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.