The big upset from last week’s games at AACC was the win by Northrup over Howard. It was remarkable not only for the outcome as well as being the second week running that Dean Howard got himself into a tough clock situation.
Northrup showed a rather high level of skill in this game marred by overlooking tactical opportunities. Howard did not display his usual keen alertness to danger and gave his opponent too many chances. That tendency combined with time trouble led to a situation where even the resourcefulness of last year’s Champion could not prevail. It is a game with sudden shifts fortune and missed shots.
Northrup, Cory - Howard, Dean [D58]
AACC Championship Guilderland, NY, 16.11.2011
1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0–0 7.e3 b6
A position very familiar to Mr. Howard. He has defended it against John Phillips and Patrick Chi within the last year. It has been very popular internationally. Looking at just players over 2500, World Champions such as Spassky, Tal and Karpov have used the Tartakower Defense to the QGD as well as many other distinguished Grandmasters.
Here is a game from twenty+ years ago that is similar to the game we are examining;
(223097) Tisdall, Jonathan D (2465) - Olafsson, Helgi (2545) [D58]
Espoo zt Espoo, 1989
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 0–0 7.e3 b6 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0–0–0 c5 12.h4 Nc6 13.g4 cxd4 14.exd4 g6 15.g5 hxg5 16.hxg5 Bxg5+ 17.Kb1 Kg7 18.a3 Bf6 19.Rg1 Rh8 20.Bd3 Rh6 21.Ne2 Qd6 22.Qd2 Re8 23.Nf4 Re4 24.Bxe4 dxe4 25.Ng5 Na5 26.Ne2 Rh5 27.Nc3 Qe7 28.Nxf7 Qxf7 29.Qe2 Rf5 30.Nxe4 Bxe4+ 31.Qxe4 Rxf2 32.Rd3 Nc4 33.Ka1 Rxb2 34.Rdg3 Ra2+ 0–1
For those not familiar with Tisdall; he now is a Norwegian citizen, chess writer and Grandmaster, but “Tis” started out playing in this area as a youngster. He is from Syracuse, and in the 60s and early 70s he showed up a few times in some weekend events John Dragonetti and I ran. Jon was rated about 1800 in 1969 when he thumped me convincingly in the Schenectady Winter Rating Tournament.
8.Qc2,..
While watching the game, this move struck me as questionable. Looking it up in the databases showed the move, together with subsequent long castling, has been tried by many strong players; Lputian, Portisch and Vanganian are examples. Borisenko and Ilivitzki were two middle-of-the- field participants in several of the USSR Championships of the middle 1950s when these events were clearly the strongest tournaments in the world. Here is how they played the position:
(43934) Borisenko, Georgy K - Ilivitzki, Georgi A [D58]
URS-ch sf Sverdlovsk (10), 1957
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0–0 7.e3 b6 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0–0–0 Nc6 12.h4 Nb4 13.Qd2 c5 14.g4 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Qc8 16.Kb1 Qxg4 17.Bh3 Qh5 18.Rdg1 Bc8 19.a3 Bxh3 20.Rxh3 Nc6 21.Nxc6 Qf5+ 22.e4 Qxh3 23.Qxh6 Qf1+ 24.Rxf1 gxh6 25.Nxd5 Bxh4 26.Rh1 Bxf2 27.Nce7+ Kh7 28.Nf5 f6 29.Rxh6+ Kg8 30.Rg6+ Kh8 31.Nxf6 Rxf6 32.Rxf6 Bc5 33.e5 a5 34.Kc2 Kg8 35.Kd3 Rd8+ 36.Kc4 Rd1 37.e6 Kh7 38.e7 Re1 39.Kd5 Re2 40.Re6 Rd2+ 41.Kc6 Bxe7 42.Rxe7+ Kg6 43.Nd6 Rxb2 44.Nb5 1–0
It is of interest to see the logic of the opposite side castled position dictates similar tactics as in our game. Interest is extended further because the distribution of attacking forces in the appended game is a R+2Ns as in the Northrup - Howard game.
8...Bb7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0–0–0 a5
The book move is 11..., c5; with 11..., Nd7; and 11..., Nc6; being mentioned as alternatives. The text takes the game out of theory. It is logical however. Black easily foresees the pawn change coming on the other side of the board and wants to get his own pawn assault going.
12.h4 c6?
This move is not so logical. The natural 12..., c5; is better. The text concedes a tempo. That is always dangerous in opposite side attacking situations when an extra tempo is precious. It could be Mr. Howard just didn’t accurately assess the position after 12..., c5 13 dxc5 Bxc3; when Black creates open lines on the Q-side more quickly than White does on the other side of the board.
13.g4!,..
Exactly correct. White has the advantage now.
13..., g6?
Potentially making things worse than they have to be. Either 13..., Qd6; clearing d8 for the Bishop, or 13..., Be7; and 14..., Qd6; fighting to keep lines partially closed leading to the Black King are better alternatives.
14.Bd3!?,..
Slow when speed is call for. Better 14 g5, to open the h-file after 14..., hxg5 15 h5, with troubles multiplying for the Black King. Perhaps I am being too critical of White’s play. The text builds pressure on g6 and prepares to bring the Rd1 to the g-file. Those ideas conform to the principle of getting all your pieces in on an attack. What we have here is an apparent conflict between two pieces of chess wisdom; mass your forces before taking action and opening lines for an attack. Making such a choice is at the heart of chess skill. The so-called Russian School of Chess emphasizes “concrete and dynamic” aspects of play. Concrete means calculating exact lines of play far enough ahead to reach a conclusion about a specific line then comparing it to all other options, and dynamic means, in this instance, a prejudice towards choices that give you more options for your pieces. Following the guidance of the Russian School it seems opening lines is superior to massing force here.
14..., Kg7?
Played to shore up g6 but incorrect. Black for some reason not apparent does not believe White will make the Black King very uncomfortable soon. Better 14..., Na6; threatening .., Nb4; and keeping g7 open for a retreat of the Bf6 to g7, if required. After the game move, White has a dangerous attack beginning 15 g5!, then 15..., hxg5 16 hxg5 Bcg5? 17 Rdg1, with a sacrifice coming at g6. Or, 16..., Be7 17 Ne5 Qe8 18 f4, and with the second rank clear there are several sequences where White quickly makes use of the h-file to finish off the Black King.
15.Ne2!?,..
Again slower rather than faster. Mr. Northrup prefers a slow build up of force when there is a good driving move to hand - 15 g5!
15..., Ba6?
Black senses things are not going well for him and seeks solace by trading White’s light squared Bishop. Retreating the Bf6 to e7 holds some hope of avoiding an immediate break through on the K-side.
16.Nf4 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Na6?
Black has consistently undervalued the possibility of g4-g5. Strangely White has done so also. The text presents White one more opportunity to play the forcing move 18 g5.
18.a3!?,..
He instead prefers caution.
18..., b5?!
With 18..., Kg8; Black could have prepared a better defense to a possible g4-g5.
19.Rdg1!?,..
Once again 19 g5, is the right move.
19..., Rh8?
Black has resisted getting the Bishop off f6 to reduce the impact of an advance of the g-pawn. 19..., Be7, was a last chance to avoid some of the coming problems.
20.g5!,..
Finally. White now has a winning advantage.
20..., hxg5 21.hxg5 Be7 22.Rxh8?,..
Throwing away a big chuck of the advantage that had fallen to White as a result of the g-pawn push. The right move is 22 Nxg6! Rxh1 23 Rxh1 fxg6 24 Ne5 Qe8 25 Rh6, taking decisive control of g6, and the White Queen, Rook and Knight are closing on the Black King. As generous as White has been so far in the game, he has never given Black the chance to take control of the game.
22..., Qxh8 23.Qf1?!,..
This move comes close to allowing Black a real chance to make a fight for the initiative. Correct is 23 Ne5, reinforcing threats on g6.
23..., Qc8 24.Rh1 c5!?
Black had a choice here; it is possible 24..., b4 25 a4 Qf5; might have offered better chances. Suddenly danger looms around the White King. The text has the same intention, but White gets his own chances because of the vulnerable situation of the Black King.
25.Kd1 cxd4 26.exd4?,..
White could have kept some slight edge with 26 Nxd4, but after 26..., Bxg5 27 Nxd5 Qc5 28 Qxb5 Qxb5 29 Nxb5 Rd8 30 Nbc3 Nc7 31 e4 Nxd5 32 exd5 Bf6; White can not hold the extra pawn. The ensuing Rook and pawns ending has the pawns unevenly distributed making for fight with chances on both sides. A drawn outcome is the logical result, but there is much play left in the position. The game move should have cost White dearly.
26..., b4 27.axb4 Nxb4 28.Qe2 Qd7?
Time was getting short for Black but not real time trouble. Dean had about ten minutes remaining on his clock when he made this move. He misses a shot. With 28..., Bd6; Black is firmly in control of the game because the Queen check on e5 is prevented with the subsequent roaring attack on the Black King.
29.Qe5+!,..
Black is utterly lost objectively. He now has no choice but to throw some material away to try and string out the game. It should not work.
29..., f6 30.gxf6+ Bxf6 31.Ne6+ Kg8
Necessary because 31..., Kf7 32 Rh7+ Ke8 33 Nc7+, wins decisive material.
32.Qxf6 Qa4+ 33.Ke2 Qb5+ 34.Ke3?!,..
White is still winning after this move, however, 34 Ke1 Nc2+ 35 Kd2, costs Black the Knight without offering any relief for the beleaguered Black King.
34..., Qd3+ 35.Kf4 Qf5+ 36.Qxf5 gxf5 37.Kxf5,..
White is a solid piece ahead, and he has mating possibilities in hand also.
37..., Nd3 38.Rg1+ Kh8 39.Rg7?,..
But not this way. Better 39 Nfg5, threatening 40 Nf7+, and 41 Rh1 mate and Black will have to consider losing more material The text lets Black fight on.
39..., Ra6?
Black misses his best chance to make things a bit murky with 39..., Rg8. White still wins with 40 Ra7, but the board situation is murky enough for mistakes to creep in.
40.Re7,..
Also good is 40 Nfg5.
40..., Nxb2 41.Nfg5 Ra8
Taking at e6 with the Rook breaks up the immediate mate but going down a whole Rook is too obviously lost, so Black tries anything else. The move presents White with a mate.
42.Rf7?,..
And White misses his chance. It is mate in three with 42 Rh7+ Kg8 43 Rg7+ Kh8 44 Nf7 mate.
42..., Nc4 43.Rf8+?,..
Miss-firing on the mate a second time. Peter Henner and I were watching the game side-by-side at this point. We stepped outside of the playing room to confirm the missed mate, and to ponder if it was possible that Mr. Howard just might find away out of his troubles. Black’s clock was looking pretty thin by now.
43..., Rxf8+ 44.Nxf8 a4 45.Nf3,..
This Knight will be in time to stop the a-pawn from making a Queen or will take off the Lady when she appears .
45..., a3 46.Ne1 Nb2 47.Nc2 a2 48.Ke5?,..
White does not take enough care that his Expert opponent is ever resourceful. With 48 Ng6+, he can safely take the d-pawn with his Knight keeping a winning edge. After the text there is play in the position for Black. White keeps some edge after 48 Kf6, but after Black captures the pawn at f2 there are chances for Black to give the Knight for the last White pawn. Since two Knights versus a single pawn can not mate without the side with the pawn having several moves. With a pawn standing one move from making a Queen, I doubt there is any winning chances for the Knights.
48..., Nd3+ 49.Kxd5 Nb4+ 50.Nxb4 a1(Q)
At this point in the game I had to leave the playing site. Dean’s clock was down to about one minute, nevertheless I thought the worse he could achieve was a draw with endless checks. I was wrong. The next evening at the Schenectady Club Cory generously gave me a copy of the complete game score.
51.Nc6 Qa2+ 52.Kd6?,..
The change in fortunes costs White his concentration and one of his Knights. That loss presents Black the opportunity to maybe win the game. Better for White is 52 Ke5. Black can easily force a just about guaranteed draw with 53..., Qxf2; and later giving the Queen for the d-pawn. Regardless of his time smash, Howard must have felt morally obligated to try for the full point. I don’t think he gave a moment’s thought to the drawing possibility.
52..., Qa3+ 53.Ke6 Qxf8 54.d5 Qc8+ 55.Ke7 Qc7+ 56.Ke6 Kg7 57.Ne5 Kf8
Checking with the Queen does not let the d-pawn go to the 6th rank and is a little better.
58.d6 Qc8+ 59.Kd5 Qa8+ 60.Ke6 Qa2+
Cory noted on his score sheet that Black’s clock had one second remaining at this move. Dean has to play the rest of the game with only the five second delay for thinking.
61.Kd7 Qa4+ 62.Nc6 Qb5?
Letting the game become drawn with best play. Maintaining winning chances with 62..., Qf4 63 Nd8 Qf5+ 64 Kc7 Ke8; is preferable. The text makes a threat, 63 Qb7+, collecting the last White Knight. Unfortunately for Black a natural move meets the threat and clears the path of the d-pawn
63.Kc7 Qh5?!
More certain is 63..., Qf5; and if 64 d7 Qf4+ 65 Kc8 Qf5.
64.d7 Qh7 65.f4,..
Suddenly a new actor is on the field
65..., Qf7 66.Ne5 Qg7?
There was obviously no time for Black to calculate. If there was he could have tried 66..., Qxf4!?; then it does not appear the extra Knight is enough to win for White say after 67 d8(Q)+ Kg7 68 Qe7+ Kh6. Figuring out such complications requires a calm mind, something that is in short supply when your clock is hanging.
67.Kc8 Qg1 68.d8Q+ Kg7 69.Qg5+,..
The final trick in tricky endgame. Black is lost. The game rolls on only because there not sufficient time to resign.
69..., Qxg5 70.fxg5 Kf8 71.Kd7 Kg7 72.Ke7 Kh7 73.Kf6 (73.Kf7 Kh8) 73...Kh8 74.Kf7 Kh7 75.g6+ Kh8 76.g7 1–0
The two move mate; 77 g8 (Q)+ and 78 Qg3, is too clear to be missed. This game was epic in its swings of fortune and its length. Very infrequently do we see games go so far in this era of sudden-death time controls. Both sides made serious mistakes. There is nonetheless educational value in these errors. I admire the fighting spirit both players demonstrated from beginning to the end of the contest. In this kind of good fighting game it is a shame someone has to lose.
More soon.
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