As far down as board 3 these two teams fielded players that could well be first boards for other teams. Last year Philip Sells collected both the Schenectady and the Saratoga Championship titles, and Gordon Magat has maintained an Expert rating for years in these deflationary times. The game lived up to its promise of fighting chess!
Magat, Gordon - Sells, Philip [B40]
Saratoga A v SCC A CDCL Match Saratoga Springs, NY, 16.05.2011
Board 3
1.Nf3 e6 2.e4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 a6 5.Bg2 d6
While not common, this position has been played by many of the best from both sides. As far back as 1925 Levenfish tried it out as White in the USSR Championship, in the 70’s Gufeld did the same. From the 1980s right up to today players such as Benjamin, Christiansen, Thachiev, Svidler and Gavrikov have taken the White side against equally strong opponents. We can conclude that there are no egregious errors so far by either side, it is all GM practice.
6.a4!?,..
Gordon parts from the GMs. Here the most common, almost universal, move is 6 d4, or occasionally 6 0-0, followed by 7 d4. The text has only two examples in my databases, both with non-GM players and both won by White! Here is one example;
Xu, Hanbing (2328) - Ibanez Terradellas, Eduardo (2289) [B23]
Budapest FS08 IM-A Budapest (8), 12.08.2000
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.a4 Nc6 4.g3 e6 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0–0 Be7 8.d3 0–0 9.Ng5 h6 10.Nh3 e5 11.f4 Bg4 12.Qd2 Nd4 13.Nf2 Bf3 14.Nfd1 Bxd1 15.Qxd1 b5 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 c4 18.axb5 cxd3 19.Qxd3 Qb6 20.Rxa6 Rxa6 21.bxa6 Nxc2+ 22.Kh1 Nb4 23.Qb3 exf4 24.Rxf4 Rc8 25.Be3 Qxa6 26.Qxb4 Bg5 27.h4 Bxf4 28.Bxf4 Qe2 29.Qe4 Qxb2 30.Bxd6 Qb5 31.Bf4 Re8 32.Qf3 Re1+ 33.Kh2 Qb6 34.d6 Qg1+ 35.Kh3 Rd1 36.Qa8+ Kh7 37.Qe4+ Kg8 38.Qe8+ Kh7 39.Be4+ 1–0
6..., Nf6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Re1 0–0 9.e5,..
We see Mr. Magat has a different and more aggressive intent than did Hanbing Xu.
9..., Nd5 10.Nxd5!?,..
I’d prefer 10 exd6, avoiding giving Black a potentially powerful mass of pawns in the center. Deep Rybka suggests that too. Some time was spent on this position trying to figure out what was bothering Gordon about the position. There seems to be nothing specific that should concern White about taking on d6. It must be, by elimination, that Magat just thought the dynamic central pawn formation was not a danger. That probably was an incorrect conclusion.
10..., exd5 11.d4 dxe5 12.dxe5 Be6 13.c3 Qb6 14.Qe2 h6 15.Bf4 Rad8 16.Red1 Rd7
Black has gone about massing his forces in the center, and the push of the d-pawn is definitely in the wind. White, on the other hand, has overprotected e5, but is not clear how he means to undertake active operations.
17.Ne1?!,..
Beginning a doubtful plan. Possible is 17 Be3, threatening 18 b4. Black then would likely play 17..., Qc7. The game could continue; 18 Ne1 Nxe5 19 Bf4 f6 20 Nd3 Bd6; and so on. Black will eventually have to return the pawn because the d5 point is too hard to defend, and the game then tends towards equality
17..., Rfd8 18.g4?,..
This allows Black to claim a significant advantage. I can’t find any real improvement for White with other moves. Active but dangerous for White is 18 h4 d4 19 Qh5, making gestures of a sacrificial attack on the Black King. Philip Sells is not one to be shook by risky attacks. He would no doubt search out 19..., Bf8; shoring up his King’s field and then proceed with his operations in the middle of the board.
18..., d4
The coming push to d3 is unstoppable because of the vulnerability of b2.
19.Bg3 c4 20.Bxc6 d3 21.Qe4 bxc6 22.Rd2 Bd5 23.a5,..
Not great move, but it is very hard to be critical when all options are bleak. White is facing difficulties which ever way he goes. It does not look like more resistance can be made with 23 Qe3, for Black is on top after 23..., Qxe3 24 fxe3 Rb7 25 Kf2 Rdb8 26 Ra2. The other try, 26 b4, is effectively met by 26..., c5; when if White continues 27 bxc5 Bxc5 28 e6? Re8; and Black is ready shift his active Rooks suddenly to the K-side where they threaten the White King. Black is very close to winning in this line.
23..., Qxf2+ 24.Bxf2 Bxe4 25.h4 Rb8 26.Ng2 Rdb7 27.Ra2 Rb5 28.Ne3 Bd8 29.Nf5 Bd5
I may have erred in my score keeping and reversed the last two moves by Black. Done in reverse order they make more sense.
30.Nd6 Rxa5 31.Rxa5 Bxa5
Time was running down for both sides. The time trouble was not of an epic order for Sells, he who has made twenty-plus moves with but a second on his clock. It did, however, have an effect on the play of the game. Black has four, soon to be three extra pawns. All he has to do is keep his wits about him, and that is a skill we have seen Mr. Sells demonstrate several times in the past. The reminder of the game is not much more than mopping up.
32.g5 hxg5 33.Ba7 Ra8 34.Bd4 gxh4 35.Rh2 Bd8 36.Nf5 Rb8 37.e6 Bxe6 38.Nxg7 Bd5 39.Ne8 Bg5 40.Nf6+ Bxf6 41.Bxf6 Kh7 42.Bxh4 Kg6 0–1
The game may have gone on a little father. The flurry of all games ending close together kept me from writing down the final moves. A good fight between strong players that decided by the misapprehension of a transformation in the center.
More soon.
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