A Big Upset at Schenectady

Here is another game from the round played November 18th at Schenectady. In it I make a mistake that costs dearly. The scholastic player Zack Calderon shows a nicely creative flair and some bravery when required.

Calderon, Zack - Little, Bill [A43]

SCC Ch Prelim A Schenectady, NY, 18.11.2010

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.d5,..

This is OK, but more critical is 6 Bb5+ Bd7 7 e5, and we enter a line where the next dozen moves are not intuitive at all. Both sides must know some very tactical lines. These result from several years of some of the best Grandmasters in the 1980’s and 90’s refining the line until Seirawan found a forced draw for Black. Lee Battes and I debated the critical line a few times over the years until he switched to the game move.

6..., 0–0 7.Be2 Qa5

Possible and maybe better is; 7...b5 8.Bxb5 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Qa5+ 10.Ned2 Qxb5 11.c4 Qa6; and Black has some advantage. The pressure Black has on b2 is not easily balanced by action down the e-file by White because the simple e7-e6 either eliminates the target for White (.. , exd5) or opens lines useful for Black (dxe6, fxe6). If White grabs the e-pawn after Rf1-e1, Nd7 the game becomes is a tactical swamp where, as GM Har-Zvi liked to say, “both sides are lost”. Going this way would have put a considerable challenge to Zack.

The approach I elected to use is not so much worse, as it is less challenging. It is the standard scheme of creating pressure on the White center that is normal in Pirc with an early .., c7-c5.

8.Bd2 Qb6 9.0–0 Na6

Clipping the b-pawn with 9..., Qxb2; is just not good. After 10 Rb1 Qa3 11 Nb5, Black will get some play but not enough to offset the lost material after 11..., Qa4 12 Nc7 Nxe4 13 Nxa8, when it turns out picking off the White Na8 is not possible.

10.Kh1,..

This is not strictly necessary, but it demonstrates a careful positional feel for the game.

10..., e6?

My first but not my last mistake in this game.

11.Qe1?,..

Zack misses the correct answer; 11 Ng5, then 11..., Bd7; is probably best. There are several lines, all full of tactical shots, most of which do not workout well from Black. An example to illustrate is: 11..., Bd7 12 dxe6 fxe6 13 e5 Nd5 14 Nxd5 exd5 15 Ba5!? Qxa5 16 Qxd5+ Kh8 17 Qxb7 Nc7 18 exd6 h6 19 Nf3, and this is a sufficiently murky position to give both players a headache. White will likely recover the piece soon and the pawns Black dropped along the way give White the advantage. There are many places for both sides to vary along the way. Calculating all the possibilities is certainly beyond me and I suspect it was beyond Zack also.

11..., exd5?

And I miss a chance to take advantage of a mistake. Best is 11..., Nb4; threatening c2. Black then has opportunity get fully developed. The cost is his Queen is exposed to some threats. If Black is very accurate, he has chances to snag a pawn somewhere along the line.

12.e5!?,..

I had not given this move much consideration expecting only 12 exd5, when 12..., Qxb2; leaves the White Q-side in shambles.

12..., dxe5 13.fxe5 Ne4 14.Nxd5 Qd8 15.Nc3?,..

This retreat lets Black obtain the advantage. Better 15 c4, and White has a small edge.

15..., Nxd2 16.Nxd2 Nb4 17.Rd1 Nxc2 18.Qg3 Qe7 19.Rf6?!,..

Desperation, but showing a creative approach in a tough situation. My last few moves were pretty much accurate according to Deep Rybka, and gave me a solid but not quite winning advantage.

19..., Bxf6 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Nde4 Qe7??

In one moment of inattention I manage to turn a decent advantage into a significant disadvantage. Correct is 21..., Qg7; defending the weak squares around my King and solidifying a near winning edge. After the text White is much better.

22.Nd5!,..

This obvious move I did not see when picking the text. As far as I can recall, after pocketing the Exchange and the pawn, that serious mental lapse; thinking the position plays itself, took over my mind. When Zack dropped his Knight on d5, it was very like a splash of icy cold water. A few moments thought and I knew the game was objectively lost. My thoughts then turned to how to make things difficult for my opponent.

22..., Qe6 23.Nef6+ Kg7 24.Bg4 Qxf6 25.Nxf6 Kxf6 26.Qf2+ Kg7 27. Bxc8

Zack does not become too excited to see clearly. This move simply wrings most of the tactical tricks out of the position leaving Black the unpleasant prospect of a long and ultimately unsuccessful defense.

I struggled on for more than fifty(!) more moves but without ever getting a real chance to hold the game. Zack played very well during those many moves demonstrating an understanding of solid technique not usually seen in one with just a few years of chess experience. A painful loss for me, and a victory for Zack that shows promise for the future.

More soon.

A Game From Schenectady Last Thursday

Last Thursday some interesting chess was played at the Schenectady Chess Club. One of the fascinating battles was a strong effort put in by Cory Northrup against Michael Mockler. Mr. Mockler indulged in his experimental opening play, and Mr. Northrup kept pace for awhile. After an up-and-down struggle, Mockler prevailed because he better understood the positional facets of the game.

Mockler, Michael - Northrup, Cory [A00]

SCC Ch Prelim A Schenectady, NY, 18.11.2010

1.Nc3 Nf6 2.e3 d5 3.b3 e5 4.Bb2 c5

Four moves and we have a position that is not to be found in my databases of more than two million games. Michael has an interesting way of treating the opening with the same originality as most players save for the middle game. Here Deep Rybka sees the game as near equal with a slight bias towards Black because of his space advantage in the center.

5.Nf3 d4?!

Premature. Better 5.., Nc6; getting pieces out is preferable to this center push.

6.Ne2!?,..

Passing on the opportunity to collect a positional trump with 6 Bb5+, then 6..., Bd7 7 Bxd7+, eliminating Black’s better Bishop. I can see why Mockler did not enter this line. After 7..., Nbxd7 8 Ne2 e4!? 9 Ng4 h3 10 Nh3 dxe3 Qa5+. White has cleared the long diagonal for his Bb2 while Black has an advantage in space based on his pawn on e4.

6..., Nc6 7.Ng3 a6?

This move is not a tactical mistake, rather it is a positional misunderstanding. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented is 7..., h5; sizing space, then 8 h4 Bg4 9 Qc1 Be7 10 Ng5 Nd5; gives Black a measurable edge. By no means is it a won game for Black, but he does have the advantage.

8.Bd3 Be7 9.a3 h6 10.Bf5 0–0 11.0–0 Bd6?!

Is Black worried about preserving his dark squared Bishop? This cleric really does not have much of a future. More sensible is 11..., Bxf5 12 Nxf5 Qd7 13 Nxe7 Qxe7; and Black has retained his edge. Again, it is not winning but enough to be a nagging problem for White.

12.d3 Ne7 13.Bxc8 Qxc8

Now all of Black’s advantage has disappeared, the game is level.

14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.dxe4 Qc6 16.Qd3 b5 17.exd4 cxd4 18.c3 dxc3 19.Rac1 f6 20.Rxc3 Qb6 21.b4,..

An important moment in the game. Neither Bishop is particularly promising. Both sides have pawns getting in the way of the Bishops becoming strong. However, White has the potential of using the square c5 more readily than Black can use c4. Certainly hereabouts I believe Mockler was thinking about the Bishop tour Bc1/e3 and the Knight itinerary Nd2/b3 clamping down on c5.

21..., Rfd8

This move seems the best. The main alternative is 21..., a5 22 bxa5 Rxa5; and Black wants to eliminate all the Q-side pawns heading towards a drawn position he hopes. The question is; can White make anything out of the weakness of the light squares around the Black King? Without a Bishop running on the light squares, it is unlikely White has much in the way of serious winning chances even though the light squares are weak. I suspect that Cory was not thinking of playing for a draw, and did not seriously consider 21..., a5.

22.Qc2 Rac8 23.Qb3+ Kh8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rd1,..

White is not interested in exchanging Rooks on the c-file. He has hopes of getting to use c5 for his minor pieces and maneuvers towards that end.

25..., Rc6 26.Bc1 Qc7 27.Be3 Rc4

The position has some tactical potential, that is there are certainly shots for both sides that must be watched for, however, the key ideas are positional. Some of the positional considerations are: Black has to think about the effect any trade, particularly of the Rooks, will have on keeping White pieces from getting in behind the pawns. He also must be wary of the White Queen and Knight finding a way to the light squares near the Black King. On a positive note, Black also would like to find away to maneuver his Knight to c4.

28.g3 Qc6 29.Nd2 Rc1

Probably motivated by the idea of getting some material off will make playing the position easier, Cory forces the Rook exchange. Here is an alternative line that illustrates some of the ideas lurking in the position: 29.., Rc3 30 Qb2 Rc2 31 Qa1 Nc8 32 Qb1 Bc7 33 Bc5 Rc3 34 Qa1 Rd3 35 Nf1 Rxd1 36 Qxd1 Bd6 37 Qc2 Bxc5 38 Qxc5 Qxc5 39 bxc5, when with either 39..., Ne7; or 39..., a5; Black can hold the draw without much difficulty.

The line cited above involves a more general liquidation than is possible after the text move. Black is OK in a minor piece ending. It is far less clear that this is so with the Queens on the board - the light square weaknesses again and the possible outpost on c5 combined make it hard for Black to defend successfully.

30.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 31.Nf1 Qc6!?

A bit better is 31..., Qc7; straightaway.

32.Qe6 Qc7

Giving up the Bishop for two passed pawns with 32..., Bxb4; is wrong. The “passers” are not so far advanced and White has time to bring his King to the field to prevent them reaching the first rank.

33.Nd2 Ng6 34.Nb3 Nf8 35.Qd5,..

White has now obtained almost all he desired from the position; his Queen is centralized on d5, and the tours of both minor pieces have them pressuring c5. The game is not lost for Black. Holding the position will be difficult because White has a persistent initiative however.

35..., Nd7 36.Qa8+ Nb8 37.Nc5?!

This move is doubtful. Better 37 Bc5, and when the Bishops are exchanged, White is left with much the better Knight, and retains a substantial advantage. After the text Black has chances to hold.

Bxc5 38.Bxc5 Kh7 39.Qd5 Qd7 40.Qb3!?,..

White apparently did not like 40 Kf1 Qh3+; and rightly so. After 41 Ke1 Qxh2 42 Qb7 Qg1+ 43 Ke2 Qb1 44 Qxb8 Qxe4+ 45 Be3 Qc4+ 46 Ke1 Qc3+ 47 Kf1 Qxa3 48 Bc5 Qf3; and Black has three pawns for the piece balancing material. More importantly, the Black Queen is very active. With the further moves 49 Kg1 Qd1+ 50 Kh2 e4! 51 Qf4 Qh5+; it appears that Black is not lost at all. Michael wants to follow the principle of good technique; when you have the advantage don’t enter murky lines. Objectively better is 40 f3, trying to improve the position, but 40..., Qxd5 41 exd5, gives Black a defendable position.

40..., Nc6 41.Kg2 a5?

After holding his own against one of the best players in the section, Cory makes an outright error. From the spectator’s point of view, it seems he lost patience expecting only 41 bxa5. Better is 41..., Qd2; and if 42 Be3 Qd7; keeping the balance. White has a small theoretical edge; a Bishop versus a Knight with pawns on both sides of the board.

42.Qd5 Nb8?

And this move compounds the problem. With 42..., Qe8; Black could make a stubborn defense. He has to keeps the Queens on the board because the Bishop will be much more active than the Knight in any minor piece ending. Should the Queens go off, with pawns on both sides of the board the greater activity of the Bishop gives all the winning chances to the Bishop side. The game is now all but lost for Black.

43.bxa5 Qc7 44.Bb6!?,..

Simpler and more forceful is 44.Bd6. The game rolls on for some more moves.

44...Qc4 45.Qxc4 bxc4 46.Kf3 Kg8 47.Ke3 Kf7 48.Kd2 Ke6 49.Kc3 Kd7 50.Kxc4 Kc6 51.Bc5 g6 52.Be3 h5 53.f4 Na6 54.Bb6 exf4 55.gxf4 Nb8 56.Bd4 g5

Black tries to make the best of a bad situation, here aiming for his own out side passed pawn. That is a standard defensive tactic. Mr. Northrup has been receiving lessons from John Phillips for sometime and that education shows here. Unfortunately for Northrup, the position too far gone to save.

57.Bxf6 gxf4 58.Kd3 Nd7 59.Bd4 Kb5 60.e5 Nf8 61.Bb6

There were a few more moves before resignation. The issue is now clear and White won.

More soon.

Howard and Henner From AACC first Round

Both Peter Henner and Dean Howard responded to my request for what they have on their game from last Wednesday in the first round of the Albany Area Chess Club preliminary sections. Dean won a game in what began as a Scotch Gambit and transposed into not a very common position.

Howard, Dean - Henner, Peter [C44]

AACC Ch. Prelim B Guilderland, NY, 17.11.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3,..

The more usual line for the Scotch Gambit is 4 Bc4.

4..., d5 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.cxd4 Bg4

Even one hundred years ago this line was not terribly popular. A quick survey of my databases delivered 34 games between 1897 and 2007, that is not very many games for 110 years. However the actual results were not so bad for Black: White won 16, lost 13 with 5 drawn.

7.Be2 0–0–0 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.Be3 Nf6 10.0–0 Bd6!?

The game has oddly enough transposed into a position quite like something from the Center Counter, or Scandinavian Defense. The move played seems to be wrong, or at least doubtful. Some masters tried 10..., Bb5; ambitious, others attempted 10..., Bc5; willingly entering a complicated sequence that gets off a couple pairs of minor pieces and a pawn or two leaving Black a small advantage in piece activity. The text requires Black to take some chances with the safety of his Queen.

11.h3 Bf5 12.Nd2 Be6 13.Nb3 Qf5?

The last few moves were fraught with complications most of which swirled around “Where does the Black Queen go to find a quiet life?” It turns out that moving forward to b4 is the only way for Black to keep from getting into trouble. Of course, after 13..., Qb4; the obvious 14 d5, fails because 14..., Nxd5 15 Nxd5 Bxd5 16 Qxd5 Bh2+; picks up the Queen for two minor pieces. Since direct tactics don’t work, White might try 14 Bf3, still aiming to push the d-pawn to d5. Black can answer 14..., Ne7 15 Bd2 Kb8 16 Ne4 Bxb3!?; leading to plenty of tactics that seem to favor Black. It is understandable that running the Queen towards the opposite side of the board is tempting in the face of the difficult calculations necessary after 13..., Qb4. Unfortunately for Peter, everything else gives White an advantage. If 13..., Bxb3 14 axb3 Qf5 15 Bd3 Qd7 16 d5!, and the attack White has is very dangerous.

The next couple of moves demonstrate the problem Black is facing; his Queen is exposed letting White force a favorable material imbalance; two Knights and a pawn for a Rook immediately. Typically, collecting a material plus results in a bit of “indigestion” for the side obtaining it. That was not the case in this game. This time the material imbalance translates shortly into further material gain.

14.Bd3 Qh5 15.Qxh5 Nxh5 16.d5 Nb4 17.Be2 Nc2 18.dxe6 Nxa1 19.Rxa1 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Bxf4 21.exf7 c6 22.Nc5,..

Going into this position Black may have thought recovering the pawn at f7 was possible. The game move puts paid to that idea. If 22..., Rdf8 23 Bg4+ Kb8 (any other King move also allows a fork) 24 Nd7+ leaves White up a full piece.

22..., Rd2

This move loses to the same idea.

23.Bg4+ Kb8 24.Nd7+ Rxd7 25.Bxd7 Rd8 26.Be8 Bd6 27.Rd1 1–0

Dean understood the position better that Peter did and exploited that understanding in a most commendable fashion. Mr. Henner thought he made several poor moves. He is too hard on himself. Move 10, .. Bd6 was not the most active option, and it narrowed his path very much, but it was still possible to maintain the balance. The move responsible for all of Black’s troubles was 13..., Qf5?; instead of 13..., Qb4. After that error there was no way to save the game.

More soon.

News From Schenectady and Albany Clubs

The Schenectady Championship Preliminaries are now in full swing. Bill Townsend forwarded cross tables for both sections. Summaries of the current standings are:

Preliminary A:

Richard Chu 4 - 0

Patrick Chi 3 ½ - ½

John Phillips 4 - 1

Bill Little 1 - 1

Michael Mockler 1 ½ - 1 ½

Cory Northrup 2 ½ - 2 ½

Zack Calderon 2 - 3

Brij Saran 1 ½ - 3 ½

Michael Stanley 0 - 3

Yogi Kanakamedala 0 - 4

Richard Chu’s lead is not surprising as he has been meeting the lower half of the table so far. As dangerous as he can be to the higher ups in the ratings, we will have to see if he take some scalps this year as he has done in the past.

The other interesting result is Mr. Mockler standing at 1 ½ - 1 ½. All three games he has played were drawn. It was no big surprise for Mockler to draw with Chi. The other two draws were with Brij Saran and Zack Calderon. Both have to be considered some kind of upset.

A prolonged bout of illness has made me the “tail end Charlie” of this year’s event. I hope the worst is past and I can begin to catch up on the schedule.

Preliminary B:

Philip Sells 4 - 0

Richard Moody 4 - 1

John Barnes 2 - 1

Dillip Aaron 2 ½ - 1 ½

David Connors ½ - 1 ½

Alan Le Cours 1 - 2

Jeff Capitummino ½ - 2 ½

Herman Calderon 1 ½ - 3 ½

Matthew Clough 0 - 3

The biggest surprise in this section has to be the loss by Le Cours to Moody. Moody is well placed for a good result this year. Mr. Moody has been an active player for some time in local events. This is his first year competing in the Schenectady Championship, and he is off to a good start.

For those who may not know the rules for the Schenectady tournament; the top three finishers from each section play a final round robin to decide the title. There are chances we may see a new face in the finals if Richard Moody keeps up his good work. Alan Le Cours with minus 2 at this point will need to play up to his high standard to out pace Moody.

The first round of the Albany Area Chess Club’s Championship finished last night. So far in in Section 1 Gordon Magat defeated Art Alowitz, Tim Wright won from Bill Little and Bob Kemp was successful against Tim McCarthy

In Section 2 Jonathan Lack won from Jason Denham and Glen Perry did likewise versus Chuck Eson. All the games both sections were played last Wednesday except the Howard - Henner game.

Dean Howard and Peter Henner played their scheduled game last night. Regretfully, I had to leave before this contest finished. Howard as White played the Scotch and after about 90 minutes of play they had reached a moment of some tension. The Scotch is full of tactics and I was unable to form an opinion as to who was on top. The venerable Scotch has quietly crept back into the mainstream of theory after Kasparov gave it his stamp of approval in the 1990’s. While prowling around on ICC today, I came across a game by Steve Zierk the newest US International Master. He recently won the World Under 14 Championship and the IM title, and he did it with a Scotch against a close rival. Zierk’s game is an example of just how tactical Scotch can become. There were several moves in it I never anticipated. So, I don’t feel too bad about not coming up with an opinion about Howard - Henner.

Tomorrow I will reach out to Howard and Henner and try to get the score for the blog.

Incidentally, the rules for the AACC event have the first place finishers in the two section playing a two game match for the title. This makes each game in the preliminaries critical if one has ambitions to fight for the highest place.

More soon.

Not a Very Critical Game From Saratoga

A week ago I played David Connors once again. Mr. Connors conducted his side of the game pretty well up to a point in the late middle game. There he seemed to lose the thread. When the ending approached, he jumped at a chance for a Bishops of opposite color ending. That choice was not entirely wrong if it had been followed up correctly by opting for active counter-play. Unfortunately for David he did not do so and the game ended in my favor.

Connors, David - Little, Bill [A07]

Saratoga Championship Saratoga Springs, NY, 07.11.2010

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.d3 Bg4 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.0–0,..

All mainline theory. Vaganian and Movsesian are two Grandmasters who have championed the White side in recent years. Interestingly, both played the Black side in a similar fashion to my choice in this game. I did not know that going into the position. It is comforting to this find out because my opening preparation has always been a weak point for me.

6..., e5 7.e4 dxe4 8.dxe4 Qc7 9.Qe1 Bb4

Played with the notion of luring some of the White pawns onto dark squares. This move and the earlier .., Bg3; seemed to have similar motivations; get White to push pawns in hopes of exploiting weaken squares that show up after advances such as h2-h3 and g2-g4 against a Bg4.

10.a3 Be7 11.Nc4 Bxf3?!

Better is 11..., Be6. I was dead lazy here. Rather than buckling down and calculating if there was anything in the pressure White is trying to exert on e5, I simply eliminate the Nf3. So far as simple chess goes, this is alright, but some consideration should have been given to the fact that the text gives up the Bishop pair. Best is 11..., Be6; then if 12 b3 Bxc4; with a very slight edge for Black, or 12 Qe2 b5 13 Ncd2, when Black has a small lead in development and an entirely equal game.

12.Bxf3 0–0 13.Bg2 Rfe8 14.Kh1 b5 15.Ne3 Bf8 16.Nf5 g6 17.Nh6+ Kg7 18.Bh3 Ng8 19.Nxg8 Kxg8 20.Qe2 Rad8 21.Be3 Nc5 22.Bg2 Ne6 23.c3 a6 24.Rfd1 Nc5 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Rd1 Nb3 27.Rxd8 Qxd8 28.h4,..

The play for the last several moves was not very exciting. Black has posted his pawns on the light squares to offset the light squared Bishop that White has in hand. White has traded off material hoping to get some advantage. If the Queens are traded and the position opens up the two Bishops could be enough to win.

28.., h5?!

Not the best way of meeting the advance of the h-pawn. This is another example of lazy thinking. A careful examination of the position would have told me my Bf8 makes the attack created by pushing the h-pawn to h6 and putting the Queen on f3 a non-starter and the time used by White to go down that road would have doomed his Q-side pawns. The real problem with the game move is not that it passes on a better idea, rather more important is that my pawn on h5 can become a target.

29.Qc2 Nc5 30.Bf1 Qd7 31.Kg2 Ne6 32.Qd2!?,..

White pursues his policy of trading material and gets the Queens off. Somewhat better is 32 Qd3 keeping the dark squared Bishop on an active square.

32...Qxd2 33.Bxd2 c5 34.b4 c4 35.Be3 Bd6 36.f3 Kf8 37.g4,..

White is exploiting the weakness of my move 28. I am reluctant to capture on g4 for that would leave White with the potential outside passed pawn. Correct though the move played is, there is also a flaw in understanding by White.

37..., Nf4+ 38.Bxf4?,..

After the game David said he thought he had to take the Knight. Not true. There is nothing wrong with ignoring the adventurous “horse” by just moving his King to f2 leaving the game entirely even.

38..., exf4 39.Kf2,..

Here it became apparent to me that Connors had not quite understood what was happening in this position.

38..., Be5?

And I promptly make a mistake. Much better is 38..., hxg4; slowing down the light squared White Bishop from circling behind my Q-side via Bh3/Bc8 creating some counter-play. With my Bishop on the long diagonal a passed h-pawn is less of a worry. After White recaptures on g4, the Bishop goes to e5 with the same effect as in the game, but White must use one more move to make the Bishop tour to c8.

40.Ke2,..

Missing a chance to obtain activity for the Bf1 with 40 gxh5! My erroneous 38..., Be5; threatens the complete destruction of the White Q-side. The threat looms so large in David’s mind he does not find the better alternative.

40..., hxg4

Belatedly recognizing the danger to my Q-side.

41.fxg4 Bxc3 42.Kf3 Bb2 43.a4 Bc3?

The position is still won, but this is certainly the sloppiest way to go about it. Neat and thematic is 43..., c3 44 Bd3 bxa4 and either the a-pawn or the c-pawn will reach the first rank and make a Queen.

44.axb5 axb5 45.Kxf4 Bxb4 46.Ke3 Bc5+ 47.Kd2 Bd4

This was the sequence I had worked out back around move 41. My centralized Bishop covers h8 so the White h-pawn is never going to Queen successfully. When my King marches up to support the connected passed pawns there is no defense. Botvinnik and his great rival Keres long ago made the point that I forgot; even when you see a clear winning line, if possible check for ways to improve.

48.Kc2?,..

By sacrificing the e-pawn with 48 e5, White could have created technical difficulties. Black should still be able to win but it is by no means a trivial endgame exercise because of the Bishops of opposite color.

48..., Ke7 49.h5 g5 50.Bg2 Kd6

All danger is now gone for Black. The King is close enough to protect the passed pawns, and with Bishop and King in close convoy they will march to the first rank.

51.h6 b4 52.Bf1 Kc5 53.h7 b3+ 54.Kb1 Be5 55.Be2 Kd4 56.Bf1 c3 57.Bg2 c2+

And the game ended shortly With Connors resigning.

A Belated Report From the North Country

A bout of pneumonia slowed me down for the passed few weeks. It seems to be over now and I hope to get back to regular posting beginning today.

Sunday evening two weeks ago continued the pattern we have seen in Saratoga from the beginning; three games played and one recorded as a forfeit. The match between Jonathan Fineberg and Ray Alguire was a forfeit win for Fineberg. The played games, for once, turned out to end about as the ratings predicted. Gary Farrell lost with the White pieces versus Steve Taylor. This was Taylor’s fifth consecutive victory. Black again won in the game between David Connors and Alan Le Cours where the participants created a rather odd kind of position. Up to a point in the middle game Connors conducted the White pieces successfully. Something then went wrong for David, and Alan won in short order. The game Bill Little - Jeff Hrebenach, a Hungarian Defense, was won by Little.

Today’s game is an up and down affair. Farrell rolls out his favorite Bird’s Opening and takes it into an unusual line. It is not a variation often seen at the top level. One exception is Maric, a Yugoslav IM tried it against Bobby Fischer no less at Skopje in 1967. The redoubtable Fischer won in 47 moves, but he had a near winning advantage by move twenty-five notwithstanding Bishops of opposite color. Altogether, from multiple databases I found only five games total in this line. White won four of the five. Fischer was author of the lone Black victory. Three of the four wins were masters butchering non-masters. The other game was from the championship of Argentina in 1955, Pelikan - Corte. Corte blundered a pawn on move 12 and was unable to muster any kind of counter-play. What can be concluded from this research? The approach used by Mr. Farrell can not be dismissed as unsound. It puts Black on his merits to find creative answers to the problems set without any large body of theory to fall back upon.

Farrell, Gary - Taylor, Steven [A02]

Saratoga Championship Saratoga Springs, NY, 24.10.2010

1.f4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.d3 Bg7 4.e4 c5 5.Be2 d5!?

Mr. Taylor decides on immediate, dramatic action to counter the White set up. Fischer had a different approach putting his Knight on c6, advancing the d-pawn to d6 and pushing his c-pawn to c4 to loosen the center.

6.e5 Nfd7 7.c4 Nb6 8.0–0 0–0 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Nc3 d4 11.Nb5...,

The players have taken the game into a position that is certainly not routine. While watching the game my first thought was White may want to, at some point in the future, want to transfer a Knight to e4. Finding a move order to make that possible is not easy.

11..., Qd7

Why put the Queen on d7 blocking the development of the c8-Bishop along the c8-h3 diagonal?

12.Bd2 a6 13.Na3 Na4 14.Rb1 b5

So the Queen went to d7 to support this thrust. Interesting.

15.Qe1...,

White plays his own slightly mysterious Queen move. During the game I thought 15.Be1, might be tried with the idea of a Knight tour Nc2/a1/b3/d2/e4. That is a great many moves with a considerable number of alternatives. Gary has a neat, creative idea that makes use of tactical chances in the center and on the K-side and is based on a forcing idea. Such is easier to calculate than some line filled with maneuvers and few tactical threats as the Knight tour.

15...b4 16.Nc2 Bb7 17.Ng5 h6?

The game has been even to here. Mr. Taylor now missed the tricky bit that Mr. Farrell had up his sleeve. Better is 17..., f6; pushing back the adventurous Knight, but it is quite difficult to see all the ramifications. For example one line is 17..., f6 18 e6 Qc8 19 Nxh7 Kxh7 20 f5! gxf5 21 Qh4+ Kg8 22 Bh6 Qxe6 23 Bxg7 Kxg7 24 Qg3+ and a draw by perpetual check can’t be avoided. Note there is no way out for Black with 24.., Kf7; because 25 Bh5 is mate.

18.e6 fxe6 19.Bg4,..

The point of Gary’s idea. Steve tries to make the best of a bad situation by giving up the Exchange. The alternative, giving up the Exchange on a8 with 19..., 19 Qe8; seems to allow White to have tremendous activity for his pieces after 20 Ne6 Rf6 21 Nc7 Qe8 22 Be6+ Kh7 23 Nxa8 Bxa8 24 Qe2 Nd7 25 f5 with dangerous threats to the home of the Black King. Superficially, surrendering the remote Exchange at a8 is tempting, but the White light squared Bishop is very useful in the attack, and preventing the advance of the f5-pawn aids the defense, two reasons for Taylor’s decision.

19..., Rf5 20.Bxf5,..

The alternative 20 Nxe6, leads to complex play where the computer says White has a marked advantage. Playing it out to move 51 however does not demonstrate a clear winning line even if White picks up the Exchange along the way.

20...exf5 21.Qe6+ Qxe6 22.Nxe6 Bf6

Black has weathered the worst. White still has a solid edge, but he has to solve the tangle on the Q-side and get his Rb1 into the game to make the material advantage count. This is no easy task.

23.b3 Nc3

Rybka suggests 23..., Bc8; trying to make something out of the lack of squares for the Ne6. After 24 Nxd5 Nc3 25 Bxc3 bxc3 26 Ne2 Nc6 27 b4 Nd4 28 Nexd4 cxd4 29 a4, Black has not much to balance the connected passed pawns. His own protected passer at c3 is not easy to get rolling. This time playing out the computer lines to move fifty-something show White winning by advancing the Q-side pawns. He does have to be careful that Black does not obtain counter-play by advancing the center pawns.

Both players had used most of their allotted time at this point in the game and time trouble was nearing.

24.Bxc3 dxc3 25.Nxc5 Bc8 26.Rfe1 Nc6 27.Kf1 Kf7 28.Rbd1 Nd4!?

Black is reluctant to give up the Bishop pair but that might be best. Taylor offers a pawn in hopes of activating the Ra8 and breaking up the White Q-side pawn mass.

29.Nxb4 e6 30.Na4?,..

While watching the game I did not see this move as an error. The first couple of passes with the computer helping did not identify it so either. After a fairly long consideration, it seems the clear path for White to take the point is to prepare to return the Exchange to keep the his pawns intact. Play goes as follows: 30 Rc1 Be7 31 Re5! (Not a move non-Grandmasters would give much thought, but GM’s and computers are not prisoners of the conventional.) 31..., Bd6 32 Nc2 Bxe5 33 fxe5 Nc6 34 d4 a5 35 Na4 Bb7 36 Nxc3, when White has two extra pawns and a dangerous pawn roller while Black lacks the resources to create effective counter-play.

30..., Rb8 31.a3?,..

A sterner test for Black would be 31 Nxa6, then 31..., Bxa6 32 Nxc3 Nxb3 33 Na4 Nd4 34 Rc1, and while my computer says Black is better by about three-quarters of a pawn, the White passed pawns on the Q-side have to be dealt with. Both players were short of time now. The text lets Black devalue the White pawn mass.

31..., a5 32.Na2 c2 33.Rd2 Rxb3

We now see the difference; instead of facing two White passed pawns, Black has retained his a-pawn, won the b-pawn and brought his Rook to a very active post. The balance is tilting towards Black clearly.

34.Nc1 Rxa3 35.Nc5?,..

Black has worked his way to a significant advantage. The text drops material. Better 35 Nb6, preserving the Knight and maintaining tension. After the text move the complications begin to be resolved and Black’s advantage becomes manifest.

35..., Be7 36.N5b3 Nxb3 37.Rxc2 Nd4 38.Ra2 a4 1-0

Both sides were well under five minutes on the clock and the remainder of the game was played at blitz speed. I was not able to write fast enough to capture the moves. About a dozen more moves were played and the game ended with less than a minute remaining on both clocks. Taylor took the point by maintaining his composure after a tactical surprise. Both participants have to be thanked for creating quite an entertaining game full of interesting moments. Bravo!

More soon.