A Game From the NYS Championship

On a wet windy late summer day along Wolf Road in Colonie, NY the 133d edition of the New York State Championship came to an exciting conclusion. After round six there were three masters tied for first place; Alexsandr Ostrovskiy (2404), last year’s Champion, Michael Chiang (2252) and our own local star, Deepak Aaron (2304) at 4 ½ points. But for the wrinkles of the tie-break system, Mr. Aaron could have taken the title. I was told just before leaving the site that Michael Chiang won the title on tie-breaks.

Going into the last round Deepak was in first place with 4 ½ points with Chiang and Ostrovskiy both a full point behind. In a short sharp tactical game Deepak lost to Ostrovskiy and Chiang defeated Igor Nikolayev (2400), thus a three way tie.

In a discussion with Bill Townsend while the sixth round games were going on it came up that should Deepak win or draw his game, it might be the first time a Capital District player won the NYS title. Bill, the keeper of all kinds of records, commented that sometime back in the 40s or 50s Max Pavey won the title while he was living in Albany for a year or so. I said Pavey was always thought of as a NYC player and was not sure that would count. In any event, the loss and the tie-break system made the point moot.

In the flurry of the finish of the tournament I was unable to obtain the score of the game Ostrovskiy - Aaron. I hope Bill Townsend was able to get that score. He was on-site doing the unheralded job of entering whatever games he could find into his database. This something Bill has done for some long time, and it is him we should thank for adding significantly to the historical record.

Aaron got the clear lead in round five with a win from the veteran Jay Bonin. This game I did obtain.

Aaron, Deepak (2288) - Bonin, Jay (2401) [B32]

133d NYS Championship Open Albany, NY, 06.09.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Be7 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Be2 Bg5

The Kalashnikov Variation. Here Black also has used 9..., Nd5. Here is a

Game from recent times where one of the super-Grandmasters shows how the Black side can win with the central pawn mass.

Vovk, Yuri (2414) - Eljanov, Pavel (2655) [B32]

Dos Hermanas Internet f 7th Internet Chess Club (1.1), 24.03.2006

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Be7 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Be2 Bg5 10.Nc2 Bxc1 11.Rxc1 Nf6 12.0–0 0–0 13.Qd2 Qb8 14.Rfd1 Rd8 15.Qe3 Qa7 16.Nd5 Qxe3 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.Nxe3 Nd4 19.Kf1 Rac8 20.b3 Kf8 21.Bg4 b5 22.cxb5 axb5 23.h3 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Ra8 25.Nc2 Rc8 26.Bd1 f5 27.Ke1 fxe4 28.Kd2 Ke7 29.Ra1 Nxc2 30.Bxc2 f5 31.a4 bxa4 32.bxa4 Bc4 33.Rb1 d5 34.Rb7+ Kd6 35.Rxh7 d4 36.h4 Bd5 37.Rh6+ Kc5 38.Rh5 d3 39.Bd1 Rf8 40.Kc3 Be6 41.Rg5 Rc8 42.h5 Kd5+ 43.Kd2 Kd4 44.Rg6 Bd5 45.h6 f4 46.Rg4 Rh8 47.Rh4 Be6 48.a5 Bf5 49.a6 Bh7 50.Ba4 Ra8 51.Bb5 Rb8 52.a7 Ra8 53.Rg4 Rxa7 54.Rg7 e3+ 55.fxe3+ fxe3+ 56.Kc1 d2+ 57.Kd1 Ra1+ 58.Ke2 d1Q# 0–1

10.0–0 Bxc1 11.Qxc1,..

The common answer here is 11 Rxc1, of course. I am not at all certain the text is better in any way, but it does vary from the book lines. That maybe what Deepak was after; to get away from some long string of theory leading to some small edge either way. Black is happy in this position, he gotten rid of his worse Bishop and saddled White with an unpromising light squared cleric. White has a lock on d5 that is his usual right in this kind of position. Both sides have accomplished something and now look for their next operations.

11..., Nf6 12.Rd1 Nd4 13.Bf1 Rc8 14.Nc2 Nxc2 15.Qxc2 Bxc4

White undertook to dangle his c-pawn for Black’s appraisal and Black accepted the offer. In compensation he gets the Black d-pawn. Accepting the off is not compulsory. Black could have simply castled on move 15.

16.Qa4+ Qd7 17.Qa3 Bxf1 18.Rxd6 Qe7 19.Rxf1 Rxc3

Ah ha! We see the point of Black’s idea; if 20 bxc3 Nxe4; and isn’t the Rd6 about to be lost?

20.bxc3 Nxe4 21.Qa4+,..

Not so! There is this move, and there is 21 Rxa6, both moves net White a pawn at least. I am certain Bonin, a hugely experienced master, saw all this. So why did he entered into a line that gives White an advantage in material? A variety of answers offer themselves; a moment’s impatience, he didn’t care for defending d6 long term after 15..., 0-0; or he thought the game position was OK for Black. Mr. Bonin was singularly quiet after the game, and I did not have the temerity to ask him the question.

21..., b5 22.Qxe4 Qxd6 23.Qa8+ Qd8 24.Qxa6 0–0 25.Qxb5,..

The dust has settled and White has an extra pawn. More significantly, he has two passed pawns, and although they are isolated, two “passers” scream danger for Black. The next operations are easy to understand; Black wants to attack the weak passed pawns and win one or both. White wants to consolidate holding on to the passed pawns while keeping an eye peeled for back rank threats.

25..., Qc7 26.c4 Rb8 27.Qa4 g6 28.Qc2 Qc5 29.Rb1,..

White has secured the pawns and now shows us a bit of endgame technique.

29..., Re8

Black correctly ignores the tempting 29..., Rxb1+; because 30 Qxb1 Qxc4 31 Qb8+, and White will get the e-pawn with check giving him time to return the Queen to b2. The net result of that operation would have been to convert the game to a Queen and pawn ending where Black has no winning chances at all, while White increases the pressure move by move by advancing the a-pawn. For the student of the game; a distant passed pawn and a Queen are not easily blockaded by a Queen on her own. In such cases the Black King will have to come to her aid leaving the K-side pawns to fend for themselves. This will open up possibilities for the White Queen to launch double attacks with checks when the Black King comes out from the shelter of his pawns. These likely lead to significant losses on the K-side and eventually the game.

30.Rc1!?,..

Cautious. More principled is 30 Rb5, but then 30..., Qa3 31 c5 Ra8 32 g3 Qxa2 33 Qe4 f5 34 Qxe5 Qa1+; and in the coming Rook and pawn ending Black will have his Rook behind the passed c-pawn in an optimal position to fight for a draw.

30..., Kg7 31.h3 Rb8 32.Qe2 Rb4 33.Rc2 Rb1+ 34.Kh2 Qd4?

An error. Black gives up the blockade of the c-pawn. That could be fatal.

35.Qe3?!,..

And there is an error in return. The principled reply is 35 c5. Play might then continue; 35..., Rb7 36 c6 Rc7 37 a4 e4 (Not 37..., Qxa4 38 Qxe5+ Kh6 39 Qxc7 Qxc2 40 Qf4+, and again we have a passed pawn supported by a Queen, only this time the pawn is further on and the Black King less able to come to his Queen’s assistance. Ashok Aaron and I were both puzzled by why this line was not played.

35..., Qxe3 36.fxe3 f5

Slightly better is 36..., Kf6; immediately.

37.c5 Kf6 38.c6 Rb8 39.Kg3 Ke6 40.Kh4 h6 41.c7,..

Pushing the pawn to the 7th looks natural reducing the mobility of the Black Rook, but a possible improvement might be 41 g4, right away. The simplification after 41..., fxg4 42 c7 Rc8 43 Kxg4, seems to favor White. His King is one step closer to e4 attacking the Black e-pawn. Alternatively, 41..., Kd5 42 gxf5 gxf5 43 Kh5 f4 44 exf4 exf4 45 c7 Rc8 46 Kg4 Ke4 47 Re2+! Kd3 48 Re7, shifting to a lateral defense of the c-pawn, and now the Black f-pawn and the h-pawn are both doomed. There are several lines each subtly different that demand careful consideration after 41 g4. Deepak perhaps decided getting the pawn top c7 cuts down the options Black can choose from making White’s calculation task easier. White now butchers the Black K-side abandoning the Q-side pawns

41..., Rc8 42.Rc6+ Kd5 43.Rxg6 Rxc7 44.Rxh6 Ke4 45.Re6,..

This is the resource Aaron counts on to slow the advance of the central Black pawns.

45..., Rg7

Here Black might have tried 45..., f4!?; wagering White just may be a little too quick to use up his g-pawn after 46 exf4 Kxf4 47 Rf6+ Ke3 48 g4 e4 49 g5 Kd4 50 g6 e3 51 Re6 Kd3 52 Kg3 Rc1 53 g7 Rg1+ 54 Kf3, when there are chances to reach a theoretically drawn position in the R versus R and two RP ending. Of course, White is under no obligation to recklessly advance the g-pawn. He can take a bit slower approach retaining both the g&h-pawns. Even if he has to give up the Rook for the e-pawn those “passers” will likely get to the 6th, and that is enough to win the game.

46.g4 fxg4 47.hxg4 Ra7 48.Kg5 Rxa2 49.Rb6,..

According to Rybka, the advantage for White is not very great here. That has to be taken with a grain of salt. These chess engines are not great at calculating endings without table bases present. This time Rybka may be correct. It calculates: 49..., Kf3 50 Kf5 e4 51 g5 Ra5+ 53 Kf6 Kxe3; as nearly equal. That appears to be true. The lone surviving Black pawn is very far along the path to making a Queen. This result holds up unless White can find a way to screen out the Black Rook from capturing the pawn cum Queen on g8.

The next little bit of the game revolves around not letting Black have access to f5 after the g-pawn goes to g5.

49..., Rf2 50.Rb3 Rf3 51.Kh4 Rf1 52.Kh5 Rf8 53.Kg6 Rg8+ 54.Kf6 Rf8+

If 54..., Rxg4? 55 Rb4+ Kf3 56 Rxg4+ Kxg4 57 Kxe5, when White controls the key squares ahead of the pawn. Black can not prevent its march to Queen.

55.Kg7 Rf3 56.g5 Rf5

If now 56..., Rxe3; 57 Rxe3+, and White makes a Queen just enough ahead of Black to be able to prevent Black from Queening. The White King then comes up to help capture the last Black pawn.

57.g6 1–0

Bonin resigned here putting Mr. Aaron into first place a full point ahead of the field. As mentioned at the top of this article, Aaron lost to Ostrovskiy in a tactical melee. Both young men did not shrink from creating serious tactical tension from early on. This time Deepak was out calculated and last year’s Champion won the game. Another game I wished to have is Chiang - Nikolayev. It to was missed by me in the flurry of the finish. If we are lucky, Bill Townsend has them and we can look forward to seeing his take on the games in his column.

More from the NYS Championship soon.