The dog days of Summer are upon us with heat and humidity and not much in the way of organized chess locally. The US Junior and the US Women’s Championships are going on in St Louis and some of the 2700s are playing in Dortmund, and about seven weeks from now the NYS Championship will be held once more in the Capital District kicking off another season of local play. What to do with all these days without local chess events? Tim Wright, the President of the Albany Area Chess Club and Richard Chu, President of the Schenectady chess Club have agreed to hold once more a traditional event; the “big” Albany versus Schenectady match. The tentative date is August 19th at the Schenectady Club. The probable start time will be 7:30 pm and the time control will be the usual Game/90 or Game/105. The intention is to have twenty boards per side.
For many years when I was much younger the Albany - Schenectady match was held regularly. I know in the 1950s and 1960s Frank Valvo, the perennial Schenectady champion promoted it as a way to get some press for the local clubs. It was held in fits and starts through the 70s and 80s and with dwindling frequency into the 1990s. Truthfully, I don’t remember the last time the big match was held. With growing interest in chess locally through the efforts of GM Har-Zvi, Brother John at Make the Right Move and Asok Aaron with Proctor’s and the Schenectady City Mission, this seems a good time for a revival. Let us hope for a good turnout.
I like to put in some chess in each of my posts. Today’s tidbit is a game I lost to Matt Katrein a rather long time ago. As the World Champion, Boris Spassky famously said: “Chess is a negative game; our losses stay with us longer and more sharply than any of our victories.” This is one such for me.
Katrien,Matt - Little,Bill
Schenectady Chess Club Quad
11.08.1973
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5
Here I am trying to be technically tricky with a Life Master. This way of playing against the English is too complicated to be correct for a Class A player to use against a master, it does have some surprise value. For those interested in names of lines; this is the English Opening, the Flohr-Mikenas System.
4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.Qxe4 Qd4!?
Bailing out early. Proper is 8..., Be6; thinking about 9..., Bd5; and for the pawn given up Black has easy development with the possibility of making good use of central square gaps that have opened up as a result of the forward rush of the White e-pawn.
9.Qxd4 Nxd4 10.Bd3 Be6 11.Ne2 Bc5
An alternative idea for Black is 11..., 0-0-0 12 Be4 Bc5 13 b4 Nxe2 14 bxc5 Nf4, and the question is can Black make something out of his smoother development.
12.Nxd?,..
An interesting error from the master. White could have done better with 12 b4, or 12 Nf4. The text lets Black obtain a slight edge.
12..., Bxd4 13.f4 Bd5 14.Bf1?,..
Matt was determined to keep his extra pawn. Returning the pawn with 14 Kd1, is the best way to level up the game.
14..., 0–0!?
Now I begin to get quite careful. Sharper is 14..., f6!; when Black gives up some more pawns to cripple any chances White has to hold on long. The probable continuation is; 15 exf6 0-0 16 fxg7 Rfe8+ 17 Kd1 Re2 18 h4 Rae8 when Black has White tied up. All the extra pawns White has accumulated will fall naturally in the course of the Black pieces invading the White position. The game continuation keeps the advantage but it doesn’t press as hard as could have been done. I do not feel too badly about the decision. I could not clearly see how the position coming after 14..., f6; was better than the position arrived at in the game. That being the case, good technique says don’t hurry and keep the advantage you understand.
15.Kd1 f6 16.exf6 Rxf6 17.d3 Re8 18.h4 Ra6 19.Rh3
Black has a won game in hand. I was sure the advantage was mine, but I did not buckle down to the hard work needed to discover the exact road to victory. That failing has haunted my play consistently over the years. Even knowing my weakness has not enabled me to rid my play of the problem of assuming I will find the right move without hard effort.
19..., Bxa2?
This inaccuracy lets go of about one-half of the advantage earned. Correct is 19...,
Rae6; feinting towards the center. Then if 20 Bd2, the switch back to the Q-side with 20..., Rb6 21 Bc3 Bxc3 22 bxc2 Rb2 completes the bind on the White position. Now Black has what must be called a substantial advantage but not quite winning.
20.Kd2 Bf2?
Peeling off more of my edge. After doing a good job of making my pieces active enough to offset a one pawn disadvantage, the last two moves reduce piece activity. The text has a too simple threat; 21..., Be1+; forcing the White King to a light square where a discovered attack with check collects the Exchange. A better plan is 20..., Kf7; to get a step closer to the White K-side pawns, and 22... Ree6; heading towards b6 to put pressure on b2. Black must not be fooled into thinking he can simply win material on the Q-side. White gets some moves as well. With g2-g4 and Bf1-g2 White gets access for his light squared Bishop to the key diagonal; a2-g8. Clipping the a-pawn no light undertaking for Black because of the Bishop checking on the a2-g8 line.
21.Be2 Rae6 22.Bf3 Bb3 23.Kc3 Rb6 24.g4 Re1 25.Rh2 Bc5 26.Re2?!
White can make a sterner fight with 26 Rh1.
26..., Rxe2?1
Similarly, Black should not agree to simplification here, better 26..., Rf1; and if 27 Bg2 Rg1; keeping the pressure on. The best for White may be giving up the Exchange with 27 Be3 then 27..., Rxa1 28 Bxc5 Rc1+ 29 Kd4 Re6 30 Rxe6 Bxe6 31 Bxb7, leading to a technical ending where White has some drawing chances.
27.Bxe2 Bd5 28.Bd1 Bb4+ 29.Kc2 Be1 30.Kb1 a5
Black has hung on to some pull while White has not really worked out a good disposition of his pieces. This is another point where serious hard work at the board was necessary, and I did not put the effort in.
31.f5 c5 32.Be3 Bb4 33.Kc2 Rc6 34.Bd2 Bxd2 35.Kxd2 b6 36.Ba4 Rd6 37.Re1 c4?!
I did not recognize that gradually Matt had repaired many of the problems in his position and my advantage was gone. Having a win in hand for so long seemed to lock my mind into the view just one more push would get the full point. That loss of objectivity is another failing of mine. Correct is something like 37..., Bc5 38 Kc3 Ba6 39 Bc2 Kf7 comfortably holding the game. The move played does not lose the game, however White is a bit better than Black now.
38.Re3 Kf7 39.Kc3,..
It began to dawn on me all was not well with my game here. The more I searched for ideas, the less I liked what was found.
39..., cxd3 40.Rxd3 Ke7 41.Re3+ Kf6 42.Bc2 Rc6+ 43.Kd2 b5?
For the last few moves I have been looking for a way to bailout and head for a draw. The move is not an outright error. It just heads down a risky path. Safe and sound is 43..., h6. Of course Black would have to calculate several different possible endgame variations after 44 Bd3. There are lines beginning 44..., Rc8; and 44..., Bc4. They are long, but with reduced material not beyond my capacity to calculate. Once more instead of hard work, I chose wrong headed activity.
44.g5+ Kf7 45.Re5 Rd6 46.Ke3 a4
My play has allowed White to get a very favorable formation on the K-side and some threats on my Q-side majority. The net result is to make drawing the ending ever so much more difficult.
47.Bd3 b4??
Taking a tough ending and making it into a sudden loss by missing a tactical shot. What hurts the most is for most of the game there were tricks around the central files and diagonals. Up to here I was alert enough to see them. Now a slip and the master not only has gotten away, he wins the game. Things are OK for Black after 47..., Bc4; when 48 Bxc4 cxd4 49 Ra4 Rd3+ appears to bring the game close to a theoretical draw.
48.Rxd5 1–0
Over the years I won a game or three from Matt Katrein, but never again did I have such an overwhelming position. Whenever I pontificate too long about chess, Matt can humble me with just a hint reminding me of this defeat.
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