1.31.2010

Prelim B is Settled at Schenectady

Thursday night at Schenectady saw two critical and decisive games, one in each of the Preliminary Sections.

In Section A Dean Howard conducted the Black pieces successfully against Alan Le Cours defending in the Queen’s Gambit.

In Section B Phil Sells won his contest with John Barnes in an opposite castled position. Barnes needed a win to have any remote chance of qualifying. He went all out throwing forward his pawns. Sells did not shrink from the fight, and his own foot troops rushed headlong at his opponent’s King. Oddly enough the crisis came in the center. Neither side crashed through with pawn sacrifices. This victory made clear the qualifiers in Section B. Sells came clear first giving up but a single draw, Patrick Chi finished second with two games drawn and John Phillips out lasted Barnes and Lack to take the final qualifying spot. A tough battle no doubt but finished without resort to extended playoffs. For that, I’m sure our TD Bill Townsend, is grateful. It will take a couple of weeks until the qualifiers are known in the other section. I don’t expect to see the Consolation Swiss to get underway until a week or two after that.

Event SCC Ch Prelim B
Site SCC
Date 1-29-2010
White Sells, P
Black Barnes,

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 d6
3. Bc4 f5
The Philidor/Latvian Gambit hybrid. This comes up in Blitz, High School events and Lincoln Park in Chicago. Not sound but it can be dangerous. In the Netherlands Championship Hommeles. T (2295) rolled Zagema, W (2395) at Eschede, 1995 in 34 moves. The game was over after twelve or so moves really: 1e4, e5; 2 Nf3, d3; 3 Bc4, f5; 4 Nc3, fxe4; 5 Nxe5, Nh6; 6 Qh5+, g6; 7 Nxg6, Bg4; 8 Qb5+, c6; 9 Qxb7, hxg6; 10 Qza8, Rh7; 11 Nxe4, d5; 12 Bxd5, cxd5; 13 Qxd5, and shortly Black had to throw in a second Exchange. Down two Exchanges and an army of pawns, Black hung around hoping for earthquake or heart attack before calling off the slaughter on move 34. John Barnes must have decided to go for a win recognizing a draw would be meaningless and picked out an opening that sets that ball rolling.

4. d3 ….
As he has done consistently this year, Phil does not get carried away. Here he takes a conservative line keeping his foothold in the center.

4.… Nc6
5. a4 …..
Possible is 5 Ng5, Nh6; 6 Nd6, eliminating the better of Black’s Bishops and securing the Bishop pair. Sells likely made a judgment that John means to castle long and decided to begin readying a warn reception for him.

5... f4!?
This move seems to not to be exactly what is required by the position. It takes some of the tension out of the position. My computer likes 5..., h6; preparing a full blooded pawn rush. Given the need for a win, keeping and increasing tension in the game is a path to that goal.

6. O-O Bg4?
Superficially, this looks ambitious, but if Black wants to close with his opponent this Bishop is in the way.

7. c3 Qd7
8. b4 Nf6
9. Nbd2 O-O-O
10. Bb2 g5
11. Qb3 Kb8?
Both sides have proceeded per their own prescriptions. This move however uses a vital tempo the begs for a better investment. There are times in opposite castling situations where you must take time out to secure your own King’s safety. The problem is always to pick that moment correctly. With mutual attacks on the Kings going on, every move has a great value. The smallest hesitation can have dangerous consequences. Here it seems that 11..., Qg7; 12 a5, h5; 13 b5, favors White, but Black has surely framed the question sharply; Who’s assault will be driven home first? After the text White gets the lead in the race for mate.

12. a5 Bh6?
Another move that is doubtful at least. On h6 the Bishop stands in the way of the h-pawn being brought up to reinforce the assault. It seemed to me during the game, given all the circumstances, Black should have been thinking in terms of sacrificing whatever is needful to open lines on the White King. Now, there is no requirement in chess to capture material offered, and certainly Phil would have been very choosey about taking things willy-nilly, but making him consider such could have had an effect on the game. As it was, Sells appeared very comfortable with how the game was unfolding. Phil was about fifteen minutes ahead on the clock here.

13. b5 Ne7
14. Rfb1 ….
As is usual with Phil, he does not get carried away with tactics. Tempting but too wild is 14 h3, when Black just may find the open lines he needs to make a fight of the game after 14..., Bxh3!

14.… Nc8?
Once more John opts for defense when all out wild aggression is called for. Much more promising is 14..., Ng6; bringing one more piece closer to the White King. The redoubtable Bobby Fischer said long ago that one of the reasons he got such dynamic positions was his habit of moving his Knights towards his opponent’s King. I do not hold that the suggested move would change the evaluation of this position - it favors White significantly. However, one more unit working its way near to the White King just may have given some pause to Phil in his direct and obvious frontal assault.

15. Ne1 …..
The try 15 a6, is not really good and careful calculation is necessary to see the way through after 15..., b6; 16 h3, Bxh3; 17 gxh3, Qxh3; 18 Be6, g4; 19 Qc4, Ne7; 20 Ne1, when Black, though down a piece, has chances because of the drafty house of the White monarch.

15.… Rdf8?
Slowness has hampered Barnes’ attacking plan right along. This time he misses the chance to blockade the center with the game move. A reasonable try is 15..., d5!?; 16 exd5, Nd6; letting go of a pawn to clog up lines. John has hopes of making something out of the f-file, but the dangers are rapidly gathering around his King.

16. Bc1!? ….
During the game I was sure that 16 a6, is the correct way to go. Play might be 16 a6, b6; 17 f3, Bh5; 18 Be6, Qe7; 19 d4, Bf7; 20 Bxf7, Qxf7; 21 dxe5, dxe5; 22 Nd3, and so on. White retains a solid edge, but it is not clearly winning. Phil wanted more from his efforts deciding to maneuver a bit.

16.…. b6?
Barnes passes again on the pawn sacrifice that wrings a lot of the danger out of the position and makes a classic mistake in opposite side castled positions; an unnecessary pawn move at the point being attacked. With 16..., d5; 17 exd5, Nd6; 18 a6, b6; 19 Ba3, Re8; 20 Nef3, Bxf3; 21 Nxf3, g4; 22 Ne1, Black has obstructed the lines near his King and made some progress towards getting real threats on the White King.

The way in which the final moves play out leads me to believe that John had calculated a good deal of what takes place. He didn’t get the sequence quite right and pays the penalty.

17. d4 f3?
The only realistic try is 17..., d5. Again the attempt to clog thing up holds some hope although White has much the better game. The text counts on counter-play down the f-file that just does not work.

18. dxe5 dxe5
19. Nexf3 Nxe4
20. Nxe5 …..
Not quite as precise as 20 Nxe4, but sufficient to the task. After 20 Nxe4, Bxf3; 21 gxf3, Rxf3; 22 Be6, Qd3; 23 Qd5, the Queens come off, all danger is passed and the extra piece is in White’s bag.

20.… Qf5
21. Nc6+ Ka8
22. Nxe4 Qxe4
23. Be3 Resigns.
The threat of 24 Bd5, is too strong, more material will be lost. John Barnes had the right idea going in to this game; set the board on fire going all out for the victory. After getting a position that promised swashbuckling, he made a couple of slow moves that passed the initiative to Sells. Barnes then missed the positional idea of tossing a pawn in to obstruct his opponent’s attack. At the end, and under great pressure, John found a nicely creative counter-blow along the f-file that fell short. Phil demonstrated once more his greatest strength; calmness in the face complex positions. Short but full of interest, a game that is worth a look.

1.27.2010

Being there




To give you a sense of what it is like in the wee little town of Wijk aan Zee for a few weeks in January, here are three video clips. (They are around 30 seconds each as that seems like what I can upload successfully.) Upper left pans the town, with the steel plant - the tournament sponsor and predominant employer for the town - looming over the hill. Upper right shows the stream of chess players coming from every direction to the playing hall. Lower left shows pictures of tournament champions covering decades that lines the bookstore. And the picture in the lower right is from a restaurant that was used for the spill over of players from the amateur tournaments. Note the glass of wine while playing in the tournament.

Everywhere you go you see people playing chess in bars and restaurants, some in a tournament section but mostly just playing for fun. And at dinner time, at the few nice restaurants around town, you see the top players eating dinner, too. Like at my last dinner I literally was surrounded by Hikaru Nakamura, Varuzhan Akobian, Liviu Nisipeanu, and Sergey Karjakin. It is indeed a cozy little town.

I will suggest one thing if you are tempted to come here next year: come with a friend. Having meals alone was the one tough aspect to my trip simply because this is such a social environment. The restaurants are always abuzz(!) with chatter with most people seeming like very good friends. And while many locals can speak English, what you hear is Dutch and German. So I just think having a fellow English speaking chess fanatic around would be a good thing! Go and enjoy!

Action From Schenectady Prelim A

This is not a misprint. Connors and LeCours are playing in both the Schenectady and the Saratoga Championships. Sells and Little of the Schenectady Club are also playing in the Saratoga event. The pioneers of doing this multiple club championship thing are Lee Battes and Peter Michelman. At least those were the fellows that gave me the idea of trying to play in more than a single Championship. If you have enough time and don’t mind the occasional long drive it is possible to do the multiple club tournaments. When the Albany Club was active. I played Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga for a couple of years, that is the luxury of retirement.

Today’s post presents their game from Schenectady. It is an upset win for Mr. Connors. Alan shared with me and others at Ronen Har-Zvi’s training session that he and Connors have played about thirty games over the years, for the most part at the Saratoga Club. He thinks, with this game included the score stands 27-3 in his favor. That may be a little better than the rating formula predicts. We are reminded by the subject game, that statistically, the higher rated player can lose even if it is not very frequently.

Event: SCC Ch Prelim A
Site: SCC
Date: 1-22-2010
White: Connors, D
Black: LeCours, A

1. Nf3 Nf6
2. b3 d5
3. Bb2 e6
4. e3 Be7
5. c4 c6
Usual here is 5..., b6; or 5..., c5. Developing the Bishop on b7 counts on being able to clear the a8-h1 diagonal with …, dxc4; at some point, and advancing the c-pawn to the 5th anticipates putting a Knight on the natural square c6 and an eventual …, e6-e5. Alan seems to be taking up a hedgehog type formation while waiting for his lower rated opponent to make an error. A workable plan sometimes but dangerous here. Connors has been playing often against stronger players this year and getting a half point every once in awhile. His progress, while not spectacular like the youngsters Deepak Aaron or Qu, has been steady.

6. Nc3 O-O
7. d4 Nbd7
8. Qc2 Re8
9. Bd3 h6
10. O-O Bd6
Alan has a change of heart and decides this cleric is better placed on d6. The computer suggests 10..., b6; for Black. Of more interest is that after seemingly normal moves we can find virtually no games with this exact position in the databases.

11. cxd5 …..
It is very likely too soon to release tension in the center. Why not continue to complete the development of the entire army with 11 Rfd1; and later Rac1; before trading any pawns? The game now enters a phase of jockeying and maneuvering without either side establishing a strong edge.

11.… exd5
12. h3 Qe7
13. Nd2 Nf8
14. Rae1 Be6
15. e4 dxe4
16. Ndxe4 Bb4
Worth consideration is 16..., Bc7; keeping both Bishops pointed in the direction of the White King. LeCours possibly wants to slow down the doubling of the White Rooks on the e-file.

17. Re2 Rad8
18. Nxf6+ Qxf6
19. Ne4 Qh4
20. Nc5 Bc8
21. Rxe8 Rxe8
22. a3 Ba5
23. Ne4!? …..
The natural positional move is 23 Rd1, reinforcing the isolated d-pawn. The most principled try is 23 b4, risking forcing the Black Bishops into what is called the Lasker formation; two Bishops on adjacent diagonals bearing on the opponent’s King. A situation ripe for the sacrifice of the Bishops leading to mate. For White to take this route he would have to have great confidence in his ability to calculate accurately. I suspect the text was motivated by the wish not to face such without some White pieces nearby the King. That is a good decision. Recognizing danger early is the aspect of his game that Connors has improved upon this year.

23.… Rd8!?
I like 23.…, Bc7; setting up the raking Bishop battery. A period of difficult, sharp maneuvering would unfold testing David’s calculating ability. The game move signals a positional battle; pressure on the isolated d-pawn and all that.

24. Bc3!? ….
A move that will likely lose the d-pawn, but there is compensation to be had. White must have looked at 24 Nd2, and calculated 24..., Bxh3; 25 gxh3, Qg5+; recovering the piece and keeping the pawn snatched. David may have also looked at 25 Nc4, then 25..., Bxg2; sends the game spinning off into complications. This would be a better choice than surrendering a pawn. There may well be compensation in those complications. As played he will drop a pawn with a forced exchange of Queens thrown in. Without the Queens on tactical tricks will be harder to create.

24.… Bxc3
Why give up the better of his Bishops for one that is not so promising? Probably because Alan did not want to worry about d4-d5 opening White’s own raking Bishop formation. Being up a pawn with a pair of Bishops off the board against a lower rated opponent, what’s not to like?

25. Qxc3 Ne6
Black bears down on the glaring weakness; the pawn on d4.

26. Ng3 …..
The sacrifice 26 d5, does not work either. The computer likes the pawn move, but when you play down the lines suggested after five or six moves the opinion changes. The weight of the extra pawn swings the advantage to Black.

26.… Nxd4?!
Overconfidence perhaps. Simpler and better technique is 26..., Qxd4; forcing off the Queens and maintaining a comfortable edge.

27. Re1? ….
Setting up a tactical strike for Black. Better 27 Bc4, or 27 Rd1.

27.… Ne6?
Which for some reason Alan misses or does not take. Winning is 27..., Bxh3!; for if 28 gxh3, Nf3+; 29 Kf1, Qxh3+; 30 Ke2, Qg4; 31 Kf1, Qd4; forcing off the Queens leaving Black with three pawns and a Rook against the two minor pieces, a winning edge. If David does not fall in with that tactic, he will be down two pawns with for no compensation. Either Alan was not seeing things clearly or, he thought keeping material on would give him an opportunity later to win with less work. An alternative notion is Alan was as the Russians say "dizzy with success" and thought the game could be won at will.

28. Nf5 Qg5
29. Bb1 Nf4
30. Ng3 Be6
31. Bc2? ….
Now David runs out inspiration. The move 31 Qe3, does not obtain full compensation for the pawn. It does grab some initiative by threatening the a7-pawn and a push by the Queen to e4 which requires Black to think carefully. The text is almost a "pass".

31.…. Qd5
32. Ne4 Qd4
33. Qf3 Nd5
34. b4 b6?
A single careless move with the Queens on can let slip away hours of work. It does so here. By playing 34..., Qb2; Black would retain the pawn advantage.

35. Ba4 c5
Black is unwilling to give up control of c5 and so avoids 35..., b5. If 35..., b5; the extra pawn is not looking like much of an advantage. The resulting more or less forced sequence from the push of the c-pawn to the 5th equalizes material.

36. Rd1 …..
It could be Alan just did not take in to account this simple move, or if he did, he did not calculate far enough.

36.… Qe5
37. bxc5 bxc5
38. Nxc5 Rc8
39. Nxe6 fxe6
40. Bd7 Rc3
41. Bxe6+ Qxe6
42. Qxd5 Qxd5
43. Rxd5 Rxa3
Black has the outside passed pawn. In our Saturday session with GM Har-Zvi, Alan said he thought at the time there might be a win in this endgame. I suppose given Alan’s record of success against David the hope would be there. Objectively it seems unlikely there is a theoretical win in the this position. Black’s Rook is in the worst possible place. It is hard to visualize a method of making the a-pawn into a danger without losing it.

44. Rd8+ Kf7
45. Ra8 g5
46. g4 ….
Weakening the h-pawn for no good reason except tempting Black to bailout by giving up the a-pawn for the h-pawn..

46.… Kf6
47. Kg2 Ke5
48. Rh8 Ra6
49. Rh7 Kd5
Black has thrashed about and made his Rook immobile and cut his King off from the K-side pawns. These are not good things to do.

50. Kg1 Ke4
51. Kg2 Kd4
Black must be thinking of getting his King over to help the a-pawn. The notion is wishful thinking. Actually carrying out the idea will cost both of the Black K-side pawns after which White uses his Rook to slow down the advance of the a-pawn as much as is possible while pushing his own mass of pawns. Worst case for White is he has to give up the Rook for the a-pawn. He wants in that event to have his pawns so far advanced that Black will be unable to prevent one from becoming a Queen.

52. Kg3 Ra3+
53. Kg2 a5
With 53.…, Ra6; Black could have signaled a peaceful; end to hostilities. The desire for the full point is a hot wind at Alan’s back now. There is not a great deal of time left on either clock and LeCours gambles that Connors will fumble.

54. Rxh6 Rb3
55. h4 gxh4
56. Rxh4 ….
This is just the kind of finesse that White has to spot to make life difficult for Black.

56.… Ke4
57. g5+ Kf5
58. Ra4 Rb5?
If not the fatal error, it is nearly so.

59. f4 Kg6
It is hard to be critical of this move giving up the fight for f5. However, trickier is 59..., Rd5; making White take the more dangerous appearing path 60 Kh5. White wins in this line also, but Black gets to make threats. In situations with the clocks running down such an approach challenges the lower rated player to the utmost.

60. Kg3 Kf5
61. Kh4 Kg6
62. Kg4 Rc5
63. Rd4 Rb5
64. Rd6+ Kg7
65. Ra6 ….
A quickly played sequence by both sides that had done nothing more than improve the position of the White Rook. Now there are no serious threats Black can make and the win for White is clear.

65.… Rc5
66. f5 Rc4+
67. Kh5 Rc5
68. f6+ Kf7
69. Ra7+ Kf8
70. Kg6 Re5
71. Ra8+ Re8
72. Rxe8+ ….
Not wasting time taking off the a-pawn, White finishes efficiently.

72.… Kxe8
73. Kg7 a4
74. f7+ Resigns
David made the most of his chances in this game. Alan made no outrageous blunders, and other than passing on opportunities to trade down to technically simple wins, he kept his chances alive for quite some time. Time pressure, although not terrible, had some effect on his judgment when the move count got very high in a technical ending.
 
 

1.25.2010

Action From Schenectady

Thursday night saw the race for qualifying spots in Section A of the Preliminaries become more complex. Mike Mockler won his game as Black against Dean Howard. To add to the bunching of contenders there was something of an upset also when David Connors defeated Alan LeCours. Those results leave us with Mockler leading at minus - 1, Little in second at minus - 2 with LeCours, Howard and Rotter in a bunch at minus - 2 ½. Last year’s tourney went on for some time past its completion date as a result of the need for playoffs in the Finals. Bill Townsend’s fear we may set a record this year for duration with playoffs in the Prelims seems well founded.

Well there is lots of chess to play even if we don’t get done until Spring Break is past.

SCC Ch Prelim A
Date: 1-22-2010
White: Howard, D
Black: Mockler, M

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. e5 c5
4. c3 Nc6
5. Nf3 Qb6
6. a3 Nh6
7. b4 ….
Mike showed the Saturday study group with GM Har-Zvi a game he and Howard played a couple of years ago where Dean captured the Nh6 here. Apparently it is a well known error and Mike won the game handily. Dean took that lesson to heart and has learned the theoretically recommended moves.

7.… cxd4
8. cxd4 Nf5
9. Bb2 ….
All this is known theory. The contestants in this game are the only two opponents I have remaining to play in this event. Their match up gave me a free night and the leisure to watch their battle without distraction.

Shirov used this line against Kramnik’s French in Monaco, 1997. Shirov led the Whites pieces to victory in 45 moves. Svidler and Short among others of the elite have used the line as White, and they tried it out against the best competition such as Korchnoi, Belisvsky and Lputian and the aforementioned Kramnik. None of the above take this as their main weapon against the French. However they, the GM’s, must see the line has some bite and soundness given the opponents.

9.… Bd7
Mike mentioned at GM Har-Zvi’s group lesson Saturday this is a known finesse for Black.

10. Be2 Be7
11. O-O ….
This move maybe tells us Dean has come to the end of his recollection of the line. Most the GM games saw White advance the h-pawn and then the g-pawn to grab space on the K-side as well as hustle back the Nf5 to a less aggressive placement. White occasionally offered the h-pawn after pushing it to h4 if Black elects to castle short early. It also is not clear that White wants to castle at all. His King may be better placed staying in the center in some lines. Foregoing routine castling keeps Black guessing about some kind of pawn charge if he hurries his own King to safety (?) on the K-side.

11.… O-O
Without the threat of K-side pawns advancing supported by a Rook, Black is comfortable putting his King in its natural fortress. Castling also prepares the push …, f7-f6; attacking the head of the White pawn chain.

12. Qd3 ….
Although White is developing more or less normally, the somewhat offbeat placement of his pieces and the slowness of them getting to squares where they can threaten Black make me doubt this is the correct way to go. I certainly could not see the problems coming for White, but I had a queasy feeling about the position. Mockler said during the review of the game at the Saturday group he was pretty confident about his game hereabouts. That confidence is evidenced by the quickness of his play. Howard’s responses were slower perhaps showing some discomfort with the way things were developing.

12.… Rac8
13. Nbd2 f6
Standard play. The computer has called the game even for several moves.

14. exf6!? …..
Voluntarily bringing another Black piece to bear on d4 seems ill-advised. Taking some risk with 14 b5, to free up his game is the alternative idea here. True the protected passed d-pawn after 14..., fxe5; will be a problem in the endgame, but there is a nicely complicated middle game to be played before that is faced. When he is on form, Dean is very good at making choices such as the one before us here. In this case Dean’s form is not at the top. He decides to play routinely hoping to find chances later in the game.

14.…. Bxf6
15. Nb3 Be8
Black’s usually useless light squared Bishop heads for green pastures.

16. Nc5 Nd8
Black chooses d8 for this Knight because he wants to re-deploy the Nf5 through d6 and e6 needs protection. After the game I made some gentle fun about the minor pieces collecting on the back rank. Mike answered the comments with something to the effect there is logic behind the placement of the pieces. Black has a plan to use the f-file as his road to victory. The next few moves are about carrying out this plan.

17. Rac1 Nd6
18. Qd2 Rc7
19. Bd3 Nc4
20. Bxc4 dxc4
21. Qe2? …..
More logical is 21 Rfe1, eliminating threats of …, Be7-b5. The text makes this vague possibility a real factor for the next few moves. Time trouble has arrived for Dean. My notes indicate he was down to six minutes and some few seconds now.

21.… Bc6?!
Mockler did not give serious consideration to what may have been a better chance; 21..., c3!?; 22 Rxc3, Bb5; 23 Nd3, Rxc3; 24 Bxc3, Qa6; recovering the pawn with an extra pawn on the far side of the board. It may be he didn’t like the look of the isolated e-pawn on an open file.

22. Ne5 Bxe5
23. dxe5 Bd5
24. Rc3?! ….
White wants to get another piece into an aggressive post. His Knight standing on c5 is so far his only really active piece. Dean may have thought using the Rook along the third rank just could be dangerous enough to balance the game. He did not give much consideration to the risky nature of the Nc5 outpost. The natural move …, Qb6-c6; can cut off the retreat squares for the Nc5, then …, b7-b6; may lead to trapping the Knight.

The clock problem was worsening for Howard. Mockler had nearly one hour remaining.

24.… Qc6
25. Rg3? ….
The natural follow-up to the previous move. It is probably an incorrect idea. Pressure down the f-file is likely to force f2-f3 blocking an easy route back into the central part of the board. GM Har-Zvi thinks this move is seriously wrong.

25.… Rf5?!
Mike follows his plan intently. There is an advantage to be had by threatening the Nc5 with 25..., b6; but White could make things interesting with 26 Na6, Rcf7; 27 b4, and for a pawn White has some chances. Rather than go into a situation where much calculation is required, Mockler sticks with the plan. The plan is tempting, but there is a hole in the idea.

26. Re1 Rcf7
27. f3 b6
After having kept the idea of threatening the Nc5 in reserve for some time, Black launches a somewhat forced sequence he believes leads to a marked advantage. The central idea underlying this judgment is the strength of the pawn on c4.

28. Ne4 Bxe4
29. Qxe4 Qxe4
30. Rxe4 Rd7
31. Bc3? ….
Missing nearly the last chance. With 31 Rgg4, White will put serious obstacles in the way of Black making a win out of the c-pawn. Play could continue; 31 Rgg4, b5; 32 Rd4, and the question of which Rook on the K-side is more out-of-play needs answering. Now if 32..., Rd5; 33 Kf1, Rfxe5?; 34 Rxd5, Rxd5; 35 Rxg7+, leaving White pretty well off. Dean was at 2:09 on the clock here. Not enough time for an exhaustive search for alternatives. He probably worried about Rook checks on the back rank and then the 7th and decided to move the Bishop out of harm’s way earlier in the sequence.

31.… b5
This was Mike’s "ace-in-the-hole" right along. As strong as it appears to be, the move does not win the game right away.

32. Kf2? ….
Dean had set himself a near impossible task; searching for difficult to find moves in deep time trouble. Some better clock management might have given him the minutes to discover 32 a4, a move that confuses things for a moment or two, although Black certainly has a solid advantage. The move chosen heads towards a cute little trap.

32.… Nc6
33. f4 Ne7
34. Rd4? …..
With only 22 seconds remaining, Dean jumps at chance to trade some material hoping to buy the chance to play on at the cost of a single pawn and falls to a neat tactic. Better here is 34 a4, again trying to make things murky. Black is winning, but there are some chances to go wrong after; 34..., a6; 35 Rf3, Nd5; 37 Rd4. Black’s best here is 37..., Rc7; not a hard to find move. Black’s edge is significant but not clearly winning as yet. After the game move the fight is over.

34.… Rxd4
35. Bxd4 Rxf4+
36. Ke3 Nd5+
Resigns. Demonstrating the Bishop is lost as well as the pawn.
 
More tomorrow on the Connors - LeCours from Schenectady. 

1.24.2010

Parting Shots From the Skittles Room



Intrepid Reporter Version 1.1

Yes, we have video, too! At last I got one to upload. Let's start with a brief interview with Hikaru after he brought Shirov down to earth.

More after I get home!

1.23.2010

One Down

This will be a brief update at the end of a long and exciting day, but one also with rather continuous internet problems.

The big news today was a convincing win by Hikaru Nakamura over Alexi Shirov that dropped Shirov to within 1/2 point of Naka and Carlsen. Hikaru is now in good shape entering the last half of the tournament. After playing Kramnik tomorrow, he will be facing the "weaker" players in the tournament. Meanwhile Shirov has yet to face most of the "strongest" players.

Carlsen enjoyed an Ivanchuk meltdown today and had an easy win, which means Magnus remains tied for second and Chuckie drops back a point. In third right now is Brazilian GM Dominguez. Kramnik needs to win to stay with him in third but right now Nigel Short has the ex-Champion on the ropes.

The last results update to share is that Ray Robson lost his first game and I was unable to speak with him.

That's it for my "news coverage" from the tournament. I return home tomorrow. And I need to go eat now before "rush hour" in this wee little village swarming with chess players who finished their games a little while ago.

However, I have a lot! of video clips and other sound recordings to go through so there will definitely be more coming ... when I have better access to the internet in the coming week.

Until then, this is your intrepid reporter signing off from Wijk aan Zee! - P

Bonus pics




"You're in check."

A What did you just do?
B What? He's in check.
A Shut up!
B What???
A You actually said that to him? Out loud??
B Yeah, I thought he lost track ...
A That's Kramnik!
B Well uh... maybe... oh... OH!
A Shut up!
B Um yes, right. Doh!
A Now make a subtle face to let everyone know you realize your mistake.
B Absolutely.
A You just can't help youself some times, can you?
B No I guess not.
A Well keep shutting up!
B You got it!
- 1.5 seconds of dialog in my head after I advised the ex-World Champion

1.22.2010

Ray rules!





Traps, traps and more traps. For most of an hour, Ray Robson and Benjamin Bok of the Netherlands are working through what else they might have played in their game and they just keep finding nasty ways Ray could have won that game. As it was, Ray cruised to victory to and a point and a half lead in the Grandmaster Group C with a score of 5.5/6. Before I could interview him, Vladimir Kramnik entered the room and all attention turned to the ex-Champion. I looked back and Ray was gone like Clark Kent. Maybe I'll catch him tomorrow.

Equally impressive is the young leader of Group B, the home favorite Anish Giri. Not only is he unbeaten with a 5.0/6 score but the kid is eloquent! For the last two rounds he has gladly provided analysis of his game for the media (which can be seen at http://www.chessvibes.com/). Here, he is a big time chess player and movie star!

My starting with the C and B groups is partly to raise the awareness of these up and coming teen monsters ... and partly because the top section was just not very exciting today. There were some early draws including Nigel Short's quite easy defusing of the bomb named Alexi Shirov. The only other noteworthy event was Vladimir Kramnik's win over Loek van Wely which brings VK into a tie for second with Nakamura, Carlsen and Ivanchuk.

I did get some gold today, though! For one, I sat next to Kramik (OMG!!!) for 20 minutes as he and van Wely analyzed their game. Better yet, I tape recorded quite a lot of their commentary. Plus I recorded on video an interview I had with Nigel Short. I just don't know if/how to get any of that onto this site. I will work on that upon my return.

It was pretty amazing to hear Kramnik say from very early on in his game that he had everything completely under control and how he was going to play it out and win. So matter of fact that there was nothing his opponent could do about it. Yet his opponent was none other than van Wely, who every now and then mumbled a subtly incredulous "oh yeah?" But try as he might, van Wely was stuck. With impressive wins in the last two rounds, Kramnik is making his move in this tournament.
More tomorrow!

Chess is Spiritual?


Have you ever been staring at a difficult position, not knowing what to play, and asked ... "What would Jesus do?" Let's ask him (he's at Corus!)

Early Round 6 report: after getting the press room buzzing with excitement about a wild game ahead, Nakamura and Ivanchuk agree to a draw in 30 minutes!

Hikaru said "I studied 4 lines after 12 moves but not the 13 a5 Vassily played. As far as I could tell, the choice then was to either take the draw or play on in a worse position against him." He left disgusted shaking his head.

Pouring Gas on the Fire




"Fire on Board" author Alexi Shirov intends to take this tournament by storm. He has won his first 5 games by attacking fearlessly. Yesterday against Loek van Wely, a tough defender, Shirov launched a kingside attack on move 8 that became a wild, double edged battle. As the two went over the game afterwards for 30 minutes, it was clear that Shirov's position was more precarious than he thought during the game. Yet he won again- possibly due less to the soundness of his play and more a matter of how well his opponents have held up psychologically in the line of fire.

His competitors have taken notice. Chasing him are Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen, who faced off against each other. Both lost ground to Shirov as they fought to a draw. It also was an interesting psychological battle as Carlsen first chose to avoid a sharp game by passing on playing a Sicilian, to which Nakamura responded with a quiet and obscure line of the Ruy Lopez. The game gradually built to a wrestling match for control of the center. When Nakamura seemed to be getting the upper hand, Carlsen exchanged a piece for 3 pawns to alter the whole dynamic. Again it looked promising for Nakamura as he gained back a pawn but Carlsen found the best defense. After the game, Nakamura found it difficult to be satisfied with drawing the world's highest rated player (Carlsen) and the World Champion (Anand) in his last two rounds. "I'm here to win this tournament and with Shirov winning again, my drawing makes it that much harder."

Also in second place chasing Shirov is Vassily Ivanchuk, who spoiled Nigel Short's bid for his first win by wriggling his way to a draw. And coming up behind him is Vladimir Kramnik who played for his first win yesterday and he got it. Kramnik passed on playing his now-not-so-automatic Petroff's Defense as he wanted to win, not draw. He confessed that he bought a book at the tournament bookstore this week (yes, like a normal person) on the Pirc "that says that every line for black wins, which is of course not true. But I looked through it on my rest day and thought I'd give it a try."

Curiously, far back in the pack is Vishy Anand, who scored his fifth straight draw against Peter Leko. I enjoyed the privelege of sitting next to the World Champion (OMG!!!) as the two analyzed their quirky yet dull game. At one point, Leko said he didn't play a line because he "didn't want to lose any momentum." Anand raised his eyebrows, cocked his head to the side, and politely added "I looked at a lot of lines in this game but not once did the word "momentum" come to mind. Ha!" All the lines looked at from then on were viewed in terms of losing momentum that wasn't there and they were cracking each other up throughout. A very friendly, pleasant exchange that was a treat for this interpid reporter. And it left me wondering if Anand has the fight in him to want to win this tournament.

For those who want to take the title from Shirov, the good news is he still has to play every one who is in contention. And yet, I have this feeling that Alexi would say to them, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

1.21.2010

Be sure to look down

Just noticed after my recent post that Phil "the world traveler" Ferguson has made his first post from Corus! Good pictures of the top guys. Well worth the read.

A Game From Saratoga

A game with some useful learning points from Saratoga two weeks ago.
Alguire has won the under-1800 prize at Saratoga several times. He has done so by picking up half and full points from the top seeds if they don't pat attention when facing him. Here is Ray attempt to do so against Alan Le Cours this year. It comes-a-cropper when Ray dosen't quite see enough.

Saratoga Championship
Site: Saratoga Springs, NY
Date: 2010
White: Le Cours, A
Black: "Alguire, R

1. Nf3 d5
2. d4 Bg4
Ray must have been looking for ways to jerk the game out of the usual channels. Some of the British GM’s; Arkell and Hodgson primarily, experimented with this move in the 90’s. They had no particular success, neither did Tsetlin and Efimov in Russia and Georgia around the same time. That said, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the move. Black wants to solve the problem of the c-Bishop right away. He will set up a fence of pawns on light squares; c6,d5,e6, defying White to show that his Bishop pair has meaning.

In the 2007 Saratoga Championship Alguire took a different path playing a KID that morphed into a Benoni-like structure. It is true Ray opted for the same trade of Bishop for the Knight on f3. In that case the central pawn structure; White pawns on c4 and d5, Black pawns on c5 and d6 with an open e-file gave the Knights equal chances. The game, in fact, ended in a draw after forty-some moves.

3. e3 Bxf3
4. Qxf3 e6
5. c4 c6
6. Nc3 Qf6?!
A willing offer to go into a Queenless middle game to fight against the Bishop pair. Ray was feeling very confident or very fearful. Watching his play this year, I am not sure that confidence was the motivation.

7. Qd1 …..
Alan reasonably decides to leave the Qf6 in the odd post and to proceed to test out how well Black can defend the weaknesses there. A rational alternative is 7 Be2, offering the c-pawn if 7..., Qxf3; 8 Bxf3, leading to a Slav Gambit position without Queens. The Bishop posted on f3 will keep Black from quickly advancing the b-pawn to support the c-pawn because of threats down the long diagonal. I don’t know if having no Queens helps or hurts either cause, but the struggle looks interesting.

7.…. Bd6
8. Qb3 b6
9. c5 Bc7
10. cxb6 axb6
11. Bd2 …..
White is reluctant to move his Bf1 worried that Black is mustering forces to make an attack on the White King as soon as he castles short. The Bc7, the Qf6 and after …, Ne7/g6 or f5 indicates a gathering storm near the White King’s future home.

11.…. Qd8?
The question mark is not for some tactical error. One could quibble about the perfect soundness of the way Ray laid out his game, but it was a rational plan with chances for success. The text abandons the piece attack on the King idea for no compensation that I can see. This retreat confirms to me that Ray had settled on a scheme of holding solidly and trading material down to a peaceful draw. Two things argue against such a choice; one the pawn formation is not particularly favorable for such ideas - the a and b-pawns White has are faced by a b-pawn that could well be by-passed,, and two; Alan is sharper at the small tactics of pins, forks, etc, than Ray is. In the 2007 game Ray kept the game more in balance with only a single open file and after the inevitable trades of heavy pieces a draw was reached without too much drama. In the current game, continuing with the threat of a piece storm on the White King offers good chances to keep the game even. Voluntarily giving up the struggle for the initiative is a bad choice.

12. Rc1 Ne7
13. Be2 O-O
14. f4?! …..
Black is not the only one in this game that is showing caution. A jump by the Black Queen to d6 would justify this move, but absent the jump, why fix the pawns in this way? It makes the Bd2 an even poorer piece than it is. Alternatives are; 14 0-0, not so good as it provokes 14..., Qd6; and f2-f4 has to be played anyway. What about 14 Na4, intending 15 Bb4? Would Black find 15..., b5; with idea of trading White’s supposedly bad Bishop for Black’s apparently better Bishop? Black would be left with a Knight that has a future via …, Ng6; and …, e6-e5; and the good looking White Be2 really does not that have much promise. If Black does not find 15..., b5; and say chooses 15..., f5; 16 Bb4, then an unpromising piece begins to have an effect.

14.… f5
Possibly 14..., Nd7; is better.

15. O-O Nd7
16. Be1 ….
White is making threats towards the pawn setting on the half-open c-file by the Be1, Bh4 and Bxe7 maneuver. Black has the resources to defend c3 if he is alert. Thus far Ray has kept the game even.

16.… c5?
Black needed to leave the pawn formation on the Q-side strictly alone. His pieces are not well placed to deal with lines opening there. This is an example of a subject Jacob Aagaard has written about; Seeing. Aagaard’s thesis is chess players have problems seeing possibilities just a move or two deep in the position. He put together a book, “Excellence in Calculation” that uses a good portion of the work to illustrate the seeing problem had by IM’s and some pretty good GM’s. He says the problem is the same for more average players also. The same problem is just more acute as you drop down the ratings. Here, Ray just does not see how the coming change in formation will leave White opportunity to penetrate.
Most of what Aagaard goes on about has to do with shorter moves sequences and specific tactics. He does, however touch on the changing of pawn structures unfavorably. Thus is the kind “Seeing” error Ray makes here.

17. Bh4 Nf6
18. a4 c4
19. Qd1 Ng6
20. Bxf6 Rxf6
21. Nb5 Bd6
22. b3 ….
Ray did not take this move into consideration when entering the line, or he undervalued the effect. White has a small edge with the possibility of making it greater. Black can not avoid trading on b3.

22.… cxb3
23. Qxb3 Rf8??
Missing the chance to keep the fight going. Necessary is 23..., Ne7 to guard c6. It is accurate to say White has an advantage after the better Knight move, but no immediate harm has been done. White will likely try to double on the c-file. Black’s best chance is to oppose the doubling by trading off one pair of Rooks. His game is still worse, but it is not lost.

This is the type of “Seeing” error that Aagaard makes an important issue in the first part of his book, small tactics. Aagaard argues for looking wide not deep in positions first. Before you can go off searching for sequences many moves in length, you have to have confidence that the immediate obvious moves are not dangerous, or if dangerous you have some preventive measure to apply. Without the “Seeing” skill, sudden shifts in fortune are our lot as chess players, and we lament about missing a key threat.

Another way of approaching positions such as this one is to use John Morse's suggestion that you ask yourself right after your oppenent moves; "What is the threat?" John, one the stronger local Experts, made this point frequently when giving informal tuition at the Albany club. It is a more concise expression of Aagaard's recommendation; "Look widw not deep."

24. Rc6 Resigns.
Now the pawn at e6 will fall and the rest of Black’s pawns become targets. Ray was not in the mood for a long defense in a losing cause where White can play the most natural moves to pick off the various buttons.

Next Update is Friday


My jet lag has caught up with me. I will blog more on Friday. Pic is Magnus yawning along with me.

Arrival







Vladimir Kramnik sips his coffee just 3 feet in front of me. Take the shot! Arr, too late. Move on. As I turn I almost bump into Vassily Ivanchuk pacing the aisle. Whoa. This is surreal. Hey, where's Ray Robson - USA superstar that I have to meet? He is in deep thought 5 moves into his game. Click! Aw, I'm getting the hook. Oh, every other photographer has laready left! I was so immersed in the sea of heroes in the flesh, time stood still. But now I move gracefully back to the press room.

Round 5 has begun.

Just 17 hours ago, I was flying out of Albany, NY. Two flights, two trains and a bus, one ocean, 4 half meals, 3 hours sleep and a hotel check-in later, it feels like I just left home and BOOM! here I am along the North Sea. Like I said, surreal.

And this place is buzzing. Lots of photographers and TV crews. A whole different scene than last year, thanks to the high drama in the first 4 rounds. And today we see Kramnik pass up the chance to play a Petroff! "He smells blood in the water" is the comment in the press room. Shirov launches an immediate kingside attack on Van Wely - ya gotta love 'im! And Carlsen chooses not to play a Sicilian against Nakamura, apparently not wanting to jump into a fight with him. Well, more on these games later.

I just wanted to play my first move on this blog!

1.19.2010

More From Schenectady Last Week

Section B of the Schenectady Preliminaries is almost decided. Today’s game. Chi - Phillips, won by Patrick Chi settles the mater to some degree. Phil Sells and Patrick Chi will take the two top spots, no one can catch them. Chi’s victory over Phillips gives him a finishing score of 8-1. Sells has two games to play; Lack and Barnes. If Phil can win both games he could edge out Patrick with 8 ½ - ½. Winning both games will be a tall order. Barnes needs to win all his remaining games to get to a play-off for the third qualifying spot. That kind of motivation for Barnes makes me believe the game with Sells will be extremely interesting. Phillips will very probably win his game from Mike Stanley and finish at 6-3. Although Jon Lack had a very bad year for form, he still has a glimmer of a chance to qualify. Of course it will take a couple of surprising results. Lack is at 3 ½ points. If Phillips somehow implodes against Stanley and Lack is able to win his last two games, including one versus that hard man to beat - Phil Sells, Lack could slip in to the third spot. It’s a remote possibility true enough, however stranger things have happened.

Section A is not at all clear because of postponed games primarily. Mockler has the best score do far with 7-1 and two games to play; Howard and Little. Alan Le Cours is next best with 5 ½ - 1 ½ with three games to play; Howard, Connors and Yogi K. Dean Howard has the same score and Mockler and Little to play - fewer games but tougher opponents. Little at 5 - 2 has Mockler and Howard to play. Bobby Rotter stands at 5 ½ - 2 ½ with two games to play; David Connors and Yogi Kanakamedala. Bobby in all likelihood will win both games and finish at 7 ½ - 2 ½. To ensure a chance at qualification to the finals I have to win both of my games, unlikely. A win and a draw gives me 6 ½ - 2 ½ and a chance to qualify, possible. Splitting the points in my two games is too probable for my taste; anything less than 1-1 and a spot in the Consolation event is all there is for me. The next few weeks will see the situation to a conclusion. It will be no surprise to see one or more playoff games in this Section.

Today’s game is quickly decided. John Phillips takes the dynamic route and plays the Benko Gambit. This was a mainstay for me in the 1980’s, winning and drawing against good opponents, masters and Experts. In recent NYS Championship tournaments, I have used it against a couple of master level players and got my head handed to me in both games. Maybe the Benko doesn’t have the shock value it had twenty five years ago, or the good players have figured out the best lines for White, or most probably, the Benko now requires a very high level of alertness, something that time takes from us all. In this game, Phillips gets into trouble early and Chi never gives him a chance to recover.

SCC Ch Prelim B
SCC
1/14/2010
White Chi, P
Black Phillips, J

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 c5
3. d5 b5
4. cxb5 a6
5. bxa6 g6
In recent years Kasparov, Topalov, Gelfand and others of the elite have played so. Not too many wins for Black but many, many draws. In the 80’s wins were more frequent for Black.

6. Nc3 Bxa6
7. e4 d6?!
This is not so good. Black needs compensation for the pawn invested. 7..., Bxf1; dislocates the White King just a bit - he will have to make a couple of moves to clear the way for the Rh1 into the game; g2-g3 and Kg2. That extra time Black can use to mass his heavy pieces on the a and b-files.

8. Bxa6 Rxa6?
This capture was tried three times in international play in the 1990's, and it led to three losses. Better is 8..., Nxa6. The Black Rook as a6 is just in the wrong place. After the game move White has an appreciable advantage.

9. Nf3 Nbd7
10. O-O Bg7
11. Qe2 Qa8?!
Better is 11.…, Qb6; if Black does not want his game compromised.

12. Nb5 Qb7?
Fatal. John had to try 12..., Kd8; after which it hard to see any real chance for him to do more than hold on desperately. He will have no chance to get the Rh8 to the a and b-files. White’s extra pawn over there will most certainly advance. The Bg7 alone can not hold it back forever. The text drops more material. If the game was not so important for qualifying I am sure John would have thrown in the towel here.

13. Nc7+ Qxc7
14. Qxa6 O-O
With things going so badly why not 14..., Nxe4? Black probably did not fancy a White Rook operating down the e-file. Phillips must have decided on a stubborn defense in a hopeless position wagering that young Patrick would get impatient. That was not to be.

15. Qc4 ….
Good technique for one so youthful. Chi rushes nothing, now he just wants to get Queen back on-side and complete the development of his forces.

15.… Rb8
16. Qc2 Ng4
Moving pieces around is not too promising for Black. Here he could try the standard 16..., e6; looking to get his center pawns rolling.

17. Rb1 Nge5
18. Nxe5 Nxe5
19. b4 …..
In a workman like fashion Patrick begins the advance of the Q-side pawns. He has shown no sign of haste.

19.… Qb6?
If Black wanted to have some sort of counter-play, here is where something must be tried. Either 19..., c4; or 19..., e6; could have set some problems for White. As played, Black runs out of reasonable moves soon.

20. b5 ….
The first sign of a small stumble. Why not 20 Be3? That move completes development, pressures c5 and connects the Rooks. There is not much more you can ask of a move than that.

20.… Qa5
Again, the standard thematic 20..., e6; suggests itself. The text does nothing to distract White from his winning idea; push the b-pawn.

21. a4 Ra8
22. Bd2 Qxa4
23. Qxa4 Rxa4
Winning the a-pawn is a gesture without significance. The cost of the b-pawn will be a full Rook. The balance needs no comment.

24. b6 Nd7
25. b7 Nb8
26. Rb6 Ra2
27. Be3 Bc3
28. Rc6 Kg7
29. Rc8 Na6
30 b8 (Q) Nxb8 and Resigns.
John Phillips did not seem to have a good grasp of the Benko, or this was just an off night for him. I don’t know if John has tried out the opening in other games. The suspicion is he used it as a surprise weapon seeing this as a game that he must win. I’ve done the same once or twice in my career with results similar to John’s in this game. As my frequent opponent and good chess friend Mr. Mockler says to me: “We should play what we know, it is better chess win lose or draw.”

Patrick Chi is clearly established as a serious contenter for the title with his performance in the B Preliminary event. The Finals this year will be a very strong tourney. Sells and Chi could be the favorites going in. How strong the qualifiers from the A Section will be can't be said until the several key games detailed above are played. Lots of interesting chess will happen in the next few weeks - that's good for bloggers and for our local columnist, Bill Townsend.

More later, maybe a game or two from Saratoga and any other odds and ends that coem my way.

1.17.2010

Last Thursday at Schenectady

After a couple of dark weeks for the Holidays and last week’s closing for heat problems, Schenectady was in action this Thursday. Three of the contenders for qualifying spots in Prelim A won their games quickly; Dean Howard won from Yogi Kanakamedala, Mike Mockler defeated Jeff Capitummino and Bobby Rotter took a full point from Chuck Eason. In the B Section of the Prelims there was one critical game; Chi - Phillips. Patrick Chi won the game in 30 moves. Because the game influences who qualifies for the Finals I will publish it with my notes here as soon as I can.

Today’s contest was another game from Prelim A Thursday. Richard Chu, the long time President of the Schenectady Club and a stalwart of the Schenectady Geezers team in the CDCL has the reputation of being a problem for contenders. This year he notched draws against Howard and Mockler. In both of those games he appeared to be winning at some point. This year’s results are no flash in the pan. In this game he certainly makes me sweat until….

Over the years Richard has taken half and full points from players four or five hundred rating points higher than his 1558 rating. I believe he understands chess very well and would be rated a full class higher if he had the time in his schedule to study seriously. When this game finished Jon Leisner, Richard and I had a debate about who was winning and when in the game. I promised to analyze the contest quickly and post what I found. So, for my good chess friends, Richard and Jon, here it is:
SCC Ch Prelim A

Schenectady Chess Club
1-14-2010
White Chu, R
Black Little, B

1. c4 Nf6
2. Nc3 g6
3. g3 Bg7
4. Bg2 d6
5. Nf3 Nc6!?
Not a particularly good move. It is provocative and can lead Black into trouble. Shirov in the 1990s and Uhulmann in the 1960s played this move once or twice, but it is not seen in the practice of international players much. In the handful of games in my databases the results are dead even two wins, two draws and two losses for Black.

6. Rb1!? …..
With 6 d4, the game would head back towards mainstream theory. The text reminds me of a piece of advice Hans Berliner, the 5th Correspondence World Champion, gave; in these semi-closed game positions, if there is nothing that immediately needs to be done, Ra1-b1, and b2-b4, making a grab for space on the Q-side is not a bad plan. Berliner, the most successful correspondence player I have ever heard of - 95 wins, 1 loss and a handful of draws in qualifying and playing for the World Championship and winning the Finals by a margin of three full points. Advice from someone with those results should be heard and followed. I don’t know if Richard was aware of Berliner’s dictum, but he played the forgoing moves quickly and with confidence.

6.…. a5
7. a3 Bf5
8. d3 e5
9. Bg5 h6
10. Bxf6?! ….
This is an unnecessary extravagance. Up to here the game has been entirely even although White‘s game seems very promising. Both sides are deploying forces jockeying for the moment to begin serious active operations. All typical of English/Catalan/KID kind of positions. The trade hands Black a small positional plus, the Bishop pair for no good reason.

10.… Bxf6
11. O-O Bg7
This move is not really required at the moment. Why not wait until White uses a tempo make a threat before retreating the Bishop? Black could have played 11..., Qd7; eyeing …., Bh3; to eliminate the Bg2. It would have been a sharper way to play the position. By making a “pass” such as 11..., Bg7; Chu can continue with his space grab plan without having to consider any other factors in the position. He does so promptly.

12. b4 axb4
13. axb4 O-O
14. b5 Ne7
15. Nh4 Bc8
16. Ra1?! ….
I was more worried about 16 b6, offering a pawn to make targets on the b-file, than this gesture of simplification. A key feature for White is pressure down the h1-a8 diagonal. As long as the Black Rook is on a8, that pressure is extra uncomfortable. The trade of Rooks eliminates that particular worry for Black. Richard must have believed bringing the Queen into action from a7 was worth relieving my concerns about a Rook with no obvious path into the game nor any reachable targets from the a-file.

16.…. Rxa1
17. Qxa1 g5!?
The best bet for equality for Black is 17..., c6; leaving the Nh4 alone. White will need to spend a move to get the “horse” back on-side unless he is willing to play a piece down in effect. The intention behind the text is to obstruct the long diagonal for a moment gaining time to better organize my defense of the Q-side. I didn’t quite see by pushing the Nh4 back into the fray really means giving up the b-pawn to win a center pawn. That coming transaction puts the game on a knife edge balance.

18. Nf3 d5
19. Nd2 c6
20. cxd5 cxd5
21. Qa7 e4
This is the position that I was unable to see clearly enough to make a good decision on move 17. It is not the only way forward for Black. A long hard look was taken at 21..., Qd6; 22 Rc1, f5; but all of the White pieces are in action while my Bc8 is on passive guard duty only. White is gaining the initiative in this line. With that realization, it was certain some kind of forcing move was needed to keep the fight for the initiative going. My choice was to open lines in the center counting on the fact that an open board favors the Bishop pair in general.

22. Na4 exd3
23. exd3 Bf5
24. Qxb7 Bxd3
25. Re1 Re8
Making the choice between 25...,. Qa5; and the text was difficult. Calculating as far as 25..., Qa5; 26 Nc5, Bc4; 27 Qxe7, Qxd2; 28 b6, Bd4; led to the candidate; 29 Nd7, Bxf2+; and I could not keep the position in focus in my mind. What I could see was the situation was very critical in this line. Without certain calculation to support a decision to change the material distribution, I chose to keep things together with the defensive text move. Although the move appears to just defend the Ne7, it offers the d-pawn as bait. If White hastily plays the sequence 26 Bxd5, then 25..., Nxd5; 26 Rxe8+, Qxe8; 27 Qxd5, Qe1+; 28 Kg2, Qxd2; wining a piece, and more importantly, setting up very dangerous threats of mate by the Queen and Bishop.

For the past couple of moves I had been preparing myself for the possible need to give up material for the charging b-pawn. While doing so whatever creativity I could muster was working on how to turn my passed d-pawn into an asset to offset the material deficit. Richard had been playing quite quickly right through the 25th move. That made me think we were on ground he knew very well.

26. Nc5 ….
When Richard played the game move, I began to believe there was to be no easy win and a short night for me this evening. The computer sees the game as entirely equal here.

26.… Bf5
27. b6 …..
Could this natural move be the start of Richard going wrong? During the game I did not think such was the case. The machine prefers to connect the Knights first with 27 Ndb3, and Black has a hard time making the Bishop pair tell if White just stands pat.

27.… Bc3
28. Re2!? ….
This is a bit careless. Now I can annoy Chu by threatening the Re2 since it is guarding the Nd2. This is not of itself enough to lay claim to a big advantage. However it is a small wrinkle on which Black can begin to conjure. A better way to defend the Nd2 is 28 Ncb3. Richard was not in the mood to take a backward step apparently.

28.… d4?!
Going after the b-pawn directly with 28..., Ba4; may lead to simplification after 29 Na4, Bc2; 30 Qa6, Nc6; 31 Rxe8+, Qxe8+; that does not give Black great winning chances. And, if 29 Na4, Bd3; 30 Re3, Bb5; 31 Nb3, Nf5; White just may find 32 Bf1, again simplification. I judged that even if I can kill off the b-pawn in either of these lines, my d-pawn would difficult to hold on to. Without the d-pawn the game goes to a draw quickly.

29. Be4?! …..
Only after the fact is it clear objectively better were the lines in the above note. Here White could have put me under a lot of pressure with 29 Nde4. Even the advance of the d-pawn does not help much. If 29 Nde4, d3; 30 Nxd3!, Qxd3?; 31 Nxc3!, looks lost for Black. Since that straight forward idea fails, Black would have to try 29..., Kg7; giving Chu time for 30 Qa6, clearing the path for the b-pawn leaving Black in some serious trouble. The move played gives me chances undeserved.

29... Bc8
30. Qa8? ….
Finally a mistake! This oversight drops the b-pawn for no compensation. After the game Richard said he thought 30 Qa7, was the proper and maybe the winning move. It is certainly better than throwing away a pawn, but the move is not a winning try. If 30 Qa7, Bg4; 31 f3, d3; 32 Bxd3?, Bd4+; 33 Kg2, Bxc5; and Black has a near winning game. Should White find the better 32 Nxd3, Bd4+; 33 Kg2, Bxb6; the game is headed towards equality. Also worth consideration by White is 30 Qb8!?, when after some difficult tactics the game looks like it will wind down to a draw.

30.… Qxb6
31. Nd7?? …..
Ill fortune comes in bunches for Richard. After his key pawn falls it seems he loses focus all at once. The far better 31 Ndb3, leaves Black with an advantage, but the game is far from over. Now down a piece and a pawn there is not much White can do to make a defense.

31.… Bxd7
The final moves were relatively satisfactory for me. For once I did not make my own life difficult with questionable play for the most part. The obvious scheme for Black is to seek trades to eliminate tactical chances for White and to make the passed d-pawn a even bigger problem for White. While pursuing the exchanges, Black will keep his eyes open for mating possibilities. The weak light squares around the White King suggest the mating chances are there.

32. Qa3 Nd5
33. Qc1 Nf6
34. Nc4 Qc5
35. Bd3 ….
The alternative 35 Nd2, is no better; 35..., Bb5; 36 Re1, Qb4; picks up more material. The threat to the Be4 makes the game move the a reasonable choice. It also drops material also.

35.…. Rxe2
36. Bxe2 Bb5
37. Qf1 Ne4
38. Bd3 …..
Somewhat more stubborn is 38 Nb2, however Black, if he keeps his wits about him, can finish with 38..., Nd2; 39 Qd1, Bc6; 40 Nd3, Qd5; 41 f3, Nxf3+; forcing the exchange of most of the White army leaving Black with two pawns and a piece extra, a simple win. The game continuation tosses the piece early in the hope, I guess, of getting activity for the White Queen. It is unlikely the White Lady could make some kind of try at a perpetual checking sequence unless Black goes completely goofy. Then again I have been known to fall off the tracks when I have a big advantage, so Richard’s idea is worth the try.

38.… Bxc4
39. Bxc4 Nd2
40. Bxf7+ Kxf7
41. Qa6 Qe7
Shaper is 41..., Qc4. The game move sticks to the principle of technique; don’t hurry with a win in hand.

42. Qa2+ Kg7
43. h4 ….
With no way to check with the Queen. White makes some room for his King. Richard may have been thinking he was eliminating mating tricks. This is an incorrect conclusion. The Queen needed to go to a6 guarding some of the weak light squares to string out the final moves.

43.… Qe1+
44. Kh2 Qxf2+
45. Kh3 Ne4?
It seems to be impossible for me to play a game without “blotting my copybook’ in some fashion. Now I should have played 45..., Qf1+; 46 Kg4, Qe2+; and 47 Kh3, g4; mate, or 47 Kf5, Qe4; mate.

46. Qa7+ Qf7
47. Qa8 ….
Richard gives another chance at mating. This time my wits are about me and I do so.

47.… g4+
48. Kh2 ….
If 48 Kxg4, Nf2; mate.

48.… Qf2+
49. Kh1 Nxg3#
For thirty moves Richard carried the game on with élan of someone a couple of rating classes higher. He made his moves quickly and with confidence. At one point he enjoyed more than twenty minutes edge on the clock. The layout of his game had bad intentions writ large on it. The sudden collapse at move 30 was a surprise to me, and I sure to him. At the club level we have all experienced similar events. That is one of the many reasons we are not masters. Coming back from such disappointments can be difficult. Richard has a sunny disposition along with an optimistic attitude towards chess, and I expect he will be hunting and taking the scalps of Class A players and Experts next year just as he has done for so long.

As I am writing this post, a rainy, snowy Sunday evening is coming on. With advancing years my eyesight has dimmed and driving on wet nasty nights is particularly trying. I asked Lee Battes if we could delay our scheduled make up game from tonight to later in the month. Lee graciously agreed. Since the evening was scheduled for chess anyway, this giives me opportunity to look at the Chi - Phillips game sooner rather than later. With some luck it will be on the blog by tomorrow.

More soon!

1.16.2010

One more Corus!

Blame Hikaru Nakamura and his spectacular play in recent months! I am inspired!
Of course, having Anand, Kramnik, Carlsen, Shirov, Short and Ivanchuk there as well inspires me, too.

I am returning to the Corus Tounament in the Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. I leave this Weds and I will be reporting during rounds 5-7 on Thursday 1/21 thru Saturday 1/23. I might even be tweeting! Look for me!

Phil Ferguson

1.14.2010

A Very Interesting Game

Sunday night, the 10th of January at the Saratoga Club had some interesting games. There was one upset result, Jeff Hrebenach, rated around 1400 held a draw against Little at 1916. Certainly an upset on the rating difference, but considering my dwindling results over the past two years and Jeff’s jump of 99 rating points in his last tourney maybe not so shocking.
There was one surprise, it can’t really be classed as an upset - Sells with White defeated Steve Taylor. This is the first loss for Steve in the event and it came in what is the most exciting game of the year so far. It is the subject of this post.

Lee Battes (2001) disposed of David Connors (1533) but it was not a routine victory. Connors had definite chances right down to the last few moves. Alan LeCours defeated Ray Alguire and Glen Gausewitz won his game with George Dipre. Both contests were more typical victories by higher rated players.

The make-up rounds for this year’s championship run until 2/21/10.

Saratoga Championship
Saratoga Springs, NY
1-10-2010
White: Sells, P
Black: Taylor. S

A game with just about everything one could ask for in the way of excitement. Sells loses his Queen in an maybe ill-advised capture of a semi-poisoned pawn, and Taylor uses up a huge amount of clock time attempting to make his material plus good. Taylor is in serious time trouble by move 25. He manages to make more than 40(!) moves with less than five minutes on his clock. Taylor’s wonderful quick play tests Sells’ chess skills to the point his 40+ minute edge on the clock is run down to one second. Sells then gave his own demonstration on how to play fast managing a dozen moves with one second remaining. That flurry finally cracked Taylor and his time expired somewhere well beyond move 70!
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 exd4
4. Nxd4 …..
The Scotch Game. This debut is not widely popular but is certainly sound. It has been tried by Kasparov no less, Svidler, and many other of the top echelon as a surprise wepon.

4.… Nf6
5. Nxc6 bxc6
6. e5 ….
The Mieses Variation. A line in which Kasparov defeated Karpov in game 16, Lyon 1990. White’s advance e-pawn is a target and Black’s c-Bishop has problems getting into the game. It took only 102 (!) moves for Garry to demonstrate the win against his redoubtable opponent. A clear illustration of the potential for the Mieses line to create long games. In Dortmund 1991 Kasparov needed only 40 moves to beat Piket in the same variation.

6.… Qe7
7. Qe2 Nd5
8. c4 Ba6
9. b3 ….
The British GM Gary Lane says this is the move that revitalized the line. Kasparov rolled it out against Karpov at Tilberg 1991 winning in 44 moves.

9.… g5!?
Karpov tried at Tilberg 9..., g6. That move is probably more common than the text in GM practice. Nikolic played the game move against Kasparov in Linares, 1997 losing in 27 moves.

10. g3 …..
Lane in his book "Winning with Scotch" Henry Holt and Co., NYC, 1993, credits Kasparov again with "revitalizing the Scotch" for finding 10 g3. True the variation refer to does not have the Black K-side pushing forward as in our game. Lane must be trying to say Kasparov did some original work to reinforce the Meies variation. That is accurate, the Scotch had made few appearances at the top level events in the last fifty years until Kasparov tried it in the 1990s.

10.… Bg7
11. Bb2 O-O-O
None of the top flight GM’s have opted for long castling here, a move or two earlier yes, but not here. Most Black players opted to castle short. White enjoyed a 5 to 2 win to loss ratio against long castling in a double handful of games between players in the 2300 to 2500 range.
Interestingly the game position is very similar to Kasparov - Karpov WC Match, Lyon, game 14. There Karpov castled long on move 9 and did not advance the g-pawn until he had built pressure on e5. A question to ponder: How these ideas mesh for Black; pressure on e5, advancing …, d7-d5; and the advance or no of the Black K-side pawns. Karpov, one of the best chess minds working when the cited game was played did not push the pawns. So, think about how the ideas compliment or clash with each other. It is terrifically helpful to have examples between such as Kasparov and Karpov to compare to the game under discussion today between very good local talent. The games referenced and this battle are well worth study if you want to play the Scotch, or if you like 1..., e5; as Black.

12. Qe4?! …..
White is over concerned about the safety of the e-pawn. Standard is to let it go to obtain a Bishop and Knight for a Rook and two pawn; 12 Bg2, Rde8; 13 0-0, Bxe5; 14 Bxe5, Qxe5; 15 Qxe5, Rxe5; 16 cxd5, Bxf1; 17 Kxf1. The results statistically favor White. Again the database has no trials between the top flight GM’s. That makes me suspect all is not so clear as the raw numbers indicate. In the 2300 to 2500 group White won three drew three and lost one in the games found. It appears the two minor pieces can make things very difficult for the Black Rooks. No examples were found of the game move. My computer sees the game as about even after the text.

12.… f5!?
Steve thought a long time about this move. It was the beginning of his time trouble. My game had ended at this point and I was able to watch this most interesting struggle closely. I guessed before he made the text move either 12..., Nb4; or 12..., Nb6; would be the choice. Lane says freeing the Ba6 is a key goal for Black. He wants to shift the White c-pawn which is most easily done by …, d7-d5 at an appropriate moment. Taylor obviously understands this. The game move seems to be wrinkle he came up with to obtain open lines pointed towards the White King at the cost of a pawn or two before executing the sequence; …, Nb4; …, d5. The try 12..., Nb6; may be playable, but the Black King is somewhat exposed after 13 Nd2, d5; 14 cxd5, Bxf1; 15 Kxf1, cxd5; 16 Qd3, c5. The computer sees the game as about even. I believe a human being would think that Black is taking dangerous chances with his King’s safety. The computer prefers 12..., Nb4; to the move played. We all know just how materialistic computers are now. The pawn offer is a powerful ploy in club level play.

13. Qxf5 ….
It is possible to play 13 Qe2, then either 13..., d6; 14 Qf3, or 13..., Rhe8; 14 Kd1, are two alternatives that White can try. Both look to lead to exciting positions where the chances are even. The game move requires very accurate calculation, but that is not beyond Phil’s capacity, and Sells is not willing to call sending his Queen to e4 wrong by bringing her back to e2.

13.… Rhf8
14. Qe4 …..
If 14 Qxh7, Qf7; 15 Bd4, Ne3!; 16 Bxe3, Bxe5; 17 Qxe7, Rxe7; 18 Bxg5, Re8; and Black has the Exchange for two pawns. This is approximately equal materiall. In an endgame the side with the minor piece and pawns might even be a bit better off according to GM Soltis. Here the simple ending is off in the future. Black has two Bishops and two Rooks with a good possibility of getting in …, d7-d5; pressuring the c-pawn, while White has not quite completed his development. That is fertile ground for growing an attack in Queenless middle game.

14.… Nb4
15. Bg2 ….
Up to here Phil had retained the usual edge one hopes to have when playing the White pieces. The text is a routine kind of move and probably played without fully realizing how dangerous things are becoming. With 15 a3, White could push back the Nb4 while making an air hole for the "pig" stuck on a1. Play could go: 15 a3, d5; 16 Qe2, Bxe5; 17 axb4, Qxb4+; 28 Qd2, and White is well ahead. Or, 15 a3, d5; 16 Qe2, Nd3+; 17 Qxd3, Bxe5; 18 Qe2, Bxb2; 19 Qxe7, Rde8; 20 Qxe8+, Rxe8+; 21 Kd2, Bxa1; 22 Nc3, when game heading towards equality.
Both of these guys strike you on first meeting them as scholarly gentlemen, polite and well behaved. After watching this game and several other games of theirs’ I think in their chess playing hearts they wear eye patches and bandanas around their heads, have parrots perched on one shoulder, say things like "Aye Matey" and figuratively fly the Jolly Rodger. At the board they are swashbucklers who court danger with the belief great risk brings great reward.

15.… d5
16. Qxh7 ….
I don’t know if Phil realized he’d have to go down this risky path when he put the Queen on e4. It seems the natural move 16 Qe2, loses after 16..., dxc4; 17 Qg4+, Kb8; 18 0-0, cxb3; 19 Rc1, Rxf2!; and while there are a number of alternatives for White they all lose one way or another. One example: 20 Kxf2, Bxe5; 21 Bxe5, Nd3!, 22 Kg1, b2; winning at least a Rook because 23 Bxb2, is met with 23..., Qe3+; and a deadly fork of the King and Queen is coming, or if Black is alert there is the "old smothered mate" possible after the discovered check by the Knight to h3 and Queen check at g1 with the Knight going to f2 finishing the job. Phil spent some considerable time making up his mind to take the h-pawn.

16.… Rf7?!
Another long think by Taylor. He must have been weighing up the thematic 16..., dxc4; 17 0-0, cxb3; when 18 Rc1, Nxa2; favors Black significantly, or 18 axb3, Bxf1; 19 Bxf1, Qc5; 20 Qh3+, Kb8; when Black recovers the pawn, has the Exchange in his pocket and his pieces are very active. Choosing the text is an error when the other two possibilities are available. Of course this is easy to say with a trusty computer at hand to resolve the complexities of calculation.

17. O-O? …..
After the game Taylor said he thought White was in some trouble after the superior 17 Qh3+. I am not so sure. After 17 Qh3+, Kb8; 18 0-0, Bxe5; 19 Bxe5, Qxe5; 20 Qh5, Rdf8; 21 Nd2, the tactics around f2 do not seem to give Black more than equality; 21..., Rxf2, 22 Rxf2; Qxa1+; 23 Rf1, and White has enough time to meet the several tricks Black has at his disposal. Now White is in trouble.

17.… Rh8
18. Qg6 Rh6
Taylor was down to 12 minutes on the clock when completing this move. Sells had about one hour left on his clock. A big difference, but I’ve seen Steve handle worse successfully.
19. Qxh6 …..
Phil spent a big chunk of his time before playing this forced move. He was no doubt looking for whatever chances might be had going forward.

19.… Bxh6
20. Ba3 ….
The computer suggests 20 Bh3+, and 21 e6, but Black is still winning.

20.… c5
At first it was puzzling why Steve did not just take some more material with 20..., Qxe5. Then a closer more careful examination turned up 20..., Qxe5; 21 Nd2, Nc2; 22 Bc5, and things are getting complicated.. Black is still clearly winning. The clock continues to run down for Taylor, and that could well have motivated him to chose something simple such as defending the threatened piece. Unfortunately, the move gives up a good deal of his advantage.

21. Bxb4 cxb4
22. Bxd5 ….
White has four pawns and a Rook for his Queen. This quite an unusual distribution of material. It is highly unlikely the with the number of pawns and pieces remaining the Queen will not be able to make enough multiple attacks to get some material back.

22.… Rf5!?
The straight forward 22..., Qxe5; 23 Nd2, Re7; takes back one pawn keeps a grip on the e-file. The text loses some piece of Black’s advantage.
23. Nd2 g4?!
Another faction of Black’s advantage slips away. Better 23..., Rxe5; and Black is clearly winning.

24. f4 ….
In the looming time trouble Steve may not have taken this move into account. After this push Black retains some edge but is no longer obviously winning.

24... gxf3 (e.p.)
Taylor used two minutes to decide on this move. There are no viable alternatives. Two minutes is not enough time to search for them. This was the first moment when I thought that the game was getting out of Steve’s control. He got to this position and whatever ideas he had for making a game for himself without the capture on f3 must not have worked.

25. Nxf3 Bb7
Taylor’s clock went below five minutes on this move. Worth a try is 25..., c6, for 26 Bxc6, Qc5+; collects the Bishop. Sells had 42 minutes remaining.

26. g4!? ….
A suspect move. Why not 26 Bxb7+, KxB7; 27 Rae1, avoiding tactics down the long diagonal, threatening to advance the e-pawn and planning to put his King on g2 so to begin advancing the K-side pawns? Since losing the Queen, Phil has kept his composure making a tough and dour defense. This was the first sign he was feeling the pressure.

26.…. Rf4
27. Bxb7+ Kxb7
28. h3 Re4
The Black Rook is very actively posted. That is the price of a slight inaccuracy on move 26.
Time: Sells; 31:00, Taylor; 3:45.

29. Rae1 Be3+
30. Kg2 Qc5
A worthy try is 30..., Qe6; and if White is greedy with 31 Ng5?, Rxg4+!; is very close to dead won for Black. Phil with plenty of time would have probably seen the tactic. If he had continued 31 Re2, then 31..., Qg6; 32 Rfe1?, Rxg4; wins by stripping away the pawn cover around the White King. The best for White is 32 Ree1. A tough decision to swallow in such a tense struggle, and one Phil might have missed.

31. Re2 a5
32. Rfe1 a4
Sells’ played had slowed over the last several moves. Time: Sells; 24:00, Taylor; 2:31.

33. g5 Qb6
34. h4 Kc8
35. h5 Rg4+
36. Kh3 Re4
The game is even. The however is not. Sells; 17:00, Taylor; 1:33

37. Kg2 Rg4+
38. Kh3 Qe6
39. Rxe3 Rxg5+
40. Kh2 Rxh5+
Taylor blitzed out this last sequence and his clock was now showing 1:15. Pretty quick play, but the best is yet to come. It is a nice creative tricky idea; giving up the Bishop for the pawns covering White’s King. Perpetual checks and even mates are in the air now.

41. Kg2 Qg4+
42. Kf2 Rh3
43. Rg1 Qf4
44. Rg2 Rh7

Now we get to the amazing part of the game. Time: Sells; 12:00, Taylor; 00:24!! The Rook was better going to h8, but that is a quibble.
45. e6 Re7
46. Rg8+ Kb7
47. Rg5 Qf6
48. Rge5 c6

There have been no obvious blunders in this one sided time scramble. Sells now had 9:00 minutes remaining, Taylor 00:21.

49. bxa4 Qf4
50. R5e4 Qf5
51. Ke2 Qa5
52. a3 Qxa4
53. axb4 Qc2+
Taylor misses a chance. He could have taken on b4. There was however no time to think about any tactics White could spring, say 53..., Qxb4; 54 Ne5. Rxe6?; 55 Nd3.

54. Kf1 Qb1+
55. Ke2 Qxb4
Sells was now drifting into his own time problems. Taylor made good use of Phil’s thinking time to check that capturing on b4 was safe.

56. Nd2 Qc5
57. Re5 Qd4
58. R5e4 …..
Phil was now well under five minutes on his clock. For the last few moves he had an advantage, not quite a winning one. Here he should have played 58 R3e4, then 58..., Qc3; 59 Rf5, threatens Rf5-f7. By no means a winning idea. It can be met by retiring the Queen to g7, or starting the King to the rescue with Kb7-c7, but that would have set a challenge to Taylor. Steve still had the 21 seconds on his clock. The unanswered question is did he see enough to snap out a move, or would some of the precious seconds be needed to decide which reply is best?

58.… Qa1
Returning to c5 would have been a silent offer of a repetition. The game move made Phil think some more worsening his own clock problem.

59. Nb3 Qh1
60. Nc5+ Kb6
61. Nd7+ Kc7
62. c5 Qh5+
63. Kd2 Qd5+
64. Kc3 Kd8?
This loses. Steve had kept up his speedy play but no one can hold back the flow of time. His clock was showing just a few seconds now. After this wonderful display of almost instant play, Taylor misses the drawing shot. With 64..., Rxe7, he could have secured the half point. If 65 e7, Qd2+; and Black is winning. If 65 exd7, Qxc5+; 66 Kd3, Kxe7; with a textbook draw. Tragic.

65. Rd4 Qa2
66. Nb6+ Kc7
67. Nd7 Lost on Time
The game ran on for six or seven more moves at pace too fast for me to record. Phil’s clock had one second on it as did Steve’s. Taylor’s flag dropped before Sells’ did. What an entertaining battle with many ideas and very good execution even when the clocks were down to near no time at all. An excellent performance by both parties.

More from Saratoga later this week.
 
 

1.08.2010

Staunton Club Championship Make-Up Games: Schedule

2009-2010 Saratoga Staunton Club Schedule

 
 

Make-Up Games

   
 

White

  

Black

 

1/10/2010

     
 

Philip Sells

s

 

Steve Taylor

 

Bill Little

  

Jeff Hrebenach

 

Al LeCours

 

Ray Alguire

 

Lee Battes

 

David Connors

 

Glen Gausewitz

 

George Dipre

1/17/2010

     
 

Steve Taylor

 

George Dipre

 

Bill Little

  

Lee Battes

 

Ray Alguire

 

Jeff Hrebanach

1/24/2010

     
 

Gordon Magat

 

Steve Taylor

 

Lee Battes

 

Jon Feinberg

1/31/2010

     
 

Steve Taylor

 

Peter Sparagna

 

Ray Alguire

 

Gordon Magat

2/21/2010

     
 

Steve Taylor

 

Al LeCours

 

(Any Possibility of playing this game on a Thurs.

 

either in Schenectady or at other site?)