More From Saratoga

In the round of the Saratoga tournament played on November 22d I had to face David Connors. He has not done particularly well in this event in the past. This was a bit of a puzzle to me. In games against me and some others I have watched, David keeps things pretty well even up to a point against even the top contestants. There comes a moment in these games where it all goes wrong for David. Maybe he gets careless of tactics when he sees the game is equal?

After switching allegiance from 1 e4, to 1 d4, almost two years ago, it seemed to be time to roll out 1 e4, again for the surprise value if nothing else. David uses the Dutch against 1 d4, and tonight I didn’t feel like facing that opening and so the opening choice.

[Event "Saratoga Championship"]
[Site "Saratoga Springs, NY"]
[Date "2009"]
[White "Little, B"]
[Black "Connors, D"]
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. Bb5+ ….
Many of the big names have used this line. The most frequent user is Rublevsky, and he has big edge of wins over losses in the line.

3... Bd7
4. Bxd7+ Nxd7
5. O-O Ngf6
6. Re1 ….
The British GM’s Short and Speelman have played this move often. The Kramnik and Rublevsky types like 6 Nc3, better here. This move is like a long term investment, if the tempo used is to earn anything, it will come ’way down the line, if at all.

6.…. Qc7
Very few examples of this move are in the databases, no GM games, just a couple of games by untitled players. The GM’s usually like 6..., g6; at this point. The text move however is not without guile. Black wants to do the standard Sicilian thing and play down the c-file. If White doesn’t get goofy, he should be able to reach a position with some advantage.

7. c3? …..
But goofiness raises its ugly head. Better is 7 Nc3. Getting pieces in active play is important. On the previous move I took time to position my Rook on e1. That can be counted as development, but it is not particularly active development. There not a lot wrong with the text tactically, no sudden shot that shakes White’s plans is out there, rather, it lacks any real point unless White is willing to speculate.

7.…. Rc8
8. d3 ….
When I played 7 c3, I did not give real consideration to all the tactical possibilities in the position. As I thought about my 8th move, the natural 8 d4, began to look questionable. I could offer a pawn to obtain an open kind of position and concede Black the plus of two to one center pawns. Interesting play follows. After 8 d4, cxd4; 9 cxd4, Nxe4!; 10 Bf4, Nef6; 11 Nc3, threatening Nc3-b5, keeping Black from putting his Bishop on g7. Black and will have to play 11..., e6; leaving d6 susceptible to pressure. Just as a sample of the tricks in the position, after the line above, should Black try 11..., a6?; trying to keep the Knight out of b5, White continues 12 Rc1, Qb6; 13 Bxd6!, Qxd6; 14 Nb5, wins. After 11..., e6, White has some good activity, but is it worth a whole pawn?

Other alternatives are: Recapture on the 8th turn on d4 with the Queen, or recapture on d4 with the Knight. Both peter out into fairly equal positions. The most adventurous choice is to let go of the pawn. Frankly, I shied away from giving up the pawn because this is a game I needed to win to stay in the running for a high place in this event, and David is one of the contestants that had to be defeated to do so. Playing it safe leads to less interesting chess. Against one of my rivals for the top places, the temptation of offer the pawn with 8 d4 would have been great. My guess is the pawn would have been dangled for them. I don’t know if such is "correct" chess or not, but that is probably the way it would go.

The game move puts off any game changing action. I am waiting for the lower rated player to err. Not a good policy because they can make good moves too. Ratings are not about moves, they are about results, and a four hundred point advantage does not mean you can not lose. The best policy is to play good moves, not second or third best.

8.… g6
9. Na3 ….
Natural and good is 9 Bf4. Sending the Knight on this journey is a trip to nowhere. The Bf4, Nb1-d2, and the Queen on a4 or maybe c2, makes sense. I am playing a slow maneuvering game. Taking this kind of a path is more goofiness, not outright bad, just not having much in the way of sharpness about it.

9. a6
Black follows my lead and "swims" a little bit. Better to get on with development with 9..., Bg7.

10. Nc4 e5
11. Ne3 Bg7
12. c4 O-O
13. Bd2 b5
14. b3 Nb6
15. a4 b4
16. Ra2 ….
After carrying out my plan I have achieved exactly nothing. Furniture has been moved around and all that is accomplished is the Q-side is locked up. The formation I agreed to for the Q-side pawns probably slightly favors Black. As long as Black keeps one Knight on the board I will have to worry about a possible sacrifice on a4 that could free the b-pawn for a run to the Queening square.

The text is another long term investment. My last move, at least has some "bad intensions" for my opponent. The Rook is placed to shift quickly to the K-side. That notion means I will be trying to clear a path along the 2d rank for the Ra2. This may well be the tactical feature David did not notice.

16.… a5
During the game this move looked unnecessary to me. The push of my a-pawn does not look particularly dangerous as it would require a major piece, or pieces to be on guard for as long as Black can threaten the a-pawn.

17. Rf1 ….
Admitting my play had led me to no advantage. Here I wanted e1 for possible use of my Nf3, if a sanctuary is needed. The long term investment, Rf1-e1, was wasted.

17... Qd7
Either 17..., Nh5; heading for f4, or 17..., h6; preparing an advance of the pawns on the K-side are sharper.

18. h3?! …
It does keep Black pieces out of g4, and it fits with the plan I had decided upon: trade my Bishop for the Knight if it goes to f4, put my Knight on d5 recapturing with c-pawn if Black chooses to trade Knights there, send the Nf3 through d2 to c4 when possible, and finally, find a post for my Queen somewhere on the K-side. After the foregoing is accomplished opening up the K-side with pawn sacrifice if needed just may give the chance to bring the Ra2 over to f-file or g-file.

18... Nh5
19. Nd5 Nxd5
20. cxd5 Nf4
21. Bxf4 exf4
22. Nd2 g5?!
With 22..., f5; Black could keep the game entirely level. The key flaw with the move is it opens h5 for my Queen.

23. Nc4 Ra8?
An outright error that drops material. 23..., Qc7; covers a5 adequately.

24. Nb6 ….
Going for an advantage in the element of Force. The decision required serious thought. Was David offering a "bright bauble" to eliminate the strongly posted Knight? I judged the move was an oversight and believed the Knight fork would be a shock disturbing David confidence. The decision was easy to make once I looked for alternatives. I could not find any move that promised more than collecting the material offered.

24... Qa7
Tougher resistance can be made with 25..., Qe7; keeping the Lady close to the vital targets beginning to show up around his King.

25. Nxa8 Qxa8
26. Qh5 h6
Defending g5 with 26..., Qd8; makes for a studier defense. Now opening K-side lines will be easier.

27. h4 Qd8
28. g3 fxg3?
Better 28..., Qf6; with good chances to get a Queen trade lessening danger to the King. After this move I was certain my guess about David’s shaken confidence was correct. The surprise of the missed shot put him off his game.

29. fxg3 gxh4
30. gxh4 Qd7
31. Rg2 Resigns
Rather than test my technique, David called off the battle. If he wanted to continue, then 31..., Kh7; 32 Qf5+, Qxf5; 33 Rxf5, leaves White a winning advantage but with quite a few moves to be played before all resistance is quelled. There was lot of time left on my clock. David concluded going home early was best.

Missing a simple shot like the fork that picked up the Exchange takes away most of the pleasure of the game for the player who misses it. Earlier this year I threw away a pawn against Alan Le Cours in a good position. There I experienced some of the same emotions that David felt here. Fortunately for me, against Le Cours, I was able to put aside the disappointment and disgust at my silliness and play on with some decent ideas. After some interesting chess, I pulled out the draw. Some of that result came from my great deal of experience with making goofy errors and learning how to cope. Some of the result can be attributed to the difficulty Alan had to face after taking the pawn. Getting material often cedes initiative requiring careful defense until the extra material can be consolidated. That period of careful defense is where the weaker side can very often find compensation.
　
I will have somw more to say tomorrow, another game and prehaps something to add on this one if I get to review it with Ronen's Saturday group.