Sunday evening in Saratoga the A teams from Saratoga and Schenectady met in one of the fixtures for the League. These two teams have most often fought for first place in the CDCL. Many times their match determines the League winner. That may be true again this year but not in quite the same way as usual. Schenectady A won with a 2 ½ - 1 ½ score. That means all the top contenders; Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga A teams have dropped at least one match. Schenectady and Saratoga also conceded a draw each to the Uncle Sam Club of Troy.
Schenectady’s second team, the Geezers, is undefeated and has given up no drawn matches. The fate of the Geezers lies entirely in their own hands. If the Geezers can win one of the two remaining matches against Albany A or Saratoga A, they will no do worse than tie for the title on match points. If they draw both, a less likely outcome, the title is theirs. Plenty of drama in the next couple of weeks as the serious contenders play each other. One strong team, Albany B, is just about out of the running for first place in the League with two losses. If the Geezers lose both matches against Albany A and Saratoga A, then the A teams from Schenectady, Saratoga and Albany are still in the race with a chance for first.
Here is a summary of the results of the Saratoga A - Schenectady A match:
On board 1 Steve Taylor as White came out of the opening against Deepak Aaron somewhat worse. In a tense middle game Mr. Taylor appeared to not quite find a way to equalize. In really terrible time trouble, Taylor came up with a neat idea. Even though he had to move instantly, Steve held the draw against the young star.
On board two Patrick Chi won from Jonathan Feinberg. Jonathan and I had the opportunity to go over his game afterwards along with Steve Taylor. Some of the ideas found will be explored in the notes in my next blog.
Phil Sells defeated Gordon Magot on board 3 in a complicated struggle in a very Closed Sicilian Defense.
Board 4 saw Gray Farrell win over John Barnes in another Closed Sicilian. It was another complicated affair. Mr. Barnes got his Queen misplaced on move 15, and passed on a small combination that could have corrected that flaw in his game on move 19. Afterwards, Mr. Farrell took control of the game while the White Queen was remote from the scene of the action.
Some weeks back I announced my retirement from serious chess. Later the readers may have noted my name appearing in match results. So what’s up? The retirement still holds, but my long time captain, Richard Chu approached me to return to active play for a single match versus Saratoga A in early March. The attraction was a pairing against Gordon Magat, an old friend and an opponent to whom I foolishly resigned a perfectly good position in the recent AACC Championship. The temptation to have another try for a better result was too great to pass up. That match fell through because of scheduling conflicts. Shortening a long story, I found myself playing more Geezers matches. Then the Geezers won and kept winning. Richard prevailed on me to stay with the team. Now, down to the last few matches, returning to full retirement is too much like abandoning my team mates of these many years. So, I am calling this my “farewell tour”, in the same fashion as the Who and the Rolling Stones have done.
Arthur Alowitz and I have met often over the years. He most always gives me a hard time over the board. I recall a tough fight we had a few years ago where, in bad time trouble, I had to bang out a bunch of moves in a B+N against a bare King ending. As luck would have it, that was an ending I had studied in my youth and the theory stuck with me. I had the B+N and was able to get to the mating position before my flag fell, but it was a near thing. This time Arthur takes an unusual route in the opening. The ensuing play may be of some interest even though the game was not particularly well played by either side..
Alowitz, Arthur - Little, Bill [B06]
Albany Area Chess Club B v Geezers, CDCL Match, Guilderland, NY, 11.05.2011
Board 3
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.f3 g6 4.c3 Bg7 5.Be3 0–0 6.Bd3 Nbd7
Not at all a usual set up. Interestingly, I found several games with this formation but with the colors reversed.
7.Ne2 c5
Which is better 7..., c5; or 7..., e5? I could not decide. Black plays against the White center after 7..., e5; in a different manner; 7..., e5 8 0-0 Qe7 9 Nd2 exd4 10 cxd4 Nd5 11 Bf2 Nb4; getting Black close to equality.
8.0–0 Qc7 9.Nd2 a6 10.a4 b6 11.Rb1 Bb7 12.d5?!,..
This looks doubtful. The reasonable purpose behind advancing the a-pawn to the forth rank and putting the Rook on b1 must be to play b2-b4 at some point. Now seems the appropriate moment to grab more space on the Q-side by pushing the b-pawn. The text clears one obstruction from the a1-h8 diagonal making the Bg7 better.
12..., Ne5 13.Bc2 b5!?
Black is seduced by opportunities on the Q-side. This move is not quite as questionable as White’s 12th , but it is not exactly correct either. Resolving questions about what the center will look like with 13..., e6; is more to the point. Then 14 dxe6 fxe6 15 Nf4 Rae8 16 Qe2 d5; and the Black Bishops are beginning to have a say in the game. Alternatively, 14 c4 exd5 15 cxd5, and 15..., b5; then has more bite.
14.axb5?,..
This is a mistake. A key idea for White is to get access to d4 for his minor pieces. To that end 14 b4, is best.
14..., axb5 15.b3,..
While it is not so good as on the previous move, 15 b4, is the best try for White.
15..., Ra3?!
Not an outright error, but it is off-track. Discouraging a later b3-b4 with 15..., Rfc8; is sensible.
16.Ra1,..
Once more the right move is 16 b4. White too readily agrees with Black’s evaluation of the position; control of the a-file is the most important feature for the moment therefore he plays to eliminate a pair of Rooks to mitigate danger there. After 16 b4 c4 17 Ra1 Rxa1 18 Qxa1 Ra8 19 Qb1 e6; and Black is just slightly better because his Bishops promise greater activity in the future, and he has the resource ..,e6-e5; to displace the well posted Nd4. Offsetting that is the possibility for White of Qb1-b2and Rd1-a1 getting control of the a-file for himself.
16..., Rfa8 17.Rxa3 Rxa3 18.Qc1 Qa5 19.Nb1 Ra2 20.Bd2 Qa8
This is how I thought the game would continue. The Queen on a8 maintains my hold on the a-file and prepares for an eventual .., e7-e6; to pressure the center.
21.b4 Ra6?
There is no shot for White that this move allows. Its flaw is the utter wrong headedness from the positional viewpoint. Correct is 21..., Nc4; and 22..., Nxd2; obtaining the Bishop pair just as the position is opening up. That way gives Black a solid edge, not winning but substantial. After the game move Black has only the slightest of advantages.
22.bxc5 dxc5 23.Be3 Qc8?
Another positional fumble. White now can equalize or nearly so. Better was 23..., Nfd7; keeping some advantage.
24.Na3,..
At first blush, Rybka suggests 24 Nd2, as better. Playing out the line with 24..., Nfd7 25 Qb1, or 25 h3, shows Black rather quickly getting the upper hand. The text is another try that is worthwhile.
24..., Rb6?
Essentially throwing away all of the advantage gained thus far. Better 24..., Ra5; defending the pawn from the side. I fixed on the notion of pushing the b-pawn. Putting the Rook behind it made some sense only because my vision of the game narrowed down to just that one idea..
25.Bf4?,..
It is better to prepare f3-f4, with 25 h3.
25..., Ned7!?
Both sides have misplayed the middle game badly. I fully intended to put the Nf6 on d7. When the moment arrived unconsciously I plucked the wrong(?) horseman and dropped on d7. As my fingers left the piece I began kicking myself. The next few minutes were used to recognize the changed circumstances and to dig up some sort of new plan.
The truth of the matter only came to light as the game was analyzed. 25..., Nfd7; was not such a good move as I thought while playing. One line in particular is bothersome; 25.., Nfd7 26 Be3! Ba6 27 Qd2, and White is beginning to organize his forces. So, it turns out the move played was better than the move intended. Maybe my “hand” knew better than my brain.
26.Bd3 Ba6 27.Qb2?,..
White did not quite see all the possibilities in the position. Putting Queen on the b-file makes the pawn push to b4 stronger. It is better to play 27 Qe3, and after 27..., b4 28 cxb4 cxb4 29 Rc1!, White has the better position. If Black improves with 28..., Rxb4 29 Nc2 Bxd3 30 Qxd3 c4 31 Qd2 Rb2; Black has only a small advantage. The fight will be about whether the advanced c-pawn is strong or a target.
27..., b4 28.Bxa6 Qxa6 29.Nc2?,..
An oversight. Required is 29 cxb4, then the simplest line; 29...,cxb4 30 Nb1 Nxd5; wins a pawn giving Black a solid advantage, but there are many moves to play before Black could claim a win. A more challenging calculation is; 29..., Nh5 30 b5 Bxb2 31 bxa6 Nxf4 32 Nc4 Nxe2+ 33 Kf2 Rxa6 34 Kxe2 Ra2; leaving Black up a piece with a technical win.
29..., Qxe2 30.cxb4 Nxd5 31.Qc1 Nxf4 32.Qxf4 Qxc2 0–1
The shock of the oversight was such that Arthur did not find the moves that might have delayed the loss. Capturing on b4 on move 30 let loose all the Black pieces. Of course, down a piece the game was lost in any event, but we all should take a lesson from the Grandmasters; be difficult for your opponent even in a lost position. He is human and can blunder too.
More soon.
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