year it seems he has been able to take an Expert or high Class A player’s scalp. This year there has been more than one. This time he wins from Alan LeCours, an A player/Expert who has been having an up and down year.

CDCL Match: Saratoga A versus Schenectady Geezers
Site: Staunton Chess Club, Saratoga Springs, NY
Date: 4.25.2010
White: Chu, R., Schenectady
Black: LeCours, A, Saratoga

A game having several errors by both sides, nevertheless, it has some interesting points.

1. Nf3 Nf6
2. g3 g6
3. Bg2 Bg7
4. O-O O-O
Shades of my youth! Reti Opening Barcza System, King’s Indian Attack, or King’s Indian Defense depending on subsequent moves are names applied to this debut where both sides ignore the other and rearrange their pieces before making contact. Many Grandmasters have played so from the 1950s right up to the year 2000. These opening moves have not shown up very much in the last ten years at the top level. I don’t why.

5. Nc3 ….
An uncommon continuation. The 2600 types have used 5 c4, and 5 d4, here. The text is not bad by any means, just not usual.

5.… d5
6. e3 ….
Long age Tartakower, and before him Tarrasch warned against advancing the e-pawn when you have made a finachetto for the K-side Bishop. The move creates weak light squares around Richard’s King. They play a role in the rest of the game. A normal approach is 6 d3, trying for e2-e4 if allowed.

6.… c6
7. b3 Bg4
8. Bb2 ….
White offers a free advance of the Black center pawns believing he will be able to balance the game by striking back at the center.

8.… Qc8
Alan declines the offer to focus on the weak light squares near the White King.

9. Re1 e5
10. Qc1 e4
11. Ne5!? ….
Risky and interesting. There is no obvious path of retreat for the adventurous Knight. The two move threat; …, Ne8; and …, f6; picking off the Knight has to be a concern for White. The Knight is semi-safe because …, Ne8; is answered by Bb2-a3, hitting the Rf8. White also has to keep in mind he may have to play f2-f4 to lend support to the Ne5. Richard does not necessarily calculate all the details when he goes for this kind of dynamic play. He uses his intuition. There is an article in last month’s Chess Life by Soltis about this very subject.

11.…. Bh3
12. Bh1?! …..
Here 12 f4, is better. After 12 f4, Bxg2; 13 Kxg2, Ne8; 14 Ba3, f6; 15 Bxf8, Bxf8; 16 Nc4, dxc4; 17 bxc4, f5; or 17..., Qe6; Black has two minor pieces for a Rook and pawn with lots of material on the board. Andy Soltis in his book “Rethinking the Chess Pieces” Batsford, 2004 offers this insight to such imbalances; a) Giving up the pieces for a Rook and one pawn is generally bad in the opening and roughly even in the ending. b) Two pawns offers excellent winning chances if you can trade Queens. In this case it is the middle game, when who holds the initiative is critical in this kind of imbalance. The Black minor pieces are not really developed much less coordinated. No obvious method of forcing a trade of Queens is apparent. White has a small window of time where he must look to open lines upon which the Rooks can operate. If either 17..., f5; or 17..., Qe6; then 18 d3, suggests itself as the way to do so.

After the text, the Ne5 is in danger. Chu wanted to preserve the light squared Bishop to defend the weaknesses around his King. An intuitive decision. Soltis’ Chess Life article discusses the problem of electing to follow intuition or bearing down on calculation in a chess game. He does not come any firm conclusions about which way is the correct path.

12.… Nbd7?
Alan seems to have taken the intuitive road also. If he had calculated all the candidate moves and used Botvinnik’s scientific approach to the position, there is no reason Aln would not have found 12..., Ne8; when Black can either get two pieces for a Rook and no pawns, or a full piece for two pawns depending on how White wants to take the disadvantage. Trailing in development, LeCours naturally wants to catch up. Now the dangerously placed Knight exchanges itself.

13. Nxd7 Nxd7
14. Ne2!? ….
A more direct defense of the weak light squares begins 14 d3, to undermine the strong pawn on e4.

14.… Ne5
15. Bxe5 …..
At first blush my computer sees this move as not so good, but as the lines are played out Black gets really threatening play on the light squares. I’m certain it was an intuitive choice by Richard and this time correct.

15.…. Bxe5
16. c3? …
Another intuitive choice, but this time probably not correct. More light square weaknesses can’t be useful for White. Better 16 Rb1.

16.… g5
17. Qa3 Qd7
18. Rac1 Bd6
19. Qb2 c5
Over the last few moves the computer’s evaluations have swung back and forth, first favoring White, then Black. When I let the electronic beast chew on one of the positions for awhile, the numeric value settled to only a small plus for one side or the other.

20. c4 f5!?
Black offers the d-pawn on temporary basis to get things going. The offer is temporary only if he has given thought to how the pawn is recovered. My bet this was one more intuitive idea in this game. As subsequent play shows, Black did not have a firm notion in mind about recovering the pawn.

21. cxd5 Rae8
22. f4 exf3
23. Bxf3 Qf7
24. b4 b6
25. bxc5 bxc5
26. Qb3 Rb8
27. Qc2 h5!
The natural 27..., f4; leads to equality. The trading on f4 gets rid of two pairs of minor pieces along with the elimination of some pawns easing the burden of defending the light squares for White. The trades also open up the position allowing more pieces to be exchanged. Down a pawn, Black does not welcome that.

28. d4 cxd4
29. Nxd4 f4
30. exf4 gxf4
31. Bg2 Bxg2
32. Qxg2 f3
33. Qf2 Qxd5
Black has the pawn back. The light squared weaknesses around the White King remain. With accurate play White can hold probably. Black used a great deal of clock time to keep alive hopes of winning the game. Time trouble was beginning to dog Alan now.

34. Nb3 ….
A good question here is 34 Ne6, a better move?

34.… Bb4
35. Red1 Qe5
36. Rc2 a5
37. Kh1 a4
38. Nd2? ….
Maybe better is 8 Nd4, but Black has been slowly improving the position of his forces and White is having trouble finding workable moves.

38.… Qd5?
The inexorable advance of the hands on the clock is beginning to pinch Black. 38..., Qe2!; would have carried home the full point for Saratoga because 39 Nxf3, loses to 39..., Qxd1+; and otherwise Black wins at least a piece. Now the f3-pawn falls and White is back to equal.

39. Rf1 Rbe8
40. Nxf3 Re7
41. Re2? …..
Tossing away equality. White is not in serious time trouble, so he does not have that excuse. What may have happened is, since Black’s clock difficulties had become so glaring with only seconds left now, White wanted to move quickly not allowing Black any time to think. Much better is 41 Kg2, reinforcing the Nf3. The move played gives Black at chance to win immediately.

41.… Rd7?
With no time to think, as Soltis characterizes it, Alan “hand” fails him. 41..., Rxf3; wins material after 42 Qxf3, Qxf3; 43Rxf3, Rxe2. Black comes out a piece ahead. I don’t think that is any kind of easy win. The a-pawns will both go off and Black is left with the hard task of demonstrating a R+B+P can win against R+2P all on on side of the board. If there were no time trouble, perhaps Black could torture White for some long while. Given Alan had but seconds left the draw is reasonable.

42. Kg2 Qxf3+
Better 42..., h4=; but there is virtually no time left and Black snaps out a couple of moves.

43. Qxf3 Rxf3
44. Rxf3 Resigns and the flag falls.
A heartbreaking loss for LeCours and another flawed but exciting adventure for Richard Chu.
　
More coming from these matches and the Schenectady Consolation Swiss, and we hope from the Schenectady Finals.