Wednesday night saw the resolution of the last of the major local club titles for this year. Dean Howard defeated Gordon Magat in the second game of their match for the AACC Championship. This win gave Dean a 2 - 0 victory in the match. As he said after the game, it was a significant result for him, and even better, both games were interesting. This game will be analyzed in my next post.
Today we will examine the other significant game in the recent local club title contests; Sells - Le Cours from the SCC Championship. Mr. Le Cours’ win put his opponent out of the race for the title and delivered it to Patrick Chi.
Sells, Philip - Alan, Le Cours [C45]
SCC Finals
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
The Scotch Game. It was for a good long time neglected by top flight players. Kasparov used it with success and brought the venerable Scotch back into popularity in 1990s. Kasparov played it three times against his great rival Karpov and scored 2 ½ points in 1990/91.
5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6
There is something to be said for playing .., a7-a5; before putting the Bishop on a6. Keeping the pawn on a7 has some utility if Black intends to castle long. If not, then advancing the a-pawn before deploying the Bishop, creates the possibility of .., a5-a4; pressuring the White Q-side.
9.b3 g6
The game is in the Mieses variation of the Scotch. This was a battle ground between Kasparov and Karpov in the early 1990s. Here are a couple of examples:
Kasparov, Garry (2800) - Karpov, Anatoly (2730) [C45]
World Championship 35th-KK5 Lyon/New York (14), 26.11.1990
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 0–0–0
In the 16th game of this match Karpov tried 9..., Qe6 10 b3 a5; and lost in 102(!) moves. The game was a stern fight over small advantages.
10.g3 Re8 11.Bb2 f6 12.Bg2 fxe5 13.0–0 h5 14.Qd2 Nf6 15.Qa5 Bb7 16.Ba3 Qe6 17.Bxf8 Rhxf8 18.Qxa7 Qg4 19.Na3 h4 20.Nc2 h3 21.Bh1 Ne4 22.a4 Nc3 23.Rae1 Ne2+ 24.Rxe2 Qxe2 25.Nb4 d5 26.cxd5 cxd5 27.Bxd5 Bxd5 28.Nxd5 Qc2 29.Qa6+ Kd7 30.Ne3 Qe4 31.Rc1 Rb8 32.Qf1 Rxb3 33.Qxh3+ Kd8 34.Qh5 Kc8 35.Qd1 Rxe3 36.fxe3 Qxe3+ 37.Kh1 Qe4+ 38.Kg1 Qe3+ 39.Kh1 Qe4+ 40.Kg1 Rd8 ½–½
Kasparov, Garry (2770) - Karpov, Anatoly (2730) [C45]
Tilburg Tilburg (14), 1991
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g6 10.f4 f6 11.Ba3 Qf7 12.Qd2 Nb6 13.c5 Bxf1 14.cxb6 axb6 15.e6 dxe6 16.Bxf8 Rd8 17.Qb2 Bxg2 18.Qxg2 Kxf8 19.Qxc6 Rd6 20.Qc3 Kg7 21.Nd2 Rhd8 22.0–0–0 Qe8 23.Qxc7+ R8d7 24.Qc2 Qb8 25.Nc4 Rd5 26.Qf2 Qc7 27.Qxb6 Qxf4+ 28.Qe3 Qg4 29.Rdg1 Qh4 30.Rg3 e5 31.Rh3 Qg4 32.Rg1 Rd1+ 33.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 34.Kb2 h5 35.Rg3 Qh1 36.Qf2 h4 37.Qg2 Qxg2+ 38.Rxg2 g5 39.a4 Kg6 40.a5 e4 41.b4 h3 42.Rg3 Rh7 43.a6 f5 44.Ra3 1–0
10.Bb2,..
More common is 10 f4.
10..., Bg7 11.g3,..
Although this development seems slow compared to f2-f4 immediately, it has been used by several world class players; Ponomariov, Rublevski and Movsesian among others.
10..., Nb6 12.Bg2 0–0 13.0–0 Rfe8 14.Re1 Rab8 15.Bc3,..
A natural reaction to the small tactical threat the Rb8 poses to the Bb2.
15..., d5
Black has gotten to advance the d-pawn to d5, a thematic move that is necessary if Black is to equalize. White has not advanced the f-pawn to f4, a problematic move; it secures a large space advantage for White but often leaves holes behind it that Black plans to exploit. The position is full of tension; the e-file and the point e5, the f1-a6 diagonal and the point c4 and the h1-a8 diagonal and the points d5 and c6, are all pivots for the schemes of the opponents.
16.Nd2 Rbd8
Black decides to reinforce d5. This is in anticipation of something like Qe2-f3, breaking the pin and increasing the pressure on the Black center.
17.Bb2,..
Not a bad move, but I don’t see how it advances the White cause. More in line with what the best in the world play are the moves; 17 f4, or 17 a4. Both grab space and keep the tension high. The text allows Black a chance to take the initiative.
17..., Bc8
And Black turns away from that chance. It is logical to try 17..., dxc4; then if 18 Nxc4 Qb4 19 Rac1 Bxc4 20 bxc4 Rd2 21 Bc3 Rxe2 22 Bxb4 R8xe5 23 Red1 h5; and Black has an extra pawn (24 Bxc6 Rxa2) but White has the Bishop pair. The position that comes about is very tactical requiring Black to ready to sacrifice material to stay even; the Knight on the a-file may be given up to convert to a R+2B versus 2R ending. It is hard to blame Le Cours for looking elsewhere given the complications of this the sharpest line. White now has the initiative.
18.Rac1 Be6 19.f4,..
After delaying this space grab to avoid giving Black chances for counter-play, White does it now when there is another option; 19 cxd5. That move leads to a different game where his chances are equal to Black’s.
19..., Qd7?
Black misreads the situation. He should be playing to devalue the White Q-side. To that end; 19..., dxc5; is correct. If a) 20 Nxc4 Nxc4 21 bxc4 Qc5+ 22 Qe3 Bf8; looks promising for Black, and b) 20 bxc4 Qc5+ 21 Kh1 Bg4 22 Nb3 Bxe2 23 Nxc5 Rd2 24 Rb1 Bxc4 25 Bxc6 Rc8; to leave open a retreat for the Rook on the second rank if needed, 26 a4 Bd5+ 27 Bxd5 Rxd5; with the fight still going on at full bore. After the text move
White has the advantage. The Black pieces are pushed back into a cramped defensive position with few obvious ways to break out.
20.Red1 Bf8 21.c5 Nc8 22.Ne4 Bg7 23.Bf3!?,..
Worth consideration is 23 Qf2, or 23 Qf1, contemplating starting some tactical action on the K-side with h2-h3 and g3-g4, or perhaps g3-g4 immediately in combination with Ne4-f6+. The forced capture by the Bg7 on f6 brings a pawn to f6 setting up mating possibilities on g7 for the White Queen. White gathered some positional trumps after Black’s error on move 19. It is reasonable to think about converting them into something more tangible with tactics aimed at the Black King. The text move, while not bad, lets go of some of White’s advantage.
23..., Bf5 24.g4 Bxe4 25.Bxe4 Qe7
The net result of Mr. Sells choice is there is no White pawn on f6 with the concomitant possibility of a mating attack. The game is approaching equality. Black has relieved his crowding by trading material and gotten rid of his less-good Bishop. White still enjoys some extra space, and he has no glaring weakness. He should be able to face the looming time trouble with confidence; both players have just under fifteen minutes remaining of their allotted time.
26.Bf3 f6 27.Re1 fxe5 28.fxe5 Qe6 29.Bd4 Bh6 30.Rc3 Ne7 31.Qg2 Bf4 32.Bd1 g5
The combatants have worked hard at their game over the past few moves. Their clocks were now under five minutes each, and there are many moves to be made before a decision is reached.
33.Bc2 Ng6?
The first real tactical mistake. White has lined his pieces up aimed at the Black King in his fortress. The error is the move allows White to now pry open access to the castled position. Better for Black is just about anything else that does not loosen the blockade on e6, such as 33..., h6; trying to hold on, or 33..., h5; wishing for 34 gxh5 Nf5; giving up the blockade only to trade off White’s light squared Bishop. Both options mentioned favor White but not by so much as after the text.
34.Bf5!,..
While watching the game I did not see this move. The moves were coming fairly quickly by this point in the contest. When Philip made it I thought first this is very strong, and then, we will have a playoff again for the Schenectady title.
34..., Qe7
The other try is 34..., Qf6 35 exf6 Rxe1+ 36 Kf2 Nh4 37 Kh3 Rde8 38
Qd3 Bxh2 39 Bxh7+ Kf8 40 Be3 R8xe3 41 Qxe3 Rxe3 42 Rxe3, and the game is won for White with a full Rook extra.
35.e6?!,..
Not the forceful and best 35 Bxg6, why? This is one of the rare times when Mr. Sells does not perform exceptionally well in time pressure. I’ve had the pleasure of watching him carry out several “dances along the precipice” with nothing much more than the time delay for thinking. On this occasion he errs and plays his moves in the wrong order. Better first 35 Bxg6, then 35..., hxg6 36 e6 Rf8 37 Qh3 Rf6 38 Qh6 Qg7 39 Qxg7 Kxg7 40 e7 Re8 41 Re6, and White again gains a full Rook.
35..., Nh4 36.Qf2?,..
With 36 Qc2, right away White retains a considerable advantage. The game move gives Black another tempo with which to work.
35..., Rf8 37.Qc2 h5?!
A shortness of thinking time affects Black as well. A little better is 37..., Rb8; but the prospects for Black are grim.
38.Bg6?,..
This mistake throws away all the residual advantage White had. Correct and good enough to win is 38 Rh3 Rb8 39 Rf1 Rb4 40 Rxh4 Rxd4 41 Rxh5 Rd2 42 Bh7+ Kh8 43 Qc3+ d4 44 Bg6+ Kg7 45 Qxd2 Bxd2 46 Rh7+, recovering the Queen and coming out the Exchange and a pawn to the good. It is worth the effort to study the alternatives for Black and work out the winning lines for White here. Of course neither participant had time to look at the details, they were playing almost solely on instinct now.
38..., hxg4 39.Bf7+ Rxf7 40.exf7+ Qxf7 41.Qe2 Nf3+
White has gathered in a material advantage but at the cost of allowing the Black pieces to close with the White King.
42.Rxf3,..
This the correct use of extra material when you are under serious pressure, return it.
42..., gxf3 43.Qf2?,..
Another mistake. White is in some trouble after 43 Qxf3, but it is not yet fatal.
42..., g4?
Giving White a chance to hold. Better is 42..., Qh5; then White is lost.
44.Kh1?,..
Almost the final error. Better 44 Qh4
42..., Re8?
Again 42..., Qh5; is best.
45.Rg1?
If 45 Rxe8+ Qxe8 46 Qh4 Qe6 47 Qh8+, Black just might have to concede the draw, the Bf4 is vulnerable to the checking Queen, but there was really no time now. White’s flag fell here. Black could now continue 45..., Qh5; and White is helpless against the threat 46..., Re2.
The worst aspects of the sudden death time control were shown in the final moves of this game. After an opening in a theoretical important variation, and a middle game with interesting moments, the finale was marred by reciprocal errors in mutual time trouble. Nevertheless, this was an exciting contest. It gave the Schenectady title to maybe the youngest winner yet, Patrick Chi, and was very entertaining to watch. There was certainly no lack of fighting spirit in it.
More soon.
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