Of the several interesting and locally important games from last Thursday’s CDCL matches at Schenectady the contest between Michael Mockler and Matt Katrein was, to me, fascinating. Matt has been at the top, or one of the very few at the top of the local rating list since the 1960’s! Later, in the 1970’s Michael Mockler began his rise as a chess player to the Expert ranks. Their games from those days were a clash of the old guard with the new. Decades pass and the competitors still meet over the board. They have been caught up with by teenage Masters and sub-teen Experts, but are not quite ready to step aside to the newest guard. Here Michael and Matt make a stern fight.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Albany
Site: SCC
Date; 05.27.2010
White: Mockler, M
Black: Katrein, M
1. b3 c5
2. Bb2 Nc6
3. e3 e5
4. Bb5 d6
5. d4 Qa5+
6. Nc3 …..
Mr. Mockler has taken a page from Bent Larson’s book. The databases have dozens of games where the Great Dane began with 1.b3. Mr. Katrien has treated the opening with enough creativity that the game position is not found in my databases. We are on our own now with nothing more than our intuition and a trusty silicone sidekick to help us understand the game.
6.… cxd4
7. exd4 exd4
8. Qxd4 ….
Things are far from clear, but the players have built some tension in the position.
8.… Bd7
9. Qe3+ Be7
10. O-O-O O-O-O
11. Rd5 …..
Development is nearing completion, just one more piece each side must find employment for. However, all is not easy for Black; the Be7 is only apparently protected by the Nc6. Rather than stirring the pot with the text, Mockler could have proceeded normally with 11 Nf3, after which Matt would have had to search for and find the unlikely move 11..., Re8. If Katrein tries alternatives such as 11..., Nf6; 12 Bxc6, is an immediate problem. Mr. Katrein, in my experience, almost always sees things as they are on the chessboard, not what he wishes them to be. Doubtless he would have made the 11..., Re1; move, but he would not have been happy about it; White has many choices open for him then: 12 h3, 12 Rhe1, and maybe best of all 12 Bc4. Putting the Knight on f6 would have given White the initiative.
The game move makes an attempt to add one more layer of tension to the position. The move forces Black to better coordinate his pieces.
11.… Qc7
12. Nf3 Nf6
13. Rhd1 …..
More careful is 13 Rd2. The text offers an Exchange that can not be taken. If 13..., Nxd5; 14 Nxd5, Qa5; 15 Bxc6, and the Be7 is loose.
13.… Rhe8
My computer suggests 13.., Be6; as preferred, but as the line plays out it likes the resulting positions less and less for Black. The text seems to be the best Black has.
14. R5d2 Bf8
15. Qf4 a6
16. Bc4 Ne5
Both sides have finished deploying troops and begun to think about active operations. Black has a positional flaw, the isolated QP on the sixth. He’d like to advance the pawn to the fifth. White has just enough force in and around the center to make the advance impossible at the moment.
Since advancing the d-pawn is out of the question, Black looks for other ways to generate activity. I did not quite get Katrein’s idea until the position played out over the board; attack down the c-file. Another possibility is using the e-file after 16..., Be6; then 17 Nd5, Nxd5; 18 Bxd5, Bxd5; 19 Rxd5, Re2; with a pair of Rooks probably coming off soon as well. This way takes much of the sting is out of the position, but Black has not much scope for dynamic play. That is the likely reason Matt chose the c-file as his road.
17. Nd5 Nxd5
18. Bxd5 f6
19. Nd4 Kb8
20. Kb1 Rc8
21. Nf5!? ….
By going to f5 Michael gives Black a chance to advance the pawns on the K-side. Steadier is 21 c4, and c4 can be supported, if need be, by Nd4/c2/e3. Black now gains some space in which he may be able to mount counter-play.
21.… g5
22. Qe4 Ng6
23. Qf3 Nf4
Black could alternatively try for an material imbalance with 23..., g4; 24 Qxg4, Ne7; 25 Be4, Qc5; 26 Bc4, Bxf5; 27 Bxc5, Bxg4; 28 Bxd6+, Ka7; 29 f3, and then can choose among 29..., f4; 29.…, Bh5; or 29..., Be6; depending on mood. True enough another pawn will fall, however a piece for three pawns is not so bad a deal when you have a Bishop pair on the board and the opponent is beginning to have time worries. The computer sees the game nearing level in this line. Matt was no doubt aware Albany had two points in the bag at this point of the game. Likely he did see a need to take chances with the three pawns for a piece imbalance. The problem is the text permits White to obtain a clear and measurable advantage. It could be Black really had to fish those troubled waters.
24. Ne3 h5?!
Better 24..., f5. The game move leaves the K-side pawns weaker than they have to be.
25. g3? ….
By playing 25 c4, Mockler would have sidestepped the tactical connection between c2 attacked by two heavy pieces and the guardian Knight on e3 making the Exchange sacrifice on e3 ineffective. Attempting to "bum’s rush" the Nf4 away steps into a forcing sequence Black must have been considering for sometime. The result of the sequence is not so bad for White, except Black had the idea and White had to react to it. Mr. Mockler’s clock was starting to tick down, Katrein was making his moves relatively quickly. Michael thought he was better I believe. That set of circumstances create an environment in which it is tough to make accurate decisions. The simple 25 h3, would have kept the pressure on Black if White did not feel advancing the c-pawn was trustworthy.
25.… Rxe3
26. fxe3 Bg4
27. Qf2 Nxd5
28. Rxd5 Bxd1
29. Rxd1 Be7
30. Rd4 Qc6
31. e4 Qc5
32. Qe2 ….
White is comfortably on top but his clock is racing towards five minutes left. Mr. Katrein has something more than twenty-five minutes remaining.
32.… g4
33. c4 f5?
This move makes possible serious winning chances for White based on a plan Mockler’s Rybka machine found; pushing the e-pawn if Black does nothing. Better for Black is something like 33..., Qa5; 34 Rd5, Rc5; then trading Rooks and going over to a passive defense for awhile.
34. Rd5 Qg1+
35. Rd1 …..
If White wanted to continue he had to try 35 Bc1, then 35..., fxe4; 36 Qxe4, Re8; 37 Rxh5; is clearly won for White. By this time Richard Chu and I had lost, Phillips was fighting off a protected passed pawn and his draw on board three was by no means secure. Michael was down to a bare five minutes and Katrien still had just about twenty-five minutes. To ensure the Geezers were not whitewashed, Mr. Mockler offered the draw and Mr. Katrein accepted. At about the same time the Phillips - Howard game also ended drawn. This time I can’t say the Geezers might have done better. The losses on board two and four were pretty comprehensive and Albany won the match handsomely.
More tomorrow.
5.31.2010
5.28.2010
A Newsy Post With No Games
On Thursday night there were two CDCL matches at the Schenectady club; the Geezers hosted the Albany team, and the Schenectady A team hosted the Guilderland club.
The Geezers went down 1-3 with board one Michael Mockler holding a draw with the redoubtable Matt Katrein and John Phillips doing likewise with Dean Howard on board three. Rishard Chu and I on boards four and two did not do so well. Richard had an unpromising position versus Tim Wright, the last Albany Area Chess club champion, from early in the game on board four. Things then proceeded to a material minus and a loss soon.
My outing against Mr. Michelman was, if anything, less auspicious. By the thirteenth move I had a near hopeless game as Black in the Slav Defense, and although I struggled on, the game had to be resigned on move forty. Surrendering sooner would have more polite, but Peter had gotten himself into some fairly serious time trouble calculating an excellent sacrificial line. The Geezers were by that point in serious trouble regards drawing the match; Richard Chu’s game was clearly worse and Mockler and Phillips had few winning chances. The sporting situation called for doing my utmost, alas my few tricks were not enough. Michelman demonstrated once more that taking risks in the opening against him is a costly proposition.
In the other match the Schenectady A team met the Guilderland team. A brief aside re: team names. The Albany team is in fact the strongest team of the old Albany Area Chess Club. They have kept up their representation of Albany in the League during the two year’s they were without a meeting place. Recently the Albany Area Chess Club was reconstituted under the same name at the Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church in Guilderland. The Guilderland team is in effect the second team of the Albany Area Chess Club. Next season we may well see a more rational naming of these two teams.
On to the match. Schenectady A won by the convincing score 3 ½ - ½. Deepak Aaron on first board was held to a draw by John Morse. I was not too surprised. Morse had peaked well over 2200 in the past, and he is always dangerous. There were points in the game when it appeared Deepak was going to have to struggle to hold the position. In the end Aaron showed nice technique to create counter-play and split the point.
The Philip Sells - Peter Henner game was another closely fought contest, and again I thought the Schenectady A player was worse at one point. Maybe my judgment was incorrect. While I was tied down to a losing battle with Michelman and therefore not able to assess with any accuracy what was going between Philip and Peter, they staged a dramatic battle. There was an oddly placed Bishop, fistfights for squares, tactics everywhere, all-in-all a dour contest that Mr. Sells won.
Patrick Chi played against Art Alowitz’s Benko Gambit on board three. This the fourth time I have watched Patrick be met with the Benko. It is also the fourth time I watched him win versus this opening. Some advice to Patrick’s future opponents; maybe try something different. Patrick took to heart some advice for White in the Benko from GM Har-Zvi; put the Knight on b5 supported by a pawn on a4. This was the pattern Mr. Chi used in the games I have seen. It works very well indeed. Those Grandmaster types know things, and they tell us the things they know often. The question is; why don’t more of us students listen? Patrick surely did!
The final game of this match on the fourth board was on paper a ratings mismatch. John Barnes at a solid 1850-1900 played Charles Eson at about 900. This was another game for which I had only some brief glimpses during play. Somewhere in the middle game one passing look told me Charles had done well to that point; material was even, the pawn formations had no glaring weaknesses on either side. Barnes had the more reasonable disposition of his Rooks, but Charles’ pieces did not look too badly placed. The next time I passed by the table the game had ended but there was no time to find out just how Eson had lost. The suddenness of the finish leads me to suspect a hung piece. Charles and I meet most Wednesday mornings in Altamont, the Home Front Café, for coffee and chess. It will be a chance to find out how things went wrong for him.
Through the good offices of Bill Townsend we have updated standings for the Luegue current through Thursday.
They are:
Schenectady A 5-0 Match Points 18.0 Game Points
Albany 5-0 Match Points 16.5 Game Points
Sch’dy Geezers 3.5-3.5 Match Points 15.0 Game Points
Guilderland 3-4 Match Points 13.0 Game Points
Saratoga A 2.5-0.5 Match Pts 9.0 Game Points
RPI 2-5 Match Points 9.5 Game Points
Uncle Sam, Troy 2-4 Match Points 7.5 Game Points
Saratoga B 0-6 Match Points 3.5 Game Points
As is typical most years the Schenectady A team and the Albany team are in a tight race. Both teams have two matches yet to play; one each against the Saratoga A team and a match with each other. Along with the Saratoga A team, these two make up the elite of the League. Future weeks promise some interesting chess for the local fans. I’ve not heard why the Saratoga team is lagging the schedule. They have played the RPI team that often has problems with conflicts at the end of the school year which eliminates one worry. This year RPI made a concerted effort and were the first team to finish their schedule. Kudos for the Engineers!
The Schenectady A team is averaging 3.6 game points per match. The Saratoga A team is averaging 3.3 per match, as is the Albany team. Within the “big three” the one-half match point dropped to RPI by Saratoga A looms large. In effect the Saratoga team has conceded draw odds to their rivals for the first spot, Schenectady and Albany. I expect the Geezers will be overhauled for third place in the League by Saratoga A, but the Geezers appear to be secure in fourth. The Geezers had opportunities to do better against Saratoga and Schenectady by drawing the matches. The Guilderland team was our primary rival for fourth. They have completed the schedule with three match points letting the Geezers get to fourth by a bare half match point.
This post has run on long enough for today. The only game I have in hand from the Geezers - Albany match is mine with Michelman. I will post it next if for no other purpose to illustrate poor preparation of an opening, or maybe just goofy play by your humble correspondent. Bill Townsend collected most of the score sheets from these matches. I am looking foward especially to seeing Mockler - Katrein and Aaron - Morse in Bill’s column in the Schenectady Gazette soon.
More tomorrow.
A poetscript: Just checked my email and both Bill Townsend and Michael Mockler have frowarded some games from this year's League play including the Mockler - Katrein game from Thursday. Excellent! More grist for the mill. They will be in print shortly.
The Geezers went down 1-3 with board one Michael Mockler holding a draw with the redoubtable Matt Katrein and John Phillips doing likewise with Dean Howard on board three. Rishard Chu and I on boards four and two did not do so well. Richard had an unpromising position versus Tim Wright, the last Albany Area Chess club champion, from early in the game on board four. Things then proceeded to a material minus and a loss soon.
My outing against Mr. Michelman was, if anything, less auspicious. By the thirteenth move I had a near hopeless game as Black in the Slav Defense, and although I struggled on, the game had to be resigned on move forty. Surrendering sooner would have more polite, but Peter had gotten himself into some fairly serious time trouble calculating an excellent sacrificial line. The Geezers were by that point in serious trouble regards drawing the match; Richard Chu’s game was clearly worse and Mockler and Phillips had few winning chances. The sporting situation called for doing my utmost, alas my few tricks were not enough. Michelman demonstrated once more that taking risks in the opening against him is a costly proposition.
In the other match the Schenectady A team met the Guilderland team. A brief aside re: team names. The Albany team is in fact the strongest team of the old Albany Area Chess Club. They have kept up their representation of Albany in the League during the two year’s they were without a meeting place. Recently the Albany Area Chess Club was reconstituted under the same name at the Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church in Guilderland. The Guilderland team is in effect the second team of the Albany Area Chess Club. Next season we may well see a more rational naming of these two teams.
On to the match. Schenectady A won by the convincing score 3 ½ - ½. Deepak Aaron on first board was held to a draw by John Morse. I was not too surprised. Morse had peaked well over 2200 in the past, and he is always dangerous. There were points in the game when it appeared Deepak was going to have to struggle to hold the position. In the end Aaron showed nice technique to create counter-play and split the point.
The Philip Sells - Peter Henner game was another closely fought contest, and again I thought the Schenectady A player was worse at one point. Maybe my judgment was incorrect. While I was tied down to a losing battle with Michelman and therefore not able to assess with any accuracy what was going between Philip and Peter, they staged a dramatic battle. There was an oddly placed Bishop, fistfights for squares, tactics everywhere, all-in-all a dour contest that Mr. Sells won.
Patrick Chi played against Art Alowitz’s Benko Gambit on board three. This the fourth time I have watched Patrick be met with the Benko. It is also the fourth time I watched him win versus this opening. Some advice to Patrick’s future opponents; maybe try something different. Patrick took to heart some advice for White in the Benko from GM Har-Zvi; put the Knight on b5 supported by a pawn on a4. This was the pattern Mr. Chi used in the games I have seen. It works very well indeed. Those Grandmaster types know things, and they tell us the things they know often. The question is; why don’t more of us students listen? Patrick surely did!
The final game of this match on the fourth board was on paper a ratings mismatch. John Barnes at a solid 1850-1900 played Charles Eson at about 900. This was another game for which I had only some brief glimpses during play. Somewhere in the middle game one passing look told me Charles had done well to that point; material was even, the pawn formations had no glaring weaknesses on either side. Barnes had the more reasonable disposition of his Rooks, but Charles’ pieces did not look too badly placed. The next time I passed by the table the game had ended but there was no time to find out just how Eson had lost. The suddenness of the finish leads me to suspect a hung piece. Charles and I meet most Wednesday mornings in Altamont, the Home Front Café, for coffee and chess. It will be a chance to find out how things went wrong for him.
Through the good offices of Bill Townsend we have updated standings for the Luegue current through Thursday.
They are:
Schenectady A 5-0 Match Points 18.0 Game Points
Albany 5-0 Match Points 16.5 Game Points
Sch’dy Geezers 3.5-3.5 Match Points 15.0 Game Points
Guilderland 3-4 Match Points 13.0 Game Points
Saratoga A 2.5-0.5 Match Pts 9.0 Game Points
RPI 2-5 Match Points 9.5 Game Points
Uncle Sam, Troy 2-4 Match Points 7.5 Game Points
Saratoga B 0-6 Match Points 3.5 Game Points
As is typical most years the Schenectady A team and the Albany team are in a tight race. Both teams have two matches yet to play; one each against the Saratoga A team and a match with each other. Along with the Saratoga A team, these two make up the elite of the League. Future weeks promise some interesting chess for the local fans. I’ve not heard why the Saratoga team is lagging the schedule. They have played the RPI team that often has problems with conflicts at the end of the school year which eliminates one worry. This year RPI made a concerted effort and were the first team to finish their schedule. Kudos for the Engineers!
The Schenectady A team is averaging 3.6 game points per match. The Saratoga A team is averaging 3.3 per match, as is the Albany team. Within the “big three” the one-half match point dropped to RPI by Saratoga A looms large. In effect the Saratoga team has conceded draw odds to their rivals for the first spot, Schenectady and Albany. I expect the Geezers will be overhauled for third place in the League by Saratoga A, but the Geezers appear to be secure in fourth. The Geezers had opportunities to do better against Saratoga and Schenectady by drawing the matches. The Guilderland team was our primary rival for fourth. They have completed the schedule with three match points letting the Geezers get to fourth by a bare half match point.
This post has run on long enough for today. The only game I have in hand from the Geezers - Albany match is mine with Michelman. I will post it next if for no other purpose to illustrate poor preparation of an opening, or maybe just goofy play by your humble correspondent. Bill Townsend collected most of the score sheets from these matches. I am looking foward especially to seeing Mockler - Katrein and Aaron - Morse in Bill’s column in the Schenectady Gazette soon.
More tomorrow.
A poetscript: Just checked my email and both Bill Townsend and Michael Mockler have frowarded some games from this year's League play including the Mockler - Katrein game from Thursday. Excellent! More grist for the mill. They will be in print shortly.
5.23.2010
CDCL Match Geezers v Saratoga B
Thursday night saw the Schenectady Geezers face the Saratoga B team at the Schenectady club room in a CDCL match. With some luck the Geezers won 3 -1. The victory was similar to our recent win over Guilderland; the score could have been just the reverse had our opponents taken full advantage of opportunities offered.
Bill Townsend, the man who keeps the records for the League, provided me with the standings updated as of Thursday to include our win from Saratoga B:
Schenectady A 4-0 Match Points 14.5 Game Points
Albany 4-0 Match Points 13.5 Game Points
Guilderland 3-2 Match Points 12.0 Game Points
Sch’dy Geezers 3.5-2.5 Match Points 14.0 Game Points
RPI 2-5 Match Points 9.5 Game Points
Uncle Sam, Troy 2-4 Match Points 7.5 Game Points
Saratoga A 1.5-0.5 Match Pts 5.0 Game Points
Saratoga B 0-6 Match Points 3.5 Game Points
RPI pushed hard to complete their schedule before the end of the school year madness interfered as it did last year. They did well with a team that did not have any highly rated players. Their draws with the strong Saratoga A team and the Geezers were very good results.
Speaking of Saratoga A; they are the "tail enders" in this year’s League with five matches yet to be played. Typically Saratoga A is in the thick of the battle for first with Schenectady A and Albany. I expect it will be so this year once the Saratoga team catches up with the schedule.
The Geezers have one match yet to be played. The Albany team is in a neck-to-neck race with Schenectady A for first place. Helping our comrades on the A team and for our own honor are two reasons the Geezers need to play up to our full potential in next week’s match against Albany. We were narrowly defeated by Schenectady A and Saratoga A and a good portion of those losses has to be laid to my play. Losses to Patrick Chi and Jon Feinberg were not examples of good play by me. The question comes down to; can I restrain my wild streak and come up with a good effort against Peter Michelman? We will see next week!
Although I won my game Thursday with David Connors, the victory was more due to fortune than skill. My play was marred by a serious oversight. David, up to a point played a very nice game. Only when it came to the rough and tumble of hand-to-hand fighting did he slip. A most costly slip it was; from a completely won game in a move or two to being mated.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Saratoga B
Site: SCC
Date: 5.20.2010
White: Connors, D
Black: Little, B
1. Nf3 d5
2. g3 Nf6
3. Bg2 c6
4. O-O Bf5
5. d3 e6
Very much mainstream theory into the 1980’s and 90’s. Example are Korchnoi - Karpov, Tilburg, 1986, 0-1 in 40 moves and Benjamin - Van der Sterren, Donner Memorial, 1994, ½ - ½ in 44 moves.
6. Nbd2 Nbd7
7. b3 Bc5
8. Bb2 h6
9. c4 O-O
We are still in the "Book" but with not so many 2600+ examples with which to compare, it is hard to say if we have played past any critical lines. The position was new and not well explored back in the 1950’s. Larry Evans wrote much about what was then known as the Reti Opening, Barcza System, especially in his book on the Lessing Rosenwald tournament 1954/55, "Trophy Chess".
10. Qc1 …..
Putting the Queen on c2 looks more natural.
10.… Re8
11. d4 Bd6
12. Ne5 Ng4!?
More calm is 12..., Qc7.
13. Nxg4 Bxg4
14. f3 Bh5
15. e4!? ….
Maybe 15 c5, first will push the Bishop off the diagonal. I was not at all sure where to keep the cleric; on the b8-h2 diagonal because my attack on the King was going to work, or retire it to f8 because there was a need to defend long term. After mulling that choice I decided to clear out the center and go for open play.
15.… e5
This offers a pawn, at least temporarily.
16. Kh1 …..
David is wary of tactics beginning with …, Qb6+; so he grants me some play in the center.
16.… exd4
17. Bxd4 …..
White elects to give me a protected passed pawn on d4. This is not an unreasonable choice. As I worked through the lines beginning with 17 cxd5, with the computer it became clear Black obtains a decent game and maybe a little bit more if White is not careful. I wonder if Connors saw it? I did not see it at all clearly but hoped the open nature of the position would be promising. My first thought when the center passer became possible was; well that pretty well finishes the fight. A few minuets of thought destroyed that illusion. The d-pawn is not very mobile with this much material on the board, and means there is a long struggle ahead.
17.…. c5
18. Bb2 d4
19. Re1 Ne5
20. Qc2 Nc6
21. a3 g5!?
Quite committal is this move. Retreating the Bishop to c7 and thinking of redeployment at a5 leaves the initiative firmly in White’s hands. I could not find any other move that promised active play and did not want to go over a passive defense.
22. b4! ….
A very strong offer of a pawn for piece freedom. By accepting it Black would have given White many open lines for the Queenside pieces. After the inevitable f3-f4, and …, gxf4; the White Rook goes from a1 through a3 to g3 showing up the problem with advancing the g-pawn to g5; the loosened pawns in front of the Black King offer no protection.
22.… b6
After noting the possibility of the Rook at a1 getting into the game I rejected accepting the pawn. It seems the pawn might be taken, but Black would have to be very, very accurate thereafter, at least that’s what computer analysis says. The game move offers the Exchange for active piece play. This is a real sacrifice; there is no clear route to substantial compensation, just good lines for my pieces, the chance of getting a Rook on the g-file first and planting my Knight on e3. Incidentally, the computer thinks White best counter is to return the Exchange for the eventual Knight on e3.
23. b5 Ne5
24. f4 gxf4
25. gxf4 Ng4
26. e5 Qh4
Right after the game finished I thought this move was just too adventurous. A calmer evaluation is it is probably the best move in a tense situation.
27. Nf3?! ….
It is possible 27 Nf1, is a bit stronger.
27.… Nf2+
28. Kg1 Nh3+
29. Kf1! …..
David goes for the win. He refuses to "wimp out" with 29 Kh1, when Black has nothing better than to repeat moves.
29.… Qxf4?
Black had to try 29..., Bxf3!?; then my guess is play would continue; 30 Bxf3, Qxf4; 31 Qe4!, Bxe5; 32 Qxf4, Bxf4; 33 Bxa8, Rxa8; 34 Kg2, Ng5; 35 Re7, Kf8; when Black has two pawns for the Exchange, but he will have to be accurate to prevent the White Rooks from becoming "two pigs on the seventh" and overwhelming the Black position. The text is a losing move. I missed a very simple shot that White has.
30. Bc1 ….
Right after the game David thought this move was incorrect. Even then with the tension of competition gone, neither of us saw the idea that it wins the position for White
30.… Qg4
31. exd6 Rxe1+
32. Nxe1 Re8
33. Qd3?? ….
As one of my early chess teachers said often; "If you don’t see it, it is not there, for you."
Winning is 33 Bxh3, Qxh3; 34 Qg2+!, Qxg2; 35 Kxg2, and 35..., Rxe1; is not good for the pawn on d6 reaches the 8th after 36 d2, making a Queen. White does not see the threat of mate on e2. This is another example of the great danger of enemy Knights on the third/sixth ranks near the your King.
33.… Qe2+
34. Qxe2 Bxe2 checkmate.
A disappointing loss for David and another lucky win for me. Had Connors won this game, that point along with the well won point Mark Brody scored in the next game would have drawn the match.
CDCL Match Sch’dy Geezers v Saratoga B
Site: SCC
Date: 5-20-2010
White: Brody, M
Black: Chu, R
1. e4 d5
2. e5 d4
3. d3 Nc6
4. Nf3 Bg4
5. Bf4 e6
6. Be2 Qd5
7. h3 Bh5
8. g4 Bg6
9. Nbd2 f6?!
A sacrifice maybe, or is it a casual move made without really looking? We have gotten to an odd position by non-standard paths. Sensible is 9..., 0-0-0; and after 10 Nc4, 10..., f6; looks good for Black. Before the games began, I mentioned to Richard his winning streak; he won every one of his games in the League matches. As with baseball pitchers throwing a no-hitter, speaking of the event may have jinxed the string.
10. exf6 Nxf6
11. Bxc7 e5
12. c4! ….
Brody may be a fourth board playing for a team that has yet to win or draw a match this year, however his play is a good example of simple good chess. Chu may have had an idea of trapping the Bc7 with his last move. Mark Brody must have seen the position more clearly than his opponent.
12.… dxc3
13. bxc3 Bxd3
14. c4 Qd7
15. Bxe5 Bxe2
Intuition has been Richard’s strong suit during this year’s matches. Here it betrays him. The try 15.…, 0-0-0; is an attempt to make something of the small lead in development purchased for the pawn minus. Black will get both of his Rooks to the open central files with dynamic possibilities. True enough the Black King is not comfortably placed with the Bf4’s diagonal cutting through his house. The text and the follow-up start down the path to a difficult ending for Black.
16. Qxe2 Nxe5
17. Nxe5 Qe6
18. g5 Nd7
19. Nxd7 Qxe2+
20. Kxe2 Kxd7
21. Ne4 Re8
The double Rook with minor pieces endgame favors White but is not clearly won. The Black Bishop with pawns on both sides of the board offers chances to hold. The greater range of the Bishop versus the Knight is a classic imbalance with lots of theory recorded about it. White’s Knight enjoys a strong position from which the Black forces on the board are ill suited to drive it away. Black’s best target is the pawn on c5. He should organize his counter-play around pressure against that point. Black very probably wants his King to go to the K-side at some point to balance to some degree the extra White pawn there.
22. f3 Be7
23. Rhd1+ Kc7
24. Rd5 Rd8
25. Rad1 Rxd5
26. Rxd5 b6
Without pressure on the c-file and with his King far from the White pawn majority, Black has a dismal, passive defensive task to face. The text puts a pawn on a dark colored square for no great need. Better 26..., Rd8; looking to get rid the last pair of Rooks. Without these Rooks on The Black would have some access to the weak White pawns on the Q-side and maybe can create some distraction for White over there.
27. a4 Rf8
28. Ke3 ….
White could played 28 a5, getting rid of weak pawn structure on the Q-side by eliminating the connected pawn pair that provides Black with chances to make a balancing passer if given the chance.
28.… Rd8
29. Kd4 Rf8
30. Ke3 Kc6
31. f4 g6
32. Kf3 a6
33. Kg4 ….
White has calmly brought his King to the critical sector pointing up how much Black could use his King there to shore the defense there.
33.… h6?
Better 33..., Bc5; 34 Nf5, Rf7; to be followed by 35..., Re7; getting the Black Rook behind the on-rushing White K-side majority. By having both the Rook and the Bishop actively deployed there are chances to make White work to take the full point. The text does no more than make the g-pawn a weakling.
34. gxh6 Rh8
35. Ng5 Rxh6
36. Nf7 Rh4+
37. Kg3 Rh7
38. Ne5+ Kb7
39. Nxg6 Bc5
White has two passers, and although they are disconnected, the Black Rook and Bishop will have a hard time holding them back.
40. f5 Rg7
41. Kg4 Kc6
42. Re5 b5
Desperation. There is not much to suggest for Black, but throwing another pawn overboard has to be the worst of the bad choices available. Worth a try is 42..., Bd4; 43 Re7, Kc5; aiming to make a distant passer of his own. The game is still lost for Black, but why not make White worry a little?
43. Re6+ Kd7
44. cxb5 axb5
45. axb5 Kd8
Now down three pawns Black's only hope is for earthquake or a power failure. The games goes on for awhile longer, but Mr. Brody demonstrates decent technique never letting things get out of control and brings home the point nicely. A fine performance by the lower rated player.
46. Kf4 Rb7
47. h4 Rxb5
48. h5 Ba3
49. Kg4 Kd7
50. Ne5+ Kc7
51. f6 Rb4+
52. Kf5 Bc1
53. Rc6+ Kd8
54. Rxc1 Rb2
55. Rc6 Re2
56. Rd6+ Ke8
57. Nc6 Resigns.
John Phillips won quite quickly on board three against Peter Sparagna. Peter fell into the classic trap of grabbing the b-pawn with his Queen, after which the well prepared Phillips chased the Queen gaining tempos on every turn until the game ended in less than twenty moves.
On board one Michael Mockler played a complex game against Jeff Hrebenach, a rising scholastic star. At one point Jeff had the game won with Mockler dropping a piece. Hrebenach did have his King is an awkward place. Michael found a nice tactic that turned the tables. He made use of a series of Knight forks coordinated with clever use of his Rooks to take the game to an ending where he had a Knight for a couple of weak pawns. Jeff was running short of time and Mockler had the technique to demonstrate the win. Both players were in some trouble with the clock at the end and the score sheets were not exactly clear. Bill Townsend volunteered to take them and make some sense of the record. I won’t be surprised to see the game in his column in the near future.
Bill Townsend, the man who keeps the records for the League, provided me with the standings updated as of Thursday to include our win from Saratoga B:
Schenectady A 4-0 Match Points 14.5 Game Points
Albany 4-0 Match Points 13.5 Game Points
Guilderland 3-2 Match Points 12.0 Game Points
Sch’dy Geezers 3.5-2.5 Match Points 14.0 Game Points
RPI 2-5 Match Points 9.5 Game Points
Uncle Sam, Troy 2-4 Match Points 7.5 Game Points
Saratoga A 1.5-0.5 Match Pts 5.0 Game Points
Saratoga B 0-6 Match Points 3.5 Game Points
RPI pushed hard to complete their schedule before the end of the school year madness interfered as it did last year. They did well with a team that did not have any highly rated players. Their draws with the strong Saratoga A team and the Geezers were very good results.
Speaking of Saratoga A; they are the "tail enders" in this year’s League with five matches yet to be played. Typically Saratoga A is in the thick of the battle for first with Schenectady A and Albany. I expect it will be so this year once the Saratoga team catches up with the schedule.
The Geezers have one match yet to be played. The Albany team is in a neck-to-neck race with Schenectady A for first place. Helping our comrades on the A team and for our own honor are two reasons the Geezers need to play up to our full potential in next week’s match against Albany. We were narrowly defeated by Schenectady A and Saratoga A and a good portion of those losses has to be laid to my play. Losses to Patrick Chi and Jon Feinberg were not examples of good play by me. The question comes down to; can I restrain my wild streak and come up with a good effort against Peter Michelman? We will see next week!
Although I won my game Thursday with David Connors, the victory was more due to fortune than skill. My play was marred by a serious oversight. David, up to a point played a very nice game. Only when it came to the rough and tumble of hand-to-hand fighting did he slip. A most costly slip it was; from a completely won game in a move or two to being mated.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Saratoga B
Site: SCC
Date: 5.20.2010
White: Connors, D
Black: Little, B
1. Nf3 d5
2. g3 Nf6
3. Bg2 c6
4. O-O Bf5
5. d3 e6
Very much mainstream theory into the 1980’s and 90’s. Example are Korchnoi - Karpov, Tilburg, 1986, 0-1 in 40 moves and Benjamin - Van der Sterren, Donner Memorial, 1994, ½ - ½ in 44 moves.
6. Nbd2 Nbd7
7. b3 Bc5
8. Bb2 h6
9. c4 O-O
We are still in the "Book" but with not so many 2600+ examples with which to compare, it is hard to say if we have played past any critical lines. The position was new and not well explored back in the 1950’s. Larry Evans wrote much about what was then known as the Reti Opening, Barcza System, especially in his book on the Lessing Rosenwald tournament 1954/55, "Trophy Chess".
10. Qc1 …..
Putting the Queen on c2 looks more natural.
10.… Re8
11. d4 Bd6
12. Ne5 Ng4!?
More calm is 12..., Qc7.
13. Nxg4 Bxg4
14. f3 Bh5
15. e4!? ….
Maybe 15 c5, first will push the Bishop off the diagonal. I was not at all sure where to keep the cleric; on the b8-h2 diagonal because my attack on the King was going to work, or retire it to f8 because there was a need to defend long term. After mulling that choice I decided to clear out the center and go for open play.
15.… e5
This offers a pawn, at least temporarily.
16. Kh1 …..
David is wary of tactics beginning with …, Qb6+; so he grants me some play in the center.
16.… exd4
17. Bxd4 …..
White elects to give me a protected passed pawn on d4. This is not an unreasonable choice. As I worked through the lines beginning with 17 cxd5, with the computer it became clear Black obtains a decent game and maybe a little bit more if White is not careful. I wonder if Connors saw it? I did not see it at all clearly but hoped the open nature of the position would be promising. My first thought when the center passer became possible was; well that pretty well finishes the fight. A few minuets of thought destroyed that illusion. The d-pawn is not very mobile with this much material on the board, and means there is a long struggle ahead.
17.…. c5
18. Bb2 d4
19. Re1 Ne5
20. Qc2 Nc6
21. a3 g5!?
Quite committal is this move. Retreating the Bishop to c7 and thinking of redeployment at a5 leaves the initiative firmly in White’s hands. I could not find any other move that promised active play and did not want to go over a passive defense.
22. b4! ….
A very strong offer of a pawn for piece freedom. By accepting it Black would have given White many open lines for the Queenside pieces. After the inevitable f3-f4, and …, gxf4; the White Rook goes from a1 through a3 to g3 showing up the problem with advancing the g-pawn to g5; the loosened pawns in front of the Black King offer no protection.
22.… b6
After noting the possibility of the Rook at a1 getting into the game I rejected accepting the pawn. It seems the pawn might be taken, but Black would have to be very, very accurate thereafter, at least that’s what computer analysis says. The game move offers the Exchange for active piece play. This is a real sacrifice; there is no clear route to substantial compensation, just good lines for my pieces, the chance of getting a Rook on the g-file first and planting my Knight on e3. Incidentally, the computer thinks White best counter is to return the Exchange for the eventual Knight on e3.
23. b5 Ne5
24. f4 gxf4
25. gxf4 Ng4
26. e5 Qh4
Right after the game finished I thought this move was just too adventurous. A calmer evaluation is it is probably the best move in a tense situation.
27. Nf3?! ….
It is possible 27 Nf1, is a bit stronger.
27.… Nf2+
28. Kg1 Nh3+
29. Kf1! …..
David goes for the win. He refuses to "wimp out" with 29 Kh1, when Black has nothing better than to repeat moves.
29.… Qxf4?
Black had to try 29..., Bxf3!?; then my guess is play would continue; 30 Bxf3, Qxf4; 31 Qe4!, Bxe5; 32 Qxf4, Bxf4; 33 Bxa8, Rxa8; 34 Kg2, Ng5; 35 Re7, Kf8; when Black has two pawns for the Exchange, but he will have to be accurate to prevent the White Rooks from becoming "two pigs on the seventh" and overwhelming the Black position. The text is a losing move. I missed a very simple shot that White has.
30. Bc1 ….
Right after the game David thought this move was incorrect. Even then with the tension of competition gone, neither of us saw the idea that it wins the position for White
30.… Qg4
31. exd6 Rxe1+
32. Nxe1 Re8
33. Qd3?? ….
As one of my early chess teachers said often; "If you don’t see it, it is not there, for you."
Winning is 33 Bxh3, Qxh3; 34 Qg2+!, Qxg2; 35 Kxg2, and 35..., Rxe1; is not good for the pawn on d6 reaches the 8th after 36 d2, making a Queen. White does not see the threat of mate on e2. This is another example of the great danger of enemy Knights on the third/sixth ranks near the your King.
33.… Qe2+
34. Qxe2 Bxe2 checkmate.
A disappointing loss for David and another lucky win for me. Had Connors won this game, that point along with the well won point Mark Brody scored in the next game would have drawn the match.
CDCL Match Sch’dy Geezers v Saratoga B
Site: SCC
Date: 5-20-2010
White: Brody, M
Black: Chu, R
1. e4 d5
2. e5 d4
3. d3 Nc6
4. Nf3 Bg4
5. Bf4 e6
6. Be2 Qd5
7. h3 Bh5
8. g4 Bg6
9. Nbd2 f6?!
A sacrifice maybe, or is it a casual move made without really looking? We have gotten to an odd position by non-standard paths. Sensible is 9..., 0-0-0; and after 10 Nc4, 10..., f6; looks good for Black. Before the games began, I mentioned to Richard his winning streak; he won every one of his games in the League matches. As with baseball pitchers throwing a no-hitter, speaking of the event may have jinxed the string.
10. exf6 Nxf6
11. Bxc7 e5
12. c4! ….
Brody may be a fourth board playing for a team that has yet to win or draw a match this year, however his play is a good example of simple good chess. Chu may have had an idea of trapping the Bc7 with his last move. Mark Brody must have seen the position more clearly than his opponent.
12.… dxc3
13. bxc3 Bxd3
14. c4 Qd7
15. Bxe5 Bxe2
Intuition has been Richard’s strong suit during this year’s matches. Here it betrays him. The try 15.…, 0-0-0; is an attempt to make something of the small lead in development purchased for the pawn minus. Black will get both of his Rooks to the open central files with dynamic possibilities. True enough the Black King is not comfortably placed with the Bf4’s diagonal cutting through his house. The text and the follow-up start down the path to a difficult ending for Black.
16. Qxe2 Nxe5
17. Nxe5 Qe6
18. g5 Nd7
19. Nxd7 Qxe2+
20. Kxe2 Kxd7
21. Ne4 Re8
The double Rook with minor pieces endgame favors White but is not clearly won. The Black Bishop with pawns on both sides of the board offers chances to hold. The greater range of the Bishop versus the Knight is a classic imbalance with lots of theory recorded about it. White’s Knight enjoys a strong position from which the Black forces on the board are ill suited to drive it away. Black’s best target is the pawn on c5. He should organize his counter-play around pressure against that point. Black very probably wants his King to go to the K-side at some point to balance to some degree the extra White pawn there.
22. f3 Be7
23. Rhd1+ Kc7
24. Rd5 Rd8
25. Rad1 Rxd5
26. Rxd5 b6
Without pressure on the c-file and with his King far from the White pawn majority, Black has a dismal, passive defensive task to face. The text puts a pawn on a dark colored square for no great need. Better 26..., Rd8; looking to get rid the last pair of Rooks. Without these Rooks on The Black would have some access to the weak White pawns on the Q-side and maybe can create some distraction for White over there.
27. a4 Rf8
28. Ke3 ….
White could played 28 a5, getting rid of weak pawn structure on the Q-side by eliminating the connected pawn pair that provides Black with chances to make a balancing passer if given the chance.
28.… Rd8
29. Kd4 Rf8
30. Ke3 Kc6
31. f4 g6
32. Kf3 a6
33. Kg4 ….
White has calmly brought his King to the critical sector pointing up how much Black could use his King there to shore the defense there.
33.… h6?
Better 33..., Bc5; 34 Nf5, Rf7; to be followed by 35..., Re7; getting the Black Rook behind the on-rushing White K-side majority. By having both the Rook and the Bishop actively deployed there are chances to make White work to take the full point. The text does no more than make the g-pawn a weakling.
34. gxh6 Rh8
35. Ng5 Rxh6
36. Nf7 Rh4+
37. Kg3 Rh7
38. Ne5+ Kb7
39. Nxg6 Bc5
White has two passers, and although they are disconnected, the Black Rook and Bishop will have a hard time holding them back.
40. f5 Rg7
41. Kg4 Kc6
42. Re5 b5
Desperation. There is not much to suggest for Black, but throwing another pawn overboard has to be the worst of the bad choices available. Worth a try is 42..., Bd4; 43 Re7, Kc5; aiming to make a distant passer of his own. The game is still lost for Black, but why not make White worry a little?
43. Re6+ Kd7
44. cxb5 axb5
45. axb5 Kd8
Now down three pawns Black's only hope is for earthquake or a power failure. The games goes on for awhile longer, but Mr. Brody demonstrates decent technique never letting things get out of control and brings home the point nicely. A fine performance by the lower rated player.
46. Kf4 Rb7
47. h4 Rxb5
48. h5 Ba3
49. Kg4 Kd7
50. Ne5+ Kc7
51. f6 Rb4+
52. Kf5 Bc1
53. Rc6+ Kd8
54. Rxc1 Rb2
55. Rc6 Re2
56. Rd6+ Ke8
57. Nc6 Resigns.
John Phillips won quite quickly on board three against Peter Sparagna. Peter fell into the classic trap of grabbing the b-pawn with his Queen, after which the well prepared Phillips chased the Queen gaining tempos on every turn until the game ended in less than twenty moves.
On board one Michael Mockler played a complex game against Jeff Hrebenach, a rising scholastic star. At one point Jeff had the game won with Mockler dropping a piece. Hrebenach did have his King is an awkward place. Michael found a nice tactic that turned the tables. He made use of a series of Knight forks coordinated with clever use of his Rooks to take the game to an ending where he had a Knight for a couple of weak pawns. Jeff was running short of time and Mockler had the technique to demonstrate the win. Both players were in some trouble with the clock at the end and the score sheets were not exactly clear. Bill Townsend volunteered to take them and make some sense of the record. I won’t be surprised to see the game in his column in the near future.
5.17.2010
News from the NYS Open
Thanks to Michael Mockler here is a brief summary of the results from the five round Open Swiss held this past weekend in Lake George. The event is called the New York State Open. It is put on by the Continental Chess Association, and has been held in Lake George for the last several years.
The Open section was dominated by youth. Christopher Wu a budding Expert finished ahead of our local rising star Deepak Aaron. I don't know a great deal about Wu. He plays most frequently in the northern NJ/NYC area. Wu began playing in tourneys a year or two after Deepak - 2003.
Wu's earliest rating was somewhere around 700. After steady progress to 1900 in 2008 and 1950 2009, in the last year Wu jumped 200 rating points. That is a sign of a breakthrough. We may hear much about this young man in the immediate future.
This year's NYS Open featured a different attraction; a section for senior(?) players. I don't know the specific age limitations for this section, but at a guess it was over 21. In any event, Phil Ferguson, the leader of of our own Eastern New York Chess Association won the section! Phil had an excellent result coming ahead of Gordon Magat and Michael Mockler scoring 4.5 out 5. Mockler was the only opponent to hold Phil to a draw.
Look for a complete report in Bill Townsend's chess column in the Schenetady Gazette in the near future.
The Open section was dominated by youth. Christopher Wu a budding Expert finished ahead of our local rising star Deepak Aaron. I don't know a great deal about Wu. He plays most frequently in the northern NJ/NYC area. Wu began playing in tourneys a year or two after Deepak - 2003.
Wu's earliest rating was somewhere around 700. After steady progress to 1900 in 2008 and 1950 2009, in the last year Wu jumped 200 rating points. That is a sign of a breakthrough. We may hear much about this young man in the immediate future.
This year's NYS Open featured a different attraction; a section for senior(?) players. I don't know the specific age limitations for this section, but at a guess it was over 21. In any event, Phil Ferguson, the leader of of our own Eastern New York Chess Association won the section! Phil had an excellent result coming ahead of Gordon Magat and Michael Mockler scoring 4.5 out 5. Mockler was the only opponent to hold Phil to a draw.
Look for a complete report in Bill Townsend's chess column in the Schenetady Gazette in the near future.
5.15.2010
The Geezers Win One!
Thursday the Geezers at home faced the Guilderland team. With the well established Expert/Class A players John Morse and Peter Henner on boards one and two this team is certainly dangerous. The Guilderland club meets Fridays at the Public Library on Route 20. It is their first year of League play. Given the our less than sterling results so far this year, I was quite worried about how this match would turn out. The final score was a surprising 3 ½ - ½ for the Geezers! We had a rating edge on boards three and four with reasonable expectations for wins there. On boards one and two where Mockler and I were carrying the colors we needed to breakeven to safely bring home the point.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Mockler, M
Black: Morse, J
The game on board one saw two strong players who both like to visit non-standard positions early and often. John Morse is the author of what some have called the Morse variation; with either White or Black, John has advanced the d&f-pawns two squares, put a Bishop on e3/e6 on its way to f2/f7 and won many more games than he lost with this provocative opening. Readers of this blog have seen how Michael’s pursuit of interesting chess can frequently lead to difficult positions, and talent can not always solve all problems. In this outing while both guys seek out difficulties, they follow a more standard approach.
1. e4 g6
2. Bc4 c6
3. Nf3 d5
4. Bb3 Nf6
5. e5 Ne4
6. d4 f6
7. O-O Bg7
8. Qe2 e6
9. c3 fxe5
10. Nxe5 Bxe5?
Surrendering the dark squared Bishop does not make a great deal of sense. Black gives up a key defender of the weak squares around his King.
11. dxe5 O-O
12. Bc2 Ng5
13. f4 Nf7
14. Nd2 b6
15. Rf3 Ba6
16. Qe1 Qc7
17. Qg3 Kg7
18. Qh3 Qe7
19. g4 Nd7
20. Rf2 h6
21. Nf3 Rh8
22. Nh4 Nf8
23. Be3 g5
24. f5 Qc7
25. fxe6 Nxe6
26. Nf5+ ….
After some maneuvering, the Knight landing on f5 marks the point where White takes control of the game.
26.… Kg8
27. Re1 Re8
28. Qh5 Nf8
29. Nd6 Re7
30. Nxf7 Rxf7
31. Bd4? ….
Much stronger and more principled is 31 e6!, with idea of making use of the activity of the White Rook pair. Play could go; a) 31.., Nxe6; 32 Qg6+, Ng7; 33 Bb6!, Qxb6?; 34 Re8+, with mate to follow. Better but still lost is a.1) 33..., Qd7; 34 Rxf7, Qf7; 35 Bd4, with a completely won position for White. After the text Black has some chances to make a stubborn fight.
31.… Rxf2
32. Bxf2 Qf7
33. e6 Nxe6
34. Bg6 Qf6
35. Bf5 Ng7
36. Re8+ Nxe8
37. Qxe8+ Kg7?
Black is in a sorry state. His extra material is dominated by the very active White Bishops. White’s play is a good example of dynamic chess. Black could have resisted a bit more with 37..., Qf8; but after 38 Qxc6, Qe7; 39 Qa8+, Kg7; 40 Bd4+, Kf7; White just has to avoid the trap 41 Bxh8??, Qe1+; 42 Kg2, Bf1+; with mate in a couple of moves. Of course, rather than capturing on h8, if White plays 41 Qxd5+, he has the mechanism of checking on the diagonal h1-a8 with the Queen to recover the lost Exchange and interest in the form of the a-pawn and the Ba6. After the game move Black goes down a piece with only a single pawn for compensation.
38. Qd7+ Kf8
39. Bd4 Qe7
40. Qxe7+ Resigns
A splendid win for Mockler over an Expert whose rating peaked in the early 1990’s at 2251.
CDCL Match Sch'dy v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Henner, P
Black: Little, B
On board two I faced Peter Henner. We have played a couple of times last year and drew both games. Peter has been playing locally for many years, but we did not meet over the board until last year, at least that is what my records tell me. Before our game started, it seemed to me a draw coupled with likely wins on boards three and four would secure the match victory for the Geezers. That estimate decided the opening moves for me.
1. e4 d6
2. d4 e5
3. dxe5 dxe5
4. Qxd8+ Kxd8
5. Bc4 f6
6. Ne2 Bd6
7. O-O Nc6
8. Be3 Nge7
9. Nbc3 a6
10. Rad1 Na5
11. Bf7 ….
White could have tried 11. Rxd6! I had prepared 11..., Ke8!?; believing the complications would not be all bad for Black. After playing out the line I thought would be followed; 12 Bb5+, axb5; 13 Nxc5, cxd6; 14 Nc7+, Kf7; 15 Na8, Bg4; 16 f3, Bxf3; 17 Rxf3, Rxa8; 18 Nc3, Rc8; I am not so sure Black chances are really promising in the R+B+N versus R+2Ns ending. The White Q-side pawns are healthy and the Bishop will be a long term threat. The material is equal and my computer thinks the game is about even. Mr. Henner must have had some doubts about how things would go in that specific line and other similar lines, and so he sent the Bishop to f7, and then retreated it to the K-side where it was less of threat to me.
11.… Rf8
12. Bh5 Nc4
13. Bc5 b6
14. b3 Bd7
15. Bxd6 Nxd6
16. Bf3 Rb8
17. Nd5 Nxd5
18. Rxd5 Ke7
19. Rfd1 Bc6
20. R5d2 Rfd8
21. Nc3 Nb5
22. Nxb5 axb5
23. Rxd8 Rxd8
Draw by agreement. We could have played many more moves probing for a slipup but the game is dead level. Also by this time Richard Chu had won from Chuck Eson and John Phillips was getting the upper hand over Arthur Alowitz. I could not tell how the Mockler - Morse game was going. It seemed that Michael had an advantage. Morse is a canny fighter however. My draw and Chu’s victory put the team in a good position to win the match with winning chances on the two remaining boards.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Phillips, J
Black: Alowitz, A
John Phillips is rated about three hundred points higher than Art Alowitz. As we found out in our match against RPI, higher ratings don’t mean easier games or guarantee victory. Arthur has played club chess for many years as part of one of the Albany Club’s teams and a regular participant in local open tournaments. He is a stubborn battler. One of my concerns was Alowitz making a dour fight and Phillips getting into time trouble trying to overcome such resistance.
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 c5
3. d5 b5
4. cxb5 a6
5. b6 Qxb6
6. Nc3 d6
7. e4 g6
8. Nf3 Bg7
9. a4 O-O
10. Be2 Nbd7
11. O-O Qb4
12. Nd2 Bh6
13. Qc2 Ne5
14. h3 Bg7
15. f4 Ned7
16. Ra3 Qb6
17. Nc4 Qc7
18. a5 Rb8
19. Na4 Rb4
20. Bd2 Rb8
21. Nab6 Nxb6
22. Nxb6 Bb7
23. b4 Nd7
24. bxc5 Bd4+?!
I am not so sure 24..., Qxc5+; is a better choice even though my computer thinks so. After 25 Qxc5, Nxc5; 26 e5, f6; the Black position is not one to inspire great confidence. The lack of space for maneuvering is a very big hurtle.
25. Be3 Bxe3+
26. Rxe3 Nxb6
27. axb6 Qxc5
28. Qxc5 dxc5
29. Ra3 Rfc8
30. Bc4 Kf8
31. Bxa6 Bxa6
32. Rxa6 c4
33. Rc1 c3
34. Kf2 Rc4
35. Ke3 c2
36. Kd3 Rb4
37. Rxc2 R4xb6
38. Rxb6 Rxb6
39. Rc8+ Kg7
40. Kd4 f6
John has a solid extra pawn and Arthur’s King is awkwardly placed for defense. The time situation is White has 26 minutes remaining and Black has 57 minutes. No time trouble yet.
41. Rc7 Kf8
42. e5 Rb4+
43. Rc4 fxe5+
44. fxe5 Rb2
45. g4 Rb3
46. Rc3 Rb4+
47. Kc5 Re4
48. Rf3+ Ke8
49. e6 h5
50. gxh5 gxh5
White has the win firmly in hand. Phillips was down to 16 minutes and Alowitz had 52 minutes remaining. That is plenty of time for John to find and execute the correct technique and bring home the full point.
51. Rf7 Re3
52. Rh7 Kf8
53. Rxh5 Rc3+
54. Kd4 Rc1
55. Rf5+ Ke8
56. h4 Rd1+
57. Ke4 Re1+
58. Kf4 Rf1+
59. Kg5 Rg1+
60. Kh6 Rg2
61. Rg5 Rf2
62. Rg8+ Rf8
63. Kg7 Rxg8+
64. Kxg8 Kd8
65. Kf7 Resigns.
This was the last game to finish giving the Geezers a 3 ½ - ½ score.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Eson, C
Black: Chu, R
Richard Chu continues his good performance in this year’s CDCL matches. In another quick win Richard got the team off to a good start in this match.
1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 e5
3. d3 Bb4
4. Qc2 O-O
5. g3 c6
6. Bd2 d5
7. Bg2 Bf5
8. O-O-O? ….
A very suspect move. The pawn formation suggests that lines will open on the Q-side. It is not a place to locate one’s King.
8.… Na6?!
Doubtful. Black could have clipped a pawn with the simple 8..., cxd4; gaining a solid edge.
9. cxd5? ….
Willfully opening a line bearing on the White King and Queen after which saving the game for White is doubtful. Almost anything else has a better chance of keeping the game going. After the text there will tactical threats on the c-file.
9.… cxd5
10. e3? ….
Most chess games require more than one error to lose. White had to try 10 e4, although the White position offers Black many tempting targets. After the text
10.… d4
11. e4 ….
The difficult position of the White King and Queen insure that Black will, at a minimum, gain material. The alternative for White, 11 Bxb7, is not a better try. After 11..., Nc5; Black threatens dangerous things on d3 because the White Queen is sorely in need of room.
11.… Be6
12. Nf3 Rc8
13. Nxe5 dxc3
14. bxc3 Ba3+
15. Kb1 Nb4
16. Qa4 Bxa2+
I like Mr. Chu’s attitude. He boldly puts his pieces in danger of being captured to maintain the initiative. This game was over in so short a time that I believe Richard relied more on intuition than on calculation to find these moves.
17. Ka1 Qd6?
Sloppy play at the end. More forcing is 17..., b5!; opening lines which bode ill for the White King. Play might continue; 18 Qxa7, Ra8; and the reader can work out the finish, or 18 Qxb5, Rb8; 19 Qa4, Qa5; 20 Qxa5, Nc2+; 21 Kxa2, Rb2; checkmate.
18. Qxa3?? ….
The better move 18 d4, would keep the game going for awhile longer. Black will have many chances to make White suffer. After 18 d4, b5!; maybe the most forcing move for Black. Then White could try 19 Qa5, Bb3; 20 Bh3, Nc2+; 21 Kb1, Nxe4; 22 Bc8, Rxc8; 23 f3, Nd4; and the sacrificial attack rages on. It is worth working out just how Black wins this position. After the game move, White loses his Queen with mate to come soon because even the great cost of the Queen does not buy the White King safety.
18.…. Nc2+
19. Resigns.
This match was an interesting contrast to our match versus RPI. There we were very lucky to escape with a drawn outcome, here we heavily out scored a stronger team. Ratings are good predictors of performance over many games. They are less good for any individual game, or match.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Mockler, M
Black: Morse, J
The game on board one saw two strong players who both like to visit non-standard positions early and often. John Morse is the author of what some have called the Morse variation; with either White or Black, John has advanced the d&f-pawns two squares, put a Bishop on e3/e6 on its way to f2/f7 and won many more games than he lost with this provocative opening. Readers of this blog have seen how Michael’s pursuit of interesting chess can frequently lead to difficult positions, and talent can not always solve all problems. In this outing while both guys seek out difficulties, they follow a more standard approach.
1. e4 g6
2. Bc4 c6
3. Nf3 d5
4. Bb3 Nf6
5. e5 Ne4
6. d4 f6
7. O-O Bg7
8. Qe2 e6
9. c3 fxe5
10. Nxe5 Bxe5?
Surrendering the dark squared Bishop does not make a great deal of sense. Black gives up a key defender of the weak squares around his King.
11. dxe5 O-O
12. Bc2 Ng5
13. f4 Nf7
14. Nd2 b6
15. Rf3 Ba6
16. Qe1 Qc7
17. Qg3 Kg7
18. Qh3 Qe7
19. g4 Nd7
20. Rf2 h6
21. Nf3 Rh8
22. Nh4 Nf8
23. Be3 g5
24. f5 Qc7
25. fxe6 Nxe6
26. Nf5+ ….
After some maneuvering, the Knight landing on f5 marks the point where White takes control of the game.
26.… Kg8
27. Re1 Re8
28. Qh5 Nf8
29. Nd6 Re7
30. Nxf7 Rxf7
31. Bd4? ….
Much stronger and more principled is 31 e6!, with idea of making use of the activity of the White Rook pair. Play could go; a) 31.., Nxe6; 32 Qg6+, Ng7; 33 Bb6!, Qxb6?; 34 Re8+, with mate to follow. Better but still lost is a.1) 33..., Qd7; 34 Rxf7, Qf7; 35 Bd4, with a completely won position for White. After the text Black has some chances to make a stubborn fight.
31.… Rxf2
32. Bxf2 Qf7
33. e6 Nxe6
34. Bg6 Qf6
35. Bf5 Ng7
36. Re8+ Nxe8
37. Qxe8+ Kg7?
Black is in a sorry state. His extra material is dominated by the very active White Bishops. White’s play is a good example of dynamic chess. Black could have resisted a bit more with 37..., Qf8; but after 38 Qxc6, Qe7; 39 Qa8+, Kg7; 40 Bd4+, Kf7; White just has to avoid the trap 41 Bxh8??, Qe1+; 42 Kg2, Bf1+; with mate in a couple of moves. Of course, rather than capturing on h8, if White plays 41 Qxd5+, he has the mechanism of checking on the diagonal h1-a8 with the Queen to recover the lost Exchange and interest in the form of the a-pawn and the Ba6. After the game move Black goes down a piece with only a single pawn for compensation.
38. Qd7+ Kf8
39. Bd4 Qe7
40. Qxe7+ Resigns
A splendid win for Mockler over an Expert whose rating peaked in the early 1990’s at 2251.
CDCL Match Sch'dy v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Henner, P
Black: Little, B
On board two I faced Peter Henner. We have played a couple of times last year and drew both games. Peter has been playing locally for many years, but we did not meet over the board until last year, at least that is what my records tell me. Before our game started, it seemed to me a draw coupled with likely wins on boards three and four would secure the match victory for the Geezers. That estimate decided the opening moves for me.
1. e4 d6
2. d4 e5
3. dxe5 dxe5
4. Qxd8+ Kxd8
5. Bc4 f6
6. Ne2 Bd6
7. O-O Nc6
8. Be3 Nge7
9. Nbc3 a6
10. Rad1 Na5
11. Bf7 ….
White could have tried 11. Rxd6! I had prepared 11..., Ke8!?; believing the complications would not be all bad for Black. After playing out the line I thought would be followed; 12 Bb5+, axb5; 13 Nxc5, cxd6; 14 Nc7+, Kf7; 15 Na8, Bg4; 16 f3, Bxf3; 17 Rxf3, Rxa8; 18 Nc3, Rc8; I am not so sure Black chances are really promising in the R+B+N versus R+2Ns ending. The White Q-side pawns are healthy and the Bishop will be a long term threat. The material is equal and my computer thinks the game is about even. Mr. Henner must have had some doubts about how things would go in that specific line and other similar lines, and so he sent the Bishop to f7, and then retreated it to the K-side where it was less of threat to me.
11.… Rf8
12. Bh5 Nc4
13. Bc5 b6
14. b3 Bd7
15. Bxd6 Nxd6
16. Bf3 Rb8
17. Nd5 Nxd5
18. Rxd5 Ke7
19. Rfd1 Bc6
20. R5d2 Rfd8
21. Nc3 Nb5
22. Nxb5 axb5
23. Rxd8 Rxd8
Draw by agreement. We could have played many more moves probing for a slipup but the game is dead level. Also by this time Richard Chu had won from Chuck Eson and John Phillips was getting the upper hand over Arthur Alowitz. I could not tell how the Mockler - Morse game was going. It seemed that Michael had an advantage. Morse is a canny fighter however. My draw and Chu’s victory put the team in a good position to win the match with winning chances on the two remaining boards.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Phillips, J
Black: Alowitz, A
John Phillips is rated about three hundred points higher than Art Alowitz. As we found out in our match against RPI, higher ratings don’t mean easier games or guarantee victory. Arthur has played club chess for many years as part of one of the Albany Club’s teams and a regular participant in local open tournaments. He is a stubborn battler. One of my concerns was Alowitz making a dour fight and Phillips getting into time trouble trying to overcome such resistance.
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 c5
3. d5 b5
4. cxb5 a6
5. b6 Qxb6
6. Nc3 d6
7. e4 g6
8. Nf3 Bg7
9. a4 O-O
10. Be2 Nbd7
11. O-O Qb4
12. Nd2 Bh6
13. Qc2 Ne5
14. h3 Bg7
15. f4 Ned7
16. Ra3 Qb6
17. Nc4 Qc7
18. a5 Rb8
19. Na4 Rb4
20. Bd2 Rb8
21. Nab6 Nxb6
22. Nxb6 Bb7
23. b4 Nd7
24. bxc5 Bd4+?!
I am not so sure 24..., Qxc5+; is a better choice even though my computer thinks so. After 25 Qxc5, Nxc5; 26 e5, f6; the Black position is not one to inspire great confidence. The lack of space for maneuvering is a very big hurtle.
25. Be3 Bxe3+
26. Rxe3 Nxb6
27. axb6 Qxc5
28. Qxc5 dxc5
29. Ra3 Rfc8
30. Bc4 Kf8
31. Bxa6 Bxa6
32. Rxa6 c4
33. Rc1 c3
34. Kf2 Rc4
35. Ke3 c2
36. Kd3 Rb4
37. Rxc2 R4xb6
38. Rxb6 Rxb6
39. Rc8+ Kg7
40. Kd4 f6
John has a solid extra pawn and Arthur’s King is awkwardly placed for defense. The time situation is White has 26 minutes remaining and Black has 57 minutes. No time trouble yet.
41. Rc7 Kf8
42. e5 Rb4+
43. Rc4 fxe5+
44. fxe5 Rb2
45. g4 Rb3
46. Rc3 Rb4+
47. Kc5 Re4
48. Rf3+ Ke8
49. e6 h5
50. gxh5 gxh5
White has the win firmly in hand. Phillips was down to 16 minutes and Alowitz had 52 minutes remaining. That is plenty of time for John to find and execute the correct technique and bring home the full point.
51. Rf7 Re3
52. Rh7 Kf8
53. Rxh5 Rc3+
54. Kd4 Rc1
55. Rf5+ Ke8
56. h4 Rd1+
57. Ke4 Re1+
58. Kf4 Rf1+
59. Kg5 Rg1+
60. Kh6 Rg2
61. Rg5 Rf2
62. Rg8+ Rf8
63. Kg7 Rxg8+
64. Kxg8 Kd8
65. Kf7 Resigns.
This was the last game to finish giving the Geezers a 3 ½ - ½ score.
CDCL Match Sch'dy Geezers v Guilderland
Site: SCC
Date: 5.13.2010
White: Eson, C
Black: Chu, R
Richard Chu continues his good performance in this year’s CDCL matches. In another quick win Richard got the team off to a good start in this match.
1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 e5
3. d3 Bb4
4. Qc2 O-O
5. g3 c6
6. Bd2 d5
7. Bg2 Bf5
8. O-O-O? ….
A very suspect move. The pawn formation suggests that lines will open on the Q-side. It is not a place to locate one’s King.
8.… Na6?!
Doubtful. Black could have clipped a pawn with the simple 8..., cxd4; gaining a solid edge.
9. cxd5? ….
Willfully opening a line bearing on the White King and Queen after which saving the game for White is doubtful. Almost anything else has a better chance of keeping the game going. After the text there will tactical threats on the c-file.
9.… cxd5
10. e3? ….
Most chess games require more than one error to lose. White had to try 10 e4, although the White position offers Black many tempting targets. After the text
10.… d4
11. e4 ….
The difficult position of the White King and Queen insure that Black will, at a minimum, gain material. The alternative for White, 11 Bxb7, is not a better try. After 11..., Nc5; Black threatens dangerous things on d3 because the White Queen is sorely in need of room.
11.… Be6
12. Nf3 Rc8
13. Nxe5 dxc3
14. bxc3 Ba3+
15. Kb1 Nb4
16. Qa4 Bxa2+
I like Mr. Chu’s attitude. He boldly puts his pieces in danger of being captured to maintain the initiative. This game was over in so short a time that I believe Richard relied more on intuition than on calculation to find these moves.
17. Ka1 Qd6?
Sloppy play at the end. More forcing is 17..., b5!; opening lines which bode ill for the White King. Play might continue; 18 Qxa7, Ra8; and the reader can work out the finish, or 18 Qxb5, Rb8; 19 Qa4, Qa5; 20 Qxa5, Nc2+; 21 Kxa2, Rb2; checkmate.
18. Qxa3?? ….
The better move 18 d4, would keep the game going for awhile longer. Black will have many chances to make White suffer. After 18 d4, b5!; maybe the most forcing move for Black. Then White could try 19 Qa5, Bb3; 20 Bh3, Nc2+; 21 Kb1, Nxe4; 22 Bc8, Rxc8; 23 f3, Nd4; and the sacrificial attack rages on. It is worth working out just how Black wins this position. After the game move, White loses his Queen with mate to come soon because even the great cost of the Queen does not buy the White King safety.
18.…. Nc2+
19. Resigns.
This match was an interesting contrast to our match versus RPI. There we were very lucky to escape with a drawn outcome, here we heavily out scored a stronger team. Ratings are good predictors of performance over many games. They are less good for any individual game, or match.
5.11.2010
Another Trip to Troy for the Geezers
The Schenectady Geezers traveled to Troy Sunday and had less success that they did on their last trip to the Collar City. Although out-rating the RPI team on every board, the Geezers were only able to draw the match, and more than a little luck was involved.
It is becoming usual for the Geezers’ fourth board to lead the way. Mr. Chu began our efforts with the miniature below.
CDCL Match RPI v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: RPI
Date: 5-9-2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Fartado, B
1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 e6
3. e3 Nf6
4. Bd3 c5
5. b3 cxd4
6. exd4 Nc6
7. O-O Bd6
8. Re1 O-O
9. c3 Re8
10. Ne5 Bxe5?
Both sides have stayed away from any real testing lines of a theoretical kind. Until this move the game was dead level. Why does Black give up his best Bishop? Better 10..., Qc7; if he wants to pressure the Ne5. What is worse is the Knight is pushed off f6.
11. dxe5 Nd7
Black could have tried to complicate things with 11..., Ne4; and after 12 Bxe4, dxe4; it is not so easy for White to capture once more on e4. The White pawn on e5 is just as vulnerable as the Black pawn on e4.
12. f4 f6?
Black does not recognize a standard attacking pattern is shaping up on the board. A Bishop on the b1-h7, no defending Knight at f6 or f8 and no obstacle keeping the White Queen from going to h5, not to mention an easy route for the Re1 via e3 to add pressure on the g or h-files. The last thing a defender needs to do in such circumstances is to weaken the pawns around his King.
13. Qh5 ….
White now has a definite pull
13.… g6?
If the f-pawn were still at home this move is fine. With the f-pawn making impertinent gestures towards the White center, the game move loses quickly. Better are 13..., Nc5; threatening the Bd3 and a jump to e4, or 13..., Nf8; reinforcing h7 and g6 to prepare an eventual …, f6. Simpler than these is 13..., f5; after which it is true the Bc8 is no great shakes as an active participant, but White will have to get more troops off the back line to make his attacking dreams real with the key diagonal closed..
14. Bxg6! ….
Richard obviously knows the attacking pattern and gets right to work.
14.… hxg6
15. Qxg6+ Kf8
16. f5!? ….
It may be this move is a trick missed by Brian, and he does not react correctly. The Bc1 now has an open road into relevance, but the move gives Black opportunity to counter strongly. The best continuation for White is 16 Ba3+, Ne7; 17 exf6, Black then must give up some material. A somewhat trickier try is 16 Re3, with two branches; a) 16..., Qb6; 17 exf6, threatens mate and wins material, or b) 16..., Ndxe5; 17 fxe5, Nxe5; 18 Ba3+, again winning material.
16.… Re7??
Loses instantly. Worth trying is 16..., Ncxe5!?; and while Black might lose material in some lines he escapes immediate mate. White’s best seems to be 17 Qh7, Nf7; 18 Ba3+, Re7; 19 fxe6, Qb6+; 20 Kf1, Nc5; 21 exf7, Re1+; 22 Ke1, Qxf7; 23 Kd2, and the Nc5 falls or some other ruinous loss is taken. If Black plays the best moves he comes out down a piece and a pawn but alive. The line cited has chances for White to make a misstep, for example; after 16..., Ncxd5; 17 Bh6+?, Ke7; 18 Qh7+, Kd6; and d6 is as an unlikely place for one’s King to be safe, but the Black King seems to be so. After the text White has a forced mate which Richard finds quickly.
17. Bh6+ Rg7
18. Qxg7+ Ke8
19. Qg8+ Ke7
20. Qxe6# Mate.
The entire game tool just twelve or thirteen minutes. The rest of the team except John Phillips, were just getting comfortable in the first few moves of out games and Richard was packing up ready to go home! Phillips had arranged to begin his game an hour after the rest of us.
CDCL Match RPI v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: RPI
Date: 5-10-2010
White: Gao, Tian
Black: Mockler, M
1. d4 d5
2. c4 c6
3. Nf3 Nf6
4. Nc3 a6
Michael’s favorite line in the Slav. He advocated for this line in a months long survey by GM Har-Zvi’s Saturday group when the GM took us through a comprehensive review of the Slav. While it is not a choice for the 2700-2800 guys often, Shirov and Gelfand have taken it up on occasion as well many GM’s in the 2500- 2600 group.
5. Bg5 dxc4
Much more popular is 5..., Ne4. The text has in my databases nine examples with Black scoring 5 wins to 3 losses and a single draw. The games are all between FIDE titled players averaging about 2500.
6. a4 Nd5
Successful was 6..., Bf5; in Lautier (2645) - Van der Doel (2485) Antwerp, 1998. They got into some complicated play in the center after 7 Ne5, Ne4; 8 Ne4, Be4; 9 f3, f6; 10 fxe4, fxe5; and the strong GM lost in 40 moves! The game move shows only even results in the two games where it was tried, one win, one loss.
7. e4 ….
One example only in the databases; Kinsman - Guido, Cannes, 1995, and White won in 28 moves. In the cited game Black problems with the vulnerability of his QR just as Mockler has in this game.
7.… Nxc3
8. bxc3 Be6!?
There are lines in the Slav where putting the Bishop on e6 is possible. Here it looks ugly,, but trying out the alternatives, 8..., h6; and 8..., b5; on the computer do not let Black have an easy time either.
9. a5 ….
A nice touch leaving Black to deal long term with tough choices on the Q-side; advance the b-pawn accepting a clutch of weak pawns, or don’t and face problems getting the Ra8 out while worrying about the weak b7 point. White has a definite edge now.
9.… f6
10. Bf4 Bf7
11. Qa4?! ….
Offering Black some chances. More controlled is 11 Qb1. Black will get to play …, c5; true enough, but the c-pawn is effectively isolated and will fall soon after; 11..., Qd7; 12 Be2, c5; 13 0-0, cxd4; 14 cxd4. The central dominance White has gives him a solid advantage.
11.… Qd7
12. Bxc4 Bxc4
13. Qxc4 Qg4
14. Bg3 Qxe4+
15. Qe2 Qxe2+
16. Kxe2 Kd8
Black has weathered the opening difficulties and picked up a pawn. A price has been paid in the positional coin; Black’s development lags, b7 screams for protection and the b6 hole beckons the White Knight. Maybe a worse problem is; where do the Black minor pieces go if they do get out? I see no natural posts for them that offer much activity.
17. Rab1 Kc8
18. Nd2 Nd7
19. Nc4 Ra7
My computer suggests an advance on the K-side beginning with 19..., h5; to find a way to get the Rh8 and the Bf8 into play.
20. Rhe1 h5
21. h4 g6
Either 21..., g5; right away, or first 21..., Rg8; then 22..., g5; offers the chance to equalize. The text is a decision to take on a “hedgehog” like passive defense waiting for the lower rated opponent to err. This time the error does not happen.
22. Kf1 Rh7
23. Re2 Rf7
24. Re6 Bh6
25. Rbe1 Kd8
26. f3 Nf8
27. R6e2 Nd7
28. Rd1 Bf8
29. d5 c5
What else? If 29.…, cxd5; 30 Rxd5, and it is obvious bad things will happen on the d-file when the White Rooks are doubled.
30. Re6 Ra8
31. Nb6 Nxb6
32. Rxb6 Kc8
And next few moves were very hard to read on the score sheet. Several tries made no sense and I concluded my analysis here. The situation is grim for Black. His Ra8 is locked away. The square b7 is about to be put under siege. His pawn on c5 is hard to defend. Most tries for Black have good chances of opening up the sixth rank when the White Rb6 can attack the Black K-side laterally. In other words, White had a big advantage. White won the game on move 49. Mockler was unable to find a point at which to breakout of his huddle and Gao kept his head not taking any unnecessary risks.
Mr. Mockler’s desire to play interesting and difficult chess positions has had a negative effect on his results in recent months. In the past he and I have talked about what those of us that can not aspire to play at a professional level should take as a standard of performance. When we both studied with GM Har-Zvi, the GM believed striving for correctness to the professional level was the best way forward for such us. Michael took the opposing view; interesting chess positions was the most important aim for us, the non-masters. I come down somewhere in between, the difficult, interesting, if you will, wild positions are certainly more fun than 20+ moves of GM theory memorized and rolled out by a pair of Class A players who both may miss the point when they are on their own. I say at a minimum adhere to the main principles, fight for the center, development, etc., and when you go for the wild side avoid the strange just for the sake of making an odd move.
Recently I published here a game of mine with Alan Le Cours, from the Schenectady Consolation Swiss. I was Black and caught Alan in a QGA line at somewhere around move ten or twelve in an off-beat variation where Black sends his Nf6 to g4 lighting up a flurry of tactics around h2, d4 and c4. Alan was unfamiliar with the line, picked the wrong move and was down the Exchange shortly. All the play up to getting the Exchange in my pocket was not very exciting for me. It was the final stage, where turning the Exchange into an actual win and I was on my own without a GM tutorial explaining what to do, that was exciting. With a winning material advantage in hand, I then had to use imagination, careful calculation and sound technique to bring home the full point. I guess that feeling of excitement and engagement is what Mr. Mockler is searching for.
There two more games from the Geezers v RPI match. They will be in tomorrow’s post.
Good chess!
It is becoming usual for the Geezers’ fourth board to lead the way. Mr. Chu began our efforts with the miniature below.
CDCL Match RPI v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: RPI
Date: 5-9-2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Fartado, B
1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 e6
3. e3 Nf6
4. Bd3 c5
5. b3 cxd4
6. exd4 Nc6
7. O-O Bd6
8. Re1 O-O
9. c3 Re8
10. Ne5 Bxe5?
Both sides have stayed away from any real testing lines of a theoretical kind. Until this move the game was dead level. Why does Black give up his best Bishop? Better 10..., Qc7; if he wants to pressure the Ne5. What is worse is the Knight is pushed off f6.
11. dxe5 Nd7
Black could have tried to complicate things with 11..., Ne4; and after 12 Bxe4, dxe4; it is not so easy for White to capture once more on e4. The White pawn on e5 is just as vulnerable as the Black pawn on e4.
12. f4 f6?
Black does not recognize a standard attacking pattern is shaping up on the board. A Bishop on the b1-h7, no defending Knight at f6 or f8 and no obstacle keeping the White Queen from going to h5, not to mention an easy route for the Re1 via e3 to add pressure on the g or h-files. The last thing a defender needs to do in such circumstances is to weaken the pawns around his King.
13. Qh5 ….
White now has a definite pull
13.… g6?
If the f-pawn were still at home this move is fine. With the f-pawn making impertinent gestures towards the White center, the game move loses quickly. Better are 13..., Nc5; threatening the Bd3 and a jump to e4, or 13..., Nf8; reinforcing h7 and g6 to prepare an eventual …, f6. Simpler than these is 13..., f5; after which it is true the Bc8 is no great shakes as an active participant, but White will have to get more troops off the back line to make his attacking dreams real with the key diagonal closed..
14. Bxg6! ….
Richard obviously knows the attacking pattern and gets right to work.
14.… hxg6
15. Qxg6+ Kf8
16. f5!? ….
It may be this move is a trick missed by Brian, and he does not react correctly. The Bc1 now has an open road into relevance, but the move gives Black opportunity to counter strongly. The best continuation for White is 16 Ba3+, Ne7; 17 exf6, Black then must give up some material. A somewhat trickier try is 16 Re3, with two branches; a) 16..., Qb6; 17 exf6, threatens mate and wins material, or b) 16..., Ndxe5; 17 fxe5, Nxe5; 18 Ba3+, again winning material.
16.… Re7??
Loses instantly. Worth trying is 16..., Ncxe5!?; and while Black might lose material in some lines he escapes immediate mate. White’s best seems to be 17 Qh7, Nf7; 18 Ba3+, Re7; 19 fxe6, Qb6+; 20 Kf1, Nc5; 21 exf7, Re1+; 22 Ke1, Qxf7; 23 Kd2, and the Nc5 falls or some other ruinous loss is taken. If Black plays the best moves he comes out down a piece and a pawn but alive. The line cited has chances for White to make a misstep, for example; after 16..., Ncxd5; 17 Bh6+?, Ke7; 18 Qh7+, Kd6; and d6 is as an unlikely place for one’s King to be safe, but the Black King seems to be so. After the text White has a forced mate which Richard finds quickly.
17. Bh6+ Rg7
18. Qxg7+ Ke8
19. Qg8+ Ke7
20. Qxe6# Mate.
The entire game tool just twelve or thirteen minutes. The rest of the team except John Phillips, were just getting comfortable in the first few moves of out games and Richard was packing up ready to go home! Phillips had arranged to begin his game an hour after the rest of us.
CDCL Match RPI v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: RPI
Date: 5-10-2010
White: Gao, Tian
Black: Mockler, M
1. d4 d5
2. c4 c6
3. Nf3 Nf6
4. Nc3 a6
Michael’s favorite line in the Slav. He advocated for this line in a months long survey by GM Har-Zvi’s Saturday group when the GM took us through a comprehensive review of the Slav. While it is not a choice for the 2700-2800 guys often, Shirov and Gelfand have taken it up on occasion as well many GM’s in the 2500- 2600 group.
5. Bg5 dxc4
Much more popular is 5..., Ne4. The text has in my databases nine examples with Black scoring 5 wins to 3 losses and a single draw. The games are all between FIDE titled players averaging about 2500.
6. a4 Nd5
Successful was 6..., Bf5; in Lautier (2645) - Van der Doel (2485) Antwerp, 1998. They got into some complicated play in the center after 7 Ne5, Ne4; 8 Ne4, Be4; 9 f3, f6; 10 fxe4, fxe5; and the strong GM lost in 40 moves! The game move shows only even results in the two games where it was tried, one win, one loss.
7. e4 ….
One example only in the databases; Kinsman - Guido, Cannes, 1995, and White won in 28 moves. In the cited game Black problems with the vulnerability of his QR just as Mockler has in this game.
7.… Nxc3
8. bxc3 Be6!?
There are lines in the Slav where putting the Bishop on e6 is possible. Here it looks ugly,, but trying out the alternatives, 8..., h6; and 8..., b5; on the computer do not let Black have an easy time either.
9. a5 ….
A nice touch leaving Black to deal long term with tough choices on the Q-side; advance the b-pawn accepting a clutch of weak pawns, or don’t and face problems getting the Ra8 out while worrying about the weak b7 point. White has a definite edge now.
9.… f6
10. Bf4 Bf7
11. Qa4?! ….
Offering Black some chances. More controlled is 11 Qb1. Black will get to play …, c5; true enough, but the c-pawn is effectively isolated and will fall soon after; 11..., Qd7; 12 Be2, c5; 13 0-0, cxd4; 14 cxd4. The central dominance White has gives him a solid advantage.
11.… Qd7
12. Bxc4 Bxc4
13. Qxc4 Qg4
14. Bg3 Qxe4+
15. Qe2 Qxe2+
16. Kxe2 Kd8
Black has weathered the opening difficulties and picked up a pawn. A price has been paid in the positional coin; Black’s development lags, b7 screams for protection and the b6 hole beckons the White Knight. Maybe a worse problem is; where do the Black minor pieces go if they do get out? I see no natural posts for them that offer much activity.
17. Rab1 Kc8
18. Nd2 Nd7
19. Nc4 Ra7
My computer suggests an advance on the K-side beginning with 19..., h5; to find a way to get the Rh8 and the Bf8 into play.
20. Rhe1 h5
21. h4 g6
Either 21..., g5; right away, or first 21..., Rg8; then 22..., g5; offers the chance to equalize. The text is a decision to take on a “hedgehog” like passive defense waiting for the lower rated opponent to err. This time the error does not happen.
22. Kf1 Rh7
23. Re2 Rf7
24. Re6 Bh6
25. Rbe1 Kd8
26. f3 Nf8
27. R6e2 Nd7
28. Rd1 Bf8
29. d5 c5
What else? If 29.…, cxd5; 30 Rxd5, and it is obvious bad things will happen on the d-file when the White Rooks are doubled.
30. Re6 Ra8
31. Nb6 Nxb6
32. Rxb6 Kc8
And next few moves were very hard to read on the score sheet. Several tries made no sense and I concluded my analysis here. The situation is grim for Black. His Ra8 is locked away. The square b7 is about to be put under siege. His pawn on c5 is hard to defend. Most tries for Black have good chances of opening up the sixth rank when the White Rb6 can attack the Black K-side laterally. In other words, White had a big advantage. White won the game on move 49. Mockler was unable to find a point at which to breakout of his huddle and Gao kept his head not taking any unnecessary risks.
Mr. Mockler’s desire to play interesting and difficult chess positions has had a negative effect on his results in recent months. In the past he and I have talked about what those of us that can not aspire to play at a professional level should take as a standard of performance. When we both studied with GM Har-Zvi, the GM believed striving for correctness to the professional level was the best way forward for such us. Michael took the opposing view; interesting chess positions was the most important aim for us, the non-masters. I come down somewhere in between, the difficult, interesting, if you will, wild positions are certainly more fun than 20+ moves of GM theory memorized and rolled out by a pair of Class A players who both may miss the point when they are on their own. I say at a minimum adhere to the main principles, fight for the center, development, etc., and when you go for the wild side avoid the strange just for the sake of making an odd move.
Recently I published here a game of mine with Alan Le Cours, from the Schenectady Consolation Swiss. I was Black and caught Alan in a QGA line at somewhere around move ten or twelve in an off-beat variation where Black sends his Nf6 to g4 lighting up a flurry of tactics around h2, d4 and c4. Alan was unfamiliar with the line, picked the wrong move and was down the Exchange shortly. All the play up to getting the Exchange in my pocket was not very exciting for me. It was the final stage, where turning the Exchange into an actual win and I was on my own without a GM tutorial explaining what to do, that was exciting. With a winning material advantage in hand, I then had to use imagination, careful calculation and sound technique to bring home the full point. I guess that feeling of excitement and engagement is what Mr. Mockler is searching for.
There two more games from the Geezers v RPI match. They will be in tomorrow’s post.
Good chess!
5.07.2010
CDCL: Uncle Sam versus the Geezers
Herein are all the games from the Geezers’ match with the Uncle Sam Chess Club of Troy.
As can be seen in the notes to the games, the score could have easily been 3-1 the other way. As mentioned in my last post, Troy was short handed. This gave the Schenectady team a +1 edge before the games began.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5.3.2010
White: Thomas, P
Black: Mockler, M
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Nd2 Nc6
4. Ngf3 Be7
5. Bd3 h6?
The Tarrasch variation of the French Defense. The method Black is using is not to everyone’s taste, but Seirawan and Lputian, solid 2600 types have tired the early …, Nc6; idea with mixed success. The “but” is Black really does not want to make moves on the K-side. Just about anything done on that side of the board by Black has serious long term consequences because they become targets for White. The routine notion for Black at this point is 5..., Nb4; hitting the Bd3, followed by …, c7-c5; when Black is attacking on the Q-side while White launches his thematic space grab on the K-side. Some knowledge learned from thirty years of using the French: Don’t be in a hurry to castle short as Black once White pushes his pawn to e5. The Black King is often safer in the center than castled into the line of fire of the White Bishops. Mockler knows that.
6. c3 Nf6
7. e5 Nh5?
Much better is 7..., Nd7. It is true that the congested look of the Black forces inspires doubts, but the Knight perched out on the left wing is clearly ripe to be harassed. White has a solid advantage now. My good friend Mr. Mockler likes to play convoluted, murky positions confident in his calculating skill to navigate periods of difficult play. Many, many times this works very well and presents interesting chess. On this occasion the hunt for interesting chess goes just a bit too far.
8. Nf1?! ….
Michael’s difficult approach gets a small dividend. Better for White is 8 Nb3.
8.… g5?!
More restrained is 8..., g6. The text makes a target right where the White pieces are aimed. Black has to do something about the Nh5 because White threatens 9 g4, winning the Knight.
9. Be3?! ….
Both sides have been indulging their chess fantasy. Here the principled move is 9 h4, not fearing 9..., g4; 10 N3h2, g3; 11 Nxg3, Nxg3; 12 fxg3, Rg8; 13 Bf4, and White can attack h6 and f7 in succession with his remaining Knight. The undeveloped state of the pieces on the Q-side will take many moves to fix before Black can generate threats on the K-side open file. That is very likely time enough to win a pawn or two more for White. Two or more pawns in the pocket makes fending off any attack much easier. The error White makes with the text is not sufficient to say Black has equalized, but it does give him some breathing room.
9.… Ng7
10. Ng3 Nf5?!
Another doubtful move in period where both sides did not do their best work. The move puts the Knight in an exposed position. Here 10..., h4; is sensible. Black will still have targets to defend, but by pushing back one, or both of the White Knights he will have extra space as compensation. Then if White is not careful, the Knights can come to obstruct the smooth development of the rest of the White army allowing Back to catch up.
11. Qc2?! …..
More reasoned is 11 Nxf5, eliminating the only Black minor piece showing any signs of activity.
11.… Nxe3
12. fxe3 g4
13. Nd2 Bg5
14. Nh5! ….
It is accurate to say that Mockler’s provocative approach has paid off to some extent. Up to this moment White has not made the best use of the chances given. On this turn, White offers a pawn to get his Knight a post on f6. At first look there is no reason not to play 14 e4, keeping the material balance. Thomas must have believed he will make something out of having the Knight on f6 and I think he is correct.
14... Bd7
After going to more than a little trouble, Mockler passes on grabbing the offered pawn. As one GM or another has said; a pawn is worth some difficulties. What happens if Black just takes the pawn? A sample line is; 14..., Be3; 15 Nf6+, Kf8; 16 Nf1, Bg5; 17 Nh7+!, and 18 Ng3, when the Black K-side looks even more shaky. The Ng1 is poised to travel through g3 to h5 to be followed by a Rook showing up on f1 and nailing down control of f6 for White. To my mind, this basket of difficulties is too much for a single pawn. It would be hard to fault Black for not taking the pawn. If this analysis is correct, then the entire scheme Black has used is flawed.
15. e4 Bxd2+
Giving up the key defender of the dark squares for what advantage? I believe Michael did not care for the positions that come about after say 15..., Kf8; 16 exd5, exd5; 17 0-0, when White has all the play. The alternative 15..., Qe7; 16 0-0; 0-0-0; 17 Nf6, is not appealing either. When all the alternatives looking poor, trading the dark square guardian at least has the merit of reducing material.
16. Qxd2 Qh4+
17. Ng3 dxe4
18. Bxe4 O-O-O
19. O-O-O? ….
More logical is 19 0-0, carrying on with the theme of domination of f6 and the f-file in general. The text gives Black the chance he has been hoping for.
19.… Be8?
It isn’t often Mockler misses a tactic. Here he does so. Black needed to play 19..., Nxe5!; 20 dxe5, Ba4; 21 Qe3, Bxd1; 22 Rxd1, Rxd1+; 23 Kxd1, Kb8; 24 Nf1, Rd8+; and Black has converted a position without much hope into an ending where a Queen with pieces versus a Queen with R+P have some expectations of holding the game.
20. Qf4 Ne7
21. h3 Rg8
22. Kb1 Nd5
23. Bxd5 Rxd5
24. Ne4 Rd8
25. Nf6 ….
White is proceeding in a calm manner holding on to his edge and improving the position of his pieces while allowing nothing wild to happen.
26.… Qg5
26. Qxg5 Rxg5
27. hxg4 Rg6
28. Rdf1 Bc6
29. Rf2 Rh8
30. Kc2 Rd8
31. Kd2 Bb5
32. Ke3 Rh8
33. Rh5 Kd8
34. g3 Ke7
Black brought his King over to shore up the weak K-side. It is all he can do in a situation with almost no active possibilities.
35. Rfh2 Kf8
36. g5 Kg7
37. gxh6+ Rhxh6
38. Rxh6 Rxh6
39. Rxh6 Kxh6
40. b3 ….
The general advance of the pawns in the center spells the end for Black. Thomas’ correct belief that a Nf6 was the key to victory is neatly demonstrated.
40.… b6
41. c4 Bc6
42. d5 exd5
43. cxd5 Resigns.
The advance d5-d6, d6-d7, will win the Bishop and the game in short order.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch’dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5-3-2010
White: Hill, E
Black: Phillips, J
1. d4 c5
2. dxc5 e6
3. b4 a5
4. c3 axb4
5. cxb4 Qf6!
White has fallen into a known trap in the Benoni. Taking on c5 and then trying to hold the pawn leads to serious trouble for White.
6. Bb2 ….
Maybe a little better is 6 Nc3, losing the Knight rather than the Bishop. Either way White is lost.
6.… Qxb2
7. Nd2 Nc6
8. Rb1 Qxa2
9. e3 Qa4
10. Qc1 Nxb4
11. Nb3 Nd5
12. Nf3 Qb4+
13. Nfd2 Ngf6
14. Bd3 Nc3
15. Rb2 Nce4?!
Up to here Black has held on to the substantial advantage won early on comfortably. Now he slips just a little. It is better to continue aggressively with 15..., Ra3; or 15..., Nfe4. In either case the pressure grows against the White position. The only reason for White to play on is the slightly awkward position of the Black Queen. By easing up, Black lets White keep playing.
16. O-O Nxc5?
Definitely wrong. It is much better for Black to initiate the trade of a pair of Knights with 16..., Nxd2; then 17 Nxd2, Qa3; (Not 17..., Qxc5; 18 Rc2, the trick as in the game that reduces Black’s material edge, and the development of the Black K-side remains laggard.) 18 Nb3, and either the slow, calm 18..., Be7; or the more energetic 18..., d5; keep almost all of Black’s advantage intact while beginning to get his forces out and working.
17. Nxc5 Qxc5
18. Rc2 Qa5
19. Rxc8+ Rxc8
20. Qxc8+ Qd8
21. Qxb7 ….
Very neatly played by Mr. Hill! True Black retained one extra pawn, but the threat of 22 Rc1, 23 Rc8, forces Black to play the Bishop to e7 and castle immediately allowing the White pieces to take up very active posts. The really good chess players very often are happy to surrender a pawn for piece activity. It certainly is more fun to play White than to play Black.
21.… Be7
22. Rc1 O-O
23. Ba6 ….
I am not so sure this is the right path. Another possibility is 23 Ne4, but that may lead to a trade of Knights, and if White hopes to make something significant out of the lead in development that’s not the way to do so. Perhaps there is no good way to try for an advantage. I worked on the idea beginning 23 e4, intending a further advance to e5 driving away the Black Knight from f6 clearing the diagonal of the Bd3 aiming to put pressure on h7. However, if Black alertly plays 23..., Qa8; his threats of simplifying exchanges seem to trump the notion White can build an attacking formation. If there is no way to make an assault, then trades to reduce material and counting the opposite colored Bishops to hold is the correct procedure.
23.… Qa5
24. Nb3 Qa3
25. Qb5?! ….
Safer is 25 Bf1.
25... Qb2
Black is beginning again to take over the initiative.
26. Qd3 d5?
Much more forceful is 26..., Rb8; then if 27 Rb1, Qa2; 28 Nd2, Rb1+; 29 Nb1, Bb4; when Black has the advantage. If alternatively, 27 Rc8+, Rxc8; 28 Bxc8, Ng4!; wins. The attack on f2 is very strong. For example; if 29 Nd2, Qc1+; picks up the Bc8.
27. Rb1 Qe5?!
With 27..., Qa3; Black keeps the one pawn advantage intact and can make White suffer for a long time. The text move begins to seek out complications. The Queen, a piece that likes open lines and plenty of room heads into the confined spaces of the K-side. This just may give White some tactical chance. Black must have been hoping to make some threats with his Queen, Knight and maybe the Bishop working together.
28. Nd4 Bd6?
This move cuts off the natural retreat for the Queen, better is 28.…, Bc5; 29 Nf3, Qd6; and Black is rationally organized to advance the center pawns as well as use the Bishop and Knight against the White K-side. All that remains to be done to have his forces completely coordinated is to pick a file on which to use the Rook. That maybe the b-file. In any event, Black is better organized than he has been for a number of moves with a solid extra pawn and can make White suffer particularly under the sudden-death time control.
29. Nf3 Qe4
30. Qd1 Rb8
31. Rxb8+ Bxb8
32. Bd3 Qb4
33. Nd4 Qb2
Somewhat better is 33.…, Qc3. Phillips may have been filled with regrets at letting what seemed to be a routine win after his opponent fell into a trap slip away. Although he has the pawn, having Bishops of opposite color on the board made looking for a win difficult.
34. Nc6 Bd6
35. Qa4 Qc1+
36. Bf1 g6
37. Qa6 Bxh2+??
A blunder of the first order. John just forgot the Bf1 is defended by the Queen. He thought he was winning a pawn. Black now is at serious disadvantage.
38. Kxh2 Ng4+
39. Kg3 h5
40. Ne7+ Kf8
41. Nc8? …..
Mr. Hill misses a chance to use good technique and force the exchange of Queens with 41 Qc8+. After such White would be in firm control and the win a matter of playing the ending correctly. The position still favors White
41.… Qc2
42. Be2 Nf6
43. Qd6+ Kg7
44. Bf3?? ….
Another blunder of the first order. White forgets in the same way Black did earlier, the Nc8 needs protection.
44.… Qxc8
45. Qe5 Qd8
46. Be2 Kh7?
Missing a chance to simplify by 46..., Qd6; 47 Qd6, Ne4+; recovering the Queen and remaining up two pawns.
47. Kh2 Ne4
The game went on for a just few more moves and White’s time ran out. A flawed game that illustrates how easily the 3-1 score could have been 2-2.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5.3.2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Canty, S
1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 c6
3. Nf3 d6
4. g3 e5
5. d3 Be7
6. Bg2 Be6
7. O-O O-O
8. Qc2 Nbd7
9. b3 Rc8
10. Bg5 h6
11. Be3?! ….
Maybe this move was made to induce Black to play …., d5; and maybe it was an oversight.
11.… d5
Naturally!
12. Bd2 ….
Lest there be a pawn fork on d4.
12.… d4
13. Ne4 Nxe4
14. dxe4 f5
15. Bh3 Rf6?
In a tense and a tactically dangerous position, Black misses his chance. Better is 15..., Nc5; creating a messy situation that tends towards equality. The text drops a pawn, and worse, gets the Rook into trouble. As GM Har-Zvi is fond of saying; Rooks are poor pieces to be used in the attack early in the game. When traffic is heavy on the board, Rooks can easily become trapped.
16. exf5 Bf7
17. e4? …..
Best is 17 e3, directly striking at the Black center pawns.
17.…. dxe3?
Black could have cemented a favorable central formation with either
17..., Qc7; or 17..., c5. The text gives up that possibility.
18. Bxe3 Qa5
19. Rfe1? ….
I am not sure of what Mr. Chu intends with this Rook move. Putting a Rook on the d-file certainly would be a reasonable option to be evaluated, but the e-file? What does it do? The correct continuation is 19 Nd2, threatening 20 Ne4, collecting the Exchange. If then Black tries say 19..., c5; 20 Ne4, Rfc6; 21 f6, wins material. The trick of advancing the f-pawn after making the Rf6 move seems to pick up the Exchange in all variations taking full advantage of Black’s error on move 15.
19.… Bb4
20. Bd2 Re8?
More to the point is 20..., Rd8; it is the d-file where things will happen.
21. Bxb4 Qxb4
22. Nd2 Nc5
23. Ne4? ….
Richard is just not quite finding the right moves although he seems to have the right ideas in mind. Here 23 a3, avoids problems and maintains a positional advantage. The way White plays the position lets some of the advantage disappear.
23.… Nxe4
24. Rxe4 Rd6
25. Rd1 Red8
26. Rxd6 Rxd6
27. Rxe5 Rd2
28. a3 Qd6
29. Qc3 Ra2?
One has to admire the determination with which the Troy players try for wins. Here 29..., Rd3; levels the game and can easily lead to a repeating of moves and a draw. If White wants to try for more, he has to find 30 c5!? This move has risks attached to it for there are tricks for both sides.
30. a4 Ra3?
Still determined to win, Black passes on 30..., Rd2; with some hope to equalize.
31. Re4? ….
This move drops a pawn. It does open up the position. More accurate is 31 Re3, beefing up the defense of b3. The position now quickly becomes level.
31.… Qd1+
32. Re1 Qxb3
33. Qxb3 Rxb3
34. Bf1 Ra3
35. Re7 Rxa4
36. Rxb7 a5
37. Rc7 Be8?
The simple 37..., Bxc4; would offer chances to draw. Black may have over-valued the White pawn majority on the K-side. True White has a four to two advantage there, but with the f-pawns doubled the majority is not at full strength. Black, with care, will get a distant passer on the Q-side that could balance the game.
38. Be2 Ra1+
39. Kg2 a4?
Sylvester just has not found the correct ideas for this endgame. Best here is 39..., Re1; and 40..., Re5. White would still hold an advantage, but Black has some hope to hold the game.
40. Rc8! ….
Pinning the Bishop takes away most of Black’s options. The outcome will be the Black pawn on the a-file is lost after the Bishops are traded. Without a distant passed pawn Black will have fewer chances for activity and be reduced to passive defense.
40.… Kf7??
I have played Sylvester Canty before in a tough ending where he held the draw. Against Chu he just does not have the same solid mind set as in the our game. This error drops a piece leaving no hope to save the day.
41. Bh5+ Kf6
42. Bxe8 a3
43. Rxc6+ Ke5
44. Ra6 Ke4
45. c5 Kd5
46. c6 Resigns.
The game actually rolled on for several moves. The issue was never in doubt and he eventually resigned.
As was said at the beginning of this post, things might well have turned out very differently in this match had “chess luck” favored the Uncle Sam team just a bit. The Geezers were fortunate the breaks fell our way.
More CDCL match play still come in the next couple of weeks, and I have my game with Fineberg from the Saratoga-Geezers match.
As can be seen in the notes to the games, the score could have easily been 3-1 the other way. As mentioned in my last post, Troy was short handed. This gave the Schenectady team a +1 edge before the games began.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5.3.2010
White: Thomas, P
Black: Mockler, M
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Nd2 Nc6
4. Ngf3 Be7
5. Bd3 h6?
The Tarrasch variation of the French Defense. The method Black is using is not to everyone’s taste, but Seirawan and Lputian, solid 2600 types have tired the early …, Nc6; idea with mixed success. The “but” is Black really does not want to make moves on the K-side. Just about anything done on that side of the board by Black has serious long term consequences because they become targets for White. The routine notion for Black at this point is 5..., Nb4; hitting the Bd3, followed by …, c7-c5; when Black is attacking on the Q-side while White launches his thematic space grab on the K-side. Some knowledge learned from thirty years of using the French: Don’t be in a hurry to castle short as Black once White pushes his pawn to e5. The Black King is often safer in the center than castled into the line of fire of the White Bishops. Mockler knows that.
6. c3 Nf6
7. e5 Nh5?
Much better is 7..., Nd7. It is true that the congested look of the Black forces inspires doubts, but the Knight perched out on the left wing is clearly ripe to be harassed. White has a solid advantage now. My good friend Mr. Mockler likes to play convoluted, murky positions confident in his calculating skill to navigate periods of difficult play. Many, many times this works very well and presents interesting chess. On this occasion the hunt for interesting chess goes just a bit too far.
8. Nf1?! ….
Michael’s difficult approach gets a small dividend. Better for White is 8 Nb3.
8.… g5?!
More restrained is 8..., g6. The text makes a target right where the White pieces are aimed. Black has to do something about the Nh5 because White threatens 9 g4, winning the Knight.
9. Be3?! ….
Both sides have been indulging their chess fantasy. Here the principled move is 9 h4, not fearing 9..., g4; 10 N3h2, g3; 11 Nxg3, Nxg3; 12 fxg3, Rg8; 13 Bf4, and White can attack h6 and f7 in succession with his remaining Knight. The undeveloped state of the pieces on the Q-side will take many moves to fix before Black can generate threats on the K-side open file. That is very likely time enough to win a pawn or two more for White. Two or more pawns in the pocket makes fending off any attack much easier. The error White makes with the text is not sufficient to say Black has equalized, but it does give him some breathing room.
9.… Ng7
10. Ng3 Nf5?!
Another doubtful move in period where both sides did not do their best work. The move puts the Knight in an exposed position. Here 10..., h4; is sensible. Black will still have targets to defend, but by pushing back one, or both of the White Knights he will have extra space as compensation. Then if White is not careful, the Knights can come to obstruct the smooth development of the rest of the White army allowing Back to catch up.
11. Qc2?! …..
More reasoned is 11 Nxf5, eliminating the only Black minor piece showing any signs of activity.
11.… Nxe3
12. fxe3 g4
13. Nd2 Bg5
14. Nh5! ….
It is accurate to say that Mockler’s provocative approach has paid off to some extent. Up to this moment White has not made the best use of the chances given. On this turn, White offers a pawn to get his Knight a post on f6. At first look there is no reason not to play 14 e4, keeping the material balance. Thomas must have believed he will make something out of having the Knight on f6 and I think he is correct.
14... Bd7
After going to more than a little trouble, Mockler passes on grabbing the offered pawn. As one GM or another has said; a pawn is worth some difficulties. What happens if Black just takes the pawn? A sample line is; 14..., Be3; 15 Nf6+, Kf8; 16 Nf1, Bg5; 17 Nh7+!, and 18 Ng3, when the Black K-side looks even more shaky. The Ng1 is poised to travel through g3 to h5 to be followed by a Rook showing up on f1 and nailing down control of f6 for White. To my mind, this basket of difficulties is too much for a single pawn. It would be hard to fault Black for not taking the pawn. If this analysis is correct, then the entire scheme Black has used is flawed.
15. e4 Bxd2+
Giving up the key defender of the dark squares for what advantage? I believe Michael did not care for the positions that come about after say 15..., Kf8; 16 exd5, exd5; 17 0-0, when White has all the play. The alternative 15..., Qe7; 16 0-0; 0-0-0; 17 Nf6, is not appealing either. When all the alternatives looking poor, trading the dark square guardian at least has the merit of reducing material.
16. Qxd2 Qh4+
17. Ng3 dxe4
18. Bxe4 O-O-O
19. O-O-O? ….
More logical is 19 0-0, carrying on with the theme of domination of f6 and the f-file in general. The text gives Black the chance he has been hoping for.
19.… Be8?
It isn’t often Mockler misses a tactic. Here he does so. Black needed to play 19..., Nxe5!; 20 dxe5, Ba4; 21 Qe3, Bxd1; 22 Rxd1, Rxd1+; 23 Kxd1, Kb8; 24 Nf1, Rd8+; and Black has converted a position without much hope into an ending where a Queen with pieces versus a Queen with R+P have some expectations of holding the game.
20. Qf4 Ne7
21. h3 Rg8
22. Kb1 Nd5
23. Bxd5 Rxd5
24. Ne4 Rd8
25. Nf6 ….
White is proceeding in a calm manner holding on to his edge and improving the position of his pieces while allowing nothing wild to happen.
26.… Qg5
26. Qxg5 Rxg5
27. hxg4 Rg6
28. Rdf1 Bc6
29. Rf2 Rh8
30. Kc2 Rd8
31. Kd2 Bb5
32. Ke3 Rh8
33. Rh5 Kd8
34. g3 Ke7
Black brought his King over to shore up the weak K-side. It is all he can do in a situation with almost no active possibilities.
35. Rfh2 Kf8
36. g5 Kg7
37. gxh6+ Rhxh6
38. Rxh6 Rxh6
39. Rxh6 Kxh6
40. b3 ….
The general advance of the pawns in the center spells the end for Black. Thomas’ correct belief that a Nf6 was the key to victory is neatly demonstrated.
40.… b6
41. c4 Bc6
42. d5 exd5
43. cxd5 Resigns.
The advance d5-d6, d6-d7, will win the Bishop and the game in short order.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch’dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5-3-2010
White: Hill, E
Black: Phillips, J
1. d4 c5
2. dxc5 e6
3. b4 a5
4. c3 axb4
5. cxb4 Qf6!
White has fallen into a known trap in the Benoni. Taking on c5 and then trying to hold the pawn leads to serious trouble for White.
6. Bb2 ….
Maybe a little better is 6 Nc3, losing the Knight rather than the Bishop. Either way White is lost.
6.… Qxb2
7. Nd2 Nc6
8. Rb1 Qxa2
9. e3 Qa4
10. Qc1 Nxb4
11. Nb3 Nd5
12. Nf3 Qb4+
13. Nfd2 Ngf6
14. Bd3 Nc3
15. Rb2 Nce4?!
Up to here Black has held on to the substantial advantage won early on comfortably. Now he slips just a little. It is better to continue aggressively with 15..., Ra3; or 15..., Nfe4. In either case the pressure grows against the White position. The only reason for White to play on is the slightly awkward position of the Black Queen. By easing up, Black lets White keep playing.
16. O-O Nxc5?
Definitely wrong. It is much better for Black to initiate the trade of a pair of Knights with 16..., Nxd2; then 17 Nxd2, Qa3; (Not 17..., Qxc5; 18 Rc2, the trick as in the game that reduces Black’s material edge, and the development of the Black K-side remains laggard.) 18 Nb3, and either the slow, calm 18..., Be7; or the more energetic 18..., d5; keep almost all of Black’s advantage intact while beginning to get his forces out and working.
17. Nxc5 Qxc5
18. Rc2 Qa5
19. Rxc8+ Rxc8
20. Qxc8+ Qd8
21. Qxb7 ….
Very neatly played by Mr. Hill! True Black retained one extra pawn, but the threat of 22 Rc1, 23 Rc8, forces Black to play the Bishop to e7 and castle immediately allowing the White pieces to take up very active posts. The really good chess players very often are happy to surrender a pawn for piece activity. It certainly is more fun to play White than to play Black.
21.… Be7
22. Rc1 O-O
23. Ba6 ….
I am not so sure this is the right path. Another possibility is 23 Ne4, but that may lead to a trade of Knights, and if White hopes to make something significant out of the lead in development that’s not the way to do so. Perhaps there is no good way to try for an advantage. I worked on the idea beginning 23 e4, intending a further advance to e5 driving away the Black Knight from f6 clearing the diagonal of the Bd3 aiming to put pressure on h7. However, if Black alertly plays 23..., Qa8; his threats of simplifying exchanges seem to trump the notion White can build an attacking formation. If there is no way to make an assault, then trades to reduce material and counting the opposite colored Bishops to hold is the correct procedure.
23.… Qa5
24. Nb3 Qa3
25. Qb5?! ….
Safer is 25 Bf1.
25... Qb2
Black is beginning again to take over the initiative.
26. Qd3 d5?
Much more forceful is 26..., Rb8; then if 27 Rb1, Qa2; 28 Nd2, Rb1+; 29 Nb1, Bb4; when Black has the advantage. If alternatively, 27 Rc8+, Rxc8; 28 Bxc8, Ng4!; wins. The attack on f2 is very strong. For example; if 29 Nd2, Qc1+; picks up the Bc8.
27. Rb1 Qe5?!
With 27..., Qa3; Black keeps the one pawn advantage intact and can make White suffer for a long time. The text move begins to seek out complications. The Queen, a piece that likes open lines and plenty of room heads into the confined spaces of the K-side. This just may give White some tactical chance. Black must have been hoping to make some threats with his Queen, Knight and maybe the Bishop working together.
28. Nd4 Bd6?
This move cuts off the natural retreat for the Queen, better is 28.…, Bc5; 29 Nf3, Qd6; and Black is rationally organized to advance the center pawns as well as use the Bishop and Knight against the White K-side. All that remains to be done to have his forces completely coordinated is to pick a file on which to use the Rook. That maybe the b-file. In any event, Black is better organized than he has been for a number of moves with a solid extra pawn and can make White suffer particularly under the sudden-death time control.
29. Nf3 Qe4
30. Qd1 Rb8
31. Rxb8+ Bxb8
32. Bd3 Qb4
33. Nd4 Qb2
Somewhat better is 33.…, Qc3. Phillips may have been filled with regrets at letting what seemed to be a routine win after his opponent fell into a trap slip away. Although he has the pawn, having Bishops of opposite color on the board made looking for a win difficult.
34. Nc6 Bd6
35. Qa4 Qc1+
36. Bf1 g6
37. Qa6 Bxh2+??
A blunder of the first order. John just forgot the Bf1 is defended by the Queen. He thought he was winning a pawn. Black now is at serious disadvantage.
38. Kxh2 Ng4+
39. Kg3 h5
40. Ne7+ Kf8
41. Nc8? …..
Mr. Hill misses a chance to use good technique and force the exchange of Queens with 41 Qc8+. After such White would be in firm control and the win a matter of playing the ending correctly. The position still favors White
41.… Qc2
42. Be2 Nf6
43. Qd6+ Kg7
44. Bf3?? ….
Another blunder of the first order. White forgets in the same way Black did earlier, the Nc8 needs protection.
44.… Qxc8
45. Qe5 Qd8
46. Be2 Kh7?
Missing a chance to simplify by 46..., Qd6; 47 Qd6, Ne4+; recovering the Queen and remaining up two pawns.
47. Kh2 Ne4
The game went on for a just few more moves and White’s time ran out. A flawed game that illustrates how easily the 3-1 score could have been 2-2.
CDCL Match Troy v Sch'dy Geezers
Site: Troy, NY
Date: 5.3.2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Canty, S
1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 c6
3. Nf3 d6
4. g3 e5
5. d3 Be7
6. Bg2 Be6
7. O-O O-O
8. Qc2 Nbd7
9. b3 Rc8
10. Bg5 h6
11. Be3?! ….
Maybe this move was made to induce Black to play …., d5; and maybe it was an oversight.
11.… d5
Naturally!
12. Bd2 ….
Lest there be a pawn fork on d4.
12.… d4
13. Ne4 Nxe4
14. dxe4 f5
15. Bh3 Rf6?
In a tense and a tactically dangerous position, Black misses his chance. Better is 15..., Nc5; creating a messy situation that tends towards equality. The text drops a pawn, and worse, gets the Rook into trouble. As GM Har-Zvi is fond of saying; Rooks are poor pieces to be used in the attack early in the game. When traffic is heavy on the board, Rooks can easily become trapped.
16. exf5 Bf7
17. e4? …..
Best is 17 e3, directly striking at the Black center pawns.
17.…. dxe3?
Black could have cemented a favorable central formation with either
17..., Qc7; or 17..., c5. The text gives up that possibility.
18. Bxe3 Qa5
19. Rfe1? ….
I am not sure of what Mr. Chu intends with this Rook move. Putting a Rook on the d-file certainly would be a reasonable option to be evaluated, but the e-file? What does it do? The correct continuation is 19 Nd2, threatening 20 Ne4, collecting the Exchange. If then Black tries say 19..., c5; 20 Ne4, Rfc6; 21 f6, wins material. The trick of advancing the f-pawn after making the Rf6 move seems to pick up the Exchange in all variations taking full advantage of Black’s error on move 15.
19.… Bb4
20. Bd2 Re8?
More to the point is 20..., Rd8; it is the d-file where things will happen.
21. Bxb4 Qxb4
22. Nd2 Nc5
23. Ne4? ….
Richard is just not quite finding the right moves although he seems to have the right ideas in mind. Here 23 a3, avoids problems and maintains a positional advantage. The way White plays the position lets some of the advantage disappear.
23.… Nxe4
24. Rxe4 Rd6
25. Rd1 Red8
26. Rxd6 Rxd6
27. Rxe5 Rd2
28. a3 Qd6
29. Qc3 Ra2?
One has to admire the determination with which the Troy players try for wins. Here 29..., Rd3; levels the game and can easily lead to a repeating of moves and a draw. If White wants to try for more, he has to find 30 c5!? This move has risks attached to it for there are tricks for both sides.
30. a4 Ra3?
Still determined to win, Black passes on 30..., Rd2; with some hope to equalize.
31. Re4? ….
This move drops a pawn. It does open up the position. More accurate is 31 Re3, beefing up the defense of b3. The position now quickly becomes level.
31.… Qd1+
32. Re1 Qxb3
33. Qxb3 Rxb3
34. Bf1 Ra3
35. Re7 Rxa4
36. Rxb7 a5
37. Rc7 Be8?
The simple 37..., Bxc4; would offer chances to draw. Black may have over-valued the White pawn majority on the K-side. True White has a four to two advantage there, but with the f-pawns doubled the majority is not at full strength. Black, with care, will get a distant passer on the Q-side that could balance the game.
38. Be2 Ra1+
39. Kg2 a4?
Sylvester just has not found the correct ideas for this endgame. Best here is 39..., Re1; and 40..., Re5. White would still hold an advantage, but Black has some hope to hold the game.
40. Rc8! ….
Pinning the Bishop takes away most of Black’s options. The outcome will be the Black pawn on the a-file is lost after the Bishops are traded. Without a distant passed pawn Black will have fewer chances for activity and be reduced to passive defense.
40.… Kf7??
I have played Sylvester Canty before in a tough ending where he held the draw. Against Chu he just does not have the same solid mind set as in the our game. This error drops a piece leaving no hope to save the day.
41. Bh5+ Kf6
42. Bxe8 a3
43. Rxc6+ Ke5
44. Ra6 Ke4
45. c5 Kd5
46. c6 Resigns.
The game actually rolled on for several moves. The issue was never in doubt and he eventually resigned.
As was said at the beginning of this post, things might well have turned out very differently in this match had “chess luck” favored the Uncle Sam team just a bit. The Geezers were fortunate the breaks fell our way.
More CDCL match play still come in the next couple of weeks, and I have my game with Fineberg from the Saratoga-Geezers match.
5.04.2010
The Geezers in CDCL Matches
The various chess club championship tourneys have ended, and the Capital District League matches have been underway for a few weeks now. The team of which I am a member, the Schenectady Geezers, is made up of players of many years experience. As the saying goes; "Sometimes age and dupilcity win out over youth and talent", but, that is not always the case.
The Schenectady Geezers came to the match against Saratoga A with hopes to improve their record (0-1). It was not to be, we went down 1-3 to the strong Saratoga team. Today’s game is one where there were chances for the Schenectady side to do better.
CDCL Match Saratoga A - Schenectady Geezers
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Date: 4.25.2010
White: Magat, G
Black: Phillips, J
1. c4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. e4 Bg7
5. f3 O-O
6. Be3 Nbd7
Perfectly OK according to theory. At this point Black could also try Bronstein’s suggestions; 6..., c5; sacrificing a pawn planning to obtain significant play exploiting the awkward lack of coordination of the White pieces after the Queens come off, or 6..., e5; 7 d5, Nh5; contemplating the sacrifice of the Black Queen for two minor pieces and a pawn, again making use of the chances poor coordination of the White forces present. The game move passes on those opportunities opting for more usual KID play. The statistics shown in my databases indicate White does very well here winning 3 to 1 with about 40% drawn.
7. Bd3 c5
8. d5 ….
In the very top level, 2500+, the much preferred move is 8 Nge2.
8.…. Ne5
9. Nge2 e6
10. dxe6 fxe6
11. O-O Qe7!?
The game has proceeded to the very outer edge of the fringes of theory. There are no examples from the top players to guide us now. Some FM’s and Candidate Masters have arrived here. One idea seen in those games is 11..., b6; thinking of putting the Bishop on a6, capturing the Bd3 bringing the White Queen into a square where the c-pawn is pinned and playing against the c-pawn. The logic of Black's disposition of forces is to break with …, d6-d5. The failure to make this thematic break can be said to lead to the downfall of Black.
12. Qd2 Bd7
13. Bg5 Nf7
14. Bh4 Bh6
15. f4 Ne5
16. Rad1 Qg7
Dicing with danger, Black offers White time to expand on the K-side by socking-in the Bh6. The method chosen does not have to lead to problems, but Black has to find the correct, active moves.
17. h3 Ne8
18. g4 Nxd3
19. Qxd3 g5?!
Black misses the right idea. With 19..., Bc6; Black meets 20 g5, with 20..., Qe7; and if 21 gxh6, Qxh4; drops the pawn on h6. If White tries some other move, Black retires the Bh6 to g7 when any opening up of the position favors the Bishops. Also, Black can eventually play …, Rad8; and …, Nc7; preparing the …, d6-d5; break giving Black good chances.
In place of improving the position of the Bd7, Black opens the f-file when his pieces are not well placed to fight for that line.
20. fxg5 Rxf1+
21. Rxf1 Bxg5
22. Bxg5 Qxg5
23. Qf3 ….
Is it possible that John under-valued this mate threat? Black has lost the fight for the initiative. White will dictate the future course of the game.
23.… Qg7?
An interesting mistake. Better 23..., Qe7; saving a tempo.
24. Ng3 ….
Threatening 25 Nh5, making the Black Queen move again.
24.… Rd8
25. Nh5 Qe7
26. Qf4 e5?
Giving up too many vital squares and renouncing the …., d6-d5; break. Without being able to force open lines, Black is nearly lost now.
27. Qh6?! ….
Superior is 27 Nd5, taking immediate advantage of the weak d5-square. After 27..., exf4; 28 Nxe7+, Kh8; 29 Rxf4, bagging a pawn while the danger to the Black King is not much lessened.
27.… Be6
28. b3 Bf7?
After this error Black is in a bad way.
29. Rxf7! ….
Nicely done. My loss to Jon Feinberg had ended not long before this position occurred. As I watched the last few moves the thought was John Phillips had a plan in mind. Looking at the game in total in the quiet of my study it became clear the weaknesses; d5, f5 and f6 are too numerous and too close to the Black King for much resistance to be made. There was no reason for Gordon to expect Phillips cooperate by putting the Bishop on f7, but when it appeared there, Gordon thought for some minutes and played the sacrifice confidently.
29.… Kxf7
30. Nd5 Qf8
31. Qxh7+ Ke6
32. Qf5+ ….
A quick end is possible with 32 Nhf6!, and if 32..., Nxf6??; 33 Nc7#. Otherwise, if 32..., Rc8; 33 Qf5+, Kf7; 34 Nd7+, wins decisive material, or, what maybe the best chance is 32..., Qxf6; 33 Nxf6, Nxf6; 34 Qf5+, and 35 g5, when the connected passed pawns with the Queen to support will get more material soon enough. This is probably the line that caused Gordon to take a slower approach to finishing the game. No need to calculate tricky lines when the Queens are forced off and the three passed pawns roll.
32.… Qxf5
33. exf5+ Kf7
34. g5 Ng7
35. g6+ Kf8
36. Ng3 a6
This move could be labeled a mistake, but there is nothing really to be done now. Slightly better is 36..., Ne8; but the Rook cuts a sorry picture not able to get into the game. While watching I hoped there was something I missed and one of the center pawns could dash forward to distract White. That was not to be.
37. h4 Re8
38. h5 Rb8
However, 38..., e4; just does not work well enough after 39 h6, and material will be lost without doing enough damage to the charging pawns. The battle is over. White just has to maintain the steady nerves he has shown to this point.
39. h6 Ne8
40. Nh5 Kg8
41. f6 Nxf6
Throwing in material does not change matters at all.
42. Nhxf6+ Kf8
43. Nd7+ Resigns.
John Phillips erred in the middle of the game missing the positional break, …, d3-d5; and by allowing the f-file to be opened. Gordon Magat took full advantage the opportunites offered and was rewarded with a chance to make a neat sacrifice of the Exchange to wind up the game.
Some late news. The Schenectady Geezers won their match against Troy 3-1 last evening. Troy was handicapped by their second board's absence. They began down a point with that forfeit and quickly were trouble on the third board when Hill fell into a trap set by Phillips. Chu and Canty on board four were playing quickly. Canty got a Rook into an awkward situation and it looked as if Chu would make something out of that.
The struggle on board one was a dour, convoluted, closed battle between Phil Thomas and Michael Mockler. Mockler has taken up the French Defense lately. He enjoys taking the game away from the mainstream theory. Sometimes this works by getting his opponent into deep murky waters. In this game his opponent was Phil Thomas, a player of obvious talent who began playing just five years ago. Thomas has made steady progress to a solid rating in the high end of the B Class. Phil has taken full and half points from higher rated players in the last year or two. In this game Thomas obtained an advantage in Space, held it and squeezed until Mockler had to make a concessions eventually losing the game.
As described so far not much drama, right? Boards three and four for the Geezers; Phillips and Chu, both had clear advantages slip away. The games went from near wins to even, then to lost and back to wins. For this partisan observer the roller coaster ride was almost too much to take. I sure the Troy team who stayed until the last pawn fell felt much the same, of course with a far different final result.
Games from the match tomorrow.
The Schenectady Geezers came to the match against Saratoga A with hopes to improve their record (0-1). It was not to be, we went down 1-3 to the strong Saratoga team. Today’s game is one where there were chances for the Schenectady side to do better.
CDCL Match Saratoga A - Schenectady Geezers
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Date: 4.25.2010
White: Magat, G
Black: Phillips, J
1. c4 d6
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. e4 Bg7
5. f3 O-O
6. Be3 Nbd7
Perfectly OK according to theory. At this point Black could also try Bronstein’s suggestions; 6..., c5; sacrificing a pawn planning to obtain significant play exploiting the awkward lack of coordination of the White pieces after the Queens come off, or 6..., e5; 7 d5, Nh5; contemplating the sacrifice of the Black Queen for two minor pieces and a pawn, again making use of the chances poor coordination of the White forces present. The game move passes on those opportunities opting for more usual KID play. The statistics shown in my databases indicate White does very well here winning 3 to 1 with about 40% drawn.
7. Bd3 c5
8. d5 ….
In the very top level, 2500+, the much preferred move is 8 Nge2.
8.…. Ne5
9. Nge2 e6
10. dxe6 fxe6
11. O-O Qe7!?
The game has proceeded to the very outer edge of the fringes of theory. There are no examples from the top players to guide us now. Some FM’s and Candidate Masters have arrived here. One idea seen in those games is 11..., b6; thinking of putting the Bishop on a6, capturing the Bd3 bringing the White Queen into a square where the c-pawn is pinned and playing against the c-pawn. The logic of Black's disposition of forces is to break with …, d6-d5. The failure to make this thematic break can be said to lead to the downfall of Black.
12. Qd2 Bd7
13. Bg5 Nf7
14. Bh4 Bh6
15. f4 Ne5
16. Rad1 Qg7
Dicing with danger, Black offers White time to expand on the K-side by socking-in the Bh6. The method chosen does not have to lead to problems, but Black has to find the correct, active moves.
17. h3 Ne8
18. g4 Nxd3
19. Qxd3 g5?!
Black misses the right idea. With 19..., Bc6; Black meets 20 g5, with 20..., Qe7; and if 21 gxh6, Qxh4; drops the pawn on h6. If White tries some other move, Black retires the Bh6 to g7 when any opening up of the position favors the Bishops. Also, Black can eventually play …, Rad8; and …, Nc7; preparing the …, d6-d5; break giving Black good chances.
In place of improving the position of the Bd7, Black opens the f-file when his pieces are not well placed to fight for that line.
20. fxg5 Rxf1+
21. Rxf1 Bxg5
22. Bxg5 Qxg5
23. Qf3 ….
Is it possible that John under-valued this mate threat? Black has lost the fight for the initiative. White will dictate the future course of the game.
23.… Qg7?
An interesting mistake. Better 23..., Qe7; saving a tempo.
24. Ng3 ….
Threatening 25 Nh5, making the Black Queen move again.
24.… Rd8
25. Nh5 Qe7
26. Qf4 e5?
Giving up too many vital squares and renouncing the …., d6-d5; break. Without being able to force open lines, Black is nearly lost now.
27. Qh6?! ….
Superior is 27 Nd5, taking immediate advantage of the weak d5-square. After 27..., exf4; 28 Nxe7+, Kh8; 29 Rxf4, bagging a pawn while the danger to the Black King is not much lessened.
27.… Be6
28. b3 Bf7?
After this error Black is in a bad way.
29. Rxf7! ….
Nicely done. My loss to Jon Feinberg had ended not long before this position occurred. As I watched the last few moves the thought was John Phillips had a plan in mind. Looking at the game in total in the quiet of my study it became clear the weaknesses; d5, f5 and f6 are too numerous and too close to the Black King for much resistance to be made. There was no reason for Gordon to expect Phillips cooperate by putting the Bishop on f7, but when it appeared there, Gordon thought for some minutes and played the sacrifice confidently.
29.… Kxf7
30. Nd5 Qf8
31. Qxh7+ Ke6
32. Qf5+ ….
A quick end is possible with 32 Nhf6!, and if 32..., Nxf6??; 33 Nc7#. Otherwise, if 32..., Rc8; 33 Qf5+, Kf7; 34 Nd7+, wins decisive material, or, what maybe the best chance is 32..., Qxf6; 33 Nxf6, Nxf6; 34 Qf5+, and 35 g5, when the connected passed pawns with the Queen to support will get more material soon enough. This is probably the line that caused Gordon to take a slower approach to finishing the game. No need to calculate tricky lines when the Queens are forced off and the three passed pawns roll.
32.… Qxf5
33. exf5+ Kf7
34. g5 Ng7
35. g6+ Kf8
36. Ng3 a6
This move could be labeled a mistake, but there is nothing really to be done now. Slightly better is 36..., Ne8; but the Rook cuts a sorry picture not able to get into the game. While watching I hoped there was something I missed and one of the center pawns could dash forward to distract White. That was not to be.
37. h4 Re8
38. h5 Rb8
However, 38..., e4; just does not work well enough after 39 h6, and material will be lost without doing enough damage to the charging pawns. The battle is over. White just has to maintain the steady nerves he has shown to this point.
39. h6 Ne8
40. Nh5 Kg8
41. f6 Nxf6
Throwing in material does not change matters at all.
42. Nhxf6+ Kf8
43. Nd7+ Resigns.
John Phillips erred in the middle of the game missing the positional break, …, d3-d5; and by allowing the f-file to be opened. Gordon Magat took full advantage the opportunites offered and was rewarded with a chance to make a neat sacrifice of the Exchange to wind up the game.
Some late news. The Schenectady Geezers won their match against Troy 3-1 last evening. Troy was handicapped by their second board's absence. They began down a point with that forfeit and quickly were trouble on the third board when Hill fell into a trap set by Phillips. Chu and Canty on board four were playing quickly. Canty got a Rook into an awkward situation and it looked as if Chu would make something out of that.
The struggle on board one was a dour, convoluted, closed battle between Phil Thomas and Michael Mockler. Mockler has taken up the French Defense lately. He enjoys taking the game away from the mainstream theory. Sometimes this works by getting his opponent into deep murky waters. In this game his opponent was Phil Thomas, a player of obvious talent who began playing just five years ago. Thomas has made steady progress to a solid rating in the high end of the B Class. Phil has taken full and half points from higher rated players in the last year or two. In this game Thomas obtained an advantage in Space, held it and squeezed until Mockler had to make a concessions eventually losing the game.
As described so far not much drama, right? Boards three and four for the Geezers; Phillips and Chu, both had clear advantages slip away. The games went from near wins to even, then to lost and back to wins. For this partisan observer the roller coaster ride was almost too much to take. I sure the Troy team who stayed until the last pawn fell felt much the same, of course with a far different final result.
Games from the match tomorrow.
5.02.2010
Today I was kibitzing with GM Ronen Har-Zvi while watching the World Championship match from Sofia. If you haven't heard Anand is leading Topalov 2 to 1 with some draws. GM Ronen is thinking Anand will cruise to victory, he is very impressed with his play in all games except the first. You can watch the moves more or less as they are played on TWIC, The Week In Chess web site for free. It is more entertaining to listen to commentary by GMs on ICC, the Internet Chess Club. That however costs. Either way, following the games is most interesting.
With good reason Richard Chu is proud of this win against one the rising stars on the local scholastic scene. I had promised to get this game in a week or two ago. It kept being shuffled to the bottom of the stack as other games came to my attention. I had not played the game over, once that was done, it was clear why Richard wanted to see the game published. He spotted the lad 50+ years in age and a hundred ratings points and carried off the palm of victory in fine style.
Consolation Swiss
Date: 4/8/2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Qu, Chen
1. c4 c6
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. g3 d5
4. cxd5 cxd5
5. d4 Nc6
6. Bg2 Bf5
7. Bg5 e6
8. Nf3 h6?!
All of this has been played before. Black can play 8..., Qb6; obtaining a promising position and snagging the Bishop pair after; 8..., Qb6; 9 Na4, Qa5+; 10 Nc3, Ne4; 11 Bd2, Nxd2; 12 Qxd2, Be7. Now if White goes after the Bf5 right away with 9 Nh4, Black captures on h4 inflicting serious damage on the White pawn structure.
9. Bf4?! ….
This is an hard post on which to maintain the Bishop. White will have to be careful about playing e2-e3 closing off the Bishop’s line of retreat and it is not easy to find other safe ways to secure an untroubled life for the Bf4. White can offer a pawn here with 9 Bxf6, Qxf6; 10 Ne5, Nxe5; 11 dxe5, Qxe5; 12 Qa4+, Kd7; and he has a reasonable amount of play for the pawn. The Black King will be an awkward fellow getting underfoot until Black can engineer some safe haven. To do so will take a minimum of three moves; …, Kc7; …, Rc8;/…., Rd8; and …, Kb8; that is unless White finds some stick to put in the spokes. The chess writers tell us three tempi are worth about one pawn. Work over this position and see if you can prove that true.
9.…. Bd6?
This move is a very unlikely try. It trades off the slightly better of Black’s Bishops for the White Bishop that has no great promise. As long as the Bishop is hanging around on f4 White has to be careful about playing e2-e3 cutting off the natural line of retreat for the Bishop because …, g7-g5; wins material. That wrinkle might have been basis around which Black could have shaped his play. Better is 9.…, Qb6; with play similar to that in the note to Black’s previous move. The way both sides play the next several moves emphasize the symmetrical nature of the position. If you disregard the different the placement of the Bishops, the sides do the same things with their pieces.
10. Bxd6 Qxd6
11. O-O O-O
12. Re1 Rac8
13. a3 a6
14. Rc1 Rfd8
15. Na4 Na5
16. Nc5 Qb6
17. b4 Nc4
18. Qb3 Nd7
19. e4 ….
Symmetry ends and the game has become a IQP struggle. By being willing to take on the isolated center pawn, White has obtained the Bishop versus Knight imbalance. It favors the side with the Bishop when there are pawns on the both sides of the board as a general rule.
19.… Bxe4
20. Nxe4 dxe4
21. Rxc4 Rxc4
22. Qxc4 exf3
23. Bxf3 Nf6
24. Rd1 Rd7
25. Qc8+ Kh7
26. Qc2+ g6
With a firm blockade of the White d-pawn, Black is entirely equal. I suspect Qu did not really appreciate all the dangers in the B v N imbalance. If he had, there is no reason not to divide the point now.
27. Qc5 Qxc5?
This game illustrates how to convert an entirely balanced situation into a loss. By simply retiring the Queen to d8 Black keeps everything level. Black should be ready to trade Queens if White tries to penetrate to the 8th rank. The game move eliminates the IQP and forces a trade of the Rooks leading to a pure B v N and pawns ending.
28. dxc5 Rxd1+
29. Bxd1 Kg7
30. Bf3 Nd5
31. Kf1 Kf6
32. Ke2 Ke7?
Much better is 32..., Ke5. Black has a difficult situation to manage. The pawn on b7 is a natural target for the White Bishop and there is a danger of Black running out of moves that don’t compromise his position. The game move concedes some space to White. This game is an illustration of Steinitz’s accumulation of small advantages notion. White does nothing earth shaking. He has gathered in a distant pawn majority, the better minor piece and now extra space. True it was with the unwitting cooperation of his opponent, but that takes nothing away from sound impression that Richard’s play makes.
33. Kd3 Kd7
34. Kd4 Kc6
35. Kc4?! …..
White should play 35 a4, now taking advantage of the pin of the Knight. After 35 a4, White is clearly winning. After the more or less forced sequence; 35 a4, h5; 36 h4, f6; 37 Kc4, g5; 38 b5+, White picks up a pawn and the path to the win is clear.
35.… b6
36. cxb6 Kxb6
37. a4 ….
Now taking the pawn lets the Black King slip through to a4 via b5 leading to a longish calculation. White still is winning after 37 Bxd5, exd5; 38 Kxd5, Kb5; 39 f4, Ka4; 40 Ke5, Kxa3; 41 Kf6, Kxb4; 42 Kxf7, a5; 43 Kxg6, a4; 44 f5. White will Queen with check and take off the Black h-pawn one way or the other. The two connected passed pawns are enough to win. My guess is Richard saw this idea in some sort of outline form, was unsure of how many checks with his Queen Black could make and decided a slower method was safer. That decision was not completely correct but understandable.
37.… Ne7
A little better is 37..., Nc7; White still has the advantage.
38. a5+ Kc7
39. b5 axb5+
40. Kxb5 ….
White has proceeded in a workmanlike fashion to create an outside passed pawn. The “passer” is like a giant magnet to the Black pieces drawing them to the Q-side. This is especially true while the White King is in close convoy to the pawn, thus both the Black King and Knight will be needed to restrain and eventually win the a-pawn. These circumstances open opportunities for the White King to enter on the K-side and attack the Black pawns.
40... g5
41. a6 Kb8
42. Kb6 Nc8+
43. Kc6 Ka7
44. Kd7 Nb6+
45. Ke7 Kxa6
46. Kxf7 Kb5
47. Kg6 ….
White correctly goes for the h-pawn. Getting greedy for the d-pawn just slows down progress.
47.… Kc5
48. Kxh6 Kd4
49. Kxg5 Nd5
50. h4 …..
The h-pawn is just too fast to Queen. The poor position of the Black King makes the winning process easy. Knights always have a hard time with Rook pawns. Here the Black Knight has the White King to deal with as well. It is a doomed task.
50.… Ke5
51. h5 Nf6
52. h6 Nh7+
53. Kg6 Nf6
54. Bb7 Ng8
55. h7 Ne7+
56. Kf7 Ng6
57. Kxg6 Resigns.
Two observations about what this games tells us; Richard can play sound positional chess when he has a mind to do so. It was an impressive performance. Chen Qu is still more dangerous tactically than he is in a positional struggle. That is normal for young players, first they learn tactics, then they learn positional play.
To close a short note on recent developments in the Schenectady Finals. At last Thursday’s meeting, Bill Townsend, the Tournament Dierector announced that Bobby Rotter had to withdraw from the competition. A change in his work schedule made completing his un-played games impossible. Sad and unfortunate for Bobby and those of us looking forward to more Finals games. It was good news for Philip Sells. He is now the Champion of the Schenectady Club and the Saratoga Club in the same competition year. Congratulations Philip Sells!! A remarkable achievement against strong opponents in both venues.
With good reason Richard Chu is proud of this win against one the rising stars on the local scholastic scene. I had promised to get this game in a week or two ago. It kept being shuffled to the bottom of the stack as other games came to my attention. I had not played the game over, once that was done, it was clear why Richard wanted to see the game published. He spotted the lad 50+ years in age and a hundred ratings points and carried off the palm of victory in fine style.
Consolation Swiss
Date: 4/8/2010
White: Chu, R
Black: Qu, Chen
1. c4 c6
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. g3 d5
4. cxd5 cxd5
5. d4 Nc6
6. Bg2 Bf5
7. Bg5 e6
8. Nf3 h6?!
All of this has been played before. Black can play 8..., Qb6; obtaining a promising position and snagging the Bishop pair after; 8..., Qb6; 9 Na4, Qa5+; 10 Nc3, Ne4; 11 Bd2, Nxd2; 12 Qxd2, Be7. Now if White goes after the Bf5 right away with 9 Nh4, Black captures on h4 inflicting serious damage on the White pawn structure.
9. Bf4?! ….
This is an hard post on which to maintain the Bishop. White will have to be careful about playing e2-e3 closing off the Bishop’s line of retreat and it is not easy to find other safe ways to secure an untroubled life for the Bf4. White can offer a pawn here with 9 Bxf6, Qxf6; 10 Ne5, Nxe5; 11 dxe5, Qxe5; 12 Qa4+, Kd7; and he has a reasonable amount of play for the pawn. The Black King will be an awkward fellow getting underfoot until Black can engineer some safe haven. To do so will take a minimum of three moves; …, Kc7; …, Rc8;/…., Rd8; and …, Kb8; that is unless White finds some stick to put in the spokes. The chess writers tell us three tempi are worth about one pawn. Work over this position and see if you can prove that true.
9.…. Bd6?
This move is a very unlikely try. It trades off the slightly better of Black’s Bishops for the White Bishop that has no great promise. As long as the Bishop is hanging around on f4 White has to be careful about playing e2-e3 cutting off the natural line of retreat for the Bishop because …, g7-g5; wins material. That wrinkle might have been basis around which Black could have shaped his play. Better is 9.…, Qb6; with play similar to that in the note to Black’s previous move. The way both sides play the next several moves emphasize the symmetrical nature of the position. If you disregard the different the placement of the Bishops, the sides do the same things with their pieces.
10. Bxd6 Qxd6
11. O-O O-O
12. Re1 Rac8
13. a3 a6
14. Rc1 Rfd8
15. Na4 Na5
16. Nc5 Qb6
17. b4 Nc4
18. Qb3 Nd7
19. e4 ….
Symmetry ends and the game has become a IQP struggle. By being willing to take on the isolated center pawn, White has obtained the Bishop versus Knight imbalance. It favors the side with the Bishop when there are pawns on the both sides of the board as a general rule.
19.… Bxe4
20. Nxe4 dxe4
21. Rxc4 Rxc4
22. Qxc4 exf3
23. Bxf3 Nf6
24. Rd1 Rd7
25. Qc8+ Kh7
26. Qc2+ g6
With a firm blockade of the White d-pawn, Black is entirely equal. I suspect Qu did not really appreciate all the dangers in the B v N imbalance. If he had, there is no reason not to divide the point now.
27. Qc5 Qxc5?
This game illustrates how to convert an entirely balanced situation into a loss. By simply retiring the Queen to d8 Black keeps everything level. Black should be ready to trade Queens if White tries to penetrate to the 8th rank. The game move eliminates the IQP and forces a trade of the Rooks leading to a pure B v N and pawns ending.
28. dxc5 Rxd1+
29. Bxd1 Kg7
30. Bf3 Nd5
31. Kf1 Kf6
32. Ke2 Ke7?
Much better is 32..., Ke5. Black has a difficult situation to manage. The pawn on b7 is a natural target for the White Bishop and there is a danger of Black running out of moves that don’t compromise his position. The game move concedes some space to White. This game is an illustration of Steinitz’s accumulation of small advantages notion. White does nothing earth shaking. He has gathered in a distant pawn majority, the better minor piece and now extra space. True it was with the unwitting cooperation of his opponent, but that takes nothing away from sound impression that Richard’s play makes.
33. Kd3 Kd7
34. Kd4 Kc6
35. Kc4?! …..
White should play 35 a4, now taking advantage of the pin of the Knight. After 35 a4, White is clearly winning. After the more or less forced sequence; 35 a4, h5; 36 h4, f6; 37 Kc4, g5; 38 b5+, White picks up a pawn and the path to the win is clear.
35.… b6
36. cxb6 Kxb6
37. a4 ….
Now taking the pawn lets the Black King slip through to a4 via b5 leading to a longish calculation. White still is winning after 37 Bxd5, exd5; 38 Kxd5, Kb5; 39 f4, Ka4; 40 Ke5, Kxa3; 41 Kf6, Kxb4; 42 Kxf7, a5; 43 Kxg6, a4; 44 f5. White will Queen with check and take off the Black h-pawn one way or the other. The two connected passed pawns are enough to win. My guess is Richard saw this idea in some sort of outline form, was unsure of how many checks with his Queen Black could make and decided a slower method was safer. That decision was not completely correct but understandable.
37.… Ne7
A little better is 37..., Nc7; White still has the advantage.
38. a5+ Kc7
39. b5 axb5+
40. Kxb5 ….
White has proceeded in a workmanlike fashion to create an outside passed pawn. The “passer” is like a giant magnet to the Black pieces drawing them to the Q-side. This is especially true while the White King is in close convoy to the pawn, thus both the Black King and Knight will be needed to restrain and eventually win the a-pawn. These circumstances open opportunities for the White King to enter on the K-side and attack the Black pawns.
40... g5
41. a6 Kb8
42. Kb6 Nc8+
43. Kc6 Ka7
44. Kd7 Nb6+
45. Ke7 Kxa6
46. Kxf7 Kb5
47. Kg6 ….
White correctly goes for the h-pawn. Getting greedy for the d-pawn just slows down progress.
47.… Kc5
48. Kxh6 Kd4
49. Kxg5 Nd5
50. h4 …..
The h-pawn is just too fast to Queen. The poor position of the Black King makes the winning process easy. Knights always have a hard time with Rook pawns. Here the Black Knight has the White King to deal with as well. It is a doomed task.
50.… Ke5
51. h5 Nf6
52. h6 Nh7+
53. Kg6 Nf6
54. Bb7 Ng8
55. h7 Ne7+
56. Kf7 Ng6
57. Kxg6 Resigns.
Two observations about what this games tells us; Richard can play sound positional chess when he has a mind to do so. It was an impressive performance. Chen Qu is still more dangerous tactically than he is in a positional struggle. That is normal for young players, first they learn tactics, then they learn positional play.
To close a short note on recent developments in the Schenectady Finals. At last Thursday’s meeting, Bill Townsend, the Tournament Dierector announced that Bobby Rotter had to withdraw from the competition. A change in his work schedule made completing his un-played games impossible. Sad and unfortunate for Bobby and those of us looking forward to more Finals games. It was good news for Philip Sells. He is now the Champion of the Schenectady Club and the Saratoga Club in the same competition year. Congratulations Philip Sells!! A remarkable achievement against strong opponents in both venues.
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