Thursday last, the 24th of February was a night of surprises. Dilip Aaron at 1518 defeated John Phillips at 1852. The 300+ point rating difference does not rule out such an outcome, rather it was how the upset win was achieved that carried the surprise. An error on move 8 (!) by Phillips was spotted by the youthful Aaron, seized upon, turned into a pawn plus and the material advantage was exploited relentlessly through move 43 when Mr. Phillips had to haul down his flag. There has been a question in my mind since Dilip defeated me; is this the year he becomes dangerous, or is he still some ways from becoming dangerous to all-comers? His draw with Alan Le Cours was fortuitous, Dilip was lost right at the end, but neither competitor noticed the winning move. This win from John Phillips answers my question in the affirmative, the boy is dangerous.
Aaron, Dilip - Phillips, John [B34]
SCC Finals 2010–11 Schenectady, NY, 24.02.2011
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 0–0 8.0–0–0 d5 [9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.exd5 cxd5 11.Nxd5 Be6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.Qxd8 Rfxd8 14.Rxd8+ Rxd8 15.b3 Bc3 16.Bd3 a5 17.Bd2 Bxd2+ 18.Kxd2 Bf5 19.Re1 Bxd3 20.cxd3 e6 21.Re5 a4 22.bxa4 Rd4 23.Re4 Rd5 24.Kc3 Kf8 25.g3 Ke7 26.Kc4 Rd8 27.Kc3 f5 28.Rd4 Ra8 29.Rb4 h6 30.Kb3 g5 31.Rb5 Rc8 32.a5 Rd8 33.Kc4 Kd6 34.d4 Rc8+ 35.Rc5 Re8 36.a6 Ra8 37.Kb5 Rb8+ 38.Ka5 f4 39.gxf4 gxf4 40.a7 Rg8 41.Ka6 f3 42.Rb5 Kc7 43.Rb7+ 1–0
The surprise in the next game is not the outcome. Patrick is about 100 rating points higher than Alan, and if the rating system has any validity he should win more often than he loses with this opponent. The surprise is the line played, the Slav Defense, 5 a4 Bf5 lines with 6 Nh4. This is something I know Alan has studied. A couple of years ago he published a survey of this line for a training session at the Saratoga Club, and he and I have played one or two serious games in it, Alan with White. How it all came apart for him will very interesting to uncover in analysis.
Le Cours, Alan - Chi, Patrick [D17]
SCC Finals Schenectady, NY, 24.02.2011
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg4
Very much mainstream theory, and it has been since the 1940s. Smyslov lost with the White pieces in the 14th USSR Championship in 1945 in this line, as did Magnus Carlsen did in the European U14 championship in 2003. It is tricky to play and often leads to a material imbalance; pawns for a piece, or sometimes a quick draw if Black just plays 6..., Bc8. When Black shifts the Bishop to g4 is when things start becoming very complicated.
7.f3 Bh5 8.e4,..
This line shares with the Botvinnik Variation of the Slav the feature of having complicated tactics springing up on the K-side that can have implications across the board. I think that the existence of lines such as the Botvinnik and the line in this game is the reason the elite players have an affinity for the Slav. In the Slav Black can, if he doesn’t mind getting into a hand-to-hand brawl, fight effectively for initiative.
The position after 7..., Bh5; was found in only four games out of a couple of million in my databases. All were won by White after some strange looking middle game maneuvers. The games follow generally the same pattern White advances his g-pawn, usually to g4 and then the e-pawn e4. The g-pawn has to move to open an escape square for the Nh4 and to crowd the Black Bh5. A couple of the games featured Black giving up the Bishop for three pawns. All the games were fairly short but nevertheless interesting. For the students out there the games I found are: Paskis - Kuprechik, USSR Ch 1981, Thorvaldsen - Gunnarsson, Iceland Ch 1997, Bellon Lopez - Fenollar, Malaga 2005, and Vaznois - Tvarijonas, Kaunas 2007.
8..., e6 9.g3 Bb4 10.Bg5!?,..
The game has followed Bellon Lopez - Fenollar so far. The only one of my finds that did not see g2-g4 before e2-e4. Here Mr. Le Cours part ways with the Spanish GM who played 10 Be2. For anyone interested the score of the Bellon Lopez game is:
Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel (2428) - Fenollar Jorda, Manuel (2226) [D17]
Malaga op (5), 22.02.2005
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg4 7.f3 Bh5 8.e4 e6 9.g3 Bb4 10.Be2 c5 11.Be3 Nc6 12.dxc5 Qa5 13.g4 Bxg4 14.fxg4 Bxc3+ 15.bxc3 Qxc3+ 16.Bd2 Qh3 17.Nf3 Nxe4 18.Rg1 0–0–0 19.Bf1 Qxf3 20.Qxf3 Nxd2 21.Qc3 1–0
Bellon Lopez’ method seems to me to be more restrained than Alan’s approach. Either way Rybka says Black is somewhat better apparently because White may not be able to recapture the pawn on c4. The interesting “chunk” ,to use a term I learned from GM Berliner, is: the Nc3 is pinned, the pawn on f3 is pinned and the pawn on e4 is threatened by the Nf6. Something must be done and Alan elects to pin then capture the Nf6. Alternatives are; 10 Qd2, getting out of one pin; 10 Be2, foregoing getting the pawn back for some time; 10 g3-g4, marking 9 g3 as a mistake, or 10 Kf2, getting out of the other pin. The alternatives other than 10 Be2, and 10 Bg5, have problems worse than the cures. For example; 10 g3-g4??, loses to 10..., Nxe4; and the Nh4 is hanging as well as the Nc3 being attacked twice.
10..., h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Be2,..
Inserting the transaction; 10 Bg5/11Bxf6, has not been particularly helpful for White. The Black Queen on f6 is usefully employed, and net result is the advantage is increased for Black. As Bellon Lopez concluded in his game, putting the Bishop on e2 first keeps more options for White.
12..., c5 13.e5?,..
In this extraordinarily difficult position where there is no easily seen organizing theme, White makes an error. In defense of Alan’s choice, the transaction that takes place in the game does look to be an entirely viable option. White would have had to see ahead to the position after move 18 to clearly evaluate that relative King safety will be the key to the game. The Black King will have a home warm and secure while the White King wanders in a wilderness buffeted by tempest and storm.
12..., Qg5 14.f4 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Qd8 16.dxc5 Qd4 17.Rc1 Qxc5 18.Nf3 Nc6
The extra pawn is icing on the cake, the real advantage for Black is White will never find a comfortable place for his King as long as the Queens are on the board.
19.Nd2,..
With the intention of recovering the pawn. A logical alternative is 19 Kf1, heading for g2 to get the Rooks connected. Play could go; 19 Kf1 Na5 20 Ne4 Qb6 21 Kg2 0-0; advantage to Black. The game is then settling back into a less tactical mode and the extra pawn is secure. Possibly Alan did not care for less turmoil and more logic in the position. The prospect of a dour fight down a pawn against so strong an opponent was unpleasant, so he elects to try to keep things murky and go for the pawn.
19..., Nd4!?
Ah, the adventurous spirit of youth! The easy but prosaic path is 19..., Na5 20 Nde4 Qb6 21 Rd1 0-0; and White just may get a toe hold on d6 ease the pain of being down a pawn. Patrick is not materialistic. He returns the pawn for greater piece activity and to give his opponent some difficult problems to face.
20.Qxc4 Nf3+ 21.Ke2 Nd4+ 22.Ke1 Qb6
Objectively White is better off than he would have been had the pawn not been returned. The big “but” in this is there are several small tactical turns in the position all of which require White to be very alert and accurate in his judgments; his King remains vulnerable. With a King away from danger, Black is not under the same kind of pressure. Over the next several moves White had to use up considerable clock time to navigate the tactical rocks and shoals. At this point in the game time was about even.
23.Rf1?,..
And first fruit of the pressure drops for Black. Alan gave several minutes of thought to this move, and it is wrong. From a slight disadvantage he, in just a half-move goes to very nearly lost. Necessary is 23 Nb5. It could be Mr. Le Cours could not find certainty in the line; 23 Nb5 Nf3+ 24 Ke2 Bxd2 25 Kxf3 Rac8; and White is OK. If Black finds the somewhat better 25..., Rad8; 26 Rc2 Qe3+ 27 Kg2 h5 28 Qc5+, it leads to an endgame where Black has some advantage, but it is by no means winning.
After the move played in the game Black has a near winning positional edge. The White King is an embarrassment that makes Alan’s task of reaching a stable position difficult.
23..., 0–0 24.Rf2?,..
Another twenty minutes were used to settle on this error. Either 24 Nf3, or 24 Nce4, offer prospects of some counter-play in a bad situation. The game move is aimed a shoring up various weaknesses; b2, the second rank, etc. The problem is Black can now make a couple of very natural moves; Rooks to the open center files, c&d, obtaining a huge lead in effective development.
24..., Rac8 25.Qd3 Rfd8 26.Qe4 Bc5
Good enough. The immediate threat is a check with the Knight on c7 winning the Exchange on f7. Also worth consideration is 26..., Nf5. The White pieces are in a mess, while the Black pieces are logically deployed for the attack in the middle of the board.
27.Nc4 Qb4 28.Ne3 a5 29.Kf1?,..
White’s position is lost after this move, but it is hard to be critical here. The only realistic chance for White is; 29 Rd2, then 29..., Nf3+ 30 Qxf3 Rxd2 31 Kxd2 Qxb2+ 32 Rc2 Bxe3+ 33 Qxe3 Rd8+ 34 Qd3 Rxd3+ 35 Kxd3, and Black has an extra pawn to go with the Queen versus Rook and Knight material imbalance. After calculating the six or seven moves cited, White would have faced the task of judging whether the pieces or the Queen have the better chances.
Time trouble was not an issue, yet, but Alan was down to about 30 minutes remaining. Patrick had efficiently used his time and worked hard on Alan’s time also. He had one hour and nine minutes left. The imbalance of clock time was probably a worry for Alan and played a part in his choice.
Theory, as explained by GM Soltis in his book “Rethinking the Chess Pieces”, Batsford, London, 2004, is this is a battle between double attacks by the Lady and the coordination of the Rook and Knight. I think the two targets in the White position; the pawns at a4 and h2 are not easy to defend with the pieces White has on the board. Making such a judgment in critical game is very difficult.
29..., Nb3!
Natural and very strong. White only has small choice about what material will be given up.
30.Re1?,..
The best of the bad choices is 30 Rd1, then 30..., Rxd1+ 31 Nexd1 Bxf2 32 Kxf2, and Black can go the endgame with 32..., Qxe4; if he wants simplicity in a technically won position, or play more sharply with 32..., Rd8; improving the position of the Rook to increase the pressure on White.
30..., Nd2+ 31.Rxd2 Rxd2 32.Ned1 Rcd8 33.Qxb4 Bxb4 0–1
White erred again on the next move dropping a Knight and resigned immediately. If you play the Slav as Black, or meet it often as a 1.d4, player, this is a game worth some study.
With these two games in the mix, the standings in the Finals are:
Chi 2-1 w/ one game to play v Aaron
Sells 2-1 w/ one game to play v Le Cours
Phillips 2-2, schedule complete
Aaron 1 ½ - 1 ½ w/ one game to play v Chi
Le Cours ½ - 2 ½ w/ one game to play v Sells
Little, Withdrawn (0-2) the games do not count towards the tourney score.
There are excellent chances for a playoff for the title again this year.
A make-up game was played in the consolation Swiss also Thursday. Cory Northruo defeated Michael Stanley. The standings for the Swiss updated are:
Finnerman and Kline 2-0
Chu, Northrup, Clough and Capitummino 1-1
Connors and Stanley 0-2
The next round for the Swiss will be played March 3.
If there are any readers who are fairly new to chess, there is scheduled a class for new players at the Albany Area chess Club next Wednesday, March 2 at 7:00pm. It will be held at the Union Presbyterian Church on Western Ave. (Route 20), Guilderland, the usual meeting place for the club. Not too much lecturing, more exercises and practical application. Come on down, or over as the case may be. Members and visitors welcome.
More soon.
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